April 8-Day 6- Cinque Terre April 12, 2009

So, despite our desire to get an early start, we managed to sleep in yet again.  Nichole and I explored the town a little and noticed a sign that said “damaged postcards= 10cents)  We were all over that (sorry if you get one) We searched through all the postcards for the ones that were slightly torn on the corner or looked faded from the sun and picked out about 10.  Then, we went to pay…unfortunately, the owner, who spoke littel English, said those were 25Cents….so much for our 10 cent postcards!  After packing a bag with water and food (apples and bread from a local grocery store), not knowing what to expect on this trail (and fearing a ‘hike’ after Wolfgang’s version of a hike).  After buying our Cinque Terre cards, which allow us to walk the trail and take trains between the cities, we started out.  The first part of the hike was from Riomaggiore to Manarola and is called Via Del Amore (Road of Love)  It was an easy walk and lots of tourists were there.  Unfortuantely, we had to speed up our walking a few times to avoid the Italian field trips!  (we were trying to be as unteacherly as possible this week)  We stopped at a few points and walked down steep stairs to the sea.  It was beautiful! 

The next part was from Manarola to Corniglia.  Again, it was quite an easy hike and being such a beautiful day, we took our time and went down the stairs to the rocks below often.  So many flowers and interesting plants along the way too—don’t worry, Ryan, I got pictures!  The other interesting thing was the vineyards.  All along the mountain were terraces, each one containing 3-10 rows of grape vines.  It was the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to!  Corniglia was the only town not on the sea, but we enjoyed lunch there on a park bench that overlooked a large valley which housed a local vineyard.  After Corniglia, we took the train to Vernazza (the trail was closed because of a landslide).  Yet again, we were stunned by the beauty of it!  It was absolutely gorgeous!  It was the first town of the five to have a beach.  So, after exploring the quaint little town, we were drawn to the beach.  On our way, we entered yet another gelateria….we had to!…and each got a cup.  Outside some boys were playing soccer and the ball came flying up at us when we left.  I stuck out my foot and happened to kick the ball back to them…they yelled “very good, very good, she’s a master”  That may be the only English they knew, but it made me feel like a local soccer star    We enjoyed our gelato on large rocks, sunning ourselves (like turtles) watching the big boats of tourists come in and out of the harbor. 

After a short train ride back to Riomaggiore, we to a local restaurant.  Nichole got her foccacia pizza, Sarah got Spaghetti with mussels, and I got the most amazing Pesto and Cheese lazanga ever!  It was so fresh and hot and just delicious!  We took our bottle of wine (purchased in Corniglia from a local enoteca-wine shop) and dinner down to our rocks and watched another sunset while eating our dinner.  We were joined by some local seagulls hoping for some of our delicious dinner!  When we got back to our room, Emil, Knut, and Wilma were returning from their hike as well.  We spent an hour talking to them about Sweden and the US and they tried to teach us some Swedish words…Wilma tried to teach us Finnish.  We failed miserably!  But, we did learn that their language is much more song like than English.  They have such a soothing way of talking.  After they tried to teach us Swedish, we asked them what English sounded like to them.  They did some hilarious impressions of southerners with mouths full of tobacco!  It was a great way to end the night!  I love our little chance encounters that teach us so much about culture!!!

April 7-Day 5- Firenze/ Cinque Terre April 12, 2009

If I haven’t mentioned it before, Firenze means Florence!

We began our day on the search for that Florentine hot chocolate and we were not disappointed.  After asking Leonardo, our hostel owner, we walked to a little cafe, definitely out of tourist central, and found what we were looking for.  We ordered a chocolatte calente..which surprised the locals because they only have cappicino in the morning.  When the worker made it, he took a scoop of something (like chocolate icing) and added milk…then he whipped it together and warmed it.  It was DELICIOUS and very thick, I even bit into a chunk of chocolate while drinking it.  Fabulous way to start the day!

After our hot chocolate, Sarah went to Academia, an art gallery, to see David (the famous Michealangelo statue) and Nichole and I went to the San Lorenzo market.  It was a huge open air market with everything from jewelry, glass plates, leather purses/wallets, scarves, paintings, and so much more!  We spent 2 hours walking around and making strategic purchases for those of you reading this   Luckily Leonardo had told us that bargaining is a must at this market, so we got some good deals!  Roma had been our history town, Firenze was our shopping town!  Around lunch time, we stumbled upon a large building in the middle of the market.  We were unsure what it was, but a lot of people were coming and going with food, so we decided to check it out. 

We walked into a huge warehouse with nothing but fresh foods!  It was a food market, much like the one in Barcelona.  The first floor was devoted to meats, cheeses, nuts, and dried fruits.  The second floor was all fresh fruits and vegetables.  It was crazy!  The first thing we saw looked like a slimy blanket of sheep’s wool….it was really tripe (stomach lining of cow) a delicacy of Florence.  We actually saw a guy carrying in half a cow…that’s right, he carried it over his shoulder, hung it on a hook, then chopped off a hunk for the lady at the counter- very european butcher shop!  The fruits and vegetables were so bright and fresh; they looked like they had come straight from the trees that morning.  It smelled amazing!  Nichole and I bought some oranges and bananas and enjoyed lunch on the steps.  We wandered through the market for another hour, then went back to the hostel to meet Sarah for our train to Cinque Terre.

While Roma and Firenze had been amazing…Cinque Terre did not disappoint!!  As the train moved from the big city to the country, we saw the hills of Tuscany…think “Under the Tuscan Sun” movie and you’ve got exactly what we saw in your head!  Soon, we started going through tunnels and the ride seemed boring.  Just when you didn’t expect it, we reached the end of the tunnel and saw sheer cliffs dropping off into the Medeterranean Sea.  GORGEOUS!!  I can’t even describe it…you’ll have to look at the pictures!  We entered Riomaggiore, the first of 5 towns (Cinque Terre means 5 lands) along the coast and wandered through the town.  Finding our hostel, we checked into our room, dropped our bags, and rushed out to the rocky beach to enjoy sunset.  I know I keep saying this, but surreal experience…it was like we were in those postcards you always see.  Imagine- huge cliffs, houses that look like they will fall into the sea at any moment, narrow winding street, even narrorer staircases that lead to houses high on the mountain, big rocks to sit on, a huge sea spread out in front of you….surreal.  We had dinner from a little caffe and went back to our room.  There, we met our first Swedish friends, Emil, Knut, and Wilma.  They were on holiday and had been in Cinque Terre for 2 days.  They were so fun to talk to and we learned a lot about Gotland, the island where they live.  I think Sweden may be next on my list of places to visit (Ryan get ready!!)  We went to bed fairly early with hopes of getting an early start to our hike the next day.

April 6- Day 4- Firenze April 12, 2009

Sleeping in is an art form, an art form which we mastered on Day 4!  Our bodies, at least Nichole and mine, said to stay in bed forever, but Sarah won out and at 10:30am, we left our room.  We didnt’ really have a plan for the day, so we just wandered around.  The Duomo, or Santa Maria del Fiore (Saint Mary of the Flower), was our first stop.  It was designed to be the biggest Catholic church in 1294.  What made it unique to us was the outside.  It was covered in green, pink, and white marble and was unlike anything we had seen before.  In the basement, there were remains of a previous church which the Duomo took the place of.  As we continued our wandering, we found the Ponte Vecchio, the Old Bridge, which had built in shops (expensive ones we couldn’t afford) and we window shopped.  There was a small open air market called Mercato Nuovo, where we perused the crafts- leather is a big deal here!  For a great view of the city, Leonardo (owner of our hostel) told us to visit Piassa de Michaelangelo.  So, we ventured up to get  view.  We got a little lost, but it was such a beautiful walk, through the Tuscany hills, with vineyards and gardens all around, that we didn’t care.  When we got the Piazza, the view was amazing!  True to form, we decided to sit in the park, drink a bottle of wine, and enjoy people watching (we are such creatures of habit!) 

When it began to get cold, we returned to the center of town and decided to get some food.  Rick Steves (our tourist guide book author) suggested Leonardo’s Careteria for good, but cheap pasta…so we found it.  Unfortuantely, it was closed until 7pm.  To occupy our time, we visited yet another Piazza del Signoria.  Much to our delight, there was a carousel!  We paid our 1.50 euro and hopped on!  After a nice little ride, we sat in the Piazza, listened to a band play traditional music, and watched little kids dance.  On our way back to Leonardo’s cafeteria, we found a vintage shop, so of course Nichole had to go in!  After browsing the selection, she did find a shirt for 5 Euro…a nice vintage purchase!!  Finally, we went to Leonardo’s cafeteria…and let me tell you Leonardo was good to us in Florence!  First the hostel, then the amazing (but cheap) pasta!  It was so good and our first sit down pasta dinner.  Italy definitley lived up to it’s reputation for good pasta!  To end the night, we attempted to find Florentine hot chocolate.  Sharon, a speech pathologists at our school, told us that Florence has hot chocolate so thick, a spoon stands up in it!  Our first attempt, sadly, was a failure…the hot chocolate came from a mix and was not very thick…good, but not what we were after.  That night, we drifted off to sleep with dreams of thick Florentine hot chocolate!

April 5- Day 3- Roma/Florence April 12, 2009

Because Rome is HUGE and there is SO much to see, we felt that 2 days was just not enough.  Sarah wanted to visit the National Museum and Nichole and I were not oppossed to spending another day visiting National monuments, people watching, and hanging out with Sean.  We dropped Sarah off at the National Museum and decided a fitting end to our stay in Roma was a bottle of wine on the lawn of the Colesseum.  So, Sean picked up a bottle of wine for a whopping 2 Euro adn we claimed our patch of grass. 

The sun was shining and as we laid out, Sean suggested we make up stories about the people we saw….he was meant to travel with us!   We sat for 2 hours just talking (it’s nice to talk to someone in the same situation as you from the same place as you), making up stories, and laying on the grass.  Near the end of our hours, we decided the only fitting end was to do model posses in front of the Colesseum…so with no shame, we modelled in front of the Colesseum…SO FUN!! 

After meeting Sarah back at the hostel, we visited our favorite doner place, got doners, and ate on the same curb we had spent the first night.  In Nichole’s words “I’m a curbside girl.”  (Side note: We would sit at outdoor tables, but we’re too cheap to buy something from the stores that have outdoor seating- so curbs it is!)  We said goodbye to Sean, promising to stay in touch, and hopped the train to Florence.

After such an exciting time in Rome, we were sad to leave, but Florence awaited.  We arrived a little before dark and spent an hour walking around looking for our hostl.  We like to say we took the scenic route!  We finally found “Leonardo’s House” which had a sign the size of a dollar bill and checked in.  After checking in, Sarah wanted pasta, so we ventured out to find pesto pasta….DELICIOUS!  We went to bed early and enjoyed our first night in a private room!

April 4- Day 2- Roma April 12, 2009

Another beautiful, sunny morning greeted us.  Today was devoted to Vatican City.  With Sean in tow and after a light breakfast of Italian crossants (so flaky and delicious) we set out to hit the Vatican.  On our way, we crossed the Pantheon.  Yeah, right in the middle of a bunch of apartments, there sat the Pantheon (its the one with the big columns in front and dome on top).  Of course, we had to go in, and it was HUGE!  There were painting on every surface and the top comes to a huge dome with a hole in the top for natural light.  Sean says that when it rains, the rain disapates before it hits the ground because of the way the Panteon is designed.  I’m not sure I believe him, but it is an open roof and none of the paintings are water damaged, so I guess he’s got a point. 

Next, we decided to visit another country…Vatican city!  We crossed the Tiber River (it reminded me of the Muddy Mississippi!)  and got in line to pass through security.  Our first stop was St. Peter’s Basilica.  It was HUGE!  There were statues, painting, gold leaf, carved molding, everything was so elaborate!  There was a mass going on in one corner of the massive Basilica and we just wandered around looking at everything.  Once we had taken our time there, we wanted to visit the Sistene Chapel.  Interestingly enough, Vatican City is not very well labeled and is like it’s own little city…much bigger than I thought.  We had to walk about a mile to get to the Museum and Chapel.  But, we finally found it!

Let me start this section by saying, there is no way I can describe the things I saw in this museum.  There are too many colors, statues, painting, and everything is so ornate there is just no way to describe it.  Just look at the pictures!  Anyway, we walked through the museum, which was more fun since Nichole and I had Sean and Sarah there to explain everything to us!  We visited the Rapheal Room with the “School of Athens” painting, the one with all the major philosphers in it, and then went to the Sistene Chapel.  When we started walking up the stairs, my heart started to beat a little faster and I got a little short of breath- here I was, 23 and standing in the place that started everything I was taught as a Catholic.  The Sistene Chapel…WOW…that’s all I can say.  Every square millimeter of space is covered in painting.  To know that one man, Michaelangelo, did that, was impressive in itself.  But, to see how precise it was, that was absolutely amazing!  The guards said 2 things “SHHHH!” and “NO photos”- which we later found out was because Kodak has the copyrights to the paintings in the chapel because they paid for the restoration (don’t you love how religion and corporate america mix)  Despite the guards warnings, I got a few good pictures- such a rebel!  For about an hour, we just sat in the chapel and looked at everything…there was so much to see. 

After that experience, we were all a little drained (so much to see) that we decided to do what we do best, eat gelato!  We found a little gelateria and as we were eating, a Ferrari passed by…and being the rebel I am…I touched it!!!  I touched a real Ferrari…what a day!  After gelato, we wanted to just relax, so we went to the Spanish steps.  For over 2 hours, we sat, watched everyone, and just talked.  Interestingly enough, there were lots of Italian people there and we noticed one thing that distinguishes tourists from Italians.  When Italians take pictures, they don’t smile, they pose.  There was one lady in particular, in her late 40s, who was wearing an outfit that she should not have been wearing, who flipped her hair, checked her boobs, and did various model poses for her boyfriend.  It was quite entertaining.  Being the tourists we are, we waited for her to leave, then did our own poses.  The poses ended when Sean, acting like a photographer, said “Give it to me…come on Nichole, Get Nasty”  Nichole, Sarah, and I, burst into laughter and the photo shoot was over.  So fun!

Since Trevi Fountain had been so much fun, we returned with a fresh bottle of wine and people watched again.  The poser (as we liked to call the lady from the Spanish steps) made an appearance and other tourists entertained us.  On the way back to the hostel, we stopped for Doner Kebabs (like a tortilla with meat and veggies inside) and an Italian man (after I said hi) asked me where I was sleeping.  When I said “In a hostel, where are you sleeping” he replied “maybe in a hostel??  wink wink.  Those horny Italians!  We ended the night in our hostel room, trying to explain to Sean that “dollop” is a word.  (John and Joe- remember our Dollop conversation…good times!)

April 3- Day 1- Rome April 12, 2009

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICHOLE!!!! 

After waking up and stretching in our tight quarters, we entered the Roma (yeah, that’s right, I’m going to use the Italian version of any words I can) train station-EXCITING!!!  We walked to the hostel, a block away (good job Sarah!) and checked in our bags.  The reception lady was really funny and answered the phone with an excited and very loud “Pop-eh Hotel- Allo!”  (I do a great impression)  Since we had decided this day was devoted to ancient Rome, we decided to start big, with the Colesseum.  As we walked the streets, stopping to reference our map, we turned a corner and there is was…this HUGE stone stadium from so long ago.  Like so much of this trip, I had difficulty wrapping my mind around the fact that I was standing in front of this structure that had been there for thousands of years.  It’s such a surral feeling! 

We entered the throng of tourists which meander in the courtyard between the Roman Forum, Arc of Constatine, and the Colesseum, and immediately saw some cheesy gladiator actors.  Luckily, we had been warned…don’t take pictures with them becuase they charge outrageous amounts of money for them!  we, being the smart cookies we are, posed in front of them and got their pictures anyway..we are such rebels!  Since we wanted to skip the long lines, we decided to take a tour for the Colesseum and Roman Forum.  Here are some fun facts I learned on the tour:

*They used all sorts of animals to fight/hunt including: lions, bears, giraffes, elephants, and wild hogs

*Upper class people wore white and lower class people wore black.  This way, they were separated into certain seating sections.  Their rationale for the separation- if a black spot showed up in the white section, the gladiator would be distracted and would lose the battle.  (The lions weren’t distracting at all)

*There were tunnels under the stadium floor where animals were held in cages and where workers moved the animals to get them ready for their fight

*To check to see if a gladiator was dead, they would smash his head with a hammer- if he didn’t move (who would after that) he was dead.  Later, since they wanted to be more humane, they poked the gladiator with a hot iron and if he moved, he was still alive. 

After the tour, we ate a pizza panini lunch on the lawn outside the Colesseum and enjoyed our first gelato (it’s like ice cream, but thicker) and watched the tourists.  One of our favorite things to do is to “people watch” and play games like “What language are they speaking” or “where are they from” or “What’s their story”  After we had made up enough life stories for the other tourists, we joined our tour for the Roman forum.

The Roman Forum is basically the market place surrounded by the governmental buildings.  The guide, which looked and sounded like Mr. Bean, said that the political officers designed it that way so that any gossip that went on between the common people was in the market and where they could watch and listen to it.  We wandered through a palace and saw circus minimus and Circus Maximus….Circus Maximus, just a dirt path…very disappointing!  Circus Minimus- a smaller field where gladiators trained, was much more interesting with a few training tools made of stone still left over.  We also saw an ancient spa, where fires were started under the floors to create a steam room, and an anciet house.  But, the best part, was the beautiful flowers that were popping up in the most random places.  It was a great day!

We returned to the hostel and were trying to decide between 2 pub crawls (it was Nichole’s bday and we had to do something out on the town)  As we sat eating our pizza from a local joint (they put anything on pizza by the way- Nichole had a shrimp, mayo, and lettuce pizza) we met Sean.  He was traveling by himself and was from KC, MO!  He wanted to come on the pub crawl, too.  So, with 10 minutes until the crawl, and a 15 minute walk ahead of us to the meeting point, we set out on a brisk walk through Roma trying to find our way to the meeting point.  Sadly, we never reached the meeting point (damn those twisted Roma streets)!

In our disappointment, we entered another gelateria.  The man behind the counter was clearly from India and had a very happy personality.  He was giving us samples left and right.  We ordered our cones and when Nichole ordered, an interesting conversation happened:  He said “What is your name?” Nichole said “I’m Nichole, what’s your name”  He said “I am a Good boy” Nichole said “You’re a Good boy?” He said “No I am a BAD BOY!” Then he laughed and kept saying “I am a bad boy, I am a bad boy!”  It was HILARIOUS!  Again, I do a great impression!

Since we missed the pub crawl, we decided to get our own bottles of wine (they are SO cheap-2-3 Euro per bottle) and visit another monument, the Trevi fountain.  So, Sean, Sarah, Nichole, and I spent the night drinking wine and people watching at the Trevi fountain.  We threw coins into the fountain, which is suppossed to ensure your return to Roma and said no to all the flower and souvenir vendors (they are like flies that constantly interrupt your converstation) As we were people watching, we saw 2 Italian men with some major game.  They made a deal with a rose vender.  The 2 men approached 2 single Italian ladies and began talking.  2 minutes later, the rose vender came over and offered the girls a rose.  The girls of course, refused, but their new friends (the 2 Italian men) bought a rose for their “beautiful girls.”  They talked for like 2 hours and we were taking bets on if they would leave together.  Sadly, the Italian men did leave alone despite their original pick up moves!  After 2 bottles of wine, we decided to head back to the hostel.  Along the way, we were stopped by 4 Italian men in a car who wanted us to join them at a night club.  One, who had bandaids all over his face, said he was the bodyguard and we could get in for free if we said “Lista Night”…that was the only English they knew…think they’ve picked up a few tourists before???  We kindly declined and kept walking.  After a while, Nichole had to pee, but there were no bathrooms open, so we found a bush, ouside the Colesseum, and I taught Nichole how to “pop a squat”  That’s right, she squatted outside the Colesseum on her birthday! 

Back at the hostel, we picked up another bottle of Italian wine (it’s SO good!) and lite a candle on top for Nichole’s bday.  On the curb (everything else was closed) we sang happy birthday, did our Red Hot Cheerleader cheers on a dare, and enjoyed night.  We knew that if this day was any idication of how the trip was going to go, we were in for one AMAZING week!

Look out Italy, here we come!!! April 12, 2009

Ah…as I sit here on Easter morning thinking over the past week, it is hard to believe that our week in Italy is over already.  To those of you that worried because of the earthquake…I am TRULY sorry we did not contact you!  We don’t watch the news or pay attention to newspapers, so we didn’t even know about the earthquake until Thursday when a fellow traveller mentioned it! 

In any case, I will try my very best to relive the week for all of you, including all the juicy details and fun stories!  On Thursday, April 2, we left school, grabbed our haussy (that means tough/strong) backpacks and headed to the train station.  It was a beautiful day and we were SO excited to be on vacation for a week.  The plan was to take a night train to Rome, and spend 2 days in each city: Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Venice: then come home on a night train on Friday night to recover for the week.  We began the journey like so many others, on a train to Munich.  On that train, we met another traveller, Sebastian.  He was a carpenter and was returning home to try to find a job.  He reminded me of the people that work for Habitat for Humanity, so I gave him their website and hope that he finds a job with them so he can continue travelling and doing carpentry!  He also tried to teach us a few more German sounds…needless to say, it still ended in everyone laughing at me!

When we arrived at Munich, we had 1 hour to get Nichole a Eurail- her’s got lost in the mail- get bed reservations for the night train, and get on the train.  So, we got in line….and waited…and waited for what seemed like forever!  Finally, we were called up to the counter and the best DB (train company)worker we’ve met hooked us up with everything we needed in mere minutes- everything was working out perfectly! we found the train, and hopped on, and found our little room of beds.  And let me tell you, as only one of us to get a middle bunk, they were little.  It is basically the size of a small walk in closet with 6 beds- 3 on each side.  After putting our luggage on the shelf above the top bunks, I ‘gracefully’ toppled into the middle bunk, we shared a PB & J dinner, and went to sleep, excited that the next morning we would be in Rome!!!

What a day… March 26, 2009

So I had a kid throw a chair today!  Yeah, got mad at me cause I “never let him go first and always make him go last”  Yup…a chair!  Aren’t you all jealous now??? 

Are you ready for some FUTBOL???!!!! March 24, 2009

Sunday morning, 10am, Nichole, Sarah, and I are standing in our driveway waiting for the biggest soccer fan, Alfred, to come get us. 

Destination- Furth futbol fan clubhouse and stadium!                              Teams- Furth and Munich 1860 (enemies)                                                 Purpose-drink a lot, lose our voices from cheering, and have FUN!

So, Alfred picked us up, outfitted us with green scarves (Furth’s colors are green and white) and drove us the 40 minutes to the Furth fan clubhouse.  On our drive, Alfred gave us the quick history of futbol and the Furth team, who won the league in 1914, 1924,and 1928..yes that’s right, I paid attention for a little bit!  Furth’s logo is the kleeblatt, or a 3-leaf clover.  This has NOTHING to do with Ireland.  It was probably from the middle ages when Furth had to pay taxes to three different bishops.  At the end of our drive, we entered a one-room clubhouse that was decked out with green scarves, flags, and jerseys.  It was a quaint little bar full of fans enjoying a pre-game beer and bratwurst.  It reminded me a lot of 17th and State…one of those Cheer’s like bars where everybody knows your name!  We got 3 local beers, a lager, a lite, and a dark, and shared them while taking in the local scene. 

Then, Alfred asked us if we wanted to try the local speciality, sour sausage.  I, trying to be as German as possible said I definitely wanted to try the szitfel (the word Wolfgang taught me for sour sausage) except, I forgot to say the “sowre” (sour) part. The woman looked at me funny and said, sowre szitfel…I said, yeah, Szitfel.  She laughed and said, you have to say the sowre part because szitfel by itself means (as she gazed at teh man’s lap next to her) the man’s parts.  Let me tell you, that got a lot of laughs from the crowd!  So much for being on top of my German game!

Then, we went to the game!  What an experience.  The fans were singing and chanting, and had choreographed moves to every cheer.  WE tried to cheer along, but that usually resulted in us just screaming!  Two little kids in front of us were flipping the other team off and yelling words, which I can only imagine were kind, gentle words of encouragement (YEAH RIGHT) at the refs.  When Furth finally scored a goal, with only 10 minutes left in the game, the crowd went wild!  Don’t worry, I’ve got video footage (thanks for the camera Ryan) to show you all when I get home!  Lucky for us, that was the only goal scored and Furth won (I would hate to see those fans after a loss)

After the game, we went back to the clubhouse to enjoy a few more beers.  We met a wonderful elderly lady who introduced us to her daughters, granddaughters, and ‘boyfriends’ (who were our age!!)  She stayed, has her coffee, as everyone else drank their beer, ate her sowre szitfel, and had a cigarette while we chatted.  We enjoyed just hanging out, listenin to the cheers again, and drinking teh local brew.  It was a great experience and definitely made us feel like we were not just tourists, but German citizens!!!

Flohmarkt March 23, 2009

Flea markets in Germany.  Who would have thought I’d travel across an ocean just to go to a flea market?  Yeah, me either.  But, as it turns out, my grandma has rubbed off on me and I actually enjoy going to flea markets in search of that one great find!  So, on Saturday, we got up, took a train, a subway, and a bus (we’re getting pretty good at this public transport thing) and went to a flea market near Nurnberg.  It was HUGE!  Imagine if you will, a parking lot, maybe the size of a football field….full of tents, tables, and junk of all sorts!

There were, of course, some tables that held no interest for us.  But, there were some tables where we found excellent German souvenirs.  (I’m not telling which ones cause you might be getting some as presents)  I’ll show you all my treasures when I get home!  We had so much fun going from table to table and playing charades with the people at the booths in order to get a price on the item we wanted….unfortunately our German is still severly lacking!  It was definitley an off the tourist track place; which we LOVE!  When we got home, Paula was having a dinner party, so we went downstairs to join some of the teachers and have some dinner.  I ended the night by saying HI to all the Kiels while they were at a BBQ at Brad and Liz’s house.  (wishing I was there to enjoy that BBQ- it’s just not the same in Germany)  What a perfect ending to a great day!  More flea markets to come!