We're Here!

I can’t believe I have been here in Germany for more than a week and still not have written anything! Which is a shame since I have such a poor memory, now I will have to ask Brian to summarize the last week for me. I promised myself I would write last night, but I was too tired after we had my favorite wine in the winter garden with pistachios to munch on. Yum yum. The food here is so good. So far I haven’t really had a problem with anything, even the sauerkraut! Last night we had weiss wurst (white sausage), which was definitely different than anything I had ever eaten before, but still good! Anyway, here goes my attempt to write down the events of the past week:

We boarded the plane at LAX around 7pm, and it left at 7:20pm, right on time. Swiss Air is amazing. Unlike most American continental flights, everything is free. Even the alcohol, and you can have seconds or even thirds if you want. Each seat has a small TV built into the back of the headrest, and instead of being forced to watch whatever in-flight movie they have, you get to choose. And the selection was amazing! There were more than 30 movies to choose from. There were also TV programs and music channels. I watched a Documentary on Baby Animals, Toy Story 2, and another documentary on White Rhinos. The console also had access to the flight information, so I could see how fast we were going, how high, and how long it would be until we arrived in Zurich, among other things. There was also dinner and breakfast, and extra snacks in the back you could get yourself. The flight attendants were very nice as well. All in all, it was a good time – important on a 12 hour flight.

Unfortunately, when we landed in Zurich our plane was delayed. Twice. And then, CANCELED. Apparently, the plane never got off the ground from Florence, Italy. So, Swiss Air chartered a touring bus that took us through Switzerland and finally into Germany, for a total of three hours. Much longer than the 50 minute flight that never was! Oh well. We arrived in Stuttgart at 10pm, about 4 hours later than expected, but were greeted with hugs and smiles by Mama and Papa. We stumbled up to our third floor guest suite and twin beds around 11pm after a quick dinner, pretty much exhausted. That was our first day in Germany! Our second day was pretty short…since we didn’t wake up until 3pm haha.

Speaking of Mama and Papa, they are AMAZING. It’s so unfortunate that they live so far away, because they are the nicest people and love Brian so much. After we had given them their presents the next night (Wednesday for us in Germany, Tuesday for y’all back home), they actually thanked US for staying with them. Mama and I get along so well, even if her English isn’t the best. Papa speaks much better English, but he is a little hard of hearing so you have to speak loudly. They have done so much to accommodate us – buying Brian’s favorite beer, cereal, etc. Our room had 2 packs of Haribo Gummy Bears and chocolate waiting for us when we arrived too. Mama took us shopping on Thursday to the supermarket so we could pick out whatever we wanted for the week. So nice! We of course have been helping around the house – I dry the dishes and put them away for Mama after every meal.

So Thursday was shopping day, and we got our bus passes as well. Now we take the bus and the subway wherever we need to go. And the buses are so nice and clean here! And always on time. Thursday around 6pm, after another nap (it’s so hard to get adjusted to the time!), we went for a walk around Hohenheim University, where Papa works, in the gardens. It was pretty windy, but we had a good time enjoying the fresh air and the creek. We went to the top of a hill where there is a gazebo overlooking the village and enjoyed the view. Then we went home for dinner.

Friday we took the bus and the subway downtown to Stuttgart so Brian could exchange his traveler’s checks for money. Unfortunately, the American Express Exchange store had closed! Thank goodness I decided not to get traveler’s checks, apparently no one really uses them anymore. And the bank Brian finally ended up choosing to exchange them at charged an exorbitant amount of money – 500USD netted him only 350EURO. Needless to say, Brian was a little grumpy for the rest of the day. I managed to choose the best bank according to Florian (Mama and Papa’s son and only child, and Brian’s best friend of ten years for those that don’t know) to use my Visa Check card at. I took out 200EURO, which converted to only 280USD on my bank statement. Yay! Anyway, after some arguing about money and where we were and what we were doing, Brian and I finally settled down and found a café to eat lunch at. I had kasespatzle (it’s kind of like Mom’s homemade macaroni and cheese but with longer noodles, more cheese, and usually chopped fried onions), a yummy green salad with citrusy-mustard dressing, and coffee. Brian even made me try his beer! It was okay. I don’t think I’m going to be taking up beer drinking anytime soon – even in Germany. We took some pictures in the courtyard of the palace, saw the church, and then we went back home.

That night after dinner Florian and his fiancé Ann (I can’t believe he didn’t tell us this! They got engaged in January. I noticed she had a ring on her hand that night, but they did not confirm it until Sunday) arrived. We gave them their presents, which they enjoyed. We all had a nice drink out in the winter garden (in Germany, a winter garden is like a sun room in the US) before heading to bed. Ann slept in Florian’s old room, and Flo slept on the couch.

So that was Monday (US time) – Friday (German time). I will write about Saturday – Monday in a different post as this one is getting very long! We can leave out yesterday and today, Wednesday, since nothing has happened except Brian working on his research (sort of) and much resting! :D