Monthly Archives: May 2011

They’ll Build a Statue of Us

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Things in Germany are wonderful.  Absolutely loving being abroad.  It is our group’s last night in Mainz, and I am a bit sad.  I am in love with this city and am sure I will miss it.  Tomorrow is Stuttgart, where we will meet up with that city’s library school.  I am quite excited for that bit.

I wandered Mainz today by myself.  Window shopping and getting used to speaking minor German (Ja!) was perfect.  I get that whole “Eat, Pray, Love” thing…being abroad has shown a lot of strength I never knew in myself.  I love being able to take in my surroundings, not be in a rush, and learning about another culture.  It has been a blessing.

So, next is Stuttgart then to Munich.  Off to more German adventures, including: watching the Man U/Barcelona game at a bar, tour of the BMW museum, and finding a few more souvenirs to bring back (especially for you Tiff!).

Erin has been a wonderful travel buddy.  We took in a few of the sights before we left to go back to the hotel tonight and we’re ready to explore more tomorrow!

Off to bed for the evening, gotta get up super early and make it to the train station.

Just Touched Down in Londontown

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Well, I did touch down in London.  Yesterday.  Spent seven hours waiting in Heathrow for my flight to Frankfurt to then catch a train to Mainz, where I am now.  Of course, tons of twists and turns were tossed in…

Heathrow was great.  I, of course, spent too much money there, but that happens when the dollar is super weak against the pound and you are running on no sleep.  I had a decent (read: not that great) lunch at Pret, got a Manchester United shirt, a few things from Harrods and a book.  I walked around the councourse a lot and patiently waited for my flight to Frankfurt.

Frankfurt is where things got shaky, literally as I got off the plane.  I am a complete klutz to begin with, so it is no surprise I fell down the stairs leading from the plane.  (Mind you, I laughed at the YouTube video of the guy tumbling down the plane stairs.)  This time, it was me.  I hopped up, still holding my luggage, and kept on going.  I needed to get a train ticket to get to Mainz, so I ran to the kiosks where you could purchase them through a computer.  However, most of the computers were out, and I was in a rush, and I don’t know the language, and I was tired…and I got on the train INTO Frankfurt rather than away to Mainz.  I had to pay more Euro to get the other direction, and an hour later I made it back to Mainz.  I strolled around and have been happy since. 

Mainz is a cute town, and reminds me a lot of Madison.  The population is similar and the cute pedestrian areas really do remind me of Cap Square and State Street.  While here, I found the Steiff badger I have been admiring, got some new Stabillo pens, and have tons of Haribo candy to bring back to the States.  Lavazza espresso is fantastic, and so is spaghetti ise, which is gelato shaped to look like spaghetti.  Yummm.  I have fallen in love with Ditsch pretzels here…going to be difficult to top stateside.

I should be sleeping…it is 1:37 here, but is 6:37 p.m. back in Wisconsin.  I had no problems falling asleep yesterday, but after such a busy day, as well as the fact that I am so disoriented with time, I have not had the desire to sleep yet.  I am getting a bit tired now (the sleeping aid pills shouldn’t hurt) so I should try to sleep once again.

Won’t Settle For Less

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There is a pile of Toms shoes right under my feet at the couch at my childhood house.  A bit of my apartment here at home.

Embarassingly, I forgot my camera at my apartment.  Ooops.  Luckily, while watching Glee this afternoon, I relalized I left it at home while watching a camera commercial.  To solve this problem, Sue and I ran to Wal-Mart and grabbed a new Nikon.  Brand new camera, brand new adventure.  I’m quite excited.

I’ll be leaving the United States at 7 p.m. tomorrow, getting to the airport at four.  It’ll be a long day, with lots of coffee, but I am super excited for this adventure.  Ready to drink good beer in Germany.  That is what I am most excited for!

Hope you are all doing well.  Enjoy your summer beginnings — I’ll be back in two weeks!