So as promised here are some photos from Landstuhl. Frau Peaceman and I spent some time going through a photo album she compiled of my first and second grade classes. There were also some writing samples which were both adorable and hilarious. An excerpt from Olivia at five "Today we went on a nater walk. We brout plastick bags so we cood gather trash, and stiks, and leavs and beris." God I was gifted. But it was pretty fun to see how much I really have changed over the years, and how much my beautiful mama has changed too

The quality is pretty poor, but you get the idea, and also can I get a few "awws"? Because I was an adorable child, and also very humble, and of course lucky to have such amazing adults in my life :) 

Other amazing things; our old landlord Herr Brumer is still alive!!! Which was just crazy to me because I very acutely remember him as being at least 400 years old, so I guess he lived to be 412. Good for him. He was out in the garden on Saturday doing yard work (as per usual) and astoundingly enough he actually remembered me, and thought it was very neat that he got to meet me all grown up (oh and also mom and dad he says hi). Needless to say it was a great experience all in all and I really hope that I can make it back to say hello again before my stay in Germany is over. 

The ultimate blast from the past; sleeping in your childhood room

As of yesterday I have been visiting Landstuhl, my childhood home, where my childhood Deutsch Lehrerin, Frau Peaceman, now lives in my childhood home. Needless to say, it is unsettling reminiscent of my childhood. My house looks exaclty the same, just curiously about half the size of what it was 12 years ago when I lived there. My bedroom still has the same blue flowered wall paper on the walls, and the stairs that Bennett and I used to climb are now within a reachable distance with both feet on the floor. It's weird. Today we drove by the corner where I was run over by a car for the first time, oh sweet memories (sorry to bring up the trauma again Mom). I also had the unique experince of participating in water aerobics geared towards geriatrics. It was somewhat embarassing, but also a surprisingly good workout. The older German gentlemen seemed to enjoy my bikiniclad-self being there just a little bit too much though. And for a change of pace, now I have spent all day today around people much younger than me as opposed to much older. I have been helping Frau Peaceman teach her middle school German classes, and it has been great for my self esteem. There's nothing like hearing a bunch of American 12 year olds try to speak German; it makes one feel pretty boss-like. Also the 7th grade boys getting nervous around the "college girl" is pretty entertaining. Tonight I will be playing in Frau Peaceman's orchestra with her, and I cannot wait. Childhood dream achieved.
For the sake of my parents I will post pictures of the old digs shortly, despite the fact that they have shrunk so drastically.

When the hikes get longer the beers get bigger...

Today I learned some new things about myself, well not really new persay, but I definitely confirmed that I am not (and probably never will be) and athletic person. After the 3 mile hike up a hill to see a tower, some very large beers were in order (1 liter of beer in one serving to be exact). But despite the unwelcome physical exertion, it was a nice little outing. We only got lost like four times, and we got to see some pretty amazing views. Luckily the weather here today was beautiful, 75 degrees and sunny. Unfortunately I have yet to invest in any sunscreen though, so my lily white face suffered a bit. But it was worth it in the end, we could see all the way to France up there.

Panoramas to come on facebook so stay posted!

In other news I am venturing to Landstuhl this coming weekend to visit my childhood home and my 1st grade teacher Frau Peaceman. I am going to play my violin in her orchestra with her, and I couldn't be more excited. She is the reason I started playing, and I feel as though I am achieving a life long goal. But between now and then it's back to the grindstone (AKA school), and even though I am really looking forward to really starting my life here it will be bitter sweet to say goodbye to this lovely extended spring break I happened into. On that note it's off to bed for me and off to classes early tomorrow. 

Guten Nacht!

For those of you who are Game of Thrones fans, Harrenhal is in Heidelberg. The Schloss here was built for war, and destroyed by it. One of the reasons I decided to come to Heidelberg is because it is one of the only German cities that wasn't destroyed at all by WWII. So silly me thought that meant the whole city is over 600 years old. But alas it is not. Apparently in the 16th century (or sometime around there) the French came in and basically just burned everything to the ground, so it's all a lie. Except for die Alte Brücke, der Schloss and der Hotel Ritter everything is (by German standards) pretty brand stinking new (even though it's still all older than the US). The Schloss is unique though, in that the city of Heidelberg has refused to rebuild any part of it, so there it sits, in all of its destroyed glory looking down on the townspeople, as a reminder of what this town has survived. I kind of like the fallen towers and crumbling rock, it has a certain character about it. My favorite part of the castle however was this lovely mysterious hole in the wall; anyone care to guess what purpose it serves? I'll give you a hint; it is found in the dining hall

Any guesses???

Well it's a lovely Medieval status symbol called a Vomatorium. It is for one to vomit in when one has eaten too much, and only people with real swag had them. And since we're on the topic of swag, inside of the Heidelberg Schloss wine cellars is nestled the largest wine barrel in the world.  I would put a picture, but the thing has a staircase on it and an entire room built around it, so it's a bit hard to capture on film. It's something one must see in person. But for some perspective it holds over 220,000 liters (58,000 US gallons) . We did however get some photos of the smaller wine barrel (about a fifth the size of the big one) which we mistakenly took for the famous Heidelberg Tun 

And this is the smaller barrel. 

Heidelberg is a town with a rich history, and there is definitely a lot to see here. I am however ready to do some traveling, and see some bigger and better things. Maybe Prague, maybe Paris, the opportunities are endless. But for right now the Schloss will do

The rain followed me over 5,000 miles from Seattle. Which is truly unfortunate, Heidelberg is beautiful in the spring, with the sun shining on the Neckar and adorable little tables outside of every coffee shop. In the rain it isn't quite so beautiful, but it does look like it came right out of a fairy tale nonetheless. Besides the rain, I have also experienced some other truly German traditions, like drinking exuberantly and visiting castles. The castle was great, and there was (almost) no paperwork involved. And if nothing else the German people can drink well, and for long periods of time. The clubs are pretty insane, and even though they are all playing top 40 hits from 2 months ago (if I hear Thriftshop one more time I might die), it's definitely worth the experience. There is nothing like trying to speak a second language (poorly) while intoxicated. I'm off to another day of riveting school orientations, but  more updates and pictures from the schloss later!

So wifi is a commodity here. In the US it's the easiest thing in the world to be hooked up to the "datasphere" 24/7, here not so much. It's a strange feeling being cut off from the entire world. My first night here I got to my new bedroom and realized that I had nothing to do... No phone to check.. no computer to stream videos on... I had a book to read at least, but it was nonetheless a very unnerving feeling. Something that you don't experience very often in the good ol' US of A. But regardless I am getting around and I found a German Starbucks with free wifi, so I think I'll just park it here for most of the day and cower in fear from German culture. Don't worry I won't do that, but the language is daunting. I keep getting myself into hairy situations in which people hear me say aufwiedersehen once and all of a sudden start rattling off in 200 km/h German, with a thick accent and I can't pick up a single word. No translate app to fall back on either. I can't believe we have only been here for three days though. I feel like we've just been doing paper work for three days straight. Our visit to Kaiserslautern was however very enjoyable. It was so nice to revisit old friends and childhood memories. I found a fountain in K-town that I remember visiting in the first or second grade. It's meant for kids and there is a fish to "ride" and take photos on. I have a picture of myself when I was five years old "riding the fish" with my buddies, and now I have the same photo 14 years later.... Enjoy. It's priceless

This will no doubt be the experience of a lifetime. Right now though I am feeling a little bit like a fish out of water, and I'm having a hard time breathing air. One thing's for sure though... we are a long way from home 

 (For those of you who can't see that, it says USA 6869 km which is over 4,200 miles)

A word to the wise. Do not mess with a German if you don't have the correct paperwork to do so. They will become very unhappy with you very quickly. We were almost kicked off of a train today for a mix up with paperwork, but all was well in the end. It has been a very long day(s) of travel, from Reno to Kaiserslautern via two airplanes and two trains. Luckily I was reunited with meine travel-buddys Sam und Kell in Dallas, so we have been able to conquer this new adventure together. Although if Sam had been kicked off the train there's a pretty good chance he would have been left behind, after all, when traversing foreign lands one must think like a pirate. Despite Sam's offensive accents and Kell's ridiculous banter, I have been glad for the company, as embarrassing as it can be at times.

Thankfully the travels for today are over, so it's time for a nap and probably a beer (we have somehow managed to make it for 12 hours in this country without trying the beer which is a travesty). Tomorrow it's off to Heidelberg and onto our new lives!