Well folks, I am traveling again, this time in Germany! Great to be back in Europe after almost 10 years! Ahh, so nice to be on vacation. This is my first vacation since I've been done with school.
This was Nate's idea, as he has been wanting to visit his brother over here who is stationed in the Army in Baumholder (near Frankfurt). So he asked me to join him. Nate lived here as a child for 2 years, and then came back a few times in his 20's while he did time in the Army (now Nate's no longer in the military, thank God). First time I've traveled abroad with a boyfriend! We shall see how it goes. I think it will be great. We don't have lots of money, so we'll do as much as we can afford, and stay with the brother on base part of the time to save money. Europe is obviously WAY more expensive than India, so we'll be watching the spending pretty tightly.
We arrived yesterday, and I am *almost* on Germany's schedule, although I am wide awake right now at 5am, so that's why I'm up typing. But for the most part I am pretty adjusted. Germany is 8 hrs ahead of Seattle. It is so nice to be here in an apartment, have a kitchen & someone to show us around! I've never been on a military base before - but this apartment is quite large & roomy, and has a gigantic sized bathtub!
I have grown accustomed to the wild adventurous travel in India & Asia, where culture shock can make you almost puke upon arrival... but this trip will be WAY more mellow - such a pleasant ride home we had, from the airport - Nate's brother picked us up and we drove the Autobahn (spelling?) that has no speed limits, but even so the traffic was pleasant and much like home. We drove about an hour through the countryside, through expansive vinyards & fields, dotted with cottages & red-roofed (rooved?) houses. We rested up at the apartment, then went out in town for dinner. Not a lot to eat in Germany for vegetarians, but I had a great tomato (spelled tomatoe in German!) soup & bread, and some delicious German beer. It was nice to chat with Nate's brother - he's an interesting fellow, and I got to hear many stories from their teenage years... (Let's just put it this way, I'm glad Nate has grown out of the party stage!! Sounds like he was quite the wild child.)
We were planning on taking a train down to the Bavarian Alps today, but we changed our minds and will head there on Monday instead, so that we can spend Fri, Sat & Sun with Nate's brother and go to Heidelberg & Rothenburg by car. So the next few days we will do smaller trips around here. I can't wait to try some German pastries & chocolates, mulled wine & of course more creamy German beer.
Well that is all for now! Let the adventures begin! Love to all.
Oh yes, and here is my favorite piece of clothing I packed for the trip - A warm wool sweatercoat, in a lovely pea green. It seems to go with everything and add warmth to my winter coat. Of course it's from Anthropologie.
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