The Italian Stallion...or whatever a female horse is called

I worked a lot yesterday...and I mean I worked A LOT. By the time I was done spackling a bedroom, I felt like the cobblestone and the cracks in buildings needed some mortar too. Really. That’s how I felt.

Two days ago, Sheila found out I was Italian, and yes, I am Italian. My mother’s father was from Milan, Italy. She said that I’ve always looked European and that maybe that’s why I like Europe so much.

Hmmm. I do really love Europe. I love the people, the atmosphere, the way of life. It all seems so down to earth, which is a cliché phrase that I really do not use all that often. I have been called “down to earth” and it’s a label that I somewhat agree with, so with that in mind, maybe that is why I love Europe. It’s a small part of me, but a part nonetheless, and I guess I feel and embrace it more than others.

Being here the five days that I’ve had has really put a dent in me. I’ve began to think about things in a different light. Maybe I shouldn’t jokingly antagonize people as much as I do. Maybe I should have learned more German before I came, and maybe I learn to be less shy. Now, don’t get me wrong; I don’t want to change myself because of others, but I do want to live in such a way that I don’t regret not doing something because I was too shy. And maybe that’s everyone else’s goal too, but it’s definitely something I’m going to work on while I’m here.

Here’s what I’ve done so far to combat this (please excuse the spelling—it’s easier to say):

I can now order one or two scoops of any flavor of ice cream. (Svei kugel de vanille bitte.)

I can also ask for bread in the bakery. (Fufe normal brochen bitte.)

Well. that’s all I can actually say, but it’s helping my confidence. I also talked to a lady in the airport. It’s nice that I’m actually using what I learned at my Daniels Scholarship program. We had the distinct privilege of listening to a lady named Deborah Fine, who wrote a book called the Art of Small Talk. She was very charismatic and I learned so much from her.

So far today, we went on a 16 km bike ride. It may have been less, but the sign definitely said 7.6 km to Traben-Trarbach when we were in Krov, which is where we stopped to go swimming and get ice cream. We had the pool all to ourselves because everyone else is still in school. I really cannot believe I rode that far. Now, I did have to stop and walk a couple of times (on hills mostly), but as hard as that was for me, I’m pretty proud of myself for going that far.

Well, I have to go and mentally prepare myself for tonight or tomorrow or the next warm day. If it is nice out and the Mosel River clears up and slows down, I told Robert I’d jump off the bridge into the river. Don’t think I’ll do it? Just you wait!!!

Germany is not France

I’ve definitely noticed lots of differences between France and Germany, so here they are in a list form:

Houses are built differently and therefore look different. The houses in Germany seem less elegant. Around the Mosel River, all the houses are built with this black slate-like stone. It is essential for growing grapes and is extremely abundant, so they used it for everything, even the shingles on the roof.

Germans don’t just sit around eating cheese and I miss that. In France, your afternoon/all day snack is cheese and bread. You eat it all day long and it is amazing! Not here in Germany though.

Ice cream is everywhere in Germany. I have literally eaten ice cream every day that I have been here. I didn’t take pictures of the first two cones but I got one of the one I had today. I think that’s what I’m going to do for now on: eat ice cream everywhere I go and take a picture—just once a trip. For this trip, however, I will eat it every day and take a picture every day.

There are more sidewalks in France. Here in this town, the sidewalks are very small and almost makeshift. They are just an extension of the road, with some bricks that separate it. That’s about it.

Well there’s four. That’s all I got for now. Here are some similarities:

Roundabouts are everywhere (and in most of Europe.)

It doesn’t get dark until very late in the night.

The windows are the same. You do a quarter turn of the knob/handle to make it swing open and a half turn to make just the top open.

It is very green, but all the foliage might be a bit denser here in Germany.

Time is a very relative matter. For buses and trains and things like that time is absolute, but you can definitely find yourself eating breakfast at noon and dinner at eight or nine I the evening.

That’s all for now. I’ll try to get pictures up in the next post. Like I said, I have to walk down the street to the wifi hotspot and my battery on my laptop (I’m using my old one now) only lasts twenty minutes. I’m actually prewriting all of this and posting it later when I get a chance. If you have a Facebook, I’ve posted some pictures there.

Traben-Trarbach

So it's been a nice couple of days here in Germany. The first day I was here, I was able to see the town. Lorraine calls it the Manitou Springs of Germany. It's definitely a tourist town and there are always people stopping and looking at our house because it's connected to a round castle-like tower. It's been a bit chilly here. They said it was nice the days before I came but now it's always overcast.

This is wine country. Mosel wine is world renowned because the weather here and the terrain is just right for growing perfect grapes. Even the rocks in the ground contribute to the grapes.

We went swimming yesterday in the local swimming pool. Some other attractions from that day included seeing a Roman ruin and some naked people when we accidentally went into an all nude sauna...no big deal...just a bit disturbing. :)

Today we are taking a ferry ride on the Mosel today. Like I said, it's a bit chilly, but I'll live. I'll try to post more pictures soon. It's hard when you have a laptop with a 20 minute battery and have to walk to a wifi hotspot. It's not that bad though. Well talk to you all soon, and today is Robert's birthday so happy 17th Robert!

I'm here!

Well I arrived this morning and I am exhausted! It was a very turbulent flight, and I had trouble finding Robert at the airport but I made it and I love it! I do have a hard time finding wifi so these will be random posts. Talk to you all soon!
Here's a picture of the street where I can find the wifi hotspot. Not good quality but you get an idea of what it all looks like here.