Hey there, everyone!

Now I get to tell you all about the last few weeks- including when my very good friend Morgan Steele came all the way from New York to visit me! It was awesome, especially because we haven't seen each other in over a year- not since New Years Eve 2009. It's because she's really smart and is always learning things at NYU. Anyway, after a little bit of a mix-up, she got to me here in Heidelberg, and we got to hang out for a few days. I took her to the castle, we ate

delicious food at Yufka's with Haleigh's friend, Casey, who came to visit the same weekend, we climbed the Heiligenberg and got to see the Thingstätte, a giant amphitheater the Nazis built, as well as Michaelskloster, St. Michael`s Monastery, which is in

an area that has been occupied since the time of the Celts, which is pretty darn neat.

(EDIT: Morgan's right, I was not nearly dramatic enough about climbing the mountain. The 10 hour long marathon event nearly claimed both our lives, as we created our own shelter out of leaves to protect us from the tornalizzarunami -tornado/blizzard/tsunami, duh-that swept through Heidelberg suddenly. Then we rescued kittens from a fiery inferno and took care of that pesky energy crisis and deficit the US is facing. You're welcome, world.)

A picture of the ruins of the Monastery are on the left.

Actually, though, we did meet some very sweet old men who thought we were lost (I was really just pausing to take a picture), and talked with us-by "us" I mean "me" because it was in

German-for a little while, asking where we were trying to go, where we were from, why Morgan wasn't talking as well, and when I said it was because she spoke only English, they didn't believe me that she was American because she didn't look American...whatever American looks like. They spoke a little English, and told Morgan that "ze German boys are very nice," which was very kind of them.

Morgan left on Monday afternoon, and headed to Berlin, where she stayed for the rest of the week. It was so great for her to visit- I was really glad she came! Like I said before, Casey, a friend of Haleigh`s was also in Heidelberg for the week, so I got to hang out with her a little- we cooked some delicious food. On Saturday when she left, Haleigh and I dropped her off at the airport, and headed to Köln (Cologne) to see the Chocolate Museum that I had missed last time I was there. It was pretty neat, I`m definitely glad I took the opportunity to check it out! There was even a cocoa tree they had growing in a greenhouse area, which I had never seen before, that`s for sure.

When we were in Cologne, we got to see this cool fence where couples lock padlocks onto it to symbolize their love- it`s really neat. It goes for the entire length of the bridge which crosses the Rhein. There are some really neat locks, some with the names of the couple, some with sweet messages to each other. The red one, in German, below, says "because we love each other, Claudia and Dieter" which I think is just so sweet (and what typical German names)!

More visitors, and life around HD

Last we spoke, I told you about my parents visiting, and subsequently, leaving. Sad, yes, but the very next day, my friend Jen Sacklin came for a visit! She's a Linfield graduate working for the Spanish government teaching English in Mallorca, Spain! Fancy! (I can't say that without imagining my little -she's six-sister saying "fancay dancay!" like she used to a few years ago) Anyway, Jen was taking a little jaunt around Germany visiting friends, and I got to show her around Heidelberg for about a day.

She got in Monday afternoon, and after meeting her at the train station and walking her back to my place, we went for a walk around HD- I showed her the Alte Brücke, and the view of the Schloss from it, the Neckar River

and some of the Altstadt. We chose a perfect time to go, because we got to see the gorgeous sunset right as

wewere on the Alte Brücke, which meant we got some great pictures! We drank the (free!) beer I told you about last time-it was delicious-and talked a lot, which was really nice. I enjoyed hearing her perspective on the Linfield study abroad experience, and also on life after college

in general.

While I went to class on Tuesday morning, she explored the castle, and after I was done, we decided to go visit the Heiliggeistkirche, which is in the middle of the Altstadt, and one of my favorite places to visit, especially because it is only €,70 to climb to the top (which, of course, we did). After we spent a little while up there, and got to watch a couple boats go through the lock in the river, she decided to go back to Mainz a little early, in order to see the Gutenberg museum (something I have done twice now, and would highly recommend, if you ever find yourself in Mainz, Germany), so we headed back to my place to grab her stuff, and booked it to the train station. Luckily we got there in time, and she made it to Mainz safely. Next time we see each other, it will be in Spain! ¡Viva España!

A week later, so last week, it was the end of the Fasching (Karnival, Mardi Gras, etc.) season, so on Sunday, Haleigh and I decided to go to Mannheim to watch their Fasnacht parade and soak up some culture.

Unfortunately, apart from some very delicious Turkish food I got for lunch, it was kind of a disappointment. We waited around a while before anything really happened (although we did get to hear our favorite song), and then the parade was kind of a letdown. Some of what we saw is on the right.

Tuesday, the official last day of the season, there was another parade, and this time it was in Heidelberg, and it was way fun! Haleigh and her language partner Eva and I all met up and watched it together. Having Eva there was helpful, because she helped explain some of the intricacies to us. For example, in each

city, there is a different term that the people of that town use at Fasnacht to greet one another. In Mannheim, it is ahoi, said "ahoy" (don`t really know why Mannheim has such nautical tendencies), but in Heidelberg, the term sounds something like "heyo." At the Umzug, or parade, there were different groups of people dressed up in ridiculous costumes, or floats of people, each affiliated with a club or organization or business, who throw candy, boxes of matches, pocket packs of tissues, hair clips, Capri-Suns or schnapps. It is a strange amalgamation of free things one can receive at this parade. The parade lasted an hour or so, and then we headed to an after party, and then home. It seemed strange that it was a Tuesday afternoon, because everyone was partying like it was a Friday night.

Next blog: A friend from high school comes to Germany to hang out with me!

Adventures with Family!

Hello everyone!

So the past few weeks or so have been pretty busy, but in a good way! My mom, stepdad and brother came to visit me about a week and a half ago, and stayed until last Sunday. We bought German Rail Passes and traveled a ton. It was seriously crazy- Saturday they got here, Sunday we stayed in Heidelberg, Monday we went to Köln (Cologne), Tuesday we went to Basel, Wednesday we took a much-needed break and stayed in Heidelberg, Thursday we went to Stuttgart and Ulm, Friday we went to Mainz, and Saturday was a day of packing and last things in Heidelberg.

It was great to see them all, and I had so much fun showing them around this city that I love so much. I took them to Yufka's, the döner place friends and I eat at like at least twice a week (we're basically regulars which is fun. The people recognize us by now), and we got to try out delicious typical German food restaurants that I never got around to going to because I didn't have the excuse/need/money to do so. We ate some delicious food, let me tell you.

Traveling so much meant long days, but I got to circle more cities on my map of Germany, so it was totally worth it. Köln is somewhere I've been wanting to visit, but had been saving it as a place we could visit for the first time together. Unfortunately, because it was a Monday, the other things we wanted to do: visit the German-Roman Museum, visit the Chocolate Museum and the Mustard Museum, were all closed. We were super bummed, but the Dom was so incredible, I'm not sorry we went, I just wish we had known and had decided to go a different day. Oh well, life is for learning, right?

I had been to Basel before, with Brian, and I liked it enough to bring my family there- we even got off at the "wrong" stop again so I could walk them through the (in my opinion, at least) prettier part of the city. The last time I was there, it was a beautiful, sunny day, but this time it was, unfortunately, not, so we were pretty cold. We found warmth, though, in a pretty church, a museum that we ended up not actually touring, and a coffee shop.

Stuttgart and Ulm were unintended visits. We had planned on going to the Bodensee, Lake Constance, but after realizing it took at least 3, if not 4 hours to get there from Heidelberg, we decided to stay a little closer to home. Stuttgart is the most industrial city of the places we visited- it was a totally different feel than provincial Heidelberg, or historically famous Cologne. I felt like it was more businessey despite the fact that there were residences of dukes and kings in the middle of the city. We only saw the Ulmer Münster in Ulm, the cathedral which is really

pretty (and cold!). It's famous for being super tall, but I actually didn't climb it because we didn't

have a ton of time, and it was also so cold we didn't really feel like it. I'd like to go back, though.

We decided to go to Mainz and check out the Gutenberg Museum We decided to go to Mainz and check out the Gutenberg Museum, just because I enjoyed it so much the last time I went, while visiting a friend who, incidentally, I happened to run into while at the museum. It was quite the fortuitous event- she was able to guide us to a good place for lunch where something pretty cool

happened.

At this restaurant, the Eisgrub-Bräu, our waitress heard me speak in English to my family, but order in German, and so knew that I spoke both languages. A few minutes after she had taken our orders, and we had gotten out drinks, she comes over and asks me to follow her, because they needed my help. I was a little confused, but I got up and followed her into the kitchen,where a group of concerned-looking people promptly handed me a phone. “Hello?” I

asked. “Yeah, hi! I’m trying to make reservations for tomorrow, I was wondering if there were any openings…” I quickly realize that she speaks no German, and was having trouble making these reservations, so I follow the manager to a back room where she opens a book of reservations, and proceed to translate reservations for a group of 11 at this restaurant. It was one of the coolest feelings I’ve ever had, let me tell you. I felt so useful, and happy at being able to help…it was wonderful. I felt even cooler when the waitress came over to our table a few

minutes later and asked if we liked beer, to which I responded (obviously) “yes!” and then gave me a liter Fläsche of their house brew as a thank you. It was pretty neat.

I took approximately a thousand pictures of everywhere we went, a few of which you have the pleasure of viewing here on this very blog! Lucky you.

From the top: the Kölner Dom, my brother kicking it at the Heidelberg Castle, a view of Köln, the Rhein and part of the tower from the top, a cool bench (it says "Gutenberg" in case you can't tell) outside the Gutenberg Museum, and a mosaic inside the Ulmer Münster in Ulm.