GODS!!! Is it Tuesday yet? Nevermind... I don't want it to be Tuesday... that would mean I have to go back to work...
So anyway... as you can see from the updates (and check back a few days... I've posted my travel journal), I'm home. I'm tired... I may not be completely coherant right now... We got up at 4:45 am, German time, to finish our last minute packing and get to the airport by 6am. We didn't stop for breakfast at the hotel. We waited until we checked in to do that. Our plane to Munich (for some reason, we couldn't get a direct flight out of Hamburg when Mom booked... so we had to fly to Munich to flight back over Hamburg and home...) left at 9:10 am, arriving in Munich 1/2 an hour before our flight home was supposed to leave. To make matters worse, we landed on the opposite end of the airport from where our flight was boarding so we got our morning exercise trying to get to the plane on time...
I've gotta say though that I really prefer checking in for flights in Germany, as opposed to the new baggage checks LAX has put in since 9/11... At LAX, you have to go check in for your flight, go back to the entrance to the departure terminal to send your bag through the X-ray and then you're not allowed to touch your bag after that. You're only allowed to follow your bags back to the check in counter to be loaded onto the belt. In Germany, the machine to check your non-carryon bags is RIGHT THERE IN THE BLOODY LINE!!! None of this running back and forth... You put your bag through the machine and check in. Simple... easy... But why am I not surprised? I don't know if it's like this in other international American airports, but LAX just seems so ass backwards.
OH!! I forgot in my last update!! Mom and I went to Externsteine. My German relatives thought I was crazy for wanting to see a bunch of big rocks again, but I really wanted to see it again. I climbed up both rocks that have stairs (huffing a lot as I went). I even laid a flower on the altar stone that's on the second rock... Of course no sooner had Mom and I started down the rock when a bunch of kids got to the top, one of them who proceeded to SIT on the altar and pick my flower apart... Unfortunately, I don't know how to say "It's very rude to sit on someone's altar!" in German... Oh well... my part was done... and dumbass that I was I had to walk all the way back to the car before I could properly ground myself.
Oh wel... GAH!! So much to do!! And my email is still downloading... ANd I need to go call for a pizza because there's no food in the house... Sleep now?
Staying now with my cousins in Ulezen, after three more days with the Wulfingen family. Three days of non-stop going. For easter, Onkle W took us all to a nice lunch and then to a large outdoor museum in Detmold. After we got back to Wulfingen, everyone but me went to the village Easter Fire, while I stayed at home, still recovering from my cold... as much as I would have loved a good bonfire...
The next day was Easter Monday (yes... they have Easter Monday... we're not sure if this is of religious signifigance or if it's just a day set aside to recover from the Easter Fires...). Shops were still closed but the trains were running so we took one from Hannover to Bremen for some site seeing.
The day after we had a long car ride to Berlin. I was a little apprehensive about going with all the terrorist attacks and threats lately (I figured there had been either an attack or an alert in 2 European capitals... Berlin could be next), but nothing happened and we had a great time in a beautiful city...
I admit that I've been a bit blasphemous though... One of the churches we went into was the Cathedral of St Hedwig... that sits on what was once the Eastern sided of the city... For some reason, being in Berlin sent Hedwig and the Angry Inch running through my head so I took a picture of the cathedrel, with plans to play in Photoshop...
After that, we went to the Cathedral of Berlin. I went down a couple of times to visit with the Dead German Emperors in the crypt. We then went up to the top of the curch for a view of the city. Finally, after a nice dinner at the Fehrnseher Turm, we had a long drive home, returning at 1 am...
The pace of the trip so far has prompted us to spend our time with the Ulezen family mostly resting. I don't think I've gotten out of bed before 11am thes last few days.
But that is to end tomorrow, when we leave for Hamburg. We have to get up at 4 am Monday morning to catch our flight... ew...
Hey there all my peeps. (BTW: I apologize for any typoes... I´m working off of a German keyboard and not all the keys are in the right spot.)
So anzwaz... checking in, as I was ordered. Mom and the family (Must remember that the Z and the Y have been switched) are out for a walk. Iäve been sick since yesterdaz... The first day we don´t get rained on or snowed on or hailed on and THAT´S when I get sick... GRRRRRRR...
Oh well... Other than being sick, I´m having a great time. Iäve been keeping a small travel journal, which will be the first new updates in my real journal when I get back. Anzwaz... Talk to Yas all laterz!!!
It's hard to write things down when traveling with Mom. She always has to know what I write about.
Saturday, we got to our cousins in Munich. Sunday the shops were closed so our cousins took us to the cloister on the Holy Mount Andrechs for beer and lieberkaise (I've gotten over my aversion to the stuff created by the literal translation of the word...) I've decided that monks and nuns make some of the best alcohol...
Monday we left Munich and went to Saltzburg, instead of Heidleberg. Spent half the day touring the fortress and the city below. Esowolf's mom would love being up in those mountains. It was very beautiful..
After we left Saltzburg, we drove a long way back north to stay in Bamberg. The next day we did some walking around the churches and stuff before heading to Fulda.
Wednesday we spent in Fulday. My legs and ass now hurt from all the walking we've done because I'm so badly out of shape. We walked around the city, did some shoping and such before heading to my cousins in Wulfingen, where we solidified our plans for the next week before heading for Bad Nenndorf to see Tante B and Onkle D. They're such wonderful old people. We had a nice lunch of cabbage rolles and potatoes, before driving to Luebeck, to stay with Tante U.
Today, I woke up under the weather. It seems every time I come to Luebeck I get sick. I love this city but it likes to get me sick... What really sucked is that today was the first day it hadn't rained or hailed or snowed on us the whole trip...Grrrr...
But we spent the morning touring Luebeck anyway... Ever since the first time we came here I've been able to find my way by the church towers in the old city. It's my favorite way to navagate.
Being that today was Good Friday, all the stroes were closed, but Neideregger was open so I could go on my raid of the place. Being that it was Easter, I was even able to buy non-marzipan goodies for Mischa!!
We spent an hour or so in the Marien church (St Mary's) watching these biker guys bring in crosses from all over the city. Every half hour they'd lug in a new one, the organ would play, the priests would say something and then there would be some kind of musical solo... This was supposed to go on from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm today... It was interesting. Not particularly a religious experience for me, being Pagan and all, but this was the first time I had been in a church in Germany when the organ was played so that was nice.
Went back to Tante U's after another stop in Niederegger and spent the rest of the day in bed, taking many drugs to rid myself of this damned cold... We then went to dinner with Tante H in the Luebeck Rastskeller.
Being Pagan and forgetting what day it was, I ordered steak, whick Mom, Tante U and Tante H had fish... The aunts seemed to be a little weirded out b this but they didn't say much...
SO now to bed. The drugs are kicking in...
Stayed the night in Weisenbach. Didn't make it to Freudenstadt as planed... Good thing... The roads were high and windy... The Black Forest is very beautiful!!
Mom's become obsessed with pine cones...
Arrived in Frankfurt without incident. Well, nothing more major than the guy sitting next to me deciding to get up and pass out near the restrooms.
Mom doesn't know how to work German pay phones... ::sigh::
Spent 5 minutes waiting for 3 elevatores in the rental car pickup because Mom had to make sure she got the car she wanted..
Mom just realized that I didn't show my driver's license to the rental car lady so Sixt thinks we have only the one driver... Guess that makes me designator navagator... Oh well... So I don't learn how to drive stick... Mom's a lousy map reader anyway....
Lost my sunglasses on the plane... I'm going blind!!
Get house keys copied X
Get international drivers license X
Exchange $300.00 for Euros X
Finish packing
Give house keys to Mischa X
Talk to Esowolf about paying some bills for me X
Make pouch X
Vacuum living room
Empty all trash cans
Wash all dishes
Do laundry X
Re-dip crystal X
Get batteries X
Set up Out-of-Office message X
Get purple jelly pens X
Transfer stuff to new purse X
Get shampoo, conditioner, witch hazel, etc X
Re-color hair X
Get blank tapes X
Program VCR for Charmed and Angel X
Get car washed - Not gonna get done...
Things to do before I leave the country...
Get house keys copied X
Get international drivers license X
Exchange $300.00 for Euros X
Finish packing
Give house keys to Mischa X
Talk to Esowolf about paying some bills for me X
Make pouch X
Vacuum living room
Empty all trash cans
Wash all dishes
Do laundry X
Re-dip crystal X
Get batteries X
Set up Out-of-Office message X
Get purple jelly pens X
Transfer stuff to new purse X
Get shampoo, conditioner, witch hazel, etc X
Re-color hair X
Get blank tapes X
Program VCR for Charmed and Angel
Get car washed
Get house keys copied X
Get international drivers license X
Exchange $300.00 for Euros X
Finish packing
Give house keys to Mischa
Talk to Esowolf about paying some bills for me X
Make pouch X
Vacuum living room
Empty all trash cans
Wash all dishes
Do laundry
Re-dip crystal X
Get batteries
Set up Out-of-Office message X
Get purple jelly pens X
Transfer stuff to new purse X
Get shampoo, conditioner, witch hazel, etc X
Re-color hair
Get blank tapes X
Program VCR for Charmed and Angel
Get car washed
Get house keys copied
Get international drivers license
Exchange $300.00 for Euros
Finish packing
Give house keys to Mischa
Talk to Esowolf about paying some bills for me
Make pouch X
Vacuum living room
Empty all trash cans
Wash all dishes
Do laundry
Re-dip crystal X
Get batteries
Set up Out-of-Office message X
Get purple jelly pens
Transfer stuff to new purse
Get shampoo, conditioner, witch hazel, etc
Re-color hair
Get blank tapes
Program VCR for Charmed and Angel
Get car washed