Just Your Average Weekend...

Happy Tuesday to you all!  I hope you all had a great weekend!  I know ours turned out to be quite fun... and VERY busy  (hence, the hiatus from blogging)! :)  Our friends, Aaron and Shannon, arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and we ended up meeting up with them later in the evening for a drink at one of the local restaurants.  Shannon and I immediately got our heads together and by the end of the evening, we had come up with our plan of "adventure" for the next few days...

On Thursday, we met up early and we wandered around Friedrichshafen.  She had a list of things that she wanted to do while here, so we worked on crossing some of the items off of her list that day (i.e. buying a baked good from the bakery... yum!).  We saw some of the sights of Friedrichshafen (which took about an hour considering the size of the city! :)), and then we headed off to Meersburg.  On the way to Meersburg, we wanted to stop at the church of Birnau.  We were driving there just fine, until we came upon a slight hitch... The car's navigation system was telling us to take some highway; however, the highway was under construction so we were being detoured off the highway.  Now, being that neither Shannon nor I speak German, which makes it kind of difficult to ask for directions, we opted to just listen to see if the navigation system would be able to reroute us.  Well, after driving around in circles about three different times and coming out to the exact same place on the highway that sent us on the detour to begin with, we decided to take matters into our own hands.  We ended up seeing a sign that said "Birnau", so we followed it... It took us about 2 kilometers down some back country road, and then through a vineyard (yes, we literally drove through a vineyard!!), and directly into the parking lot of the church of Birnau!!  We were pretty impressed with ourselves after that! :)  I mean, who needs a navigation system when you have two American women in a foreign country, who have no idea where they're going! :)  

The church of Birnau was quite an experience.  I had been there once before, but not for a very long stay, and there had been alot of tourists there with me.  This time, it was pretty much just Shannon and I, so we were able to stay for a while and take everything in... And, it was pretty amazing!   Here's a few pictures of it (And, remember, this is the church where you're not allowed to take pictures! :))... 

Shannon and I in front of the church... This is only the beginning of so many of our "self-portraits" this weekend! :)

The church of Birnau...

Inside the church of Birnau... Gorgeous!

After our time at the church, we headed off to the town of Meersburg to go visit a castle.  And, we managed to make it there without having to take any traffic detours.  However, once we arrived in Meersburg, it started to rain... Of course! :)  Being that it was rather cold, we were getting rained on, and we were unsure as to where the castle was located, we ran into the nearest cafe so that we could get out of the rain and try to warm up.  And, we are quite happy that we ended up there!  We found the greatest coffee in all of Germany in this little coffee shop!!  It was quite delicious... we had latte macchiatos with hazelnut syrup... YUM!!  I definitely plan on going back there!  While we sat in there and drank our coffee, the rain finally stopped... yay!  After we finished, we headed back out onto the streets and found the castle we were looking for.  

The Meersburg Castle was built in the 7th Century.  They allow people to do self-guided tours, so Shannon and I chose to do just that... Very cool!!  Here's a few pics from our castle tour...

Guess I can't complain about my kitchen anymore! :)  Their kitchen sink was a concrete block with a hole in the wall where the water poured out from... yikes!

Meersburg Castle... Built in the 7th Century...

The Knight Room... All of the knights met around this table... In the middle of the table is an elk's hoove with a drinking glass on top, from which they drank from... Lovely!

The view of Meersburg from the castle garden...

After the trip to Meersburg, we headed back into Friedrichshafen for dinner, and then a good night's sleep. :)  On Friday, Shannon and I took the ferry over to Konstanz to do a little sightseeing and shopping.   We opted to have the very German "rotewurst mit brot" for lunch while we were there... We were attempting to blend with the local culture, or at least we thought! :)  After the day in Konstanz, we headed back to Friedrichshafen, to have dinner with our guys at the one and only Pizzeria La Perla.  They have the greatest pizza at this place, and we wanted to let Shannon experience it!  :)  From there, we headed back to the apartment where we drank a few hefeweizens and had some of our other friends from Germany over for an evening of fun and alot of laughs! :)

Saturday morning we woke up and headed out to Freiburg and the Black Forest.  Freiburg is located about an hour and a half from here and we've been told that we should definitely check it out while we're over here.  It ended up being such a cute little city!  They have alot of little streams running through the city's sidewalks, and legend has it that if you accidentally step into one of the little streams while you're there, the city gets to keep you. :)  We took in some of the sights while we were there.  The most impressive being Freiburg Minster.... a cathedral dating back to 1220 and considered to be one of the largest buildings in Germany... It was a beautiful building!!

Notice the little stream flowing in the sidewalk?  I was pointing out the sign that said "Do not drink the water!" :)

The stonework on the inside of the Freiburg Minster cathedral was amazing!

Inside Freiburg Minster...

Freiburg Minster...

Freiburg Minster...

The stained glass windows inside Freiburg Minster...

After our trip to Freiburg, we decided to get adventurous, and since we were so close to the French border, we decided to head over there and check things out!  We ended up getting stuck in alot of traffic at the French border crossing, so we turned around to head back to Friedrichshafen, but instead, we found another route into France, that was much less congested... yippee! :)  

We ended up in the city of Strasbourg, France, and we spent a few hours just walking around.  Shannon and I just kept looking at each other and saying, "I can't believe that we're walking around in France!".  It was a great experience!! :)  My favorite part was when we walked around a corner and came across the most magnificent cathedral I have ever seen!!   It was the Cathedral de Notre Dame of Strasbourg, and it was absolutely breathtaking!!  The bells were ringing as we walked up to it, and it was such an amazing sight that no one was able to take their eyes off of it... We all just stood there in a stunned silence for the next few minutes... Once we were able to catch our breath, we took a few pictures and then went to explore the inside.  The inside was just as magnificent as the outside... Plus, we were able to observe a small mass that was taking place.  Can't say that you witness a mass in French every day! :)  Apparently, this cathedral was the first building constructed that was actually taller than the ancient Egyptian pyramids.

After the excitement of finding the cathedral, we decided to get something for dinner.  We figured that we were in France, so we might as well take advantage of it! :)  We ended up at Le Bartholdi Pub, where I ordered a mushroom crepe... France is known for their crepes, so I figured "When in France, do as the French...", and I ended up being quite happy with my selection. :)  After dinner, and a whirlwind day of sightseeing, we headed back to Freidrichshafen.  Here are a few pics of our day of sightseeing in France...

The Easter window display of a French chocolate shop... Doesn't it look like it comes straight out of a fairy tale?

 

Couldn't pass up the "Haute Couture" sign on the window... Love it! :)

The Cathedral de Notre Dame of Strasbourg...

Inside the cathedral...

Cathedral de Notre Dame of Strasbourg... Isn't it magnificent?!

A French side street at twilight...

A little French cafe... Very cute! 

Downtown Strasbourg, France

When in France, do as the French do... Of course, that meant eat a mushroom crepe... :)

Brian and I at dinner in France...

Aaron and Shannon after our whirlwind day of sightseeing... 

Aaron and Shannon left Sunday afternoon, and I have to admit that the apartment felt VERY quiet the rest of the day... We spent it trying to recover from a very busy, but extremely fun, weekend! :)  

On that note, I'm heading into town to meet my friend, Alex, for some shopping in Ravensburg.I apologize for the huge amount of pictures, but there were so many great photos that I wasn't sure how to narrow them all down! :)  I posted the rest of the pictures we took throughout the weekend on our Shutterfly photo site, so take a look if you're interested.  Have a great Tuesday!!  Miss you much!! 

Walking in the Wind...

Hey all!  Well, it looks like it's going to be another rainy day here... ugh!  I'm so ready for summer! :)  I'm currently getting ready so that I can go meet Shannon downtown and then we can get started on our day of exploring... Fun, fun! :)  

Yesterday was quite a busy day!  I had lunch at Lukullum with some of the English speaking people that I know... It was nice to be able to see some familiar faces again (after my 3 month hiatus from Germany! :)).  Lukullum is one of my favorite restaurants in the area.  It's a fun little place... The decor has a Bavarian feel to it, it has really great food, plus it's a very "Americanized" restaurant (it kind of reminds me of a German version of Applebee's)!  Brian and I tend to go there when we start feeling a little homesick for the U.S.. :)  

After lunch, I wandered downtown to look at a few shops.  As I was walking, I noticed that it was getting VERY windy and dark outside.  I then looked across the lake and I was quite impressed with what I saw!  And, of course, I just had to take a picture to share with you... Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera on me, so I had to use my iPhone to take this... 

 The clouds and lake were so dark, but the color of the mountains was so vibrant, they stood out from everything else...  It was a stunning sight... Unfortunately the pictures don't do it much justice! :) 

Well, I need to finish getting around so that I can catch the train into town.  I'm off to go exploring with Shannon today!  Have a great Thursday!  Miss you much!

Crazy Weather Patterns...

Hey all!  So, today's been kind of crazy in regards to the weather!  I woke up this morning to a very strong wind.  The kind that blows against the window so hard that it feels as if the windows might collapse...yikes!  After I got up and made a cup of coffee, I looked out the window again and found that it was very hazy and raining...  I couldn't even see the mountains across the lake.  Needless to say, I figured that it would be a day spent primarily inside. :)  A short time after that, I glanced out the window again and noticed the sunshine... Yes, it was bright and sunny outside, and I could see the mountains clearly across the lake... Very strange, but being that it was sunny, I definitely wasn't complaining!  Well, that didn't last long, because by the next time I looked out the window, it was snowing like crazy outside!!   And it snowed, and snowed, and snowed for about another 20 minutes before it cleared up, yet again.  And, you know it, about 20 minutes after that it started pouring down rain again... And the cycle continued like that all day long!  It was very bizarre weather! :)  And, it's definitely not helpful when trying to plan your daily activities! :)   

On another note, I have to tell you just how anxious I am... Brian's friend, and coworker, is coming out here this week for work... And the best part is that he's bringing his wife along, whom is also a friend of mine! :)  They are scheduled to get in tomorrow afternoon, and they're staying until Monday... yay!   Being that it's a business trip for Aaron, he will have to work (along with Brian), which means that Shannon and I have all day to travel around and hang out. I've got a list of places to go and things to do, and I guarantee that there's definitely not enough time in the day to get it all done! :)  They're our first visitors out here (or at least since I've been here), so I'm quite anxious to show them around... Very exciting!  :)

Well, I need to finish dinner... I have to say, since being here, I've started to enjoy cooking/baking.  Wow!  I can't say that I ever expected those words to come out of my mouth! :)  On tonight's menu, we have Italian chicken with Italian veggies,  and a baguette with garlic butter... yum! :)  I hope you all have a great day!  Miss you much! 

Austrian Ski Adventure...

Happy Monday everyone!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Brian and I definitely did! :)  For the most part, we had a pretty low-key, relaxing weekend... But, on Saturday, we decided to take advantage of the fact that I can now travel outside of Germany, so we opted to go skiing in Austria... yay!  What a great day for skiing it turned out to be! :)  

We woke up very early Saturday morning (much to my dismay... :))  and headed to Austria.  Brian likes to leave early so that we don't get caught in the excessive amounts of traffic that are also heading to popular ski resorts in the area.  After driving for over an hour, we arrived at Schruns ski resort around 8:20 and we were up on the top of the mountain, heading for our first run by 9 a.m.... crazy! :)  I told Brian that I didn't want to do any difficult runs considering that I wasn't familiar with the area... Plus, I noticed that the mountains in Austria were significantly bigger than the ones we skied on in Germany... yikes!  Brian informed me that he was only going to take me on the easier runs, so I didn't have anything to worry about... Or so I thought!  :)  We got off the lift at our first hill, and I looked down to see the route we were going to ski down, and panic immediately took over!!  I was looking down a hill that was larger than ANY hill I had ever skied down in my entire life... or at least that's what it felt like at that moment in time! :)   I stood there speechless for a moment, just staring down the hill, trying to make sense of the whole situation... My legs were shaking uncontrollably and my heart was racing!!  I looked at Brian and asked him where the easy slope was, to which his response was, "This is it".... Oh dear!   That's when I realized the difference between easy slopes in Michigan and easy slopes in Austria... Literally, an easy slope in Austria is comparable to a black diamond slope in Michigan!!  Now, those of you who know me, you know that I'm the type of skier that likes to ski down the easy slopes at a nice, leisurely pace, while taking in the scenery... I'm most definitely not a daredevil on skis!  :)

Well, as much as I wanted to get back on the chair lift and ride it back down to the bottom of the mountain, I knew that wasn't possible... So, I took a few deep breaths, managed to get my legs to stop shaking, sucked up my fear, and took off down the mountain.  Let's just say, I didn't look pretty or graceful on the way down, and I definitely didn't look like your typical skier.... But, I eventually made it down to the bottom in one piece... Yay! :)  For the rest of the day, Brian showed me some techniques that helped me to feel more confident in my skiing...  I'm very lucky to have such a understanding, supportive, and very patient husband! :)  By the end of the day, I was feeling better about my skiing abilities, and I felt much more calm than I had in the beginning of the day...  And, I'm happy to say that I only had 3 minor falls... woohoo! :)  Now, I just have to keep practicing and hope that eventually I'll be able to make it to the medium level slopes here!  :)

Overall, I really enjoyed our experience at Schruns, and I look forward to going back!  The ski resort is huge and it's VERY nice! :)  The scenery was amazing... There was a gorgeous view in every direction!  We stopped at one of the smaller lodges for lunch, and the food was delicious!  Brian had a piece of their infamous "apfel strudel mit sahne und vanille sosse" (apple strudel with whipped cream and vanilla sauce), and it definitely lived up to it's reputation... Mmm Mmm! :)  Oh, and the lifts were all high-speed chair lifts... there were no "T-Bar" lifts anywhere... which definitely made my day! :)  Although, I wasn't quite used to the "high-speed" of the chair lift, and my first time getting off of one turned into quite an event... It went faster than I was expecting, and before I could get my skis on the ground to ski off of the chair, I was suddenly being lifted back up and I was on my way back down the chair lift... uh oh!  I ended up having to jump off...  I have to admit though, I was quite impressed considering that I landed on my skis and proceeded to ski away after about a two-foot jump off of a speeding chair lift! :) 

We ended up skiing most of the day, and by the time we left, we were both pretty sunburnt and very tired... The rest of the weekend was spent trying to recuperate. :)  We had our friends Eva and Dominik over on Saturday night, and Sunday we spent cleaning, studying, and going to the gym... Oh, and we did a little experimenting with our espresso machine as well! :)  

Well, I'm off to the grocery store and then I'm meeting my friend, Alex, for coffee at Cafe Aran... I'll leave you with some pictures of our Austrian Ski Trip.  I've also posted all of them on our Shutterfly photo page (there's a link to it on the right-hand side of the blog), so if you're interested, take a look! :)  I hope you all have a great Monday!  Miss you much!  

Getting ready for my first run of the day... This is after the initial panic attack! :)

The view on the way up the chair lift...

Brian and I taking the gondola up to the middle of the mountain... From there, we had to take a chair lift to the top of the mountain.

The middle lodge... This one is located half-way up the mountain...

This lodge is where we stopped for lunch... It's near the top of the mountain... It has delicious apple strudel! :)

Brian getting ready for his first run of the day...

At the bottom of the slope... Notice how far up the chair lift goes?  It takes 10 minutes to get to the top from this point...

In the middle of one of the runs... Isn't the view gorgeous?! 

Deep concentration... This was where I kept saying to myself, "Please don't fall. Please don't fall..."  :) 

This was taken towards the end of the day... When I was feeling a little more confident with my skiing abilities! :)  

Trip #6 = SUCCESS!!

Happy Friday everyone!  Well, today has been quite a day!  Brian called me this morning to tell me to meet him and Norbert up at the Rathaus at 10 a.m.  After I hung up from him, I checked the train schedule... I soon found out that I had 35 minutes to finish getting around if I wanted to make the train... So, I quickly finished getting ready, got all of my paperwork in order, grabbed my coat, and flew out the door.  I looked at the time, and I only had 9 minutes to get to the train stop... Unsure as to how long it actually takes to walk there, I decided that I was going to run all the way there...  Let's just say that I must've looked like quite a sight... Running at full speed down the street, trying to put my coat on and button it up, trying to throw my purse over my shoulder and zip it up, all the while holding on to a large manilla envelope that held all of my precious paperwork!  I managed to get there before the train, I purchased my ticket, and then sat down to wait for the train, which I was expecting to show up at any second... After waiting for what seemed like hours (but was actually only a few minutes), I looked at my watch and found out that I still had about 3 minutes to wait... Somehow I had managed to make it out my front door, and down the street to the train stop in about 2 minutes flat... Needless to say, I was pretty impressed with my ability... Maybe I'll sign up for the Berlin marathon after all! :)  

I ended up getting into town earlier than necessary, so while I waited I browsed through the Friday Farmer's Market that they had set up in the town square...  They were selling flowers, fruits, vegetables, eggs, cheeses, wine, etc... It was quite a nice little set up.  The one thing I found slightly strange, was that all of the eggs on sale were dyed different colors...  Apparently, they dye them and sell them that way for Easter...  Interesting.  But, then I thought,  doesn't that just take the fun out of dying Easter eggs for the kids?! :)  And, of course, I couldn't take a trip to the Farmer's Market without actually purchasing something... So, I ended up getting some very fresh carrots, peppers, and cucumbers... Mmmmm! :)  After my purchase, I started making my way towards the Rathaus, and I came across a flower display.  The man working the display came over and handed me a rose, and then started talking to me.  I informed him that I didn't speak German, so he then started talking to me in another language... Lovely!  At that point, I informed him that I spoke English, and he attempted to speak some English, but he wasn't too successful.  So, after receiving a flower from the man, I felt kind of obligated to buy one of the bouquets of flowers that he was selling (which is the bouquet in the picture at the top of this page...).  So, he wrapped up the flowers, and I paid for them, but instead of giving them to me, he held on to them and started talking away in some foreign language.  I proceeded to simply smile and nod, but I quickly found out that that was the wrong thing to do... I think I may have agreed to have coffee with him...  Oops!! :)  At that point, I was starting to feel awkward considering that the two of us were standing there having a conversation in two completely different languages... So, I reached out to grab my flowers from him, and that's when he started pointing at me and saying "Mann".  I stood there trying to decipher what he was saying and I finally realized that he was asking me if I was married, to which I replied, "Yes!". :)  Upon hearing this, he said something else that I didn't understand and then pointed at me again and then pointed at himself and said "Coffee?"... At this point in time,  I finally got the picture that he was asking me out... Took long enough! :)  So, I shook my head no and he finally relinquished my flowers, which I quickly grabbed and walked away.   Can't say I've ever been in a situation such as that before! :) 

I met up with Brian and Norbert at the Rathaus at 10.  After all that we've been through with trying to get this residency permit straightened out, I wasn't going in with high hopes.  Even though I had all of the paperwork they had requested, I still figured that they'd probably tell me that I needed something else.  After our number was called, we walked up to the desk, and low and behold, the woman waiting on us was the mean old lady that made me cry on my first trip there... Great!  She started looking through my paperwork and nodding and checking things off of a list... She then came across the paper from Brian's employer stating that he worked there, and she informed us that she couldn't accept it because it didn't have a recent date (it was from July)... Now, Brian contacted his human resources department on Wednesday to have them type up another letter for him, but the never responded to his request (Don't even get me started on the Human Resources Department at his work... ugh!), so we had to turn in the original letter.  We then informed the woman of this, so she told us that she had to take it to the man who's been in charge of my file this whole time to see if he would approve it... Apparently he was in a meeting, so she told us to wait... So, we waited and waited and waited... And, at this point, Brian had to tell me to calm down, as I felt as though I was going to spontaneously combust right then and there!  I was just waiting to be told that we needed something else, which would prolong everything again.... Well, while we were waiting, another man sat down at the desk next to us, and apparently he was feeling the same way as I was towards the people there... Let's just say that he was very TICKED OFF!  He was raising his voice and telling someone off.  I found it quite humorous to be honest.  It made me realize that it wasn't just me feeling this way! :)  Eventually, they had to bring out the man (who we were waiting for) to calm him down...  Finally, after about an hour's wait, the lady finally came back and told us that they were just going to approve everything and give me the permit... Seriously??  I was literally in shock when I heard those words come out of her mouth! :)  So, after 6 trips to the Rathaus, they finally approved my paperwork... woohoo!!!  I now have an official residency permit... And I'm now able to travel outside of Germany again... But, most importantly, I don't have to go back to the Rathaus anytime soon... yay!! :)  

After leaving the Rathaus, I met up with my friend, Sarah, for lunch at a Thai restaurant.  She introduced me to her friend, Amanda, who's from the U.S... I was quite happy to meet another fellow American! :)   We had a nice time over lunch and we're hoping to all get together again very soon.

Overall, it's been a pretty full day... Now, Brian and I are headed for the gym.  We're not quite sure what the weekend plans are yet, but now that I can travel outside of Germany, we're contemplating about a ski trip to Austria tomorrow... Let's keep our fingers crossed! :)  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!  Miss you much!

Meet Our New Neighbors...

Hey all!  In yesterday's blog, I stated that I was planning on walking down by the lake to read a book.  Well, plans changed, and instead of reading a book, I ended up taking a long hike around the lake and our new "neighborhood".  During my hike, I found alot of unique things about the area that we currently live in... We have a public beach nearby, and small fruit market up the street, and a dairy farm about 1/4 mile up the road... Yes, that is correct, a dairy farm.  I'd like you to meet my new neighbors... :) 

I also tried to take pictures of the public beach to show you...  Their beaches here aren't quite the same as what we consider beaches in the U.S.  The beaches here (or at least in the area that we live in) do not have sand (or even grass) leading out into the water.  No... Instead, they have rocks.  Lots and lots of rocks!  It definitely prevents a relaxing, barefoot walk along the beach! :)  Anyways, I tried to take a few pictures of the rocky beach, but as I walked farther out towards the water, I noticed a young couple making out under a tree a few feet away from me... Can we say awkward?! :)  So, as much as I would have liked to take pictures to share with you all, I decided to wait and go back another day.   Here's at least one shot of the beach and water... Notice the sailboat in the distance, with the mountains behind it?  And then notice the big boulders sitting by the water... :) 

Well, I'm off to the Getrankmarkt (the drink market) to stock us up with some more water and orange juice... And then I'm having our landlady over for some coffee this afternoon... I'm looking forward to it... I get to use the espresso machine and let her sample some of my new concoctions... Should be fun! :)  I hope you're having a great day!  Miss you!

Could They Possibly Move ANY Slower????

Hey all!  So, I made yet another trip to the Rathaus (City Hall) this morning to get my residency permit straightened out... Yes, that's correct, it's still not all figured out yet... UGH!  I went in two weeks ago, two days after arriving back in the country, and I filled out the necessary paperwork to show that I had returned.  Before I left the U.S., the consulate in Chicago told me that I had to register at the Rathaus and re-apply (for the third time) for my residency permit within the first week of arriving in Germany... So, like a good American citizen I tried to do just that.  Well, after I filled out the form that states where I'll be living while in Germany, I then asked where the residency permit form was, as I had to fill that out as well (Mind you, I'm simply following the orders that came from Chicago's office...).  That's when I was informed that I didn't have to fill that out right then and there... I was told that I should return to the Rathaus in 8 weeks and fill it out then... 8 WEEKS??  Are you kidding me?!  That's almost at the end of my current visa... And, as Chicago told me, if I don't get the residency permit issued before this visa runs out, then I get shipped right back home.... Again!  So, let's just say, that I wasn't too thrilled about this turn of events.  I informed Norbert, my translater, that Chicago told me to apply within the first week, and that I was going to listen to what they told me rather than the Rathaus here in Germany... Reason being, Chicago seems to have things much more together than the Rathaus here!!  After a few minutes of them talking back and forth, I finally found out that Norbert had negotiated that I return again to fill out the form in 2 weeks... Ok, 2 weeks, I can live with that. :)  So, the woman gave me the necessary form to fill out and told me to return it the next time, with the rest of my paperwork.  

Well, today was the end of the 2 weeks.  So, this morning, Brian, Norbert, and I all showed up at the Rathaus, with paperwork in hand.  I was feeling pretty confident about the whole situation considering that I had all the paperwork filled out and I thought it was going to be a pretty smooth process... WRONG!!  Let's just say, nothing can be considered a "smooth process" when you're dealing with the Rathaus here!  When our number was called, we went to our designated station and sat down.  I pulled out all of the paperwork and handed it to the woman, while Norbert explained the situation.  The woman then looked over the paperwork, nodded her head a few times, chatted away in German with Norbert, and then wrote something down on a piece of paper.  In the meantime, Brian and I sat there, with no idea as to what was taking place... That's always irritating.  Knowing that people are talking and making decisions about your life, and you have no say in the conversation... Lovely!  Well, after a few minutes, Norbert translated to us what was happening.  The woman was requesting ADDITIONAL information from us... Seriously, people?!  Apparently, now they need Brian to submit an updated letter from his company saying that he's still employed with them, pay stubs from the past 3 months, and the contract for the apartment... Now, the best part being that all of these things are on file for Brian.  BUT, since the file was created in July of 2008, and it's now March of 2009, they need all of it updated for the new year... And this wasn't told to us before now, why???  So, apparently they need to look at all of Brian's employment information to ensure that I'm not trying to live off of the German government... Hello!  I'm American... I don't want to live off of the government here, as I've got my own perfectly good government back in the U.S.!!  And to top all of this off, the woman also informed us that we need to bring back another copy of our marriage certificate (oh yes, the marriage certificate is STILL in question!), and Brian has to return to the Rathaus with me (even though he was there with me today, and the time before that, and the time before that... but apparently that doesn't count...) on the day that I turn in all of the paperwork, so that he can... get this... vouch that I am actually his wife... NICE!  And then, once we get all of that turned in, according to her, the paperwork will begin to be processed.  However, I'll believe that when I see it.  Now can you see why I didn't want to have to wait 8 weeks to apply for this again???  I think snails move faster than they do!  

So, the plan is to head back there on Friday morning to turn in the rest of the paperwork.  On the bright side, I was ensured that once all of the paperwork is turned in, I will then be allowed to travel outside of Germany.  (My current visa is only good for one trip into Germany... So, as it stands now, I can't leave the country, otherwise they won't let me back in.... Hmmmm... On second thought, is that such a bad idea after all?! :)  Just kidding! :))   Now, let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope that everything goes well on Friday...  Otherwise, if I have to go back there again and find out that they require additional information, I could quite possibly spontaneously combust! :)

On a good note... I went to the library today, and I now have a library card for the Friedrichshafen Media Center/Bibliothek... yay!  My reading materials were getting slightly limited here...  Now, I can look forward to browsing through and reading all of the books from the English section of the library! :)  I also found a selection of books today, to help me with planning our upcoming summer vacation... yippee!  Yep, that's right, we're planning a 3-week vacation at the end of May to... are you ready for this... Italy and Croatia!!  I'm soooo very excited! :)  So, that's my assignment for the time being... plan a fabulous summer vacation getaway!  I'm pretty sure that I can handle that! :)  

Well, I'm off to take a walk down by the lake, on this gorgeous sunny day, with one of my new library books in hand... I know, I know... It's a rough life! :)  And, then we'll be off for some rock climbing once Brian gets home from work... Fun, fun!  I hope you're having a fabulous day!  Miss you much!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

Hey all!  Today's blog is going to be short and sweet... I just want to wish you all a very happy St. Patrick's Day!!  For all of you who know me, you already know that I truly enjoy celebrating this holiday... I love everything Irish, so today is definitely a favorite of mine! :)  Plus, it's also the birthday of a good friend of mine... Happy Birthday, Jenn!!  :)  Brian and I will be having our own low-key celebration in honor of St. Pat's this evening... I'm making Chicken Fried Rice for dinner (special thanks to my friend, Andrea, for posting this recipe on her blog... :)), and our plan is to open up the two Hefeweizen's that are currently sitting in the fridge... woohoo! :)  

I also received some good news today.  I'm going to start tutoring a young German girl in English... yay!  I'll be working with her once or twice a week.  I spoke with her mom today, and she's supposed to get back to me tomorrow in regards to a schedule.  I'm really looking forward to it... The teacher in me was starting to get a little antsy by not working! :)  So, let's keep our fingers crossed that all goes well... 

Well, I'm off to run some errands.  I hope you all have a wonderful St. Pat's!  Miss you much!!

Spring Skiing...

Hey all!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  Brian and I had a pretty fun weekend as well. On Friday, we were in the mood for a little taste of American food, so we decided to check out the restaurant up the road from our apartment...  It has a sign outside that advertises "Burgers, Steaks, and Drinks", so we decided to see if it would help to quench our American food cravings. :)  And, it definitely lived up to our expectations... The food was delicious!  However, I did learn one thing.  There are some things that just get lost in translation here.  For instance, as I was reading the menu, I came across "Gemuse Burger", and when translated, that would be a Vegetable Burger.  Well, I've recently had quite a craving for veggie burgers, so I decided to order one.  Well, little did I know that their version of a veggie burger is far different from the U.S. version of veggie burger.  In the U.S., it would be a burger made out of veggies, etc.  Well, in Germany, a veggie burger is a cheeseburger with vegetables on top! :)  Not exactly what I had in mind when I ordered, but it was quite tasty, nonetheless. :)  

On Saturday morning, we woke up early (think 6 a.m... ugh!) and headed into the mountains for some skiing.  We ended up getting very lucky and it turned out to be a gorgeous day for skiing!  Think upper 50's and sunny... perfect!  So, we spent the majority of the day skiing.  And, for those of you who remember my horror story about the T-Bar incident the last time I went skiing... This time went much better than the last!  I actually rode a T-Bar lift up the hills on numerous occasions... And each time I was met with success...yay!  Granted, the first few times, I was absolutely petrified and I clung to the bar all the way up... But, after the initial nervousness,  it got a little bit easier.  It's still not my first choice for going up a hill, but at least I now know that I can use them without physically harming myself. :)   Here's a few pictures of our day...  

Me with my new skis... I love them! :)

This was our view on the drive there... Gorgeous!!

I just couldn't help myself... The views on the drive in were just too pretty not to take pictures of! :) 

And this is the infamous "T-Bar" lift... Grrr!! 

On Sunday, Brian played volleyball all morning, so I walked downtown and met up with some friends at Cafe Aran... It was nice to see some familiar faces again... I haven't seen a couple of them since December.  In the evening, Brian and I took the train into Ravensburg.  We went to a quaint little Irish Pub, where we had dinner and a few drinks in celebration of St. Patrick's Day... Slainte! :)  (In case you're wondering, that means "health" in Irish! :))

On that note, I'm going to head into town... I'm meeting Brian for lunch, and then I figured that I'd take advantage of the nice day and wander around downtown.  On days like today, it's kind of nice to just walk along the boardwalk... The view of the mountains across the lake is so serene and peaceful. :) I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!  Miss you much!

Tapas and Alpine Clubs...

Happy Friday to you all!  I'm sure you're all looking forward to the weekend.  Our plans for the weekend are still in the works... We've been invited to go skiing in the Alps and to a friend's birthday party.  I'm also trying to convince Brian to go to Munich to the huge St. Patrick's Day celebration they put on there...  You all know me and my love for St. Patrick's Day.  :)  I actually tried really hard to convince Brian to fly to Dublin, Ireland with me for the weekend, but considering they're having some serious protests and issues over there, we decided that it wasn't such a great idea... So, we'll just have to plan another trip to Ireland at some point... :)

Last night, Maike and I had our weekly "Girl's Night".  However, instead of doing our usual routine (making dinner at Maike's and watching episodes of Angel, Bones, or Sex and the City), we changed things up a bit.  We met downtown yesterday evening where we wandered around and did a little shopping (well, not actual "shopping", more like browsing... :)).  We then had dinner at this little restaurant called Hacienda... It's such a quaint little place and the food is excellent.  For dinner we ordered tapas, which is a Spanish entree, and quite delicious if I do say so myself! :)  

After dinner, we then went to a meeting of an Alpine Club that Maike has recently signed up for.  She wanted to bring me to the meeting so that I could see what they consist of, in the hopes of getting Brian and I to sign up.  It was quite an experience...  It's a small group of people who are interested in climbing, hiking, backpacking, etc... And considering we live so close to the Alps, it's the perfect area for that sort of thing.  This group organizes hikes, rock climbing trips, backpacking expeditions, skiing tours, and overnight trips in the mountains.  They also offer courses in a variety of alpine related activities.   Needless to say, it's definitely something that Brian and I would be interested in! :)  Maike and I also found a couple of outdoor rock climbing courses (or as it's called in German - "kletternkurs")  that we were interested in doing...  So, by the looks of things, Brian and I will probably become members of this group in the very near future! :)  But, there is a slight downfall...  They are all native Germans, and therefore, all they speak is German.  So, last night was quite interesting... I stood around for about two hours and listened to numerous conversations, but I had no idea what anyone was saying... Lovely!  And for those of  you who know me, and you know how much of a chatterbox I am, you probably realize that was quite difficult to stand around quietly for such a long period of time! :)  On the bright side, there were a few people in the group who do speak English, so I was able to chat with them for a little bit... And they were all very welcoming and encouraged me to join the group.   So, I guess the way I see it is... If we join the group, we'll be participating in all of these outdoor activities, and it's not like you're doing that much talking as you're hiking up a mountain or climbing up the side of a rock anyways, so it probably wouldn't be all that bad. :)  I guess we'll just have to sign up and find out for ourselves. :)   

Well, I'm going to head into town now...  I'm on a mission to find some new flavoring syrup for our coffee drinks... Yes, now that we have this espresso machine, I've been trying out lots of new concoctions... However, I'm at the point, where I have a limited amount of flavors, so they're all starting to taste the same... So, I'm thinking some new flavors might be in order! :)  Yes, I'm officially obsessed!! :)  Oh, and I'm taking the train from the stop outside of our apartment for the first time, so wish me luck!  Hopefully, I'll do better than we did the last time, and I won't miss it! :)  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!  And, if you're celebrating St. Patrick's Day this weekend, have fun and do some celebrating for me!! :)  Miss you much!

Spring is on its way...

Hi everyone!  I was quite excited by my findings today, and I wanted to share them with you... 

Yep, that's right... I walked out of our apartment today, and this is what I found near our sidewalk...  The flowers are starting to blossom.  And we all know what that indicates... Spring is officially on its way... YAY! :)  It's amazing how the smallest hint of spring can literally put a spring in your step and a smile on your face. :)  So, needless to say, I took advantage of the nice day and I got quite a few things accomplished... woohoo!

I also visited my friend, Val, in the hospital today.  I actually learned a little something today during my visit.  The hospital has a parking lot specifically designed for visitors.  When you park there, you're required to go to the nearest ticket machine to purchase a ticket, which you then take back to your car to place in your windshield.  Well, when I visited her the first time, I wasn't quite sure about this procedure, so I just copied what all the other people were doing.  When I used the ticket machine the first time I was quite confused because all of the directions are in German... So, I did the best I could.  I tried to make sense of everything, but all I could figure out was that it would cost me 50 cents for every 15 minutes (or so I thought), or 2 Euros for 2 hours (or so I thought)...  I ended up just putting in the 2 Euros just to be done with it... :) Come to find out, when I went back to the ticket machine today, I wound up finding out that 50 cents is good for 2 hours, and 2 Euros is good for a whole day pass... Lovely!   Gotta love that language barrier! :)

The visit with Val went very well.  She had great news to share.  Her doctors informed her that her surgery went well and the cancer is gone... yay!  That was so good to hear... Now, let's just hope that she makes a full recovery and that she'll be able to go home soon. 

I've been managing to keep rather busy lately... So that's been a good thing! :)   I had coffee out in Markdorf  (the town outside of Friedrichshafen) with a friend yesterday... She has a new puppy, so I enjoyed spending some time playing with an animal... However, it did make me realize how much I miss having Riley around. :(  We went rock climbing with Maike last night... Very fun!  I am now in need of new rock climbing shoes though.  I was halfway up the wall last night when my toe broke through my shoe... That was exciting! :)  

Well, I'm off to bed... I just got back from a pretty intensive workout at the gym, and I'm feeling pretty tired... After my almost 3 month hiatus from the gym, I've been trying to ramp my workouts up a notch nowadays to make up for lost time! :)   I hope you're having a great Wednesday!  Miss you much!