Germany: Dusseldorf, Cologne, & Muenster

cathedral in Cologne

eating overpriced but delicious ice cream in Dusseldorf

sitting in a tree in the Japanese Gardens, listening to my ipod and pondering life

me and Gudala after working out together

Gudala and I

friends celebrating the German victory in the EuroCup quarterfinals

champion team for the beach soccer tournament

playing soccer in the sand!

me and Steckel in Muenster

me and my first cow to milk: Micah

Sooo... sorry it's a little late, but I've been busy with final exam week.  Actually doing some STUDYING during the STUDY abroad thing, what the heck!  Anyway... I made my way to Germany after Ireland. I arrived in Dusseldorf, and met Gudala at the airport. It was actually kind of a disaster trying to find her, because we'd never met and my phone had no credit left on it. So I couldn't call, or even answer phone calls. We were both walking around with signs that said each other's names, but she ended up going home to check her email and then coming back to the airport after still not having found me!  But yeah, eventually it worked out. It always does.  Staying at her house was great, so nice compared to where I've been living! I felt like a princess in a beautiful castle! Seriously. There was wireless internet, a big bed, a hot shower with a lot of water to come out, chocolates by my bed, a robe in the bathroom, the whole deal!  Living in the dorms at Hafnerreigel, it was such a treat. Her housekeeper, Frau Lipen, doesn't speak any English. So that was a little difficult, because we hung out a lot, but I could actually understand quite a bit of German when it was spoken to me. It was pretty fun to have conversation with her in German! I felt bad because it's like talking to a little child for her, but it was definitely good practice for me. Gudala and I went on a day trip to Cologne, to see the famous cathedral and have a delicious lunch. We also explored Dusseldorf, ate at a yacht club, went on a bus tour, overlooked the Rhine River, and did a kickboxing class together with her personal trainer! So fun. I went for a bike ride one afternoon with Frau Lipen, which was great too. It was a good few days to regroup, wash my clothes, eat some good meals, rest, and study for my exams!

Friday morning, I took the train from Dusseldorf to Muenster, to meet Anna Steckel!  It was so great!  Friday afternoon, we went for lunch at Anna's grandma's house. It was so cool to be there, because the house was so old. Their family had owned it for 300 years!  She was telling us about the history of the land, the time of WWII, what it was like living in Germany during that time, about when the British soldiers came and slept in their farm shed, showed us letters that a German soldier wrote to their cousin during WWII, so many things! Anna translated everything for me from German to English. It was so interesting hearing about the Nazi's and the concentration camps and everything, from the perspective of a German during that time.

Friday night, we watched the quarterfinal EuroCup game that Germany played in. They won, and the Germans went crazy afterward!  We all painted our faces and dressed up, so much fun.  After the game, we went out into the streets and everyone was chanting and celebrating and singing German victory songs. It was so cool to see how proud everyone was of their country!  Saturday morning, we left for the soccer tournament, which was a few hours away. It was a beach soccer tournament, played on sand. Definitely a different kind of soccer!  But our team was really good, and we ended up winning the whole tournament! There were six of us on the team, and all of us have played a pretty high level of soccer, and two of the girls play professionally in Germany now. We won in overtime in the finals- so fun!  I scored a few goals with my feet and a few goals with my head, which was so much fun!  During my time at ASU, I had forgotten what it feels like to score goals!  So yeah, I had a great time with that. We won a trophy and 900 Euros and entrance into the German Masters Beach Soccer tournament!  Our picture was in the paper there and everything too. We had such a great time!!! We camped at the tournament site Saturday night, and then went back to Muenster Sunday.

Monday, we explored the city of Muenster, and went to the city festival that night. I tried some German foods, and met some of Anna's friends. Tuesday morning, I went to Anna's uncle's farm, and helped milk the cows!!!  Crazy. We put on overalls and rubber boots and hats, the whole deal. Milking time is 6:30 am. So we showed up, and changed clothes, and got to work! My first cow to milk was named Micah. Such a cutie. After showering and eating some breakfast, I headed to the airport for a long day of travel. I went from Muenster to Munich, Munich to Vienna, Vienna airport to Vienna train station via bus, then waited two hours for the next train, then 2 1/2 hour train ride from Vienna to Graz train station, then tram to Jakominiplatz, then a 20 minute walk the rest of the way home. I got home around 10:30 at night, and had two final exams the next morning!  Crazy crazy. Life of a foreign exchange student!  I'm glad to be finished with exams now, just one more paper to write! Getting so close to being done. Can't believe how fast everything is going by.