18 September - Shoulda been a German

Or at least moved here when I had Skylar. The state gives all kids 160 euro a month until they are 25! So I guess to the parents and then when the kid turns 18, it goes to them. If you have a kid and you are in school, you get to go to school for free and they give you 400 euro! Now you can't exactly live on that, but it sure would have helped. And, in most states, the day cares are free! Seriously, what is so great about America when here, they give you money to help you live, pay for school and daycare, and have nationalized health care?? If I had moved here after I had Skylar, they still would have done this for me even as an immigrant! Then I might not be thousands of dollars of school loan debt.

I am pretty much planning out my weekends for the next few months when I get home. Concerts, shows, outings, and parties.. I can't wait. Now if only I could find a job to finance it all. Maybe I should stay in Germany and get 160 euro a month for Skylar.. nah :) Today I got 4 tickets to Rob Zombie who is playing at the Roy Wilkins Center. I have loved his music for almost as long as I've liked Edie Brickell, but she never leaves Tennessee :)

Was kind of an icky sticky day today. I went for my run through the woods and probably consumed at least a dozen gnats.

17 September - Rathus

We got a letter that said we needed to go the Rathus (town hall) to fill out and sign some final paperwork for our visit here. I also wanted to stop at the yarn store to get more yarn for a scarf I am making, but they discontinued the line. So now I have a pot holder with holes.

So, into town we went and apparently there is another festival of some sort. We went into the Rathus and found the room we were directed to and found a bunch of people waiting to go in. I don't think Germans believe in orderly lines. It seems no matter what it is, people just form a mass and hope to go in some semblance of an order. Whether it's the bakery or the town hall, people just stand where they are and wait until the counter person recognizes them as their turn. It is impossible for that person to know who was there before who so it ends up being whoever they make eye contact with. And I know Germans think American niceties are overrated, so they have a tendency to push and shove and glare instead. Anyway, after about an hour we finally got our turn. We went in and she presented us with some forms to sign saying that we were leaving on October 6th and no longer needed permission to stay. At least that is what she told me the papers said... I suppose it could have said that they are going to throw me in jail and keep us here forever, but I hope not. I just signed it and off we went.

16 September - Soy!

I had to go to the post office and mail a package, but for some reason, the place is always closed. Either I get their on their lunch break or they are closed from such and such a date for renovations. I've been there 3 times trying to mail this package and I just keep bringing it back home. So, we went to a different grocery store because it was by the post office. They had a whole section of soy stuff! Soy veggie burgers, soy schnitzel, soy gyros, soy sticks, ect. They even had smoked tofu! So finally with just a few weeks left, I can eat the food I am used to eating. Maybe I went a little overboard and got like one of each :)

The woman at the checkout spoke no English whatsoever and apparently my local bank card decided not to work. I think the strip wouldn't register or something, but luckily they took my Visa from home because I had no idea what she was trying to tell me.

Ah, for dinner a yummy soy steak and corn. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

15 September - Back to the Grind

Spent most of the day just catching up with everyone and Skylar spent the day catching up with his gaming buddies. A whole week without computer! But we made it :)

I formatted a few things on my project and rearranged a little. I just stare blankly at the conclusion since there is none.

I went for a short run and got some milk, but that was about it for my journeys of the day.

Mostly is was just good to back, so we just hung around and of course I did laundry.

14 September - Back to Germany

Now for the reverse of our fun travels in getting here. We had to be at the Venice main station by 9:30am to catch the bus to the airport. I go to the main desk to pay for our shuttle rides and she says, sorry, they are all full. What!! She said starting today, you need to make a reservation for the shuttle because they changed from the big bus to an eight seater van. I was livid! I checked out last night and told the girl that I needed to catch the 9:30am bus and she said the shuttle would get me there in plenty of time and not to worry.I told the girl at the desk this and she suggested the public bus, but that can take up to 45 minutes. We did not have 45 minutes! So she suggested a taxi at about 25 euro. I demanded to speak to the manager and she got all flustered and said he wasn't there. Then she called the driver of the van and asked if he could come early and take us in and then come back to get the rest of the passengers. He agreed. Unfortunately we got caught in traffic and just barely made the bus which meant that he was way late in getting back to the other passengers. I felt bad, but it really was not my fault. They should have told me last night that I needed to make a reservation on the shuttle.

So then on the bus to Treviso to catch our plane at 12pm. This time they did check our bags and flagged Skylar's so the girl had to go through it and was kind of irked that all that was in it was smelly clothes. They let us go and off we went to the plane. It was storming! We had to run to the plane on the runway since they don't have those tunnel things that attach directly to the building. We were soaked by the time we took our seats. Made for such a comfy ride. There are no assigned seats either, so everyone just pushes and shoves trying to get to whatever they seem to think the best seat is. At Frankfurt-Hahn we took a bus to Frankfurt train station, then a train to Heidelberg, then on to Heilbronn where we caught a bus to the flat. Finally getting home at about 8pm.

13 September - Gondola

With no real plan again for today, we took the shuttle into Venice. We took the water bus to San Marco square and wandered around for awhile. There were so many people! There was also a demonstration of some sort with lots of people wearing green and carrying signs written in Italian. Skylar was holding on to me for dear life so as not to get swept away in the crowd. We thought about touring the Basilica or the clock tower, but the lines were longer than the best rides at Great Adventure. So we got a bit of lunch and of course some gelato and then got back on the water bus towards the main station since this was the last day of of our pass.


I wanted to see what the Jewish Ghetto area was, so we got of at San Marcoula and went down more streets lined with tourists and crappy vendors selling chachka. There were public toilets, but they cost 1.50 euro which seems to be a thing in Europe. I guess it's better than not having any option at all like in NYC or even Minneapolis. I don't like that they charge in the train station and sometimes in restaurants, but I think it is a good idea in public areas. I'm sure they make enough to keep it maintained. Anyway, so there was nothing special about the so called Jewish Ghetto except things might have been a tad cheaper. We just walked and walked and walked until we finally just decided to take a break in a quiet spot along the canal.


As we were walking around again, a Gondola driver approached me and I must have been in a weakened state... I asked how much and he said 80 euro... I pouted a little, and he said OK, for such a pretty lady, I'll do it for 70. I said maybe and walked a few feet away and looked to see how much money I had on me. I am not usually one for bargaining.. actually I hate discussing money at all, but all I had was 60 euro, so that's what I told him. He conversed with his partner for a minute saying things like bella and sweet, then finally said OK. I know it is still a ridiculous amount to pay for a boat ride, but when would we ever be in Venice with a chance to ride a Gondola again??


The ride was absolutely lovely! It is such a different view from the canals and so relaxing! The driver gave us a tour and explained some of the history. He sang in Italian as he rowed along, which was so adorable. I asked him if there were any women Gondola drivers and he said there are just some starting school for it this year. Wow! And school? Really? He said they have to be able to speak French, Italian, German, and English fluently and know a great deal of the history of Venice in addition to learning how to drive the boat and control with just one oar against the wind and all down the narrow canals. Said it takes a couple years and there are many exams. He was so funny and even did a Fonzy impression when he passed by his friend whose name is Bollo, like the Italian Fonzy. It was hilarious mostly because it was so absurd. The ride took about an hour. When we got off the boat he asked where my husband was and I replied, Husband? Bah! Who needs a husband! He started cracking up and almost fell in the water.


We walked on a bit more and started scanning the menus for an actual Italian dinner we could eat. We came along a place that had Melanzane alla parmiggiana! Michele had suggested this dish. We asked if it was vegetarian and the waiter promised it was. I almost jumped for joy! So we sat down and ordered. They only had one serving left and Skylar kindly let me have it and ordered spinat riccot canneloni instead. Both were delicious! I even ordered a glass of wine, but since I have the tolerance of a hamster, I was all giggly and clumsy by about half way through. We stayed for a few extra minutes and did some people watching . Of course we got some more gelato and then walked on to the station. We got there a bit early, so we went to the park again.

Back at the hostel, we packed up all our things and souvenirs. I doubt I'll ever go back to Venice for vacation, but it was definitely a great experience! Skylar was enthralled and that is all that matters.

More pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/osani77/VeniceDay5

12 September - Burano and the Doge Palace

We slept in a bit later this morning. The sun must have really did us in yesterday. We took our time and got breakfast at the hostel restaurant. It was nothing special, just a few scrambled eggs with some tomato and onion and a basket of quartered toast pieces. Simple, but good.



When we got into Venice, we took the water bus to Fondamente Nove and walked around a little. Then took another boat to Burano. It was quite a long ride, but Skylar wanted to see all the brightly colored houses. We got good seats again, so we just relaxed. There is something about taking a boat that makes the drive time not seem to matter at all. Burano is an island that is known for it's brightly colored houses that were painted by the wives of fisherman so they could identify which one was theirs from out at sea. As we got nearer we passed a few smaller islands that looked like they had been submerged in water from time to time. As we got nearer to Burano, we saw the brilliant blues, yellows, red, purples, and pinks of the buildings. Every house was a different color! Not just any color either, but beautiful bright, vibrant colors! Burano is also known for their lace, so there were many shops with fancy lace dresses and scarves. Many of the inhabitants were just going about their regular business hanging their laundry out on a line. It really made me feel like we had gone to some little villiage from long ago full of wives waiting for their husbands to return from the sea. There was also quite a few cats and dogs wandering around. There doesn't seem to be any leash laws here, so even in Venice the dogs just run around. At least they don't have to worry about them getting hit by cars :)



Again we tried to search for vegetarian food options, but gave up and had pizza again. I do love pizza though, so it was just fine by me. Maybe in less touristy parts of Italy the food selection is better. Besides, since Burano is a fishing village, just about everything had fish in it.


After lunch, we took a foot bridge to a neighboring island and walked around it. We came to a cemetery that was very well kept. All the graves had flowers on them and they were the kind above the ground with clean polished stone lids. There were many really fancy ones and also some that looked like drawers. Once we circled the whole island, we headed back over to Burano and caught the water bus back to Venice.

Skylar had picked the Doge Palace out of the sight seeing book as a place he really wanted to see, so we went there this afternoon. The place was extraordinary! The ceilings are all painted and decorated with exquisite detail. The Doge Palace is where the council representatives sat and the Doge is like the president. The palace is filled with courtrooms, meeting rooms, hearing areas, and the prisons. In the center is a beautiful courtyard. There are rooms of weapons and torture devices as well. Pictures were not supposed to be taken, but we got a few. The paintings have gone through many renovations and even redone after a fire in about 1500.


As it was getting late and Skylar was in a hurry to get back to the hostel, we caught another water bus back to the main station. We got to watch the sun set over the canal from the boat; it was breathtaking! The buildings look even more beautiful along the canal in the evening. There were tons of tourists getting Gondola rides. I thought we would do it, but at 80 euro, I am a little hesitant. Skylar hasn't pushed for it at all once I told him how much they cost and he seems happy with the water bus boat, so that's good. We got to the shuttle just in time. Another long day that was over before we knew it.

More photos can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/osani77/VeniceDay4

11 September - Lido

Well, this morning my shower flooded the bathroom and the toilet seat came off the hinges. So much for fancy, I guess. On the way to our shuttle, I told the girl at the front desk and she called a man to come fix it right away and replace our towels that got soaked.

It was a sun blazing hot day, so took the water bus to Lido for a day at the Venetian Sea. We walked around a bit through the town. It is very different from Venice. All the stores look new and commercial and it really looked like many other beach towns. Somehow I managed to only pack the top half of my bathing suit, so I had to try and find a yet another new bathing suit before we hit the beach. We found the Undercolors of Benneton and they happened to have all their mismatched suits on sale, so I was able to find a bottom that would work. It was a bit too big and showed way more of my back side than I was comfortable with, but I figured it would work.

We got a bit of lunch and some delicious gelato and then headed off for the public beach. The island has many beaches, but there is only one that is public: Blue Moon. The rest are privately owned and operated by hotels or residents. We went to change into our suits and had to pay one euro for the changing rooms, the toilets, the showers, and the use of an umbrella or we could get the whole package for 15 euro. I figured we wouldn't be changing more than twice, so that would only be 4 euro.


We found a nice piece of sand and laid our stuff out. Then hit the water! It was a bit cold, but not too bad this time of year since it has warmed up all season. Since my bathing suit was too big, it kept slipping off every time I got hit with a wave. I am sure I flashed the entire beach! Oh well, we still played in the water and tried to jump the waves. I laid in the sun and Skylar built a sand castle. We lazed about in the sand and water for the whole day soaking up the rays.

As it started to get later and cooling down, we headed back to the water bus and took it to Rialto for some dinner. I took a bunch of pictures from the boat since we got the good seats at the head. Since we've gotten here we've only had pizza because vegetarian Italian food is much harder to find than I thought. We kept asking places and checking menus, but they all said they only had carbonara sauce. We came to a quaint little restaurant and asked the waiter about vegetarian lasagna. He went and asked the cook who came out and told us of course. We were elated! She said she could put in fresh zucchini or mushrooms too. Now I specifically asked for lasagna and lasagna is lasagna in English and Italian, but something must have gotten lost in translation because what we got was bowls of spaghetti with some oil on it. I was so mad! I said it was not what I ordered and the waiter kept apologizing and the cook pretty much said too bad. I was so not happy about paying 13 euro for spaghetti and probably should have just left because the cook was then being so rude, but we stayed and we ate it, so I paid and we left. Oh well, then we headed back to the boats. Skylar had been wanting one of the masks that are everywhere, so I finally let him pick one out at a shop along the way.

We got back on the boat that took us to the bus station where we could take the shuttle back to the hostel and get to bed.

More pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/osani77/VeniceDay3

10 September - Murano

We got up bright and early and went to the restaurant for breakfast. They didn't have much, so we settled for a croissant. Not bad as corissants go. We also found out the pool is only open from 10am-6pm and the shuttles come at 9, 10, and 11am in the morning and 8, 9, and 10pm at night, so unless we planned on staying at the hostel all day, we wouldn't be using the pool. So we showered up and caught the shuttle into Venice for the day.

We started walking with no particular destination in mind. We stopped at a street vendor and got some pastries for breakfast. When we got to San Marco, we decided to catch the water bus to Murano to see the glass. At the ticket counter, the man said we had to go back to the city center to get a student pass which was about half price. However, when we got there and waited in line for an hour, they told me I am too old for a student pass (14-29)! How dare they! And Skylar was too young! Gah! So we had to pay full price which was quite painful. We got the 3 day pass, so we'll use them quite a bit and get our money's worth, I hope.

Finally we boarded the boat and went to Murano. When we got off, we were directed to a glass blowing demonstration. It was pretty cool! The man giving the demonstration said that glass blowing is passed down from generation to generation. To be a master, you have to start very young and be an apprentice for 20-25 years. Seems kind of a strange dream to want to work over a hot flame making gaudy tourist crap all day for little money, but who am I to judge. Then we went into the shop there and this man kept following me around. Maybe he thought Skylar and I looked suspicious. Skylar had his eye on this little octopus and I told him we would look around some more before we bought anything. So the man just gave it to us. It's nothing fancy, but it was still nice of him. We thanked him and went off exploring.

We then continued on looking in every glass shop we passed by, which was every shop! I don't understand how they make money when they all sell the same thing. They claim to be individual glass blowing shops that make their own products, but how come none of them are different? They all sell the same chachka that looks exactly the same. It really was all very pretty though. I just wouldn't know what to do with it. I'm not one to collect stuff like that. Skylar loved it and wanted everything! He got a couple little necklaces and a family of octopi. He kept thanking me for taking him there and saying how much he liked it. Even said he wants to live in Venice and buy a speed boat. Sometimes I don't really get him or why he likes certain things, but I am just really glad he is enjoying himself.

After our feet were killing us and we bought enough junk for one day, we took the boat back to Venice to catch the shuttle. At the hotel we went back to the restaurant and got another french fries pizza. Then headed back to the room for bed.

More pictures can be seen at http://picasaweb.google.com/osani77/VeniceDay2

9 September - Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

We got on our way at 4am this morning. We took a taxi to the train station in Helbronn, took a train to Mainz and from there, took a bus to Hünsruck where the Frankfurt-Hahn airport is. We flew to Treviso airport and took another bus into Venice. Everything actually went just fine. I was so worried about our bags being too big or too heavy, but they didn't even check! I checked though and we were fine. I guess when they do check, they can hit you really hard, so everyone is just paranoid about it. We had to buy plastic baggies for a euro each for our liquids though. Although, they didn't seem to care much about that either because there were a couple things I forgot to put in and they didn't even notice them in my bag. However, they did take my knitting away when we got on the plane and the flight attendant said she was surprised I made it through security with them. Knitting needles can apparently be used as a weapon... you know, like a pen or a cue-tip could be too. She let me have it back after the flight though.



We finally got into Venice at about 2pm and the first thing I wanted to do was find some pizza and some gelato! We walked around a bit gaping at all the beautiful old architecture and bridges and finally settled on this cute little place with our table beside an enormous open window so it was practically outside. Unfortunately, I wasn't that impressed with the pizza. It was paper thin and just OK. Afterward, we followed the trail of tourists with ice cream until we came across the first of many and got a cone. Yummy!!! It was just as I dreamed of... and yes, I actually had been dreaming of real Italian gelato. Seriously, what makes it so good?? Why can't Americans make ice cream like that??



We decided to stay and wander around until the shuttle came that evening because it would take us directly to the hostel and we wouldn't have to deal with the public buses. We walked up and over and around the many canals. We looked at the little gift shops selling masks and Milano glass thingies. There are fruit and vegetable stands all along and on the canals too. So we got some delicious peaches. We went to a Leonardo Da'Vinci museum which was actually pretty neat. It had models of many of his designs such as the cam, some pulley mechanisms, ball bearings, the bicycle, a machine gun, and a bunch of other mechanical stuff. It was all made of wood and they were working models so you could turn them and see how they work.



We kept on walking and admiring everything until our feet hurt and our shoulders were sore from carrying around our luggage. So, we backtracked our way back to Pizzale Roma for the shuttle. We still had some time so we stopped at a park and played around a while.. well actually Skylar played... I think I fell asleep on the park bench.

When we got to the station, we waited and waited.. and waited... 7pm (when the shuttle was supposed to come) came and went and we waited. We befriended some other travelers that were also waiting. Finally I called and they said that due to the end of the season, the first shuttle now comes at 8pm instead of 7pm. So we all went to a nearby cafe and got a glass of wine. In Germany, beer is cheaper than water.. well in Italy, wine is cheaper. My glass of wine was 2.50 and Skylar's sprite was 3 euro! It was strong wine too!


Finally, the shuttle came and it was a big fancy charter bus. We made our way to the hostel and checked in. The hostel is called Camping Jolly so I thought for sure it was going to be a total dive, but it was actually pretty decent. Not the Ritz or anything, but nice. We have our own cabin (actually a trailer) with our own bathroom and refrigerator. It has two cute little beds and decent space. There is a giant pool and even an exercise room.

We went to the little restaurant for some more pizza and met up with our new friends again. The waiter swore he knew me from somewhere and finally relented that I must just have one of those faces. What does that mean anyway? That I look like everyone else? Uhhh... thanks. We rented some towels and headed back to the room for an early night. We were exhausted!

More photos can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/osani77/VeniceDay1

8 September - Packing for Venice

Project? What project?

Skylar and I rode to town and got a small duffel bag to bring with us. It's nothing fancy and the price was right. Maybe we'll need it when we go home anyway. Since the flights for home were bought with my adviser's miles, we get to bring 3 bags each that can weigh up to 50lbs. Crazy, I know. I've actually been really good though and haven't really bought much here other than a few key chain souvenirs, so unless our stuff swelled from being here, we should have plenty of room.

I printed out all my travel details and times of connections to and from. I printed out directions to the hostel and some sight seeing places. I think I have everything ready for our trip. We only packed necessities so hopefully we are under the weight limit.

For some reason I can never sleep well before a trip, but we are going to bed early anyway.

7 September- Travel Nerves

Ryanair is known for all their little hidden fees, so I am stressing that I have everything the right way. I checked in online for both the to and return flights and printed out our boarding passes. If you don't they charge you 40 euro. I double checked our names because if they are spelled wrong, they charge you per letter even if it is their mistake. I don't think my backpacking bag is small enough and my laptop backpack is not big enough, so I'll have to go buy a small bag. It has to be 50X40X20 and weigh less than 10kg otherwise you have to have it checked and that costs about 50 euro. Of course there is that liquid rule too, so I have make sure I have all my little travel bottles.

I am also worried about the connections. We have to take a taxi to the train station because the buses don't run that early, then take a train, then a bus to get to the airport and there is only one train that leaves from Heilbronn early enough, so we better not screw it up or we'll miss the flight.

Hopefully everything will go smoothly. I've got my fingers and toes crossed :)

6 September - Blueberry Cream Muffins

This morning I made scrumptious blueberry cream muffins. It was dull and dreary outside and I figured what better way to cozy up than some muffins :)

Skylar and I just watched movies and hung around most of the day. I did some laundry and made a packing list for Venice. Just a few more days!

5 September - Ganzhornfest

It rained most of the day, but once it cleared up, Skylar and I rode down to Neckarsulm to the Ganzhornfest. Germany loves festivals! We watched a lot of big band music. It was really cool! I thought the band kids were supposed to be the nerds in high school... but these kids were all punked out, with different colored hair and piercings. They had on elaborate band uniforms with an emblem of skull and cross bones. To top it off they played a Green Day tune! Some of them had their faces painted like skeletons or vampires. There was also a pretty cool metal band on another stage. We walked around and tried a few things to eat. Most of the people just stand around these things and get drunk, which seems to be the norm to do around here. We went and played on the play ground for a while where there was this cool bouncy metal bridge thing that I can't even explain, but when one person jumped on one side, the person on the other would go up in the air. Skylar climbed the wall they had set up and of course just flew right up it before the guy even had a chance to tighten the belay. It was a lot of fun! Then we rode the 10k or so home.

4 September - Wrapping up

Diana wanted to meet today because she's been away for awhile and wanted to get caught up with things. She asked a lot about Skylar and I explained how hard everything has been for him and the troubles he had at camp. I tried not to be completely down about my project. I went into the problems I've had with making any sense of it and how what I had was really pointless and that I'd have to do something else entirely for my thesis. There was nothing that she could do or say to help the project, but it would have been silly of me to tell her everything is fine when it's not. She of course wishes there was something that she could do, but it's too far gone now, so I just have to get through it.

We talked a lot about an allergy clinic she's been at for the past month. She has a lot of food allergies and is trying to figure out what she actually can eat, so there is this place near Bavaria that puts her up and makes all her meals in a cycle fashion. Like this grain one day and another grain the next to see what she reacts to and what she doesn't. Then she has a strict regimen for the next 2 months as well. What amazed me most about the whole thing was that it is all paid for. It's part of regular health care and insurance pays for it. I may be wrong, but I don't think US health insurance would pay much of something like that.

We also talked about getting me to the airport and stuff before I leave. I thought it might be easiest to pack up the van the day before so that all we would have to do is go the next morning. My flight is at 10:45am, so we would have to leave at about 6:30am and dragging all my stuff out at 5am is not going to make the neighbors happy. She also suggested we stay at someone's house in Frankfurt the night before so we don't have to get up so early. She said she would ask around if anyone knew anyone that lives there and would be willing to let us stay. Might be awkward, but however is easiest for her works for me. I already feel bad because the school semester starts the day before I leave, so Nora has to put us in her room so the new tenant can move in to ours before classes start.

After the meeting, it was down pouring outside, so I hung around and tried to work on my project a little. I even got chocolate to lift my spirits. I thought it was hazelnut chocolate... well apparently it is hazelnut, blueberry, rum and chocolate.. all I taste it rum! Bleck!

I also found out that I need to register for a class next semester in order to keep my status active and not need to reapply. So I emailed Lael (my adviser back home) to see what I should take. Now, since I don't work for the University anymore, I have to take out a student loan to pay for a class that I don't even need! Pretty stupid if you ask me. So now I get to fill out a fafsa.

3 September - Job Search cont.

It rained like crazy all morning, so I skipped my run. If it rains while I'm running, that's fine, but sometimes getting myself to go out in the pouring rain is a little harder. Besides with lightning and thunder, it's not such a good idea to be running about anyway, right?

I spent pretty much the whole day filling out government applications and applying to every job that even slightly matched my skill set. The government applications are like exams! Seriously, they took like an hour each while it asked me not only my skill level in fifty different areas, but asked for examples in an essay format. If that's just the application, I'm afraid of what an interview might be like.

This evening, Skylar and I went to the Kletterarena and met up with Michele and Thomas for some climbing. Skylar is doing really well with lead climbing. He seemed really into it tonight too, which was nice. He and Thomas went off for a while and did some bouldering too. I climbed my first 7 too, so I was feeling pretty good. I don't know the exact conversions, but I think a 7 is like a 5.10b-c, so pretty darn good for the level of climbing I've been struggling with lately. Then Skylar and I tried some slack lining. Man is that hard! Balance has never been my strong suit anyway. I think I may have to set one up in my backyard when I get home :)

Stomp is performing in Berlin this month so I am trying to figure out a way to get out there. Maybe the weekend before I come home. It would be really nice to see Berlin while I'm here. There is this cool car ride thing that is set up where you go on a website and see if anyone is going to your destination on the day(s) you want to go and then just chip in for gas which is cheaper than a train ticket, so I may look into that.

2 September - Spinach and Rice Frittata

When I am procrastinating the most, the best thing for me to do seems to be trying new recipes lately. Sometimes it's quite the challenge wandering around the grocery store trying to find things I don't know the German name for. Not to mention the whole gram to cup conversion thing. Seriously, the States need to go metric. Life would be so much simpler and the system just makes more sense.

I fiddled with my paper a little and tried to make sense of the suggestions Wendelin made, but mostly just stared at it blankly. Skylar has taken to Green Day radio and it can be very distracting anyway.

My spinach frittata turned out perfect. Delicious! http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1826,153160-247199,00.html

1 September - Meetings

Still a bit and sore and tired from the weekend, but I got up and went to the university to meet with Wendelin. We went over what I had written so far and he gave me some suggestions for some calculations. We realized why we were both so confused over a statement he had made about the numbers being equal. In Europe, they use the comma as we use the decimal. Once we straightened that out, things became a little clearer. Not much, but a little. We worked on the general format of my paper as well. His schedule is very busy for the next couple weeks, so he can't meet with me until the 18th and that is only tentative. Works for me since we will be in Venice anyway.

Skylar was thrilled not to have any more camp and has once again become glued to his computer. He finished his 15th book since we got here! I'll have to find another series for him to read again since he's now read all of the Harry Potters, Levin Thumps, Percy Jackson, and Fablehaven. In addition to a few randoms here and there.

31 August - Frankenjura Day 2

Skylar and I woke up bright and early, but most of the others didn't get up till 9 or so and then had these elaborate breakfasts.. well, elaborate for camping anyway. We went out to another area to climb and it was a much nicer day.. not too warm... maybe 75 at most. This area wasn't as serene as the others though because it was along a pretty busy road. It must've been motorcycle day or something because their were bikes flying by all day! The routes were really nice and there were quite a few of them of varying difficulties. I did a fair amount of lead climbing and top roping. We stayed out there a long time, but took more breaks and joked around quite a bit more.

Skylar didn't climb much this day either. I think the homesickness is really get to him. Makes it hard to enjoy the fun stuff we are doing when all he can think about is going home. Anna had a hammock that she set up and that made him happy. He laid there and read his book all afternoon.

We headed back that afternoon and I think we all fell asleep in the speeding car.. all except the driver, I hope. We stopped at a rest area to use the bathrooms and much like many public restrooms, we had to pay 50 cents to get in them. My bags were all packed in the van though, so Michele kindly loaned me the money. Sometimes, they even charge at restaurants, but then it is more of asking, not a locked gate or door to get inside.

All in all though, it was a fun and exhausting weekend!

30 August - Frankenjura Day 1

We got up bright and early and waited for Michele with our 7 bags in front of the house ;) He was with another friend, Anna that works with him who also didn't know anyone else. Then we all drove to the Kletterarena to meet up with the rest of the group. Some of the people I recognized, but most I had never even seen before. After a little confusion of what van we were taking and where to put our stuff, we got going. We drove with Mick who drove 150km/ hr the whole way. Still took us about 3 hours.

By the time we got to the campsite we were starving, but our bags were taken in another, slower driving van, so we had to wait. We set up our tents at the campsite while we waited. Camping is different in Europe.. it's like a parking lot of tents and cars... reminds me more of the way people camp at festivals in the states. The tent I borrowed from Bjorn is like ancient! It kept collapsing because one of the poles was broken... the center one. We just had to hope it didn't get too windy or there would be no way to keep it up. I just made sure our stuff was at least protected and hoped it didn't blow into the pond. The other van finally arrived and we shoved some lunch down and packed some up to bring with us.

I guess I'm used to climbing where we camp, but this was different. We drove to the climbing site. It was also quite colder than I thought it was going to be. Leave it to me to where a halter top and shorts in 60 degree weather :) OK, not really freezing, but the rock gets really cold and especially out in the woods when it is all shaded.


We went to a couple different places and it was cool because the group kind of broke off into smaller groups based on levels. Michele, Anna and I climb at almost the same level. Since we were kind of the outsiders of the group we went our separate ways and found some things to climb. The rock was really sharp, so my fingers are all cut and bloody. It's nice when it's rough because it's easier to grip, but it can be brutal. I was climbing this one route and all of a sudden this furry thing ran out of a hole I grabbed onto and then back in really fast. I screamed and everyone ran over. It was hissing and growling like crazy! I had no idea what it was and the other climbers said it was probably a sieben Schläfer (seven sleeper) but didn't know what the English word for the animal was. They said they are only about 3" big and thought it was hilarious that is scared me so bad. I felt pretty silly, but all I saw was this rush of fur and all this noise... it could have been a bear for all I knew :) I just kept climbing and steered clear of it on my way back down. We climbed for about 8 hours! Skylar mostly wandered around and read his book. He wasn't really in the mood for climbing. By the time we headed to the campsite, we were all exhausted and starving.

We all cleaned up a bit, put on some warmer clothes and headed for the little restaurant at the campsite. It was decent enough and they had Käse-Spätzle on the menu so we were good. Anna is a vegetarian too, so she kindly helped us out with the menu. There was about 20 of us and the waitress was bringing our drinks two by two. Without even thinking about it, I took a sip and got reamed by half the table! Apparently I was supposed to wait for the toast before I could drink. Whoops. However, no one waited for everyone to get their food. Actually, many people were done before we even got ours. Then the waitress brought us all a little bottle of liqueur for a shot. I didn't take mine as I was already falling asleep in my beer that I didn't even drink half of. So the group first puts the bottle cap on their nose, then they stick their tongue in the bottle. Usually they would then all toast each other's bottle, but people were too far away, so they just drank them. Such silly German customs :)

The tent had blown over when we got back, but I just fixed it up again. As long as it kept us dry, it would be ok. I didn't have a pad for the ground either and it was so cold! My sleeping bag is really warm, but without something for insulation underneath it, it doesn't matter. Woke up freezing a few times throughout the night though.

28 August - Last day of Gaffenberg

Just look how sad he is on the last day of camp... he must really be going to miss the place. Yeah right. His last day consisted of what seemed to be more fighting and even had a few bruises on his legs to show for it. His counselors weren't very helpful in the matter either. So I'm glad he's done with it too.

Today I packed our gear, clothes, and food for the weekend. I am not sure what the food situation will be or if we need to have everything we plan on eating, so I made sure to bring plenty.

Michele called this evening and asked if we would like to be picked up. We were planning on taking the bus to the Kletterarena where would meet the rest of the group for the trip. I know Michele lives on the other side of town, so I said he didn't have to, but he insisted. So nice of him! I really didn't want to drag our bags, climbing gear, food, and tent on the bus at 6am, but never would have asked him to go out of his way like that. So nice!

Of course I couldn't sleep because I was excited and nervous :)

27 August - Eve

I took some pictures on my run this morning. The forest area is so beautiful around here! Everything is so green and the air is so fresh. I usually run along this creak around this small pond. It opens up into a big meadow in one direction and the wine fields in the other direction. There is a path called Sculpturweg that has all these different scupltures carved out of tree trunks. There are beavers, bears, deer, and various birds. There is this one really elaborate one that looks like a woman entwined with a snake. I asked Nora if it was a German thing, but she said no... maybe it is Eve or something. Anyway, looks really cool!

Skylar had a mostly boring day at camp again, but learned a new trick with his string called Cat's Eye.

I am getting more and more nervous about the trip this weekend and thought it would be a good idea to get as much climbing in as possible. So, I met Michele and Thomas at the Kletterarena again. I tried some trickier stuff tonight and somehow kept managing to scrape the backs of my hands on the walls. For the non-climbers out there, you are not supposed to climb with the backs of your hands.

26 August - Mountain biking

OK, so my bike is more like a cruiser.. an around-the-town kind of bike, but the trails were so tempting and I got to Skylar's camp a bit early... soooooo... I took my bike and rode the best I could up and down then hills. Down the hills were fine, but with thin tires, my bike was not happy about the uphills... neither were my legs actually. Guess I'll just have to wait until I get home and hope there are a few nice days left. October is going to be one busy month! So close and yet still, so far. Skylar said this morning, "I want to go home." :( I said soon sweetheart, but don't worry Venice is just in a couple weeks. Yay for Venice!

My project is turning into a complete flop. I am going to leave here with nothing to show for it.. well, no work anyway.. lots of play and adventure, but no work. I don't think it will even count for my thesis and there is nothing I can do about it now. I'll just have to write another one when I get home. Maybe I'll get a public health degree while I'm at it and I can use it for that. Informatics, though? No.

25 August - End of Climbing Hiatus

I finally got the info on this weekend's camping/ climbing trip to Frankenjura! There are 23 of us going... of which, I know myself, Skylar, Michele, and Mick. I've seen some of the others around the gym and at the crag, but I don't know any of them by name and have never spoken to them more than a head nod. Mick is a really good climber and I am pretty sure the rest of the group is pretty hard core as well. I just hope there are some easier routes I can do without holding them up at all. I mean, I know at the gym, it doesn't matter if one person is better than another, but outside, you set up routes and we are most likely leading them... they are not going to want to bother setting up easy routes. Oh well..it's Frankenjura and it looks incredibly beautiful, so if nothing else we will just sit back and enjoy the scenery :)

Michele is also back from his vacation, so we met at the gym tonight. Thomas was there too and he's really nice and a really good climber as well. I was saying something about Skylar and camp and he goes, "You have a son?! How old is he?" I say, "10" and he says, "How old are you?!" and I tell him and he says, "WoW!" He said he was 30, but assured me that he has no kids. I told him, good for him. I'm sure he didn't mean anything by it, it was just strange. 21 doesn't seem that crazily young to have a kid, but maybe I've just gotten used to it.

Riding home from the gym was a bit colorful tonight. It was a bit late and when Skylar's not with me, some guys seem to think it is OK to holler at me. I was riding past this one bar with a bunch of guys crowded around an outside table and they start talking to me as I ride up and get more giddy as I get closer. I sped past them as fast as I could and they shouted a few things. For all I know they were telling me there was a big snake up ahead, but I didn't slow down to explain that I don't speak German, so who knows.

24 August - The World is a Vampire

I really had good intentions of working on my research today. I even brought the endless papers I need to read and set them right next to me. Instead, I brought Skylar to camp even though he begged me not to make him go. I went for a run and managed not to get lost. Then I don't really know where the day went. I chatted with Nora quite a bit about this and that. I wrote emails and chatted online and then all of a sudden it was time to pick up Skylar from camp.

They turned him into a vampire! I knew something was funny about this camp... they may have even told me, except it was in German ;)

23 August - Family Day

Today was family day at Skylar's camp. We went up there and walked around. There was a ton of people all over the place and some of the counselors were dressed in costumes. Many of the guys were wearing dresses and butterfly wings. They made some announcements in German and they sang some German songs. They also sang Leaving on a Jet Plane. It's funny how they have this set of classic English songs that they sing at camps and stuff. It is the same songs they sang on the boat in Amsterdam. They even had a book with all the words. Germans seem to really like to sing. Even the drunken guys downstairs kept breaking out in song from time to time the other day.

Anyway, after playing on the playground and walking in circles, we decided to leave. We didn't know what was going on or who we should ask. Skylar showed me around the small camp grounds and compared everything to his camp back home.

When we got home we watched another movie together, Hotel for Dogs and I cried like a baby :)

22 August - Saving money

Skylar begged not to have to go to camp this morning, so I didn't make him. It's supposed to be fun, not torture. He's still having trouble with some of the kids, but he won't really talk about it. He's turning into such an emo teenager and he's only 10.

I am terrible at saving money. I am terrible at staying home and doing nothing. One, I wanted to save for Venice and two, we are going camping next weekend, so I wanted to play it low key this weekend.

Skylar and I played Skip-bo and watched a movie. It's about as low key as it could get.

21 August - Bitte?

I finally got the wine vineyards worked out but now there are all these new and exciting trails to run around by Skylar's camp. They go through the woods in every direction. It's gorgeous! I keep running my signage and old ruins of forts and things. A lot of the trails look like they are used for mountain biking and has really gotten me thinking about riding. A new friend has offered to teach me a thing or two if the weather cooperates when I get home. I can't wait. Of course I got lost again and this time turned left instead of right but still ended up far from home when I finally could figure out where I was. It also rained a bit, which was sooooo nice. I love running in the rain! It's like cleansing the soul!

Soon after I got home, it really started raining and thundering and lightning. It was pretty cool and made the thick air so much more breathable.

This afternoon, I was meeting Julianne in town for coffee. I was a bit early and stopped to look at shoes, but I could hardly look because the man in the store was so interested in why I would be in Heilbronn of all places studying. Such a small town for anyone from America to come to. He kept asking me questions until I had to go. Julianne and I chatted for hours. She is going home for a couple weeks and so we wanted to get together before she left and maybe we'll be able to get together again before I leave. It started raining again, but I had to go and get Skylar so off I went in my skirt on my bike in the pouring rain. I looked like a drowned rat, but had to stop at the grocery store for just a couple things. I ran in and got what I needed. There was a man talking to me, but I have learned it is sometimes easier to be cordial and just smile and nod rather than explain I can't speak German. Well, usually this works. I ran out of the store and stopped in the bakery to grab a pretzle because I was starving. So with pretzle shoved in my mouth and still soaking wet I mount my bike when the man from the grocery store tries to call me over to him. I just wave and start to ride off and so he gets out of his car and runs over to me. I told him I don't speak German and that I was in a hurry. He starts going on about how pretty I am and how he would like to see me again trying to form a string of English words into some semblance of a sentence. I politely try to tell him I am only here for a little while longer and that I have to go and he says I am speaking too fast. I finally just say Entschuldigung! and ride off. I felt really bad, but I had to get to camp before Skylar got out.

I made it there just in time. Skylar still hates camp and was thrilled it was Friday until he found out there was camp tomorrow too.

20 August - 36 degrees Celsius

I ran with Skylar to camp again. Even at 7am it was hot! By noon it was 36 degrees (96F) and on the third floor, it is just hot! I think my brain melted.

I have been trying to save money for our trip to Venice next month and therefore staying home quite a bit. Going a little stir crazy, but it will be worth it. I finally got paid today, so I booked the hostel. It is just outside the city, but there are bus and shuttle rides, so I'm hoping it all works out. Couldn't beat the price and at least there is a pool. I have a feeling it is going to be a bit of a party type place meant to appeal to young college kids on vacation, but that's ok. Now I just need to start working on our itinerary.. what is there to do in Venice?

I was thoroughly glistening with exercise moisture when I went to pick up Skylar this afternoon. He was all muddy and said they were playing by a creek, but the water was too cold to get in. I would've given anything to jump in a cold creek today. He was happy that he learned a bunch of cool tricks with cat's cradle (remember that game with the string around your fingers). He learned Gummi (rubber band), Krone (crown), and a few others. Now he has pieces of string everywhere.

It is the boy downstair's birthday tomorrow so they started partying early and went all night long. I think all of the neighbors complained.

19 August - Losing myself

So now that Skylar has camp so early in the morning and I have to bring him up there, I have been able to get out early enough to beat the heat. This morning I ran with him to camp. He was on bike and I jogged along side. Like I said, it is completely uphill, so we move like molasses anyway. It's a great warm up. The road we ride up into the park is kind of narrow and has a sharp turn around the bend, so I have trying to see if there is an alternate route because the buses come up that way and it makes me nervous. So across from the entrance there is another paved road, and I decided to run that way and see where it leads. I came to a choice of right or left and chose right because there was a sign that said Heilbronn. I ran and ran and ran and for nearly an hour and finally came out by the University. I have no idea how I ran completely around Heilbronn, but at least from there I knew my way.

Had a bit of trouble motivating myself on my research this morning. The day passed relatively quickly though and it was time to go get Skylar. Up the hills I went with my legs complaining the whole way. At the beginning and end of each day there is this group of teenagers that play music as the kids come and go. It's really cute and sometimes they are dressed up. Today they were dressed as ancient Greeks. Skylar said today went better than yesterday and the kid didn't bother him anymore. They had a water fight and he got completely soaked. He still doesn't like it though. His favorite part is the ride home.

18 August - Scuffle

Rode with Skylar to camp again this morning and glided home. I did some stretching and went back off for a run. I have had to hit the pavement in the morning hours otherwise it is just too hot!

This afternoon, I had a meeting with Wendelin and he went over my drug list with me to find some of the German translations of common medications and insulin. He said I seemed to be in a much better mood than our last meeting, so took that to mean that my project must be going well. I went back to my office and printed out a bunch more journal articles. I know I am killing trees, but reading on my computer is just too distracting.

I went and picked up Skylar at camp and he had a bandage under his eye. Uh-oh. So I ask him what happened and I can tell he is not in good spirits. He said another boy pushed him into a bush. I asked why and he said he didn't know. This went on for a couple minutes, so I went in search of his counselor. I talked to another girl who promised to pass along the message when she saw his counselor, but assured me that kids just do that sometimes. What? It wasn't a play fight, I tell her. I continued to try and find out what happened and the most I could get was that the boy kept kicking Skylar and so he told his counselor and then the boy attacked him. How can he fight with someone when they don't even speak the same language? Skylar kept saying he didn't know why the boy was upset. I hate when there is nothing I can do. Kids can be such brats! How do you say don't fight back if they won't stop without telling on them and making them angrier?

Nora made dinner tonight for us and her boyfriend Bjorn. There is just enough room to squeeze four chairs around the little garden table. It was nice and I cleaned up after.

17 August - Gaffenberg

Today was Skylar's first day of camp. Nora kindly asked our landlord what he needed to bring because her son had gone in years past, so she left us a note. She is so sweet! I had run into this camp before on my runs through the vineyards, but as I am usually lost, I wasn't sure exactly where it was, so we googled it. It's not that far, but completely uphill! So we struggled with our bikes and had to walk them at a few points. We found the entrance and I watched Skylar bravely enter yet a new territory with more new kids and very little English speakers. I can't imagine what that feels like!

Now if the ride there is completely uphill, well of course the ride back is completely downhill. Wheeeee! I was in such good spirits this morning so the cool wind through my hair felt amazing :)

I had quite a bit of my paper to work on and started actually putting it together. I had 3 different documents of facts and figures, but wanted to start writing my rough draft to see where I am at. I got a good 10 pages down, so I felt accomplished. I am failing to see an informatic aspect of this at all and wonder if it will even count as my thesis paper, but I'm too far along to change anything.

Went back this evening to get Skylar from camp. He loved the ride home too :)

He said camp was ok... kinda boring... kinda like a day care. There is another American boy there though and he has been living in Germany for three years, so speaks English and German. Skylar was happy about that. Couldn't get much else out of him... they ate and played in the woods.

16 August - Katzenbuckel

We got up bright and early to catch the train to Heidelberg this morning and meet with this hiking group. We then took the train to Eberbach to hike over the Katzenbuckel and through the Wolfschlucht to Zwingenberg. The 626 m high Katzenbuckle (cat hump) is a volcanic cone on the Buntsandsteinhochfläche.

The first part of the hike was probably the hardest since we had to ascend 550m. Obviously it wasn't straight up, but it was a lot of walking uphill. We got to see the castle ruins of Eberbach and Skylar impressed everyone with his climbing skills, while I impressed them with my steel nerves. We continued up for a while and stopped in a meadow for a snack. Once we got to the top there was a magnificent 18m tower which we climbed up the narrow staircase to see the view from the top. It was extrodinary! You could see Osenwald and the Stuttgart Tv tower all the way out to the Black Forest.

On our descent down the other side, we happened along a little lake festival and stopped for lunch and apfelshorle, which is a common refreshing drink made of apple juice and fizzy water. Germans love that fizzy water! Then we walked down to the lake where Skylar promptly took off his shoes and waded in a bit to cool off. Temps were about 32 degrees (90 F), so it was hot!

We continued on and were so grateful upon coming into the forest again by the creek where it was considerably cooler. We were in the gorge Wolf. The scenery was beautiful and had the feeling of an Amazon forest with overhanging trees and lots of greenery. We hiked down the creek for a while and then back onto the paths in the woods. We cut out of the woods and into a small neighborhood at some point and then back into the woods. We came to the Castle Zwingenberg which overlooked the Neckar. It was just a short hike from there into town.

We stopped at a cute little restaurant for lunch and refreshments along the Neckar. The group was very diverse and had some people native to Germany and some from Iran and even an army guy who was recently stationed there. It was fun trading stories and chatting with all the different people.

We parted from the group at the train station because they were going back to Heidelberg and it was quicker for us to go on to Heilbronn from there. Well it would have been quicker if we didn't get mixed up again somehow. Not sure what happened, but we had to catch another train when our train reached it's final destination. We're getting used to it and the trains are nice and relaxing where we read our books and/ or I knit, so we don't mind anymore.

A full day and 10 miles! Wow! I was so impressed with Skylar. I had originally thought we might part from the group and go back, but there was no need. He complained a little, but had no problem keeping up. Actually he was usually ahead of everyone.

15 August - Lichterfest

Nora put up an add for the room to rent in October for when we leave. Today the first person came to see it. We spent most of the morning straightening up. I went for a short run and came back to be around for some Skype time.

I talked with Debbie for quite a while, but as the day got on, it was just too beautiful to stay inside. So Skylar and I went back off to the Lichterfest. We watched a Brazilian band for a while and had some ice cream. For the most part it was local restaurants set up with tables and special menus, so we skipped all that. They did some neat light reflections on the water and played a lot of music.

I made some more of my healthy bars for a hiking trip we have planned tomorrow. I also attempted to make asparagus soup, but the season is over, so I had to use frozen and it just wasn't the same.

Then we went to bed early for a big day tomorrow.

14 August - Running

Ahh... I went for a nice long run through the wine vinyards and managed not to get lost! Yea me! It has been really hot lately and I really should run in the morning, but no. It is so beautiful through the vineyards and up to the campgrounds. There is this one house that I always pass that is painted like the rainbow... literally like two foot wide vertical stripes in bright rainbow colors across the building. I wonder what it is.

I'm so tempted to sample the grapes as I run by them just to see, but I haven't. I think I have finally figured my way to navigate through them though, which is nice because I don't like running on the boring neighborhood roads. Getting lost really isn't that bad anyway :)

I managed to get Skylar off the computer for a bit to see what was going on down town. We didn't stay long, but it was nice. They are setting up for the Lichterfest this weekend which is described through google translate as a farewell of some sort, but I don't know what they are saying farewell to.

13 August - Number crunching

OK, 80 mil Germans and 300 mil Americans times the prevalence in both countries equals how many diabetics in comparitive numbers? 140 million euro spent on diabetes in Germany and 90 billion spent in the US is about the same according to my adviser... really? What mathematical manipulative did you use to deduce that??? 15 euro for insulin in Germany and 150 dollars in the US... 4 dollars for this medication and 1 euro in Germany... Ahhhhhhhh!

You would think Skylar had gone weeks without his computer by the way he has been glued to it since we got back from the bike trip. Sometimes I get him to take breaks by playing Skip-Bo or something, but wow.

12 August - Back to research

Still tired and sore and would have liked to sleep until at least 3pm this afternoon, but I had to meet with Wendelin about progress on my research. Riiiiighhht.... about that... ummmm....

That's about how my meeting went and he wants to meet again early next week because I seem to be stuck and I think we are both worried that after five months, I am not going to have anything worthwhile to show. He did get me a book of list price drugs for the US and gave me access for Germany's price list, so I can at least get started on that. I also need to extrapolate comparable figures given the population differences as well as the dollar the euro. I've got my work cut out for me, but as always, I brought it on myself.

I need a vacation to rest up from my vacation :)

11 August - Bodensee, Austria

Again we got up bright and early and went down to the breakfast buffet. Same lineup except for these little peach cake things which were yummy. It was pretty dreary outside and this was the day we planned on swimming. So we took our time getting ready. Again we were going to take the ferry, but do to the weather and no hurry in getting to Reinspitz where we planned on swimming, we decided to bike it.

The weather cleared up considerably, but wasn't very warm. We were still set on going swimming though. We rode through some towns in search of a good swimming area, but many in this area seemed to be for boat docking. We decided to ride our bikes on to Rorchach and then take the ferry back to Lindau where we would catch the train. As the day went on, it did become increasingly warmer and by the time we came across a quaint little spot in Gasau, we were ready to swim. We swam out to this pontoon about 400m out and pretended to surf for a while. The water was quite cold though, so we didn't last long. Not to mention my legs already being sore enough without adding too much swimming in. So we dried off and changed and got back on our bikes. We continued on to Rorchach and got some lunch. The first place we stopped had no vegetarian options, so we had to pay for our drinks and try somewhere else. Then it seemed to be siesta time or something because everywhere was closed form 2-4pm. We rode around a bit more and found this sand sculpture thing that was going on. They were all about 5X5 ft and extraordinarily sculpted. It was very impressive.

We found a place to eat and then boarded the ferry to Lindau. It was packed and we barely found a place to sit. At the first stop it cleared out a bit and we were able to enjoy the view. It took about an hour. We pulled up to Lindau and the train station was right there, which was nice. Today's ride was about 40km at least, so we were ready to relax on the train. We changed trains in Ulm and again in Stuttgart, arriving in Heilbronn at 12:04am. We biked home and passed out almost instantly.

More pictures can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/osani77/BodenseeBikeTourDay3

10 August - Bodensee, Germany

We got up early this morning and went down to what seems to be the typical hostel buffet breakfast. We haven't been to many but, the handful we've been to have been pretty much the same. They are always nice though. Usually they consist of a few different kinds of cereal, fresh bread, some jams, hard boiled eggs, various cheese slices, yoghurt, milk, juice, and coffee. A great way to start the morning.

We went back upstairs and looked off the balcony at the beautiful view of the lake. We shortly got our things together and went off in search for the ferry to Meersburg. We shortly crossed over into Germany at Konstanz, which was strangely guarded by military. We rode for a bit more trying to follow the bike signs which were of a little bicycle with a blue wheel.

Finally we found the ferry and jumped on for the short jaunt to the other side of the lake to continue our route through Germany. Meersburg is an adorable little town, so we stopped and took some pictures and Skylar played in the park. The route was much nicer than the Switzerland side with much better markings of the path. We rode along the lake edge for a while and stopped to play a game of miniature golf. A very hard game of golf, I might add. Then we rode a bit more and stopped for lunch at this quaint little restaurant. She gave us the english menu, but the translations were a bit off. I ordered mushroom herb donuts because I was sick of eating pasta and curious as to what they could be. Well, they turned out to be crepes, but they were really good. Skylar got the spätzle, which was also quite good.

We rode on for quite a bit more and stopped in Freidrichshafen, which is another cute little lakeside town. We stopped at one of the ten ice cream places within a fifty foot radius and then Skylar played in this fountain for awhile. My original plan included taking the ferry from here to Bregenz, but the day was only half over and I wanted to keep riding and figured we'd take the ferry from Lindau instead. Just a little outside of town we stopped for a swim and to skip some rocks along the lake. Then back on the bikes to continue our ride.

We rode through so many fruit orchards, I was so tempted to sample from. There were lots of grape vineyards, apple trees, pear trees, and some that I think were prune trees. The path went along the lake, through some towns and through some farming areas. It was all really nice. At about 4pm, the sky opened up and it started to pour. Luckily we were near a bridge and we took shelter for about 20 minutes until it slowed down quite a bit. It was still drizzling, but we went on. The rain cooled things off quite a bit and made that sweet smell in the air which was really refreshing. I felt like we could just ride all day. Which, I guess we did, because we couldn't find the ferry dock in Lindau, so decide to continue riding to Bregenz. At this point it was getting pretty late and we were starving, but I wanted to get to the hostel before we stopped so that we wouldn't be searching in the dark again. I was also afraid it would start storming again. Skylar was pretty tired at this point, but kept trucking on. He did a great job and I let him set the pace most of the time. We even stopped at a few more playgrounds just to stretch our legs a bit. At about 8:30pm, we crossed into Austria. We crossed two country borders in one day! Three countries in one day by bike! So cool :)

We had to ask where the hostel was, but eventually found it and checked in at about 9:30pm. We put our stuff in the room which seemed to be full this time and then went back down to the bar area to get some food. All they really had was frozen pizza, but we were hungry and it worked. Then we went straight to bed. After biking about 70km, it didn't take much to fall asleep.

More pictures can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/osani77/BodenseeBikeTourDay2