Risk.

I slept in untill nine today, for some odd reason. The breakfast was good as usual, and it was cloudy and grey outside. This week, I had to clean the guinea pig cage, so that kept me busy for a while. Lucas, Anton, and I decided to play risk, and for the first time in history, I won! It was a good feeling. Dinner was duck, and we were joined by Silkes brother in law. It was a good, but lazy day.

Friday.

Friday was a good day. The sun tried to peek its head out of the clouds, and the weather was good. I started my day at school off with geography, where it was the typical game of " what problems can we pin on the Americans". If there was one thing I could change about this trip, it would have to be the stereotype that follows me around, just because I'm from America. Its very frustrating. Next came math, and that was all fun and games as usual. In the free period, my friend yanni bought me a Berliner from the market. It was a great way to pass time. Next came Biology, where I sat and watched kids talk about mitosis. It was interesting as always. I went home then, and enjoyed myself. I finished my day with watching the new True Grit on tv in German. It was a good day.

Thanksgiving! (100th day!)

Happy thanksgiving everyone! Unfortunately, no one celebrates Thanksgiving here, so no Turkey for me! Today is also my 100th day here in Germany, and my class test! Woohoo! So I started off my day with a good lesson of German, and then prepared myself mentaly, and physically for the test. The test was a tad bit strange, but I think I did well in it. Next was my tutor lesson, and we practiced some more on sentence structure. I went home then for a while, and then had to head back down to school for Spanish. At the end of the period, I met up with Anton, and we went and bought gyros for our Thanksgiving feast. After eating, I played the computer for a while, then went to bed. A good day!

Cheese Cake!

My Wednesday started off with all the usual things. The cereal, the guinea pigs, etc. It was chilly this morning, and frost glinted off the grades in the mornings patchy sunlight. I made my way down to school, and enjoyed the fresh air. Spanish came first, and most of the class was braindead for some reason, so not much was accomplished. My first small break went fast, with me talking to my friends, and in art, we continued with our collage. On my second break, I went with Ben to the bakery, and bought a slice of cheese cake. There is always something new there! It was delicious. I had German next, and I watched the class split into groups and perform part of a German play they are reading. I had my hour long break then, but it was too cold to sit on the benches, so I marched my way to the supermarket, and bought some hot cocoa, and a chocolate bar for class. In my tutor lesson, I learned some new vocabulary and grammatical foundation of sentences, etc. I had English next, and that was very fun, since we began a project for the book that we are reading. I came home then, and studied intensly for a few hours, due to my test on Thursday in history. It was a good day today!

Free Day

There is not much to report on today. There is just the fact that I slept in late, ate a delicious breakfast, and basked in the sun light today. Basically the life of a cat. I did have to go to sports though at the end of the day, where I had to run three miles, and do gymnastics. Fun, fun, fun! Sorry for the lack of writing, but today was just over with fast.

The Infomercial

Monday was not that bad today actually. It started off with some cereal, and the usual things I do in the morning. The temperature was not bad, and it was pretty outside, but overcast. My first class was math, and that was the same as usual. Then I had a break, and I had a good time with my friends outside. In Spanish, I had a very good time, with practically everyone trying to talk to me. Then there was some amazing news at the end if the period. I wouldn't have religion, or biology on Tuesday, so that means that I basically have the entire day off, but I have to end the day with a double lesson of sports. Still, its great! Then I had English, and that went very slow. For some reason, I don't enjoy that class as much as I use to. Sports was next, and we ran suicides. Not fun. Then the coach made us try to climb a rope from the ground to the ceiling. I tried, and that won't happen any time soon, especially with the rock climbing yesterday. After sports I had History, where we began to prepare for our class test on Thursday. I feel confident on the chosen material. Religion was next, and it was the same mess as always. Geography finished up my day, and we relaxed as we finished the documentary. I went home, and then suddenly had a great idea soon walking in the door. Anton and I could make a cheesy infomercial to pass the time. So we did. And it will be on Facebook in a few days hopefully, if there are no technical difficulties. It was a blast! I get to sleep in tomorrow! WOOHOO!

The climbing walls

I slept in this morning, and was awoken to the sweet smell of bread and honey. I fed the guinea pigs and then did some more homework. Anton went to a confirmation class, and we anxiously waited for him to return. When he returned, we all piled into Ulfs car, and drove to a very very very large indoor go cart track. It was awesome! But when we went inside, somebody had rented to whole place for another five hours, so we couldnt drive. We were all dissapointed. We decided to go to a movie, and the theater looked like a small skyscraper. It has close to fourteen theaters! But, the time on the movie we wanted to watch was in a hour. That was fine, we could go to the close by christmas market right? wrong. Wrong because lucas left his jacket at home. So we ditched that plan, and decided to go to a climbing wall. When we got there, it looked like we were walking into a hood. The outside appearance was very scary. But on the inside, it was very worm and welcoming. there were lots of different climbing walls, all about fifteen feet high, but, we didnt have harnesses on. It was so fun! There was one wall that was attached to a rope connecting the wall to another about twenty feet away. I climbed the wall and then began to sloth climb the rope. It was easy, untill the rope began going uphill again. I almost made it to the other end, but my hands were burning from the rope. So I fell safely onto the padded ground. After about two hours of climbing, we were all exhausted, and went home to a dinner of sausage and noodles. I fell asleep with a full belly, and ready to take on another week of school.

I go broke. (again.)

I know what your thinking. Oh wow, Easton spent all his money on something stupid. Again. Well I'm here to inform you, that that is not the case! I'll explain later. My day started off with a delicious bread breakfast as usual, and a good chat around the table. Lucas and Ulf went to Tabletennis, and Anton and I stayed home and did homework. When Lucas got back home, he began to clean the guinea pig cage. Anton had a great, yet evil, idea. We opened up my large window in my room, and grabbed some rubber chickens. From my room, we pelted Lucas with rubber chickens. Needles to say, he wasn't very happy about it. The day continued in the peacefull relaxing manner, untill dinner. Dinner was casserole and delicious, but then Anton suggested we play.... I put the ...... Because every time I play this game, it seems to hate me more. I guess it can't get any worse, so here it is. Monopoly. I actually survived more than five rounds today! I was though, the first one to go bankrupt. It was a good day today, but it could have been better if Lucas and Ulf hadn't mugged my fake money out of my cold bankrupt hands.

The Christmas market

Friday was an amazing day. It started off with a movie in geography on global warming, and that was interesting to see, especially since al gore was the presenter. I had a break, and my friend, Tristan, gave me some coconut chocolate balls. They are soo good! Next was math, and I bush sacked my way through it. I had my break then, and I first went to the post office and bought some stamps. Then I went to the fresh market, and bought a raisin pastery. I walked back with my friend yanni, and we talked untill it was time for biology. The best news was in biology though. I only would have it for one period! So biology flew by, very quickly. I had to wait an extra period outside for Lucas though, because we planned to eat a early dinner. The early dinner was pizza,and then we rode the bus home. Earlier in the week, Lucas had asked me if I wanted to go to the Christmas market with him. I said yes. So today, we planned on going there. Around 6:00, it was already pitch black, and we took off for the S baun station. When we got there, Lucas realized we were there an hour early, so we hung out at a café. We met up with Lucass two friends, and took the train to the Essen city center. When we got there, it was crowded with people. We met up with about six more people, and started exploring. It was amazing. Everything was decked out in Christmas colors, and lights! There were booths selling everything, from large puppets, to wurst, and fudge! Awesome! They even had a Ferris wheel! We all walked around and had a great time. We even rode the Ferris wheel! Lucas told me we would be there untill 11, but the others left earlier, so we headed home to. But before he told me we were leaving early, I was very tired, so I bought a coffee. I was bursting with energy by the time we got onto the S baun. That rude was the best. Lucas and I enjoyed watching a very very drunk guy scream at the ticket counter people because he didn't have his ticket, and we tried to identify the mysterious substance smeared all over the walls behind us. Those things mixed with my caffeine rush was the highlight of my day. I ended the day by crashing into my bed. A great day, if I may say.

Craines!

How wonderfull it was this morning to sleep in for two and a half extra hours. I woke up at my own leisure, took a short shower, and ate bread with honey. It was a fantastic way to start my day. Even better, the guinea pigs will let me pet them now! I left for school happy, and excited for the unknown. I got to school while everyone was on their first break, so I just slid right into my group of friends, and talked away. History was my first class period, and that went very slow for some reason. We are reviewing quite a lot for our class test next week. Then I had my second break, and I spent most of it talking to my friends again. I had my tutor lesson, and I came out feeling accomplished. I was walking home, when sudenlly, I heard a wierd noise. I looked up in the sky, and low and behold, there were hundreds if craines, all flying south! It was fasanating! I had Spanish for last period, and we listened to the new exchange student from Bolivia speak Spanish to us. Wow. I finished my day with a pretzel from the bakery, walked home, and had a delicious dinner of spaghetti. Mire good news today though. Ulfs grant for his lab was renewed! It was a great day for all if us!

Assasin

Wednesday started off with a great extra hour of sleep. The extra hour is fantastic I'm telling you! I walked down to school, enjoying the beautifull clear weather. I started off with Spanish, and we played bingo. It was pretty fun. Next I had a break, and I started talking in my Russian accent. Lots of the people here think that when I use my Russian accent, I sound like a character from a video game. Next was art, where we are continuing our collage project. That was a fun period. In my second break of the day, I went to the bakery with my friend Ben, and bought a cherry filled pastery, that was partially covered in chocolate. DELICIOUS! In German I was told extremely wonderfull news. I won't have German tomorrow morning! That means I can sleep in two extra hours! This day keeps getting better and better! After German I had my free period, where I walked around kettwig and enjoyed my day. In my tutor lesson, I continued practicing the different types of forms of possesive articles. Then in English, we began to read a novel. It was a great day at school. I came home, and took care of my homework, then had a delicious dinner of French fries, and chicken wings. It was really dark outside, so Anton, and I played assassin outside for a while. Then we came in, and finished our day.

Tiresome Tuesday

The weather was overcast and cold today. I suppose it had to have come sometime. I started off my day with some toast, and then packed my bags for school. It was very dark outside this morning, and its still is going to get even darker. I had religion today, and it was the same as usual. Paper airplanes, the crazy teacher, and rowdy kids all make quite an interesting combination. I had my long break then, but I stopped by the bakery and bought a pastery. I then hung out at the house for three hours watching a rerun of How I met your mother. It was a pretty boring break. On my way back down to school, it began to rain. It was a cold rain, but there wasn't a lot of it. I met up with some friends on my way down the hill, and walked with them all the way to school. Biology was interesting also today, but not much was accomplished in the fourty five minute period. I walked back up to my house, ate a dinner if pork, rice, and couliflour, took care of some homework, and then went to bed. I have my favorite day tomorrow! Yay!

The Test and the Rainbow Snake

I love sleeping in on Monday mornings. Nothing beats getting a good nights sleep before a monumental day. I started off my day with cereal, and preparing myself for the day. I got to school, and then had math. I had a break after that, and that was great. In my English class, I had a class test, and that was very very easy. Next was gym. We are starting a new unit. That unit, instead of gymnastics, is a bootcamp fitness type training. I was very tired after that, and we only had half a period! History was the same, but a bit more relaxed today, because the teacher was tired too. I dont think my next class needs an introduction. The dreaded religion class began, and I got to give a speech on the aborigenees rainbow snake god. The story was amazing to learn about, but unfortunatly, none of the class could take it, and my speech ended quickly. My final class of the day was geography, and that seemed to go on for ever. My walk up the hill took longer today, due to being tired, and it was very very cold. At least it wasnt raining though! We had a delicious casserole for dinner, and then I relaxed for the rest if the night. Tomorrow will go quickly, I just have to get past the double lesson of Religion.

I know where santa gets his coal from.

This morning I slept in for a long time, (9:00) I had breakfast, then took a short run through the mist outside. I got back, showered and then relaxed for a while. Then I went with Ulf and Lucas to Lucas's table tennis game. While Lucas was warming up, Ulf and I went to what was once the largest coal mine/ coal processing plant in Europe. It was amazing! They turned the whole place into a museum, simillar to the one I had visited earlier on my trip. Ulf and I walked around the entire facility, and it was rather neat, because the owner of the company had hired an architect to design the entire facility. So every building was designed in the popular style if the early nineteen hundreds. We then went back ti watch Lucas, and he ended his day with 4 wins, and 3 losses. We headed back, and had a delicious dinner of chicken and noodles. I studied a little for my English exam tomorrow. ( I'm really nervous ;) ) and then hit the sack early. I need to be prepared for Monday...

Sauer Suse Samtag

I slept in for a while this morning, and woke with a start when Ulf called Lucas and I down to breakfast. It was the good bread as usual, and it was rather quite though, due to the fact that Silke was gone on a bicycle trip, and Anton was at a church camp. Lucas and Ulf then left for Table tennis, and I was left alone. I washed some dishes, then decided to go for a run. The weather was very good today, and a little crisp, but not to cold. It was a good day for a run. I got back to the house and showered, then relaxed a little. Lucas came back, and with good news to! He had won every single one if his games! That's crazy awesome! Ulf said we would eat Chinese tonight, so Lucas and I got ready. We got in the car and drove not towards downtown Kettwig, but away! I was curious as to what we were doing, but then I remembered. Ulf was taking us to a small driving practice course. I admit, I was pretty rusty, but by the time I was done driving, I felt accomplished. We then went to the Chinese restaurant, where I ordered sweet and sour pork. ( Sauer suse) I probally just killed the way you spell those words, but who cares. I stole quite a bit of Duck off of Ulfs plate. I'm not sure if I've had duck before, but it was very good. We came back, and watched some tv. Then we all went to bed, happy.

Class Test

Today I woke up to a beautifull morning. I had my toast, fed the guinea pigs, and packed my bags. Today was my class test in Geography, and I was somewhat nervous. I had studied quite a bit, but our teacher was very vague on what to expect in the test itself. When I got to school, all of my Geography classmates were studying each other over the material we had learned. I knew all of it, but I was still nervous. When I got the test, it turns out, that I only needed to have learned one thing in the entire three months I studied in his class, and I would have passed the whole thing. It was actually a rather fun test though, something to stretch my brain a little. Next was math class, and not much was accomplished in it, due to the fact that most of the kids in the math class are in the geography class as well. They were all fried. I had a period off, so I went to the market and looked around. I walked by the river for a while also, and enjoyed the crisp air, and the shining sun. In biology, my friends made me laugh a lit, and that's good, I haven't done that in a while. My Biology teacher gave us all a test, ( she gave me one and said that it would be " just for fun".) surprisingly, I did well on it. Thank you Ms. Bleibtree and Mr.Chimo! For dinner I had little sausages and pasta. I finished off the day with watching the German vs Italy soccer game. A good end to a good day!

Thursday, the tiny

So my Thursday was good. Mostly because I only had four periods. I started off with German, in which all of my classmates discussd the book they were reading, and I just smiled and nodded my head. The weather was good today, but a little overcast. Next, I had History, and that was great. We are really going very deep into the subject, and its very sad to read about all of the things that paved the way for the dictatorship. Unfortunatlly, half way through the class period, my stomach began to really hurt, and I had to head home instead if going to my tutor lesson. When I got home, I fell asleep for about a half an hour, and was somewhat refreshed. I spent the rest of my day studying for my Geography test, and reading. This week has been very uneventful, but its another one that's almost done. Only a few more weeks untill I can see the mountains!

Monotonous Mittwoch

Wednesday morning was wonderfull. The fog was thick, but it was relatively warm outside. In Spanish, we played a version of battleship, that was very fun. Next I had Art, where we are doing a collage type of thing. I forgot how much fun collageing can be! I had German next, and it was about the same as usual. I then went to the bakery on the break with some friends, and I bought a cherry type pastry. It was amazing! Then I had my tutor lesson, and that was good, but for a change, English was very boring today. It was a very very slow class period. For dinner I had fishsticks, and that's always good! But honestly, it was a pretty slow day. Not much to report on. But I have an okay day tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to that.

The rainbow, the Berliner, and the very long german word.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, its Tuesday, once again! Tuesday would be a rather lovely day, if I didn't have to wake up to a beautifull hour and a half of religion. But let me take you back before Religion, and too the rather spectacular weather we had this morning. It was somewhat misty outside, yet, the sunrise was brilliant, with shades of purple, red , orange, and blue. It was amazing. The next weather phenomenon was the rainbow. There was a rainbow at 7:30 in the morning, and it hadn't even rained! That's when I had religion. Today was a new record for death stares. I don't do anything in that class that's out if line, and yet, she looks like I'm some trash scraped off the side of the street! At the end of the marathon period, Frau Jon told me that I needed to right a report on how aborigenees relate to rainbows. I have no idea how I'm going to do that, so I'll probally just speak my report in mumbled English, drawing pictures of rainbows and saying the word Aboriginee, a lot. I went home then, but stopped at the bakery and bought myself a Berliner. A Berliner is a small dough ball, coated with sugar, and stuffed with strawberry jam. It was perfect. I hung around the house for a few hours, and then went back down the hill to Biology, where nothing exciting happened. My dinner was a spaghetti dish, and then Anton and I perfected our Lego battle board game. It was a good day today. By the way, try saying this word ten times fast: kirschstreuselschnecke. It a lot harder than you think when the Ch in the German language is simillar to a cat hissing. ( Its the only sound I could think of.)

Monstrous Monday

Monday. What can I say about Monday. Its the day that keeps me the busiest, which is good, but when I walk down to school in the dark, and then come home from school in the dark, its a little sad. My Monday was rather good though today! I started off with math, and that went quickly. My next class was Spanish, and I had my first class test. I then had English, and it was a boring day, but my friend named janni and I cracked jokes the whole time, so the period ended ubruptly. I had gym next, and what we did has to be the most challenging things I've done in my life. We sat on a hard wood floor for an hour and a half not being able to talk,or stand up, while our gym teacher yacked about random things. We did get to play five minutes of dodgeball before the end though. History was great as always, and then I stayed after class and helped my friend Patrick start up a projector for the teacher. Then Patrick and I went for a short walk around, because we didn't have religion. Geography brought me back to my speech and debate season last year. The teacher had us interpret different cartoons about global warming, and give speeches about them. Thank you impromptu speaking! Like i said before, i walked up in the dusk, but ate some delicious casserole that silke made. I finished my day with watching a movie with the familly. I am ready for the rest if the week! I got over Monday, now nothing can stop me.

Thursday, Friday, Saturdat, and Sunday.

I started off Thursday on a positive note. Today Silke and I went to the foriegn persons department, and got my vista extended for four weeks. It was a very long process, but at least I didnt have to wait for three weeks for it though. The time flew by, and i realized that while i was at the department, i missed both my first two classes. when the process was done, Silke had to go to work, so she dropped me off at a bus station, and i took the bus to school. The rest of the day was uneventfull, and I was ready for Friday. Friday began with geography, and we are covering global warming in it. It has sparked many interesting conversations in the class. Math came and went, then i found the time to go to the farmers market, and buy a pasterie called a Berliner. Biology went by quickly, but around half way through the class, some students from the neighboring class brought in some really cool prating mantis like insects. My day concluded my day with pizza, with lucas. Saturday was the day I was excited for. Ulf, Anton,Lucas, and I went to a soccer game. It was insane. Even on the parts if the game that werent exciting, the sound in the stadium was mind blowing. Our team lost, but it was still fun. Finally, Today, I went for a run, and then tackled some homework, and went for a walk. a very uneventfull day. But im finally caught up with my posts, so now I can go back to giving them exciting titiles!

The Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Sorry if my last few posts seemed rushed, but I'm trying to catch up to our current date. But now, back to school. I woke up. And realized, with dread, that today I would have to face the utter horror of nine periods stacked on top of each other in a sort of mount doom. In math, I watched as our teacher presented us with a small animated movie he had created for us. It was very amusing on its own, but I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more if I had understood half of the long math words. Spanish came and went, like a leaf on the wind, and English was was as simple as usual. It was the last day of running in gym, and of course, it was pouring rain outside. So I got the luxury of running ij mud on the dirt paths. But I enjoyed it, because I know that this barely happens in Montana. I had history after that. And we are know studying how Hitler maintained his dictatorship. Very interesting stuff. I was very lucky though, and gram and pap, your prayer was well recieved, because I didn't have religion today. I started writing a story in my free time, and now, I'm consumed by ideas for more stories of the same nature. I had geography lastly, and enjoyed it. I went to bed that night happy and content. Tuesday: I woke up this morning, and was shocked to realize I had lost my jacket. So began a very large comb of the school. First, I had religion, and someone had smeared a nice surprise left from a dog on their shoe on the bottom of my desk, and the teacher wouldn't let me sit anywhere else for a while, until I disobeyed her rules and sat down at the far end of the room. And she was fine with it. I went back home for a few hours, and relaxed. I had biology, and then went quickly then also. I still hadnt found my coat. I was begining to panic. Wednesday: My first class today was Spanish, and that went buy fast again. Then came art, and that was fun as usual. German class was confusing, and I was glad for the break. My tutuor lesson was fun. English class was the best though, because my friend had went to America over the break, and smuggled me back some reeses. It was fantastic. A good three days.

Vacation: The last days.

On my last day in Berlin, Silke and Ulf took Lucas Anton and I to the German equivilant of the white house. The Reichstag is what its called. It has a huge glass dome on the top of a very old building, and visitors are allowed to go into the dome and climb to the top. The view was amazing, and you could see lots of Berlin. The elevator was bad though. They shoved at least twenty people into a very small elevator, and we were all pushed up very close to each other. We then went to an exclusivly French mall, where literally, everyone spoke French. I found my treasure there though. A 5 liter jar of nutella. I bought five! Just kidding! But I could literally get a workout from lifting that thing around. Our last stop in Berlin was a square that had two identical churches close together, and has been dubbed, the most beautifull square in Berlin. But I lied, there was one more VERY important place I went to. It was only the worlds largest chocolatorium. That's all. Just me surrounded by tons of chocolate, drinking hot chocolate, eating chocolate moose, feasting my eyes on the massive chocolate sculptures, and it would have been great if I could have put my head underneath the small chocolate fountain. Surprisingly, they don't let you do that in Germany. :) This whole vacation was absoloutly wonderfull. The next day, we all packed ourselves into the I.C.E train, travleled 135 miles per hour, and came back home. There was a surprise for me though at the door. A package full of treats from America! It was a great thing! We lounged around the rest of the day. The next day, Lucas, Anton, and I went for a run, and then swept leaves out of the yard. I got myself prepared for the coming school week., and finished off the day with a good game if settlers of Catan. Vacation has been wonderfull.

Vacation: Berlin, Days one through three.

This morning I packed my bags again, dropped off my bike, and then all of us took the fairy to the mainland again. We had three hours before our train left for Berlin, so we went to a massive aquarium. It was so amazing! They had one giant room with six life sized models of whales suspended from the ceiling! It was crazy! We then got on the train, and traveled two hours to get to Berlin. The first thing I noticed as I stepped out of the train station was a massive section of the Berlin wall, still standing. Just to think that it surrounded a large part of the city once, was scary. We got to our little apartment, unpacked, and then took off for dinner. We found a nice resteraunt, where I ordered a very long and confusing German word for dinner. It turned out to be four types of sausages! I was content! We walked around a little bit more, and then came back home. Breakfast was cereal this morning, and I miss the small rolls from the island already. Today we went to a museum complex that was really three museum complexes. We went to one, and in it was: an entire temple reconstructed from the city of pargamon, an entire entrance to a roman market place, which is the largest reconstruction if an ancient artifact in the world, and finally, a large part of the gate if Babylon. It was overwhelmingly amazing. And most of the ancient artifacts were saved during the war too! Then we walked to the Brandenburg gate, after eating a brautwurst from a mobile brautwurst station. Yes, there were men with large grills strapped to their chests running around selling brautwursts. Berlin is a massive hub of activity, and us somewhat exhausting. But we had one more museum to go to today, and that was the memorial to the Jewish genocide in Germany, a vast architectural masterpeice, with a large underground museum, that made me cry three seprate times. We had spaghetti for dinner. Today was the day I was most excited for. After walking for a while, we came to checkpoint Charlie, probally the most famous checkpoint in West Berlin during the reign of the DDR. We then went to the museum for it, and I learned a lot about the Cold War. The ways some people escaped from the DDR were crazy! One familly created their own hot air balloon, and flew to safety! After our trip to that museum, we went to another place of historical significance. The headquarters for the SS during world war 2. That was very hard to get through. How could people be so cruel to others? Its good they have these places though. Without them, we would forget about our past, and repeat ourselves. We then walked to the Sony center, a massive complex in the city center of Berlin, and once again, too lucas's horror, I ate a German meat sampler plate. ( with sauerkraut.) I have to say, the saurkraut was pretty fantastic, along with the meat. What a great experience.

Vacation: Hidensee, day four five and six

Today started off with the awesome rolls again, and they never cease to amaze. Today Lucas and Anton took me to some sand dune like areas to play around on, and it was great! We spent two hours there, and were just about to head back when Lucas realized he had lost the key to his bike, so I lent him mine, and he took off, while Anton and I went inside a resteraunt, drank sparkling cider, and ate ice cream. When Lucas came back, he had his grandparents with him, and they were as nice as to even pay for Anton and I's icecream. We then headed back home. After a while, we all went and played soccer again, then came back for pizza, and pirates of the carribean in German. Ich bin captain Jack Sparrow. :) The next morning was the same, with the food, but then we all went to a sort of cliff walk around the island, and the views were amazing. We then combed the beach for a while, and walked back across a giant sea wall that prevents more of the sea from swallowing up the Island. Lucas and I drove to the harbor, and Ulf and I bought fish brotchens. They were good, and unlike anything I've ever eaten in my life before. Then somehow, Ulf, Anton, and I got the crazy idea to go swimming. I have the award for being the first one in the frigid water, and last one out! ( It was probally a bad thing I didn't feel my legs for ten minutes after words.) we ate dinner, and then there was a surprise. Ulf and Silke took us to the smallest theater I've been too in my life. It was literally too small to describe. But it was a one man theater peice, with marionette dolls. It was the princess and the frog, in the carribean. It was really funny, and ended with the frog prince ditching the princess for six other girls. It was amazing! The next day, a giant storm was predicted to smash into our little island later on in the day, so we stuck close to the house. Lucas, Anton and I went to the sand dunes again, and played for a little bit, then came back and played soccer. We said goodbye to Ulfs parents, who were leaving that day, and then the storm hit. The winds were so bad, that Ulf had Lucas sit away from the window because it was literally being pressed in toward us. So I went to bed with the wind hammering our windows, and huge waves crashing outside. I had a great time here on Hidensee, and tomorrow I head out for Berlin.

Vacation: Hidensee Day one, two and three

This morning, we said goodbye to Silkes parents, and met with Ulfs parents! They are both very nice. We got onto the train and traveled for around four hours. We got to the town that holds the harbor, and it was very interesting to see some buildings that are still in terrible condition from the DDR days. We got the docks, and sat around for a while. Then a boat pulled up, and we took it. It was an hour ride on the boat to the island, but it was a beautifull ride. We got onto the island, and went to our house. It was right next to the beach! After we all settled down, we went to dinner at a small resteraunt. It was a good first day on the island. I woke up, and there was a new addition to the bread this morning. A roll that's actually two rolls combined, and you can have two for the price of one. They were delicious. The island was mostly only accesible by bike, so we rented some. I went on a bike ride and explored some parts of the north island. Then I came back, and we played soccer with a bunch of local kids. We had spaghetti for dinner, and then played phase ten! This morning, Lucas and I went to get the bread roles. It was Ulfs birthday, so we had cake in the morning, and then went to the beach, and looked for special stones. This island is known for its stones. Some are petrified dinosaur heads, some are amber, and there are just lots of neat stones. It was super windy, and when we hiked up to a lighthouse, we almost got blown away.we had some icecream for lunch, then went back home. We ate dinner at yet another resteraunt, and then went to bed. There is a small bakery on the island, that hand bakes it bread every morning, and there cherry pasteries are great. Hidensee is a beautifull island.

Vacation: Bremen!

The first day of vacation began with a bang. We had breakfast, packed our last few belongings, and drove in the car down to the S Baum station. The S Baum is somewhat like a above ground subway system. We rode it to Essens main train station, and then waited a fee minutes for the train. When the train came, it was a flurry of activity. People came out of the train, people came into the train, and I was pushed into the train. At least its not like France, because we actually had two minutes of getting ready on the train instead of thirty seconds. But I love train travel. I can stretch my legs and walk around, and watch the scenery go by 135 miles per hour. We got to Bremen, and the air was so thick with excitement, you could scoop it out of the air and drink it. For centuries, Bremen has had the annual tradition of a market with no taxes. But that market is now a silverwood sized theme park, with the worlds largest mobile Ferris wheel and a rollercoaster that takes four weeks to build. There were people everywhere! We met Silkes parents, and they took out bags to their house. We walked through Bremen, and I took an amazing picture of myself riding a statue of a pig. Ulf pointed out a " small" church, that scraped the heavens themself, and then showed me the Big church, the Dom, that slices the heavens open, and touches the moon, figurativly speaking. I have never been more impressed in my life. Giant murals, golden statues, brautwurst, mushrooms, a mideival market, ancient buildings, a terrible kids puppet show, and a stone that shows you where the last public execution in Bremen was, all made up half of the first day. We took a tour of the Dom, and climbed to the top. It was a breathtaking view. Underneath the Dom were preserved bodies, so I took a look at those too. There's an ancient fairytale about the Bremen staddtmusicians, and there's a certain statue in Bremen that if you touch the back legs of the donkey, you get good luck. I guess I have good luck now! This whole time, there is a festival air to the whole city. We then went to Silkes parents house, a very old house, whose stairs are very very steep. I slept in the basement, wiuch was very comfortable. For dinner we had a pizza like creation called: " flanncuchen. It was amazing! I went to bed then, but was rudely woken up by a scratching at my door that took place for four hours. Everyone thinks I went crazy, but there was something alive trying to get in! Today was the day I was very excited for. The carnival! We had breakfast, then walked around Bremen. I went to a chocolate store, and bought some chocolate. It was amazing. Like a small peice of heaven in my mouth. Then the rides came. We met up with Ulfs brother and sister in law, and went to the fair. There was a rollercoaster that was called the Olympic, because it had five loops, all, VERY, high. I rode it, and it was the most fun I've had on a rollercoaster. The day went by very fast, with bumper car rides, good food, and lots of rides. Finally for dinner, we had rocklaut, which is a dinner that is too complicated to explain in words. Days one and two of vacation, over! I forgot to mention though, that all the funhouses here, lasted around fifteen minutes. :)