Trier

Trier, what can i say about Trier. It is amazing, beautiful, clean, homely, quaint with all the comforts of a really big city, diverse, has a unique, diverse night life, and feels alive all the time. People here are so nice. I feel like i get a lot of stares, but maybe that's because i am speaking in English, most of the time broken English because i am trying to learn German and incorporate it. I was amazed by how many people here have dread locks. WOW, move over Lawrence, KS. We have schnitzel, 24hour Kebab house, a Nordsea ( fish, GOOD, cheap fish!!!!), a Porta Negra, vineyards, the Mosel (river that runs throug my town), two incredible churches, castles up in the hills and a beautiful university. The beer is good and plentiful. The company is nice and I meet more and more interesting people everyday. It was very easy to adapt to this lovely land. I can see why people live here. I would highly consider it if I could get this learning German thing down. We frequent this coffee shoppe called Lubke (lube-ka), it is on the top floor of a building and all windows, filled with couches, fluffy stuff, lots of awesome chairs etc. A great place to study. Oh and did I mention it is legal to walk around naked?? haha not recommended though. Also, you can walk around with an open container of alcohol, any type of alcohol...and it is normal. At my school you can buy beer in the vending machene...crazy?! The town center is constantly full of life. It is about a 10 minute walk from my flat. The buildings are adorable. All so different and quaint, exactly what you would expect of Germany. I didn't realize how big this town was until i got lost looking for the art supply store...so much shopping, my mother would never leave! :) and good shopping! Public transportation is fantastic. I only take the bus late nights and early mornings. I live next to this BEAUTIFUL cemetary, it is sooooo amazing that it isn't creepy. Some of the grave stones are older than America. I could wonder around it for hours. People really take good care of it. Most of the grave are huge family plots and some are quite intricate. The only thing i have to complain about is that I can't find cheetos or face mosturiser anywhere... :)... hey life is grand

Heidleberg

Sorry for not posting these along with the comments on Heidelberg. But here are a few pics. If you are ever in Heidelberg Germany please visit Destille, the mellow but highly popular bar known for the tree growing in the middle of the bar. They are also known for a quite unique flaming tobassco shot. It is schnapps with tobassco, topped with a lemon and a sugar cube that is lit on fire. You wait for the fire to go out, eat the lemon and sugar quickly, (even though it is hot and tastes pretty horrid) and then take the shot...AWESOME, but you should only do it once, it is pretty intense, we ended up taking 3...bad idea, trust me. At this bar, myself, and two of the other Americans ran into a group of a bout 11 "pirates"(aka American Mariens) as they called themselves, drank a lot, and had a damn good time. We stayed in the youth hostel which was conviently located next to a zoo. Every morning we woke up and said good morning to the elephants which we could see from our second floor window and also the bears and fox which were located in an outdoor area practically direcly next to the street. We only had 2 days in Heidelberg and were all still very jet lagged. But we managed to walk around, see some cool buildings, eat some very good italian food, do some shopping at H&M and get a glimpse of the beautiful castle that is settled in the hills that over look the river. Did i mention it rained the whole time? UGH, but everything was sooooo green, i didn't mind too much.

whew!

Sorry for not writing for awhile. The road is long and the party is hopping! I am FINALLY settled in my apartment in North Trier. It is an adorable flat, 3 bedrooms, one bath, a adorable kitchen. We are located under the roof of a 4 story appt. building and the view is incredible. I live with NO dryer, no dishwasher, no t.v., no car, and no air conditioning...and i love it. The Germans are so envirometaly conscious. I wish the rest of the world took recycling, water conservation, and OUR PLANET in general more seriously. I have started school which was a pleasent surprise. In Germany they treat you like an adult, you dont have to go to class like in the US, actually you dont really have class too often BUT you are responsible for getting everthing done and efficently! Plus the competition out here is rediculious, everyone in my shcool is so incredibly talented, it makes me push myself that much more. We have had two beautiful weeks full of sunshine. I go running down by the Mosel (aka river) that carves throught his valley of vineyards and it takes my breahte away. I have met some pretty interesting charaters, 2 lovely ladies from Holland, 2 guys from Spain, one guy from Finland, and a whole lot of Germans. The Germans are a friendly folk, haven't had really too much difficulty with getting around etc. If you are ever trying to go to Europe, i would highly reccomend making a stop in Germany, well worth it!