Christmas in Germany

Germany, as a whole, gets really into Christmas.  "Weinachtsmarkts" or "Christkindl" markets are in nearly every city, in varying sizes.  Even little Kornwestheim, which is a branch of Ludwigsburg, which is 15 minutes away from Stuttgart and it's massive Christmas market, puts together their own tiny version for a weekend.  Even the Grinch himself would have a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit in this country.  You would have to work very hard to stay grumpy at this time of year.

Especially considering the fact that the "Gluhwein", which is essentially a warm spiced wine (I guess we would call it mead?) is served about every ten paces, regardless of the size of the Christmas market.  It's good (the apple version is my favorite), but it also packs a punch (which, if you're like me, you may not realize until it's too late...).  They also serve something that could maybe go in the same family as eggnog, but it's pretty gross.  Egg liquor is not a thing that should exist.  However, it's almost pure alcohol, so if a fast drunk is what you're looking for, or if you have an exceptional tolerance, that may be just the thing to order.

Anyway, the best part of all the booths at these Christmas markets is to look up at the roofs.  They're decorated so extravagantly, and most of them are extremely creative.  It's quite clear that a lot of the vendors spend a great deal of time thinking through their decorations during the year (or maybe they just reuse the same ideas over and over again...I have no context for comparison).  They are mostly selling knick-knack type items, winter gear, food, and alcohol.  I haven't bought anything other than Gluhwein, but everything smells amazing so I would assume the food is also decent.  I'm sure I'll find out eventually about that element, but probably won't buy anything that can't immediately be ingested.  I'm not one for scarves or ornaments, and I would question my ability to pack or ship anything home from here in such a manner that it would arrive in one piece.

Speaking of home, I am actually ecstatic about the fact that I will be going home for the holidays.  My grandfather was meant to visit, and then we were going to travel through Italy, and while I am disappointed that that has had to be postponed for health reasons, it is actually a huge relief to be headed home for a bit.  I really thought I could handle being away for Christmas...I've never had issues with homesickness in the past, but there's just something about being gone for this time of year that was really, really bumming me out.  My family is pretty close, and we've always made Christmas special, and I think missing out on that for the first time in 23 years is just something I am not ready for yet.  It also would have been pretty lonely once all my friends left for their homes.  And I'm sure Nicole and the kids would have been really nice and mostly willing to include me, but I wouldn't have wanted to intrude on their Christmas.  It will be so good to see my family and friends and dogs and cats and just be back in the states for a bit.  I do like a lot of elements to life in Germany, but it still hasn't succeeded in passing by New Zealand or home.

Although, as far as Christmas at home goes, I could be playing off nostalgia a bit.  My parents, siblings and I may want to kill each other after thirty-six hours together.  Though in this case, I severely doubt it.  We weren't expecting to all be together again for another seven to nine months, so this two weeks is an unexpected gift, and I think we will take full advantage of it.  Plus, it means I'll get to visit the lovely Chicago Christkindl market and compare it to a real German one.  I'll try to be unbiased, but that's unlikely.  So I'll take photos and then you can compare them yourselves.

So, here follows a few photos from the various Christmas markets.  I'll probably keep adding onto them...I've been forgetting to take pictures a lot lately, and as a result, my photography skills are not quite as good as they once were.

One of the Christmas trees for the Stuttgart market

The Nutcracker in Stuttgart.  I'll let the photo speak for itself.

The Ludwigsburg market.  It's the favorite of my family.  But as an American, I must admit to being impressed by the sheer size and gaudiness of the Stuttgart one.

Ludwigsburg does have its own charm though...

This is What Happens When You're Living Rather than Traveling

Let me apologize for taking AGES to update this.  The problem with traveling all the time is that I usually have more to say than I can fit into one post.  And also that there's not usually any free time (or I'm just too lazy to make time...) for me to go into as great of detail as I could.  But, hey, there has to be some elements left for me to bore you all with once I return to the states.

Anyway, the GOOD thing about traveling all the time (besides, the obvious of, well, traveling all the time), is that it creates very natural, narrative-type entries for this.

Which means that while spending the past month and a half staying put in Stuttgart has been at least as enjoyable as traveling (and sometimes more so), it doesn't necessarily lend itself to neat, tidy, ordered, or even particularly fascinating posts.  I guess it's time for me to recruit those writing skills that I spent four years and thousands of dollars honing.  

But, enough rambling! (see, I'm already losing out on order).  As a result of me spending all my money for the months (and then some...I can only justify so many trips to the ATM pulling money from my American accounts...) in Paris and Strasbourg, I've spent the past month or so exploring Stuttgart.  And by exploring, I mostly mean going out to eat, for coffee, and drinking(this is Germany, after all).  And, to be honest, that stability has been nice.  It's also been great to have finally established a couple of different groups of friends to spend time with.  I adore the family I am living and working for, but, as I've said before, having a group of peers is essential to maintaining sanity.  Especially in the beginning, being here made me long for college, when there was always someone who you could find to give you attention at any time of day (except from between 6-8 am...and sometimes even then).  

But, getting back to business, it's just been lovely to have friends.  There are two groups which I tend to circulate between.  One I've met through Laura, as she's been kind enough to include me in outings with her friends.  They're mostly all other Americans who are also in Germans as au pairs (they all also mostly have, or have had, German boyfriends.  Must have missed the memo on that one...).  And then the other group I also met through a girl named Laura (not confusing at all...).  She's a grad student from the UK, and somehow managed to build up a group of "misfits" (as I so kindly like to describe it...).  There's her, me, a British guy named George, a Croatian girl named Sara, a French guy named Adrien, and a German girl named Martina.  They're all students, aside from George, who teaches English.

I like spending time with both groups, but at the risk of sounding snooty, it can sometimes be a bit more refreshing to not spend all my free time with au pairs.  Because when you get a group of au pairs together, the conversation tends to gravitate toward talk (i.e. complaints) about the family and the hazards of being an au pair.  It devolves into a complaint fest, where everyone tries to one-up the other on who has it worse.  It's really great conversation, and I always come off as snotty since I don't have a reason to complain.  As far as being an au pair goes, I have nothing to complain about.  I am in as ideal of a situation as I possibly could be, and have nothing negative to say about my family.  But that being said, it can be nice to just be silly and hang out with a bunch of girls my own age who are from my country.  No one makes fun of my accent (as George and Laura like to do...because obviously Brits say things "correctly" and Americans are just wrong...), and when I say particularly American things ("This Christmas market isn't as good, it's too small."  "I can't believe they made me give exact change, I'm paying THEM for something."), it doesn't come off as weird.  Though I'm definitely also not on the same page as most of them when it comes to German men.  I will admit that they do tend to be quite nice-looking, but, at the risk of fulfilling stereotypes(but there is some truth in all of them...I frequently am the loud American, particularly once alcohol is involved...), I find their humor to be lacking.  Sarcasm is not a German trait.  Not that ALL of them are not funny; just I personally haven't met a German guy who had me in fits of laughter.

With the other group, the conversation tends to be a bit more varied.  I think between the six of us, we've been to nearly every major city on the globe.  As usual, I tend to bring up the rear when it comes to travel experience, but that's not an issue in my mind.  It gives me an even bigger pool of people from whom I can get insider advice on where to travel, and what to see and do once I'm there.  Plus, Chicago, LA, and New Zealand are usually flashy enough to keep me above water as far as street cred is concerned.

Anyway, I've been having a lot of fun getting to know my way around the city (I probably only get lost every other time now) and checking out the cafes and nightlife.  I still think French coffee is better, but it's also more expensive, so it may balance out.  I've yet to find a club that I enjoy in Stuttgart (but it's hard to find a club I enjoy period...), but the bars are a lot of fun.  My personal favorite is called "Tequila Bar."  You get a free shot of tequila with every beer you order.  It's such a good deal (there's the recent college graduate showing again). 

I hope I didn't bore you all too much!  Here's a few photos of day-to-day life just so you all have some visuals to what has been going on.  I'll be writing another post shortly about the "Weinachtmarkts" that are EVERYWHERE in Germany.  Basically, it looks like Santa Claus vomited all over most of Germany at this time of year.  

This is Lina.  She is a Cocker Spaniel mix.  We go on lots of walks.

One of the randomly pretty spots we go through in Kornwestheim.

And another.

Schlossplatz.  It's the most beautiful spot in Stuttgart.  It's all decked out in Christmas now.

The group out on a Friday night.  

Hedgehogs are all over the place in Germany.  They call them "Eagles".  Which is particularly bizarre considering what an eagle is in English.

German 'spaghetti' ice cream.  It is delicious.  Though strawberry sauce in Germany is more like jam than the syrupy version that we have in the states.

Midnight in Paris

I don't know how it happened that me, a girl who frequently had to be bodily removed from the house on a Saturday night (as all my Plum house roommates can attest to), managed to schedule two jam-packed weekends of traveling in a row, but I did.  And am so happy I did.  It woul have been such a sin to miss either Oktoberfest or Nuit Blanche.  A year may sound like a long time initially, but with one month gone already, I know it will go much too fast!

Anyway, this time, I was not lucky enough to find a ride share for the way to Paris.  I had to suck it up and pay the exorbitant cost for the train.  However, that worked out for the best because Laura, another au pair working near Stuttgart, and I ended up chatting the entire time and I'm pretty sure we would have annoyed other people in a car with our incessant talk of boys (apparently, there is absolutely no difference in bonding with a fifteen or twenty-four-year-old girl...).

It was also good for me that I ended up traveling with her, as I STILL don't know my way around the Stuttgart train station.  Laura has been in Stuttgart since last November, so she has a pretty good grasp of German and also how public transportation works in Europe.  Our tickets for the train actually weren't next to each other (not even in the same car, or wagon as the Germans say), but I just illegally sat next to her and never was kicked out.  I know, I'm a daredevil (there are some benefits to being an American...my out was just going to be that I read the ticket wrong if it came to that).

We arrived in Paris without incident, though we did have some issues finding the hostel as our cabbie had no idea where the place we were staying was, and just dropped us off in the middle of the street that it was on.  So, from about 10:30-11pm, we wandered about the streets of Paris trying to find someone who spoke enough English (and was sober enough) to direct us toward while we were staying.  It was actually kind of terrifying; Paris is a different city at night, and not necessarily in a good way.  There was an unsettling contrast between the people enjoying a nice meal outside while 50 yards away there were a group of drunk men lying in puddles of their own urine and vomit.  Welcome to Paris, the most refined of all cities and fashion capital of the world.

Anyway, we did eventually find the hostel and once there, had another unexpected surprise.  Since we had booked so late, we had to get a private room (which actually was fine because then there's no worry about theft or who else is going to be in the room with you).  We THOUGHT it would have two twin beds, but we walked in and just started laughing because it was actually just one queen.  If the train ride didn't already make us pals, then two nights in the same bed would do it.  Also worth noting: the shower was SOOOO tiny.  Swear on my life, it was roughly coffin-sized.  But, and least you wouldn't have to wear flip-flops in it, or wait in line behind five hundred other girls trying to make themselves beautiful in the morning.

Once settled in, we decided to just go to bed straight away and then get an early start in the morning.  So, we were out the door at 8 am after taking advantage of the free breakfast in the hostel (the food was edible...the coffee was disgusting).  And then, by 11 AM we had already seen half of the tourist attractions that you are supposed to see the first time you go to Paris.  All thanks to Laura...she was the one figuring out the metro and reading the maps and taking charge.  I was just along for the ride and waiting to have some real coffee.

Laura and I in front of Notre Dame

Saint Chappelle

Inside Notre Dame. There was mass going on and it felt kind of weird to take photos during it. 

After seeing Notre Dame, Saint Chappelle, and the Louvre (just the outside), we did the only thing I really felt that I had to do in Paris, which was stopping by one of the five hundred million cafes that are every ten feet on the streets (you'd think we would have found one sooner, but when you have that many options to choose from it becomes difficult to just pick one).    We ordered "Madame croque's," which are basically a kind of grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and a fried egg on top, and then I had my long-awaited double-shot of espresso and Laura had tea.  I don't know how I keep hanging out with non-coffee drinkers; guess I should have appreciated having constant coffee buddies in Julia and Mike more.  But it was so delicious, and I truly can call myself a coffee connoisseur now. 

It was worth the wait. 

Following our leisurely lunch, we set off to see a few more sights.  Along the way, we went into this AMAZING french tea shop (called Kusmi, I believe) where I was suckered into buying a box of expensive, but absurdly delicious grapefruit-something-green tea (hey now...tea and coffee are more acceptable addictions than drugs and alcohol, at least, though not much cheaper with how particular I have become).  We also made our way to the Eiffel tower.  It cool to see (I know, such a boring way to describe it, "cool"), and the park around it was lovely, if quite crowded and featuring too many couples groping each other in a public space.

By this point in the afternoon, we were pretty wiped, so we decided to stop by the hostel and drop off our tea before heading out for round two in the evening.  En route, we stopped and bought some macaroons.  They were okay (nothing compared to German chocolate), I wished I had just gotten another coffee (so I did).

Almost as soon as we were back in our room, I received a text from Reillie, saying that her and her friend Matthieu were in the city as well, so we then headed back out and met up with them.  And the Nuit Blanche part of the night was underway.

Nuit Blanche is essentially and all-night art exhibition held across the city.  Museums are free all night, in addition to the street performers, galleries, and exhibits that are set up at various spots around Paris.  It's quite a unique event, and Paris (which never seems to sleep) is the perfect host.

A book describing the exhibits that is of no use to me since I don't know French. 

The first exhibit we went to was "fog art."  Calling it art is a generous term, because all it seemed to be was fake fog all around a square in the downtown area.  It was kind of a cool novelty at first, but we kept losing each other and it was uncomfortable to inhale so we did last there too long.  So then we found the cheapest cafe we could (which was reflected in the quality of the food; though at least you can't really ruin an omelette), and then started walking around looking at other exhibits.

Laura and I in the fog "art"

 

Unfortunately, by this time, it was becoming quite apparent that Laura and I had not really ideally planned our day, at least for this particular weekend in Paris.  While we saw SO much of the city during the day, our energy was waning and feet were killing us from spending 15+ hours walking all around the city.  Reillie and Matthieu, on the other hand, were fresh and ready to go.  So we ended up parting ways at around 11pm, and Laura and I headed back to the hostel.  I fell asleep almost immediately.

A very freaky ghost exhibit. There was music accompanying it.  It was unsettling. 

I don't know what this exhibit was going for but I liked it. 

The Louvre. At night. Kind of spectacular.

The next morning, we moved a bit slower (also decided that showering wasn't worth it), but were still out and about by around 9:30 am (if at a much slower pace).  The only really big touristy attraction that we saw was the Arc de Triomphe (Laura is an architecture major so I think it was more fascinating to her than me, though still quite impressive).  We then searched for a crepe place; a harder job than you would expect since it was Sunday and a lot of places were closed (although a lot more places are open in Paris on Sundays than in Germany).  But we were eventually successful, found a place near Versailles where the coffee was even nicer than the day before.  I had crepes; she had quiche, we basically were French for the hour we were there.

The Arc de Triomphe

Some delicious French food. Note all the bread everywhere. Can't escape it. 

And then it was time to head back to Stuttgart.  We were able to get a ride share on the way back with some dude named Fabian (he wasn't nearly as fun as Lourdes and Chris).  We saved a lot of money, but it took us six hours compared to the four on the train.  Still was worth it though, especially considering that I was hemorrhaging money the entire weekend.

So, that was Paris!  I'm glad that I was able to go and see it, but it wouldn't break my heart if I was never able to go back again.  It's beautiful, and there's a lot to see and do, but historical buildings are not as impressive to me as mountains.  The Notre Dame and Saint Chappelle are gorgeous, but it wasn't the heart-stopping, jaw-dropping, take-your-breath-away awe and beauty that traveling around New Zealand left me with.  Also, Paris really does smell.  Especially at night.  However, one myth I would dispel is that the people are unfriendly, and don't speak much English.  In our experience, you were fine with just English, and while people won't usually go out of their way to be extremely helpful (we did have one waiter who took a fancy to us and was a bit TOO friendly), they weren't rude by any means either.

So, until next time, au revoir!  I think I did a better job taking photos this time and will try to keep it that way.

German Birthdays

Now, before I begin to describe the 36 hour insanity that was Oktoberfest, I felt like I should briefly describe a few German birthday traditions.  Mostly because there is at least one that I would like to bring back with me to the states.

This particular birthday was for Maja.  She turned eight, and I think seeing her excitement made me realize how much more exciting birthdays are when you are young.  I think part of it is that you get real gifts, which are much more exciting to open than an envelope with cash or a check is.  Also, it's nice to actually look forward to getting older; I'm only 23 yet I called my birthday this year the "third annual celebration of my 21st."  I've already run out of fun birthdays.  Now I'm just getting old.

BUT, anyway, getting back on track, we all woke up REALLY early (5:45/6am) so that Maja could open all her presents.  She made quite a haul, and I'm allowed to say that because I wrapped most of those presents.  Naturally, it looked like a creature lacking opposable thumbs had done the job.  Tim's birthday is in November, and then it's Christmas, so I'm either going to be a pro at wrapping gifts by the end or they have a year's worth of poorly wrapped presents to endure.

Following the extended present wrapping, we had a breakfast of "maultaschen."  It's basically a German ravioli.  It has its root as a sneaky way to eat meat on Friday.  It looks like just spinach inside, but really, it's mostly sausage and bacon wrapped in noodles.  It was pretty good; we ate them cold but I think it might have been a bit better heated up.

Then came my favorite part: cake!  Yes, Germans have cake for breakfast.  But, don't worry, they also have it again in the evening.  Unfortunately for my taste buds (but to the relief of my skinny jeans), I missed out on the other cakes (yes, plural...and also lasagna and casserole) because I was en route to Munich for her party that night, but I at least opened my day with a chocolate and strawberry mousse cake in the morning.

Anyway, moral of the story is: Americans, let's have two cakes for our birthdays.  Start the day off properly, and then end it well too.

My "Host" Family

Hey!  Sorry for the huge gap between posts; I haven't had a ton of free time, with Oktoberfest and then Paris on back to back weekends (and then in-between some scarlet fever and doctor's visits to keep things interesting...).  I actually have a lot to say and report on, but my tendency to write out everything by hand before posting kind of slows down the process.  So first will be just this general post, then another rather general one, then Oktoberfest, and lastly, Paris.  Like I said, everything except for Paris was written at least a week ago; I just haven't yet taken the time to update here.  But, here we are:

I truly despise the term "host" family; it makes me feel like a parasite, and it feels too formal for a situation in which you're supposed to become a part of the family.  Anyway, everyone keeps asking for more details on what the family is like, and rather than say the same many times, I'm just going to address it here.  Now, keep in mind that I've only known them for two full weeks, so this description is just past a first impression, relatively speaking.

The mom, Nicole, is one of the kindest human beings who I have ever had the privilege of meeting.  She's extremely open, dedicated to her kids, and always willing to help me in anyway with the transition from the states to Germany and her family.  I really feel included as a member of the family rather than just a nanny/chauffeur.  She's also really very tolerant about things that I am admittedly terrible at (AKA...not getting lost and ironing).  Nicole is also one of the hardest-working people I have ever met; she works for two companies, and has her own business AND is working on starting another.  If I ever feel over-scheduled again in my life, I just need to remember what her planner looks like and I will stop feeling sorry for myself.

The oldest child, Caro, is fifteen.  She is the one who I was initially most worried about bonding with.  I assumed that, since she is older, and this family has had a lot of au pairs, that she would be sick of having a full-time babysitter, or rebellious or just not keen on me being there in general.  So naturally, me being me, I basically asked her that straight away, and was pleasantly surprised to find that I was completely wrong.  Caro said she sees how much easier having another adult makes life for Nicole, and also says that it's good for Maja.  Also, she apparently likes practicing her English, and since I like to talk, it's not a problem for me either.  Caro is also super open, and funny, and our mutual love of animals (and boys...) creates a solid foundation and a lot of talking points.

Tim, the middle child and only boy, is thirteen.  I know him the least, as he is the quietest of the bunch (at least around me), but I have absolutely nothing bad to say about him.  He is a very sweet boy, a good older brother to Maja, and not difficult in the slightest.  I'm still working on connecting more with him (without crossing over into being TOO obnoxious and terrifying him) and as the weeks go on I feel better about it.  He tolerates my awkward attempts at conversation, and my interrogation on life as a German teenager (does everyone wear their hair like that?  That jacked is weird, right?).  He also loves Skyfall and James Bond, so we at least have that going for us, and he promised to watch Lord of the Rings with me at some point.  Obviously, there will be no major issues.

And then there's Maja, the baby of the family.  She just turned eight, and is hilarious.  I already adore her, but that's nothing unusual; I'm fairly certain it's impossible to NOT fall in love with this child.  Aside from driving, spending time with her is the biggest part of my day.  Which still really isn't even that much; Maja has a lot of friends and spends most of her time with them, either at this house or theirs.  I'm mostly us the the homework enforcer, and part-time Monopoly and Mamma Mia buddy.  From stories I've heard from family members, Maja is almost a carbon copy of how I was at her age; obsessed with animals, feisty, and just so much fun (not to toot my own horn or anything...).  She has me roped into some game where we alternate meowing and patting each other's head.  I'm pretty sure she made it up (her English always seems to disappear when I ask that...), and I'm not sure if I should be encouraging it but it keeps her occupied in between board games.

And, with me being me, this description of the family would not be complete without a mention of Lina, the resident canine.  She's a very cute, three-year-old Spaniel mix that they rescued from Spain.  She's great with the kids, obedient when it suits her, and a good walking buddy (it looks a lot less weird when I wander aimlessly around town with a dog rather than alone).  If anything, she's probably too cute because people always want to pet her and start asking me questions in German (I just smile and laugh and then start moving again).  LIna was actually a nice bonus for choosing this family; my heart is still a little broken to leave my beautiful Jazz behind (again! I am a terrible dog mother), so it's nice that there is still a dog here to ease me through withdrawal.

Anyway, as you can see, I've landed myself in quite a nice situation so far as the family is concerned.  I read about all the potential pitfalls before coming here, and I've heard about some firsthand since being here (one woman refuses to talk to her au pair...she just texts her what she wants her to do), and experienced none of those.  Part of that may be because I'm the 13th au pair for the family (Nicole gave me a handbook...), so everything runs like a well-oiled machine, but I also think it's also because they're a tight family, and having an au pair doesn't mean that Nicole has any less to do with the kids.  They respect me because they respect her and I think in a lot of other situations that I have heard of, where the kids either refuse to listen at all or blow off the au pair constantly, it's because the parents are absent and the au pair isn't really equipped to be the disciplinarian.  I would hate to be in one of those houses.  The transition was rough enough when my family was amazing so I can only imagine how it was for people who weren't being helped through it all.

And once again, I'm terrible with photos.  Will update this with pictures of everyone when I can!

Riding the Culture Shock Waves

As I'm looking back at the past two posts, it seems like I am all doom and gloom with a pessimistic attitude.  While I'd be lying if I said I was a bundle of sunshine all the time and didn't admit to some moments of homesickness, or days when I idealize everything about home, I am liking Germany so far.  All of that other emotional instability is just a part of the transition.

Culture shock is always a big part of pre-departure discussions when you study abroad, and for good reason.  It is a real thing, and very few are immune to its effects.  You have to be prepared for it to hit, and ready to work through it or you will very quickly become disillusioned with your current situation.

Since I have uprooted my life a time or two before, I know myself and how I react in these types of situations.  They always say that culture shock (AKA, mild depression characterized by rose-colored lenses toward anything and everything related to home) hits you about a month in.  I am unusual in that it hits me almost immediately, and usually resolves itself within the first 2-3 weeks.  Usually the best cure, at least in my experience is to stay as busy as possible, develop some sort of routine, and find friends.

The routine aspect is set.  During the week, my days are spoken for from 7 AM to 5 PM, with some free time in the late morning/afternoon.  Evenings and weekends are my own.

The harder part has been making friends.  I'm a fairly outgoing and friendly person when I need to be, but when 80% of your time is spent with a family and your knowledge of a county's language is absolutely minimal it's a bit difficult.  You have to get creative.

Not that I am letting this get me down.  It's character building for me to be content with just me, gives me time to write, and is allowing me to get to know this family more quickly.  I also will be starting a language class in November, which should open up my social circle quite a bit.

And in the meantime, I am lucky that another girl who I went to Valpo with is in a similar situation as an au pair in France.  So, this coming weekend, we are headed over to Munich for Oktoberfest, and then the weekend following we are meeting up in Paris for an event called Nuit Blanche.  And thus my European tour will officially begin!

I truly am enjoying Germany, despite the waves of homesickness.  Each day is a learning experience, and I'm learning patience (people tell me that's a virtue...still think it's overrated) as I deal with the frustration of being immersed in a new language daily.  Grocery shopping takes about three times as long as it should, and I get lost all the time.  But each day I do a little better than before, and that's all anyone can really ask for, right?  And I truly am learning the language more quickly than I would have thought was possible.  If you really want to learn a new language, immersion is the answer.

Kornwestheim is so stereotypically quaintly European that I love just wandering around.  There are enough cafés to occupy my coffee obsession and give me somewhere to go and hang out on weekend.  Still need to check out the gelato place, though..

Anyway, here are some photos that I took around town on Sunday.  Enjoy! Auf wiedersehen!

The streets of downtown Kornwestheim.  It is not fun to navigate a van through there.

My home for the next year! Quite nice, eh?

My current favorite cafe.  I'm going to write the next great American novel here.