October 18th: Exciting Plans

Hello!

Unfortunately, I don't have much to report regarding the week since my last post. It has been a fairly uneventful week here in Neu-Ulm.

On Tuesday, Felix wasn't feeling well (though I question the legitimacy of his illness...) and stayed home from school. Because of this, my host mom stayed home with him, so I basically had the day off. I did run an errand by going to Aldi by bike to get two liters of milk and some bananas. I forgot that Aldi doesn't just give you bags for your groceries. I forgot to take a bag and ended up standing in front of my bike holding a bunch of bananas and two liters of milk. I shamelessly stuffed one liter in each pocket of my coat and held the bananas and rolled out of the parking lot. Because of the size of the milk and the location on my lap, I basically had to ride my bike slowly with my knees out so the milk wouldn't be hit by my knees every time I pedaled. But I made it back! So it was a successful mission regardless of how ridiculous I might have looked.

My host mom, Felix, and I also went swimming at a local indoor pool on Monday. Apparently Monday is "warm water day," so they charge a little extra. But the water felt wonderful and it was nice to swim again. I have always considered it to be one of those physical activities that doesn't feel like exercise. But it is, so I'm always grateful for that.

However, I am excited that I have finalized plans with Becky! She will be arriving in Ulm Saturday night from Paris and will leaving Wednesday morning. We are going to do a little sightseeing here in Ulm. But we are also spending a day exploring Munich. And we are going to see THE Neuschwanstein. This is a GORGEOUS castle that many tourists come to see. When I have talked to local Germans regarding what I have seen and what I plan on seeing, they always tell me that I have to see Neuschwanstein. (Note: It literally translates to "New Swan Rock." Sooo....yeah....) My host family has given me Monday off so we can do these things together. I believe while I am doing my au pair stuff on Tuesday, Becky expressed interest in going to Dachau, too. So she will be making that venture alone since I just saw it and will be working. I also plan on getting her as much German food as possible per her request. So we're gonna find all of the stereotypical German food.

Sadly, I only have two pictures to share with you.

Weisswurst. "Weiss" meaning "white" and "wurst" meaning...well..."wurst." It's a food that is basically only had in Bavaria. It's essentially a white sausage. It had an interesting taste.

A fall version of the picture at the top of the blog.

I am sure my next blog post will have plenty of stories and pictures of my adventures in Germany with Becky. That should more than make up for this lackluster post. 

Until then, here is a quote that isn't all that relevant, but I like it. So deal with it.

"To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time." - Leonard Bernstein