Day 13... Nurnberg

We lefted today on the trains, and something funny happened. It was ten mintues before our train was going to leave and Heather said "Jerry do we have time to get Coffee." Jerry didn't say yes but he didn't say no either. So Heather, Lisa, Tanner, and Jeff all went to go to coffee. Remembering what my dad said "Stay on the heels of Kelley or Jerry and you won't get lost," I thought coffee wold be a bad idea. So I stick with Jerry and we get on the train and get a good seat. It's almost time to take off and the coffee group starts running. Lisa gets in, Tanner gets in, Heather gets in, but Jeff.... nope. Those doors closed so quickly he was stuck outside. Poor Jeff, he had the saddest face that day. He wasn't going to get to go to Nurnberg today. So the train starts moving and an even funnier thing happens. A coffee cart comes rolling by with a man saying "Coffee, who wants coffee." OH I tried to hold in my giggles.

We arrived and Jerry took us to the Germanic Museum. It was great. But very very long. Probably one of the most largest muesums I have been in. My favorite part was the clothing. Seeing all the the clothes in Germany starting from the 1800's. They had folk dresses and wedding gowns. the shoes were really cool to look at as well. Being in the museum helped understand the German cluture a little more. Unfortunaly because of time we dind't get to go to the famous Panitings area. I wish I could have gone to talk pictures and show my High School Art History Teacher. Shoe would be so proud.

Today I was trying to see how to get to Swizterland to see Teague. Teague and I both agreed this weekend would not be the best. So, another time. I miss him but I will see him probably on my first reading week. But Tanner and Andrew are going to Interlaken and Nicole and I decided to go with them. We ended up planning the trip but it looks like it is going to work. Jerry says it's one of the most beautiful places he has ever been! We are excited. But we have to go to bed so we are ready to travel tomorrow.

TOMORROW'S PLANS:
INTERLAKEN (9 hours of riding the train!)

Liebe,
Courtney

Day Twelve... HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW

Same as yesterday, just Andrew's Birthday was today. Kelley made an AMAZING tasting cake to celeabrate. And for dinner we had CORDON BLUE! YUM. I'm planning on seeing Teague this weekend but we will see.

Sorry, just not enough to Post Today and I have to get back to Homework.

Liebe,
Courtney

Day Eleven... Just Another Day

So, we pretty much did the same thing as yesterday. Nicole and I went back to the Mall and I did decide to buy a new euorpean coat. Mom, don't worry I bought it so I can throw away my black fleece, this new coat is way better! After the mall I came back to the Hostile to do some more homework. We really wanted to go to Mexican so we went with Kelley. It wasn't as great as Mexican's in the states. The waiter ended up messing up my order twice, and charged me full price. I didn't even end up getting the meal I ordered. After Mexican we went to a Coffee place to get something warm (it's still really cold here). Well when we were getting ready to leave nicole bumped a table and the menu landed on the candels on the tables. Ooops. She didn't see it and I turned around and there was a HUGE flame behind her. A German man rushed over and started putting it out. I was so afraid that the smoke would set off the alarms. Dalton took the menu and chucked it in the snow. Wow. That was the most exciting part of my day.

Liebe,
Courtney

Day Ten... A Normal Day

Nothing really exciting happened today. I mean I know I'm in Germany but there just wasn't much going on. Jerry Hasn't planned anything because we are trying to get our reading done for Dr. Trull's Class. So after class Nicole and I went to the mall to buy some things. I found this adorable coat at H and Ms I really like that store. I didn't buy it... yet. I'll have to think about it. Once we came back from the Mall we started our reading. We wanted to go to Mexican but we had to give Tony a heads up so we are going to do it tomorrow.

TOMORROW'S PLANS:
-Mexican Food
-Sissy!
- Go to the Mall to get Tortilla Chips for 99 cents.

Liebe,
Courtney

Day Nine... A Sunday in Amberg

So sorry I haven't written in this for a while. I managed to set aside some time today to catch all of you up. It's just for Trull's class we have to read two entire books so I'm trying to get that done as fast as possible so I can have fun this weekend.

Sunday we got up early and drove to Amberg to go to High Point Baptist Church. Jerry goes there when he is off duty with the Ambex program. The church service was nice. Dalton and Chris sang a song while the offering went around and the church really seemed to like it. After the service we went to a family owned restaurant with the pastor and some friends and ate. I had Cordon Blue which is one of my favorite dishes. IT WAS GOOD! but we couldn't have dessert because we were saving that for a special time later.

After lunch we went to the Cathedral where Jerry and Paula were married. It was beautiful. We also got to see a "relic" (I couldn't help but think of the movie Luther when i saw this) it was Thomas' thumb. It was a little weird. Right next to the church is this little bakery. SO YUMMY. I have a picture to show you what I ate. AMAZING! It's translated as Wind Bag. They are so good. You should try one sometime. Everyone got one. Of course from our Giant meal that we had before we couldn't all finish ours except Andrew. He finished the entire thing. I took an interview with him and I am going to try and upload that video on here as well. So that picture is the before picture now, I would like to show you the after picture. Unfortunately it's a little blurry but you get the idea. It was stuffed after that dessert. I tried so hard. As I was eating it I was thinking, "Captain I can't Hold On Much Longer!" tee hee. But it still was very good! After Dessert we headed back Home. I was excited because I would get to skype my family today. I miss you all so much. We skype every Sunday but that seems so long especially when I have so many stories to tell. My followers are growing on my blog and it makes me happy to know that you are out there reading. Thanks.

Liebe,

Courtney

P.S. for some reason it won't let me load the video. I tried.

Day Eight... Neuschwanstein Castle

This Castle is BEAUITFUL! And nothing like I have seen before... except maybe at Disneyland.

We took the trains to the castel. That was fun as well. This was the first time we were learning how to use the trains. Kelley took us and we had a BLAST! Once we got there we were so surprised beacuse it was so sunny. Kelley had said it was very rare for weather like this during this time. It was absoultly beautiful. There was a little fog. But once we pulled up to the station the castel had the sun shining brightly on it. We had to hike up a huge hill to get to it but it was worth it. Once we got in we took a tour. Unfortunatly we weren't allowed to take photos or videos inside. But you can take my word for it when I say it was pretty dang awesome! They had a fresco of Elsa, which some of you know from Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral. We played that song in State at my High School Band at West Salem. It's a very beautiful song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgTK-U96k5Q

I saw that painting and I knew where it came from. It was painted in the music hall which seemed appropreaite. And the view from the castel... WOW. I couldn't believe it!

By this time we could take pictures. I Promise I did not break the rules. Once we were done with the tour we headed out but before we were gone we met two guys from Norway. But to hear the rest of that story you have to talk to me in person!!

Once we were done with the castel we headed back home for Regensburg. We stopped in Munich for dinner. Most of us just got McDonalds. Which was nice because it felt a little bit like home. We got off the trains and Kelley told us which bus to take to get back. It didn't work out so well! We apparently missed our stop because we thought it would take us closer. NOPE. just more and more away. So Chris was like "Let's get off." So then we were in the middle of Germany and didn't really know how to get back. We started walking back in the direction of the Hostile and Found another bus stop. YAY! we got back on the bus and finally found out hostile. It was quite an adventure.

TOMORROW'S PLANS:

-Go to Jerry's Church

- Tour around Amburg

- EAT A WIND BAG!

Liebe,

Courtney

Day Seven... Ice Skating

So today was pretty relaxed. We got up and had class. I got a good score on my quiz for Chapter three in our book. YAY! I actually am studying and doing good job here. We recieved our books today. "Total Truth" and "Questioning God." I'm excited to read them. I already got a head start on my homework, I just have to make sure I am keeping up on things. Then after class we got ready to go ice skating. It was fun. The ice skates were a little different here then in the US. For one thing they don't have a toe pick. SO I felt really sad that I couldn't keep saying "toe pick" like from The Cutting Edge. And the sizes are different here. I finally found out I am a 38 in European sizes. We got on the ice and had fun. I'm proud to say I didn't fall once... but I did make one little girl fall down. I DIDN'T MEAN TO!!!! I tried to get out of the way fast enough but she biffed it. I felt bad but I didn't know how to say sorry in German so I hope she got what I was trying to say. Nicole got a cute picture of us and she will give it to me. Once I get it I'll put it up on facebook. We then went back to the hostile and I got homework done. YAY! ME! Some people went out and didn't come back till later but I wanted to get good rest in for tomorrow.

TOMORROW'S PLANS:
- Neuschwanstien Castle!!!!

Liebe,
Courtney

Day Six... Someplace New

We woke up and ate breakfast then head out for Rothenburg. This is the cutest little town. I found a bunch of little houses that I wouldn't mind living in. It was about a two hour drive to Rothenburg. It's a small town but has the Criminal Museum which is really fun to go to. They show a whole bunch of torture devices in the old times. We mostly walked around in separate groups just looking at things. I have a lot of great pictures that I want to post up. The first time I meet this Nutcracker and he bites me. German Nutcrackers are just not as friendly as the ones I have met before.


This carousel was awesome. We put in 50 cents to ride it but it turns out it was broken and we couldn't ride it anyways. But we pretended which was just as much fun.




OH and I am excited to tell everyone this is my new Boyfriend. Isn't he handsome, I knew from the moment I saw his eyes...





Jerry said Nicole and I were talking to much and checking out German Guys instead paying attention so he locked us up. And the worst part was no German Men would walk past us so we missed out on A LOT! We deserved it. ;)


Mom, Dad, Katie, this is my new Home that I'm going to buy in a couple of years. It's perfect and you can come visit me. It's just so CUTE!

Well, needless to say I had a lot of fun today. But I'm super super tired so I'm going to end my post here. I hope you all are enjoying the pictures, videos and writing.

TOMORROW'S PLANS:
- Tour a Castle (I would write which one but I can't remember the name)
- Go Ice Skating?
- Learn How to take trains everywhere

Liebe,
Courtney

Day Five... Touring Regensburg Again

Pretty Much a Normal Day. We are all getting used to things over here. We Toured again all over Regensburg so now we can navigate pretty well. Or how Nicole and I navigate "BIG CHURCH." Basically we find the really Big Cathedral and go towards it. Once we are there we can find the bridge and then the bridge leads us to the Hostile. Jerry let us roam around by ourselves for a while so Nicole and I walked around. She wanted something to eat so we went to a bakery. It was funny because this lady just started to speak German to us (which is normal) but since Nicole and I knew nothing we just stood there and smiled. I think she got the picture after a while. We then found Muller our favorite store. It has Everything you need. It's like a GIANT Walgreen's. Before we lefted for the Hostile I had a Doner Kabap! SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD. Dad, you were right I would love those things. After Dinner we all went upstairs and played Telephone Pictionary. We had a lot of fun and got really tired and went to bed.

TOMORROW'S PLANS:

- Tour Rothenburg

- Go to the Criminal Museum

Liebe,

Courtney

Day Four...Getting Used to Things

SO I have pretty normal sleep unlike last night where I woke up at 3:30 and couldn't fall back alseep. All of my roommates were the same. We all decided to stay up together since we couldn't fall alseep. So we unfortunatly had to start our day very early. But anyways today was a normal sleep. I got up ate breakfast and then we all went to class at 9:00 in the morning. Jerry had one of the women teachers come into our classroom to talk about the German Education. She is here with lots of 13 and 14 year olds because they are learning about the job they will get in about 1 or 2 years. It was very interesting, she also discussed the rebeling that is happening in the Universities. Students are now having to pay 600 euros to go the University, before they didn't pay at all. We as a class were all amazed that they only have to pay 600. She was amazed at what we pay as students. But why the students are rebeling is because they are seeing a difference with the money they are paying. The students want more teachers because their classes are so big, about 700 to a classroom! I really enjoyed her talking about the differences here than in American education. After she lefted Jerry finished the rest of our class.

We then were done at 12:00 and went to lunch. After lunch we did a tour of churches and Cathedrals in Regensburg. We had fun walking around the town. Tried to take lots of pictures. We walked through stores. We went into a Pub and listen to one of the men talked about how they made beer. We then spilt up and went around to stores and shops we wanted to go into. Nicole, Tanner, Jeff, Heather, Lisa, and I went with Kelley because we really wanted to go to the Konditorei. That's right Mom and Dad I went to a real Konditorei and it beats the one in Salem!

We headed back to the hostile because it was getting close to dinner. At dinner it was really cool becuase Jerry ask Dalton and Chris to play songs for the 13 and 14 year olds in the hostile. Dlaton has a great singing voice and Chris can play the guitar very well. Kelley got a video and will be posting it up on the Ambex website, so you should check it out. This little concert allowed us to break through with these kids. They sang songs praising God. I hope their was some kind of opening in their hearts from these songs. After the concert Kelley asked if we wanted to go out for something. We walked into an Irish Pub but didn't stay long, then we went to an "Orange Club" which looked like it was made in the 80's, we also went to the "Banana Club" which was REALLY CREEPY. I described it as "Sid's Room" from Toy Story. We didn't stay there long. We found a nice Mocca Bar and that is where we ended up staying. I had a "Mocca" which is probably how you know "Mocha." And Nicole, Kelley, and Kami completely agree with me when I say there was a VERY attractive man at the Mocca Bar. ;) When we were done we went back to the Hostile and went to Bed.

TOMORROW'S PLAN:

- Tour Regensburg and look at the Dukes and Kings

- Eat a Doner Kabob (oh yeah)

- Watch Live Music at a Coffee Shop

- Take a nap

Liebe,

Courtney

P.S. Sorry this wasn't posted yesterday. Oh and this is the best Picture I took!

Day Three... A Quick Look

Yes, We do study here in Germany! and here is a look of our lovely classroom.

Liebe,

Courtney

Day Two...Getting Used to Things

So I have been here for 24 hours now. Last night after writing on this blog the boys were getting bored so they stopped by our room and asked if we wanted to do something. Nicole had Uno cards so we started to play, and then moved onto Egyptian Rat Slap. Nicole was so intense she DOMINATED (as she says) she also took out one of our players... poor Chris, he's no longer with us. JUST KIDDING! She cut his hand when we all went for a slap. The games were fun. We then were so tired we decided to go to bed at 9:30.

We woke up at 7:30 to get ready for breakfast at 8:30. It was a typical German breakfast. Fresh Bread, Meats, Cheese, Cereal, Yogurt, and Fruit...yum... I sat at a table with a solider from the Navy. He is living in Germany for a year and was touring Regensburg. He was very nice and asked us why we were traveling in Germany at a time like this. We explained our study abroad program, he was excited for us and told us he wanted to get his kids to do the same thing.

Breakfast ended, so we got ready for the Regensburg Boy Choir at a Catholic Mass. Jerry at breakfast told us they don't heat the Cathedrals so make sure to dress warm. I wore layers, even more than some, but it wasn't good enough. We ALL were freezing! Jerry wasn't kidding, Really Really Cold. But that didn't make the Mass less enjoyable.

Being in that Cathedral is so wonderful. I know how easy it is to feel something spiritual there. With all the arches and stained glass windows around you it's beautiful. The organ filled the entire space and gave me chills. Then I got a little side tracked and wondered what it would sound like to here the Phantom of the Opera Overture in there. I didn't understand a single thing from the mass but the choir and music was beautiful. I wanted to get a picture but I also didn't want to be rude to the people that were worshiping there.

I forgot to write about our walk there. It was snowing, and it was great snow. There was no rain so it wasn't slushy like the snow in Oregon. And the snow flakes were about the size of my fist. I opened my mouth to taste the stuff and I jokingly said to the others "Wow the snow here is a little more sweeter in Europe than in the States." They laughed. I Took some Pictures but not all of them came out nice. I'll place some in the blog so you can see.

I wish I had gotten a picture of the Cathedral but I am sure I will get more soon. Behind the boat is the bridge we take to the mainland from our island.

After the Mass we came back to the Hostile. Frozen. and took naps. Now here is the funny thing. We got back around 12:00 and we got on our computers. First, Nicole calls her mom and forgot about the time change. It was 3 o clock in the morning, her mom picked up but was a little tired. Then around 1 I wanted to take a nap. I was talking to Nicole and Kami (My roommates) and asked if they were going to take a nap. Now, I'm pretty good at taking 20 minute power naps because of college, so i was going to do just that. Well I couldn't get to sleep as fast as I wanted so I set my alarm 30 minutes back. It went off and I shut it off. I got up and went to the bathroom and was still really tired. By this time both roommates were asleep so I laid down on my bed. I ended up falling asleep for 2 hours, when Kelly came into our room to ask if we wanted to go to a coffee shop. She saw we were taking naps and she let us sleep for longer. BAD IDEA! I didn't end up waking up until 6. 5 WHOLE HOURS OF SLEEP. So now I'm praying I can easily go to bed tonight but I'm not sure.

We went to dinner (delicious potatoes and roast) and went to the classroom for a little worship time with our group. Now I'm writing here. It's 9:12 p.m. and hopefully I can get to bed at a good time.

TOMORROWS PLANS:

Get up for breakfast then go to our first class

Tour around Regensburg a little more

Shop at the Mall w/ Kelly

Liebe,

Courtney

P.S. Feel free to comment so I know who is reading this.

Day One... and Here we Go!

Well, the flights were great! Portland to Chicago was a little bumpy at times but I had a good nap in there. The Flight from Chicago to Munich was long but actually not bad. So I thought I had a seat on the side of the plane for just two people. It turns out I had an asile seat in the middle which worked out perfectly beacuse the two seats next to me were not full! (the middle row has four seats, so someone sat on the end.) It was nice because I laid down on my side and slept for a good amount of time. I did accidently kick the guy next to me but he was asleep and probably thought it was the plane. oops!
I traveled with two girls, Heather and Lisa. They are fun to travel with and very SAFE! When Heather and I landed in Chicago Lisa was there waiting for us. We then had a three hour lay over so we had dinner at Chili's (which still has kept me full.) We walked around the airport and then bought a Rocky Moutain Pecan Chocolate Bear Caramel Apple. VERY TASTEY!

But Enough with the flights let's talk about the good stuff.

Kelly picked all three of us up then we drove to downtown Munich to have lunch at the Hofbrauhaus! OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! It was awesome. Of course there was Germans drinking beer and singing drunken songs. In my opinon the best way to start off a Germany Trip! Kelly talked about some traditions Germans have here and funny facts. I really enjoyed my time even though I was already full from Chili's.
Once we were done we drove to Regensburg where our hostile is. It's nice. Right now there are about 30 girls from (i'm guessing) the ages 10 to 14. They are a little loud but I must admit I envy the way they speak their beautiful language.
I'm am trying to pick up phrases here and there, all I have to do it make them stick. I'm still getting to know everyone that I am going to be traveling with for these three months. We seem like a great group.

Well I don't want to keep you here reading too long so I will end for tonight and write more tomorrow.

TOMORROW'S PLANS:
Tour Regensburg
Get Bikes for Riding around our island
Go to a Catholic Cathedral to watch the Regensburg Boys Choir

Liebe,
Courtney

P.S. for many of you that are wondering yes there are A LOT of attractive men here in germany. :)