Sept. 5, 2010

Taking a shower this morning I was flabbergasted by the amount of hot water that was provided. I thought for sure that my 15 min would cause the heat to die out. But it never did. It’s the small blessings that really count. 

It was almost unreal, the speed we traveled today on the Autobahn. We were going 100 mph easily in a van full of 10 people! The speed other cars were driving as they zoomed by in a blur was incomprehensible. Germans think that it is ridiculous not to let the car go as fast as it is made for. They think that America is silly for not allowing a car to reach the potential that the designers have built it for. I watched the country from my window and was amazed by the similarities shared between home and here, my new home for a while. The grass is just as green here as it is at home. But the plots of land are skinnier and longer here than at home. Rather than a patchwork quilt, it is more of a conglomeration of stripes. The country trees are less populated with pine and more populated with birch and oak, it seems. Also the forests pine trees seem to be smaller than that of Oregon’s forests.

We went to Amberg today, which was my first Sunday in Germany. It was odd for not one of the stores to be open. In America stores might close early on a Sunday, but they are open for business most of the time. The only places that were open for business here were restaurants and grocery stores and that makes sense. We began discussing why one of the stores wouldn’t just be open for the sake of business and making money. But then we realized that it was for the sake of unity and respect that not one of them would go against Germany’s “law” and do that. This isn’t America, it’s Germany. Things are done differently here.  Above is a photo of the streets in Amberg. EMPTY. 

We went and ate lunch at Kelly’s favorite Italian restaurant in Germany. And I can see why it is her favorite. Other than the food tasting amazing, the waiter was a kick in the pants. He gave us a hard time about everything, but it was funny. I thought about getting a picture with him.. But I was too shy to ask. After we finished eating and the waiter gave me a hard time about not finishing my food, we wandered around the town some more. Soon we drove up to a church on a hill that was dedicated to Mary. The name of the church literally translates as, “Mary, help us.” It was a beautiful church done in a Rakata style. Figurines were coming out of the walls and had eyes where pupils were nonexistent. I can see why the artist did it, to add a sort of life, ironically, to the eye. But it was frightening to look at. Here you can see a picture of a figurine that was on the wall of the church. His eyes, nothing but darkness.

We were then pleasantly surprised with dessert: the biggest cream puff it have ever seen. Kristen and I split it and I was so glad. There would have been no possible way that I could have finished it on my own. The baker made them fresh. Ours had cream, chocolate syrup and too small of a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The cream reminded me of my grandmothers homemade whipped cream. Oh-so-good.