Germania: "You talk like the Movies!"

After a ridiculously fun birthday, I bought a plane ticket to visit Anna near Dusseldorf at her uncle's house.

It was the worst travel experience. Well, it was fun until I showed up at the airport. Hani and I took the train together and just chatted. It was great to travel with him because he knew exactly what we were doing, unlike myself...

At the airport, as I waited in the overheated gate for my plane, I realized I didn't have my headphones. I left them on the train to the airport. I couldn't get wifi at my gate. When I ordered a sandwich at the main terminal, my accent was so bad that the cash register answered me in English. I searched my bag for 40 minutes as I got super sweaty and self conscious as all these nosy Italians stared at me. I miss how Americans pretend to ignore you and politely sneak peeks. Rarely do people blatantly stare in the US. So, the gate is tiny, overpacked, and hot. No wifi is available. I stood for... over 40 minutes waiting, worrying that I was at the wrong place. My plane was late. I was dehydrated. While I waited, I stared at people (when in Roma, be a staring jackass. That's the saying, right?). I noticed this couple all over each other. The woman literally snarled playfully as she kissed her boyfriend. Vommmmmit.

They sat next to me on the plane. They made out during the majority of the flight.

I didn't have headphones.

I didn't have a magazine.

I sat there and tried to zone out. Obviously, I got a beer in flight. I needed SOMETHING. I didn't realize people could kiss so loudly in public without shame.

So when I landed in Germany, I freaked out seeing my beloved Anna. I talked so much in the car, I was so happy to see her! Her uncle's house is super cool; it's over 100 years old. But it also was very cold. I wore pretty much everything I brought everyday. I foolishly thought Germany wouldn't be so cold. It's freaking freezing. No wonder Germans are considered a cold people. They've been desensitized in order to survive.

The next day, we went to Cologne (Koln with a double dot over the o). We walked by the water and headed over to the chocolate museum. It smelled fantasticccc. We learned a bit about chocolate too, so it was a cultural experience ;) We walked around downtown Cologne and bought ice cream. Anna is obsessed with "spaghetti" ice cream so we got these huge bowls of ice cream. I couldn't handle it. Italy is ruining me. I'm losing my taste for sweets. We shopped a bit and got more fries. Curry ketchup? Where have you been all my life?

Then we went to the big church in Cologne. Very Gothic and beautiful. My favorite church we visited was the next day. It was in this small town where there was where Mary appeared to a German. There was this beautiful little chapel and two huge churches next to them. My favorite was stunning. My jaw dropped.

I've been spoiled with all this fantastic European architecture so I've become harder to impress. I promise this church we saw (God knows where. I NEVER knew where the hell we were. I can't remember German names for the life of me. My brain only has room for Italian and English these days.)  It honestly made the basilica in Cologne just look pretty in comparison. This church combined Gothic, Baroque, and Eastern Catholic styles.

I could have cried, it was so beautiful. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdpicturesart/5861907985/

The funniest part of our weekend was when we were taking the train back from Cologne to Anna's uncle's house, Hans Willi. There were three guys next to us on the train speaking rather bad English with strong accents. Anna and I were trying to figure out where they were from- they had to be from different places. Why else would they be speaking English between them? We debated asking them where they were from but both were too chicken.

Suddenly, I find myself blurting out to them, "WHERE are you guys FROM?" I surprised myself how easily I said it. We spent the next 30-60 mins chatting with these guys on the train. Two were from Spain and one from Roma. The three of them are studying engineering and computer science via Erasmus in Holland. They were so funny. The guy from Roma tried to speak Italian with me but I refused. He got all pissy about it. Lame. The Spaniards were way awesome. They made Anna and I laugh so much.

Three highlights of that conversation: 1) The MASSIVE confusion that occurred when one of the guys said his name was Fernando, "Like the Abba song!" That made me love Fernando right away. Anna said, "Wait, like the bull?" Then we got into this huge explanation about Ferdinand the bull, using misleading hand gestures. It took five minutes to clear that up. 2) They told me that I was easy to understand because they watch a lot of American movies and television. "You talk like the movies!" 3) When you don't know what to say to a European under the age of 30, mention How I Met Your Mother. They follow it religiously.

The highlight of the trip was when Anna and I rode her family's ancient bicycles in the green fields at sunset. Poetic, yes? It was stunning.