Deutschland Trip Summer 2011

Hello,
back in my beautiful Canada now...mom and dad were overjoyed to see me (I mean who wouldn't be?) and I haven't stopped talking. Unfortunately I was up at 8 this morning because its about 2pm for me, and I'm a bit crazy with jet-leg.
When we got home I gave them my gifts, and it was so good to hear the lake and sleep downstairs again.
Today I'll do my unpacking and sorting through everything in my mind, and then I'l see Corey tonight probably.

I loved Germany. It was a lifechanging experience for this small-town girl. I feel so much more mature and grown up, and I feel so connected to my past now. I could go back anytime. I felt so at home there.

But in the end, being with my family and coming back home to Ipperwash was the best thing in the world.

Thank you all for following this, I love you.

Love,
Miss Germany.

Hello,
so sad to say goodbye to Leona and Ingrid, but I'm so excited to see mom and dad and mate and everyone else. I feel so good...mostly because I'm eating my last german pretzle for a while, and also because Ingrid gave me this Soho-Ka-Kola chocolate stuff that keeps you awake. Maybe I will sleep on the plane, maybe not. It will be 12:00am for me when I touchdown in TO, so today and tomorow will just be like having an all-nighter and going to bed at 4 for me.

The downside of being alone is that I have to take all my stuff with me, because I"m now off to find food and drink and perhaps a book.

Love you all, this will be my last blog entry in this beautiful country,
Love,
Laura.
Other things that are different about here include: roundabouts. at least 3 in every town.
Autobahn: no speed limits
Everyone drives standard, hardly any automatic.
The Germans do it right; they live right they eat right, they're not fat, and they make good money.
I love it here.

I can't believe it's my last night in Europe. Like mom said, it was over in a flash. The weeks went by like nothing; I guess that means I enjoyed myself.

Yesterday we went to Stuttgart and saw some lovely museums, and today Leona and I went into Gmünd and met Isabell. She is lovely. I got some pictures developed and picked up some last-minute things (can't say what they are because it's a surprise) and then we bought beer because you can do that here when you're 16. Becks green lemon is really good.

Then we walked around and found a place on the bank of the river and sat down to drink. It was a perfect afternoon, and we even got whistled at by a guy on a passing train.

When we got home Ingird had made a real German dinner: Rouladen, Spätzle (homemade) kartofflesalat (potato salad) broccoli and sauce.

Now I'm all packed and ready, and I leave tomorow from Gmünd at 9. My flight leaves at 3...I'll be in Canada (yay! home!) at 6.

See some of you tomorow, and the rest of you soon,
love,
Laura Lew.

Hey!
So we ended up going to Zimmerbach today. I think it was the highlight of my whole trip. We went to Roswita's and met family there; they're so nice!!! And then (mom you have to call Oma right after this and tell her all of this message) we walked along this long road, Ingrid said it was Oma's favorite way, and we ended up at this old farmhouse with a little shed beside it where 'they make rope by hand'. It was crazy. This was Oma's house at one point. The woman who lives there with her husband was lovely, and she was like OMG! You're Doris's granddaughter! (In German of course, and this is like really accented because they're farmers) She immediately invited us in, and it was like out of a movie. The room we went into was like the downstairs in Opa's house, as it was completely covered in deer-skulls, pelts from all over the world, and ermine, mink and other crazy things.

We sat down at this old table and she was like 'Mosht!' and I was like 'Ok!' So she brought out some of the old German mugs and a jug of stuff that looked like apple juice, and everybody watched me as I drank some. And it was amazing. It just tasted so natural and....good. And unlike you, mom, I didn't get messed up on it ;P

Then, her husband came in from the fields I guess (there were geese eveywhere) And he was equally excited about me. He looked like he was out of a storybook. His wife brought him a huge mug of beer and we all sat around and chatted. He spoke a little English, having been to Canada 8 times already to hunt. He had only one thumb, and was very jolly.

We sat and talked about Oma for a while and then the carried on in German forever, and then Ingrid took a picture of all of us with the skulls.
We went back outside, and the woman was like here, have some fresh eggs, oh, have some lettuce and some icewine grapes, and take some radishes and flowers....All because I'm the granddaughter of Doris.

I left there in a sort of dream; It was like taking a walk back in time.

The light show was not really a lightshow as we had to pay 9Eur a person to get in, so we all decided that was stupid and spent the time trying to find a decent place to watch it for free. There was German band music and dancers and a firing squad...Dad it reminded me of the trumpets in your big band; they have two volumes: loud and louder.

The fireworks were lovely, but it was at times like that when I miss Canada the most.

Today we will go to Stuttgart again to see some museums because the weather is bad.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed about Irene...I really hope it doesn't hit Quebec...

See you in a few days, please read this to Oma/ grandma

Love,
Laura.

I'm sorry but I have to go now to Schwäbisch Hal to see the light show, but I'll finish the Zimmerbach story tomorow.
Laura.

Today has been a lax day, as the weather dropped 22C from yesterday's 40, and we're now frozen.
We will still go to the light show tonight, but I don't know about Zimmerbach. We're also trying to decide what to do tomorow when it rains.
We were going to go to Heidlburg but I don't think that will happen.

Talk to you later, missing you all increasingly much...
LEW