Tuesday, June 9, 2009

It's the little things...


Shea and I were talking the other day and after our first 8 months here we can certainly notice that we are growing more accustomed to German life. Don't get us wrong our German is still terrible, but the differences in culture that were at first so prominent, now are just part of everyday life.
But you find it funny some of the things that you notice you miss. Of course family and friends, but the other stuff you would have never thought of...I'll give you an example. Up until about two weeks ago, we had seen plenty of rain in our time here, but no thunderstorms...no lightening, no rumbling of thunder...the sounds us Texans and Okies are well accustomed to falling asleep to (and blaming for knocking-out our power and explaining why we are an hour late to work...wink).
So, today I am sitting in the apartment 16 floors up and watching a thunderstorm head our way...makes me feel kinda excited, just like it used too. I could see the "Blitz" (German for lightening) lighting up the sky, hear the "Donner" (thunder), and smell the "Regen" (rain). It was a great little taste of home topped-off with a little rainbow treat.
Tschuss for now.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Roughing it on the Rhine














Last weekend was a holiday weekend in Germany with no work on Monday. Some good friends (see same crew as Football Game) plus some additional folks invited us to go camping on the Rhine River about an hour North of Frankfurt.
We got there Saturday night and stayed through about midday on Monday. The campsite was amazing, set directly beside the river, in the mountain valley, with a castle perched above us. It was an ideal scene and the weather cooperated with us...the temperatures warm during the day and cool at night. We did a bit of hiking, rock climbing (Shea made it all the way to the top on her first climbing attempt ever!), and Shea went on a bike ride for several hours into a neighboring town. We had a wonderful time with everyone and really appreciated the opportunity to get out of the city for a bit and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Here are a few pics to show you what me mean...Enjoy.