Neeeext!

Achtung: I wrote this a couple of days ago but the internet wouldnt let me load it. Also I cant spell, in any language, or find the apostrophe on the German keyboard.

Hello all, I apologize greatly because I have not posted recently. Since my last post, we have been in Sweden and Germany, and have been too busy to actually sit down and write a blog post. I promise (pinky promise!!!) that I will go over the lovely details of our trip when I get home, as I will have many unemployed hours to sit and write and go through my photos. In the meantime, I can tell you a bit. Sweden was wonderful and relaxing, and Diana's relatives, Mats and Ingrid, were very hospitable. We saw a glass blowing factory, with lotsa beautiful artsy glassware. We didn't do much in terms of sightseeing, but got to talk at length with Mats and Ingrid about life in Sweden and such. We also go to talk to their daughter, Nina, who is our age, and she was quite fun. We also watched a lot of soccer, because their family is really into it: their oldest daughter is on the Swedish national team. They also fed us very well, haha, deliciousness. Sarah, the Swedish do indeed eat hot dogs, and they also have mustard and ketchup with them. They eat many things that are pretty much the same as we eat in the States, with a few differences. We have discovered that there is no water better than Colorado tap water, but I have developed an addiction to European Coke, which tastes much better than American Coke. I have also gained a taste for light beers, the ones I have had so far have been delicious. We took a night train to Mannheim, Germany, and then went to Heidelberg to spend a couple of days. The night trains are interesting, we met a guy and his daughter who we talked to for a while, that was nice. It is a good way to meet people. Basically, they stuff 6 people into a little cabin with couches that fold down into 6 beds, 3 on each side, like 3 story bunk beds. So you are forced to talk to people, because otherwise you would be stuck in a corner somewhere and unable to get out. We stayed in this wonderful little hostel in Heidelberg, Steffi's Heidelberg Hostel. We were treated very nicely and the room was clean and comfortable. The first day there, we spent shopping and wandering. In the states, I have a hard time finding clothes that fit because I am so tall, but it was easy shopping in a country full of tall people. They actually make clothes that fit me. Heidelberg is beautiful, it was one of the few towns unaffected by bombing in WWII, so it still has its old castle and church and old town. The second day we spent exploring the local Castle, which was cool. Just in case you care, the local rocks which made up the castle and sidewalks and stuff like that are very similar to those found in Boulder, more specifically the Fountain and Lyons formation. They have the same pinkish color, and plenty of crossbedding. MMmmm. After the castle, we went back to the Hostel for a nap, and met our new friend Sammy (hi!), who we spent the rest of the evening with, wandering Heidelberg, eating delicious German food, and talking. I also had ice cream a total of three times that day. Oh, how I love ice cream. Yesterday, we took the train to and explored the Neuschwanstein Castle in Füssen, Germany, and then splurged and stayed in a real hotel, with our own bathroom. We were exhausted, and it was wonderful not to be bothered by other kids wandering in at all hours of the night. It also came with breakfast, very delicious breakfast in fact, which included bacon. In about an hour, we are on our way to Shaffhausen, Switzerland, where we will base our exploration of the European Nazarene College in Büsingen. From there, Interlaken Switzerland, and then to Rome. We are at about halftime at this point. We have both decided that our first meal back in the US will be at Qdoba. Anyhow, I am almost out of internet time, and we need to go catch our train to Schaffhausen. We will spend most of the day riding through the swiss alps. I am soooo excited. Adieu!! Cori

Oh boy!

We are in Cologne, Germany, just arriving from Paris. We have an overnight train this evening to Sweden, where we will meet Diana's family.

Paris:

We stayed in a nice little hotel owned by a family who lived there. They had a couple of little girls, who ran around shouting "MOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!" I guess that is universal in any language.

I figured out why French women are so skinny: they have to fit into tiny places. The food is delicious, and they seem to live for food and drink, but if you can't fit into one of the tiny table areas in the crammed restaurant, you can't eat.

Our first day in Paris included:
- a looong walk through the gardens at the Champs de Elysees, and the Louvre
- A church service at Notre Dame. The acoustics in that building are unbelievable.
- Wandering around the Arc du Triomph. Its big.
- Blisters the size of my face
- Arriving at the Trocadero at nearly sunset, and climbing the 680 steps to the 2nd floor of the Eiffel Tower, where we took the elevator the rest of the way up.
- Forgetting to eat dinner until 1 in the morning because we were so distracted

Despite what I have heard about Parisians being rude, we found that most of them are actually quite nice. They laughed at our pathetic attempts at speaking French, although Diana picked it up pretty quickly

I also introduced Diana to my love of public transportation systems, maps of any sort, and metro maps as an art form. Those things are the abstract art of cartography. I love riding the metro, but for some reason Diana didn't want to spend the day riding in circles....

Our second day in Paris was both the most stressful and the most relaxing. We spent 3 hours in the train station figuring out how to get to Sweden, but then we went and toured the Chateau at Versailles. Chateau is an understatement, it really is a palace. The gardens were extensive and beautiful.

Well, I need to go look for more plan things, and somewhere to stay in Germany.

Next stop: Vajxo, Sweden!

Gone

Today at 7 a.m., Diana and I are off to see the world. I am already tired.

My backpack is ready to go, my passport is in my purse, and I have tomorrow's clothes all set out.

I need to go to bed now, but keep a lookout for travel updates. I will post as often as I can.

First stop: Paris via London

I am really, really enjoying being unemployed. Last weekend, I went to the Great Sand Dunes National preserve, down in southern Colorado. They formed between a complex system of constant easterly winds, westerly rivers, and lots and lots of sand. The sand dunes here are the largest in the US, and the tallest one is about 750 feet tall. Walking around on them is like walking on a giant beach, except for at a steep incline.

This photo is of some pretty mountains on the way down there.

There is a large creek at the base of the sand dunes, that is basically the closest thing to a beach CO has. It was a beautiful day for wandering through the creek. I messed with the colors a bit in this one.


Again without the people, and less color change
This is on top of the highest dune we climbed, you can see across the dune field that goes for several miles.
A tippy-top of one of the dunes.

Kite flying. We had to run back to our campsite shortly after this to escape the lightning.

Anyway, its been a good month. I am hoping to have a place for my photos to live soon, for your veiwing pleasure. Woo. I will let you all know what that is when it gets there.

love,

Cori