Sorry for being so slow with this - finding the time to do a proper update has been somewhat tricky. Anyway, I'm here n0w, so I hope we can still be friends!
Since last week, I did the following things....
Heidelberg to see Adam
Had a cracking time. Went to the place with 101 types of schnitzel (a big breaded bit of pork), saw a nekkid German, and got good and drunk! Was great to see Adam, a friend from back home, and to not worry abut the language barrier like I usually do. Heidelberg's a nice place - very picturesque, but because of this, it's a bit of a tourist hot spot. Added to that the fact that it's got a (I think) 50% foreigner population, and it didn't feel very German. But t'was lovely, and I'll definitely be back there again sometime soon.
Party
On the Saturday night, went to a birthday party for a German friend, Haacker. I had the usual worries before about not being able to speak to anyone, but all it takes is a couple of people making an effort, and the night was really really nice. It's times like this that make me really eager to get this language learnt - at the moment, it can feel so strange that I'm here, in Germany, and it's the Germans speaking the English to me, when it should be (and will be) the other way round. I blame my nationality for my
Anyway, I digress - on with my update....
Mainfest (pronounced mine-fest).
A last minute invite from Daniel and Anita to the Mainfest (didn't even know what it was) turned out to be a right highlight of life here so far. It's a festival to celebrate the river Main, and there was a small fairground, lots of food and drink places, and best of all... FIREWORKS!! Awesome display that included flower-type fireworks and heart shaped fireworks - never seen those before. Lovely stuff, and made all the better by the surprise-ness of it.
Weilburg and Tiergarten
My folks came on the Tuesday evening, with a car full of my stuff. It's great to have the stuff here, and makes me feel a lot more settled, knowing all my THINGS are here. Sounds trivial, but it makes a massive difference to life here.
So the day after they arrived, we went off to an olde town with a castleypalace in it called Weilburg, which was all lovely and nice, and I realised at this point that Germany has fruit trees EVERYWHERE. But the problem is that whilst they all look lovely from a distance, they're not treated with any of those lovely pesticides, and so the creepy crawlies eat the lovely looking fruit. So far, I've not found a single thing worth chomping on.
Hessenpark
Yesterday we went off to Hessenpark, a sort of outdoor museum of olde German houses. Sounds crappy, but these pictures should maybe tell you it's not....
Evening was some good sturdy German grub (rotkraut, knoedel and wurst) and a trip to the Eiscafe, which unsurprisingly, my dad loved.
That's my recap of the last few days. As for everything else, it's so far so good. It's really nice having my parents here, not a stress like I thought it could be. My mum's managing to eat normally (she's usually unable to drink alcohol or consume wheat of any kind, but thanks to the wonder of Germany, she can now!), and my dad's I think just loving the food. All of it. Maja's being amazing, and I'm really glad that I came here to live with her. Best decision ever.
Starting to miss the UK a bit now. Was really weird hearing about the riots, particularly when they spread to Manchester city centre. Knowing that it's taking place in places that I'd walk through most days is really weird. I know that I couldn't do owt, but I feel weirdly useless. And my friends, I miss them too - of course I do, and if any of you are reading this, get on out here. Lufthansa's about 85 quid at the moment, so I'm told!
Seeya later folks! Thanks for reading my drivel.
Sounds like you're settling in well over there and having a blast. Sounds much nicer than the cold hills around Mold anyway!
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