Rust, Sweat, and Italians, Oh My

What do you get when you mix an 80 year old rusty road bike, tight mountain trails, no ability to change gears, an 8 kilometer ride, and heat with humidity? One unhappy me. Biking to Villingen sounded like a great ideas especially for Coloradans but what started out as a nice European adventure turned into an exhausting ride and a cranky me. We borrowed a bike from the frenchies so that Lara and I could ride to Villigen and back. But this bike was an old road bike that was stuck in high gear. The path that we took to Villigen was through part of the Black Forest so is was tight, dirt/gravel paths and many hills and turns. It was not designed for a road bike nor was it designed to be road in high gear. Some of those hills nearly killed me and I was wiping off sweat like nobody's business. It was a beautiful ride but it definately made me appreciate a good bike. I never fully understood gears until this trip. We only stayed in Villigen for an hour or two. We ate lunch, shopped (like spending more money is just what we needed) and then decided it would be best to catch the train back home. Call us pansies but this ride in that heat with that bike was just not happening again. So we got to the train station just in time to sprint across the tracks and catch the train back to Schwennigen. And I'm thinking this day had bad connotations with it anyway. The train was so hot that both of us were sweating worse just standing on the train than we ever did battling the heat on our bikes. Needless to say a shower was very well welcomed by this point. So now we had a fussball match to watch. We cleaned up, dressed in our Germany swag, and headed out to catch some food and watch Germany take on Italy. Everywhere in town was packed. The whole city was out to watch the game and there were actually a lot of Italian fans as well. For those of you that watched, Germany lost and the Italians fans were going crazy. Horns were honking all over town, the police was out standing guard everywhere, and Germans fans were left to look on in despare as the soccer cup ends for them. Memories were made yesterday and it'll all be something to laugh at in the future. But what a day!

Schwennigen Oh Schwennigen...quiet little schwennigen.

Compared to Munich, being back in Schwennigen is much quieter. Today I spent 45min watching ducks swim in a lake while Lara was in class. It was peaceful and made for a good reflection time. I have realized how much life has changed in the passed years since high school and this trip will be the biggest life changer by far. I have changed so much and I can barely remember who that person is anymore. It has made me appreciate all the changes I have gone through and I love where I am now. Today I watched a mother duck beat the sh%t out of this random looking black duck and it was actually really funny to watch. But today was really quiet. We took a walk through the country side this morning because we were both wide awake by 8:30am. Then we went to lunch and Lara went to class. I was free by myself for like four hours. So what does a girl do besides watch ducks...what every girl does best (especially this girl) SHOP!!! It took the whole time but I finally found some great shoes and finished in time to meet Lara and grab a beer down at Ostbahnhof. We stayed for another six hours sunk in comfy chairs and had a front row view of the Spain vs. Portugal soccer match. Which, can I just say, was terribley boring. 0-0 by the end, two OT and then kick offs for Spain to finally win. Geez. Tomorrow we are riding our bikes to Villigen and hanging out there for a while. The bikes here are super old and so tall they are hard to ride. But I do feel very European like while riding them, pretty much like I'm in a movie. Sorry there are no extranvagent stories this time but peaceful is nice every now in then. Cheers and prayers go out to Colorado. My favorite place in the world cannot burn down while I'm away.

When In Munich

From sun up to well past sun down, we never stopped moving in Munich. We saw everything in our five days there and we didn't want to leave. We'd walk around Munich until our feet hurt so bad we couldn't stand anymore so we went back to the hostel and rested for maybe an hour and went out again. Life in Munich could not be better. We were somewhere new every night meeting all kinds of new people. We travelled to Salzburg and hiked around the fortress and saw where Mozart was born and we took a boat ride across a massive, gorgeous lake. We toured a concentration camp, Dachau. It was the first concentration camp and it had a capacity of 6,000 people. We found out by the end of the war, the Nazis had crammed 32,000 people in the bunkers. It was a sad place to stand in and sad to hear about everything they did. We also took a walking tour of Munich with a very passionate leader. Our three hour tour turned into four hours and we could barely function by the end of it. We made it to the Hofbrauhaus but they close at 11 so we didn't stay long. And the craziest part of the trip was the soccer match we watched on Saturday night. The whole town shuts down for the game and everyone floods the bars and restaurants to watch the game and since Germany won, everyone went CRAZY. The streets closed down and the second the game was over everyone, including us, ran into the streets. It was like nothing I have ever seen before. There was chanting and jumping up and down and hugging and ridiculous awesome celebration. There were leaders that chanted something and when they did everyone knelt until he changed the chant then everyone started jumping up and down. It was crazy to see this systematic chanting. And it lasted for hours! When we left we they were still going! Germany is freaking amazing!!!! It was sad to leave Munich because we literally had the time of our lives. I wish I could tell it all on here but there is not enough time, space, and not all can be said out loud on here. Don't worry, I'm keeping a journal too! Cheers for now folks!

Just as the sun goes down it rises again

Traveling west at sundown makes for a very short night. I boarded the plane in Newark at 6pm eastern time and as the sun set in the west, it wasn't long before we met up with it in the east again. After 12 hours of flying and about an hour of sleep, I arrived in Stuttgart, Germany at 8:30 am. I was three trains away from Lara in Schwenningen. The train rides went well. At one point I was sitting across from a kind old man with curious eyes. We tried to speak but he did not know english and I had no idea what he said. So instead I watched him stare out the window and I wondered where he came from as we rode through beautiful, lushous country side with gorgeous red wild flowers and fields after fields of corn, oats, and dirt. I marveled at the beauty of small town German architecture. Bright red roofs and white wood sidings all looking alike and nestled in their valleys. I finally reached Schwenningen and dragged myself off the train and greeted my friend. Four months apart didn't seem that long once we started talking. Just as friends should be. As we spent the day strolling through the town I soaked in the sights and forgot every person's name right after meeting them. I ate spagetti ice cream and tried to cool myself off in the humid soaked heat. I was going on 24+ hours without sleep but we still went out that night and the shenanigans began. First after walking 30min to a chinese buffet we got stranded in a down pour. But to our amusement the euro cup games were on so we joined the germans and cheered on England. The rain didn't quit so we called for a ride from a friend and went to the bar at the train station. A few beers down and the rain stopped and the real fun began. If the first night went down like this I can only imagin what the trip has in store. Beer Pong tonight, teaching the locals! Count is 6 and 1 and thats it for now!
Cheers!

Bon Voyage

Ok folks the big day is almost here. In less then 24 hours I will be on an airplane heading east. On my last day home I am simply enjoying the beautiful Colorado weather and spending time at home. I cannot wait to be there and beginning my adventure. I spoke with Lara this morning (my friend who i will be travelling with) and I am all set and know exactly what I am doing when I get there... for the most part. The next time I write on here I will be in Germany!!! So just to recap...

• Flight Itinerary set?    Check!
• Bags Packed?          Check!
• Nerves erased?       Check!
• Excitement on overdrive?    Check!
• Hostels reserved?    Check!
• Ready for take off?   Double Check!

The Adventure Begins!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Who Packs A Week Early??

This girl right here!! I fly out Monday and I am already completely packed. Guess you could say I'm excited. Although I did forget my PJ's so that's gotta go in too. But I have the weekend to tie up the loose ends and be on my way Monday morning. It's crazy how fast the trip got here. I have been planning it for over 3 months and now I am five days away from leaving!! What happened?! I'd be lying if I said that I am not nervous because it's a long way to travel by myself! This trip is so worth it though! Soon I will be landing in Stuttgart, boarding a train, and arriving in Schwennigen. The only part I am really nervous about is the train ride. I do not want to get lost in Germany especially when I do not know a single word of German. It's going to be an amazing experience and I just cannot wait for it to start. These first two post are a little boring but bare with me because soon the experience of a lifetime begins!

About Me

My initial blog is simply an introduction of myself and why I am blogging. I am a business student at the University of Northern Colorado. I am majoring in Marketing and Management through the Monfort College of Business. I am entering into my senior year of college and am excited and nervous to be graduating in May. On top of my school work I am the Senior VP of the professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi! I sit on the Monfort Student Council and I am captain of the UNC club Women's Rugby Team. This summer I am studying abroad in Lithuania for three weeks. I have postponed studying abroad for long enough and I am more then ready to begin my adventure. While there I will be visiting the Baltic seaside as well as taking a trip to visit the management team of Skype!! As stated in my description I am leaving two weeks early to spend time with my close friend in Germany. She has been studying there since March so I am excited to be reunited and begin our shenanigans together. Who knows what is to come so stay tuned and be prepared for anything!!!