One Month

it's been almost a month since my last post. I don't know what to say anymore. Everyone is leaving, and it's interesting to hear what everyone does first when they arrive home. I have a little bit more than a month left, and I am not sure what I will do when I get home.

Summer has finally arrived only a few months late. The month of June I was wearing a fleece jacket because it was that cold. Unlike home, we have had enough rain... too much rain.

I am learning to take each day and make the most of it. For example, I was in Enschede on Saturday and it was probably my favorite time in Enschede. On saturday they have a market on in the courtyard in front of the casino, but on Saturday there was some kind of festival, and the city was packed. Just being in the sun with the festival atmosphere was enough to make Saturday a good day.

Saturday was also Yeli's going away party. She leaves on July 15th to go back to Ecuador. It's weird to think Yeli is going to not be here, but I will deal with that in 14 days.

Is This Our Last Goodbye?

I realized this week, that with only a little more than two months left in my exchange, I am not sure if this will be the last time I see some people. Why is it getting hard now? My exchange has been great to this point without the big roller coaster of emotions they said I would go through. I am not sure why now is the time where my low point comes. With the first of the exchange students starting to leave, it is really hitting me that I am leaving, and I don't know when I am coming back. My host family has become a family. Blood doesn't determine whose your family, family is whoever was there to take you in with open arms and never regretted it. The same goes for my friends. My best friends have also become a family. Sometimes I wish Muensterland could be like wisconsin, a place I could visit any day of the week if I wanted to. Unfortunately, my two lives will never connect or understand each other. They will always be on the other side of the pond and a world apart. It was different leaving the US because it was a "see ya later" and not a goodbye. How is life going to change while I am gone? How long will I be gone? These are questions I do not know the answer to, and I not ready to face this. They say a year is a long time, but to me, one year is not long enough...

Nürnberg, München, und Pfingsten

Nuremberg

"Go to Munich," they said. "You will love it," they said. Nuremberg is a better city. It is about the size of Milwaukee and a lot smaller than Munich, but the Old Town(Historic District) is by far the better one.

To get to Nuremberg, My host brother and I used the "Mitfahrzentrale"because tickets with Deutsche Bahn were 70 euros a piece, and the Mitfahrzentrale was only 30 per person. Mitfahrzentrale is like craigslist for hitchhikers. You call up someone going to the same city of you and meet up somewhere and ride together. Before the experience, I was a little skeptic, but now I would recommend this to everyone.

In Nuremberg, we stayed with my Host Uncle. When we arrived, his girlfriend asked us if we had brought wandering shoes because the next day we were going to walk a beer wandering trail. The beer wander was the favorite thing we did. We woke up at nine, and then took the train a good half-hour to 45 minutes north from the city. The trail took you too five different breweries, and you receive a stamp when you bought a beer. When you collected all four stamps, you could buy a mug from the tour for 2 or 4 euros (I don't remember exactly, but it was cheap.) The trail was 18 km. (~9mi.)

On the second the second day, we went to the Adidas headquarters because the girlfriend from my Host Uncle worked there. I learned that reebok is actually owned by Adidas. After the HQ, we went to see Nuremberg during the daytime. My host uncle lives on the north side, where "the berg" is. The Berg is an old castle or fort on the north side of the city wall. We ended up walking the wall. The top of the wall was actually a park with trees and gardens, not what I expected.

The top of the wall is the the left and "the berg" with the old town are below.

Munich


We went to Munich on the same day as the FC Bayern München vs. Chelsea Champions League game. The city was packed with Bayern fans. The vibe of the city was great. My friend from the US surprised me on the platform when the train pulled up, one of the best memories from Munich.

Our first stop was the Olympic Park. On the way to the Olympic Park is across the street from the BMW HQ, so that was our real first stop. After we went to the top of the Olympic Tower. Later that day, the stadium in the back, was filled with people for public viewing of the soccer game. The Olympic Park was nice, but I was more excited for our next stop, Marienplatz. The bear was loose on the Marienplatz. All the Bayern fans had taken over the square, so that you could barely walk through.

After seeing the two city halls, the old city hall is my favorite.










We saw the Frauenkirche, but the church and frauenplatz were under construction, so that is was ugly. The Theatinerkirche was a lot nicer inside and out. It was weird seeing things I learned out in my German class.

After the Theatinerkirche, we walked north to the Englischer Garten. We watched the surfers at the south end for a good 20 minutes. Then we walked a little bit north through the naked people between surfing and the botanic garden. I didn't take too many pictures of the Englischer Garten because I wasn't sure if there would be a naked person in them. I saw the Chinesischer tower, but I was not able to get to the second floor, like a German teacher I know. Afterwards, we found a bar and just relaxed in the beautiful sun.

when we got back to the train station, People had already taken over there too. There was a wall of police to make sure no one started rioting around the moving trains. Our train pulled in with standing room only for the people getting out. We boarded and all you could smell was piss, B.O., and beer. the place was trashed and about 100 degrees fahrenheit.

The garden below is not actually the Englischer Garten but the Hofgarten.

Pfingsten

Pfingsten is a church holiday that no one knows why it is celebrated anymore, but no one complains. All I know, is that when I think of Pfingsten, I think of the street in Northbrook. For Pfingsten weekend, we get Monday and Tuesday off from school. My friends and I went on a bike trip for Pfingsten my friend's grandma. My friends grandma lives on a farm somewhere northeast of where I live in "Arsch der Welt." We spent the weekend camping in the back of the farm. That was great weekend. I am the brownest out of my friends, but Petra is still tanner. I believe I need to go New Jersey mom to beat her this summer.

We Will Always Have Paris

Geneva


We left Avignon early on Easter Monday, for Geneva. Arriving in Geneva, we first visited the UN. It was a little bit shocking to think that I would be going to the UN. I have never been to the White House, and to be walking on a the property of a place more powerful than the White House was interesting. Unfortunately, I didn't realize we were going to the UN, and I wore my sandals... with socks... because it was a bus day. They were comfy though.

Because it was Easter Monday, nothing in Geneva was open. This turned out to be for the better because Geneva is expensive. We searched the city for a cheap bar that would be open. After about a half hour of trying to ask locals, we discover Pablo, a inbound from Mexico in our Group, can speak french. We ended getting led to McDonalds by a couple locals.

Paris

The welcome party in Paris was anything but welcoming, but somehow I knew I was going to like this city. We arrived in Paris to find traffic unbelievable worse than Chicago. Our Hostel was in one of the outer districts of Paris. Rotex kept calling it a ghetto. As we pulled off the highway, the rotex already picked the four biggest people to guard the doors of the bus as we got out. Turns out that our neighborhood wasn't anymore dangerous than Irving Park. We walked in the rain a couple blocks to the hostel. Which was just as inviting as the neighborhood around it.

On the first day, we went to the city center for a boat tour. I would definitely recommend the boat tour, but the tour guides accent was so thick, I was not able to understand what she was saying. After the boat tour we went to the Norte Dame. The line for the cathedral was too long, so that I sat outside a coffee shop and stared at the cathedral while I drank my expresso.







We walked downtown for a bit, and then saw the world's ugliest modern art museum, Centre Pompidou. From there, we got free time for lunch. The Canadians and I went to a chinese buffet. You had to cook your food in microwaves, that was different.

The Louvre was are next stop. Most museums in Paris are free, if you under 18 and living in the EU. I am glad the Lou was free because it really wasn't that interesting. There were so many people crowded around the Mona Lisa, that I was only able to see the top of the frame.

We ate our "final" dinner together, which was italian food, on the second to last night. We ended up taking too long, and had to run 2 kilometers to the Arc de Triumph. After a plate of pasta, I would not recommend that, but the people staring at you as you run down the sidewalk is interesting. From the Arc de Triumph I took my favorite picture of Paris.

On the second, The Palace of Versailles was our first stop. It was weird going to the Palace of Versailles because it was one of those things you read about in the history books but not something you actually think you will actually see in your lifetime. The city of versailles was actually a lot nicer than the palace.

Coming back into Paris I noticed that we were only passing sex shops. Sure enough our next stop was the red light district to see the Moulin Rouge. We ended up receiving free time in the red light district and decided to climb a mountain and turn around. After free time, we ended up climbing the mountain again with Rotex. We ended up climbing down the other side, to an ethnic community that was really cool.

Are final dinner was actually burgers across the street from the Moulin Rouge. After dinner we went to the Eiffel tower. The Eiffel Tower was our last stop. There was an hour and a half long wait for the Elevator, so that a group of us walked up to the tower instead. On the way up there was a poster of the worlds tallest buildings compared to the Eiffel tower. The Chicago Spire was included with the "to be built" buildings. Someone needs to do a little updating. The Tower at night is a lot better than during the day.

We were at the tower until exactly midnight. Then we boarded the bus and headed back to Germany. Arriving in Germany was one of the greatest feelings. It felt like coming home.

Southern France

 

Leaving Pisa was the best moment from Eurotour. After leaving Pisa, everyone on the bus passed out. After driving for a few hours, I woke up to see this view welcoming me into France. Driving into France was beautiful. You literally drive through mountains. If you are not in a tunnel, then you are driving over a bridge, 100 or more feet above the ground over canyons and small seaside towns. To put it simply, France is beautiful, and I understand now why so many people love it.

Monaco


Monaco was our first stop in France, but we

actually stayed in Nice(Monaco is really a microstate like the Vatican, so that techniclly we weren't in France.) Monaco was nice. We got there a week before the formula one races, and we were able to see/walk through, the construction of the stands in the harbor and the yachts starting to enter the marina. One of our stops in Monaco was the Monte Carlo, a famous casino, for those who didn't know. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go in.

 Monaco, like I have heard, was filled with luxury cars. If you drove an entry level BMW, Mercedes, or Audi, then you looked poor. On the contrary, The law of Monaco is that you must net at least a million US Dollars to be able to live there. To be honest, Monaco is only a marina with condo buildings. I liked Nice a lot better.

Nice



I am not sure if anyone else had ever played Driver 3, but I was excited for Nice because it was a map in the game, and I felt like I knew the city already.

After our half day in Monaco, we went to the beach. Unfortunately, by time in the day, the weather had become colder and rained for the last five minutes of our beach break. Unlike the sandy beaches I had become accustom to, the beaches in Nice are made out of stones, which are Surprisingly comfortable. I did try the water, but because it was early April, it was freezing. The airport for nice is located at the end of the beach, so that the planes would fly over on their way to land. (see picture below)

One the next morning, we started out by going to the marina in Nice, and looking at the yachts. I never thought to take pictures of the yachts while I was there, but they were some nice boats. After reaching the other side of the marina, we walked up the highest point in Nice for a nice view of the city. That day would have been a better beach day.

After climbing down the other side on the hill, we visited the old part of the city. The brightly colored buildings made think we were somewhere tropical. The old city in Nice really help me realize that Nice was one of my favorite cities from Eurotour. I would definitely be back in Nice during some point of my life.

 Avignon

After Nice, we drove a couple hours north to Avignon. In Avignon, we stayed across the river from the city, in a campsite hostel. On the first night in Avignon, I had the best dinner from Eurotour. It was a Cuttlefish served over a bed of pesto green beans with a mushroom rice.

On the first day, It was Easter, and everything was closed except for Mcdonalds and a coffee shop. The dog was my friend from that coffee shop. I wish I wasn't in Avignon during Easter because there was not much to do, and I am sure Avignon could have been more interesting.

After seeing a little of the city, we went to an aqueduct a few miles out of the city. They gave us a chance to go swimming in the river underneath the aqueduct, but instead I took a two hour nap on the second cliff in the picture to the left. I would to visit the napping spot again some day.

Back to Germany for a Quick Update

This week was a party week. Last friday, everyone was out doing something. Petra went to a cool german version of a baby shower. This is after the baby is born. The hostess will make a long bread, like a party sub sized bread, and then decorate the top of the bread with the babies name in frosting. After the bread is made and on a stand, they hang milk and coffee and all sorts of things down the sides. Then after you eat a little bread, you go around the town and knock on peoples doors that you know and you have champagne and other alcoholic drinks. I didn't completely understand the concept, but like every celebration in Germany, you just drink, and you will be fine.

On Tuesday, we had labor day. May 1st. is the German day for labor day. You build a wagon and walk around for a day and drink. This was our wagon. My friend on the right, made the stereo in the middle out of old beer crates and it was one of the coolest stereos that day.

That day, we walked around our town and partied. Then for lunch, we found a cool place in the woods with tables and chairs made from tree stumps and grilled. After that, we walked to the only hill in our town. The hill is actually an old, dismantled hospital that was covered in dirt, and made into a park with a wooden tower built on top. It was a meeting place for most of the kids in our area, because it's centered between Wessum, Ahaus, and Wuellen. Labor was pretty chill, and completely different that the beach days we would have in the U.S.

Italy in a Week in a Post!

The welcoming views made me know that Italy was a place I would like. Look at the Alps. (these are still Austrian, but that is where we drove.)

Driving into Italy with the Alps literally coming to the shoulder of the highway (or the highway being carved into the side of the Alps) was really cool. It looked like we were on a tropical island with the palm trees climbing the mountains, and the rocky cliffs are something you would not find on the Rockies.

Padua

Our first city in Italy was Padua, a small city about a half hour inland from Venice. Padua was a nice, and not really touristy, which is hard to find in Italy. We were only there for one night, and on the first night I got my first italian pizza and most likely the best pizza on Eurotour. When we asked for a good pizza place from a local, she said, "Oktoberfest." I thought she was joking around with us because we are german exchange students, but down the street there was Oktoberfest. We went to the restaurant across the street. The weather in Italy was perfect. On the first night, after getting pizza, we walked around the city in shorts and t-shirts. I only know Padua at night, and Padua at night is a quiet, sleepy little town. We found a dive bar, where the owner was so cool, that he gave us a free can of Pringles. Below is a picture of the main square buildings in Padua.

Venice 

Venice is one of the biggest tourist traps I have ever been too, and I have been to Disney World a few times. Things are also overpriced on Venice because everything must be imported from the mainland. I liked all the boats in Venice. It made miss mine a little bit. One thing I liked about Venice, is that it smelled like the sea. Later in the day we went to the island 

of Lido because Rotex gave us day passes on the boats in venice, that they use as public transport. Lido is an outer island with streets and cars. It was also cheaper. Lido would be my destination, if I ever went back. Venice is nice, but I  I am glad I saw it now, so that I don't have to go back. Oh, people in Venice are always conveniently doing Laundry.

Rome

We arrived in Rome on the Saturday before Palm Sunday. Our Hostel in Rome, were cabins in a campsite in the middle of the city. I would definitely stay in those again because they were really nice cabins.     

             

   

The next day was Palm Sunday, and Rotex decided it would be a great idea to make us get up early and go to Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican. Tickets are free. A block from the Vatican, between the train station and the Vatican, we saw a couple blown up cars. By the way, Italians can not drive. It was cool to say I saw the Pope, but a three hour mass in the sun and in Italian (even though the Pope is from Germany. Couldn't he speak German.), while the city of rome goes on behind you, it was a little long, and a few people (half our group, including Rotex, were passed out in the crowd.)

After the Vatican, we walked around the city. Rome is beautiful, but there are too many tourist (Americans.) No offense but we have to loudest and sometimes embarrassing tourists in the world. On that day, we pretty much walked through the whole city. The Vatican to the Colosseum. The Colosseum was interesting but way too expensive. I would not recommend going inside, save your money for wine or something. By the way, wine is cheaper than beer in both Italy and France.

On the second day, we went to the Vatican museum and saw the Sistine Chapel. The Sistine Chapel is really the only thing worth seeing. The museum itself was crowded, hot, and smelly. Free time was the best time during Eurotour because we could leave rotex and go out on our own into "real" parts of the city to see none tourist attractions and not have to pay for overpriced things. After getting out of the museum, we walked a little ways out of the tourist area, around the outer walls of the Vatican, to a cafe and drank an expresso in a sidewalk cafe, while watching the normal, everyday life of the native people go by. One of the nicer times in rome. 

After that, we got even more free time. This time, we walked up to one of the highest points in italy, about 45 minutes from the Vatican to get an amazing view of the city and have a relaxing time away from the giant group. For dinner that evening, we went to a restaurant by the spanish stairs, and I had a great lasagna. 

Florence

Florence was nice, but I think I liked Rome better. On the first night, I tried to do laundry. The whole time, the girls would laugh at the guys because none of us had a clue. I had a general idea, but apparently that wasn't good enough.

There wasn't much to do in Florence, and we just walked around and saw different important places. That night we went to a bar, and that was my favorite part of Florence. There was this DJ, at least 50, and he played cool 60's-70's music.

Pisa

After our day in Florence, we went to Pisa on our way to Nice, France. Pisa is probably my least favorite city in the world. All over Italy, there are African immigrants, most likely illegal, trying to cell you counterfeit or stolen merchandise. As we arrived in Pisa, our bus was surrounded by the "Gypsies." They followed us the entire way to the tower. The tower is also the only thing to see in Pisa, other than that, the town isn't that nice. And to climb the tower, it will cost you 15 euros. I thought that wasn't worth it.  

Eastern Europe

After leaving Prague, we drove through Slovakia to get to Budapest. Slovakia has pretty much no forms of life. See picture left. We spent the entire time looking for any form of life. We once saw a bag blowing in the wind and got excited because we thought it was a bird. Slovakia was also really windy because I believe there aren't any animals to block that wind. The roads started to get nicer and smoother. The grass turned green and the sky became bluer. Turns out we were in Hungary. While in the border control, we noticed all the slovakian truck drivers squatted outside their trucks. From there the slav squat was born.



Budapest


Budapest is a city I would go back too. Budapest was actually two cities(Buda and Pest) divided by the Danube River. When we first arrived we went to a look out point with a fort and freedom statue, that ironically looked like it was made from the soviets. We had some goulash and then did a night river walk. We went to this famous bridge for a photo op, and ended up taking a picture with random people sitting in the park. Pretty nice for a first night, I think.

On the morning of the second day we say the Hungarian Parliament, which is based from the West Minster in London. On the way there we saw a homeless lady picking trash out of the trash can and from there the gypsies were born. After the parliament, we went to the St. Mathais church and climbed up for a great view of the city. Went to a dive bar for lunch and got this great typically stew dish and drinks for a total of six euros. When we finished lunch, we met back with Rotex, and we climbed to the highest point in Buda. From there, we drove 45 minutes into Pest to this famous spa complex, Szechenyi Furdo. It was a relaxing day in the sun with a few saunas thrown in.

On the morning of the third day, we went to our last stop, A Budapest market. Things in Budapest are surprisingly cheap, really cheap. I found that I liked Pest better than Buda. Buda is on the left and Pest is on the right side of the river.

Vienna


Going to Vienna was one of the best feelings because we can finely speak german again and understand the locals, a little. We got into Vienna and went first to the 100 water house. That night we got to our hostel and then went to a sports bar, which was also a great first night.

We only had one day in Vienna. We started at the Schoenbunn Palace. It was interesting. After that we went into the city to a market. Then saw some of the city. Esther, our Rotex tour guide for the day, took us to the city center and we received free time there. After free time we went to dinner and had schnitzel because it is originated in Vienna. There were also spicy peppers at dinner, and I was able to eat more than a mexican. No one else would try. One of the proudest moments of my life.

On our way back to the hostel the group of exchange students lost Rotex in the subway station. As they were walking to the wrong exit, I noticed it wasn't right, so that James, Jack, and I turned around and headed to the other exit. We found Rotex hiding in a platform entrance. Then as the group of exchange students started to come back we ran up the stairs to the platform to hide from the others. It was crazy night, running threw the station hiding for the giant group and then meeting them out front because they didn't remember how to get back to the hostel.

I wish I had more time in Vienna because it was a pretty chill city, that I would have liked to see more of. It was also a beautiful city. Here are all the exchange students in front of the Schoenbrunn Palace.

I Didn't Forget About The Blog yet...

I have been gone for the last three weeks touring Europe. An experience that brought us as exchange students closer together as one giant family, and was the greatest vacation of my life,  I am not sure how I will split up the cities because there are 11 of them, and I am sure it will too long for one blog post.

I didn't go with my Rotary club on their Deutschland Tour because I wanted to the Europatour, and I didn't have the money for both. (The Deutschland Tour was 800 €; so don't get crazy Frau.) I kind have wish I did do the Deutschland Tour, after becoming closer to people I only knew threw Rotary weekends. Europa Tour was a 22 day Prague to Paris roller coaster of an adventure.

So that brings me to Prague. Prague was one of my favorite cities. In fact I loved eastern Europe in general. I thought I wouldn't like as much as western. There was one thing that I thought was weird about Prague. You are not allowed to drink on the streets, only in bars/restaurants.

After driving the 13 hours from Duisburg to Prague, Prague was exactly what I expected it to be. We pulled into a parking lot under an expressway in a ghetto part of town. After walking a few minutes, we found our hostel in the heart of the old city. Our hostel was in the strangest part of town. It was a completely safe part of town, but next to the hostel was a smoke shop/ liquor store, next to that was a strip club, and on the other side of the street were bars and souvenir shops. The economy from Prague pretty much thrived on Tourist shops.

On what was left on our first day, we got stopped by German Embassy security guards after a ballon went of the fence of the embassy. The best part of that was seeing the male security guard jump more than the female when the balloon popped. Then we did the Czech Parliament.

The second day was my birthday. As we met in the courtyard that morning, Rotex (our tour guides) made me stand on a flower bed while everyone sang, and then they gave me a Czech T-shirt and a card everyone signed. It was a cool way to start the morning. After being shown around the city a little, we got 5 hours free time. We ended up going to a communism museum that was actually pretty interesting. After that we found a beer garden behind the Museum that had two euro liter beer. On our way back to the meeting point we saw this girl literally strip to her bra and panties and strut down the Carl's Bridge. That night Rotex took us to a bar to celebrate my birthday. It was a pretty chill night.

My only regret with Prague, is that I didn't try absinth. I Think I will just do a city a post for now on because they are pretty long. Here's the skyline of Prague.

Going on Vacation.

I will be taking a three week vacation and don't believe I will post in that three week period.

I will be going three weeks on an Europa-tour with my Rotary Club. We will start on 23.03.2012 in Prague, and then go to Budapest, Vienna, Padua, Venice, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Nizza, Monaco, Avignon, Geneva, Paris, and finally back in Muenster on 13.04.2012. I don't think any other spring break will be as good as this one.

Schnelle Küche: Tortellini Surprise

Cook time: 25 min.   Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

500 g. (1 lb.) Tortellini (meat, cheese, or whatever you prefer)
2-4 Tbsp. Tomato Paste
2 c. Heavy Creme
1 Tbsp. Salt (plus for pasta water)
200g. (~3/4 c.) Ham, diced

Directions:

Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add a little salt to the water.

Cook the Tortellini according to the packaged directions. When the tortellini are cooked, then drain the water from the pot. Slice the ham in a small dice. Add the tomato paste, cream, salt, and ham in the pot and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and let cook for 15 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced into a thick consistency, like mac and cheese.

Kind of a Nerd

This week I went to CeBit, twice. CeBit is like CES but with more software and less hardware technology.  CES is the annual Consumers Eletronics Show in Las Vegas. CeBit is the Consumer Electronics Trade Fair in Hannover. Both hold the record for World's Largest thanks to the fancy name play.

CeBit was huge. There were 26 different halls to go in, on a 5 acre campus. Tobit was there with the best Booth. They were next to google. They set up a bar that looked like Offsite, Tobit's bar in Ahaus. The bar/booth even included a robot DJ with pole dancers.

To continue with the nerd theme. Albert this week tried telling me that the 6th star wars movie was the best. Everyone knows the 4th (1st) movie was the best. The Fifth had Luke's ugly face when he finds out that Darthvader is his father, The first three were too computerized, and the last had weird tiny animals. I am not a stars wars fanatic, but everyone knows the 6th movie was the worst.

My Observation of this week is that Germans will only go through one door of a double door way. At my school kids will wait to go through one door for two way traffic, when there are two doors available. At CeBit everyone would file in through one door instead of opening the second. It's a little weird, but it's whatever.

Schelle Küche: Pasta with Mushroom Creme Sauce

Servings: 6   Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:
500 g. Mushrooms (Simple white button Mushrooms or Champions)
1 Tbsp. Butter
1 Tbsp. Oil
200 g. Sour Cream
220 g. Heavy Cream
100 ml. Water
1 1/2 Tbsp. Steinpilz-hefebrühe (I couldn't find anything similar in English except Porcini Powder and Yeast flakes mixed)
1 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1 Tbsp. Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
500g. Pasta (Short, Curly Pasta works best.)

Directions:

In a pot of boiling salted water, add the noodles and cook following packaged directions.

Slice the mushrooms about a half inch (2 cm.) thick. In a warm pan add the oil and butter. When the oil and butter start to simmer add in the Mushrooms and sauté until golden brown, and the mushrooms have reduced by half, about 5-8 minutes. Add in the Sour Cream, Heavy Cream, Water, Steinpilz-Hefebrühe, Salt, and Pepper. Let the mixture reduce by half, about ten minutes. When the sauce has reduced, add in the cornstarch and let thicken, about 2 minutes.

Mild Temperatures are Killing Me

This week I was curious to find out which US State had the most exchange kids in Germany, as of Today, Illinois has the most with 10 kids. I believe it would be fair to say that district 6440 has the most kids per district with 4, Impressive for a tiny district in northern Chicagoland.

This up-coming week, I have 2 finals Bio and Geography. I wish my Geography class was as easy as Lakes, where the kids just learned where the countries were and then made food from that country. Now I need to learn economics of developing countries and how tourism effects a country's development/ deteriorates the culture.

I am going to die when I get back to the US. I am not saying it's super cold here because we actually had a warmer winter than Chicago, and we never received snow. Today is 14℃ (mid 40's), and to me that was T-shirt weather. I am going to die in the summer heat.

The US needs to use the metric system. It would make my life a lot easier. When everyone else in the world uses the metric system, doesn't it make sense to adopt a system that everyone uses, so that we are globally compatible. I understand the creator of "Fahrenheit based it off the human body temperature, but even he was wrong, and the human body temperature is 98.6 and not 100 like originally stated, making the Fahrenheit system invalid. But we are Amuricans, and we are the ass of everyones jokes because we are as stubborn as one.

Schnelle Küche Recipe this week: Peasant Lentil Soup

150 g. Lentils
4-5 Medium Potatoes
4-6 Strips Bacon
1/2 Medium Onion
1 Carrot
1/2 Leek
1-1 1/2 L. Chicken Broth
1/2 Tbsp. Pepper and Salt
1/4 c. Sugar
1/4 c. White Wine Vinegar
1 c. Chopped Bologna like sausage.

2 Tbsp Curry*

Dice the bacon, onion, carrot, leek, and potatoes, and then cook them in a medium pot until the bacon is crispy, and the onions are translucent. After that pour in the Chicken broth(and curry, if using), scraping any brown bits off the bottom of the pot. They add flavor. Add the lentils, potatoes, and leeks and bring to boil. Turn down heat and let reduce until the lentils are plump, and the potatoes are fork tender. After add the sugar and vinegar. They are added in equal portions, so that you can play around with the combo until you find one you like. Let cook for one hour. Before serving add sliced bologna and enjoy.

*I add curry but the wasn't part of Petra's original recipe. Also this recipe is made by eyeball measurements. These are not exact but a suggestion.

Schnelle Küche

Petra's Schnelle Küche recipe this week.

Ham wrapped Endives in a Hollandaise Sauce

Servings: 4  cook time: 10-15min

Ingredients:

4 Endives
4 slices Ham or Prosciutto
2 cups (250 g.) Hollandaise Sauce
1 cup Cheese (Gouda, Mozzarella, anything that is good for melting)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 180℃ (350℉)
Cook the endives in salted boiling water until they before fork tender. Next put the four endives in a baking pan. Wrap the sliced ham around the endives, and then pour the hollandaise over. Cover with cheese and bake until brown.

-normally we eat this as a main dish, but it would also make a good side dish.

Karneval!

Duisburg is a city that I could give or take... give. I went there Wednesday with a my Art Class on a field trip to a sculpture museum. Driving into Duisburg, is the same as driving into Milwaukee. There's nothing special going on. Homeless people in Duisburg have a funny way of saying hallo, "Fuck you guys, and your moms too. I'm not Joking!" 

The Museum itself was a 1960 disaster. I don't know what it is about the 60's/70's, but they had some of the ugliest/unpractical architecture...

Now that the I'm done with the boring stuff, here's Karneval.

Karneval is probably one of the coolest things I have ever been too. Köln has the best Karneval in Germany to be followed by Düsseldorf. I am not 100% sure, but I believe Berlin and Hamburg do not celebrate Karneval. Karneval is a 4 day event, Thursday through Monday. I have already forgotten the names of each day, but they aren't important. 

Thursday is the ladies day. The girls go around and draw on guys faces, and everyone goes out drinking.

Friday is something, I don't remember, but it involved drinking.

Saturday... Drinking. I arrived in Düsseldorf on Saturday, but Rotex wouldn't let us go into the city.

Sunday is when the real partying starts. We started off the day with go-kart racing. I have always been a good go-kart racer, and I had the best lap time, from what I saw. Then we went into the altstadt for 5 hour free time. 

If anyone has been to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, then they will know what I am about to explain. Karneval, unlike Mardi Gras, is all ages and starts around 11 in the morning. It was funny seeing parents pull a wagon with their alcohol and kids in the back. There were also a ton of drunk old people (60+) waddling through the altstadt with the younger crowd. Everyone having a good time. Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a couple streets, from what I have seen. Karneval in Düsseldorf is the whole altstadt (a few square blocks), and every street is packed. It's like a combo Mardi Gras and a rave. One of the best parts was when it started to lightly hail and everyone was dancing in the street. Rotary wouldn't let us stay out after 6 because I am sure it only got crazier then. 

After the hail was done, I was able to get this picture of the Rhein and important tower, that every German city seems to have in Düsseldorf. This was the only photo I took with my camera.

Monday is the day everyone dresses up. You look stupid if you aren't. The whole weekend is a costume weekend, but most people do it on Monday. Düsseldorf had a parade at 12:30, but most of us went back to the Altstadt because once you have seen one parade, you have seen them all. I did see a few floats from the parade and got an unwrapped muffin thrown at me from a float. 

The U.S. needs to start celebrating Karneval because it is one of those things, that you will never forget. 

Can't wait until Summer!

Last week Petra planned our Summer Vacation. The originial plan was to go one week on a houseboat in France, and then another week in Tirol(That's Italy). We came to the conclusion, that that would be too much driving. We are now going, one week on a houseboat is middle/southern France, and one week in Western France, on the Atlantic Ocean.

This will be my first time ever seeing the Atlantic Ocean. Kind of a weird thought because I had to fly over it to get to Europe, but I was in the middle section. In Mamabear's and my opinion, we had the best seats on the plane.

It was funny, all my host brothers were excited about the house we will be staying in. It was a nice cape cod/ old English style house in Britanica, France, but I was more excited about the houseboat. Since, I was only out on my boat 3 times last year, I am looking forward to going out on a boat again.

When I saw the house boat, I said wow it's relatively new, and got funny looks because my "Relatively New" is a boat from late 1980's til 90's. I always imagined a house bought as an ugly thing from 1950, that you find on the Chain O'lakes, but this looks more like something that would come from Winthrop Harbor.

When I showed my host family our boat, my host mom asked if we could sleep on it. I laughed a little in my head because it's a tiny fishing boat, maybe 6 meters long. I called it an only fun boat, and my youngest host brother laughed, and the middle was jealous because he loves fishing more than my Dad. I guess I never realized, not everyone has a boat.

I have never been "boatless", and even the Marpert's have a canoe, so that I am still not "Boatless." If they do visit, I think my host brother, Fritz, needs to go Salmon fishing on the Bad Medicine and catch some real fish. Carp are garbage fish.

I am going to start a new thing. I am going to add one of Petra's easy recipes to the bottom of every blog, so that you can cook like a German House Wife. This week is a Dish I didn't know how to name, but Petra called it a Casserole. If you have a better name, I would love to hear it.

Zucchini Gyro Tomato Casserole

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook time: 25-30 min. Servings: 4-6 people

Ingredients

• 2 Zucchinis
• 2 c. (200g.)Grape Tomatoes (1 c. Plum)
• 1 lb. (500 g.) Gyro Meat
• 1-2 c. (100-200g.) Gouda Cheese(or Mozzarella) 
• 1/2 Tbsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Pepper

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 375°F (200°C)

Start by washing the vegetables. Slice the zucchinis in half. Scoping out the insides sides (so that you only have a zucchini shell left) and saving the inside of the vegetable in a bowl. Quarter the tomatoes and put them in a small casserole dish. Sprinkle Salt and Pepper over the tomatoes. Finally lay the zucchini halves on top of that.

Cook the gyro meat according to packaged directions in a pan. When the gyro meat is cooked almost finished cooking, add in the insides to the zucchinis. Cook until the meat is finished.

When the meat is finished, stuff the meat into the zucchini halves. Layer the cheese on to zucchini/meat combination and bake until the cheese is bubble and golden brown.

*Note Originally a Weight Watchers Recipe

You did what with your schnitzel?!

Did you know that in Germany, they sell toaster schnitzel, Tillman's Toasties. Processed square meat like substance coated with breading ready for your toaster, so that you can enjoy schnitzel at all hours of the day. Still not sold?  Here's a picture...

Winter finally hit. We still don't have snow, and I don't believe we are going to receive any. But the temperature has dropped below freezing, making for a fun ride to school every morning.

This week, for my Rotary partner meeting we went wine tasting. It was probably one of my favorite meetings so far. The wine cellar was pretty cool because they also made their own schnapps on the premises. They even had a Herren Creme Schnapps. Something you will only find in Germany, I believe.

I might be doing an Internship for one of the Rotary members towards the beginning of Summer. One of the Rotary Members is an Architect and has a firm in Muenster. I might intern for him for a few weeks near the end of June.

Can't Escape University in Germany

It was weird this week, A couple people this week asked me about going to University. I am still living it up in Germany and not ready to start thinking about that yet. I know I am going to come back to Germany, but I don't know when. It would be cool to go to college here, because it's insanely cheap when compared to the inflated cost of going to school in the US. I can also get a bachelors in Architecture in 3 years and not 4-5 like at home. Here's my problem, I am qualified for B1 germany. I know I can speak more, but I will only have a certificate for that. I am not sure if that is enough for a University here, and I am also too lazy to search google for the answer.

Speaking of B1 German. My German class ended on Saturday. I am excited to not have to wake up at 8 every Saturday to learn German. I just need to take the German test in a couple weeks and get a certificate saying I can speak German.

My Gym class is moving in three weeks from the 5/6 periods on Friday, to the 10/11. I am upset. I was finished with school every friday by 12:50. Now I am finished at 11:10, go home for a few hours, and then come back at 3:30 to have gym class till 5. The worst part is, I use to give my friend Steffen shit for having to do that, oh how the tables have turned.

Real Life Bob the builder

Simon and I have been helping Daniel's brother, Tobias, build his house. Simon keeps giving him shit because his house is almost an exact replica of Petra and Daniel's. In Toby's defense, houses in Germany are pretty much all the same, like any house built after World War II in America.

I like how German houses are made. Instead of using wood, like America, they use cement blocks. I believe it's because the story of the three little pigs scared them into making indestructible homes. There are wooden houses too, Terhalle (A company founded by friend/important person of Rotary, Josef Terhalle) constructs houses out of wood. His company also doesn't make cookie-cutter homes, there's always a tip of my hat to anyone that does that.

Another thing I like about German houses, people put luxury amenities in a normal house that we would only expect to see in Hollywood Mansions. Almost all of the houses, especially newer ones, try to replicate tiny luxury mansions. I salute them for it because I would never give up the heated tile floor in our kitchen. For example, there is a house one my way to German class, that in it's backyard, the owners have a small reflection pool leading to a patio with an outdoor gas fire place. This, and there perfect square rock garden with nine small trees, takes up most of their backyard. Why do they have this in their plain Jane neighborhood? Because they can.

This week I met the man that makes Wessum's wooden shoes. Petra and I went to exchange the shoes for a smaller size. We pull up to this old barn and house hidden behind newer homes in the middle of the neighborhood. I think it is an original building in Wessum. There is a little old man that makes all the wooden shoes all by himself. He is kind of a funny person and has the biggest glasses I have ever seen. His work shop was like stepping back in time. The floor is covered in wood shavings and there are handmade shoes on top of handmade shoes. Enough to cloth at least 500 or so people. It was like what I think life was like in the 1960's.

"zurück nach Westerland"

It feels good to be back in Germany. Austria was interesting, but it was also cold and covered with snow. The weather this week has stayed in the mid-40's (6-8̊). After the snow storm last February in Chicagoland, this Winter is nice.

The amazing 28€ German class really cost 98€. We need to take a final German exam, speaking, and apparently speaking cost 70€. I still never regret taking the class. I met so many interesting people from around the world. There's a lady all the way from Cuba. I also learned a few things about one of the languages in Algeria.

I realized this week why Petra, Daniel, and I get along so well. They are not the complete opposite from my parents, but they are not far from that. Petra and Daniel are pushers. My Parents are great, but I really needed Petra and Daniel to help me really experience new things. For example, I have tried foods with them, that I would of never at home because my parents aren't very exotic, and I am not going to spend money on something I might not like. The new foods I know I like are duck, rabbit, snail, and liver. They are not very exotic, but they are also not white toast and water.

This week they are pushing me to take dance lessons with them. I don't want to, but I have a feeling Petra has already signed me up. No is not an answer with them, it is "Nein danke, ich möchte nicht."

I found Petra's recipe for one of my new favorite winter holiday foods, Nussecken.

Original Guildo Horn Nussecken

ingredients

For the dough:
300 g flour
100 g sugar
1 packet of vanilla sugar (1 tbsp. Vanilla Extract)
2 eggs
130 g butter
1 teaspoon Backin

For spreading:

7 tablespoons apricot jam

For the topping
200 g sugar
200 g butter
2 packets of vanilla sugar (2 tbsp. Vanilla Extract)
4 tablespoons water
200 g chopped almonds
200 g chopped hazelnuts

150 g melted chocolate



Process all ingredients for the dough to a Knead dough and leave about 1 / 2 hour in the fridge.
Roll out the dough on a baking sheet, brush with apricot jam.

For the topping: put butter, sugar, vanilla sugar and water in asaucepan and bring to a boil, then while stirring the nuts.
Surface to cool slightly and then spread with apricot jamsmeared on the dough.

At 175 C. Bake for about 45 minutes, let cool.
Only cut into squares and then halve these into triangles.

Pour melted chocolate over one corner and let harden.