Where to start?!

Well since the last time I blogged, we have been to two flea markets, visited with lots of new friends, had even more coffee and cake, and I even fit in a jog through a park one of those days! I think WIFI should come pre-installed in all houses around the world! Internet is something I take for granted and realize that as soon as it is unavailable!  I have noticed several things about Germany since I've been here. Afternoon coffee and cake is an essential! Most Germans speak about as much English as I speak German (which isn't much!) And for the most part everyone is friendly!

 Tuesday we took a street car and headed to the flea market! Lots of fun treasures..I didn't buy much, I left that to Oma and the others! 

 

Ellen cooked us rouladen, which is meat with stuff wrapped up in it! It probably doesn't look that great, but I think it has been my favorite meal so far! After lunch we strolled through Ellen's garden and then went for a walk around the neighborhood.

Einkaufen

Einkaufen means shopping, which pretty much explained what we did today..

We decided we needed to do some shopping on our own! Since all the best stores are practically in our front yard, we set out on our adventure after breakfast! We strolled up and down the streets going in and out of different stores! Oma and I both found some good bargains and some things we absolutely needed! Which for me included a brand new pair of black oxfords :) and a brown leather jacket!

I was very tempted to buy this cat shirt, but I knew Becky would disown me if I came home sporting that big cat on my shirt...and that would of been a CAT-tastrophe !

 

Everyday there have been vendors set up outside selling all kinds of things! Today we stopped at the watch booth and I probably would of bought 10 if Oma wouldn't have been there to stop me!  We both settled on one though; a black one for Oma and a rose colored one for me! 

  

We stopped to pose for a picture in front of a little garden and an old street car! Dortmund has now converted to the underground subway as the main transportation system! However, Oma told me a story of last time she was here during the soccer season, a street car was driving through town with Dortmund fans covering the bus. She said it looked like a huge bee hive since their colors are black and yellow. The fans were hanging on all around while it drove through town! But now you can have coffee and cake inside this one set up in town.

 After walking around for a few hours we started to feel like this dog! His owner parked him right there in T. K. Maxx (Germany's version of T.J. Maxx) and told him to take a nap till he got back, so he did! After that we decided to get us a cappuccino!

After we got home Tanta Anneliese's brother came for a visit! He brought us this delicious pie/cake/heaven. Don's ask me what it's called, all I know is that it is wonderful; especially with a cup of coffee! After cake and coffee we looked at just about every picture on my lap top. Since pictures are worth a thousand words, we didn't really have to worry about the language barrier. I showed them pictures from around the world; including my ones from London, Paris, Greece, Brazil, and lots from America!

Tomorrow we are headed to the flea market! Then we will be staying at Ellen's house for a couple of nights, which means no WIFI, which means no blogging :(

Oma and I miss everyone! See yall soon! 

Day 4

Time is flying by! We have already been here four days, and there are still seventeen still to go (not that i'm counting!) Today we had a very relaxed Sunday. I got to sleep in and get some beauty rest. Sunday in Germany are very quiet; most of the stores are closed and the town seems very quiet. So Ellen (my second or third cousin I believe) invited us over for an afternoon coffee visit.

Cheesecake and waffles with whipped creme! 

Ellen and I on her balcony. 
 

People who live in these apartments can have a section in the back yard to do with as they please! Ellen has the side with all the flowers! It was raining today so we couldn't go down to get a closer look!

Anja and Joy are my cousins as well. Joy is sitting beside me; she was fascinated with Oma's Ipad! She loved taking pictures with the camera...

These were our favorites out of the hundred we took! 

Deutscher Meister

While everyone back home is celebrating Cinco de Mayo, we celebrated a huge victory here in Germany; and by celebrate, I mean CELEBRATE! Deutscher Meister can be translated (as far as I know) into the German National. The soccer team is from Dortmund where I am staying, so I'm sure you can imagine the excitement in the air before, during, and especially after the game!

We started off with a little shopping and walking around! Even though Dortmund is usually busy with people coming and going, today was an extreme exception!

We had to stop the traffic in order to get a picture in front of the street vendors, ferris wheel, and old church.

Smelling all of the delicious smells made me hungry for some sweets! I got some roasted almonds with some kind of goodness on top, and a cookie of some sorts.

If you can not tell, this is the city square; located around its perimeter are shopping centers, restaurants, and plenty of bars!  In the middle of this picture is a boy on top of the oldest fountain in Dortmund. The rest of the people are around its base cheering and enjoying themselves. Usually this would be frowned upon considering the history and the worth of this antique fountain, but Oma explained that Dortmund understands the excitement in the air and pretty much doesn't care (as long as no one gets hurt) how people act after games; they actually appreciate it in a way.

The girl in the middle, Catherine, recognized Tante Anneliesse from a store she likes to shop in. Once we took this picture, she introduced me and explained that I was visiting from America, after that word spread, I had quickly made several more new friends!

And then after that they kept coming!

If you'd notice the girl on the left with the cup in her hand...that is actually grass from the field on top of her cup. People who go to the game come back with souvenirs of all sorts. Fans all over town had grass pieces big and small. After a win they tear up the field and bring it all home!!

I tried to take a picture OF these guys...

and then they insisted I take one WITH them.

Rain or shine, the fans will be there! We tried to go into a near by restaurant, but we couldn't even open the door so many people were inside! 

Our scarves are compliments of Karlheinz, when he picked us up from the airport, he said we would be needing these; anyone who rides in his car must be a fan!

All in all our first three days here have been lots of fun! Oma and I could not sleep at all last night though. We decided it was from either left over jet lag or tea we had right before bed last night; so today we avoided caffeine altogether! Tomorrow we are going to relatives house to visit and have lunch!

Gemutlichkeit

Gemutlichkeit-is a German word that can not be translated in any language around the world. My oma described it as that at home feeling one has when they are very comfortable in their surroundings. As we were walking around the city tonight she used it to describe everyone's attitudes. 


We had a very eventful day! Ive seen a lot of Dortmund already on the first day!

Breakfast included three different kinds of bread, a cold cut selection, cheeses, and by special request NUTELLA! We also all had several cups of coffee to get us ready for the day. 

We are headed out on the town to do some shopping! We are staying right in the middle of Dortmund so everything is in walking distance.

The town is getting ready for the big game tomorrow! There are vendors everywhere, selling team wear and cheering on the game tomorrow!

The ferris wheel is in town for the festivities as well! The church located in the back ground is the one my grandmother was baptized in. It is beautiful inside and out! 

Yum! For lunch I had Frikadellen and fries. Ketchup comes on the fries and tastes nothing like Americas ketchup! I guess the closest thing would be ketchup mixed with polynesian sauce from Chick-fil-a (which i miss already!)

We had guests over for an afternoon dessert. Coffee and bienenstich!


Throughout the day I have improved on my German! I can pick up a phrase every now and then, but my go to phrase is always "das ist schon" meaning that is nice! 






After dinner we heard live music coming from down the street, so of course we had to go check it out! I still have to figure out my camera's night settings, so I don't have any pictires from tonight. However, the streets were crowded with people enjoying themselves and getting ready for the festivities tomorrow. Now we are getting ready for bed! We already have two invitations from friends and family for things to do tomorrow! Tschuess, and goodnight!

Atlanta-Frankfurt-Dusseldorf-Dortmund

We finally made it! A little over 11 hours of plane riding, several hours waiting for our flight, and lots of walking, we arrived at our final destination. The only downfall of being here is that I don't sprechen ze deutsch! (or spell it really). So there is a lot of smiling and nodding coming from my side of the conversation. :) We already have a lot planned for tomorrow, which includes getting ready for the Deutscher Meister on Saturday, I believe. Since its almost midnight here (almost 6pm in ga) I think it's time to turn in for the night!
1: essentials of an international flight!
2: the brownie and strawberry was my favorite!
3,4,5: headed to Dortmund! I road on the autobahn and K tried to let me drive. (I declined)
6. I got to Skype my mom and dad!