Photo Re-cap of Kat's Visit

So much has happened in the two weeks that Kat was here, that it's difficult to even know where to begin and what to write. Not only did she have a glimpse into my every-day life here in NR-W, but we also traveled around quite a bit. She was able to meet most everyone here, as well as see some interesting sights. It was a wonderful two weeks, but also strange in many ways... I often joke about having different "worlds", but I really think it's true. These past weeks were a collision of German and American worlds, as well as the past and the present worlds.

Anyway. Let's save the sentimental reflection for another day.

Here are some of my favourite pictures from her visit... to make the picture larger, simply click on it.


Of course we had to spend a day at Bizarro Mom's when Kat was here... one of the favourite pasttimes is going for rides on the tractor. They also have a Ferrari, but unfortunately I don't have a picture of it.



After going on the tractor ride, we sat around in the backyard and talked and even looked at old photo albums. 'Twas quite cute.



Here's a typical day at Bizarro's: comfortably crowded, with tons of people in the kitchen either helping or sampling. :)



Much of or vacation was spent on the road... it was about 630 km to Friedberg, our old hometown.



Here's a typical Autobahn sign... you can see our exit, "Augsburg-Ost." In the States the highway signs are green, aren't they...?



Here's a picture of Friedberg from the road. I knew we were close as soon as I saw the church steeple...



Here's the church from close-up... ah, this brings back memories.



We stayed with some family friends while in Friedberg... here's the mom. She's crazy! She's a nurse, so she and Kat had a good time talking about things like appendicitis, goiters, urinary tract infections and various intravenous shot techniques. During mealtimes.



Here's Kat and their daughter (who stayed with us for a month or so in Texas a few years back) at the kitchen table...



We went to Neuschwanstein while in Bavaria... heh, and Kat thought Neukirchen-Vluyn was a fairytale! She took this pic while standing in the middle of the Marienbruecke, which is a horrid, rickety, extremely high bridge.



Here she is standing on the bridge... *shudders*



Here's a pic I took while standing on the bridge... I know you probably can't tell how high it is from the picture, but let me tell you, it was creepy standing there and looking down through those huge spaces between the bridge planks.



Here we are, in front of the castle, waiting for our tour to begin.



We spent one afternoon/evening with some other family friends... here we are, sitting in their living room. I remembered them, of course, from a long time ago, but this time I got to know them on a more adult-level, which was very interesting. My parents have cool friends. :)



After having cake and coffee, we went for a stroll in Augsburg. Here's the house where Mozart's father was born...




Bertholt Brecht, a German writer/poet, also grew up in Augsburg, and here's a museum devoted to him. I'd read/seen some of his work while at the University, so it was neat seeing where he'd lived and grown up. Ok, trivia time... did you guys know that the song "Mack the Knife" originally comes from a German opera called the "Die Dreigroschenoper" by Brecht? Pretty nifty, hmm? :) I was rather amused by the fact that everyone in town calls him "Bert" Brecht instead of "Bertholt" Brecht. It's like saying "Wolle Mozart" or "Freddie Haendel." It just sounds a little, well, off.



After walking around town, we went to a little restaurant. We had a typical Bavarian meal: sausages, saurkraut and Spaetzle. Mmm...



Here's our old street, Gaertnerweg...



Here's our old house, Gaertnerweg 15. I even remember our old phone number. *Sniff sniff*. Yes, we ended up knocking on the door and asking if we could look inside, and the lady let us. It was so weird.



Kat and I took a walk through our old neighborhood and found some dandelions on the way. :)



Segmueller is a store we used to go to when we were kids... so of course my shop-a-holic sis and I had to return. We actually bought a lava lamp there, which is much more interesting than watching television. :)



There's a little cafe' in the middle of Segmueller where we used to eat Butterbreze, or buttered pretzels. Delicious!



These pretzels are making me thirsty!



We spent one day with some other family friends (the lady happens to be my current boss!). Here we are playing shuffleboard. My boss told me she hopes my shuffleboard playing doesn't reflect my cost-center controlling. Um. What's that supposed to mean?



And another picture... this is in their living room.



Hehe, I just had to upload one of these pictures... the appartment above mine is empty*, and Bizarro (who's also my renter, in case you forgot) wants to put some pictures of it on the internet. So, Kat and I (well, mainly Kat) "modeled" on some of them. It was awkward!!!



After the photo shoot, we hung out at my place for a while. (That's Sydney sitting between me and Kat).



One of our favourite desserts is Spaghetti Eis, or spaghetti ice cream. What they do is take plain ol' vanilla ice cream and put it through a press so it looks like spaghetti. Then they pour strawberry sauce over it and top it off with shredded white chocolate. In the middle is a healthy dose of whipped cream.



One last picture... we're sitting by a fountain in Friedberg. 'Twas a beautiful day.



It was sad taking her to the airport today, but we talked about it... she has a life to live in Austin, and needs to get back to her church and to figure out what exactly she's going to do this summer. And I have my life here. Sure, good-byes are hard, but we need to be thankful for the time we had together.


Lyric of the day: "And I have no concept of time other than it is flying... if only I could meet the Maker." (Thanks to Alanis)


*If anyone wants to move to Germany, the appartment above mine is available. And I have plenty of pictures of it if you'd like to see more. :)