Freiburg: What a welcome relief!!

Hello all!  Sarah speaking...

Well, since we last spoke, we were still deciding between Vienna and Munich...and after realizing that the Euro Cup was being played in Vienna, and Katie's friend Nick had no room for us and there was no way we were going to find any open hostels or hotels, we decided Munich it was!  So we got up that morning and walked to the top of the Prague version of the Eifel tower, which was really cool because it was a super nice day and we could see the entire city and point out landmarks of what we had seen the day before.  Then we walked back down and over to Prague castle, but there were a ton of people there and we couldn't really figure out what was the actual castle, it's like a big complex of buildings so we saw the cathedral, and then we realized that we were a long way from our hostel and had to start making our way back quickly in order to make our train!  So we crossed the famous Charles bridge (one of the oldest still standing in Europe), admiring all of the beautiful artwork, wishing we could buy some (it was actually pretty cheap), realizing we had no way of keeping it from getting ruined since we were traveling for two more months :), and basically jogging to get back to our hostel in time!

We made it onto our 1:16 train to Munich with a couple minutes to spare...we were running through the train station, had to go to the international ticket office to purchase a ticket from Prague to the border since our pass wasn't valid for the Czech Republic, then we ran to the train, and the doors closed a minute later :)  Stressful at the time, but fun looking back on it.  The rest of the train ride was as eventful as getting on!  First off, it was the worst train we'd been on yet, and it was super crowded so we scrunched in between some people with all of our luggage.  We met a guy from Texas who had been in China studying for two weeks, and he was so relieved to meet with people and be able to speak English since he hadn't been able to talk to anyone for two weeks!  Cool, except all we wanted to do was sleep :)  So we played some cribbage and Katie was the polite one and was the more talkative of the two of us :)  Then we found out that someone had pulled the fire alarm on one of the cars, so we were delayed for over an hour getting to our next stop...which meant that we missed our connecting train and had to wait for another one once we got there.  Then when our connecting train got there, we assumed it was the right one because it was the only one listed above us on the platform, and we were like, cool, it came 5 minutes early!....wrong train... :)  So we had to get off three stops later, and sure enough, the right train came rumbling along 5 minutes later to that stop :)  

We sat with a couple of guys who went to school in Colorado and our friend from Texas, and the three of them talked about all the extreme sports they like to do the whole time.  They swore too much for me, but I was polite to them because they had been the ones to inform us that we had gotten on the wrong train before :)  So we got into Munich two hours later than expected, called Nathan, met him on a stop on the underground, and he led us back to his humble abode.  He lives in an efficiency, so with us sleeping on the floor, we took up the whole room :)  But he was very nice about it and didn't complain about us :)  We had our first tastes of German beer at the bar near his apartment (which I actually didn't mind!) and ate a burger and fries for a very late dinner, then went to bed.

The next day Nathan gave us a tour of the city, which was cool, not as many cool buildings as Berlin, but they have a big park that I liked.  He showed us where he studies, and told us a cool story about one of the main buildings.  In 1943 there were this brother and sister who studied there and developed this underground group that opposed the ideals of the Nazi regime.  They wrote letters and flyers back and forth secretly for a long time, and then one day, the brother and sister decide to make everything known, and go to the main campus hall in between classes at 9am one day and throw copies of all the letters and flyers they had made, everything they had saying that people needed to oppose what the Nazis were doing, and that it was bad, and so all of these letters are all over the floor in the main hall.  Well, someone saw them do it, and turned them in, and they were beheaded for their ideals and actions by 3 pm that same day.  So as a memorial to them, there were stones made to look like strewn letters built into the floor of the hall and the sidewalk outside of it.  It made me wonder if I would ever have the courage to stand up so strongly for what I believed in, or what it would be that I would stand up for...

We saw people surfing on the river that runs through the park, there's a spot where the water rushes pretty fast out from under a bridge and creates a natural wave that's perfect for surfing, so there were maybe 10 guys taking turns surfing on it...it was funny because there was a sign saying that surfing was forbidden there because it was dangerous :)  Oh well, I guess they can only injure themselves.

There were more "nakies" (naked people, this is what Nathan called them which we thought was hilarious when we said it :) sunbathing in places in the park, and he said that there would have been a lot more had it been nicer out...so we were thankful that it was a cooler day :)  We got some kabobs (Katie's favorite) for lunch, then let Nathan study and Katie and I went to see the Olympic stadium.  It had some VERY cool architecture, and there was an African fair going on, so that was cool to walk around and see...once again, cool things to buy, but no money and no space...so we took pictures :)  It was supposed to rain all day, and started looking cloudy, so Katie and I went to the store and bought stuff to make spaghetti and we had a late dinner with Nathan, then decided to go to a really neat beer garden in the middle of the park.  So we get there, and find out it closed early, so he's like, well, let's just go to the gas station because I have one other kind of beer I wanted you to try, and then we can just go back and play cards in the apartment.  So we jump back on the underground, and when we get out at the stop where the gas station is, we walk over to the steps going up, and water is pouring down them, it is absolutely pouring rain (it reminded me of that part in Titanic when water is pouring down the stairs :), only, not that much water), so we run up the stairs and across the street, get the beer, run back down to the station, take the train to Nathan's stop and are like, okay, it's probably 200 meters back to his apartment, ready to run?  And we sprint through the pouring rain, Nathan's ahead of us screaming like a little girl whenever he hits a big puddle that we can't see, I'm cradling my beer like a football and katie and I are laughing the whole way :)  We were soaked, but it was my favorite part of the day.  We played some yahtzee, cards, then went to bed. 

Got up the next day, said goodbye to Nathan, and jumped on the train to spend the rest of the day on them, switching between three different ones to make it to Freiburg.  Katie and I got some kind of food poisoning or something, because we both feel sick, so it wasn't the best day we've had so far.  But once we got to Julia's, and she was so welcoming, it made it better.  We watched the Portugal/Turkey game at the bar where Julia works, then came back and went to bed.  I still didn't feel good this morning and didn't think eating a big breakfast was the best thing, so Katie and Julia went with her roommates to this cute cafe (which I'm sitting here being jealous of, you all know how much I love to eat!), and I think we're going to go see a movie or something this afternoon, then watch the Germany Euro Cup game tonight on a big screen at a nearby park that they set up for all the games of the Euro Cup, which should be pretty fun.  We were looking forward to a couple of days where we didn't have to do anything, just relax :)  

We have liked Germany.  It's a fun language to listen to, and Nathan taught us some German like how to say please, thank you, and you're welcome.  The Bavaria region where Munich is located is cool, because people still walk around in laderhosen (I don't know how to spell that :), and traditional dresses and aprons :)  And soccer is EVERYWHERE here!  German flags are all over to support their team, soccer is used in every kind of advertising...it's awesome :)  I wish I could see a game, but it's too expensive and it's fun watching it in places where there are a lot of people cheering :)

We're probably heading to Verona, Italy tomorrow, then spending a night in Venice, and taking the ferry from Venice to Patras, Greece on Wednesday, where we will hopefully spend the majority of our time there eating cheap gyros and lying on the beach :)  Katie took the camera with her to breakfast, but we'll hopefully post some pictures sometime today...

Three weeks down, 4 weeks til Mom and Auntie Susie get here, and 7 til we're home!  It's gone by so fast already, I can't believe we've been to 7 countries already!  We miss you guys, thanks for the posts and e-mails, we love hearing from you :)  Keep enjoying your summers!  Everyone bikes here, so remember, if gas gets too expensive, be like a European and jump on your two-wheeled friend! :) 

LOVE FROM EUROPE!

Katie and Sarah