For those who don't know, on July 15th, my brother and I flew from JFK airport to Frankfurt for 2 weeks in Germany. We had a very helpful chauffeur for the drive down, and not counting the tractor trailer who tried to merge into my car, it was a very uneventful trip. Nick and I chatted and ate during our 6 hours of down time at the airport before boarding Singapore Airlines flight 25. I passed my time on the plane by watching 2 episodes of Glee (the one with Gwyneth Paltrow as the substitute teacher and the wedding episodes for those who are interested) and 2 episodes of NCIS (the 2nd part of last year's season finale and the one with the witness who goes astray on a hunting trip). Despite the most nerve-racking turbulence I've ever experienced on a flight, all went smoothly.
We landed in Frankfurt on July 16th at 10:55am in Germany, and Aunt Herta and Ralf picked us up. We hopped on Autobahn 5 and took the exit for 661 in order to get to 24 Oberhochstadtr Strasse, which is where my Oma lives. Oma's trusty boxer (the furry, tailwagging, drooly type, not the punch you in your face repeatedly for sport type) greeted us at the gate. In the amount of time it took me to put in my contacts, I had a cup of coffee accompanying my Coca Cola on the table. Since I was bound and determined to follow culture and custom, I poured in a bunch of milk and 4 scoops of sugar to make it tolerable. Aunt Herta had us call home since apparently my dad had called her at 3am EST, so she figured it was best to inform him of our arrival since she doubted he slept at all that night. I then proceeded to have a roll with Nutella before spending time looking through newspaper clippings with Oma. I then watched the Sweden vs France soccer game, where Ralf informed me that the German slang for goal is das hammer, which I totally feel I should start incorporating into my vocabulary. We then had a dinner of pasta and meat sauce out on the patio before Nick and I decided to get sleep.
On the morning of July 17th, I was up by 7:30am for breakfast. I wandered downstairs to find my Uncle Manfred already there. We chatted over rolls and coffee before playing a round of Menschen ärgere Dich Nicht, or Trouble for all you American folk. Except for Nick, every Muth is ruthless at this game. I happily won and Oma happily called me a witch for rolling so many 6's. Nick and I then went for a walk to the Marktplatz, duck pond, and Feldberg Schule before eating a lunch of waffles, homemade whipped cream, and fresh strawberries. Served with that was also a slice of chocolate chip, yellow cake with chocolate frosting. While Nick napped, I read a bit before watching a stage of the Tour de France with Oma. I find that my life very much resembles the famous mirror scene from Duck Soup because I tend to put on whatever expression Oma or my aunt's have and nod accordingly in a positive or negative fashion. I then woke Nick so we could eat our dinner of bratwurst and potato salad before we went to Frankfurt to watch the Women's World Cup Final at the Fanmeile. Unfortunately, the United States lost in penalty kicks, but it was quite an experience being in the same city as the game. We took the S5 home and got to bed around 1am.
Yesterday I had a buttered sesame seed roll and cup of coffee for breakfast. I stayed and watched Anja while Nick and Oma went on their separate errands. I passed my time by watching women's synchronized platform diving. Once Oma came home, I ventured to town to find Nick at the internet cafe since the Commerzbank coulnd't exchange my currency because I didn't have an account there, nor did I have the funds or desire to do so. We then had a late lunch of cake and coffee before I went to Frankfurt to exchange my currency. I then wandered to the Zeil and Karstadt before hopping a train home for dinner. We ate fried potato pancakes and zucchini soup (and for all those skeptics out there, yes I ate all of it since the seasoning reminded me of Uncle Ben's wild rice). I need to learn the German word for stomach, though, so I can convey to Oma that I enjoy her food but my stomach isn't big enough for two of her portions. I guess I know who I inherited my "I don't believe you" mentality from. Aunt Herta and Ralf also stopped by briefly on their way home from work. After watching a nature program with Oma, Aunt Edith also stopped by around 9pm. She played with Anja, had a smoke, and made suggestions for where Nick and I should go in Frankfurt. She said my German was decent and that it takes time and practice. I was very surprised by this complement, espcecially since I had just accidentally conveyed that Nick had gotten E. coli (yea I know that takes talent, but Nick straightened things out for me thankfully).This morning I had my usual buttered sesame seed roll with coffee (those keeping score, that would be Kayla 5; coffee 0), but added some toast with Nutella since I told Oma I would after she asked why I didn't put any on my roll. I then played some soccer with Anja outside before watching some male synchronized springboard competition with Oma. Nick and I then went to Frankfurt for the day to do some shopping. Unfortunately, it is really hard to find a World Cup shirt, which surprises me. We had a Coke in Altstadt and walked along the Main and Sachsenhausen Strasse before catching the train home. I'm gonna wrap this up, though, since Oma is making me pizza with tomatoes and cheese tonight. I'll share more in a couple days!!
No comments:
Post a Comment