Deutschland

So after Israel, my flight back to Accra took me through Frankfurt, Germany, so I decided to stay for awhile. :)



I had one pleasant night alone in Frankfurt, then I hopped on a train to Bremen to my friend Dori's house! She picked me up and I settled in for a fabulous Christmas week! Dori (one of Kristy's roommates in Ho in Ghana during my first year here) and her mom welcomed me into their home for a very long time during their Christmas holiday and I'm EXTREMELY grateful. Dori and I spent time touring her town of Bremen...



We went to the Christmas market and had some Glühwein (hot spiced wine that is PERFECT when it's cold out)



We got dressed up and went to a Christmas Eve service that had been what I assume to be a funny-thoughtful skit, however, I didn't understand the majority of it. We had FABULOUS fondu that night with some friends and they gave me great presents even though mine are still in the dumb mail heading towards them two months later. A few days into my visit we headed up to Oldenburg where another of our friends lives, JANE! We met up with her and her boyfriend, Roman, and took a fabulous drive along the coast of the North Sea, where we took a ferry to Bremerhaven.



We spent the day there seeing some sites and going through the Klimahaus. I could spend days describing this 'Climate House' that they set up in Bremerhaven because it is sooooooo cool taking you through every climate in the world! It's really interesting and we spent hours going through it. Here is the link to check it out:

http://klimahaus-bremerhaven.eu/

After spending a bunch of hours in Bremerhaven, we headed back to Jane's parent's house for some amazing food. This is a typical dish from their area, which is usually taken after a day of bowling outside and lots of liquor. We neither went bowling nor had liquor, but it was DELICIOUS none-the-less. mmMMMmmm Potatoes, meat, and cabbage!!!!



For dessert we had candy canes, per Kathy Bauhof. THANKS MOMMA!!!!



After Jane's, we headed back to Bremen. The next day we spent with some other friends that had also traveled to Ghana before or during our stays there. The meeting place? Duh...



I had SOOO many cups of forbidden Starbucks, it was SO fantastic. Jealous?

Hehe...after meeting at Starbucks, 5 of us headed to a Ghanaian restaurant on the other side of town. We passed about 50 African markets/shops on the way and the other four were all excited to "see Ghana again". I was like, "Dudes I'm about tired of Ghana right now." But I played along. We had some yummy Ghanaian food and typical-"I'm coming"-Ghanaian service. This is Simon and some kenkey...



It was quite entertaining to see their excitement build about Ghana. Also, quite interesting to realize was the thought that someday I would be participating in the same thoughts/feelings club. It's less than four months away when I will be heading out of Ghana. It's a scary thought to behold. It makes me nervous thinking about it, so let's not! Moving on...

My last morning in Bremen before heading down to Munich I was surprised with this pleasant sight outside my window:



SNOW!!!
I was sad to leave, because truly it had been a WONDERFUL Christmastime. I am SOOOOO soooo thankful to Dori and her mother for opening their home and for treating me the way they did. Dori took me to the train station and we said our goodbyes. Miss you and love you Dor!

Munich was next. I was to stay with my friend Stefan and his friends and family. We TEN fit in a 2 bedroom flat. The best part? A 10-person game of Monopoly is HILARIOUS and AWESOME. That's right, 20 and ups play wicked board games too!



The next morning we all took a trip to Dachau. This was the first concentration camp and served as a model for building the rest. It was an intense experience that cannot truly be told correctly. This is the sort of thing that needs to be seen by everyone because it's too hard to describe to others.



That night was New Year's Eve. We planned that everyone would cook something to contribute for dinner and we would do a big family style meal. You LAUGH, but I actually DID prepare something...I made my friends some mashed yam! Turns out in the middle of Munich at a train station, they had an African/Asian store. We stopped in and bought some yam. mMMMmm



While the yam was being boiled and mashed. The Germans prepared the schnitzel! It was sooo yummy!



The Romanians provided the desserts and meats and cheeses.



More of the Germans provided....sauerkraut!!!! mmMMMm I love it more each time I eat it!!!



After dinner, we headed out to the square with some fireworks in a backpack and champagne under our arms. Everyone had set up camp to watch the show.



Eventually I realized that the show was everyone bringing their OWN fireworks and setting them off wherever they pleased. Policemen and ambulances were surrounding the square at the ready. As it got closer to midnight people started blastin' stuff off in every direction. I half expected my cheek to be blown off at any minute. It would have made for a good story! Seriously though, the fireworks were EVERYWHERE. It was such a fun celebration! :)



Stefan, his sisters, me, and champagne. FROHE NEUES JAHR!!!



I checked out BMW World the next day. It was like going to the Detroit Auto Show (in the BMW section) except my dad wasn't there. Miss you Dad!!!



Goodness, sorry again for the late-post. I really love Germany though, I think I might live there someday-God willing. I've even recently started learning German from a woman whose two children attend our school. God provides! (He also shuts doors-so pray that the right doors are opened and the others closed). Thanks so so much for reading!!! Happy president's weekend!

Love, love!
Meg