Köttbullar Med Mormor

"Meatballs with Grandma"

I woke up today to a torrential downpour. “What could we possibly on a day like today” I thought, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear that today we were going to drive out to Alicia’s family’s farm to make traditional Swedish meatballs with her grandmother, (mormor in Swedish, Mor being mother, so mormor means mother’s-mother).

When an American like me thinks of Swedish things, we typically think of IKEA, Vikings, Swedish Chef, Swedish fish, and most importantly, Swedish meatballs. Swedish meatballs are a true tradition to the Swedes, and the most traditional way of making them is with your grandmother. I am very lucky to be able to partake in this extremely Swedish meal. Alicia’s cousins and I rolled up the meat into little balls and their grandmother fried them up. We had carrots, both raw and cooked, boiled potatoes, tomatoes, a delicious brown sauce (Alicia’s favorite) and home-made saft, (juice). It was the perfect meal to eat on this rainy day. We sat inside the cozy Swedish farm house together and talked, ate meatballs, looked at family photos, and played Chinese checkers. Eventually more of Alicia’s family joined in, and I got to meet them. We all had Fika, ( it is the Swedish version of tea time, but with coffee and sweets) and by this time I was so full that my stomach was about to explode!

We didn’t stay and tour the farm today because it is so rainy and disgusting outside, but we will be sure to explore some other day. When we got back home in Visby, Alicia and I went upstairs and put on our swimsuits. I’ve said it once and I will say it one million times; we will not let this rainy weather ruin our day! With swimsuits on and child-minds installed, we marched outside and danced in the rain. We ran around the house, once… and by then we were already soaking wet. We ran down the street to a school and played on the playground, making sure to play on every piece of playground equipment they had. I felt like a little kid again, it was really fun. When we finally decided that we had had enough, we came back inside and went downstairs to Alicia’s sauna. It was the perfect way to relax! What a wonderful way to spend a rainy day.

Sun Worshipers

Wasting away again in Margaritaville. .


Listening to Jimmy Buffet in Sweden seems a little strange but nevertheless Alicia and I sit and sing along to the instrumental versions of Cheeseburger In Paradise coming from a special Swedish music program, Spotify. It`s the first sunny day that we have had in awhile, so we are soaking it up like we will never see it again. That is one thing that I have learned to appreciate here. . . at home I hear that it is in the 90´s and just miserably humid. Even though it is not as warm here, we can lay out and not break a sweat in the first two minutes from the humidity!
After a few hours of sun bathing, I came inside to see myself, and feel the hot red skin begin to ache. Yes, I got burnt. Of course I didn´t put on sunscreen, so next time we go out to bask in the sun like a couple of lizards, I will be sure to bring some protective cream.

Taking a break from tanning, I was able to contact Mom, Dad, and Wells on Skype! It was the first time really since my birthday I have seen them all so it was great to catch up. I bought a new pair of HIGH waisted shorts yesterday, so I put them on for the occasion and allowed my family to see one of the fastest growing fashion trends in Sweden. I still think they make me look like I have a mom-butt, but everyone else says that they look good so we´ll see, I´ll just have to get used to them.


Feeling like a burnt mom from the 80´s, and looking just as sexy,
Corianna

Gotland

Hej!

Cori reporting from Visby, Gotland, Sweden! I finally am emerged in my adventure! It has only been a week but I have already learned much more Swedish than I would have thought! The town of Visby is truly magical. I haven´t been to the museum yet (when I do, I´ll give you all the important historical details) but I do know that it is a very old town, and they have done a wonderful job in preserving the historical feel of the city. The streets are narrow and made of cobblestone, and the houses, restaurants, clubs, and stores are all so tight and close together you can only imagine how cozy it feels to walk through the city. This is also the place where Pippi Longstocking is from, for those of you who know who she is.

Gotland is known to be one of the sunniest places in Sweden, but so far we have had rain almost every day. That doesn`t stop us when it comes to having fun though! The week that I arrived is a well-known party week, they call it Stockholm week, and obvious from the name that is when everyone comes to Gotland from Stockholm and parties it up! The first night I went out on the town, there was a huge storm that had knocked out all of the power. Walking through the old, narrow, completely-pitch-black- streets was exhilarating! It feels like I am in a movie, no matter where I go or what I do. Some things bring me back to what seems like a normal life though. The other day I went to zumba, that made me feel great, and today I went horseback riding! It was English style of course, something completely new to me, but I adjusted very quickly to the new riding style and I actually enjoyed it!

The horse that I rode was massive, and his name was Crazy. But he was the nicest horse on the farm so I was safe! We rode through some paths in the woods, posting the whole way almost, and then galloping the rest. About an hour later when I was starting to get very tired, it began to pour down rain. Like I said before, we can’t let the rain wreck our fun, so we kept riding. (But of course we were riding home) Afterwards we were all completely drenched but I have to say that the experience really lifted my spirit. I am cheerier than before in knowing that the family that I will be au pairing for in less than a month also has a horse that they want me to ride. I needed that more than I thought I did.

´Till next time,

Corianna

Travel by Train

(Pictured above: Mom posing with a train conductor that we ran into for TWO of our train treks. Nice man, very interested in American Cinema.)

As I sit here on the train to Stockholm listening to ABBA on my ipod and viewing the vast landscape zipping by, I find myself reflecting upon the numerous and humorous train rides my mother and I took during our trip. You can hardly imagine how many people you meet by taking the train, and I am sad that this type of travel isn’t as common in the U.S. as it is here in Europe. At first, the train system may seem scary and impossible to understand to some Americans, but by now I feel like some sort of master. It really doesn’t take too long to learn the lingo of the railroads. Mamma Mia! Friendly people always helped us with our bags, either they smile and laugh because they genuinely are nice or perhaps they are scoffing on the inside about the fact that we had too many bags, nevertheless we always had people helping us get our butts where they needed to be, and we always had someone help us get our bags off the train. Su-pa-pa Troupa- pa

Some of the more comical memories made on the train:

-The first train we took out Frankfurt was horrible. We didn’t realize that 1^st Class was labeled on the outside of the vessel so we stupidly got on second class with first class tickets. It was crowded, we obviously had too much luggage, and we were in EVERYONE’S way, no matter which way we went. Mom ended up falling down into seats and holding her legs up in the air, completely helpless and embarrassed. We scooted our way into an open area by a door and laughed so hard we cried. We were pathetic.

-Chocolate makes people high and giggly. Always bring chocolate while traveling, it relieves the mood and stress, and always brings a good time. Enough said.

-One panic attack happened in Germany. I seriously thought we were missing our stop, and I said that. Mom jumped up out of her seat and ran to the train door. She frantically pressed the button and yelled “It’s not opening! It won’t open! Help!” The train started to roll. Then we realized she was not only acting like a fool because that wasn’t our real stop, but she was also trying to open the door on the wrong side of the train. Her walk of shame back to our seats was hysterical. We both laughed so hard we almost peed our pants!

-Never be afraid to talk to someone. Sure they may latch onto you and start to become annoying, but at least you know that you're going to be on the right platform!

Helsingborg, Sweden

After a very interesting train ride, nearly twelve hours of travel and after very little sleep, my mother and I arrived in Helsingor, Denmark. It was there where I had a very happy reunion with my 'sissy' Alicia. It hadn't been too long since I had seen her last but regardless I was overjoyed to see her again. We took the ferry across the seemingly tiny body of water separating Denmark and Sweden to my hometown for the year, Helsingborg. Alicia took my mother and I to the top deck of the ferry so we could look out at the darkened landscape. The lights from the city sparkled off of the water, and I immediately fell in love with this city. I have never lived on a large body of water before, so this will be very exotic for me. We drove home and quickly went to bed, we were dog-tired after all, and it was about 2 a.m. when we actually reached Alicia's house.

The first day in Helsingborg was quite an adventure for me. I hadn't seen too much the night we came in, but during the day I saw a lot more city than I thought I would! It is a very interesting city, Alicia started to give mom and I a tour and she showed us the important parts of the city but then she lets us loose for an hour because she had to go to a meeting. Mom and I were drawn to the water of course. We sat on a stone wall and watched the ferries from Denmark go back and forth for practically the whole hour. It was mesmerizing. We met back up with Alicia and she took us to an Arabic cafe. I hear that we will be eating there a lot, and I'm happy about that, the food was delicious and the interior decor was also interesting. After lunch we took a car ride and saw more of the region. I don't think I'll ever get over the fact that I'm living by the sea. It is so different than at home, it almost feels like I'm in Florida or something. We drove back to Helsingborg and met Alicia's brother, Martin who had just come back from visiting a friend in Texas. We all went to dinner together to a cute American wannabe restaurant called Barefoot (or something of that nature). It had delicious food and a great view so I was very happy. (Of course I was happy before too but this is the cherry on the cake)

The second day we took the ferry back across the sea to Helsingor, Denmark. We were going to visit the castle of Kronberg! This castle supposedly serves as the real life stage of Shakespeare's play, "Hamlet". I thought this was so cool, especially because my AP English class practically spent a good half-year in intensive study of this play therefore I could put this castle into full appreciation. It was a fantastic museum. Of course, I couldn't read any of the literature on the history but it was still great to look at the pictures, sculptures, tapestries, old furniture, and the architecture of this building. One of my favorite stories that I learned from this castle is that there used to be a tax claimed by the Danish Kings for sailors and merchants traveling through the body of water that we had crossed earlier this day. The funny thing was that this tax had been collected for hundreds of years, then all of a sudden when an American ship refused to pay the tax, it seems like the Danish just.. agreed. There's no told record of a fight, no protests, just "oh, well.... okay then". Go America! (haha)

The third day in Helsingborg, it started to rain. That's why we decided that we should spend this day mostly in a car. We toured the country side of the providence (Skane) on our way to Molle. Mom got her fix of seeing the different crops and the different styles of farms and landscapes. We traveled to a scenic lighthouse just outside of Molle, it happened to be the brightest lighthouse in Sweden. Even though it was not the best weather for sight-seeing the area, it was still beautiful. There were also people taking the weather to their advantage by climbing down the muddy, rocky, slick cliffs.

That night Caroline made the most delicious Swedish dinner. We had potatoes, salmon, pork, and all different kinds of herring. It was so good! I also had a chance to meet one of my new employers! He was very nice, and I am more excited to work for them now than I ever was before. He took us to what is going to be my home for the year, and I am very pleased. First we stopped by the stable where they keep their horse and what happens to be quite close to their home. It was magnificent! I can imagine spending a lot of time there. It was a classic European stable, flowers in the windowsills, a club house for people to hang out, and it felt homey to me. The smell of horses is more comforting than I thought! (Who would have guessed it?)

I'll explain more about the house when I actually begin living there and get a better feel for the place, but I think I will really enjoy living there.

Goran took us back home, and then Alicia took me out to meet some of her friends. We went back to that Arabic cafe and sat with blankets and talked. It was really fun! I'm happy to kind of get a feel for what I will be doing this year, and now mom has seen it so I think that it might be easier for her to let me stay here a year.

Holland

With our eight large bags, my mother and I trekked through Groningan train station, awaiting the familiar Dutch face which we were very excited to see. At this point we were laughing hysterically because not only did we look silly with all of this luggage, but also because we really didn`t know where to wait for Vera becuase as far as we knew, she was still taking her final exam. But, we only were waiting aimlessly around for five minutes before Vera emerged from the crowd and greeted us with a big grin and many happy hugs. She put us on a bus with all of our bags and then she rode her bike and met us at the bus stop that is closest to her apartment. We rolled our way up to the front entrance to her building, and when she opened the door we saw the challange ahead of us. The steep, narrow stairway was going to be fun. Nevertheless we heaved our way up the stairs and somehow found room for all of our big suitcases in her one room apartment.

Once we were settled in, Vera took us across the street to a church yard to have a picinic. We sat there in the sun and caught up on things. It had been four years since the last time I had seen her! After a while, Vera took us back to her appartment, and even though we protested that we should take her out to dinner, her will to make us her famous speghetti dinner won over. (It was delicious Vera, good job :P ) After dinner and a few drinks, we headed out on the town.

Groningen is a college town. That`s the best way to describe it. And everyone was out clubbing that night because exams were over and it was the last day that most of them would be in Groningen for the summer. What a great time the three of us had! We danced, sang, drank, met many interesting people, and just had a good time. We ended up visiting every bar in Groningen, I can`t tell you how many there were, but we were out until 6:15 in the morning so there had to be quite a few. Thank goodness Vera had told us to wear closed-toe shoes because the floors in the bars were completely covered with glass shards from broken beer bottles and if we had been wearing flip flops, our feet would have been nearly amputated. We finally went home when the sun was up, and slept for a good.. two hours. We got some breakfast and shopped around in the morning to wake up a little, then we had to take all of our suitcases back down the steep stairs to catch a train going to her hometown, Osterbiech. It was there that we met up with the rest of her family. Vera, mom and I were so tired from the night before, we couldn`t handle too much. But we did have a pleasant Dutch dinner with the Post family. We then very easily went to bed.

The next day we failed to wake up early to catch the train we wanted to Amsterdam, but nevertheless we did make it there. We took a boat "taxi" through the canals of the city, and it was actually a sweet deal because you could get off at certain stops, then come back on later with the same tickets! We saw many interesting buildings and we visited the Van Gough museum. It was fun to learn more about the artist that we have been studying in school almost every year in high school. We got some lunch then walked around downtown. I feel like I got a pretty good feel for the city in general. Most people just think "Amsterdam.. weed, prostitutes, parties" but I found the city in general interesting. Like I said before there is a lot of interesting architecture, and also fun restaurants and foods. We spent the day touring the city, then near nightfall we went back to the home-base.

This visit really whizzed by, but it was a lot of fun! Thank you Vera! :)

Varberg, Sweden

Mom and I rolled into our final visiting destination about an hour early, but that didn’t seem to foil our reunion with the Johansson family. I actually have visited Varberg, Sweden before so at this point I wasn’t exploring uncharted territory. But this fact brought a slight hint of relief, I was glad to be somewhere relatively familiar. Despite the crumby weather, our hearts were filled with joy and excitement, catching up on the latest and taking mom on a slight tour through Varberg. We dropped our suitcases off at a colleague of Lars’s (Ivar’s father) apartment, where we would be spending the duration of our stay, (It was so nice of the Roswells to allow mom and I to stay in their apartment which was empty at the time. They were on vacation in America). We re-fueled with lunch at Sophia and Lasse’s (Ivar’s Sister and her boyfriend’s) apartment which was handily close to our apartment then walked back to our place and spent some much needed down-time. I have never taken naps, I am not the kind of person who is normally tired during the day but let me tell you. The down times we had saved my life, I didn’t realize how much sleep I have lost on this journey so far! After a much needed rest mom and I ventured out on the town and went on a grocery run, mainly stocking up on delicious food for breakfast and other little snacks. We were invited to have dinner at the Johansson household, where we ate very delicious lasagna. Past the point of satiation.. we decided to go on a walk. It was still drizzling outside but that is what umbrellas were made for! We took a short stroll around Varberg, then we were dropped off at our apartment and had a good night’s sleep. (Except for the occasional arousal due to cackling sea gulls)

We woke up the next morning ready for a day full of fun from a farm! We all got in the car and made our way into the deep woods to visit the Johansson family farm and forest. On the way out, we stopped by Oostroo farms, a cute sheep farm turned into a tourist attraction. (This place gave my mother many ideas about how to draw people into coming out to our farm haha) You can go on a sheep safari, buy any kind of thing imaginable made out of wool, pet and touch sheep and highland cattle, eat at a café, and several fun things like that. Once we had our fill of tourism, we drove the rest of the way to their family farm. Upon arrival, we met up with Sofia and Lasse, and we all heading into the woods and scavenged through looking for a tasty golden treat, chanterelle mushrooms. The forests are simply breath-taking. When you try to picture these forests, simply think of the beautiful, lush, moss-covered forests in fairy tales. At least, that’s how I would describe them. Luckily, we found a bucket full of mushrooms, so we were able to feast when we returned to the farmhouse. Ivar’s mother fried them up in butter, and we all got to taste these scrumptious delicacies! We drove home after our excursion and got to have more down time before we went out on the town. Later that evening, we were picked up and walked to dinner at a buen Italian restaurant. We were sort of afraid that there wouldn’t be any tables open because this was the same weekend as a once-a-year celebration of classic American cars and the city of Varberg was packed with people from all over. But once again we lucked out and got right in and ate. After dinner we toured around Varberg. Of course we went to go and see the parade of old cars going up and down the main street. They were hysterical. All of the drivers were trying too hard to be American. Their vision of America was slightly askew though. Multiple cars were adorned with the Confederate flag and other things of that nature. There was much drinking and much stupidity, but it made a hell of a parade. Those cars drove back and forth for two days. Imagine the cost of gas! We figured that these people must have to have been saving for the whole year to be able to afford to party that hard. This weekend celebration called Wheels and Wings brought in tons of people from all over, and it probably wasn’t the safest of weekends to be visiting Varberg. We watched the spectacle for a while, then we walked down to the seaside. We decided to grab a drink at a bar and listened to some live music. It was fun, and we were there for a long time, then we headed back up to Sofia and Lasse’s apartment where it was a little warmer to spend time talking together. We ended up playing the funniest prank I have ever pulled. Sofia and Lasse’s apartment is right above an ATM and bus stop. We first thought of this idea when there were some loud and obnoxious people underneath their window. Ivar pulled out the didgeridoo and stuck it right out of the window and blew it at them. The funny thing was that they didn’t even realize that it was there. It became a game, who would notice the didgeridoo? How would they react? When drunken people would walk by their window, Ivar would get out his didgeridoo and we would all clap and laugh. It was a lot of fun. Eventually we did retire but that was so funny. How random!

The next day was BEAUTIFUL. We woke up and walked around the market that had constructed what seemed like overnight and took over the center of town. I bought a pair of fluffy Swedish wool slippers. They are soft and I figure they’re an essential for enduring the harsh Swedish winter. (haha) This was the day we decided to tour the famous Varberg fortress. We had fikka at the quaint café they have there, then Lasse, Ivar, Mom, and I went inside the fortress and viewed the museum they have inside. It is a pretty interesting little museum, they have the remnants from a man who was murdered and put in a pete bog from the.. 1300’s I believe! He still had his hair and the clothes were all in tack! After touring the museum part we joined in on an acting tour. It was neat for us to see but it was mostly meant to get the little children interested. The actors showed us around and had skits the showed us around the whole fortress. That night, Ivar’s mother, father, my mother, Ivar, and I went on a sea-side picnic. We used a one-time grill, and we ate sausages. It was a wonderful dinner, with breath-taking scenery and plenty of opportunities to people-watch. It was starting to get a little chilly, so we all headed back to our apartment. Sofia and Lasse met us there and they were all so kind to stay until midnight, and singing happy birthday to me once the new day started.

We decided to go to Goteborg on my 18^th birthday. To our slight misfortune, it was a rainy day but that didn’t stop us from having fun! We toured around Goteborg, did some shopping, bought candy, saw as much as we could with the rain, and then drove back home. The Johanssons are so kind to me! They took us to John’s Place, a terrific restaurant on the seashore. We all ordered something different. I ordered an alcoholic cider (didn’t even get carded) and ostrich. Ivar got kangaroo, mom got lamb, Lars got veal, and Asa got a pork chop. We all enjoyed our meals, I got to put a dollar up on their wall (the only one I saw up there among the collection of foreign currencies mind you.) all and all it was a great time. After dinner we went to Sofia and Lasses where we watched the final minutes of the Girl’s Soccer championships, watched America’s defeat! (Japan deserved it though. They needed something good) Once again the Johansson’s are so nice to me! They had a pink princess torta with my name and age on it. Not only was it scrumptious but it was also adorable. I was very happy to have the family feel when celebrating my birthday.

The last day also turned out to be gorgeous. We took our bikes and did a tour around Varberg and it's surrounding areas. Our first stop was at Ivar's mormor and morfar's home. We played Kubb, ( a game that is somewhat similar to horseshoes, but it is played with wooden figures instead) and had fikka, (Swedish tea time). His grandparents are so nice, I was very happy to see them again. Hopefully the next time I see them I will be able to communicate more with my strengthened skills in Swedish. We continued our bike tour of Varberg towards the shoreline, then along the coast past a pretty light house, sunbathers, a spa, and the fortress. It was such a nice day out that Ivar and mom decided to take a swim, the only reason why I got out of it was because I didn't pack my swimsuit in the small suitcase I brought. (whoops) After their swim, the three musketeers (Ivar, Mom, and I) were invited to a traditional Swedish Crayfish feast (again, so nice of the Johansson family because it's not really the season for crayfish feasts yet). We had crayfish, shrimp, cheese pie, crackers, cheese, wine, cider, and shnapps. And when I say shnapps, don't think about the sweet american kind. The Swedish shnapps are more.. vodka. STRONG to say the least. It is a true Swedish treasure to participate in a Crayfish feast, so if you ever get the chance, please have one. We biked home after having a delicious dessert and that concludes our time in Varberg.

Mom and I's journey comes closer to it's end, but my adventure being an a pair in Sweden draws nearer and nearer with every move I make and every train I take. Our last stop together was in Copenhagen. We spent one night there, then I bid her adieu at the airport, and as I am typing this I am on the ferry to Gotland to continue my Swedish adventure.

Germany

After our fun time spent in Switzerland, my mother and I boarded a train and headed to the beautiful city of Koln. It was there that we met up with my sister, Klara! Lucky for me, she had already contacted the airport and picked up my lost luggage! (Thanks Klara! <3 ) Her father also met us in Koln, and again, we lucked out with the baggage situation when we learned that they have a large car, (Large in European standards). After re-uniting with them, we drove the 50 min car ride to their hometown, Dinslaken.

The Borgardts home is so cute, very modern on the inside, artisitic, and it gives off that certain comfortable home feeling. Klara was nice enough to give up her room to us, so that is where mom and I are sleeping for now! The first night Klara's mother put together a special "grill dinner" at least, that is what I would call it! There is a little grill placed in the center of the table, and everyone is able to talk, and cook their food however and whatever way they want. I think it's an ingenious idea! It's a great way to eat and socialize!

We got to SLEEP IN the next morning (which just happened to be the 4th of July). That really helped us I think, we were more ready to explore Germany with less delirium. Leisurely we woke up and ate breakfast, then we mosy'd out onto the town and shopped, saw the sights, and leaned more and more about Klara's life and where she came from. Dinslaken is one of the cutest towns I have ever seen! I love how it gives off that small-town feel but there is still plenty to do here and I also like the fact that everything is so close in proximity. You can be anywhere in no time at all! We came home to eat a tomato soup lunch, then it was time for a bike ride to a town called Osroy. On the way to Osroy we enjoyed the scenic Rhine river, and saw quite a bit of wildlife, including swans, a very large and fast hare, different birds of prey, and then of course we saw domestic cows. When it was time to cross, we boarded a ferry that brought us across the Rhine. We took the picture of Klara and I on this ferry. Osroy was a short distance from the water, and again it was one of the cutest towns I have ever seen! We got ice cream, called Spaghetti ice cream, It really looks similar to spaghetti, but don't be fooled! That was some of the best ice cream I have ever had! Well, we ate the ice cream, and had a celebratory beer in honor of it being the 4th and all, then we rode our bikes home. All and all it was a great day!

The next day started off as leisurely as the last. Klara, her father, my mother, and I all got in the car and drove to Koln. This day was the day for all of us to be tourista-sans (an inside joke between mom and I). We took a gondola across the Rhine and during our ride we passed over a spa, viewing from a distance the nudity and relaxation of the guests below. Koln is a very beautiful, and historic city. As we walked along the river on our way to the Dom, Klara and her father filled us in on the cities happenings, and it's history. Klara's father enjoys running marathons and he showed us where they run, I can only imagine how fun that would be but alas, I'm WAY too lazy. The bridge by the Dom has a bunch of locks on it with great stories. Two people in love place a lock on the bridge, then throw the key into the river below to signify how strong their love is for each other. It is such a romantic way to show affection, don't you think?

Upon reaching the Dom, we went inside. It was one of the most magnificent cathedrals I have ever been in! It was built to be one of the tallest churches in the world, and it was the highest building in the world for a while too. The pure brilliance of the stained glass, and the high ceilings blew me away! The 533 steps up the Koln Dom also blew me away. We walked all the way up to the top, and from there we got a splendid view of the surrounding area. I'm not religious at all but this church definitely pulled emotions out of me. The Koln Dom is also famous four containing relics from the Magi! I didn't see them but I think that is pretty amazing!

We walked around down town Koln and shopped a little, then toured more in search of a local restaurant to find a special dish from Koln, Halver Hahn. We found one eventually and had a delectable lunch (and a beer). After lunch we planned on visiting the Lindt chocolate museum, but alas we were a little to late on arrival, and we weren't admitted to the museum. Nonetheless we bought chocolate there. A tad tired, and munching on chocolate, we walked all the way back to the car. We estimate the total walking mileage of the day to be approx. 9 kilometers. PLUS the climb up and down the dome. What a great way to work off all of this great food we've been having!

When we got home from Koln, Klara and I went to a lake to meet up with some friends of hers. On our walk to the spot where we were going to meet with them, we stumbled upon some people having way too good of a time. I opened my big mouth, and they immediately caught on to my American accent and asked me if I wanted to dance. I declined the invite but that came back to haunt me. Klara and I caught up with her friends and we spent the evening chilling by the lake and playing a card game. I won :D

We had to wake up a little earlier this morning. We found an ATM and added to our quickly depleting stache of Euro's. Then we took the train to a town called Oberhausen. On our way off of the train, we heard a knocking on a train window. I didn't pay attention to it BUT Klara said "Oh Cori, LOOK! It's those people from last night!" My face immediately turned into a tomato and I just kept walking. I could not believe that they would remember me!

First we went to the old famous gas container, (now converted to somewhat of a convention center with different exhibits) called Groningen. Today they are having an exhibit called Magical Places. It was truly unbelievable! On the first floor, amazing pictures of nature where hanging so everyone could see the splendor of nature. I was proud to see that many of the natural beauties are from the USA. The next floor demonstrated man-made marvels. This was also very interesting to view. We then took an elevator to the tip top of this Groningen. It was also a splendid view of the surrounding area, and just like Koln, we ended up walking all the way down. Klara and I figured it to be about 27 flights of stairs. We then went to a large shopping center, kind of like a mall. It had all sorts of clothes and that's always fun to see the styles being shown here. We shopped for awhile but then we had to come back home to Dinslaken because Klara and I were going to meet a friend! Simon lives in a town about 30 mins away from Dinslaken, called Xanton. We met up with him and had ice cream, and he showed us around his home town. It was good to see him again!

Tonight we are going to the local pub. This is our last night with Klara and her family. We are having such a great time, and they are one of the nicest families you'll ever meet. I love them to death! Tomorrow we take the train to meet up with Vera, in Holland!

Switzerland

After the trek across the Atlantic, my mother and I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany. Upon baggage claim, we learned that my luggage had failed to board the plane from New York, so I was without my clothes. Later we were very thankful for this mistake. Somewhat delirious and obviously without a clue as to the manner of public transportation here in Europe, we fumbled our way onto a train (thank goodness it was the right one). We pushed our way through the aisles with mother's two large bags, her two smaller carry-ons, and my carry on making quite the comical scene I'm sure. Eventually we found a dining car, where there was plenty of room for us to put our baggage so we plopped ourselves down there and didn't move until we had to.

Mirjam Da Costa was waiting for us with the biggest smile on her face when we arrived in Basil, Switzerland. It was really good to see her again, it had been six years since the last time we have seen each other! She traveled with us from Basil to Lucern, then we took a bus from Lucern to Root. My mother and I stayed with Mirjam and her family for the next three days. They are the nicest people and I am very happy that we have met. We met Mirjam's husband, Miguel, her baby, Carlos, her mother, her father, her sisters, and even a family friend, Ivo. The first night my mother and I had serious jet lag, so we probably weren't the perkiest of guests. We had an excellent barbecue and then we took showers, and crashed. That was the best I have slept in a long time!

Breakfast the next morning was phenomenal, European breakfasts are my favorite, breads, cheeses, fruits.. good cereals.. it's the perfect way to start off the day! This day was filled with adventure, Mirjam, Carlos, Mirjam's mother, my mother, and I took a train to Engelsberg. It is apparently this very high end skiing village. It was very cute, there were angels all over the city (hens the name) and it was tucked away in the alps, the picture perfect swiss alpine village. My mom wanted to see Swiss cheese being made, so we went into a cheese shop that was in a catholic monastery. That was fun to see. After mom got her cheese fix, we hiked up the mountain, to this place that Mirjam's mom had been before. We came to what looked like a garage, but inside was this little gondola. I thought it was broken or out of service, but nope! We got right in that little thing and Mirjam's mother called on a phone and said "bring us up!". And so it did! I guess these Swiss people who live up on the mountain can't really drive their car up there all the time, SO they have their own private gondolas! That was pretty bizzare. The view at the top of the mountain was breath-taking. I could sit up there all day and just look. We were there for awhile, then it was back down the mountain to the train, then back to Root.

The second morning we woke up to the same delectable breakfast. But this day we headed to Lenzburg to see a castle! It was beautiful. I would live there haha and Mirjam and I jokingly said that when we are rich and famous, we'll buy it together. It was a castle up on a hill, with beautiful courtyards and it had museums inside. We spent all day exploring this place, taking pictures, marveling at the structure, then came back to home base in Root. On our walk back home, we passed by a soccer festival and that was fun to witness how much Europeans really do like their soccer. It was a party!!

Our train for the next day left at 1:50 p.m. That gave Mirjam, her sisters, her mother, my mother, and I plenty of time to tour Lucern! We dropped our baggage off at these safe lockers at the train station, then we were off! We toured two bridges, and each one was different. The paintings were interesting, the second bridge was all about death. Kind of morbid but interesting. Basically the story that bridge is telling is that death is everywhere.

Well we couldn't tour Switzerland forever, but the time we spent there was absolutely perfect. Now it's off to Germany!