Finally...A Post

Wow! It's been a whirlwind of activity over here and today we have decided to have a down day.

The trip has been great. We arrived in Germany the morning of the 14th. The trip was surprisingly uneventful. I don't know what I was expecting - at least to be questioned by customs or something, but that didn't even happen. I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to get into the country.

The first day was just a matter of trying to stay awake. I fell asleep at 6 pm at the dinner table. Thankfully, Reese had not put dinner on yet. At that point I had been awake for 30 hours and it was time for bed. The first several days were difficult to get used to the time change as we are 9 hours ahead over here but I have gotten used to it and am finally sleeping well.

We have had a blast and have seen so many sights. We have gone to several castles, including whole castles and castle ruins. We have been to so many little German communities. The Germans (around here anyway) have beautiful homes with flowers decorating the outside of their homes and yards. It is so pretty here. They live in the middle of rolling green hillside, some of the country seems straight out of a fairy tale. Yesterday I rode a ski lift straight up the mountain next to a castle.

Holly & I left for Rome on Wednesday. Talk about culture shock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There were times that I really hated Rome. But, now that I am done with it, I am thankful to have had the opportunity to be there. I learned and experienced ALOT! We even got "hit on" by several different Italian guys. I don't think they have any boundaries there..sometimes it was a little scary, but I get a good laugh thinking about it now :)

When we arrived on Wednesday we were very overwhelmed. But, we were able to find our hotel, drop off our stuff and then we saw the town on a double decker bus. That was really neat and helped us get our barrings. Thursday we walked for 10 hours. We saw so many things, including the Colosseum, Pantheon, Roman Forum, Palentine Hill, Trevia Fountain and Spanish Steps. We saw sculptures by Michael Angelo and paintings by Leonardo De Vinci. Friday we mastered the metro and headed for the Vatican. We went through the Vatican Museum and saw the Sistine Chapel and then headed over to St. Peter's Cathedral and even saw where Pope John Paul is buried. I am not a history buff so a lot of Rome was confusing to me. We had two different tour guides for the Colosseum and the Roman Forum so that was helpful. I am determined when I get home to read up on some of the things that I saw so that my trip to Rome is more meaningful.

I am so thankful to be back in Germany. When in Rome I was homesick and missing Oregon but here I feel "at home". I am having a blast with the Vergori's and being with them is being with family.

That's my trip in a nutshell so far. Sorry I don't have any pictures to show you. That will have to wait for when I get home. You can go here for some pictures though.

And, for those of you wondering about Reese's "little friends"...no, thankfully, I have not seen any!!!!