So let's catch up shall we? You may skip this part if you already know what's going on in my life and just scroll down to all the pretty pictures, they might even be pictures you have already seen...
This past May I finally became a college graduate! YAY! I've only been going to college on and off since 2005, so it's a little overdue. I graduated as a RN and I'm only 3 freakin classes from my AS. I'm planning on continuing my education once we get back to the states and get my master in nursing with a focus on nurse-midwifery.
(graduation day!)
I spent the better half of the 7 month before graduation without my 5 year old son and my husband, but now we are reunited thank goodness! I really could not have done it without the amazing support system in place that kept me sane! Thank you Mom & Rick, my mother in law Teri, my cousin Ruthie, my best friend in the whole world Jolie and her boyfriend Nick. What would I do without my clone, my sewing mentor, my cousin a.k.a adopted sister, my twin from a parallel universe and the biggest sweetest jerk? I miss you people, my people!
(my motivation board I made to inspire me to continue on)
So now I am living in Gaiberg, Germany. It is a quaint little town in the state of Baden-Württemberg. Population 2,704.
Almost all of the housing here in Germany is multiple levels, with a family living on each floor, like apartments or town houses in the U.S. except that there is usually a common area within the house. The house we are living in has 4 levels, a basement and three "apartments". Our landlords are a adorable retired German couple (Heida and Lothar) who are in their 70's. They have been renting to military families for 30 years! They are Royce's adopted grandparents.
(Heida helping Royce blow out his birthday candles)
They are so kind and loving, giving us each a hug and a kiss whenever we see them. They have been immense help trying to navigate through a new country and language.
We absolutely love living here in Gaiberg because of them, our beautiful house and the amazing view!
(the view from our room)
Sadly we may have to move soon because the base that Nick is currently working at as a broadcast journalist is eventually closing, the base that (a different one then the one Nick works at) Royce goes to school at is closing within the next year, and if I can get a job at Landstuhl Regional medical center it will be too far of a drive for everyone...Almost all of the houses here are beautiful even if we end up losing our view.
Every Friday we go out to eat, I have a feeling that we will be going to "The horn of Africa" tonight. Nick has wanted to go and try ostrich there ever since I arrived here a couple of weeks ago. We have been to several Italian restaurants, Greek and doner stands. Doner's are a cross between a gyros and a taco. They are amazing!!
(German doner)
Here are some of my other favorites to eat while in Germany:
(authentic Italian cuisine)
(bratwurst and some steak thing I can't remember the name of from a stand during Christmas time)
(my favorite yogurt and air dried wild garlic salami)
(flieschwurst and smoked/aged bacon from the meat auto that sells meat in the town square every tuesday and friday, blackberry cheesecake and another sweet from the local bakery, and Germany candy, although my favorite German candy bar is a kinder beuno)
Are you salivating yet? The food here is amazing and Nick and I are determined to try everything and anything we can! I think I might start taking pictures of everything I eat just to post it! hee hee hee.
Tomorrow we are going to peruse the streets of Heidelberg (one of our favorite things to do).
(the streets of Heidelberg during Christmas time)
The winding streets are lined with lots of little shops and food places, small squares and looking up you see the Heidelberg castle.
(Heidelberg castle from the streets)
The view of the town of Heidelberg and the river Rhine from the castle is amazing!
And of course the castle itself is amazing!
Castles dot the landscape everywhere here. Thank goodness Nick and Royce share my passion for exploring them! They do guided tours of castle Heidelberg, so I think tomorrow we may do that. Nick and Royce have already gone on it and seen the inside of the castle, but I haven't...
Well that is all for now! Come back soon and see a glimpse in the adventures of my life!
