Nuremberg, Pt 1

This is my sixth time in Germany in 6 years. In total, I have spent about a year and a half of my life in Europe - the vast majority of that in Germany and Spain - and it has become (Germany in particular) my second home. There's always that minor adjustment period where I have to pull my German out of the recesses of my brain bc there's not much use for it out in Southern California, but give me 48h and a few glasses of wine and my German will be more fluid than my English. That would be more impressive if my English was any good, but I digress. You need to know what European city would suit your interests? I got ya covered. You want to find somewhere that won't blow your budget? I know a few places. You're looking to have a grand ol' time you'll never remember (in a safe and responsible way obviously)? Hit me up. I know this place. I love this place. And Europe has taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible. 

So, I am going in on week four of my adventure and I am loving every minute of it. For those of you who missed my earlier posts - shame on you - I've made stops in Copenhagen, Budapest, and Prague since leaving SoCal on December 1st and have now settled into Sassy's apartment in Nuremberg, Germany with her two roommates, Raphael and Jakob. The three of them are absolutely fantastic as roommates go, and as humans for that matter. All three of them work long hours at their respective internships with Adidas and Knauf while working on their Bachelor's degrees in business, so I spend my weekdays alone in a beautiful fourth story apartment in the heart of Nuremberg. I know, I've got it rough. Anyone who knows me might wonder how I'm handling being alone 12h a day (they're gone from 7am to 7pm most days) bc I thrive on social interaction and wither into nothingness without it, but much to my surprise - and probably yours too - I'm diggin' it. I sleep in a little, go for a run if it doesn't look absolutely miserable outside (which it usually does bc it's never more than 30* and it's been raining or snowing more often than not recently), cook myself a delicious breakfast usually involving eggs that I would never have time for if I had somewhere to be in the mornings, run to the grocery store to pick up whatever ingredients I'll need for dinner that night, and come home to have lunch and work on my computer, whether it be to blog or research masters programs or plan for upcoming trips. Around 6, I start making dinner so that it'll be on the table by the time my lovely German flatmates get home - not so much bc I'm a nice person but more bc they're letting me stay here for free so I figure the least I can do is make 'em some damn good dinner to come home to. I also make the beds and do the laundry, so in essence I'm Cinderella, except I don't want a prince and instead of a palace I'd rather have a bunch of bungalows in different countries. So I'm not actually Cinderella at all. **Just fyi they're all actually super clean and wonderful and no one is making me do the cleaning I swear I'm here of my own volition and my roommates are awesome, I'm not in a sweat shop mom. It's a pretty great routine with occasional coffee shops and gym time and family Skype sessions sprinkled in between, and I've honestly been reveling in the alone time. See, at home there were five of us with insane schedules and hectic lives and there was never really any time to be alone. Don't get me wrong, I loved every minute of it and that is how I want the rest of my life to be, but I can't say I'm not enjoying the solidarity. 

Now that is not to say that every day is the same by any means. Sassy's family picked me up at the bus station when I arrived from Prague and it was so neat being able to see her parents and sister and enjoy the Christmas markets and dinner with them while we caught up. Last weekend Sassy and I got our butts kicked by what we THOUGHT was just mulled wine, but was actually mulled wine mixed with an entire bottle of rum. The fact that we didn't taste the rum can probably be attributed to the alcohol we consumed previous to finding the mulled wine at the party, but whatever. It didn't take long before we were having serious chats on the way to the club realizing that either our tolerances had gone down (unlikely) or there had been a secret ingredient somewhere. Upon waking up at 2pm the next day - shut up we didn't get to bed till 6am - Sassy saw a message from the house party host that said "oh I forgot to mention about the bottle of rum in the gluehwein, sorry guys". That was when it all made sense. But nonetheless we had a pretty wonderful night and got a serious confidence boost in our ability to hold our liquor (not that we needed one). On Monday I visited Wuerzburg with Jakob, one of Sassy's roommates that I've known for three years now. He showed me around the gorgeous city, nicknamed "City of Churches" as it has about 40 within the city center itself. Seriously, like you exit one church only to walk around the corner and happen upon another. Talk about leaving room for Jesus. It was a beautiful city and Jakob and I spent the entire time speaking in the other's native language so that we could get as much practice in as we could, it was pretty great. At the end of the night we met up with Sassy and Raphael to watch the new Star Wars *in German*. Believe it or not, they didn't offer any Sci-Fi German classes in college, but I got through it without any issues aside from laughing so hard I almost fell out my chair when I heard Yoda talk in his weird way but with German grammar rather than English. I know my linguistics nerd is showing but like you guys it was hysterical.  Last night, Sassy and Raphael had some of their fellow Adidas interns over and we made enough tacos to feed an army (or six hungry Germans and a French guy). The girls (Sassy and Dani) and I cooked most of the food, so naturally the boys did the cleaning. I act as if I wasn't so surprised when the boys got up to clean that my mouth literally fell open. Imagine: four grown men, of their own accord, getting up to clean. It was one of the most magnificent things I've ever seen, and I've seen some pretty magnificent sh*t. Mind you, they brought a phone with them so they could watch the Bayern game while they cleaned, but I have to give credit where credit is due. This was another one of those occurrences that reinforced my decision to marry a German man... just sayin'. 
 
All in all, my time here so far has been absolutely incredible. I mean, I had some SIM card troubles (the German government passed a law that makes it a freaking chore to get approved for a prepaid SIM card bc apparently we're all terrorists) but they were manageable with Sassy by my side and I now have data all over Europe. Yay!! Not that it matters bc Sassy yells at me as soon as I pull my phone out of my pocket... but I have data! Other than that, the only hiccup I've encountered has been regarding gluten. Having Celiac in Germany is pretty much the most inconvenient thing in the world, but that's okay bc my friends are awesome and ask what on the menu is gluten free before I can even order a drink. Usually the answer is bratwurst and sauerkraut, but hey, hard to complain when the rest of my life is so fantastic. Plus, bratwurst is delicious, so... Abstaining from the beer has actually been easier than I anticipated bc of the hot mulled wine served during the holidays which for me is a novelty and thus a great alternative to the beer I'm missing out on. Not sure what I'll do when they stop serving it after the holidays but I guess I'll get there when I get there!

Ah, and bc my life is unpredictable as all hell, I figured I'd give you a rough outline of my next few weeks:

Today - Dec. 23rd: Nuremberg, Germany
Dec. 23rd - Dec. 25th: Straubing, Germany
Dec. 25th - Dec. 29th: Notter, Netherlands
Dec. 29th - Jan. 3rd: Milan, Italy
Jan. 3rd - Jan. 7th - Straubing, Germany
Jan. 7th - Jan. 10th: Nuremberg, Germany
Jan. 10th - Jan. 14th: Manchester, England
Jan. 14th - Jan. 31st: Nuremberg, Germany
Jan. 31st - Vietnam

Simple, right? Easy to remember? I know, it's a lot. But I'm going to enjoy every last minute of it. 

So until next time, lovelies! 
XOXOX

PS. If you want to donate to the travel cause, I accept Paypal and Venmo as acceptable forms of payment. Think of it this way, the more money I have to travel, the more I'll be able to write about my travels, which means the more you'll be able to read this incredibly witty blog! Just kidding ya'll, save your money and get your butts out here to visit me. Srsly I miss you. Or some of you anyway. 

PPS. IT'S MY BABY SISTER'S 17TH BIRTHDAY TODAY!!! @Jesse you are one of the most amazing human beings I've ever known and I can't believe I'm lucky enough to call you my baby sister. You've grown up so fast these last few years and I'm so glad I was able to be there to watch it happen. Your wit, your kind heart, your radiant personality, your beauty, and your passion are inspiring to me in a new way every day, and I have learned so much more from you than you know, despite being six years your senior. Please never change who you are for anyone, I love every single quirk and sound effect and thought that crosses your mind. I love you, sweet girl. Happy birthday, and I'll see you soon.