Traveling to Munich

After Christmas in Wunstorf, it was time for a visit to Munich. That is where my Oma, Opa, Aunt, Uncle, and other cousins live.

This is one of the S-Bahns which is kinda like a train only looks like this inside. During our trip, we bought one day cards which is cheaper than some of the other tickets, but getting month cards which students get is definitely a better choice. We did not get a card like that since some days we did nothing, and other days randomly went out so we were more spontaneous.

For the trip to Munich, Simon's whole family was going and so were we so we had to take different transportation. Simon's family all drove in their car, and Grant and I took public transportation which made all of Simon's family slightly jealous because we were not being squeezed into a car with lots of people like they were. Here is a random picture in the first S-bahn to Hannover.

Once in Hannover, we got food, bought last minute items, and almost missed the train. Not because of being late,but one of the trains was detaching during the trip so we had to make sure to be on the right one. Once we figured that out, we had to get into the right car to get to our reserved seat. Some times the cars are attached, but you cannot always switch between them. When we finally got close to our car, the zipper on the backpack I was carrying opened and dumped all the insides out, but we did not loose too much stuff. We finally made it to our seats which were 15 and 17 .

Once on the ICE, we watched two movies after another on Grant's laptop, and randomly this little kid found us and stood there watching us. He really liked Grant and decided to play peekaboo with him. Here is the video of him:

This is a horrible picture that I took of the ICE . . . I did not think about taking a picture of it until we were about to leave and then the people were everyone getting ready . . . so sorry about that.

When we left the train in Munich train station.

Just showing the ICE thing . . . not really that important, but oh well.

The front of the ICE . . . they are the high speed trains. They look different on the front, and the cool thing is they normally tell you the speed you are going . . . the fastest one I noticed when I was not watching the movies was 219 km/h which is about 136 mph. Once we got to the Bahnhof, Grant had to pee and did not know that there was a bathroom on the ICE so it cost 80 cents for him to pee lol! Then we took another S-Bahn to the town where my aunt and uncle live where they picked us up with the car.

Weihnachten

In Germany, they celebrate their Christmas on the evening of the 24th of December. So that is when we opened gifts . . . most of the time in my family we sing as well,but I think Simon and Hannes would not have been too thrilled so we refrained.

The wreath with candles above is an advent for Christmas. You light one on each Sunday before Christmas.

This was their Christmas tree which they set on a stand thingy to make it higher. As you can see lots of the ornaments are out of a straw like material, and they have real candles on their tree.

There is Martin, Irene, and Lea preparing Raclette and setting the table. This is their table when it is enlarged in their kitchen. I just realized how it looks that Irene and Lea have a lamp hat,but they don't.

For this Dish you have bowls with various ingredients like corn, onions, potatoes, ham, pineapple, and a special cheese.

This is Grant while they were making food since they refused our help chillin' . . .

Martin cutting the cheese . . . literally ;p Just another in action shot of them.

Here you can see the tree better with the candles! I think it is really pretty even though my dad would stress the danger etc.

This is Grant getting his gift from Simon . . .all the candy he knew Grant had not eaten yet . . . he was going to wrap it better, but Grant was in the room so he left everything in the bag, and then wrapped newspaper around that. Also, for the finishing touched covered almost the whole outside with ductape. . . And right when this picture was taken when Grant had almost opened it Simon told him what it was lol!

Simon opening his gift from Hannes which seems like a Really cool book called Ein Mann Ein Buch. It is a book of everything that a guy needs to know from buying a female jewelry to landing a plane to building a tree house to learning how to tie a tie many different ways!

This is Hannes opening one of his gifts . . . I do not remember which gift this was.

This is the table before we were going to eat you can see the contraption used for the dish, and there is a heater and then a space where you put little dishes with your food and then a stone of granite which also gets hot and insulates to make sure everything gets heated up. Simon and Hannes like this dish but said it was too much work and a tease . . . oh well, it was good!

Here you can see the dish that Simon is holding. Everyone gets their own individual pan that you put whatever ingredients in, and then when you are done you put a slice of the special cheese on top, and then heat it up and make another one and eat the first.

Here you can see the little pans getting heated up!

Grant reading one of my books, and we were getting ready to become fatter with all the candy we have slowly acquired.

Jessica's House

On the 24th of December, Grant, Martin, and I decided to go shopping at Marktkauf. Well, we were looking for an open bank to exchange more of our travelers' checks, but could not find any. Due to the amount of different bank's visited, we ended up very close to my old house . . . thus, we visited it.

This is the side of my old house. Since I was very young when we moved . . . six . . . I would not be able to tell you what street we lived on or what was near to it or recognize it , but I still remeberd the individual house and for some reason the house number.

In this picture you can see the two car garage, and Martin and I were pointing to where the rest of the yard was. Also I made a comment about the garages being clean and able to store cars in . . . which is more than my family could say . . . or at least that is what i remember. ;p

Last time I was here and visited, it was owned by some else I am pretty sure since things looked different, and they had a huge dog! But you can still see the hay loft in this picture that Daniel took over, and you can see where the animals were kept.

I was also informed that a different door was put on . . . I cannot remember the old one . . . oh well.

Another picture. The only different thing from the last time I visited was that part of the fence had been taken away . . . I think it was getting old and the back part is either being redone or just not fixed . . . not sure. But it was nice to come back and see it!

Random Stuff

Over the last couple of days, all we wanted to do was chill. Traveling is fun, but hanging out sure comes close with the fun factor! It has been so nice to be able to stay at Irene's and Martin's house!

Since Simon had to give his laptop to the Police to be checked out, we are all sharing Grant's laptop. So, this is me during my turn on Grant's bed/nook area.

This is Simon on his bed watching tv . . . I am pretty sure he is holding a remote in his hand. And you can see how lazy we have been with all of our and his clothes on the bed. He would simply move them over so there was enough room for him.

On Sunday, after church and lunch, Simon randomly decided that we should go to Celle to the indoor pool there. So, we went. On the way, there was pretty bad weather, and we got lost a few times since there was a Christmas market going on, parts of the streets were blocked off. While we were looking for the pool, we saw a Hummer as you can see in front of us, and it was the first one we had seen on our trip . . . so naturally we took a picture.

I have no idea what I was doing, and I have NO idea why he chose this picture to be put in the website, but if I were to delete it Grant would notice and put it back up.

Again . . . no idea!

Simon's turn on the laptop on his semi-cleaner bed!

Grant, Martin, and I went shopping at Marktkauf and some of the things were important enough for a picture. I do not think we were supposed to take pictures of stuff,but we still did . . . we figure if we get in trouble play the stupid Americans. I really like the pop that Grant took a picture of here it is called Mezzo Mix. It is Cola with a little bit of orange in it . .. definitely good not going to lie!

This is a close up picture of the two liter bottles here; Grant liked how they looked similar to larger versions of the 20 oz bottles rather than completely different looking bottles.

People like their alcohol. There were a few isles of different drinks so it was worth a picture I guess.

This again is a different picture of part of the alcohol section of the normal supermarket.

Trip to Hannover

For the rest of our Christmas shopping, we decided to go to Hannover to their shopping area. They also had their Christmas market which we also wanted to visit. Simon was the main one shopping with us coming along and giving our opinions on what he was buying. I also wanted to go to H and M.

I am really not sure what these things are called again, but in Germany you have them at Christmas, and the candles are lit and make the fan at the top turn. . . well, this one is huge and as you can see those are not real candles, and they were not lit, but it was still turning. It was actually a sort of bar, drink place where you could go in and order whatever drink you wanted.

Here is a more close up picture . . . I will have to ask my mom what they are called cause it is bugging me,but I had never seen a life size one so WOOT!

One of the better pictures of me that Grant decided to put up rather than one where I look high since I never know when he is taking pictures.We were just walking . . .it was cold . . .how exciting!

Simon was looking for a certain pair of biking shoes, and this was one of the stores we went into. The employees were riding the bikes until someone needed help, and it seemed like a cool place to work . . . if you liked and knew about bikes. It made us laugh that the people who helped with the bikes were all very laid back and young, and the cashier(who we did not get a picture of cause that would be rude) was older and was wearing a stark suit. Simon ended up buying himself a pair of shoes and a pump for his tires.

This is the a picture of just two of the many shops that were there just because of the Christmas market. We got to try all sorts of stuff that I do not think I have ever had before. Hot Chocolate with rum, some mushrooms that were sauteed with either cheese or garlic sauce and bread, and then in the bahnhof had amazing brats . . . of course. I think Grant has been enjoying all the meat here!

Simon and Grant's Room

While staying at Irene's and Martin's House, Grant and Simon share Simon's room, and I share with Lea. I really do not want to get Lea's room dirty cause she would probably care, so, Grant , Simon, and I just all get Simon's room dirty . . . so here is our masterpiece so far!

Simon and Grant's room after our hurricane went through. You can also see the cardboard box with duct tape on Simon's bed . . . that is his laptop. He had to give it to the police here, and he is not sure when he will get it back. Someone stole Simon's identity in Spain and sold stuff through his eBay account, so they needed his laptop in the investigation!

Simon's bed with his laptop, and his lovely matching bed stuff!

Grant's bed next to the furnace . . . which is probably the worst place for him since he is a fricken furnace.

All of Grant's stuff with a dash of Jessica's since she cannot fit all of her stuff into her own suit case . . . so Grant was more than happy to lug hers all around Europe!

Grant's Ikea adventure. . . .

So, on Friday, Simon was hanging out with one of his friends so Grant and I decided . . . well, I decided that we should go to Ikea. It was an involved trip considering there were lots of different places to switch trains etc. Well, first we walked to the train station in Wunstorf, then we took the train until Hannover. Once in Hannover we walked to a different station where we got on a tram. We then walked to Ikea after that since we would have to wait too long until the next bus.

This is the Tram that we took to get closer to Ikea.

This was going to the bridge which led to the Expo area which now has different things and buildings there.

It is really cold outside . . . notice my full garb that Grant was making fun of, but on the fence there was ice going horizontal due to the wind.

View from the bridge . . . In the background you can see the trees and how the ice would stay on all the branches and twigs almost the whole day,but it has not snowed . . . or stayed.

Here is the picture of the horizontal ice.
The tower for the BMW used cars center thing.

Here you just have to touch the the yellow thing for it to know that you are there . . . Grant found it amazing, and he happened to take the picture when it says that the signal is coming.

If you look at the very end on the right is the Ikea.

Me in front of the Ikea . . . I was excited! Also, as you notice next to me are there frozen bushes . . . and Grant kept pushing me into them which was stupid, but for some reason he thought it was hilarious . . .maybe he thought he was being heroic by helping me out of them . . . even though he pushed me into them in the first place. Oh well.


I really liked how these looked and asked Grant to take a picture . . . so here it is.

Another one.

We took a picture of this building to later ask my uncle what it was . . . too bad we have not asked him yet, and probably will not . . . so, we have no idea what this is.

I liked the curved sides of this building!

A gross picture of me . . . why does he put ones up like this?!

This is a Nissian truck that has a snorkel . . . which I found out actually is used when a car is partially submerged to keep the engine from dying. This truck also has a nice mountain bike in the back according to Grant.

Another view.

The snorkel.

The bike.

The bed of the truck.

One of the buildings in the expo center.

Me walking on the bridge to get back to the tram to return to Simon's house.

This is after the bridge where the tram came and picked us up. The roof was a glass which looked very cool.

This is the bag that I got at Ikea, and I did not buy very much at all!