Andrew Murray

To bow at His feet, to believe that He knows all we need, and has it all, and loves to give it all, is rest.

Our Walk Home from City Center

St. Nick at the Dom Market

Burg Satzvey

Bonn Christmas Market

View from the Top

Chillion

Candy!

Sweet Gail

Annecy

Annecy, France

Chapel Where Calvin Taught

Happenings

So much to catch up on!

Friday, November 11, was the start of Karneval in Köln. It was madness with beer and music and costumes everywhere...I hear it was 50,000 strong.

The time between now and then, I've been to the doctor a couple of times for a cough/cold mess, my phone got stolen in a restaurant, and my parents have gotten their immigration cards!

Tomorrow morning we check out of the hotel, after 9 weeks in the Pullman in Köln. The flat in Bonn feels HUGE in comparison! It's a new day, and a start to learning everything over again about a new town.

The most exciting thing on the horizon is a family friend coming to stay at our apt next weekend!

I'm really over-doing the exclamation points. And leaving a lot out, but I can't quite remember some of the details I planned on sharing. Sadly, going forward there will be fewer pictures without the convenience of an iPhone, but I'll do my best to give some visuals. Maybe I'll start using the big camera.

Christmas markets are starting up this Friday, and they've been building them the last few weeks. It's amazing!! There are 6 or 7 all around Köln, and it's like a wonderland. All wooden cottages with tons and tons of greenery and trees...one we passed by yesterday had strung big stars all over the trees in the platz...it is magical.

Of course I love and miss all my friends and family dearly, but lately, I have really been missing food in America! I fantasize about BBQ and chocolate chip pancakes and Thanksgiving stuffing and Chickfila. BUT. I know I'll miss the delicious things exclusive to Germany once home.
Oh to be grateful all the time! It's been on my mind quite a bit that the things we complain about are always because of a blessing, something we've been granted in the first place. A job, a possession, a place to live, food, a relationship and so on. So here's to the spirit of a grateful heart, where I always want to rest.

Recent Favorites

Action alone proves whether the object of my interest has complete mastery over me.

Andrew Murray


She will have no fear of bad news; her heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
Her heart is secure, she will have no fear; in the end she will look in triumph on her foes.

Psalm 112:7-8 (with she's for he's)


She is clothed in strength and dignity;
she laughs at the days to come.

Proverbs 31:25

Update

Without much flow, here are some recent happenings...

Due to complications with my parent's registration, it looks like we will be in the hotel for an unknown amount of time--however long it takes to get their cards--instead of moving in our new apt today. Which is kind of a bummer, but I'm counting on a purpose for it at the end of it all.

In the last week I've gotten sick and maybe given it to Dad (oops), so trying to get sleep, take vitamins and medicine to keep it from turning worse.

Halloween at the castle was so much fun! It was very different than anything I've ever done before, but there were moments I forgot I was in Germany...or else it just felt more like home, somehow. We all scream alike : ). The maze was scary, but not too scary. Apparently, in the states there is a law that the scary people can jump out but not touch people going through the house or whatever...no such thing here. They would grab at jackets, reach for your collarbone (ehh), or reach out and grab people's ankles from under a bush! But I am a scaredy-cat (sp?) and it was more fun than anything else. There were vendors with candy and beer and bratwurst and hot chocolate, as well as the crepes we had. There was a band, kind of like a pirate band, if that makes sense--maybe troubadour? --singing festive songs in German while there were fire performers on stage. Lots of firemen around as there were lots of open fires. It was fabulous.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Love.

Waiting for the Perfect Man

Jack

Satzvey Castle

Mom and Linda

Crepes!

My "costume"

Fütbol

Just a quick bit...last night a team from the German fütbol league stayed at our hotel. This included a huge bus and lots of red warm-up suits, and, I might add, some quite attractive athletes. I have no idea which league, but I looked up the logo and it was the FCA Durmstadt team, and they can't seem to pull out more wins than losses, unfortunately. Best wishes to them! : )

Tonight we are off to a haunted castle of sorts with some other families. It should be an adventure at the very least! I'll try to take lots of pictures. Soon I really want to dedicate a post to the amazing people we've met in our 6 weeks here, Germans and Americans alike. It never ceases to amaze me how creative Jesus is and how beautiful His stamp is on His creations! Much love and more to come...

Writing is the Hardest Part!

Cars and Marzipan

Yesterday, I watched from my window as this girl decided two parallel parking spots could definitely be three. She was aiming for the middle, and I've got to give her props for staying far away from the Beamer, but I couldn't see it happening. Her last shimmy she knocked the front car--like it rolled a foot forward. I leaned forward to see if anyone else saw her little bump, but I was the only one. Eventually she got out, took a quick look, checked out the surroundings, and walked off. !! Crazy. When the Beamer guy came back, he skillfully maneuvered out with what had to be an inch to give from the front bumper. Insane. With my parallel parking skills, it's a good thing we don't have a car.


Also. Today for the first time since I was 8 I tried marzipan. I've been convinced I hate it for 16 years, but it turns out I don't!
Don't get me wrong, I'll take chocolate or nougat over marzipan any day. It all started at this German restaurant on an island called Puerto Galera in the Philippines. We were out there for a vaca when we lived in Subic Bay, and I saw these adorable cookies that looked just like fruit, painted and everything. I was expecting sugar cookie, but got marzipan instead and swore off of the stuff. Until today. Here's to retrying a bad first-time experience...

A Day in the Life

This is Cocoa, a sweet, sweet puppy. She belongs to another Fedex couple here who are from Dallas. We are all sitting down in the lobby for dinner/drinks/ice cream(in my case) just like we always do. It's a nice sense of community that I will miss once we move out of the Pullman Hotel.

So this is a glimpse to our nightly routine on most days : )

Dom Tower

New Bike!

Oh Hey...

Sweet Bathroom Stall

Hey, check out this image I made using Diptic.

Sent from my iPhone

This bathroom stall was amazing. When the door was locked, you couldn't see through it. When it was unlocked, you could totally see through the door.

I Got a Bike!

It is green with a basket in front. Pictures to follow shortly...

We went to a used bike market this morning early, and it was FREEZING outside. Probably in the 30s. But it has a bell and a generator to make the light shine at night...just 3 gears, and a front wheel hand brake with a back wheel brake with the pedals. I might be a hazard getting used to riding again, but it is such fun!

Bastian's

This is one of the best places we've eaten, and it is just around the corner! Somehow we haven't eaten there til now. The bakery, kitchen and coffee is delicious and the atmosphere cozy. It will definitely be a place to revisit when any of you come to town...

Prussia land

Brandenburg Gate

Berlin

So Mom and I visited Berlin this past weekend! It is a four hour train ride on the ICE train, and we met our friend Regina there. The rain and fog put a bit of a damper on things, but we still walked and walked and walked. We saw part of the Berlin wall, the Brandenburg Gate, the Halocaust Monument, the Victory statue and Potsdam!

Potsdam was a bit of a mistake, as it is an old royal city outside of Berlin, and we meant to get on the train to Potsdamer Platz in the middle of Berlin, but it was beautiful. I believe there are 3 palaces and 1 castle, but it being Monday, all but the Neues Palace were closed. Frederick the Great (?) built it and lots of other royals lived there only part of the year, like a guest palace. One of my favorite things about it was we had to wear these ridiculous slipper things over our shoes so as not to scuff the floors. We thought they wanted a free shining of the wood and marble...you had to slide along or they'd fall off. There is a huge and gorgeous area in Potsdam called Sanssouci Park, or I heard a German call them Frederick's Woods. It's massive and stunning...another place to return and visit.

This picture is the tower in Alexanderplatz, which is supposed to have a magnificent view of the city...obviously when not shrouded in fog like Monday.

Dolores, the Cali-Mex restaurant was also near Alexanderplatz in Berlin. It was glorious, even though I felt sick for forcing all of my quesadilla down later that night. When will I learn...

Longing for a Taste of America? Thank You, Dolores

A Day In Heidelburg

A wonderful new friend Regina asked me to go to Heidelburg with her this week!
After a long train ride, we went to the castle and took a rather long hike to the top of the hill. Here are the pictures!

Info

Okay, so I've been posting pictures, but I feel like I ought to be writing more. So here's the low down on Germany thus far:

1. Church bells ring ALL the time. Almost all the time.
2. I ordered an unknown dish at a restaurant tonight and got a hamburger covered with cooked vegetables. Go figure.
3. I don't know if it's the food, or new culture or what, but I have CRAZY dreams here.
4. We walk around a mile or more every day...hoping it'll be good for the thighs.
5. It looks like we'll be in the hotel for one more month, so I continue to look like a slob and I don't think there's any way to correctly repack my suitcase to fit it all.
6. It's been unseasonably warm so I should have brought fewer man-shirts and more shorts. But just bc we walk everywhere and work up a sweat...otherwise perfect temp.
7. One of the real estate agents we met with thought I was 15.
8. I keep seeing these really great moments for a photo, were I a photographer and were it okay to get very close to strangers.
9. Today at the Domplatz there were really buff guys doing the limbo with the stick on fire, like a foot from the ground.
10. It was a great afternoon with some much needed alone time in the city
11. There are dogs everywhere...in restaurants, in stores...and they are SO well-behaved, even with no leash!

That's all the statements I can think of offhand. It was a great day. Mom and Dad went down to the airport and to our new place in Poppelsdorf to check out the public transportation back to the airport. I sat at Starbucks writing and listening to music and people watching(boy, is it a great place to people watch by the main train station) as long as I could before rushing to a bathroom and loosing my table outside. Then I wandered up the stairs to the benches right under the Dom and sat a bit before snagging some Ben and Jerry's on the way home. Home being the Pullman...
For the first time since we've arrived I pulled out my guitar and played around for a few hours. It was glorious.

I do smell a little bit from my day out in the sun, so I'm off to shower before bed. Love!

That's A Mouse

There are a few running around here...we might not be back.

The Makings of a Great Afternoon

Exciting News

We found a flat to rent! We are just starting the process this afternoon, but with all signs pointing to a new home...very exciting.
I will take pictures when we go back to measure and figure out what we'll need to furnish it, but it is a terraced flat on a hillside with an amazing patio overlooking the city. There is a lift on the other side of the apartments which we can walk over to, but the side by the front door is probably 5 flights of stairs straight up outside! We'll get our exercise for sure.

Well, I think I'm going to take a nap; feeling a bit under the weather today. Love.

YES

My lovely friend Becca did such a good job packing my suitcase that just this morning I found/remembered I have my moccasins! And yes, sadly enough, you heard right--she packed my bags with my assistance, being an organizational mastermind. Thanks Beck :)

Chocolate Factory

(see full image)

Sent from my iPhone

Out and About

Curses

That's exactly what I was thinking as I took the picture of the tracks. We had just gotten off the wrong train after wandering around the station by the Dom (cathedral) looking for the right train for hours. It was supposed to be easy. Several people gave us instructions. Until someone finally told us the line we were looking for was underground.

But we finally got to line 1, out where a potential apartment is. There was a very nice Italian restaurant we collapsed in for dinner before the return trip to the city. And I put on my pajamas at 9 o' clock.

Now we know!

Sunset off the Roof

First Day of Fall

So exciting! Fall is my favorite season. I'm sad to miss the football, apples, leaves and crisp smell I associate with autumn in the South, but I'm determined to find special things about the season here.

We are still figuring out the housing here; looking at so many flats and houses and trying to decide which is best for us. Be praying for location, price and a good place all in one! It can get stressful. But in every place we look I think of what it will be like for anyone coming to visit! Both for practical reasons and because it makes me happy.

There are also some issues to work out with my registration. All manner of logistics. But it will happen one way or another...

We've just gotten new phones. I am designated instructor in all things iPhone, even though I've never had one before either. It will be interesting :) I will try to figure out how to post pictures on the go and give some more visuals.

Much love to you all. Tschüss!

We're Here!

My sweet dad insisted I take his business class seat on the flight, and it was quite an experience. Nonstop service, more room than you could dream exists on an airplane, and fancy food--lots of it.

Despite the flat beds in business, I only slept about 30 minutes, I'm thinking due to a cup of coffee I downed with dessert.

We arrived without issue although there were some baggage problems so we missed our driver--who, by the way, is a GEM. Perhaps about 3 hours after we landed we were finally on our way to Cologne from Frankfurt with Manfried (said driver).

At the Pullman Hotel, our temporary home, we have a view of the Dom (the huge cathedral in town) from both our windows, and I am spoiled with LOTS of amazing pillows to myself. You know how I am about my pillows.

The window in my room opens surprisingly far, so I tried to take a picture with me and my computer and neither of us falling out.

Will post pictures later today...have to run look at housing! Love.

Progress

Who knew my closet could look so empty...I kind of like it. It's like my own think tank room. At least for the next 18 hours. Almost there!

Dry Run

Hello and welcome!
T minus 8 days and I wanted to set up a little something so I could attempt to keep you posted.
Here she is!