Amsterdam

After Liz, Bridgett, and Diane left on Saturday, Brian and I decided it was time for us to start traveling more. We jumped on a train to Amsterdam and 3 hours later, we were exploring a new city. Since this was such a random trip, we didn't really research much of the city before arriving. I visited Amsterdam about 4 years ago, so Brian was definitely looking to me for directions. As many of you may know, my memory is not so great.... we got a little lost, but still were able to make it a great trip.

On our first night, we walked around the city, enjoyed the local cuisine, and checked out the Red Light District. The Red Light District made me pretty uncomfortable and feel really sorry for the girls...but I did find out that they are unionized if you can believe that!

On Sunday, Brian and I first wondered over to the Van Gough Museum. The line was really long so Brian decided we'd have to wait until our next trip. We did make it to the Anne Frank House, which is a great Museum! Since we didn't really know where all of the sights were, we decided to take a boat tour around the city. This was a great way to see the city and all of the sights!

K College Volleyball Girls Reunite in Germany

Brian and I had our first visitors this weekend! Liz, Bridgett, and Diane stayed with us for 2 nights last weekend. They arrived late on Thursday night and left Saturday morning. Liz, Bridgett, and I all played volleyball at K together. I ran into them in Kalamazoo when I was in town for Michelle's wedding. After a quick conversation, we realized they would be in Germany and would be traveling to Bonn for 2 days.

We were able to do some sightseeing in the city on Friday. We went to the Beethoven House Museum, walked along the Rhine, visited the dorm room Liz lived here while on Study abroad, saw the University and Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful day, sunny and 70's! It was the warmest day so far! On Friday night, we headed out for a night on the town. It was a great reunion and we all had a little too much fun!

Our first night out

This is a picture from our first night out in Bonn. So far, this is the group we've been going out with in the city. (From the left, Brad - a TLP working with Brian, Brian, Me, Gabby - a Kautex employee/citizen of the Czech Republic, and Nick - a former TLP who repatriated to Bonn)

Last night all 5 of us went to see The Dark Knight in English! It was nice to see an American movie here. It was Gabby's first time watching a movie in English at the theater.

This weekend Brian and I have our first visitors. My friends from K, Liz and Bridgett, are staying with us Thursday - Sunday! It will be really nice to have friends here and great to catch up with my old teammates! I'm sure I'll have more pictures from this weekend to post. :)

Next week Brian will start traveling to a few of the Kautex plants and I'll be able to go with him. We'll start Monday at the Leer facility in Northern Germany, then on Thursday we'll be in Mallarsdorf...conveniently located near Munich. We'll spend the weekend in Munich at Oktoberfest then head out on Sunday to Prague. I can't wait to see all of these new places and experience Oktoberfest!

Sammy came to visit...

After a week long trip to the States, Brian made it back to Germany last night. Our dog, Sammy, has really missed us and some how made it into Brian's suitcase! This picture is of Sammy sitting on a pillow in our living room! :)

Ok, so that picture is a present Brian brought me back since I've really been missing my babies! Here's a picture is of my real pup and kitty. I miss them like crazy!!!

We are very lucky to have Sammy and Tiki staying with their Grandparents for 6 months! We wish they could be here, but we know Grandma and Grandpa Haglund are taking great care of them both! In fact, Sammy actually sleeps with them every night.

Brian and I welcomed Sammy (our dog) and Tiki (our cat) into our family almost 2 years ago. Sammy is a puggle, 1/2 pug and 1/2 beagle. He's loves being around people and never wants to be alone. He loves sleeping all day, but gets very excited at the sight of new people. When he's in the mood to play, he'll run circles around the house or yard. He's really good at playing fetch indoors and tug of war.

Tiki is a very sneaky cat. We actually call him sneaks! His favorite thing to do is....you guessed it....eat. He's an 18 pound cat!! We try to keep him on a diet, but he tends to either eat Sammy's food or sneaks dinner off our plates when we're not looking! He and Sammy love to play together. They play like 2 dogs, maybe because they are so close in weight. :)

As you can tell, I really miss Sams and Sneaks! I can't wait to see them in March!

Our New Place

This is not the most exciting video in the world, but it shows our new apartment! Have a look and see where we'll be living for the next 6 months! We really like the apartment. It's only two blocks from the Rhine and a block from all of the shops, restaurants, and bars. The only thing it's missing is a dryer, microwave, and dishwasher...I guess I'll have to learn how to iron, cook, and hand wash dishes. ;)

Cramped Quarters

This is the hotel room we've been staying in for the last few nights. As you can see it's very spacious and such a lovely living environment. Haha! Brian and I are ready to get out of this place and into our apartment. There's a chance we could move into our place tonight, so fingers crossed!

A word of advice...make sure when in Germany you let the hotel receptionist know there will be two people in the hotel room when booking. Kautex forgot to mention that piece of information and this is where we've been living. It's in a great location in the city, so I've decided it's better than our first hotel that was a 30 minute walk downtown. :)

Bonn

We arrived in Bonn last week. It's been quite an adventure. We are yet to move into our apartment, so we've been living in a hotel for about a week. We're suppose to have it this weekend, so I'm very excited to say the least. For the last week, we've been trying to explore the city. I love walking by the Rhine and window shopping in the city center. It's very peaceful by the river. There are long bike and walking paths that run the length of the river with lots of benches and grassy areas to sit and read.

We've also been able to experience a bit of the night life. Beer seems to be a way of life here, but it's definitely not the Miller Light I'm used to. It's definitely good beer and of course, I really like it... :) The bars have been fun, but I'm still waiting for the shout out to "hefeweizen" from Brian.

I interviewd in Cologne on Monday. That was an experience. I was very lost in the city for about an hour. Thank goodness for cell phones, I was able to call Brian and he googled my destination. I made it there just in time with a few minutes to spare! I got the job, but I'm not sure of all the details yet. I'm talking with the manager today to hear more about the position and details. I'm not sure if I want to commute that far, but it depends on what the offer is.

I miss everyone back home, especially talking to my family everyday. My mom was right...I definitely miss hearing her voice 5 times a day!