Allemagne

Day Sixty-Four

This past weekend I visited my cousin and her husband at Vilseck, Germany.  Completely worth the trip.  I left Friday afternoon so I had Saturday, Sunday, and half of Monday to spend with them.  I haven't seen her in a few years so that was a real treat.  Saturday we visited the nazi party rally grounds ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_party_rally_grounds ) in Nuremberg.  Wow.  They have turned it into a museum that I felt was very well-done.  Really showing the history of the party and how Hitler came to be in power.  It was crazy to see how enormous the rally hall was as well, only one part of the huge architectural display the nazi party intended to show its power.  Much of the building material was brought from a work camp nearby...just the magnitude of the numbers of those who went through the concentration camps is unfathomable.

Later that day we tried this restaurant called 's Baggers.  Don't ask me about the name but it's the closest experience I've had to seeing the life of the Jetsons.  There are no waiters/servers.  You recieve a card and each person has a designated number at the table.  You order everything on a touch screen with your card and then it is delivered by a metal railing where the food from the kitchen (on the 2nd floor) slides down the railing straight to the table!  say whaaa?  Yeah, it was really cool--and the price of a normal restaurant too.  Get ittt!  On Sunday we went to Easter Sunday service and that was nice--a reminder of home being at a military post chapel.  Then we had a BBQ with bratwursts and sauwerkrawt and some of their friends and talked for hours.  A great time.  Monday we walked around downtown Nuremberg before dropping me off at the airport.  I was able to try a schnitzel sandwich!  Those things are way too messy & delicious to eat while walking.  Plus, it was freezing and my hands were numb when I finished eating haha.  Ohh, forgot to mention!  Had a reunion with a close family friend from Korea!!  What are the chances??  I found out he is stationed at the same base so we met for breakfast and attempted to catch up over coffee in an hour!  lol.  I also found out that I know two other people stationed there--one being an old frog grad and another being the older sister of my best friend at WP!  Once again, what a small world--small Army! 

Back in France, things are still going very well.  It's really starting to feel like spring.  Let me just mention that Wednesdays here are pretty much just like the weekend.  Middle/high school students have a half-day every Wednesday and elementary students don't even have school (a law was just passed saying that they will have a half-day as well starting later this year/early next year).  And it seems like a lot of people get off work as well too.  So I decided to go on a long run after class and it was so crowded around the city!  Everyone was outside hanging out, laying on the grass, having picnics, etc.  It was just too picturesque!  I should've taken my camera on my run.  I went exploring and ended up doing a 6.2 mile run!  Obviously I feel sore today haha.  But I love when everyone is outside because you just know that the weather is getting warmer and there's more options to be active. 

This weekend I'm going to Genève (Geneva) on Saturday.  I cannot WAIT!  I'll give an update after that.  I have to make the most of my last few weeks here!  No pressure or anything haha.

What the nazi party rally hall once looked like and the remains today.

downtown Nuremberg and a huge market

Coolest restaurant I've been to.  You can see the touchscreen and the railing!



View of the city from above

Beautiful city.

My cousin and I!  Plumley reunion in Germany :)  I'm pretty sure our last name is German too...

Korea reunion with Josh.  He gave me a tour of his office because he works with AFN! (that's the Army radio/tv broadcasting station for bases overseas)