osterfest

Wow. It's only Wednesday and I can hardly remember last weekend. I'll do my best. I can say, however, that it was a great holiday weekend. Relaxing and feeling at home was quite delightful; Claudia always takes good care of me.


Thursday - Claudia and I sat in the kitchen and had a nice conversation upon my arrival that night. I stayed online into the wee hours because I finally met up with Allison via chat.

Friday - I joined Werner, Claudia, and Pucki on a walk to visit Werner's father's grave. The graveyard was beautiful with large trees, park benches, and even a portion with excavated Roman housing structures. Marcus, Anais and I played an awesome German board game (my favorite kind of cultural education) called Malefitz. It's similar to Sorry in that you perpetually knock other player's advancing pieces back to start. And because of this, the game lasted hours upon hours. If you know me, you also know that I enjoyed every minute. Later that night, 7 of us went out to dinner at one of the Kroth's favorite italian restaurants. I ordered a dish with Grüne Soße (a regional, seasonal green sauce made with 12 different herbs - yum yum). Marcus, Anais and I walked home through Wilhelmsbad park, planning to go out, but instead fell asleep early.

Saturday - Marcus, Anais, and I went to a couple different electronics stores to buy my replacement digital camera (see previous blog - it's a beauty and I love it - he makes frog noises thanks to a little bit of customization). Anais and I then went to Ikea (pronounced E-K-uh in Europe, of course). I have a lot of fun hanging out with Anais. She is from France and studied German as her major. We communicate well somehow, and I get a kick out of it. I got to color some eggs, which is definitely one of my favorite Easter activities. Marcus, Anais, and I ate dinner together at a well-known Döner place called City Pizza & Kebap in Hanau. Apparently people from Frankfurt make it out to Hanau just to eat here and after the meal, I could understand why. We decided to rent a movie and have a casual evening at home. I was thoroughly entertained walking around the rental place perusing movie titles such as...



Or my favorite...


We ended up watching P.S. Ich Liebe Dich, which is actually quite good. Werner and Claudia came home later with their friends, so I stayed up a little later to chat and have a glass of wine with them.

Easter Sunday was spent mostly on the terrace. Claudia prepared a delicious brunch for family and friends, followed by a leisurely afternoon playing games and relaxing. We got to talk to my uncle Fritz on the phone and see Dad on Skype, which is always a pleasure. In the evening, Marcus, Anais and I met two of Marcus's friends at a biergarten in Hanau to hang out and continue celebrating.

Easter Monday was also a holiday, so we were all able to spend another day together. Werner drove us (with Pucki) to Büdingen, a medieval walled city with georgous old buildings singing history.

Jerusalem Gate modeled after a gate in, well, Jerusalem We had lunch near the old city center (in the picture above... look to the church in the upper left, down to the small building, and to the right). It was great food, but the service was terrible. I really can't complain though, we enjoyed ourselves.

It was another sunny day with pops of colurful flowerbeds every so often. Magnolia trees offered eye-catching pink flowers on walks along grassy pathways. It is definitely springtime.

Before I left, Anais planned some weekend trips for us to see more of Germany together in the upcoming months. I am so excited! Claudia helped me gather some items around the house that would be useful in my Potsdam Dorm when it came time to pack for the trip home. She also packed sandwiches, fruit, and easter chocolates for the train back to Potsdam, making sure to include enough for two travelers... lucky me - Cat met me on the train!