Friday, April 10:
Carsten and I left early in the morning, hoping to beat some of the holiday traffic. We did pretty well the first few hours but then things turned bad from there. The trip should take about 4.5 hours; however, it took more like 6. We hit a traffic jam shortly after Frankfurt that just ever let up. To make matters worse, Lela was really struggling with the heat and time in the car. In the end, she was sick (from both ends - making a mess in the carrier and back seat). Once we arrived, both cats had a bath and were cleaned up and before long they were as good as new. The rest of the day was filled with food, coffee and cake and a walk. During the walk I found a path for me to run, which was great since I brought along my running clothes.
Saturday, April 11:
This morning I woke up early and went for a run on the path I had found the day before. It was challenging, but also great to run in the brisk morning weather. Carsten and I had hair appointments today. My new look is good, though I am no longer blonde. I had my hair cut so short that all my blonde locks are now gone; but I am sure they will be back before too long :) Later in the day Carsten, his mom and I went and did some shopping. We had a very pleasant afternoon window shopping and walking around Bad Hersfeld. That night Carsten's step-father came over and we all had dinner and watched some television together.
Sunday, April 12:
It was Easter, which means even more food! I began the day with another run and today I improved my time by 5 minutes. In he late morning/early afternoon Carsten's mom and I played badminton, which Carsten and his step-father each read books on the terrace. It was a lot of fun and being out in the warm sun helped me get some much needed color. You can only be pasty-white for so many months before people start calling you Casper! During the middle afternoon the four of us went on a nice walk and I found a new running path for me to take. This one is a bot longer with more hills, but I think I am up to the challenge. The Easter meal was fantastic and as usual I ate too much food. That night I was able to phone my mom and brother for a brief phone conversation. Oh and the book I am reading is so good...soon I will finish it and need to find something else to read.
Monday, April 13:
Today is a holiday in Germany, which means limited things are open, but that doesn't mean you can't still find fun things to do. I woke up early and went for a run on the new path I found the day before. The first hill nearly kicked my butt, but I made it. I am speaking very limited English on this trip and during my runs is really my only real break from speaking or listening to German; oh, also when I am reading my book. Anyway, Carsten's step-father made plans for us to take a little trip today. In plain words it means an "historical field trip." He is big on history and educating people on facts he deems important. So, today we went to Point Alpha. It was a long drive, or at least longer than I had anticipated and the pay off wasn't all the great; however, it was still interesting none-the-less. The German culture and history is really quite fascinating and learning it here is much different than learning it in the US or in school. After Point Alpha, we drove to Fulda. It was a really great afternoon; I think we all enjoyed ourselves. We walked around the town, went into a old church, ate coffee and cake, had ice cream, and sat in a park for a bit. That night we relaxed after dinner, yes we had even more food, and watched some television. German crime series seems to be quite popular right now.
Tuesday, April 14:
Another early morning run and again I made better time than yesterday. Lovin' it!! So, the rest of the day was doing some shopping, food of course, and then looking at furniture. We were able to find the items we have purchased to show Carsten's mom, who appears to have approved of our choices :) It was a fun day of doing not much of anything. Later in the day I finished my book The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver. If you like murder, mystery and technology then this is a book for you. Since we have had amazing weather every day so far we have spent a lot of time on the terrace or in the yard. Today Carsten mowed the lawn and I helped Carsten's mom with the gardening. No, not picking weeds. I brought up some huge plants/trees from the basement, did some digging and planting and even some minor sawing. It was fun and something different. I mean, it is not everyday I get to saw and dig in dirt. Oh, and Zoe is loving being able to be outside walking around. Lela on the other hand doesn't do so well outside. That night Carsten's sister and her boyfriend came over later in the night on their way back from a vacation in Italy.
Wednesday, April 15:
Tax Day!!! After another early morning run (for those of you reading all of this, yes I have ran everyday so far), I came back home, got cleaned up and we had another little day of shopping and hanging out. Today we went to Kassel for our shopping excursion. It was fun, but a bit exhausting. I mean, seriously how many times can we look at furniture. I mean, it is was CDs I would be fine, but enough furniture already :) Today I also started reading a new book and will likely finish it within a week. It is another murder mystery type book. This one is Before the Frost by Henning Mankell. We also did more work in the garden after our shopping trip, but no where near the amount of work we did before. This is really making me want a house and a garden of my own. But then again, it is kind of nice to have it to do now for fun rather than "have to do it" or else the yard looks like crap! Plus, I think Carsten's mom likes having the help.
Thursday, April 16:
Day 6 of my early morning runs. I am feeling really good about all the running and am hoping all this work is helping to keep some of the calories from all the food I have eaten this week away from my mid-section. Carsten had to get up early this morning and take the car in for an appointment. He had to go to Kassel for the appointment and was able to see his sister for the day, as she lives there. The original plan was for Carsten to take the car and his mom to go swimming, shopping and have her own day. This was exactly what I wanted as I was needing some space from all the "German" that was around me. However, she didn't want me to be alone so she stayed home. So, we spent the morning and early afternoon talking and sitting out on the terrace. Then I started doing some German learning with one of my workbooks while she baked a couple of cakes. It was not as relaxing of a day as I had hoped, but it was still pretty good. Carsten made it back later than expected and we ate. Shocking I know!!
Friday, April 17:
Today is our last day here. We decided to leave a day early to avoid some of the weekend traffic. I decided not to run this morning to give my knees a break. So, the day was spent (can you guess it??) eating and shopping. The weather was drizzling all day, but really, since we had summer weather all week it was fine. After the shopping I did some reading and then loaded the car. After a yummy supper we said our good-byes and hit the road shortly after 8pm. We made it home at about 12:35am.
And that is my vacation. Three words can sum it up: running, eating, shopping. In the end, a perfect trip! Oh, and I do have some pictures. Not as many as I would hope, but some. I will be adding those in the next couple of days.
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