Ritorniamo per il tempo bello.

Ciao everyone!

We've made it home safely after a really lovely, really long weekend for Spring Break in Germany. We decided to go because we randomly found 15 euro tickets (yes, round-trip) from Pisa to Frankfurt and decided, hey, why not see Germany? I'm officially so glad we did. We left Thursday morning, taking a train to Pisa and flying out early afternoon. Unfortunately, Ryanair always hits you with all kinds of obnoxious extra charges, like the ones we got for not checking in online, which is illegal if you're not a citizen of an EU country. SO our 15 euro tickets became 40 euro tickets by the time we were done. Still a good deal though.

Speaking of Ryanair, we'd heard all sorts of horrible things about how bad the flights are, about how they try to sell you things constantly and never leave you alone, and how the pilots don't even really have their licenses...I'm not sure especially about that last one, but let me tell you, it wasn't too bad of an experience at all. Except for the hidden fees and the stringency on size and weight of your carry-on (especially tough because it costs upwards of 3o euro to check a bag!), the flight was fairly painless, which is saying something considering I HATE to fly. In Italy it was a bit more stressful than in Germany, because the Italians don't understand the concept of a line, so there was lots of shoving for seats. We were fairly early though, so it wasn't a big deal.

Anyway, we arrived in Frankfurt-Hahn with not too much trouble, surprising given the very foggy weather. We picked up our rental car, grabbed our google directions I'd printed off, and headed off. Except, the directions made NO sense. Turns out I'd printed off directions from the Frankfurt airport, not Frankfurt-Hahn, over 50 kilometers away. We didn't realize that until two hours of getting lost later though. We headed back to the airport, frustrated and dejected, to get some not very much more clear directions from the lady at the rental place. We did, however, make it mostly fine from there. What should have been a three hour trip, after the initial two hours of being lost and another hour or so being lost in both Wurzburg and Creglingen, ended up being close to seven, and we arrived in the teeny town on Crainthal at close 9pm. About half a kilometer long and only one street, we figured that #69 would be quite easy to find. WRONG. 45 minutes later, we finally found it, as it was set off the road with teeny tiny numbers, and was nowhere near any of the other numbers in the 60s or 70s. GR. Our little apartment was cute though...right on top of this nice couple's house. They didn't speak hardly any English, but were lovely anyway.

That night we hurried back to the next biggest town to try to find a restaurant that was still open, and hit the jackpot at a place called Block Haus. Traditional Bavarian steaks, potatoes, and pasta like our friends Rudy and Pepe made when they came to visit us in Germany. It was DELICIOUS, though I may have been biased since we hadn't eaten all day.

The next few days we spent exploring the little medieval towns of the Romantische Strasse, or the Romantic Road, of Germany. There weren't too many people out yet since tourism season starts next month, so it was perfect for us to practice driving stick in our trusty brand-new VW Golf. It was actually more like learning for me, since it was only my second time. Maybe not the best time to learn, but it was lots of fun anyway. We never really got in too much trouble, although there were a couple stoplights where we killed the engine and held up the line. German drivers are all great, since they have to go to driving school to get their licenses, so we felt a little silly, but still had fun. Sunday, we took a three hour trip down past Munich to see Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle built by the mad King Ludwig II based on the operas of Wagner. It really was beautiful, though we saw it on a pretty ugly day (it rained/snowed the whole time we were there).

Other than that, we mostly just relaxed. We did a ton of talking and getting to know each other better, which always surprises me after almost a year of being together, that we're still getting to know each other better and still surprising one another. I hope we continue to surprise one another...it's so refreshing :) Other fun, random things about the weekend: the apartment only had pots, no pans, so scrambling eggs and frying bacon became quite the adventure. We were also only provided with two hand towels and nothing else (shampoo, soap, bath towels, etc.), so that was also an adventure. Almost everyone in Germany spoke English though, and it felt a lot like home, since the countryside looks a lot like Montana, so it was kind of like a little taste of home in the middle of my study abroad experience. Very strange, but lots of fun.

One of my favorite parts of the trip, actually, was today when we got back to Pisa. First, the weather was GORGEOUS -- had to have been 65 and very sunny. Lovely. Second, for some reason my Italian got better while I was gone! I had several people ask me questions in Italian that I (a) understood, and (b) answered with no problem, and I also had to ask for directions, buy train tickets, and order food and managed it all in Italian with little or no stress. I think it's finally sinking in and becoming a bit more natural, which is great. Rob and I speak to each other in mostly Italian, which is good practice, and I speak with just about everyone else I get the chance to, so it's about time it starts kicking in.

This week, I think we're just going to hang out here. I've got papers to write and Rob's got a few projects, the weather is gorgeous, and we may as well just soak it up. I realized today driving past the Frankfurt airport that we've only got about a month and a half left. It's going to FLY. I'm really enjoying this experience and feel like I've learned so much, both about other people and about myself. I've gotten so much more relaxed about traveling, for one. I've also realized how much bigger the world is than I ever imagined, but how through all its differences, it's really just people living their lives everywhere. It's not so different as I once thought. I've also really expanded my horizons learning another language, and it constantly amazes me how much you can tell about a culture simply based on how they say things. For instance, English is the only language I know so far that makes someone the subject of a sentence when they talk about what they like (logical, considering that most English-speaking countries are very focused on the individual). However, both Italian and Spanish place themselves on the back burner in saying what they like, with a literal translation of something like "it is pleasing to me." Not surprising for cultures more based on family life, and putting others first (though sometimes it doesn't seem like it here when the Italians are being rude.)

Speaking of being rude, I've also come away with a really weird perception of the concept of rude. I always assumed that what is rude is pretty much universal, because people are people and what bugs people should be apparent. In traveling, I've realized not so much. For instance, in Italy, no one stands in lines. They push. It's so unnerving and I find it so rude, but to them, it's just the way life is. On the other hand, putting your feet up when you sit here is considered the ultimate in rude, which is strange for us Americans. There's a couch on the first floor of our school building which is clearly meant for relaxing, and many students take off their shoes and curl up to do their studies on it. Apparently, many of the professors have complained that students are disrespectful because they put their feet on the couch, even without their shoes. Strange. Rob was even asked to take his toe off of an empty seat opposite him by a perfect stranger walking by on the train. It's that big of a deal to them. Interesting, for sure. It makes it so much more important to be super observant whenever you get somewhere new...or just ask! I've gotten to know the people who work at our pensione really well, and so now I ask them whenever I have a question about ettiquite or why the Italians do something strange. It's been really helpful.

Speaking of the people who work at our pensione, Karin has offered to cook dinner for just me and Rob, since we're the only people back from spring break. She's so sweet :) Anyway, I'm off to dinner, so ciao!