A day in LA

I feel like I am finally getting over my jetlag... weeee!  On Tuesday, Annerl took me to Freising, an adorable town about 15 minutes away to get my cell phone taken care of as well as eat at the oldest brewery in the world: Weihenstephan!  It was built in 1040. Needless to say, they've had a bit of time to perfect their beer recipe and it shows. Hands down the best weißbier I've ever had! Yum.  I ordered the weißwurst (a traditional Bavarian breakfast dish, "white sausage") with sweet Bavarian mustard and, of course, a pretzel. Delish!  The brewery has been turned into a restaurant/dining hall and is quite charming.  All of the servers wear traditional Bavarian lederhosen and dirndls.  Perfect!

After we ate, we walked around the garden surrounding the brewery and also went back into Freising to look at the rose garden.  Very quant and charming!  We then stopped in the innenstadt for a cappuccino.. Mmm... I could get used to this...

Yesterday Annerl and I decided to drive to LA for the day!!! Alright, we weren't in the Los Angeles, California, but the town, Landshut (its abbreviation is LA) which is one of my most favorite towns I've ever visited!  Beautiful cobblestone streets, a castle on the hill, and home to the highest brick tower in the world as well as the highest church tower in Bavaria. It ended up being an absolutely gorgeous afternoon of shopping, sipping on espresso in the innenstadt, accidentally running into a quite vocal public demonstration against racism and finally ending in a walk around the Landshut Volksfest with a pretzel (duh) and cheese for dinner.

The first time I experienced Landshut was during my very first trip to Germany as an 18 year old.  Ever since then, it has

been a favorite destination of mine.  (As soon as you see the pictures, you will see why)  It truly looks like a fairytale.

And the adventure begins!

GERMANY.  I can't believe I am already back!  What an exhilarating feeling!  The flight over was the smoothest flight I've ever been on, domestic/international.  I had a window seat (score) and sat next to a a hottie from Mexico named Mario who was moving to Germany to be with his wife (bummer) who is German.  Before I go much further, I'll answer the question that you are all DYING to know: what movies did I watch on the plane??!  Breakfast at Tiffany's, Identity Thief and The Lion King.  Needless to say, it was a great flight.

We landed in a rainy and cold Munich but customs was a breeze!  I greeted the official working in the booth by saying "Grüß Gott" (a traditional Bavarian greeting) and he immediately asked why I handed him my American passport instead of my German one. Ha!  Definitely a nice confidence boost to start off my trip.  My luggage was one of the first ones off the ramp and I walked out of the airport, immediately spotting my family who had come to pick me up.  Annerl (my grandmother's cousin who is the same age as my parents) saw me immediately and waved me over.  I walked as fast as I could dragging 2 large suitcases plus a duffle bag and tote bag and collapsed into her arms!  Rupert, her husband, was there too and greeted me just as merrily.  It was a good thing Annerl was there though because Rupert said he hardly recognized me.  He joked that he was about to just grab the next blonde girl who walked out and take her back to Attenkirchen. Haha!

We drove home to their adorable Bavarian village right outside Munich called Attenkirchen (my grandmother also lived here for a time when she was growing up).  Their children, Daniel and Vroni (both in their twenties), had prepared a beautiful Bavarian breakfast for us, complete with giant pretzels (YUM).  We didn't lose any time catching up and planning things to do for the week I'm with them before I depart for orientation.... all auf Deutsch.  Whew! Good thing I had my Dad and Grandmother to practice German with this past summer.

After breakfast and a yummy lunch prepared by Annerl, I decided to turn in early... very early... 5:30pm to be exact.  I was jetlagged, okay?!  It turned out I was extremely jetlagged because I slept until 9:30am... lolz I guess my body needed it.  Today was a gorgeous sunny day.  Feeling refreshed (especially after the cappuccino Annerl made me from her brand spanking new coffee machine) I decided to go for a run.  Attached is a picture of the serene Bavarian country side.  I feel God's presence so strongly here and am especially feeling my great-grandmother's presence.  We called her Schatzi (German for sweetheart) and she was the epitome of the name.  What a blessing it is to have the opportunity to live in the place she and so many of other my relatives called Home.  My heart is at peace.