The Adventure continues...

Now, I should have posted this weeks ago, but I am convinced I must be taking after the Italian laidback lifestyle. When in Rome, right? Two weeks ago, I had the distinguished privilege of traveling to Germany for four great days. Lukas and I left Sant'Anselmo at about 10:30 am in transit to the airport in Rome. After a few delays, we arrived at the airport nearest to Billerbeck, Germany at about 9 or 10 at night. We were planning on getting their around 6pm, but due to a delay in Rome and in our connection flight in Vienna, we arrived a little later. Upon first reaching Germany, I finally felt Old Man Winter in the air after stepping outside. It was quite colder in Germany than in Italy. I have come to the conclusion that I've become a wuss (for lack of a better word) when it comes to cold weather. I've been acclimated to the Mediteranean climate here in Rome and although we have had some chilly days, it is not really "winter" here. I used to be quite strong in the winter after living (and running A LOT) in the Minnesota weather. Even Omaha, Nebraska is the Arctic compared to Rome. But, I digress...

So, we were met at the Dusseldorf airport by Lukas' dad. When we arrived at Lukas' home in Billerbeck, his mom greeted us with a fantastic dinner. I recall we were starving. We had some great conversation about how certain words are translated from English to German (and even to Italian) and then we hit the hay. Lukas and I were dead tired and wanted to do some site seeing the next day.

The next day, Lukas and I walked around Billerbeck and checked it out. It is hard to explain but the town looked very "German" (in a good way). I loved it. Billerbeck is a small town of about 12,000 people, but one can cover all the ground in the town in about 15-20 minutes. It actually reminded me of a very very Germanized version of Emmetsberg, Iowa! No joke. Everybody knows eachother and it seems like a nice place to live. Billerbeck below:

When we finished Billerbeck site seeing, we hopped in a car with Lukas' parents and drove 1.5 hours to the city of Cologne. Cologne was great, a really booming metropolitan area of a little over one million people. I took some cool pics of the cathedral, streets, shops, Rhine River, and we even went to a chocolate factory! When in Germany, right? I learned that chocolate actually stimulates postivie feelings and mood in the brain. So, next time you think about passing on that tempting chocolate dessert, think about that, okay? Pics of Cologne below:





We hit the city of Münster the next day. Münster, size-wise, is between Billerbeck and Cologne. Not huge, but not small. I enjoyed Münster the best out of the three cities I was able to see while in Germany. It was beautiful and according to Lukas' parents was voted the best place to live in Germany. I would have to agree. It must be my German blood in agreement. I have a little, you know. The city of Münster is a big college town with a lot of young people. We stayed there that evening and met up with a friend of Lukas' and then some other college-age people. Very lively place. Here are some pics of my thus far favorite place in Germany:

And on our train ride back from Munster to Billerbeck, we missed our stop. So, we had to take the first taxi we saw. This was it. It was slow service, but had a cheap cab fare, about 50 cents.

The final day in Germany, Lukas' parents had a great little house party with family and friends. I was able to meet a lot of great people and try what little German I had learned (about 20 words!). For example, the word squirrel is Eichhornchen. Not very applicable, but I knew the word to say the least. Then, we went out to a nice dinner in Billerbeck. Lukas' parents were among some of the nicest people I have met since being in Europe. The hospitality and generosity was tremendous! I had a great time.

And, I think that some "Brady King" from past generations had left his mark in Germany:

I think I'll go ahead and call it mine too.

I hope I can go back to Germany in the next 5 months. I would like to get to Berlin and/or Munich before it's all said and done. Next on the travel itinerary is Ireland. I'll be going to Cork, Ireland on February 25th and staying until March 1st. Can't wait.

In Rome at Sant'Anselmo: Still gardening, mowing lawns, landscaping, speaking Italian, and running. I really really love Rome and where I live. The people are great and the culture is quite interesting.

Ci vediamo,

Brady