Sept. 10, 2011. My first day in Germany is 
about over. I'm exhausted but when I look at the time on this computer it is only 2:40 PM! That's the time at home, however. Here it is 9:40 PM and we just got home from dinner with Christine Hieronymus and her husband Stefan. We ate at a beer garden and I had sauerbraten and spatzle. It was delicious! The house dark beer was very wheaty tasting and good. This afternoon we walked around Regensburg with Christine and Stefan and the dog Gustl. They can take those dogs almost anywhere. There were even dogs at the airport just walking around with their owners and picking people up etc. The flight from Chicago to Munich that was supposed to take off at 6:15 Friday evening actually left at 7:30 due to computer problems. They had to reboot and we were left in the dark and without air conditioning for a little while. If we had know this in advance we wouldn't have had to rush through O'Hare like madwomen and wolf down a Mickey D's snack wrap for dinner trying to get on the plane on time. It was a full flight - well it was full 15 minutes after we were supposed to depart and a few more people wandered aboard. We thought we were being lied to about the computer problems and they were really waiting for the late arrivals. But it seems there were really problems after all. Finally got going for the 8 hour and 12 minute flight. The pilot must have said that a dozen times. "The 8 hour and 12 minute flight..." Anyway, when we finally landed (and I'm sure it was 8 hours and 12 minutes to the second) we couldn't find Christine who was supposed to be meeting us. Finally after 2 phone calls Deb located her and we got on our way to Regensburg. Well after we located the lost keys we finally got underway! We drove on the Autobahn and once we got out of the traffic jam Christine got her Beamer up to 130 km per hour. How much is that in mph I wonder? When we got to Regensburg we put our things in Christine's guest house and went our to see the city. It is a very old Medievel city and has been declared a world heritage city for this reason. The buildings are very old and full of character. Christine is very proud of her city, and showed us many beer gardens and restaurants and shops. We took a bus tour of the city but somehow didn't realize we needed to ask for headphones s
o we could hear the tour in English so although we saw a lot of the city we couldn't understand a word and consequently had a difficult staying awake. Hey, we had been awake for a very long time at that point. And plane sleep isn't like real sleep! I had a really good hazelnut ice cream cone for a snack. (Plane food isn't like real food either!) Regensburg is along the Danube River; in fact Christine and Stefan's place is right on the Danube. They said there is a real problem with dampness in the house since the river is so close. I didn't ask about flooding at their house but I will try to remember tomorrow. She showed us the high water line on one of the beer garden kitchens so they do get major flooding. I found 2 Halloween books for only 1.5 Euros each so that was my first German purchase. I also saw one of those spinny candle things you usually find at Christmas but it was Halloween. If it was wooden I would have to have it but it was metal so I don't know if I need it that bad. St. Peter's Cathedral is magnificent.There are whirlpools behind the bridge that didn't look al
l that dangerous but we saw suck down a piece of trash like it was being pulled straight down to hell. Scary! Padlocks on the bridge with couples' names are so cute - they throw the key into the water after locking the lock onto the bridge. Deb just pointed out that we have not been gone from the US for a full 24 hours. Yesterday at this time we were sitting at the QC Airport waiting on our first flight. Dang it seems like forever ago! Not having any real sleep since I got up at 6 Friday morning is so exhausting. I have already tripped on a little step in the apartment and fell so I have an injury already. I am such a klutz! There is chocolate on the pillow so that makes it a little better. Deb is thinking about going to mass at the cathedral tomorrow morning but I would hate to go and have lightning strike that beautiful building! Gustl is barking now since Stefan and Christine left for a wedding reception nearby. BTW we met Stephan's dad Herman today and he biked like a million miles to get here. Well maybe not that far but I am really tired and can't think of how far it is since we have to deal with that whole miles vs. kilometers thing and I am just not up to it right now. He is a stitch, however and reminds us of Grandpa Belshause. He hardly speaks any English but is so friendly and fun. Well this recap is backward and inside out but jet lag is making me feel that way so that is how it goes on my first day in Germany!
about over. I'm exhausted but when I look at the time on this computer it is only 2:40 PM! That's the time at home, however. Here it is 9:40 PM and we just got home from dinner with Christine Hieronymus and her husband Stefan. We ate at a beer garden and I had sauerbraten and spatzle. It was delicious! The house dark beer was very wheaty tasting and good. This afternoon we walked around Regensburg with Christine and Stefan and the dog Gustl. They can take those dogs almost anywhere. There were even dogs at the airport just walking around with their owners and picking people up etc. The flight from Chicago to Munich that was supposed to take off at 6:15 Friday evening actually left at 7:30 due to computer problems. They had to reboot and we were left in the dark and without air conditioning for a little while. If we had know this in advance we wouldn't have had to rush through O'Hare like madwomen and wolf down a Mickey D's snack wrap for dinner trying to get on the plane on time. It was a full flight - well it was full 15 minutes after we were supposed to depart and a few more people wandered aboard. We thought we were being lied to about the computer problems and they were really waiting for the late arrivals. But it seems there were really problems after all. Finally got going for the 8 hour and 12 minute flight. The pilot must have said that a dozen times. "The 8 hour and 12 minute flight..." Anyway, when we finally landed (and I'm sure it was 8 hours and 12 minutes to the second) we couldn't find Christine who was supposed to be meeting us. Finally after 2 phone calls Deb located her and we got on our way to Regensburg. Well after we located the lost keys we finally got underway! We drove on the Autobahn and once we got out of the traffic jam Christine got her Beamer up to 130 km per hour. How much is that in mph I wonder? When we got to Regensburg we put our things in Christine's guest house and went our to see the city. It is a very old Medievel city and has been declared a world heritage city for this reason. The buildings are very old and full of character. Christine is very proud of her city, and showed us many beer gardens and restaurants and shops. We took a bus tour of the city but somehow didn't realize we needed to ask for headphones s
o we could hear the tour in English so although we saw a lot of the city we couldn't understand a word and consequently had a difficult staying awake. Hey, we had been awake for a very long time at that point. And plane sleep isn't like real sleep! I had a really good hazelnut ice cream cone for a snack. (Plane food isn't like real food either!) Regensburg is along the Danube River; in fact Christine and Stefan's place is right on the Danube. They said there is a real problem with dampness in the house since the river is so close. I didn't ask about flooding at their house but I will try to remember tomorrow. She showed us the high water line on one of the beer garden kitchens so they do get major flooding. I found 2 Halloween books for only 1.5 Euros each so that was my first German purchase. I also saw one of those spinny candle things you usually find at Christmas but it was Halloween. If it was wooden I would have to have it but it was metal so I don't know if I need it that bad. St. Peter's Cathedral is magnificent.There are whirlpools behind the bridge that didn't look al
l that dangerous but we saw suck down a piece of trash like it was being pulled straight down to hell. Scary! Padlocks on the bridge with couples' names are so cute - they throw the key into the water after locking the lock onto the bridge. Deb just pointed out that we have not been gone from the US for a full 24 hours. Yesterday at this time we were sitting at the QC Airport waiting on our first flight. Dang it seems like forever ago! Not having any real sleep since I got up at 6 Friday morning is so exhausting. I have already tripped on a little step in the apartment and fell so I have an injury already. I am such a klutz! There is chocolate on the pillow so that makes it a little better. Deb is thinking about going to mass at the cathedral tomorrow morning but I would hate to go and have lightning strike that beautiful building! Gustl is barking now since Stefan and Christine left for a wedding reception nearby. BTW we met Stephan's dad Herman today and he biked like a million miles to get here. Well maybe not that far but I am really tired and can't think of how far it is since we have to deal with that whole miles vs. kilometers thing and I am just not up to it right now. He is a stitch, however and reminds us of Grandpa Belshause. He hardly speaks any English but is so friendly and fun. Well this recap is backward and inside out but jet lag is making me feel that way so that is how it goes on my first day in Germany! 