Germany: Part 1

My trip to Europe will be broken down into several posts since I was there for 2 weeks, I have a lot to share! I'm sure you all are wondering how I handled the plane ride there since I got sick on the hour and half to Boston previously. Well, I survived. I had taken Dramamine and wore my Sea Bands and was fine for the first 8 1/2 hours. The last half an hour (landing) was not great. I thought I was going to barf all over the place again...thankfully, I didn't. The flight was long, the food was decent, the flight buddy was super cute but lacked small talk skills (since he was from Germany), I slept a little bit and did not drink nearly enough water. Once we finally landed, I was hot and feeling nauseous...what a way to enter a new country. It took forget to get through border control and get my luggage. I saw Alex through the glass waiting for me and honestly the first thing I said after our little reunion was, I'm going to be sick...He proceeded to want to drive me around downtown Stuttgart to show me around but with the stick shift jerking in the car, I was going to puke. Germans are so anal about their cars so puking in a Mini Cooper would've been a great way to piss him off, so I told him to pull over and we walked around outside to get some fresh air. Finally we headed back to his hometown of Aalen, and a nap & shower made me feel 85% better. It honestly took me 3 days to adjust and not feel nauseous, I finally threw up after breakfast on my 3rd day and felt 100% myself after that!

Downtown Aalen

Ordered a Chai Tea Latte and it came in pieces, I had to make it myself...

let's just say I should've went with a beer to make it easy!

 Nursing home in Germany--yes, I was finally able to convince Alex to let me go in and see what it was like. The Administrator spoke no English so Alex was our translator. Touring their facility was one of the highlights of my trip. It was so interesting learning how they do things differently and how the overall appearance of their facilities are so different. I loved it!

Nice breakfast spread that Alex's mom would set out for us. It took me a while to get used to their food, especially dinner. They do not have a "meal" like what we would consider with a meat and sides; they have a variety of little things like thin sandwich meat, cheeses, sausage spread, olives, hummus, fruit and breads.

 Ulm, Germany--quint essential Germany. I loved it! 

Tallest church in the world-Ulm, Cathedral.

 Ulm Cathedral. The biggest church I have ever seen. 

The place where I had a crepe the size of a pizza 

& also the place where I couldn't figure out which one was the women's bathroom.

 Sneaking in another church & breaking the rules by taking pictures. 

My favorite church of the trip. The paintings were beautiful. 

 A stop along the Autobahn on our way to Heidelberg. I actually loved the Autobahn because the car did not have to shift gears as much so it didn't make me as sick. I still did wear my Sea Bands though. One of my favorite things to do while over there was just drive along the country and see the sights; much better than driving through Indiana or the midwest over here. We stopped at a gas station and got popsicles like we are 10yrs old and paid 50 cents to use the bathroom (such a rip off).

Thank God for my translator..without him I wouldn't have been able to understand any menu or been able to order my meals. Not many Germans really do speak English or "good" English. I also learned they are not very tolerant of people that do not speak German. I realized how helpless you feel when you cannot understand a language. It is a very humbling feeling and puts things into perspective. 

^^ Probably my look when they tried to speak to me in German

We ate lunch at an "All American Diner" where they advertised: WE SPEAK ENGLISH.

No they did not...I paid $3.50 for a barbie sized "flat" water and had a Caesar Salad that was swimming in dressing, it was gross!

Parking garages have specific spots just for women. At first I was offended and thought it was sexist because Alex told me it was because we cannot drive. However, I later found out from his friends that it is truly because it is more well lit and closer to the entrance, so it's for safety. 

 Heidelberg, Germany.

 I spy a huge castle.

 Neckar River.

 Alley that I felt completely safe in. One thing Alex always told me about Germany was how safe it was compared to the US. It is hard to explain but I felt it. There were several times I was wandering around streets at 2-3am, walking through a dark park at 4am, exploring by myself and every single time I did not feel scared, I felt safe--it is weird, but a good weird. 

Finally reached Aachen--first stop, WINE. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP WINE!!!

And of course some bread, cheese, crackers and deli meat.

Oh Hey Blog!

So I completely abandoned by blog for several months....but I have a few great excuses of why!

First, I was studying insane amounts for my boards! My life was seriously so boring for a good 3 months--every free second I had, I was studying. Thankfully, it all paid off! I passed both my state and federal exams on the first try! It is very rare for someone to pass both on the first try, usually one or the other. Ever since those stressful exams ended, my life has gotten 10x better. I was promoted to Associate Administrator at my facility and have been loving it!

After I passed my boards, the next week I was off to Europe! A trip of a lifetime that I seriously think about pretty much everyday since I've been back. If I had the opportunity to go back tomorrow, I would. If you hear of any European nursing homes looking for an administrator, let me know....This trip will have a few posts of its own once I get the motivation to write all about it.

Once I got back from Europe, I was in a bad car accident that totaled my car...no my car did not look like what you are probably imagining but enough damage for them not to repair it. I was fine, only have scars from the airbag burns. Being the creature of habit that I am, I ended up buying the same exact car, in the same exact color. But hey, I loved that car so I am happy to have it back. The week after my accident, I had a work conference to attend in Columbus all week so I looked hilarious with my hands all wrapped trying to network and shake people's hands (I looked like I took up boxing as a sport, not to mention I was in a ton of pain when someone would actually shake my hand). I got a few laughs when people believed my story that my accident actually occurred on the autobahn in Germany, not a residential street in Cincinnati...

Trying to recreate a "Hugo"--drink I fell in love with in Germany.

Summer has officially arrived in Cincinnati, all 97 degrees of it...

Schwaben joke from Germany.

My people.

Drunk Stephanie in action.

Since being back in the US, I was able to spend Memorial Day with my family back home which was so nice. The following weekend my two best friends from out of town were in Cincinnati!! Javier came in from Colombia and Kacie was in town from Boston! Our mini reunion made me so happy-that weekend did not last long enough.

Just a quick update on what has been going on. I am going to try and be better with writing on here. I have a ton to write about Europe, so be prepared!!!