home is wherever I'm with you...

I wish I could keep everyone in my life updated more easily. there are so many people i want to talk to and definitely not enough time on other people's computers to tell everyone whats up lately. also, the "z" is in the place of the "y" on german keyboards, so tzping is slightlz annozing.
My money slowly...well, not slowly...fastly...dwindling and that is kind of scary and makes me have a knot in my stomach. I am spending veeeery little money except for really expensive train and bus tickets and flight changes. thankfully, a bit of very unexpected money fell from the sky the other day, and the burden on my back felt much lighter. thank you, You Know Who You Are. I cant tell you how much of a blessing that was. Then the girls and I journeyed to Esslingen, Germany where my bro-in-law's old high school friend is from, and he insisted on paying for and providing for us for everything. I had the best time. We all did. More on that in a moment.
The 25th, we caught an early train to Salzburg. I actually had 3 tickets to salzburg, which you learned about in my last message. i'm trying to let that wasted $80 go. it's not easy. Before hopping on the train, i bought another strawberry and cream cheese pastry, and it was phenomenal. My poor little body is just not taking this new diet well. my fingernails are peeling for lack of protein, my hair is dry, and my tummy is...very there. ha, i sound like i'm complaining, but i'm really not. I am loving this. I'm also really excited to come home. I'm excited to not be obsessed with every penny i spend, and not always have a nostalgic need to talk about what I'm going to do as soon as I get home with melanie and lindsey. melanie can relate. my sweet memphis friend. She's a great addition to my life.
We fell in love with Salzburg the moment we arrived. The small city is framed by snow-capped Alps and a general attitude of generosity. We activated our eurail pass at the train station and then got on a smaller train to our couch-surfer's home. Her house was not hard to find, and a field of cows greeted us as we turned onto her street. She lives in the tiny village of Anthering and gets her milk fresh from those welcoming cows. She would. Her name is Andrea, she's about 55 or so, married to sweet Frederick, who doesn't speak much English, and all her children are spread out around the world. She was our mom for the night and provided comfy beds, breakfast, and a guided tour the next day through the city for the entire day. Unbelievable graciousness. During our drive to start our little 4 person tour, mel and I fell asleep in the back seat of her car. I can't lie--this constant travel is wearing us out. We woke up as soon as we arrived to the Von Trapp house (from the movie...not the real von trapp estate) and exclaimed with glee. For those of you who dont know, I spent the majority of my childhood in front of my grandmother's (Mama Lou) tv, watching the Sound of Music, memorizing every precious Do-Rei-Mi of the songs, and eating Swansen chicken pot pies. Anyway, we got our fair share of pictures of the Von Trapp's estate, as well as the gazebo where they sang "16 going on 17", the Abbey, the fountain the children danced around, and Mozart's birthplace. It was a wonderful day, and we sadly had to leave quickly to catch our train to Stuttgart, Germany at 4 on the afternoon of the 26th. Upon arriving in Stuttgart, Scott's high school friend, Arndt, was waiting for us with a red sign, saying "welcome to germany, lindsey, stephanie, and melanie!". Also there was a picture his 3 year old son had drawn of Stuttgart's telephone tower. Arndt greeted us with a huge hug and we drove in his van/car the 20 minutes to his family's home in Esslingen. We listened to AC/DC's "shook me all night long" in the car, which was awesome, because Arndt cranked it up, and Melanie sang at the top of her lungs. That night we had german bread and swiss cheese, brie, and some other cheese that was german and too hard to remember the name of. it was a great meal, and little did we know, every meal for dinner the next 3 nights. cheese and bread is the thing here, i think. Both a major part of my diet, but also maybe overdone at the moment for me.
Side note that i just remembered: i met two deaf people in Prague and then saw two more in germany. Both parties seemed to be doing American Sign Language. Kind of crazy, since every country has their own sign language. The Czech people understood my signing...Mel and Lindsey were charmed. ha. i never get tired of sign language and other people's reactions.
Ok, back to Esslingen. One of my favorite parts of the trip was meeting Jonas (Yone-us), Arndt and his wife Mirjam's son. He's almost 4, loves rabbits (his parents are getting him one for his birthday), chocolate, me, melanie, and lindsey very much. I very much loved how much Jonas made me laugh and how much we made him laugh. This family was inspiring to me. They make me want to have a family. To be hospitable and host people in my home. To stuff sweet foods and yummy delicacies down their throats. As we walked around little town Esslingen, Jonas would come up, scoop up my hand in his, and we would meander together down the road. I love how he would talk to me in his German kid voice, and although I had no idea what he was saying, we bonded. I wrote him a note before we left for Switzerland, and when Arndt translated it for him, he apparently said "I don't want a note, i want my girls to stay here!" Sweet boy. When he found out we were actually leaving, he said "my girls are LEAVING?"
Our last day in the city, we walked around Stuttgart (i definitely just made that "g" and "f" at first..ha) with Arndt's dad. He knows some English, but not a ton. We had so much fun with him, going to a monument built for a former king's wife, as well as to the Mercedes museum (Stuttgart is the home of Mercedes, btw). For some reason, I loved the Mercedes museum. I don't know what it was about the cars. They're CARS. I wistfully roamed from car to car, running my hand over the hoods, checking the doors to see if they were unlocked. I never thought I wanted a Mercedes. Today I do. I probably will tomorrow too. As we drove with Arndt's dad to our next stop, we discovered how much of a speed demon he is for a 65 year old. He got mad at a driver and yelled "go home, sleepy tot!" We laughed so hard. Random German fact: they wear their wedding rings on their right hand. Engagement rings are worn on the left hand as a promise, and then on the wedding day, the ring is put on the right hand. crazy.
TUCS brand crackers are the best, by the way. theyre like Ritz, but better texture. Also, I eat more granola and cereal when I travel than I ever have before. My other favorite travel food is banana chips.
On Sunday, we went to church with Mirjam, while Arndt's parents cooked a big lunch for us at home (they all live in the same big house...its so cool...his parents have their own little apartment below Mirjam and Arndt). The only two parts of the sermon I caught were the Lord's Prayer and the "The Lord Bless you and Keep you" for the benediction. It was a Lutheran church, we found out later when the pastor spoke to us in English. I loved the church. It made me miss traditional services. It also made me miss going to church with my Methodist grandparents and hearing my grandfather preach from the pulpit on Sunday mornings occasionally.
We left this morning from Germany, and it honestly felt like leaving family. I had so much fun with the Rosenbaurs (Arndt and his family), and I dont know when I'll see them again...When we left, Arndt bought us coffees and sweet breakfast breads for our train ride. We tried to say no, but alas, he wouldnt take no for an answer.
We arrived in Switzerland at 2 pm today. We arrived in sort of grumpy moods, knowing that as beautiful as this country is, it's also so so so expensive. And I think we were just so tired from 11 days of travel thus far. however, after catching an expensive train from Geneva, Switz to the little town of Allaman, our spirits perked. we met the girl we're couch surfing with. Her name is Hannah. She's from West Africa, but her dad is American, and her mom is irish. She's about 5 foot tall, cute as can be, and drives a little stick shift, beat-up SUV. She is married to a guy she met on a ship, and they live in this little village where they can afford the rent. Best part: they're Christians. It is so refreshing to be in this welcome home of Believers who love hiking and opening their home to people. We are all sitting around her house at the moment, listening to music and smelling cinnamon candles. Tomorrow, Hannah got off of work at her job at Starbucks so that she can show us around the area with her car. That way we won't have to spend so much money on public transport. We will have to help her with gas...
I'm a bit astounded at how much God is providing for me during this trip...I went on a run through the village today, and listened to Rock of Ages by Sandra McCracken. "The skys will wear out, but You remain the same...Rock of Ages, we praise Your Name". Its hard to imagine the skies or the mountains wearing out in Switzerland. It's also hard to imagine Someone more majestic than the Alps. How beautiful that is! It's going to be really cool to meet Him...