Sam Explores Germany & Switzerland Pt 1

Thurs. Aug 27/09 - Fri. Aug 28/09

-FLIGHT & PLAN-
I must confess that this has been my most disorganized trip to date. Due to a few semi freak-outs my family was a bit worried about me forgetting important things. Thanks to my last minute heroes who bought my lunch, helped with laundry, lent me a battery charger, reminded me of what I forgot, gave me an extra angel and came home to see me off.

I have only taken a small luggage with me. I tried to pack "light" but I'm not shopping for clothes, so I needed to bring enough thin clothes that can be layered.

Just to let you know where I'll be, here is the plan:
Fri Aug 28 - Buhren, Germany / Sat Aug 29 - Schloss Nordkirchen (Nordkirchen Castle), Sun Aug 30 - Coesfeld, Germany / Mon Aug 31 - Buhren, Germany / Tues Sept 1 - Buhren / Berlin / Wed Sept 2 - 4 Berlin / Fri Sept 4 - 7 Munich / Mon Sept 7 - 14 Zurich (doing some day trips)

I will be attending Dave & Nina's wedding on the 29th and staying with their family prior & after the wedding until the 1st when I go to meet Pat & Margaret in Berlin. Let's cross our fingers that I find those two in Berlin! I'm "trying" not to spend a lot haha. We'll be doing day trips & such so it's more of an experience trip than a shopping one.

Checking in was slow as Lufthansa only had one person doing it at first. Glad I came early! Did an ice wine martini taste test. It was really yummy. We were grounded for an hour in Toronto, as the winds were favourable and if we left on time, we'd get to Dusseldorf before 6am and they have a landing curfew - planes can't land before 6am. Boo to that...oh well...

After I collected my baggage, I exited and waited for the Daves. Then it dawned (sp?) on me that I didn’t know exactly where I was supposed to meet them. I didn’t have a phone and I didn’t have their cell phone numbers. I tried to use the payphone to call them, but I couldn’t understand what the operator was telling me. I ended up going to the Information desk. The lady there was Filipino and she requested that an announcement be made for Dave to meet me at the Information Desk. When they didn’t come, I decided to check upstairs. Without any luck, I came back down and looked back at the place where I first exited. I saw someone who looked like Dave the Canadian and he walked out the door. I yelled his name, but he didn’t hear me, so I rushed over. Luckily, it was them. Yay! They helped me with my luggage and we headed to the car. The soundtrack in the car was extremely random and entertaining and included the song, “The Good Ol’ Hockey Game.” (I think that’s the title…)

-DREAM COTTAGE-

-The Scenic Route: All the Pretty Horses-
Nina gave me a tour of the cottage and the surrounding property. We collected apples for her horse, Anna and carried the pail full to where the horses were. We called out to Anna, who used to be Nina’s jumping horse when she competed. Anna came over and so did the rest of the horses who happily emptied our pail. After that Nina and I walked to the town and then back to the cottage.

-The Sandman Calls and the Canadians Take Over-
I was supposed to go with Nina and Kris to Coesfield (sp?) to shop a bit, but while I was waiting to leave I sat at the dinner table and *blinked* I fell asleep for a moment. I knew right away that going with them would mean I might fall asleep while walking around or waiting. I bailed and Nina and Kris totally understood. So much for me not being affected by the time change… I went upstairs at 2pm and was gone as soon as my face hit the pillow. I didn’t even hear my alarm, but woke up on my own at around 3:45pm.

Dave the Canadian was here and we chatted for a bit while I continued to work with the wedding ribbons for the cars. I got to see the wedding msgs from the Canadians and soon the rest of the people arrived. Nina wasn’t able to get her nails done, Dave the German picked up Cynthia and Matt and Dave’s sisters, Miriam and Janina arrived with their boyfriends, Adam and Thomas. They are all very nice people.
We all sat down to eat the barbequed sausage, pork belly, salad and vegetables. We all talked about languages and traditions. Nina’s father came by and Sergei arrived with Dave the German’s parents. Then we sat in the living room and watched the video. Nina and Dave were laughing a lot. David Hasselhoff, Nina’s childhood crush made an appearance in it.

-The Quick & the Sports Mode-
We just checked out the amazing BMW that Dave has rented for his wedding. That is one sweet ride! Many great features like two split view maps, DVD player, awesome wind shield wipers, not to mention the sports mode and the cruise mode. We took it for a spin…so AWESOME! I am tempted to rent a convertible for a day and ask a friend to drive it around just for the heck of it hahaha. I took a bunch of photos and I really enjoyed it. We decided not to stay up too late as we had the wedding the next day and the dj was booked until 5AM!!!! Yes, you read it right guys! They really know how to PARTY here! I stayed awake for a bit writing some of the journal. There are probably things that I missed, but I don't have much time to write!