Day Eight and Nine: Everything Has an Accent

When I say that everything has an accent, I mean ev-er-y-thing. Everything from the people, to the sirens on the polizei cars and ambulances, to the handies. Yes I said handies. That's what the people over here call cell phones, and of course me being a mimic that's what I've started calling it. And I can't say hello anymore, I say hallo. It's a small difference, but it is very much there.

Yesterday was a day that I think has been one of my favorite. I got to see my cousin Tatjana. A close friend of mine will tell you that I dropped everything when she got here. We went out to a store where my Oma could get a new coat. While we were there, we found gigantic liquor bottles too. It was quite interesting.

The bottles were huge as you can see (by the way that's my mom in the picture, isn't she pretty?!). I sent this picture to a little birdie and the little birdie told me and my mom to buy it and drink it. I told the little birdie ain't nobody got time for that. After that, we went to Tatjana's house for dinner. We got to meet her husband and her dog and have dinner there. It was a great time and my mom and I agree that my dad and he would get along really well. We talked and had a great time. Then it was time to go home and get some sleep finally.

Yesterday and today I have learned just what it means to live in Deutschland. The first thing is that you don't stockpile groceries except on Saturday and before the Christmas holidays. You go almost every day for breads and meats and cheeses and things of that nature.

The second is that if you're not walking, you're not traveling. It doesn't matter if you have a car or not because of the parking situation. If you don't want to pay 1.40€ for a liter of gas (that's about $5 for a gallon) then it's public transport for you. The thing with that though, is that then you walk to the station, you get on the bus/train/streetcar and you go to another station as close as possible to your destination, then you walk to your final location, then do the whole thing in reverse. If you want to take a cab, it's much more expensive and then you're going to be playing Russian roulette with the driver. You could either have a super nice guy like the driver of the cab we took to see my aunt today, or one who is not so nice like the one who drove us back home. Jerk. 

The third thing I've learned is that a certain blonde friend of mine has a dopple ganger. I saw him in a bakery in Heidelberg and I sat shell shocked for a moment while I waited on my mom and Oma.

Now, when I say that everything has an accent, I do not joke. The very way of life over here is different, as is the outlook on certain aspects of things. From what happens on a daily basis, to the fact that one works 40 hours a week and only 40 hours of week. Yes I said it. Anywho, today I went and got another leather notebook from Heidelberg. These things are handcrafted and absolutely cannot be found in the United States unless you 1) know a guy or 2) have one that someone saved from long ago. 

I apologize for the lack of pictures, but I haven't taken many yesterday and today except for of the bakery and around the city. I'll post them at a later date. 

Tomorrow, we are going to be running around getting provisions for when the entire country shuts down for three days. Come the 27th, part of the country will open back up but until then we have to live on what we buy tomorrow for three days. Such is life in Deutschland. Until tomorrow, 
Cheers!