Week 11

Thursday (10/23/14)
My mom emailed me tonight (well today for her) in response to an email I sent last week. Apparently my dad had knee surgery!? Hello! I leave and everyone deteriorates! haha. Any prayers on his behalf would be greatly appreciated. Recovery is a much slower process than they were expecting.

On a happier, although somewhat less exciting note, this is my awesome Deutsch instructor:

Only one more week! Then I get to start again in Tenerife.

Friday (10/24/14)
On a walk with Svenja.

Saturday (10/25/14)
Today I woke up and had no plans. But I quickly came up with an idea. I've been wanting to check out the Napoleonmuseum and castle out in Mannenbach-Salenstein: Schloss und Park Arenenberg. So I quickly got ready and headed out. It was a short train ride (I actually pass it every week on the way to church) and then a nice hike up to the park grounds. 

Arenenberg Castle // Napoleonmuseum

In the museum they make you put slippers on over your shoes but then you're free to roam and each room has an info card in German with French and English translations as well. Hurray! I spent a few hours going through all the rooms on the main floor and each of the three upstairs levels. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any pictures inside the actual museum. It wasn't allowed and to enforce it they make you put all your stuff in a little locker when you buy your ticket. But after I was done in the "castle" and got my stuff back, I went and looked in the church (which is separate) and took pictures in there haha. Hopefully I don't go to Hell for it :P

Church

I know I'm not Catholic (or whatever
religion this is) but I donated my franc
and lit a candle anyway.

Ok, so for this next set of pictures lemme explain. I see this castle-y looking building ALL the time on the train and I got a bit of a closer view on the walk to the Napoleonmuseum.

I was curious if it was another castle museum thing or a private residence. So after I was done at Napoleon's place, I decided to check it out. So I wandered through the neighborhood trying to find a path or road that looked like it went up to it, or at least went up haha. I figured if I just kept it in my sights and trekked in the general direction, I'd find it eventually. And find it, I did! :D 

Getting closer...

This is what greeted me at the top - and when I say "top" I mean up one of the steepest "hills" I've ever endeavored to climb:

I have no idea what this means...
kann nicht spreche Deutsch. 

Oh heck no! Totally not letting that stop me after climbing all the way up there! Are you kidding me!? So... 

First of all, there was NO gate. Second of all, what if someone there has visitors? Cause there were apartments or living quarters on both sides leading to the castle thing (at least I thought there was, but it seemed really quiet and abandoned). Third of all, I heard a water fountain and I was dying for some water (you can see on the right hand side in the above picture the stone fountain thing. Those here are like drinking fountains in the States.) I figured I could just tell anyone who came out to yell at me that I had been hiking and needed some water. Or there's always the "American-tourist-that-can't-speak-German" thing to fall back on; still ridiculously accurate. So I dared to enter. After drinking like five handfuls of water, I looked up and there was a sign "Nicht Trinktwasser" ...or in English "Not Drinking Water." BAHAHA! Oops. Mah bad. But it tasted clean so I'm not worried about it. BUT, if I die of Giardia, that's karma. haha. I snuck that one picture (above) as I was leaving. I'm so bad.  P.S. That shiny white sign under one of the lions... at the time, I didn't know what it said. I do now. "Access Prohibited, the town council" Ah! Well now that makes sense. That was NOT covered in class. Just saying. 
Ignorance is bliss, right? :P

Anyhow, then I hiked back down. I loved everything about today.

When I got back to my little village, instead of going straight home, I decided to explore a little more. I've lived here almost three months now and I've never just wandered down in the town I live in! Today's the day my friends!

Been dying to try this bakery.

Flower Shop

Kakadu. Sounds like a place I wanna be... :S 

Toy Store (I think...)

Really? ...how did it get HERE? haha

Wine. It's a serious business.

Sailing off into the sunset...

Windsurfing 

Sunday (10/26/14)
I was so late to church. I was already going to be late because I had to catch the 8:37 train instead of the 8:07, but the trains were ALLLL messed up today haha. I blame Daylight Savings. I finally made it though. Today we said "goodbye" to Elder Strauss. He's getting transferred. Sadness! He left with a bang though cause we had an awesome lunch after all the meetings, put on by the Young Women. Fajitas! YUM. Before we ate a lady was talking about the food, and she said the guacamole was VERY spicy (in German, and yes, I understood) ...I SLATHERED guacamole all over my tortilla and I go back to sit down and the guy across from me starts freaking out "Oh no! They didn't translate for you! It's REALLY spicy." And so I replied, "No, it's not." To which he said "No, really, it's really spicy." So I just said I liked spicy food. Guys. The Swiss are wusses. There was nothing at all about the guacamole that you could even remotely call it spicy. Haha I don't understand it! It's happened at home too with some medium salsa that Tamara bought. She thinks it's so hot and the boys won't even touch it. I could DRINK it, it's so mild. It is hilarious to me. Taste-buds are so strange.

He thinks he's all that haha

Clever. Totally got me. DANG IT!
(I won in the end, don't even worry about it).

Elder Strauss, and Elder Annen showing me how German guys flirt.
Now I know. 

Elder Sanft

weirdos

I also grabbed a Deutsch copy of the Book of Mormon from Elder Roberts and Elder Sanft later on. Elder Sanft requested this: 

"...Go ye into the world, and preach 

the gospel to every creature." 

Mark 16:15

He's SO clever. hahaha. 
I wasn't going to, but when I was about to walk past the cows, he yelled at me from across the field to do it. OK, OK! Dang! LOL.

xoxo,

     Rebecca