Biking through Germany

We rode bikes around the countryside today, which was so much fun! The shop where we rented bikes was next to this huge cornfield, and I picked out a teal blue one that I instantly fell in love with. We hopped on our bikes and wove our way through the streets, following a red brick road. Even though it was slightly cloudy, it was absolutely beautiful! There were so many cornfields and little forests and meadows, horses and sheep. We rode to a little German town that borders the Netherlands, and stopped at a square with the most awkward fountain I've ever seen that bordered on tacky: a bull with a pipe you-know-what where the water came out, "peeing" into a bowl on top of two other bulls. Ya. it was odd. But the rest of the town was cool... there were so many little red brick stores and afes, laced with flower boxes and adorable little rounded doors. We met Rinatta and Eric at a little ice cream shop, where we sat outside and ate Spagetti ice, which is basically spagetti ice cream smothered in sauce and whipped cream- it's sooo good! The only downside was when the bees came out- it was war. They would not leave, and pretty soon there were a dozen bees trampling all over our dear spagetti ice, zipping past our faces, and scaring me back 3 whole chair scoots. I felt like such a baby, but hey, I guess the bees enjoyed the spagetti ice more than I did :)

We walked to a local market in the evening, and found some RitterSport hazelnut chocolate that was heavenly. We also had brie and bread- i felt so European :) I fell asleep at 9:30 and was knocked out cold until 10 AM...13 hours of uninterrupted sleep-i guess jet lag will do that to you! At 11 AM we walked with one of Eric and Rinatta's friends, Julia, to a nearby restaurant for lunch/breakfast. Julia is 24, and is from Northern Spain. She doesn't know much English, so I talked to her in Spanish which was a lot of fun. At the restaurant, it was hilarious to try and figure out the menu, all in German. I finally figured out that "orange" fish was salmon, and that "cow butt" (according to Tess's translation) was rumpsteak. hahah! Later, we biked through the city and took pictures in front of an old catherdral. Outside the huge red doors, Tess and I modeled forthe camera, while we loudly pranced around. About five minutes later, three older Germans walked out, and we head organ music. We assumed they had just been practicing, and continued to be loud and goofy. A couple mintues later we rode away, and saw that on the other side of the church, hundreds of people were flooding out the doors. In a country where manners take a front seat, we had just embarrassed ourselves- but it was also pretty funny! Needless to say, we biked our way out of there as fast as we could! We biked along a a river, through the country, and it was so fun feeling the wind whip past my face. Then nature called... as a rule, I don't like relieving myself in fields next to higways, but I had no idea where we were. So, I peed in a cornfield- a first for me :) That night, in the cozy dining room, we sat with Eric and shared some Spanish wine. Eric and Rinatta were the first importers of Spanish wine into their region of Germany. It was so peaceful sitting there with friends, as the smell of wine blended with the musty smell of the house- a place where history, art, and comfort collide.