Hodge Podge

So I mentioned previously that last week consisted of a couple of downer days...but really, compared to this week, last week was a piece of cake. Or a cup of tea. Or just downright einfach. This week is crazyness - working 12 hour days, getting locked out of the building, forgetting to bring lunch, missing the train AND the next train, weekend trips falling apart, making critical mistakes that mean I need to restart part of my experiment, my pocket using my cell phone to call the United States, broken internet, rain, rain, rain...and it goes on. I am completely and utterly exhausted, and yet absolutely thrilled about everything. I was wondering where that eternal optimism went, but it appears to be back. Maybe it's because I'm spending this weekend in Amsterdam with Kathryn. Or maybe it's because I just found out that I get to see Tamara in August when she comes to Frankfurt and Vienna with me. Or maybe it's because I get next Friday off in order to spend the weekend with Caitlin on Rügen, Germany's largest island which is in the Baltic Sea. Or maybe it's because today my colleagues introduced me to Spaghettieis. Or maybe...well, I think you get the picture. Regardless of how many things can possibly go wrong in a span of 5 days, there is one thing that won't change: I'm in frickin' DEUTSCHLAND!! Good stuff, bad stuff...it's all total wunderbar.

Note: there is absolutely no segue here!

Anyone who studies French probably has the opportunity to read or watch Les Aventures de Tintin at some point. Tintin is a loveable Belgian dude who has an adorable dog named Milou, and they go on adventures together since Tintin is a reporter. They also sometimes run into Dupont and Dupond, two clumsy and incompetent detectives.

Anyway, I bring this up because I recently discovered Tintin's adventures auf Deutsch! There are of course significant differences -- Tintin is called Tim, Milou is called Struppi, and those goofy detectives are Schulze and Schultze -- but it's still the same gang! So between Tim and Struppi, Asterix and Obelix, and germanized Roald Dahl, I've certainly got a lot to read!

However, I recently had the time to crack into a book that I've been dying to read for ages now, and that book is Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert. Yes, it's in English, so yes that is sort of cheating, but I'm barely a third of the way in, and already I can tell that it will be one of my favourites - I can barely put it down! It certainly brings me back to those days of reading Harry Potter under the covers all night with a flashlight...

PS: Please note that my slideshow is now working on the right side of my blog! Currently it includes pictures from Saarbrücken, Sarreguemines, Trier and Karlsruhe - I will add more when I can!

PPS: Expect stories soon from Amsterdam! And cross your fingers for sun!