Piet's arm giraffe
Typical Piet, Nu Nu at his side.
And Catrin's adored poppies
But, the last days have been quite nice. The race in Oldenburg went really well, despite the fact that, of course, it was the one and only hot day we've had, actually in the 80s, so everyone was running a bit slower than they expected. Due to Piet's adorable cheering, I managed to run the 6.4 K in 44 minutes, and got a nice t-shirt for doing it. Also got to fill up on pizza at an Italian restaurant afterward, so it was a lovely day.
The week went smoothly then I made a trip to Hanover to see Julie one more time. On the train ride there, I met a really nice girl who happened to teach English so we had lovely conversation. Julie met me at the station then we rode our bikes to watch a bit of the world cup. Neither Germany nor America played so we just chatted the whole game. The next morning we joined some of her water polo teammates and checked out the Hanover Zoo. Now, I must interject a story that I forgot to post earlier. I've now seen three zoos in Germany, those in Berlin and Hanover, but neither compare to an amazing one in the middle of nowhere near Edewecht. Oh my gosh is it cool. Or maybe it was just cool based on the circumstances. The place was small and appeared a little "used" but Piet, Catrin, and I went on a chilly Monday when all of four other families were there and it was awesome. It was more of an animal park because there were really great rides as well, small roller coasters, blanket slides, tilt-a-whirls, flower cars on high rails that you have to pedal to make move. The cool thing was that no one operated most the rides, you just jump in and do it yourself. This totally shocked me when I had a go on the "Bob Karts." If you're ever in a German Tierpark, ride this ride! OMG! You sit down, don't even bother to buckle up, and push down on two handles on the side. The cart starts quickly and you zoom in a chute like speed racer. And really, you go fast. Piet was even allowed to sit in my lap and wanted to go really fast. I couldn't believe that Germans allowed a ride that fun; in America it would be a law suit waiting to happen. Because the park was basically empty we rode it about a dozen times. Probably one of the more fun things I've done with Piet. When my stomach needed a break from the carts and Piet wanted to drive tractors with his mom, I took the opportunity to see the animals. I discovered that nothing in the world is weirder than walking around a zoo on a cloudy day alone. The animals don't look at you, they glare. I swear a puma wanted to have my head. The animal exhibits are likewise risky. There was a lemur area that you could walk in and stand just inches from the little guys. They were hilarious; they found sunny spots and would sit upright, nodding off and then shaking their heads to wake up enough to check you out, only to nod off again. After the animals had sufficiently creeped me out, I asked a guy to start a roller coaster for me and got to do it twice, alone. So yeah, amazing experience that I really wish I could share with my family and friends.
Alright, back to Hanover. That evening Julie and I went out and found an Irish pub where we knew we could watch the U.S. and England play in the world cup. We managed to encourage a particularly handsome group of German boys to sit with us and had a dandy of a time. The game tied, which was annoying, but a fun experience none the less. Our evening ended early because we had to get back to the house to put the kids in bed, but we got a good night's rest and the next morning took a long bike ride to some castle gardens. It was pretty and we spent the better part of the afternoon beside a giant fountain, just chatting away. I'm so happy I've met Julie on this trip. She's the only American I've clicked with, and it's been nice to just get each others inside jokes and understand stories from home. Hopefully I can make a trip to California for a rendezvous soon.
So, came back to Edewecht by train and shared a ticket with some folks I connected with on the internet. It was fine, but the guy who organized everyone was a wackadoodle. Harmless, but strange. He made me speak in German "for practice" and then pulled out his travel size chess board and requested I play. Needless to say, he was victorious. He gave me his business card regardless. Oh man, I am a nerd magnet.
The last full week here has been pretty typical. Piet has been a little clingy, but super fun lately. I'm glad he's reacting like that instead of pushing me away here at the end. I think he's going to handle me leaving better than I will, he'll have vacation soon after and then his birthday and then the new au pair, Maggie, will come at the end of July. So, he'll probably be too busy to be sad, which makes me feel much better about going. I do hope that he's had a good year and remembers at least some of it later. We've made ten million videos, so at least he'll have those. It's been a crazy up and down experience, but I've learned so much from him....mostly patience : ) Oye, Tuesday at the train station is going to be hard.
But like I said, busy busy until my plane takes off Wednesday morning from Berlin. We're going to the train restaurant again tomorrow (Piet is pumped) then I'm going to make one more trip to Bremen to say goodbye to my buddies there. I'll go to a party with the vegetable place people on Sunday afternoon and then I'll say bye to a couple more people in Oldenburg Monday evening. Tuesday I'll ride with my friend Arne to Berlin where we may meet Elisa and then off I go. Wow. It's a little daunting, but it's going to be a great few days. And then home home home Wednesday night at 11:30. Get ready Georgia, I'm coming back in full force and I'm going to need a hug from everybody I meet. Pray that the dumb plane journey from Berlin to London to Chicago to Atlanta goes well and my poor mother can calm her nerves as she waits for me to get home. See you next week!!!
YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!
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