Have been soooo jet-lagged its not even funny! The first day wasn't so bad at all, but the second day we made the mistake of taking a midday nap, and that night I couldn't sleep at all!! In fact, not only could I not sleep, but the sleep I did manage to get was fitful and uncomfortable because of the heat. I forgot that this is the price one pays to travel (other than the actual $), having to adjust to a new time. Its torture! We are 8 hours ahead here in Germany.
Anywho. Germany. Crazy, I know. After my last post Dani and I explored the street we were on. Its like their old downtown area, all the building are soo old, many done in that German style where the wood criss-crosses in the front, and others with amazing releifs carved into the facades, and the streets are cobblestone!! There are stores all along the street- cafes and ice cream parlours, supermarkets, fruit stands, barbers, etc. Its all on a hill, so standing at the bottom of the street you can look up and at the top is the bell tower of their old church. I made Dani come with me all the way to the top so we could explore. The closer we got to the church, the more residential the area became, the street changed from allowing cars to only permitting pedestrians and bicyclers. The church ended up being deserted- I don't think they really use it anymore, at least not regularly. The church yard was shady, the grass slightly overgrown and peeking up between the stones. The foyer to the church was open, but the rest were all blocked off. Walking into the foyer you could peek inside the chapel- at the old, worn, pews and the simple stained-glass windows, the paintings steeped in Christian symbolism, and the ornate cross on the wall at the far end. It smelled of dust and age, and there was an air of serenity about it all. As if the church were saying, "Come, bask in my antiquated peace, and I will show you a Germany of yesteryear." It made me think of barefooted children chasing each other around the church yard while their mothers watched on and chatted about the latest bit of gossip, and their fathers discussed business matters, some 200 years ago. It was a beautiful feeling.
Yesterday the temperature rose to 31 C, which we figured was pretty unbearable. We spent the day inside, or under the shady umbrellas drinking orange Coke. We went for a short walk once, but but by the time we got back to the house we thought we might get heat stroke!! We are kinda wimps when it comes to the heat! Today the temperature is supposed to reach 34 C (aagghhh!!), and we couldn't justify staying in all day again. And so we made the 15 min trek down to the internet cafe. Sigh. We are doing something else later this afternoon when her cousins get back from school. I just hope they don't plop an entire half a chicken on my plate for lunch again!
Last night we went on a walk in a park in Fürth. Along the way we came across a playground that had statues of fairytale characters along its edges. My favorite was the Princess and the Frog. Dani and I couldn't resist- we eached kissed the frog (and got pics too, hehehe) with the hopes that he might turn into a prince and whisk us away, paying for the rest of out trip. It hasn't happened yet, but we aren't giving up hope so easily.