The Natural Order

Last night Camille and I watched a movie in my room. When the movie was over and we were talking about all the spiders in our house and how we don't like them, she saw a small but thick black spider running across the board along the bottom of my bed. I don't mind thin-legged spiders very much, but thick bodied spiders must die. I grabbed a book and tried to wack the spider, but it ran under my bed too quickly for me. After Camille had gone up to her room, I got out a flashlight and peered under my bed to see if I could see the little scoundrel. To my surprise, I saw a thin-legged spider dangling down there with the thick spider caught in her string and getting rolled up. Apparently this little devil's fate was sealed for death last night. If I couldn't kill her, then someone else was going to.

Nemestothy's Animals

This is a photo of the Nemestothy petting zoo. The chickens are the only "productive" animal in this residence. The goat (Gina), rabbit, and guinea pig are all just for fun, at Juli's request.

Werfen Ice Cave

These are some photos from the Werfen Ice Cave in Werfen, Austria. I didn't take these photos myself as we were not allowed to take photos during the tour. I have taken these photos from the tour's website.

This place really put me in awe. The rock is limestone and water seeps in through the cracks in the ceiling and walls. During the winter wind blows into the cave and causes these massive ice slopes and structures to form.

Austria

I visited my old host family in Austria this weekend. On Friday I went on a tour of an old salt mine in the famous Hallein, Austria. Hallein is located very near to Salzburg. Salzburg means "salt castle".

On Saturday it was rainy all day, but the Nemestothy's live on the edge of the Alps, so I was determined to go play outside. I hiked up the woodsy and limestone hill behind the house and enjoyed the rain very much.

Sunday was a beautifully sunny day. Hanna, Niki, (host parents) and I went hiking on the rocky limestone mountain across the lake from their house. The grayness of limestone can appear very cold and boring in photos, but in real life, the starkness of the gray is very beautiful when scattered with green woods and set against a clear blue sky. We brought out bathing suites along and went swimming in the lake as a mid-hike refresher. The water was cold but felt really, really refreshing.

I had a good time hanging out with my old host sisters, Lena and Juli (Kathe lives in Vienna). It was fun to see them older and yet still the same old selves.

Monday I toured a cave which has huge amounts of ice collected in it. I was really put in a state of awe, fascination and a bit of fear during that tour.

Me and Pimisz

This is me cuddling with Pimisz. Pimisz is 14 years old and had kittens about 10 times before she got spayed. She is such a cuddly little kitty cat!

Nemestothy's all Grown Up

Here's some photos of my old host family (excluding photos of a third daughter and the father). The girl in the turquiose sweater is Lena at 21 years old. Hanna, my old host mom, is in the brown sweater next to Lena. Juli, now 17, is in the black and white polka dots. I found it fascinating how Lena and Juli have grown up physically and mentally, but their personalities and mannerisms have remained the same.

Baalstein Lookout and Geisswand

Saturday was very rainy all day, but I was determined to go outside and enjoy the beautiful alpine country of Traunkirchen Ort, Austria. So, at a lull in the rains I headed up the steep hill behind the Nemestothy's house. The woods were full of spooky fog which made the hike quite an adventure. The heavens decided to pour down on me when I got to the first lookout, so I hid under a tree for a while. At the second lookout, up at the tip top of the limestone rock hill, I got absolutely pouned on by buckets of summer rain. It was beautiful! It was like standing in a shower for as long as I wanted without fear that I was wasting water. I finally decided to head back down the mountain when my pants were soaked through. I had on my raincoat, so my body's core stayed dry and warm (enough).

Nemestothy's Kittens

The Nemestothy's have 6 kittens at 4 weeks old right now. They are so adorable and fuzzy!

Bella's Growing Up

I loooove doggies, as you all know. So, here's some more photos of the absolutely adorable Bella, my brother Chris' puppy.

Melinda's in Germany

Melinda, my good friend and one of my important role models in life, is visiting Germany! We met up yesterday to do some hiking in the Fränkische Alb (with her Mom, sister, and boyfriend too). I had such a wonderful time hanging out with Melinda!

A Complaint on Humanity

I want to file a complaint on humanity. Well, actually I want to file a lot of complaints, but today we'll stick to one.

I decided in June that August would be my travel month. So, I emailed some people to ask if I could visit anytime in August. They each responded with "sure, when?". Okay, so I chose some random dates assuming their schedules must be absolutely free and clear for the month of August and they would be there if I popped in at any time. They each were satisfied with my chosen dates, but one of them had a discrepancy in my visit time that made me think I should choose a time that was even better for them in the month. I proposed the new date and found out that they actually had something major going on at that time which makes it a really bad time to come. And then as to the other visit, I also find out that if I had chosen a different date, that things also wouldn't have worked out.

Now, when I initially emailed these people saying I wanted to visit anytime in August, I assumed the replies would say, "sure, we are busy on such and such dates so it would be best for you to come at such and such time". They didn't have to tell me what they were busy doing, just let me know that I can't choose those dates. As hosts, they are in control of when I can intrude upon their lives. But no, I had to sit there staring at my calendar playing iny-miny-miny-mo with dates.

A model of excellence in contrast to my complaint: Ute, the lab manager. We had been saying for months that I should visit her at home sometime this summer. So, she told me when she would be on vacation and I was able to suggest a date for a visit which didn't come into any conflict with her life. A golden star sticker for Ute, please.

Steve's Harley Davidson

This is Steve on his Harley Davidson. It's a very nice bike with a low seat and soothing shake.

Toads in the Botanical Garden

Fabian thought that the chirping sound was being played by a stereo in the botanical garden. I didn't think so and I was determined to prove him wrong. When I found these toads, and many many more, in one of the rooms, I was delighted. I love watching them fill their bellies with air and then their mouths. Back and forth, back and forth.

Strange Plant

I forget the name of this plant, but it's a lot of fun to play with. When you touch the leafy stems, then the leaves close up. It's weird. When you poke it right where all the leafy stems come together, then every stem closes up at the same time. Lab Manager Ute had one of these plants in her kitchen and I became acquainted with them originally somewhere some time ago, but I can't recall where...

Die Toten Hosen

This is a short little video clip of Die Toten Hosen in concert at Übersee/Chimsee.

Also at the concert were CJ Ramone, The Subways, and Deichkind. Deichkind put on a strange and amusing show. The music itself wasn't so good, but the visual entertainment value was great.

Munich

There's a lion on the flag of Bavaria and I never understood why. Traveling around Munich I saw lions everywhere. They probably stand for courage, blah, blah, blah.

I've included here a photo of the beautiful English Garden.

I attended a concert festival one evening with Fabian and his friend on the edge of the Alps. It was a nice setting.

I saw these fun toads at a botanical garden.

The Nymphenburg castle is quite elegant with a huge garden. Fabian said that it has been used in films, including Sisi. To this I commented, shouldn't they have used only Sisi's own castles in a movie about her? But, he replied that this one is better looking than hers. Ah, the movies. (Maybe she visited this castle from time to time...)

Jordan Photos taken by a Friend

I was looking through a friend's set of Flickr photos from Jordan and I decided to show you a few. I think the one with the cat looking out over Petra is really cool. I am the girl in the bright green shirt and sunglasses in the group photo at Jerash (possibly incorrect city name), and I am the person in the red coat with the purple backpack in the photo of the people walking down the hill at Pella.

Geomorphology Lab Party Part 2

I would like to introduce you all to the people I have had the pleasure to be acquainted with in the Erlangen Geomorphology laboratory.
Dede is in black. Caro is in red. Chris is in blue. Jan is next to Chris in brown. Stefan is in green. Kim (male) is in grayish white. Professor Bäumler, lab director, is sitting next to his wife. I don't know the names of the girls in gray, yellow, or white. Wonderful, dear lab manager Ute is the fine lady in green next to me!

Geomorphology Lab Party Part 1

I would like to introduce you all to the people I have had the pleasure to be acquainted with in the Erlangen Geomorphology laboratory.
Dede is in black. Caro is in red. Chris is in blue. Jan is next to Chris in brown. Stefan is in green. Kim (male) is in grayish white. Professor Bäumler, lab director, is sitting next to his wife. I don't know the names of the girls in gray, yellow, or white. Wonderful, dear lab manager Ute is the fine lady in green next to me!

Chris and Julie's Puppy Bella

My brother Chris and his new wife Julie have a puppy named Bella!!!! She is incredibly adorable and I want to give her lots of hugs and kisses.

A Good Day

Saturday was a good day. Steve came over and we spent the rest of the day together.

We went to the bowling alley and played a few games. It took me a couple of games to warm up, but I finally hit my forte at 151. We had a good time and were nearly alone in the alley because of it being a beautiful Saturday afternoon.

After bowling we walked over to a used book-cd-record-movie store and perused for a while. I am planning on selling or trading a few books with them so that I am not carrying completed books around the country. My landlord has a few books he is also looking to be rid of, so I plan on bringing those books along too.

Being the beautiful summer day it was, our next stop was ice cream! Yummm.

The only definite thing on the day's schedule was attending a production of "Much Ado About Nothing" by the English Drama Society at the university in the evening, before which we would need to eat dinner. So, with a few hours free, we decided to head back to my house and just relax for a while. We asked my landlord for suggestions as to nice Italian or German restaurants for dinner, and he gave us a few suggestions. Incidentally, we found out that he understood the word "nice" to mean, "fancy", so we turned around and found a delicious Chinese restaurant with a fantastic buffet.

The performance of "Much Ado About Nothing" was a little odd, but still enjoyable. For those who aren't acquainted with the play, let it be known that it is a comedy full of spite and whit. The particular rendition we were shown had lots of modern additions which were at times complimentary, and at other times unnecessary distractions from Shakespeare's genius.

Simply said, with fluffy happiness behind every word, "Saturday was a good day".