A trip to the Glauberg Keltenmuseum. Now, since we were originally just taking a trip to the grocery store, I didn't have my camera with me, because I normally don't bring a camera with me to buy groceries. It's just something I don't do. Anyway, we have a super adorable retired old man for a Vermieter (German equivalent of landlord), and he's the one that takes us with him grocery shopping each week. He knows that Mike served his mission for two years in Scotland, so he thought we might be interested in the Celtic Museum in a nearby town. He asked us if we had any plans for the day (we didn't), and then took us to check it out.
I thought it was pretty interesting. Hubby thinks museums are boring, but I think he secretly enjoyed it (as much as someone who hates museums can enjoy them). Since I didn't have my camera on hand, I've had to steal some pictures from the internet (don't worry, I gave credit to the original photo-takers).
A statue that was found in a prince's grave (photo credit)
It was an adventure that we weren't exactly expecting, but it was something to do and it gave us an insight into this area's history. I thought it was a good way to spend a couple of hours, especially when the alternative was sitting around the apartment talking about how bored we are.
In other news, we actually did buy something picture-worthy at the grocery store.
They actually tasted better than the Cool Ranch Doritos, and they weren't all that expensive - 99 cents. Sweet, huh? A little taste of America!
See? He's being a "cool American!"
I even splurged and bought Peanut Butter. Uh oh. Watch out, world. We're being re-Americanized.
Ermm... I mean, "operation fix awful sleeping patterns by means of sleep deprivation."
Wondering what the heck I'm talking about? Read on. (Side note: I'm laying on our bed next to Hubby, and his headphones are next to his leg, and when I looked over, it looked like he had a wild snake tattoo. Am I rambling because I'm tired? Probably.)
Anyway, since I haven't had to teach in what feels like forever, my sleeping patterns have been less than stellar. In fact, they're awful. It has gotten to the point now where we stay up until 4 a.m. and then sleep until 1:30 or 2:00. Gross, right? Yeah, I know. Then, when I wake up, I beat myself up for being a lazy bum.
Today, I we decided that it had to end. We thought about trying to force ourselves to sleep at 10:00 or so, but decided that that wouldn't work. Our genius alternative - staying up all night long, then falling down dead because we are so tired going about our normal daily routine, and finally going to sleep at a normal hour.
So. Because I'm trying to keep myself awake while Hubby does homework, I'm writing this blog post.
This is what we look like at 6:00 a.m. Just see if you can look at my picture without yawning. Go on, I dare you.
Hmmm. Hubby needs a hoodie. We'll get right on that.
PS - I don't know if any of you watch Julian Smith on YouTube, but if you don't, you should. This is one of my favorite videos. Maybe it's only funny because it's 6 a.m.? Who knows.
Yesterday while we were in Büdingen, we came across a thrift store, and I just HAD to go in. I mean, thrift stores are super (read: ridiculously freaking crazy) hard to find here. There wasn't really too much there, but I hit the jackpot with belts. Three awesome belts for the low, low price of 3,50 EUR.
I was pretty excited about this monumental discovery, and googled the German Red Cross to see if they had any stores a little bit closer to home, and... THEY DO! Oh, happy day! There is one about a 5 minute train ride from here in the tiny town of Reichelsheim. Needless to say, I think we shall be going to Reichelsheim sometime soon.
Here's a long lost picture of Hubby and I from yesterday.
In other news, I've finally reached the point where I'm a little homesick. I miss my family and my best friends. I miss having girlfriends to chat with and just sit around and do nothing with. I mean, Hubby is great, but he doesn't have the amount of estrogen needed to qualify for this position. I've especially felt kind of useless for the past couple of weeks since I'm not in school. All I am right now is a big ball of lonely. :( Hopefully once school starts up again it will give me the distraction I need to get back to normal.
Yeah, yeah. I know this is my second blog post of the day, but who cares? Not me. Anyway, today we went on our second day trip. This one was another cheap-o one! The ticket to Büdingen was only 14,80 EUR round trip, so it was a winner! We did some shopping for stuff that we needed while here, so I'm not counting that in the total trip cost. With the lunch that we bought (note to readers: Chinese buffets are not as good in Germany as they are in the US), the total came out to about 32 EUR. Not bad, not bad at all!
Anyway, about the city. Büdingen is about a 45 minute train ride from Echzell, and is one of the oldest cities in Europe. According to Wikipedia (great source, right?), the town's first church was built around 700 AD. We could not find that church (which has obviously been remodeled since then), but we did find one built in the 15th century. What's so great about this little town is that it has remained almost perfectly intact for hundreds and hundreds of years! That's a pretty great feat, especially in the middle of a country that was virtually demolished by two world wars. It is such a cool town, filled with so much awesome history. I love going to these towns, knowing that they were here long before our country was even discovered by the Europeans. I love seeing the old architecture and the town squares - it's like nothing I have ever seen in the United States, and I just can't get enough!
On to some pictures from our day...
This is an awesome old car.
Part of the "moat" surrounding this old town
Hubby, looking extra smexy for the camera.
Me, looking like a five-year-old.
Hubby again, with those smoldering eyes.
The wall surrounding the Altstadt.
Yours truly.
I think this gate is called the Jerusalem Gate.
This is the church that Hubby and I later took over, and this is one of the songs he sang:
This is a creepy wax knight outside the castle. Those eyes give me the heebie jeebies.
This was the best shot of the castle we could get. Unfortunately, it was closed so we couldn't go inside.
My wonderfully warm and efficient outfit. Good for jumping over walls and fighting the cold rain that presented itself later in the day. (Note: I totally got that down vest that was originally $90 for like, $19. Score!)
We hopped a wall to get here...
Hubby next to a hobbit door.
See how totally useful this vest is?! I love the darn thing.
So, yes. That was our latest little adventure. Yay for adventures together!!
In other news, it's definitely fall here in Germany. It's getting down to freezing (a lot of times even colder) at night, and most days are in the low 50's. Perfect weather for all the best clothes, and even better weather for curling up with Hubby and a cup (or 5) of tea.
So after much deliberation, Hubby has finally given me permission to share our [read: his] delicious crepe recipe. That's good news for you, folks! Let me let you all in on a little something - since having to start living on a budget, crepes have become a staple of our diet. We eat those puppies at least 5 times a week, sometimes as many as 7 or 8. Example: the past couple of days we have not only had crepes for breakfast, but also as a little midnight snacky snack. Yum.
Suffice it to say, we eat these babies (eww... not real babies. Crepe babies.) A LOT. Because they're cheap. And delicious. And easy to make. I shall tell you how!
Ingredients (yields 7-8 medium sized crepes)
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 3/4 cups milk*
2 Tbsp oil
* approximate amount. Really, you just add milk until the batter is the right consistency. So helpful, right? I know, you're welcome. :)
Recipe
1. Put a frying pan (round, obviously) on your stove and grease it. Turn the heat up to medium high.
2. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl, and mix them together until the mixture looks like this:
3. Add your egg and milk to the mixture, and beat the heck out of it for a minute or so. This is where gauging the right consistency comes in... Your batter should be about as thick as heavy whipping cream or buttermilk. It should look like this now:
4. Add your oil.
5. Mix the oil into the batter, then get ready to make some crepes. All right, this next part is where "crepe lore" comes into play. If you're right handed, you put the pan in your right hand and the mixing bowl in your left. You slowly pour the batter into the pan from the bowl until you have about this much:
6. As soon as you have about that much, you start to swirl the pan so that the batter fills the bottom, creating a perfectly shaped crepe. Don't get it? Don't worry... I've got pictures!
7. Once your crepe is the perfect shape, set the pan back on the burner. Watch for the edges start to bubble and brown.
8. Once they do, flip that puppy!
9. Let the crepe cook on that side for about 45 seconds to a minute. Once it's done, it should look like this (but hopefully a little more round):
10. Pile all your finished crepes on a plate to admire your handiwork (see how thin they are?):
11. Decorate with fruit, powdered sugar, whipped cream, whatever your little heart desires, and ENJOY!!
So in light of being responsible adults, Mike and I decided to postpone our week-long trip to Croatia. We will probably go a) when the weather isn't forecasted to be in the 50s and 60s and b) after I've gotten some tutoring jobs and can buy lots of cool things (read: clothes, shoes, etc.) when we do go (and not feel guilty about it). This does not mean, however, that we are planning on sitting around Echzell and doing nothing. Quite the contrary, actually. We started our series of mini-trips today with a trip to Friedberg (a town about 20 minutes from here). Best thing about this trip: Including food, the entire cost of the trip was 22 EUR. Score? I think so. Anyway, we took tons of pictures, and I'm excited to share a few of them with you guys!
An archway on the castle grounds.
Hubby being super cool.
So after Hubby took the picture above this one, I felt like I needed to one-up him with this.
I got to climb into a window thing.
Yes, I jumped a barrier to get this picture, and risked death by putting my legs on the outside of the railing.
Trying to get creative.
Hubby being smexy.
Yes, we climbed all the way up that tower. Terrifying? Yes.
Hubby and I at a lookout point on the castle grounds.
The monster tower again. It was awesome.
The gate leaving the castle grounds.
A view from the top of the castle tower.
So. 20 EUR for a fun-filled day complete with beautiful weather - that will get my vote every time! I can't wait for the other mini-trips that we'll take next week! I love Europe and all that it has to offer, and even more, I love the fact that even though we ate a HUGE meal at a Chinese restaurant, I get the chance to walk it off. Awesome, right? I love this place, and we're blessed that we're able to be here for 9 more months!
