Amsterdam

I made a brief stop in Amsterdam this weekend. I had to meet my boss at his house in Holland for a meeting. His house is an hour from Amsterdam so I thought "what the hell (sorry mom, I meant heck)" I will go and check it out.

I went to the Rijk Museumn and saw works of art from Rembrandt and Vermeer. No matter what photos you have seen of these artists, nothing is like seeing it in person. The paintings are amamzing!

I then took a canal tour by boat. It wasn't very interesting as I was sitting back the back of the boat and couldn't hear the descriptions of what I was supposed to be looking at. After 30 minutes I was bored and ready to swim back to the dock.

As always, there isn't enough time to see everything that I would have wanted to see but I am sure that I will be back in the future to see more.

4th of July

Happy 4th of July to everyone!!

I had some excitment today and not of the good variety. I woke up in the middle of the night with a bladder infection and a fever. So I got to make my first trip to the doctor. As is with most experiences here, the language barrier makes it more challanging. I haven't gotten to covering medical terms in my language classes so I had to wing it. After a few tries the nurse, Dr. and I figured out how to communicate with each other. There was much writing and pointing involved but eventually a diagnosis was made. I even got to see my gall bladder, kidneys, liver and bladder on ultrasound. I have stunning kidneys by the way. And I now know the German words for blood, urine and bladder. After starting antibiotics I already feel better and my fever has gone down. By tomorrow I should be back to normal.

Hope everyone is doing well and most of all healthy!

New Flat

Well, it is official. I have paid the deposit and signed a lease. I have a flat of my very own! I will be moving in sometime next week. I will sent out an update email to everyone with my new address and phone (once I have it). The pictures aren't too great as I took them with my camera phone but it give you an idea of what it looks like. It is a shame that I can't include pictures of the bathroom as it is really hideous. I will only tell you that it is PINK. PINK everything! I will add pictures of it as soon as the electricity is turned on.

It is classified as 2 room, 72 sq meters with a balcony and it has a closet! As you can see it is a bare box which is common here in Germany. I have to buy a kitchen, washing machine,light fixtures etc....it is literally a bare square box. There is much work to be done to make it feel like home but it will get there eventually. Soon the Strauss Haus will be open for visitors (hint hint).