Castle

Again, I'm late to post this...sahry. Anyways, this was one of my favorite/most interesting days since I've been here! We woke up around 10, ate, and then rode bikes to Hanna's house. The only problem is that the entire way there is uphill and my blood sugar dropped like it has never before. I dont know why it was so bad this time (when it normally happens and I think i'm going to pass out I can just stand still for a little and it gets better, but this time I couldn't shake it. Franzie took my bike though and we walked the rest of the way and Hanna got me some candies. We got on the bus and made it to Marbug and I was finally feeling better. Talking with Maddie in English is wonderful. I've never appreciated another English speaker so much, ha. Being able to talk without much work is definitely something I take for granted (i feel sorry for little kids!). Its almost lonely being in a house where you don't understand very well and vis versa. But that's all part of the package, the awesome package where I get to spend a summer in Europe. Ha, I'm just whiney. We got to Marbug, ate and did some shopping with Hanna and Maddie. For lunch, Maddie and I split a Hawaiian pizza, Wiener Schnitzel and Pommes. It ended up being way too much food, but it was cheaper than buying our own separate meals. Logical, right? Apparently no, not finishing your meal in Germany is the equivalent to kicking a puppy. In America, it is completely normal to not finish your meal when you're full...it seems natural (at least I think). Anyways, we went to a place called Vera Moda and I also bought an $8 skirt (: Franzie and I had a scheduled tour at the castle and Maddie and Hanna had a birthday thing to go to, so we split up. Franzie and I started our long journey up the mountain to the castle and it was breathtaking....partly because i'm so out of shape, but mostly because it was so beautiful. ha. wordplay. We walked around and took a tour of the tunnels that go underneath the castle. It was awesome, seeing as I had never seen anything like that so pretty and so old. I didn't understand a lot of what the tour guide said, but Franzie was super patient and answered all my questions! After taking pictures of every square inch of the castle, we headed back to the house to get ready for a birthday party. It was for three guys all with weird names that I dont remember. Apparently the typical present that literally everyone brought was a handle of some sort of alcohol and 10 euros. The whole drinking experience in Germany is extremely foreign (ha) to me when it comes to parents. First off, Franzie's parents helped us pick out the alcohol and then bought it for our gift, we all got into the car with Hanna's mom and talked about what we were gifting, and then the German people were talking to Hanna's mom about how they were going to get drunk. Now, I understand that drinking is not as big a deal here (when it comes to rules, not the quantity), but it was still so strange. We got to the party and there were probably 60 people there. It was in a party "house" that can be rented out for events such as these. There was an open beer tap and, because everyone brings some sort of liquor, plenty of that. People danced (not very well, in comparison to Americans) and talked and drank. It was alright, overall. I'm not a big fan of beer and didn't drink much and it was difficult trying to understand drunk Germans so I ended up just hanging out and talking with Maddie mostly and before I knew it, it was time to go. As we were waiting for the taxi, someone realized that one of Marius' friends (who elected himself bartender, so he could drink as much as he wanted) was missing. We looked all around for him and then someone finally found him next to a trailer, passed out, on the concrete. We finally woke him up, which made him furious and automatically assume the fetal (rock) position. They had to wrestle him into the car (to take him home) which ended up in a bloody nose and a bunch of pissed of dudes. It was....pathetic (sorry, dude). You shouldn't have to depend on people to wrestle to help you because you drank too much. Anyways, our taxi was an hour late, but he finally got there. He was ridiculously creepy. Seeing as it was about 4am by the time he finally got there I was exhausted and Franzie did all the talking. The guy, however proceeded to ask Franzie who I was, what my name was, if I was ok, and a plethora of other questions...so I pretended to not understand/be asleep. It was frightening. We finally made it back and went straight to bed: an overall successful day.