Another adventure begins!

So looking at the calendar it has been about 11 months since my last post, and I am sure all you avid readers are so sad at the lack of updates. Well fear not! For Mariko and I have begun yet another adventure into the unknown. And a new blog will be created for the occasion. Stay tuned for more news....

A piece of heart left behind

Deustchland, a country that I can claim heritage to... a nation that I called home for the past 359 days. It is a bittersweet emotion that wells up within me as I say goodbye. As I sit on a train bound for Frankfurt, I stare out the window at the countryside rushing past... just as the past year seemed to rush past in my mind. The brown and green squared fields, trimmed with impossibly perfect forests. Perfect blue skies dotted, their white fluffy clouds casting small shadows onto the red-tiled roofs of German villages that barely have names. A scene that I have grown accustomed to, or perhaps I should say a scene I have become so very fond of.

Sand in your pants

Coming to Europe I had one major country that I wanted to visited more than any other, one country that I had wanted to visit since I was a child, that was Italy. It was originally the country that I planned for us to visit first... but timing and seasons were not on board with my plans. But never fear for we have experienced the majesty that is the beaches of Italy.

Diablo 3: Error 37

Another video game post coming your way. The next game I'll be talking about is Diablo 3. This game was another one that I was looking forward to quite a bit, mostly due to the fact that when I lived with Josh and Renee we would play the game for hours on the weekends. This game has been expected for some time as Diablo 2 came out quite a few years ago. You shouldn't rush good games, but they shouldn't drag their feet too much... such a fine line.

Isn't there supposed to be a Sea here?

One thing I've enjoyed about Germany is that long weekends that occassionaly pop up for Mariko... though she doesn't usually know about them until a week or so before hand. On once such occassion we decided that it would be fun to go visit the North Sea as we haven't had a chance to go yet.

We booked ourselves in the town of Wilhelmhaven, one of the larger ports on the North Sea.... and what we later found out probably the ugliest of them all (one of Mariko's lab mates is from that area). However we still enjoyed ourselves during the visit.

When epic games fail

Alright this blog post is going to be about video games, one in specific: Mass Effect 3. And warning there will be some slight spoilers! For those of you who aren't familiar with the series, here is a rundown:
Mass Effect is a RPG (Role-playing game) Shooter. You control the main character in 3rd person mode and are able to give basic commands to your squad. As you progress through the story your character levels up and gives you the ability to customize his/her skills and damage.

3 asians and a white guy

The Brandenburger Tor

Late in the month of April, Mariko's dad and sister were able to fly out and spend some time with us.  Of course as it was also their first time in Europe we wanted to show them as much as we could during that time. They were only going to be here for 10 days and travel restrictions were slightly limited, so we spent all of our time in Germany.

Lost in Distraction

Well its been a few months since I last posted, and we've been busy! Sorry for not posting sooner, but I've been distracted but many things.... most of the video games.  It's also interesting to see how certain topics were so amazing and easy to write about early on in our time in Germany, but as time progressed they just got more and more everyday.... in which case it is harder to talk about topics that feel so mundane.

I will definitely have a lot of posts in the next day or two about the gap that I was silent, but here is a basic run down of our time:

• Traveled around Germany with Mariko's dad and sister
• Played Mass Effect 3.... then became dissapointed in ME3 ending
• Went to Wilhelmshaven for the weekend and met some friends in Bremen
• Played Diablo 3.... then became frustrated at server downtime
• Went to Italy for 5 days
• Played Guild Wars Beta
• Had a BBQ with Mariko's lab
• Went to a "public viewing" of the German vs Denmark football (real football, not american) match
• Went to Rüdesheim and took a Rhein River boat tour

So many posts for me to cover, and hopefully we can get through them in reasonable amount of time. Though Mariko and I are starting to run out of time for our wonderful experience here in Germany (just over a month left), we still have some fun things lined up and should be very fun!!

Seasons come, and season go

The weather here in Germany is starting to take a change for the better (finally!), and seeing as I walk everywhere it is easier for me to see these changes. Though sadly I am come to learn that Northern Germany doesn't have the best weather in general, especially when compared with Colorado. Now a lot of people may be confused with that comment as Colorado has some pretty nasty weather days... but I disagree. I have found recently that I really do like Colorado's four seasons, seasons that give me a chance to enjoy all different types of weather.... and I really do enjoy all of them.

Czech it off!

Prague by night

Our next destination was Prague, capital of the Czech Republic and home to some extraordinary sites. From Berlin we took a short 4 1/2 hr train ride to Prague, and was incidentally the only time while traveling in Europe that I've needed to show our passports crossing the border. You can tell that the train staff that headed this direction didn't use English as often as some of the other routes through Germany. One noticeable (which happens to still make us laugh) is when the conductor announce a long string of German over the intercom and then when switching to English was much shorter and only gave basic information.... the best part being "And the dining car is no."