Rain in Konstanz

DAY TWO (TAG ZWEI)

okay so today, Monday, day two of my journey, was a rainy one. Brianna, Charlotte and I went to Media Markt across the Rhine for some things we needed (ethernet cables, blow dryers, etc.) and wound up eating at this amazing bistro; the food was SO good, and even though I got a pizza, I was so happy with it. The owner guy, Joe, spoke some English and was kind enough to help us figure out the menu. He was so sweet, and even tried getting his daughter to help us who spoke the most English. We also met some 3 girls, 2 from CT and 1 AZ that are going to spend the year in Germany (first two girls) and Switzerland (last girl). Konstanz is just their month-long intro to Germany/German before they continue on the next year. After talking to them I was very pleased my flight even more so than I was before (and mind you I was VERY pleased) because I found out they were only allowed 1 piece of luggage at 50 lbs and had to pay an extra 50$ for their second piece of luggage. And 1 piece of luggage would NOT be enough for me for one entire year. So I was pleased because my airline allowed 2-50 lb pieces of luggage, a carry-on as well as a personal bag...and the pilot spoke 3 languages, the landing was absolutely amazing, AND the Swiss chocolate at the end of the flight was AMAZING.

So what else did we do today...after lunch and Media Markt we all (Brianna, Charlotte and I plus the three other girls we met) walked around on the other side of the Rhine, found some places for groceries, than came back to the dorm to drop off our left-overs, put on some rain gear than head out for more exploring/food shopping (which was not accomplished)/souvenir searching. Everything went over really well except the food shopping part, however I went to a bakery and was able to purchase 3 rolls and a pretzel for ,89 € which I was super pleased at.

After bargain hunting all day for post cards, I was able to find some for ,30€ as opposed to ,60€ and even got a book of 12 postcards for 3,00€. I also got a keychain!

After that we ate dinner at a cute little place where I ordered Kaffe (coffee) and Olivermuss mit baguette (olive spread with baguette bread), and the coffee was very good and came with a little chocolate! All of the chocolate here is delicious, there was a chocolate place that I came across that I must go back to so I can bring some home.

I also got Gelato before dinner, hazelnut flavor, and that was to DIE for, definitely going back there again. 2 scoops of delicious gelato only 1,60€ !!

Not too much happening today, although I had a moment of self realization... when I'm home at SBU and it's raining I freak out about my hair getting wet, my legs getting wet, and looking miserable, however here I was completely fine with everything. So what if my hair was wet, there were times that if it were raining I wouldn't put my hood up at all, and I never would do that back home. I guess its just the environment and the people that make you not worry so much about how your hair is or if you look really nice, everyone here is very laid back and its very refreshing.

Thats about it for now, its 22:30 (10:30 PM) here and 16:30 (4:30 PM) back in NY and I have my first day of classes tomorrow! I need to be up at 7AM and take the 8:09 bus in order to get to the University on time (I'm in off-campus housing) and Germans are very, very adamant about being on time, and prefer earliness.

Oh and by the way, my suite-mate speaks only German and very little English, so my skills will completely improve by the time this month is over!

-Sam

German snails have the coolest shells, they're a pale yellow with a brown spiral

this is me outside a cathedral in the middle of town