Neuschwanstein, AIA Retreat, Bear Grylls.

In front of the Acropolis on Mount Mars

Where to begin. It has been awhile since I blogged. Partly because my life has been crazy and partly because I don't really know where to begin. I have been super blessed in the last month to take two amazing trips. My best friend from the states and another friend visited the first week of March and we went away to Athens for a weekend. We decided to leave the phones behind and enter the “dinosaur ages” as we called it and just enjoy our time away with one another. It was super relaxing and we got to see the Acropolis, location of the first Olympics and stand on Mount Mars, where Paul first preached the Gospel. I love seeing and experiencing other cultures. It gives me such a different perspective on life and how big God really is. It was just such a blessing having them visit and seeing my world in Berlin.  

The second trip I took was last week with our AIA team to Southern Germany. To be honest I wasn't really thrilled to go because I had been so busy and all I knew about the trip was that we would be hiking, I needed snow boots, and I couldn't shower for 4 days. I have never been a big "hiker" if you know what I mean. I prefer to just be at the top and have the “mountaintop” experience. But boy was I in for a surprise. We loaded up our hiking backpacks with a couple changes of clothes, toothbrush, and our share of food we needed to carry and strapped them on. I realized about half way through the hike that all my heavy stuff was in the top of my bag. If only I had taken Hiking 101. And Winter Survival 101. The journey started at Castle Neuschwanstein, which was the one thing I was actually excited to see. This was the castle that Walt designed the Disney World Castle after. It was incredible.  At about 4pm on Monday the 5 of us hit the "trail". Boots, snow pants, and "light" jacket because they claimed I would get sweaty; which I wasn't convinced because I train every night in negative degree weather and still prefer 4 layers. What I didn't know

Neuschwanstein in the background

that we would be snowshoeing as well. My only experience of snowshoeing was wooden things strapped on my feet in elementary school. We started our hike and soon enough we were climbing a fence that said "NO TRESPASSING." The last time I failed to follow a sign like this it resulted in almost dying while tubing down the Poudre River. But I figured Mountain Man Harry knew what he was doing. Soon enough we could see an amazing view of Castle Neuschwanstein and we were told the hike to the hut was three hours and the first 90 minutes would be just hiking in our snow boots and the second would be snowshoeing. After we put our snowshoes on, Harry said, "Jetzt geht es wirklich los!" (Now it will really begin!) and I thought to myself, "Great, where is my flippin snowmobile?" At this point it was getting dark as well so we strapped on our headlamps. I thought mine was cool because it was purple, until I realized it would have served great purpose for a candlelight dinner rather than hiking Everest. My logic in life is always the faster I go the faster I am there. So at times I went ahead because we could somewhat see a trail from earlier hikers. After about an hour and a half of hiking, we asked how much longer and Harry said 45 minutes until the hut. He told us that it would be really steep, then

The middle of our hike, when we still thought it was great.

somewhat steep, then really really steep, then the steepest (It’s like waterslides with fast, faster, fastest, but not as enjoyable). I thought to myself, “You gotta be kiddin me, you don’t think this is steep. I feel like I am walking up a vertical wall right now.” We were all tired at this point but there was no turning back because that would take WAY longer. So we trekked and trekked and trekked some more, through 2 meters of snow. Finally we got to the steepest part where we had to be careful of avalanches. The snow and wind had started to pick up. At this point Harry was a little ahead of me and I had hiked ahead of the others, and didn’t realize how much distance was between all of us. All of a sudden I started to panic, because I realized I couldn’t see Harry in front of me or the others behind me. The snow was blowing and I kept losing my footing and falling. Harry’s tracks were getting covered quickly because of the snow. I slipped and laid there and yelled for Harry. No response. I yelled five more times and no response. Then I yelled for the others behind me. No response. My mind

Right near our "hut"

started to race of all the bad things that could happen to me. As you know I have a crazy imagination. Avalanche buries me.  Wind blows me off the cliff. Freezing to death. Bear attacks me (found out that there are no bears there, so wolf would have been a better thought). I then started to think of the little amount of winter survival I know. In this moment I started to cry and pray. I told God how weary and exhausted I was and didn’t think I could go on. I was angry that Harry went ahead and that nobody was responding. But I just kept hearing the Lord saying, “Don’t be afraid, I am with you. You are here alone in the middle of these massive mountains and you know nothing, but I know you, I see you, and I care about you. I will protect you and take care of you.” Then I would get up and just go and literally say out loud, “Ok, Lord it’s me and you. Let’s do this”. Then I would fall again and it was a this cycle of being frustrated, but the Lord just consistently reminding me that He was there with me and it was going to be okay. Eventually when I saw a glimpse of Harry’s light, I was relieved. He told me to wait at the top, while he found the others. I literally just stood in the dark and sang worship songs and prayed. The snow fell faster, the wind blew harder, but I looked around at the mountains (what I could see with my candlelight) and was comforted how big God really is. It is so similar to where I am in life. I don’t really know what the future holds. As of two weeks ago I had a geographic location of where I

Kevin and I fetching "water"

wanted to be in America, and now the options are limitless. But I realize I don’t have to know. God has been reminding me that He knows and He loves me more than I will ever comprehend. Just like hiking to the hut and I trusted Harry and followed his tracks to this place that I had only “heard” about, but had never seen. Similar to my faith, God knows the way and I have to trust Him with my life knowing that I will one day spend eternity with Him in heaven. I may have only heard about heaven, but I have to believe that in the end it will be worth following the Lord.  He sees me, He knows me, and He cares about me.

Call me Bear Grylls (the cliff I would have blown off)

This trip was the most terrible and most amazing trip of my life. First of all, I think I gave Bear Grylls a run for his money. We melted snow and used that to cook and drink. And let's be honest after four days of no showering we were not smelling our best. But the most amazing part was experiencing the Lord in a way I never have before. I have never been pushed so far physically, mentally, and emotionally (I feel that describing it does no justice). Standing on the mountaintop in solitude and seeing how big God really is gives life a different perspective. He created each one of those trees and mountains and we look so small in comparison, but know how much more He loves and cares about us as His children.  I think I decided what my new hobby is going to be once I hang up the boots in May. Hiking and snowshoeing. It is worth the hike to get to the top.

die USA. die Hochzeit. die Familie. die Freunden.

So instead of writing about my visit back to America, I am going to share about my time and adventures through pictures. Hope you enjoy!

My mom graduated with her four year! So proud of
her and all the hard work she put in! 

Got to spend a lot of time with high school friends. Reunions are always fun!

It was great randomly seeing Nora

Kristen came to visit! Such a blessing and she was so much help preparing for the
wedding. Miss her.

A day at the Mall of America. Got to pick Mike up from the airport and
spend time with him and his family. 

Heidi and me at her Bachelorette party, still can't believe she
is married!

Anna and I in our Bridesmaids dresses

Heidi's wedding day!!! She looked beautiful! Welcome to the family Bo!

Got to visit my boyfriend, Beck, in Colorado. He is pretty awesome!

Date night! Miss him a lot.

Keine ahnung.

T

The Wood kids and I on our AIA outing

Yay election week is over! Honestly I am super glad that my Facebook news feed will not be cluttered with name calling and ridiculous status updates about the election. I decided I should live in a foreign country every four years to avoid the drama. First of all, I am not going to act like I know everything about politics because I don’t. I wish I knew more, but politics bore me to death. I tried watching the Presidential debates while doing some push-ups and abs in my bedroom, but it just didn’t cut it. I would WAY rather listen to Lecrae. The last two weeks I have been taking a German history and politic class (in German) because I had to pass a test for the government to pay for my German classes. All in all, I am a German citizen that doesn't know German. The perks of having two identities. J So I am not a big fan of history or politics and learning them in a different language isn't exactly easy. My teacher would always ask about America and what our system is like. One day he says to me, “Elizabeth, who was the President in the late 1980’s?” As you can guess, I didn't know off the top of my head, so I started singing the President song aloud to figure it out, but clearly the other people in my class knew it before I got there. Embarrassing. Oh well. I don’t pretend that I know everything about history and politics. I am probably just as educated now about Germany’s politics and history as I am about America’s.

Teammates :)

Politics are something that people openly speak about here and Germans aren't afraid to ask who you are going to vote for. Most (not all because I don’t want to generalize) Germans wanted Obama to win because they are in favor of Obama care and when I told them I wanted Romney they tend to look at me like I have a third eyeball. I hate discussing politics.

So another interesting story from language class happened on Wednesday after my class. I walk out of the building and this man is standing in front of the door. He says to me in German, “Hi, I am Michael.” I looked behind me to see if maybe he was talking to someone behind me, but sure enough it was the only one around. I looked at him and said, “Hi.” He proceeds to ask me if I take language class here and which class I am in, etc. I realize that his German wasn't that great so I ask if he can speak English, so we switch. He then proceeds to tell me is from Africa and just moved to Berlin from living in Poland for two years. I was somewhat trying to leave the conversation because I had places to be, but didn't want to be rude. As I was walking away, he kept walking with me and I started to say bye as he says, “Well I would like to get to know you better and meet up with you sometime. Can I have your number?” I politely said no, and then he asked if he could be my Facebook friend and I once again politely said no. So then he asked if he could give me his number and I was like okay fine. I put it in a note in my IPhone and then he wanted me to call him (Duh, I am not stupid! Then you will have my number). I told him I will write him never later. He said he wanted to be friends with me and I said how about we just see each other at class, knowing full and well that the next day was my last day and I would never have to see him again. After I left, I obviously didn't text him or call him and thought that was the end of it. I just planned on avoiding that exit the next day. Well I was wrong.

The next morning I showed up 35 minutes (typical) late to class and as I was like 40 feet from the building and he came up and started walking next to me. I was startled and gave him a clueless look, only for him to say, “ Didn't you recognize me?” I wanted to say, “YES!!! Of course I recognized you CREEPER!!” I asked him if he had class and he told me that he didn't and he was just being creepy “getting breakfast”. It would be one thing if he was there at 8:30 because he knew my class started then, but the fact that he was there when I was 35 minutes late is just weird. Anyways, then he says to me as I am about to go in, “You didn’t call or text me yesterday. Can I have your number?” Clearly he doesn’t take a HINT!!! Finally I said, “No you can’t have my number because I am not interested.” He looked at me like I was the rudest person ever, but at this point I didn’t care. He waited 35 minutes for me to come and that is creepy. Good thing it was my last day to ever go to that building!  

Schweiz

Interlaken

Well the last few weeks have been adventuresome to say the least, but I figure we will save those stories for another day. I have been injured and can’t train, so I have had a little more time on my hands than normal. I miss training though and I am excited to hopefully play soon. I was on crutches for the first week and it is crazy how much people move out of your way. Not to mention give you their seat on the train. I think the best part was getting “Preferred Boarding” on the plane when I flew to and from Switzerland.

Switzerland was amazing and SO BEAUTIFUL! It was a bigger and better version of Colorado and every time I looked at the mountains it made me realize how incredible God is. It reminded me of His power and how detailed He created the world. I often just stood and looked at the mountains in complete awe. We went to Interlaken for a day and I don’t think I have ever seen mountains that are so beautiful. It was so refreshing. I got to visit my friend Jessie there, who plays professional hockey in Bern and has lived in Switzerland now for two years.

Standing in the fountain at the chocolate factory
We thought we wouldn't get wet. Bad idea. There is
fountain behind me.

The amazing chocolate!

One minor problem we had was the car situation. Jessie’s teammate let us borrow her car and we were supposed to pick up Michael and his friend, Michael in Zurich early the next day. The only minor major problem was that it is a manual and both Jess and I can’t really drive a stick. We both knew the general concept of how to make it drive, but getting it going without killing it was always the trick. Jess drove first and did pretty good minus the time she killed it in the main intersection in Bern and everyone was staring at us. I was dying laughing. I even squeedered a little (if you don’t know what that means use your imagination). Not to mention I ended up with a little whiplash and a rubbery smell from squealing the tires and taking off so fast. We decided to go practice on a “backstreet”, which wasn’t very hidden because there were LOTS of cars and people. Eventually it was mine turn to see if I could do better. FAIL! I got it going a few times, but then I killed it right by these people and could not get if going for the life of me. The car may or may not have been smoking a little and the people around were plugging their noses and laughing at us. EMBARRASSSING! Yes, people in Switzerland laughing at strangers. Rare occurrence. We decided it was time to park the car (and let it stop smoking) and find a plan B. There was NO WAY we could drive an hour to Zurich in rush hour in a car that we couldn’t get going every time we stop. Train it was! We technically only had to get there because Michael’s friend could drive a stick. But we figured living was more important.

Not all for us. Don't worry

The next day we hung out in Zurich for the day and then stayed at Jessie’s parents. They made Raclette, which is a typical Swiss meal. The machine wasn’t working correctly so we ended up microwaving the food. Still was great though! The last day we went to a Swiss chocolate factory and got to eat as much chocolate as we wanted. It was AMAZING!!!! We definitely were those fat Americans. Two groups came through the tour and we were still standing there eating chocolate. I didn’t and still don’t understand what was wrong with them. FREE CHOCOLATE! Not just any chocolate. TRUFFLES! Then we went to a Swiss cheese factory and saw how that cheese is made. Chocolate and cheese! Does life get any better?  Switzerland was great minus the crutches, but spending time with people that you have known a long time can definitely be refreshing when you live in a foreign country.  Oh and I forgot one of the best parts of Switzerland. They had Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks!!! It was an investment that’s for sure. 8.60 Francs for a medium. Definitely worth it though! If I was rich, I would have bought ten, but clearly that is not the case. I also would have gone sky diving in the Alps. Someday I will. It is on my bucket list. J

Heiß Yoga= Sterben

The impossible move. I can't even wrap my leg behind my other leg.
These people aren't even squatting that low.

So my latest adventure has been hot yoga. I have wanted to do it for a LONG time now and I finally found a friend that didn’t think I had lost my mind when I told her. Hot yoga is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Yoga in a very hot (35 degrees Celsius) room. As you know I like to sweat and I am not flexible so I figured it would be a great opportunity to become more flexible and sweat. There was an offer for 10 Euros for 10 days unlimited.

We decided to attend the 8am class and knew we needed to be there a little early. As you know, doing something new in Germany is always a bit of an adventure. You have to watch and learn most all the time because otherwise you will have to ask, which would mean needing to know the German words and that isn’t always the case in new situations. Soccer words = check, Food words= check, Yoga words= NEIN!  So we stroll in about 30 minutes before the class and sign up. We make our way up to the yoga room and the instructor had told us to pick the spots in the second row so we can watch. Minor Detail: Class is in German. This isn’t too much of a problem for me because I understand most, but Karissa is still learning German and let’s be real even if I did understand the words, the woman spoke so fast! I think that is part of the technique. Regardless, there was a man lying on a mat already so we followed his example and picked the spots in the corner, hoping we were in the second row. Lots of people came in that totally looked like naturals. At least we were dressed appropriately, thanks to Google. We knew to wear spandex material clothing. How embarrassing it would have been to show up in t-shirts and basketball shorts or something. OUTCASTS!! Regardless, we were just lying there like beached whales as the class filled with more people. Karissa and I were trying to figure out if we were in the front or the back of the room because everyone was laying different directions and we just wanted to go unnoticed. That did last long though, because in storms the teacher and tells us that we need to be in the second row and switch spots with the two people behind us. Problem solved! We were in the front row. EEK! Yes, we made a scene and had to make two people move spots and not only that, now EVERYONE knew we were beginners and Americans.

We did this for a minute, I just try to improve on not
tipping over as many times.

So the class begins with breathing exercises, which honestly I have never been great at.  I tend to just breathe naturally and not think about it, but we just followed the motions. I was informed that we were supposed to keep our mouths closed the entire class, as in breathing through our nose. Easy right? NOOO! The last thing I am thinking about is if my mouth is closed when I am tipping over and trying to fold my body into a pretzel. First of all, I was BY FAR the tallest person in the room and most likely definitely the least flexible. Not to mention, after three ankle surgeries my balance is not the greatest. Regardless, the class went on and once in a while the teacher would shout English orders at us. Seriously now I know why you have to get a Yoga license. They probably teach you how to talk that fast at the license course. It was unbelievable how people could balance on one foot on the ball of their foot, while squatting with the other leg crossed over…. Follow me? I think it just takes practice. A lot of it. You are supposed to look at yourself in the mirror the whole time, and I kept getting scolded for looking around the room. It is weird to stare at myself especially when I am trying to do it correctly and watching myself do it wrong in the mirror doesn’t help. Another minor difficulty was being wet with sweat. Your body slips off itself and you can’t always hold the poses. Or so I convinced myself. The hardest part was the last phase where it means you have to sit with your legs bent behind you and your butt in between. I have NEVER EVER understood how girls can sit like that. Then they wanted us to lean back and lay on the ground. Over my dead body. No way could I! I thought every ligament was about to rip in my knees. I improvised though and the teacher said I could sit on my legs. There has got to be a trick about being able to do that. Maybe my legs are too big. I am not sure. But mine just do NOT bend that way. All in all, hot yoga was sweet and it was hard. A different kind of hard. Definitely broke the rule of having a closed mouth, because often my jaw dropped just looking at these people doing the exercises. Probably didn’t catch everything said, but after a little more practice, maybe one day I can cross legs, squat, stand on one foot, while standing on my tip toe, with my mouth closed, breathing through my nose. Or maybe never.

Herbst ist hier.

Throwback family photo minus Dad. Good thing jean
jackets are back in style. Miss them!

Fall is a time when I tend to miss America for numerous reasons. Lately I have missed family and friends a lot and it’s one of those times in life where you just long for a good, long hug. Not a one arm under, one arm over hug, because those are my least favorite and almost as bad as a side hug. I think I prefer a fist pound. But rather an “it’s gonna be alright” hug. I am usually the hug giver since I am bigger than most people, so more often than not I don’t get those kinds of hugs if that makes sense. Plus living in a country where you greet people with a kiss on the cheek or a hand shake also limits the availability. Crazy to think hugging has so many options.

As for things that make me miss fall in America, the first would probably be soccer. Since I was young, fall always meant soccer season. Whether that is club, high school, or college and nothing gets better than preparing for a game under the lights on a Friday night. Soccer has been somewhat rough here to say the least and it makes me miss the days of Drake soccer and getting excited for game days. A close second to soccer though is college football season (and kind of NFL now too). I love Saturdays and just lying on the couch watching college football all day. Not to mention taking a nap to the commentary is the best. I find it lulling for some odd reason.

Oh how I crave one of these

So those are the three main reasons. Family, fussball, and football. Lastly if I see one more picture of a pumpkin spice latte on my news feed or Instagram I am going to die.  I love them and they have a million Starbucks here, but that drink doesn’t exist. I have been craving anything pumpkin, but I only have one can of pumpkin that I need to save for Thanksgiving. 

On the flip side, I am excited for fall because of the clothing and getting to layer, but even though it’s chilly here I am still trying to enjoy my summer clothing because wearing the same clothes for 7 months gets old.

The book I am reading

So as you can see I have been in an interesting place emotionally. It has been challenging because God has been continuing to strip me of my comforts. I have been focusing on just learning about who God really is and what His character qualities are. I guess it is somewhat the beginning of a new adventure and it seems stressful and overwhelming, but I know it will be a worthwhile journey. 

Unglaublich

This post is a random story that happened the other day. You know those moments when your blood is literally boiling and you feel like you are going to explode. Well that was me. Here is the background information. The last ten days we have had a men’s basketball tour here from Bethel University and so I spent pretty much all day, every day leading them around the city and bringing them on bike tours, etc. I got to know two of the guys pretty well. Their names are Quinn and Tyler. On Thursday they wanted me to go shopping near my place with them, so we planned on meeting at 11am by the train station. When I met them they were super flustered and Tyler proceeded to tell me that he got 50 Euros taken from him.

He went on to tell me that there is this man that sits in front of a huge tourist store and he has three balls on the ground and shuffles them around. The person playing the game is supposed to watch the balls and they can win money by betting and guessing under which ball lays the money (except you never win because it is a scam). The man was doing this and Tyler was just standing there waiting for Quinn and the man held out what Tyler thought was 5 Euros that he could win (really it was 50 Euros though), if he picked right. Tyler hadn’t been watching though and didn’t really know what was going on so he just pointed to one and obviously guessed wrong. The man told him that he owed him 50 Euros and at first Tyler didn’t give him the money, but then 6 other men started to corner him and yell at him in German. So Tyler panicked (which I don’t blame him) and opened his wallet and gave him the money. He then realized after he walked away that he given him 70 instead. When he met up with Quinn, he told him the story and they went back and demanded 20 Euros back, which the men gave them.

You see, these guys are con artists, similar to a gang that sit on the street with the most innocent tourists and play this game that is a scam. The men play each other all day and “win”, so all the tourists think they have a chance at winning and then the con artists take their money. All in all, Tyler told me this story after I met up with them and instantly my blood was boiling. I was so angry at these men that they would do this. First of all, Quinn and Tyler told me I was like their older sister they never had, and since I had practically babysat them every day, I felt like they were my little brothers and it was my job to look out for them. Regardless, I instantly said we were going to these men and getting his money back. It was one of those moments in life where you just follow your instincts. I march up to the man and in German tell him that I want my friend’s 50 Euros back that he stole. The conversation quickly turned into shouting and yes, we were on the main street. He yelled at me that Tyler wanted to play and lost. I told him that he is a foreigner and had no idea what was going on and that he stole his money. By this time all the other men were in my face and pointing at me shouting, while I am yelling in German that “You stole 50 Euros from my friend and if you don’t give it back I will call the police.” Did I mention my blood was boiling? My German was just flowing out and looking back I probably should have been more nervous than I was because I had seven gang- like men in my face, but I figured what are they really going to do? I had Tyler and Quinn there to fight. Also, the perks of being 6’1 in situations like these.

After shouting back and forth for a while, we drew quite the crowd and one of the con artists walked up and shoved 50 Euros in Tyler’s hand and continued to use the f-word at us a solid 10 times as we walked away. We created a huge scene and I think they were madder that we ruined their stupid game for all the innocent passerby’s that heard me yelling. We walked away and Tyler was happy that we got the money back, but my blood was still boiling. It makes me so mad that people get away with doing that to innocent people. After we told the rest of the team the story, they all talked about how they wanted to go back and fight them (typical guys). I guess a few days later they did go back (not too fight, just to put them in their place) and the guys got nervous and packed up their game. I mean I would be too if 6 guys over 6’5 approached me. So yes, that is the story. All day I kept thinking to myself, “Did that really happen?”