more pics

you can go to my flickr account for more pics of the trip. see over there on the right part of the screen? click there.

it's official.

my jeans don't fit. it's time to come home to america...

my flight leaves at 11am germany time tomorrow. i have said my goodbyes and now i will pack and pray i wake up to my 4:15 alarm and that i make all of my trains and connections and all that jazz. i am refreshed and renewed and have remembered how god has made me unique and how he talks to me uniquely. he gives GOOD gifts and he likes to spoil me. i have been loved on and encouraged and challenged over and over here. i can't believe it's over.
how will this trip flesh out back home? how will this redemption story unfold in kc? how can i get others to pray with me about what god has stirred in my gut? i am reminded that it's time to lay down some things and pick up others. i look toward what is next and banding together with others to draw out his Holy Spirit in me/us. he is good. i want to trust him.

see ya'll real soon!

this was the sidewalk chalk welcoming i received from my creative and thoughtful roomie, beth.

hmmmm

god talks to me all the time every day. i just need to continue to fine-tune my hearing so i know when to act.

he has a redemption plan for my life. he can turn all the crazy stuff into good beautiful gifts.

he believes in community and the body of christ needing each other deeply; not consumeristic churches and friends.

it's not about me. so i can stop worrying and trying and figuring it all out. he's done pretty well so far.

i am hungry for more. and more. and more.

fun fun fun

the thorogoods

hendersons + michael

the adams

the millars

stitches out.

the best part of the removal was the fake fainting to psych michael and matt out.

kudos to meghan's mad acting skills.

and the pain level is going down. the limp noodle handshake is still in effect, but i at least have two working hands for everyday use.

did i seriously live here?

starnberg. it's fabulously beautiful and theraputic and wonderful and i love it.

the mystery that is trash day

here's the deal; you have to be a regular sleuth to know when and what trash to put out in order to move it from your apartment to the highly sought-after dump/recycling center. i've heard that the #1 crime people are fined for in germany is illegal trash dumping, starting at rates of 10,000 euros. for fun we have to scout for dumpsters or trash cans to drop off our various plastics, paper, or regular trash a.k.a. restmull under the cover of darkness. this is serious, people.
see if you can make heads or tails of this intricate pickup schedule:


or you notice that others have yellow bags sitting out, which you determine to mean that plastic trash must certainly come that day or the following, so you rush back home to gather all of yours together and get it to the curb ASAP. and naturally, you hope and pray that you didn't in fact wrongly deduce what was happening in this mysterious guessing game and find yourself fined or being yelled at by your german landlord for being an idiot or that you're above the law. as if...?

starnberg lake

my friend, little miss adams

baby buns, which are only G rated. count yourself lucky- this is germany, afterall...

how to eat your face off in munich:

-doner (similar to a gyro only WAY better) done 28.8
-marzipan chocolate (bought it to eat on the train/plane/automobile)
-brats done
-lots and lots o pastries yup. oh man...
-maultaschen
-spaetzle today - the 2nd. perhaps the best EVER.
-dampfnudle today - for sure the best ever.
-hot spiced nuts done 28.8
-turkish basil creme spread done 28.8
-all i can eat sushi
-fresh handmade noodles check.
-this little thai joint around the corner from my old place (closed for remodeling)
-and if it was spargel (refer to an earlier post) season i would be ill from way way way too much white asparagus. that i guarantee.
-schnitzel with johannisbeer and fries today again - delightful.
-gelatto done and done 25.8, 28.8

-rahmspeck(?) miracle of all miracles YES! today. (didn't think that one would happen)

-and lambrusco at the lake - there are some good stories with that one... (they don't sell it there anymore)

-bier uh-huh. nummy.

emotional memory

they say scent is the sense most closely related to memory. more powerful than sight or sound. crazy-huh? you know how grandma's house smells or your favorite meal or your mom or boyfriend or different countries? yeah, different countries smell well... different. i love how hawaii smells like magnolia and plumeria and colorado smells like fresh crisp air, and when i think of mexico i think of laundry detergent (don't ask), germany smells like this one specific tree that i think is in the beer gardens. when i smell it, germany jumps out at me-pop.
when i lived here, my mom and tom and the grandparents visited one september. i came back from work and i opened the door of my apartment to a wall of the most mouth-watering meatloaf smell. it encompassed me and i nearly fell over. home.
there needs to be a way to capture these smells and keep them in a jar for necessary moments. when you need a little mom tlc you just crack open the meatloaf jar; when it's dark and depressing, you need your favorite beach in hawaii - you know? i know they have apple pie candles, but i'm talking personal real life smells. until then, i'll just go around like a looney-tune deeply sniffing everything to take it all in, every morsel. the pictures are of my fav florist at the viktualienmarkt (city market). it smells heavenly.


oh yeah, that reminds me of the shack once again. (which i finished and definitely recommend. and we're 4 for 4 of houses i've stayed in with this very book. quite the phenomenon.) they refer to seeing things as god/jesus/holy spirit see them in full color and then they bring up a good point - imagine if you could also feel, hear, and smell heaven. i like to think about that. that's a new one for me. i like that god's world is living and 3D and there are many ways to experience it. what would that smell like for you all?

without a hitch

can i just say how impressed and thankful i am that this whole trip has gone off so easily? i've never been so free and mobile all on my own and it's therapy at it's finest. since i've lived here there is no pressure to do all these things that i normally would try to squeeze in (addictionary.com refers to this as sightsee sick, of which i can be known to fall prey to). i don't care if i'm wasting an entire day of prague to just sit with barb in the apartment and watch movies or blog. it's so restful. maybe i'll learn the art of sitting and just being. can i bring this euro-rest back home with me? i remember this feeling of just walking around munich when i lived here or going to a cafe all by myself and loving it. i would lay by starnberg lake for hours - reading or preparing for a yl thing or writing thank you letters, or not. it's so different here. it's not so fast paced and it's good. there's more relationship time. like college. remember that? when you would just hang out and not have anywhere else or four other parties you were supposed to go to? when you would slumber party and wake up whenever you felt like it and then grab some breakfast? that's what i'm talking about. that's how i am meant to live. also, i remembered that i am not a morning person so much. i love the nightlife baby.
this is a nice reminder of some things god brought about in me while i lived here.

ssshhhh! don't tell anyone but a nice ego boost is that everyone is unashamedly trying to recruit me to move back. i will admit that part of me comes alive over here. but that's all just for the prayer request list for now. who knows what god will do. for now, he's redeeming me and possibly helping me to forgive myself for beating myself up so bad while i lived here. bring it.

my picnic in munich one fine evening

just a few thing i picked up from the market for dinner - bread, salami, turkish basil creme, figs, and spiced nuts

the shack

has anyone read it?

beautiful timing for this trip. it's all about redemption. one of my personal favorite verbs.

god is here today. i need to stop looking for him in the past or figuring out the future. he's here and i am leaning into that today. here. redeeming me and both my time here and using it for His purpose.

i also really like how books coincide with my life or my trips or even crazy specifics going on while i am reading. while on this trip, several of the houses i have stayed at have this very book in it. i hadn't heard of it before and now i'm surrounded by it. huh...

the trifecta

salty cured meats

really fresh creamy cheese

killer bread

now you know why i heart european food

all my innermost secrets are laid bare before you

baby powder.

a traveler's best friend. it covers a multitude of sins.

and i will sing its praises evermore

hang on

how crazy fast and steep and long are thy escalators, o prague.

street performers

i may have written about this when i lived here, but i'll say it again - they make a city come alive.
who doesn't like live music outdoors? what a superb way to spend a day. barb and i sat by the st. charles bridge at a beer garden listening to this guy and when we emerged, it felt like the world had gone on around us and we were suspended in time. i love the power that music has. it is entrancing and other. i just don't get people who aren't moved by this.

p.s. if you noticed her water bottle tucked into her "cumberbun" then i like you.

which leads me to prague

everytime i told someone where i was going they ooohhhed and aaahhhhed over prague. it never failed. apparently everyone loves it. i am biased. i love my friend barb who lives there, so it's a no-brainer for me. her home is this magical land of art, literature, food, and culture and i am sucked in. we stay up late, we sleep in, we play trivia at the czechinn hostel, we cook, we watch movies, we thoroughly enjoy each other. it's genius. seriously, tell me these pictures don't look inviting and ready to host people at any given moment...

here's why i love barb:(origami in bed)

so, i decided to stay two days longer than "planned"
barb - you rule

stag party

these are my new british boyfriends. aren't they dreamy? i caught them mid-stag party all gussied up.