Nadine’s P.S.

Here's a little taste of our time at my parents' house so far: upon our arrival in Germany, they surprised us with this beautifully crafted cherry torte. It was delicious!

We then spent a couple of days acclimatizing and did not venture further than my parents' very idyllic backyard. We certainly didn't have cats sunbathing underneath apple trees in Madison! I think our own "little" kitty would have a lot of fun chasing after birds and butterflies here. But, the village tomcats also have to defend their territories against neighboring felines and prove themselves to the female sex. The resulting battles can be ferocious! The cat in the picture has a battered ear as a result of summer courting rituals and the other kitty here does not leave the house very often.

After successfully sleeping off jet lag and travel fatigue, we then started exploring places beyond the village confines. I had wanted to go on a bike ride for a while and so yesterday Adam and I started off towards a tiny village called Ossa (2km away), so that I could show Adam where I went to elementary school. I entered school under the old Communist regime, and going to school on Saturdays and commemorating the Communist martyr Ernst Thälmann are inextricably linked to Ossa in my mind. Unfortunately, the monument has been removed and I wasn't quite sure what exact building used to house the school, but the bike ride was fun nonetheless. Until Adam broke my mom's bike, which has been her trusted ride for fifteen years.

Adam inspecting the damage he's done.

My mom uses her bike on a daily basis, so we had to get it fixed right away. Adam had torn the gear shift; as punishment he had to cycle in the hardest gear to the closest town, Geithain (5km away), where we got the gear shift fixed, strolled about, and indulged in some baked goods. However, we wound up riding more than three times the 4km we set out to complete and I can definitely feel the effects in my legs today!

Today we went on our first big trip, to the city of Leipzig (30 min. by train) to do some shopping and to meet with one of my best friends. We had a lovely time and got to ride the train for the first time. Thanks to my parents, we now both own a "BahnCard 50," which allows us to travel within Germany for half the normal price of rail tickets. Essentially one of us gets to ride the train for free and we only spent €8 total on tickets today ($12.00).

Narsdorf train station

The first of probably many views of the inside of German train cars.

Tomorrow it's off to Chemnitz (25 min. by train) to see friends. We're of course taking the train again; got to collect those bonus points from Deutsche Bahn (a kind of Miles & More program for rail travel)!