May 2 / 3

Happy Saturday night. Traveling overseas always makes me feel like that I have had a day removed from my life.
First, the dang hotel charges 25 Euros or ~$40 for internet access per day! Really, in 2008, internet access is $40! Whatever, bite me. So, I’m going to write each night and then transfer it to a stick and take it down stairs where they have a ‘free’ internet station, but you are limited to only a few minutes and it is out in the middle of everywhere where all the hotel guests can see your private stuff—oh well, I’ll make the best of what I have.

Man, where do I even begin? There is just so much to say, I wish I had a little keyboard with me at all times that I could just jot down what I was thinking at the time. Oh! I also wish Kim H. and I had our own little IM going… there are so many things I just wanted to say to her. So, here goes my adventure…

Friday: I woke up and took the boyz to daycare, sniff, sniff, I miss them so much already. Damn dogs, it is hard not to have them around me. Anywho, I went home and packed b/c I can’t do that around Brody without him having a complete meltdown. As I was packing I noticed that I had Danny’s big lens (that is what he said) still in my bag from OKC, so I called him and asked if he needed it for his weekend home. He told me sure; so after loading my 1000lb bag (I hope I have enough room for some wine), I went over to his place to drop off the lens. Well, I ended up behind the Pottery Barn delivery truck—his bedroom furniture was arriving. Yippee!! New stuff is always fun regardless of who buys it. So, I helped him move his current bed out of way and the guys brought in this massive, solid bed. That thing comes in second place next to Rhodes’ furniture—that sucker is not getting moved again. After the bed was set up, we put the mattress stuff back on—wow, it looks really nice. Danny did a great job at picking out that bed, very nice.
After the furniture delivery, I had to run to the office real quick ‘cause I forgot some stuff and then I headed over to Cracker Barrel to meet Kimmie for lunch before we headed out to the airport. We filled our tummies with yummo food, dropped off my car and then got to the airport. Check-in at the airport wasn’t too bad, either was security—traveling with a Huss.ein, you never know what you are going to run into. LOL. Of course SJ was there waiting for everyone with that stupid grin that she has—good gosh, is it going to be a long trip, I already needed a drink (I text Jodie saying the same). All I hear from her area is “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah” The women is not going to shut up is she? The rest of our party arrives and we are all just shooting the shit, but I feel like I’m with a bunch of mother hens with SJ and MK. ‘I’m a big girl, I know how to travel overseas’. I text Jodie saying I need stiff drink. To remove myself from all the ‘fun’, I go check in at the gate and see if there is someone sitting between Kimmie and I on the way over… there is, but the nice Dutch gal moves that person cause they haven’t checked in yet and now we have a row to ourselves—this trip might not be so bad after all!
Kimmie and I settle in our little private row, our magazines, blankets, water all laid out ready for us at anytime during the flight. We agree that we have a crappy view of the TV screen, but that we could live with it, no one was sitting between us and we were so damn happy about that. I slept thru take-off and didn’t wake up until they were serving the first round of drinks. Dinner was horrible, some gross chicken with green snot sauce, I followed it with a cup of decaf coffee with Bailey’s (yummo, just the thing to push me over the edge into airplane sleep). However, the sleep didn’t come so easy, so I watched ’27 Dresses’ (I’ll give it 2.5 stars). Mid movie, I have no idea what I opened my window shade, but I did and there was the most incredible site I’ve ever seen. I hope I can describe what it was like… the clouds were thin, so you could see the ground, it was semi-light out, I don’t know if it is the start of ‘White Nights’ but the view had a nice dim light about it, and then you look down and see rolling mountains that are covered in snow and ice. I have no idea what part of the world we were over, I knew we had left the states and were heading into Canada when the movie started, but I’m not sure if we were over Greenland or not. My gosh, it was incredible, there was no life down there, it was just Go.d’s land. I hope I’m doing it justice; the image is burned in my head. I have thoughts of glass that will be inspired by that view. We started to fly over some clouds and the view was gone and I was back to the movie…
After that oscar winner was over, I rolled up some pillows and blankets and hit the wall and slept HARD. The next thing I remember was that the cabin lights were shining in my eyes and my right arm so asleep I thought it was going to stay that way forever—it really hurt bad. I thought my finger tips were no longer there, I couldn’t grab anything; I was shaking my arm and trying to push the blood up and down it by massaging it. Once the blood started to flow, the pain was horrible, I just wanted to cry. This arm sleeping thing is NOT COOL—I’m over it. I don’t even want to think of how bad it would have been if I hadn’t gone and seen Max on Thursday.
We were served some kind of breakfast, I can’t decide if I liked it or not, I would have settled for a waffle and some hash browns, but that wasn’t going to happen. LOL. After breakfast I grabbed my little point and shoot camera to get pictures of us landing in Amster.dam, I knew that it was tulip season, and the landscape would be incredible. It was a bit hazy but I could see colors coming up. If we had made our trip over here a few weeks ago, the color would have been everywhere; most the fields are gone, but a few were left, here is what I saw…



After landing, Kimmie and I got off the plane pretty quick and waited for the rest of the gang. Good gosh, we should have just left them. SJ had to explain everything she was seeing and hearing and everything on the plane and blah, blah, blah… good gosh lady zip it. We connect on to Bremen and arrive to the most beautiful weather! I was taking in the clean fresh air when the stupid questions and observations started up again. ZIP IT! Jump on the train and then onto the hotel right across from the train station, nice hotel, I’ve stayed in worse. The hotel only had Kim and Mike’s rooms ready and the rest of us had to come back after 3. “Shower, Nicole needs a shower, NOW!” That is all I could think of, but the plan was for us to drop our stuff in either Mike’s or Kimie’s room. SJ and I go with Kimmie and AM goes with Mike. Kimmie’s room is the size of her cubical, no lie! (I have to take a picture of this thing) We were joking that college students would sue their university if they ever got a dorm room this small. She could literally reach over from her bed and open her window… I think the bathroom is bigger than her ‘living quarters’. And SJ had to question why ‘anyone would ever design a room like that, blah, blah, blah’ Nicole: “this room is the last thing you are ever going to see if you don’t shut up” of course I didn’t say that but my gosh lady, silence is OKAY you don’t have to talk all the time. Oh yeah, I just remembered, SJ went to go use the bathroom and she didn’t come out for a while and were like, ‘dude, this is Kim’s room, have some manners”, but then she came out and said she couldn’t figure out to flush it. See picture below, she thought that the thing above the toilet was the tissue holder, I almost pee’d in my pants. Yes, it does look different, but you have talked about how you have been to Europe before, you should know that. LOL.




It was time to hit the streets for some jetlagged site seeing and some good food in our bellies. We first hit a semi flea market along the banks of the river. I ran into an old memory… the pancake ship where IPV was born. That is a long story that I won’t go into, but I have a picture of it below. Kinda weird what is most likely my last international trip for IPV or for any other ODF task ends in the one location that changed the course of my job description 5 years ago. Things always come full circle don’t they?




The market was a dud and we headed back to the center of town. We ended up going down to this ally of shops that I love and that has the coolest glass shop; I think I was running to that shop. I can smell glass from 100 yards away—LOL. I was looking at his stuff, awesome necklaces and such. I had Kimmie go back and take some pictures of some stuff. I ended up talking to him about some of his techniques and I didn’t want him pissed off at me for copying his work (I’m just going to ‘borrow’ some ideas, that’s it. LOL) Kimmie got some really good pictures for me—thanks Kim!
As we made our way down the ally, we ran into some PODF guys, talked to them for a few and then we sat outside for a yummy lunch. The weather was so nice, weather that only people in Houston could dream of. We were in the middle of this small square where on the hour, these bells ring and this wall turns showing the history of sea and air transportation, kinda cool. Everyone but Mike ordered a ‘flat bread pizza type thing’. They are common in Germany and are very yummy. With food in our bellies, we needed to get up and get moving or we were all going to fall asleep right there. During our lunch conversation, I found out that I was really the only one that got any amount of sleep on the plane; most only would shut their eyes here and there. They were hurting more than I was and I know I was hurting pretty bad. We strolled down to the Schno.or district where the buildings are from the medieval period; the streets being only a person or two wide in some areas. I knew there was another small glass artist in the area and I set out to find him. I bought this glass block with a heart imbedded in it a few years ago. It is one of my favorite pieces and I couldn’t wait to see what else he had. He has expanded his line to now include small jewelry boxes with the block lids and larger blocks. I ended up asking him about his techniques as well and the type of glass he uses. There was a bit of a language barrier, but we had the best conversation about tools, glass and education. I knew everyone was waiting for me, so I couldn’t continue my conversation with him. He was so humbled that I had a bought a piece from him years ago and sought him out again. I have some ideas running thru my head from his work too. If I have time during the week, I think I’m going to head back and talk to him some more. When I caught up to the rest of them, I proudly announced that I’m getting on the next plane, headed home and playing with my new kiln. (I need to give the kiln a name, I’ll start thinking about that).
We toured that area for awhile and then we headed back to the main square, when we turned the corner, there were police in riot gear and a big demonstration going on. Mike has no fear, and walks right in the middle of the demonstration to get to the other side of the square. Once on the other side, we saw in another part of square that there is another big thing going on. This peeked Mike’s curiosity and he asks a police man what is going on. One side is demonstrated against the other—one is Pro-Christ.ian concert and the other is a sea of same-sexed couples, people with spiked hair and wearing shirts that say “Go.d is a Lie”. Yeah, we exit quickly, no need to get in the middle of that, I could just see the headlines back home! The rest of the crew buy some chocolate, I wait outside in the beautiful weather, I don’t really like that place’s chocolate. After that, we are all about done and we walk slowly back to the hotel.
Our rooms are ready for us, so I grab my bag out of Kimmie’s room, tell her I’ll see her later and run to take a shower. GLORIOUS SHOWER. Horrible water pressure, but it is warm and free flowing and I can shampoo my hair and get airplane funk off! I feel human again. Barely get out of the shower before I hit the bed (oh, my room is about 5 times the size of Kim’s, she is moving on Monday to a bigger room). “Dang, what is that out my window?” I’m facing the freakin’ train station. UGGGG! Where is my iPod, where is it, ugg, where is it? Bingo, I find it, throw those headphones in my ears and crash hard for a few hours.
My bladder and hunger woke me up, called Kim and we went to a place next door and had some yummo Gyros (that I am now burping up). We walked back into the train station and bought a scoop of chocolate gelato (that will be a nightly event, I already know that—my gosh was it good). We then headed back to the hotel to call it a night.
So now I’m in my room, telling my story from the last ‘day’. It is now 8 minutes to midnight Germany time and I guess I need to get some sleep. That PM medicine is calling me right about now. The noise outside the room has quieted down, but is not completely gone. I guess I will sleep with my headphones in. There is no air conditioner so you have to leave the window open, but more noise comes in that way, but oh-well. I’m tired enough to sleep thru it.
There is so much more I want to type and talk about. I’ve done tons of thinking since this has all started. The same thoughts that always go thru my mind, but I think I’m going to write them out, commit them to the internet and read them over and over when I need too. That will be tomorrow, I’m off to dream land….