interesting things about this place...

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1. a great little Mercedes Benz car that beeps very LOUDLY every time you're about to run into something (the streets are VERY narrow here!)
2. beautiful, colorful flower gardens everywhere (literally, everywhere!)
3. fresh, fresh vegetables
4. when you walk out on your balcony and find your neighbor's sheep staring at you... what great company! =)
5. World Cup fever! even when you didn't plan on being a follower, you become one. =)
6. it's cold enough that people are still using woodstoves... and the smell is amazing!
7. a deep sense of quiet that helps your heart begin to be quiet too...
8. kind German neighbors who speak broken English but invite you into their home for a good, strong cup of "kaffee"
9. when your body is so jet-lagged that you forget about coffee... and then when you have some after 2 days of none, you suddenly REMEMBER the incredible-ness of European coffee! who needs Starbucks?? HA. =)
10. living in a town in a valley... surrounded by the hills of the Black Forest. There are no words.
11. church bells that STILL chime on the hour
12. when your German friend takes you on a tour of his home town and tells you that the buildings are from the 1400's... and you are blown away by the HISTORY of this place.
13. being a neighbor to Riesling wine country... =)
14. "schoko pudding und sahne"--my favorite treat. Could become the death of me!
15. when you're sitting out on the balcony and the sun starts to set... the trees and fields around you literally SPARKLE... and it's so beautiful... you can't take it in... and you wonder, is this a glimpse of eternity?

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1. North American hair straighteners that aren't compatible with the voltage here (so for the next 6 weeks I will be curly!)
2. very expensive water means very short showers.
3. roundabouts every 2 miles means yielding every 2 miles... and if you forget to yield, you run the risk of crashing (I learned that lesson yesterday)
4. leaving summer-like weather on one continent and entering winter-like weather on another continent... and realizing that your suitcase is full of summer clothes!
5. tiny little parking spots... and having to straighten the car 16 times just so that it will fit in them!
6. knowing that the nearest Starbucks is in the next country!!