Wiesbaden, Germany - Quality time with the nephews!

Bubble Tea?!? Yah, that’s correct! As I was walking downtown with my nephew, the first thing that caught my eye was a café that sold bubble tea ;) My eyes lit up because it had been over two months that I’d had the delightful, squishy, subtlety sweet tapioca pearls in my mouth ;p

I even found bubble tea at McDonald's!!! But don't worry, we're not missing out, they use popping boba :(

Germany, I’d heard before my trip is clean and orderly. Indeed it was! If you are spotted throwing cigarette butts on the ground you’ll get a ticket. I like that concept!

My generous nephew, Michael, walked me over town. From downtown to the Kurhaus & Casino where we walked through an jazz concert they were having and we totally stood out but no one bothered to kick us out as I was taking photos of the ceiling full of beautiful tile art. We then walked on what they consider their “Rodeo Drive” where the most expensive German cars pass by (we didn’t see any though :/). Then through two gorgeous green parks, onto a red colored Protestant church that had the most incredible structure and design. It definitely stood out and made a statement! We then headed back downtown to grab some Currywurst – just as it name implies, wurst topped with curry. I had the traditional with spice, frites and a beer. I’m not a big fan of wurst, sausage or any processed meats of that sort, but the curry on top made the dish! Brandon, my other nephew joined us after dinner and we sat, chatted, people-watched and car-watched until the sun went down.

Kurhaus & Casino

Let me preface this by saying, I'm not the type to harm animals. The feathers on these birds were so dope! I wanted to make accessories with them. I know that's horrible, isn't it?!?

Marktkirche - Loved the neo-gothic style and color!

Currywurst at Currywurst Manufaktur...YUM!

I felt like I should've been in Italy with these guys singing on the streets while we ate our currywurst, hah!

When I got to my hostel, I received these gummy bears. For the longest time, I had thought they were a Japanese brand, I thought wrong!

The next day, I was extremely delighted and excited to meet Michael’s girlfriend, Irunú :D The two reminded me of how young love can be so sweet, magical and FUN! We walked through a market they hand incredible produce, INCREDIBLE! Then it was onto a picnic in the park and played football (American football) until Irunú joined us. It was just the exercise I needed! They took me shopping downtown because I was set on black boots, but none to my avail. So we went to the river and to Irunu’s favorite ice cream shop. All the ice cream shops there are called Eishaus, and they have them everywhere you look. I totally didn’t need it and was scared if my system could even handle it, but I had three scoops!!! A little much but hey, you gotta live a little, right?!? Here’s how I topped the cone off…Walnut, Cookies and Sambuca Caffé (I thought it was some kind of café au lait because it was white, but rather it was black licorice with large chocolate squares throughout (my scoop had two L). The Walnut was eh, Cookies was AMAZING! And thank goodness I did get the Sambuca because I think I’ve heard black licorice helps with digestion. Luckily, I did not have any problems digesting the mass of eis and I didn’t even feel heavy or full when I was done…man there is something strange in the dairy back home because I would’ve been sick as a dog!

Irunú and Michael

BERRIES!!!!!!!!

...and mushrooms of all shapes and sizes.

Fresh handmade pasta...Mmmm... ;D

This is one of my favorite photos from my travels! CHILIES, they're so vibrant!!!

The Kurhaus from behind. This is in the massive park where we played football ;P

The Eishaus was right next to this Biebrich Palace. So we walked through, sat by the lake and just relaxed. That was the third time in less than 24 hours that I had sat down just to relax and talk. Europeans know how to live. If I was back home, we’d probably be walking through a mall, going to the movies, shopping at Target or playing video games. I prefer lounging in the park.

The Rins in front of Biebrich Palace

The Biebrich Lake

Brandon’s “hook-up” on the Wiesbaden Panthers (their football team – and again, American football ;p) got us into the game for that evening. It was pretty cool watching a football game in Germany, I must say. Completely entertaining! They were up when we got there, but then tied in the 3^rd and finally with 2 seconds left on the clock they had a turnover and won the game..AWESOME! I thought it was interesting how they allowed as many players on the team that wanted to be. Of course, not all of them got to play that night, but they all had to suit up. I think I counted something like 40 on the team! The cheerleaders were a hoot! They didn’t do much cheering, but when they did they were off beat and didn’t care much about the routine as they talked to each other while going through the motions. They had a lot of stunts lined up and the majority were executed well so I’ll give them that.

  

Wiesbaden Phanters

You'll never see this in the States...cheerleaders sitting down and eating at half-time.

We ended the night with bowling. It must be in the Rin blood because I won the first game with 144 and Michael won the second with 148 :P [Brandon, if you come to the states next year, we’ll have a rematch! ;D]

Sunday was my last day in Wiesbaden and I went to mass with Michael. The German language is rather striking and almost violent at times so it was quite an experience hearing a language speaking about all things holy when it sounded like someone was getting punished. We then saw the Cuckoo Clock, the world’s largest! Every half hour the bird coos so we came back for it and it was a big build up for an extremely low payoff, haha. We headed for the boys’ home to have lunch with the family. It was a blessing being in the presence of family. I needed it! It was perfect timing :D I loved the interior design of their home!!! Their mom, Gabrielle, is so talented! She made us deliciously scrumptious pasta for lunch and I got to see their little sister, Lena. Adorable and so generous, she gave me a heart bracelet that I will cherish forever! ;D

The Cuckoo Clock

Cool little Japanese noodle spot I saw while waiting for the coo of the clock ;)

The Family :D 

Don't be jealous back home! It was awesome seeing a jersey with "RIN" on the back!!! Haven't seen that since my brother played football way back when ;D Thanks for letting me wear it, Brandon!

We met Irunú afterwards and went on the Nerobergbahn to the highest point on Wiesbaden. We overlooked the city from up high and it was incredible. They told me on a clear day, sometimes you can even see Frankfurt from there. Atop the hill was a Russian cathedral, a Roman amphitheater and a forest filled with tree climbing obstacle courses and zip lines. I had been wanting to zip line or climb trees for ages, but we didn’t get to because I had to catch a train to Frankfurt :/

Wiesbaden from up high

I was incredibly sad to leave! Saying goodbye to family is never fun, but I just had to remember that in a year (God willing, as Grams would say) I’d see them again ;D

Danke boys, I’ll miss you lots!!