Back in the swing of things

Well, about a week after I had arrived back in Germany, I finally got over my initial intense period of homesickness and jet-lag (complete with waking up at 3.30 in the morning and not being able to go to sleep until I was actually supposed to wake up). Needless to say, a big relief to be rid of both of them. The first weekend I was back, I actually got off of my butt and went to visit a friend of mine in nearby Muenster, which was a great distraction. Definitely was in better shape after a weekend out of the apartment and some company.

Another distraction which has been keeping me busy back at the apartment, has been planning for the up and coming Spring Break 2010 bonanza! As you might know, my cousin Andie and two of my best friends from high school, Nikki and Kelsey, are coming to Europe during the second week of my spring break - ie the first week of April. We'll be visiting Munich, Stockholm, and Paris together in that order. They don't have any experience with dealing with trains, hostels, budget airlines, etc, so that responsibility has fallen upon me. Luckily, I suffer from a lack of things to do. Needless to say, I've created a spreadsheet and as of today have finished all necessary travel and accommodation reservations (Including a hostel in Paris that overlooks Sacre Coeur...).

I only have one class hour on Thursdays, so today was the perfect day to get all of that organizing done. Now I've moved on to looking up entrance fees to different attractions, tour times, etc. We only get about 1.5 days in each city (because of travel time), so I want to make sure we get to see what we want to see. After class the day quickly became a "me day," which I must admit was pretty good for my mental health as well. I went walking around the city center because I had decided to allow myself to buy a new pair of shoes (comfy shoes for spring break, of course) because there would most likely be sales...and I was right. Sales EVERYWHERE! It took a lot of self-control not to spend some serious money, but I did treat myself to a "Nussecke" from the bakery on the way back to my apartment since I had saved 30% on my new sporty Esprit kicks (And no, Esprit didn't die at the end of the 80s in Europe like it did in the US...it's still thriving and popular). Fresh air, new shoes and a treat - YAY!