Confusion Followed By Comfort Foods

We finally made it to Hannover! Actually, we arrived a day earlier than we thought but by a different mode of transportation! We learned a valuable lesson on Monday night while at the Barcelona train station. ALWAYS check your train tickets even if they are in German. Scott and my train ticket (given to us as one ticket) said that there would be two women riding on the night train plus Jara (who had her own ticket). When we were about to board the train, the ticket collector gave us a funny look and then said Scott couldn't board the train, because this was the women's cabin. The train was full for that evening, so they wouldn't allow us on board! We even offered to sleep in the dining car! We were desperate since there wasn't another train leaving for Paris/Hannover in over 24 hours!

So we travelled 45 minutes by bus to the airport. We got to the airport about 15 minutes before the ticket counters closed for the night. We found a flight to Hamburg (about 1.5 hours outside of Hannover) for noon the next day (Tuesday), but by the time we contacted our parents (for emergency funds) the ticket booth had closed. We spent the night in the airport, and met some very interesting individuals. We couldn't sleep, so we stayed awake playing card games and crossword puzzles until noon the next day to catch our flight (which was delayed another hour). Purchasing a crossword puzzle book the day before may have been the best decision of my life! Thank you Grandma Rose for getting me addicted to them!

We arrived in Hamburg to then catch a train to Hannover. Needless to say, we are alive and well in Hannover! We were exhausted and smelly upon arrival, but Jara's mom made us a delicious welcome home dinner, which filled our bellies for a good night's rest as we each slept about 14 hours!

Jara's Mom made us this Swedish dessert to welcome us home. The combination of ingredients are so unique: Applesauce, Vanilla Ice Cream, and Egg Liquor. It was delicious!!

Yesterday was our first full day home, and what we thought would be a relaxing day turned into a crazy day! Jara and I went for a run after waking up around noon. While on our run through the park, Jara tripped and fell on the gravel rocks. She cut open the palm of her hand. We didn't think too much of it, but when her mom got home she wanted to take Jara to the hospital. So Scott and I got a tour of a German hospital yesterday. Jara is doing well, the doctor just had to clean the wound better so there wouldn't be an infection. The German hospital wasn't white and cold like America's, but concrete and warm inside. A similarity between the two countries hospitals...the wait time isn't any shorter!

Today was also a very relaxing day as we just hung around the house, did some laundry, and watched about the whole season nine of Friends. Oh also, we were on the phone with the train people for about an hour begging and pleading for a refund on our stupid train tickets...a refund is still to be determined.

We decided that we missed certain foods from the countries that we had visited, so night was devoted to cooking our favorite things. Scott wanted the hamburger with a fried egg and ham that he had tried in Barcelona. Jara and I both wanted Nutella crepes like we had in Paris. But we decided that we had to have a real dinner first, so we fixed ourselves the most magnificent sandwiches similar to those we tried in the Paris cafes.

My Sandwich

Scott was SO proud of his replication of the Barcelona Egg Burger

Scott's reaction after tasting his burger...

My Nutella Crepe with Caramel Ice Cream...my reaction after the first bite was similar to Scott's hamburger reaction :)

Tomorrow, we are renting a car to drive to Bergen-Belsen, a former concentration camp. Pray for me and the other drivers on the road, as I take on the Autobahn in a VW Golf!!!! Yes Amy...a VW Golf :)

Three Things I Learned in the Past Two Days:

1. In Hannover, you recycle your bottles/cans at the grocery store.

2. People flying from the Barcelona airport have a real fetish for saran-wrapping their entire suitcase. I don't see the point. I tried to get a picture of this without being too stalkerish, but it never worked out.

3. Germans don't cook their oatmeal, but eat it cold with milk!! Eww! I taught Jara how to microwave her oatmeal and add a touch of brown sugar...her eyes have been opened!