This post isn't about anything. Just a random sampler. First of all, check out the picture of my latest vegetable discovery. It's called romanesca. It tastes basically like cauliflower, but look at how intricate it is. Every point is made of little spirals, and every little spiral is made of tiny spirals, and every tiny spiral is made of tinier spirals, etc. It's in all the stores here.

The other pictures are the Frankfurt Temple. Our stake relief society went yesterday. I was amazed by the turnout! From my ward, there was just me and the relief society president. As the only non-German speakers, we spent the whole day together. It was fun to get to know her. From the other wards, there were a ton of people! We filled two buses! It's about a three-hour drive to the temple, and when we got there, the temple president and matron spoke to us (one of the members was good enough to translate for the two of us) in the chapel next door. Then we all shuffled into the next room for what they called "a light snack". In America, this means a cookie and Mormon punch. But the room was full of food! And it was all authentic, homemade German food! They had pretzels (the pretzels here are so good. They're big, like American soft pretzels, but they're way better than anything in America. The outside is crispy like a regular small pretzel, but the inside is light and fluffy. They're in all the bakeries here.) They also had lots of pastries filled with cheese, spinach, ham, etc; zweibel kuchen (literally, onion cakes, but basically quiche); all sorts of cakes and breads, and lots of fruit. It was great. Then we went into the temple and did an endowment session, had more food afterwards, and then came home. It was a very long day, but it was fun to hang out with the Germans for the day. They were a lot of fun, and they're all very friendly. And the bus ride gave me a chance to see some of the country side. We passed a few castle ruins. That was kind of cool. And we also passed a lot of vineyards. I didn't realize Germany had vineyards- I thought it'd be too cold. But they were all over. I think that's all I have to say about that.

I've been watching all the tags on other people's blogs, and I've picked my favorite. Here goes (and it's going to be hard, because most of the answers from my sisters' blogs work for me, too, so I'm trying to be orginal):

Someday: I will have my own garden. In the ground; not in pots on my patio.

I usually: eat yogurt with cereal in it for breakfast.

I wonder: why the purple crocuses always seem to sprout and bloom before the white ones.

I regret: being so shy in my earlier life that I missed getting to know a lot of good people.

I love: peanut butter, apples, and hot pajamas straight out of the dryer (not necessarily all together).

I care: about not having any tangles in my hair. Ever.

I always: have "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing" or "Redeemer of Israel" running through my head.

I worry: too much about the little things, like what I'll have for dinner tonight, and not enough about the big things, like wearing sunscreen in the middle of summer.

I am not: patient with slow-walking people in the mall, in the halls at work, at the grocery store, etc.


I remember: birthdays of people I barely knew years ago.

I forget: some of my closest friends' birthdays every year.

I believe: just about anything anybody tells me.

I dance: like a mix between Bill Cosby and Elaine Benes.

I sing: hymns and broadway songs in the shower.

I don't always: keep things in perspective.

I argue: whenever anybody blames the economy on Alan Greenspan. He warned us for years and nobody listened.

I write: with the handwriting of a little boy.

I win: very few bets.

I lose: every time I play the Michigan version of Scum. I just don't like that version.

I wish: time would freeze so I didn't have to miss all the happenings in Michigan and Utah while I'm away.

I listen: for the sound of Canadian geese in the fall, bluebirds and cardinals in the summer, and swallows and sparrows in the spring.

I don't understand: why anybody would choose to eat durian more than once. Or bird fetuses ever. Or cabbage that has been rotting in an underground pot for weeks. I guess that's why I was born in America.

I can be found: in the gym every morning at 6.

I am scared: of the dark for weeks after I watch a scary movie.

I need: a good balance between quiet time and social time.

I am happy: in general. And when I'm with my friends. And when I walk out my office door every night.

Oktoberfest

Yesterday I went to Volksfest, Stuttgart's version of Oktoberfest. I had no idea what to expect. I kind of thought it would be one long street of booths to buy beer. But it's actually more like a carnival. There were all sorts of rides and games and food booths, on about the same scale as Lagoon. But there were also beer tents. They were huge tents set up by various beer companies. They had wooden floors and tables and everything, and each one has a live band in the center and hundreds of people inside, and a big decorated wagon with a bunch of big horses out in front. Apparently you can get food in the tents, but most people just get beer. It comes in liter-sized glasses. That's a lot. And most people get more than one. I didn't go into any of the tents because they seemed pretty rowdy, but it looked like everybody was singing and dancing and being "merry". The one thing I really wasn't prepared for in going to Oktoberfest was the clothes. Most people wore regular clothes, jeans, t-shirts, whatever. But a lot of people were wearing leder hosen and dirndls. I kind of always thought that traditional German clothes were worn about as often as people in American wear traditional square dancing or pioneer clothes, meaning never. And they come in all varieties. Some were long, some were short, some had suspenders, some didn't, some were really ornate, some were plain. The best part was that it was mainly the burly, strapping young men who were wearing the lederhosen. Let's just say I have an all new appreciation for lederhosen, and leave it at that.

Germany!

Well, after days of clouds and rain, the sun came out and smiled on me yesterday and I started really discovering Germany. After being inspired by Saturday's conference talks, and before conference started on Sunday, I took a train downtown and saw some sites. Rather than write a long, wordy post, I'll just put up pictures and try to label them (I don't know how to label pictures, so if it works out, I'll be patting myself on the back). Okay- I couldn't figure out the labels. So I'll just tell you what the pictures are: 1. Stuttgart from SchlossPlatz- I rode the Subway and had no idea what to expect when I came out. Last time I was downtown, the sun was going down and I was trying to drive steep and narrow streets and just focus on not going the wrong way on one-way streets or running stop signs that don't look like stop signs, so I really didn't see much to appreciate. But when I came out of the Subway, this view greeted me. It was like the heavens opened and angels were singing, announcing Stuttgart as a beautiful city. Note the yellow banners. They're advertising the Volks Fest, which is Stuttgart's version of Oktoberfest. Did you know Oktoberfest is only in Munich? My coworkers were very clear on that. I think the two festivals are kind of rivals. Anyway, the Stuttgart festival has carnival rides and such, and is the 2nd biggest traveling fair in the world (behind Oktoberfest, but I won't mention that around my coworkers) 2. Altes Schloss- more detail with picture 6. 3. Neues Schloss (new palace), built in 1746 (yes, the new palace was built in 1746- just wait til I tell you when the old palace was built) for Willhelm Wurrtemberg. 4. Schiftskirche (Dad, maybe you can tell me what the correct spelling is, but I think the translation is Collegiate Church) built around the 10th century (that's 900 AD!) and used as a burial for the Wurrtembergs. The windows are stained glass, but you can only see the color from inside. I would have gone inside, but there was a service going on. 5. Me in front of the gardens at Neues Schloss- I found some Americans and asked them to take my picture so I could prove I did actually come to Germany. 6. Altes Schloss (old palace) built between the 10th and 13th centuries. It had a moat and everything until it was remodeled in the renaissance style in the 15th century- next time you think you need a remodel, just remind yourself that you can wait a few more centuries. 7. My office building. It's the tallest building in Vaihingen, just like the building in Michigan- you can see it for miles. How nice.