Take a deep breath...

This may get a bit overwhelming but I'm going to have to post multiple updates right now because of how many photos I have which need some explanation!

This is Sindefingen. Cokie, Anne and I decided to spend the day there. There isn't much to Sindelfinge; just Ikea and St. Martin's Church. The church is over 900 years old and is absolutely beautiful. The three of us went inside, sat and listened to a woman play the organ for about half an hour. It was a beautiful and cleansing like experience to really just be in our own heads and absorb all that was around us. After our day in Sindelfingen the three of us made our way to Nellingen for a friend's birthday party. It was our first real taste of the way German's celebrate! We ate the tradition Schwäbisch dish maultaschen, and I had schnapps for the first time. After a long a delusional night, we finally got to sleep around 5 AM, slept for a few hours and then had breakfast at 11. After breakfast, a big group of us went for a walk on a trail in Nellingen. It was absolutely gorgeous with all of the fall colors!

Sindelfingen

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All Saint's Day

In Germany, Halloween is not really an observed holiday. It is just becoming popular amongst the really young children. That being said, the DO observe All Saints Day as a national holiday. This year it fell on a Tuesday and meant NO school, so we made the best of it! :]

Anne and I woke up early and went to Stuttgart and met with our friend Markus. We went to the top of the Stuttart Fernsehturm. Built in 1954, it was the first fernsehturm in the world to be build out of concrete. It stands 711 ft tall from foundation to the tip of the antenna and is 504 ft tall from foundation to the observation tower. It was a relatively clear day which meant we could see ALL of Stuttgart and many of the neighboring towns.

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Anne and Markus

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Me and Markus

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Me and Anne

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Views of Stuttgart!

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After the tower, Markus brought us lunch that we ate in the park! 

Since our day just wasn't complete enough...

we met with Brittany and Hannes and went to Rotenburg and looked over at the vineyards...

 

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Me, Brittany and Anne

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Anne, Markus, Me, and Hannes

To make the day even MORE exciting...we went to a Besen after. In German, the word "besen" means broom, but also refers to local, seasonal wine kellers. Besens are open for 4 months out of the year, can only seat 40 people and are like mini-restaurant/tasting rooms for local wine-makers. It's such a cozy enviroment, sitting at tables and having conversations with strangers over a glass (or two) of new wine and a meal of maultashen or wurst. It so easy to sit there for hours, and we proved it by staying for 5 hours. The German culture really values time with their friends and family and good conversation. 

A typical stereotype of Germans is that they are cold and stoic. Here are some pictures that prove they can show emotions and enjoy being a little bit goofy (which I'm sure was pretty influenced by the three California girls). 

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