Hello and Good-Bye :(

Living in Europe has made my family and I realize that 4 people can share a bed, you can survive with a super small fridge, you can where clothing over and over and over again because it takes 8 hours to wash a pair of pants. You can leave off such little and its okay. When we get back home I am shoving everything into a big trash bag and throwing it away because now I know you can not have the newest Webkinz pet or the best Nintendo game but you can still live a great life. Europe also lets you explore and see things nobody has ever seen. You might think a beaded necklace is the most pretty thing in the world, then you come to Europe and see the Eiffel Tower, The London Eye, stain glass windows and then you should be impressed.  Being away from your friends might make you want to cry but, it gives you the chance to make new ones. Being the only American in the hole apartment building can be hard. The best part is being able to say things that nobody else will understand. I have thought of a really good last line here it is: believe in yourself and your tired feet will keep walking. :):):):):):):):) - Gillian

London

We boarded the plane and sat in our seats in row 17. There was a lady who came and sat next to me. She had the cross and was holding it in our hands. The flight was about an hour and a half from Munich. I almost finished my book Alone In the Ice World. At the end of the  flight the lady helped me get my coat on and she gave me a Mozart candy. She ask me how old I was and said I was tall. When we arrived in London we got the tube to our stop. Green Park. We walked to our hotel and went out to get a sandwich. London has all the sandwiches in the world and all the potato chips you can imagine. I could a Roast chicken salad sandwich and some hand made potato chips. . My mom and dad lived in London for about a year so they knew where everything was. We saw the apartment that my mom and dad lived in. We couldn't go inside because  other people lived there. We went to Buckingham palace and saw the guards with the big furry hats walk by. My favorite thing was the brass rubbing. You take something like a molded figure flat on a flat stone, and you cover it in paper. Then you take a oil pastel thing and rub it against the paper. I did Queen Elizabeth the 1st. We also saw the famous telephone booths.  We also went in the London Eye which takes 30 mins. to go around 1 time. We got really good view of Big Ben. For lunch we went to My Old Dutch. A pancake house with pancakes so huge they could barley fit on the table. There was this museum. The British Museum where we saw Rosetta Stone. There was this a long, long, long time ago and apparently he knew he was going to die so he curled up and laid in the hot sand. His body didn't turn to dust. Part of his red hair still lay on his head in a perfect condition. There is also this toy store with 8 floors. It was amazing. A boys floor, a girls floor, and all the other floors. There were bubbles and airplanes everywhere. The next day was Easter and we had so much with my moms friends family. They came over to see relatives and to visit us. 3 months went by fast and now we only have 4 days left. We aren't even packed yet. I can't wait to come back to our real home and see everyone again. But I truly feel melancholy. Enjoy the pictures of London and please comment. - Gillian :):):):)

Vienna

Hello to all. This weekend we went to Vienna. Vienna is in Austria and has a lot of pretty sights. Vienna is home for The Vienna Boys Choir who sang in such a high voice that they sound like girls. We also saw the famous horse show. The show was amazing seeing all the horses jump and balance. It was crazy! We even got stuck in an elevator for the first time ever! It was so scary. Vienna is also famous for Sacher torte. There are two places that sell them and we tried both. My favorite was the 2nd place that we went to. There was once a Emporess of Austria. Her name was Elizabeth but for short they called her SiSi. Her hair was about as long as mine. My mom said that I looked a little like her. SiSi died when a file was pushed into her heart . She was about 70 or so.We also went into a bunch of museums. Anyway please enjoy the pictures and and please comment about Vienna. - Gillian :):):):):)

Prague

This weekend we went to Prague. Prague is in Czech Republic (another country). We stayed in hotel with 5 floors and our room had steps! It had all these little hiding places which made it fun to play hide and seek. Anyway Prague has this big bridge. The Charles bridge with people selling stuff. Within every like 3 ft. there was a statue of a saint or something. The second day we went to a castle and climbed a hill so huge that it had a lift called a funicular  (said like - Fin-inc-ular) At the tip top there was a mirror maze. I walked into walls at least 5 times! We also saw a church that was so pretty and so huge.The third day we walked up an even higher hill to see a castle but, no funicular. We went with our old aupair (or babysitter) Micheala. She is Czech and could tell us a lot about the history of Czech Republic and the 20,000 castles in it. When we were with her we got big cookies! They were really good. Guess what! I got to hold an owl. He was really big and heavy but, he was really soft and really friendly. We also learned a word in Czech. Zeer- it means cheese. Anyway please enjoy the pictures and I will try to post pictures of our apartment soon. Bye! - Gillian (Please Comment)

Tengersee

Yesterday we went to Tengersee and did our school work on the Bob train. Tengersee was this little town that had this really cool lake. We ate lunch on this boardwalk thing and had a great view of the Alps. The ducks were like dolphins that kept diving down to the bottom of the water. After lunch we sat and played in the grass having a lot of fun. We were really upset that we had to go. It was so much fun! Bye! Please comment! - Gillian :):):)

Regensburg and the hot summer like day

This weekend we went to Regensburg. On every single street there was a church and all of them were different. There was also a bridge with a little figure that nobody knew the history of. It looked like a man searching for something or someone. On Sunday we went to the park. It was 62 degrees and it felt like a summer day. On our way into the park we saw a naked man inside the river getting a bath. I was really freaked out. We also made a slope on the hill made out of mud. Yes, mud! We slid down a bizillion times. My hands were like so cold and so muddy! Anyway enjoy the pictures and please comment.

Dachau and Ulm

In the past 2 days we have went to Dachau and Ulm.  We are now doing trips on the weekends and during the week so we can go to a lot of the places we want to go.

                                                                   Dachau                                                                                                                                      2 days ago we went to Dachau. Dachau is known for the concentration camp but my mom didn't want to take us there. In Dachau we saw a castle that was more like a big building and not a castle. Remember in those fairy tales when the trees curled over and made like a tunnel? Well they had one of those in Dachua and it had a really pretty view at the end of it. We also saw a really cute church that had pictures of kids all over the walls. Then we got ice cream and went to a new playground that rocked! They had this rope thing that that you could climb to the top of. It was really fun!

                                                                      Ulm                                                                                                                              Yesterday we went to Ulm and we saw the biggest church in all of Bavaria. It was HUGE!!!!!!! I couldn't believe how large and old it was! Every where we went we saw these birds with hats on and all different stuff. We also saw a crooked house that was tipping over the water. There was the Danube river with swans all over the place. We gave them names: Wanda, Sprinkler, Woofy, BooBoo. BooBoo had a bad leg, Woofy was brown and white, Wanda looked like a Wanda, and Sprinkler sprayed water every where. We also saw a LLama (lama). Yes a LLama. It was so weird. We tried to picture the man getting it onto the train. We also went to the bread museum. It showed how bread was made but no samples (just big pieces of bread behind big pieces of glass). There was also a lot of art that had either bread or pretzels in it.

Anyway we had a lot of fun. Bye! - Gilllian Please Comment

                                                         

  

Hersching

This weekend we went to Herrsching and saw the Andrechs Monastary.They made there on beer and cheese. In the middle of that big hill there was a really cool playground with so many little kids every where! We also saw the Ampersee. (a big lake). It has clear water and big blue mountains behind it. It was really pretty. It was like a day trip so there isn't much to say. We also went to a new church that was in English! I could finally understand.  Then we went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe Munich. We were at one before in Paris. We are collecting pins from all the hard rock cafes that we go to. Anyway I hope all of you are having as much fun as I am! - Gilian Please comment 

 

Deutsches Museum

Yesterday we went to the Deutsches Museum. It is a really big museum with a lot of floors. There was an airplane floor and a ship floor. My favorite was the chemistry floor. On that floor you got to push a big red button which would make all the ingredients mix. With one red button you could make Coke. It looked like it had exploded a few times because there were drips on the glass and on the area it was in. There is also this stuff that is really smelly. So smelly you could get hurt from it if you smelled to much. There was a station with this smelly stuff with a picture of a nose outside of  it and a little area to smell through. So my sister smelled and ran away from the smelliness. Then I smelled. It was sooooooooooooooo nasty. I thought I was gonna through up!  (It was ammonia).

                                                             Electronics 

The loudest station of all was the Electronic station (another favorite)

It was a show with booms, smashes and all those other onomonopia. The first thing was a little spark, so was the second. Then they showed how lightning could go through glass. It made like the loudest boom, smash, flip, flop, noise that I had ever heard. And lasted for like 3 minutes.

My least favorite section of the museum was the Mining. We went down steps and we had no idea where they lead to. We ended up under ground for like, a really long time,following the exit signs and a man who only spoke Italian. It was not the best.

The Deutsches Museum was really cool. I hope that I can go back again. Bye! - Gillian

Please Comment.

Friends

A few days ago we went to the Leopold Park. (Not that far away). We heard two kids talking English but, we didn't talk to them except when we said "Excuse me" to walk pass them. On our way out of the playground my mom said we should've made friends. So  I asked if we could go back in to make friends. My mom said okay an we walked in. We stood on the swing set but didn't say anything. We were all shy. So I decided to say do you guys wanna play tag? They said okay and we made friends. There names were Leah and Ben from England. Leah was 6 1/2 and Ben was 8. Finally we met some English speaking kids. Bye! - Gillian. Please Comment! :):):):):):):):):):)

Nurnberg

This weekend we went to Nurnberg. (Nor-en-berg). They are known for Nurnberg sausages which are supposed to be the best sausages in the world but, I didn't think so. We went to this castle thing with 3 sides. It was kind of boring. The thing that excited me the most was the toy museum! It had like 5 floors of old dusty toys! The toys that I remembered from when I was little were the: E.T doll, the Smurfs, Barbies, and TeleTubbies. There was this gold fountain thing in the village square that had a silver ring built into it. If you touched the silver ring you would get good luck. I touched the ring three times for extra good luck. My dad's friend went with us to Nurnberg. He was cool and he knew a lot about it! A lot of the buildings were damaged by bombs in the war but, they fixed it up and now you can't even tell that they were destroyed. Anyway the pictures of the trip show me touching the ring and the other picture shows the Glockenspiel. 

Bye! - Gillian ( please leave comments) :):):):):):):):):)

Paris

This weekend we went Paris. To me it was dirty and smelly with homeless men laying on the streets. On the Metro (underground bus thing) people would sing or play muscical instruments for money. Some of them were really good. We went to the Rodin Museum where we saw "The Thinker". He was really cool. We also went to Montmarte where we climbed a HUGE hill. On the top of the HUGE hill there was a church that we went in. A mass was going on so we couldn't look or walk around much. All of the sudden the Eiffel Tower in the distance started blinking like crazy. It was amazing. The next day we went to the the world famous Louvre Museum where we saw The MonaLisa. You would think the painting would be bigger but it was kind of small. We also saw Winged Victory whick was really, really big. Venus De Milo (the goddess of love). Then we walked along the Seine River to Saint Chapelle. Saint Chappelle had beautiful stained glass windows that everyone was taking pictures of. We also went to Notre Dame - a huge church with T.V.s because you can't see the alter from so far away. You may also know Notre Dame from the Disney movie ( The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
The next day was my birthday and we went to the Eiffel Tower and took an elevator all the way to the top. It was really cold and there were huge lines. Everyone tried to push pass us just because we were little kids waiting in line. On the first elevator up I could barely breath from being smushed so much. When we finally got up there we could see people playing soccer and little kids on the playground. In the gift shop I got a model of the Eiffel tower to always be reminded of my birthday in Eiffel Tower. Later on we went to Napoleon's Tomb. Napoleon was short man but he was like an Emporer.
Back at our appartment I opened my birthday presents. As some of you know I really want a frog but, I can't have one until I get back from Germany. So I got a little crystal baby frog from the Swavorski store. He was my favorite of all the presents that I got. Bye! - Gillian

Schwangau

Yesterday and the day before we went to see castles in Schwangau. Schwangau is a city. We took a tour through both castles. The first one was called Hohesschwangau which was a vacation house for Ludwig (Ludvig) and his family. The second castle was called Neuschwanstein. We had to take a carridge ride up to it because it was such a long walk. It was designed by King Ludwig who was kind of crazy. He only lived there for half of a year because he died. When he died the castle wasn't even finished. Only about 20 of the 200 rooms were done. We stayed at a hotel called Muller. They had the best candy EVER. It is called: Kay Fruchtchen. The day before that we went to the top of a huge ( and when I say huge I mean HUGE) mountain called the Alps. It was snow covered. We first took a cable car all the way up which was about 10 minutes long. Then we climbed even higher which made my ears pop. My mom said not to get wet but, it didn't happen. There was a hill that we slid down on just our pants, then when we tried to climb back up we would slide all the way down. My brothers shoe fell off in the deep  snow. Although I got really cold it was so much fun. Bye!- Gillian 

Banana Passion

Today I went to the main train station and got a Banana Passion Milkshake. You would think it would be sweet but, it was extremly sour. Anyway, the squid you saw in the other picture was called Pupo, I think. Bye! - Gillian

P.S. in the left picture I am in the right side.

The Freaky Museum / Viktualienmarkt

Yesterday we went to The Freaky Museum (not its real name). It was a really quick trip up two stories of freaky things. They had different types of toilets and a baby doll with a mustache. One of the toilets was fur lined. On our way to the second floor we saw a some sort of rabid looking bunny in a box. We also saw a big mannequin with black hair are dark, dark eyes, she was pretty scary. The museum was in honor of 2 famous German comedians.

                                                              Viktualienmarkt (Vicky Market)

   We also went to the Vickey Market where we got a yummy mixed fruit stick with chocolate. After that, we went to the fruit stand where there was a huge, smelly, pointy fruit that isn't sold in America (a Durian) - it cost 25 Euros!  My brother poked it and the man whistled at us. Quickly we walked away. Then we saw fish store with squid in the window.

                                            I hope you enjoyed my blog. Please, pretty please comment! Thanks! - Gillian

                    

             

                  

Olyimpia Park

Today we went to Olyimpia Park. It was where the olympics were held in 1972. There was a trampoline. The biggest trampoline I have ever seen and the bounciest trampoline I had ever bounced on. There was an indoor pool with people swimming to music. It was really cool. We took an elevater up a really big tower where we used binoculars to see things. We could see Salzburg (another trip) through them. On the way back down down my ears were popping like crazy. Anyway today was really cool I would definitely go back to Olyimpia Park. Bye! - Gillian

Pictures should be showing :):):)

Our trip to Salzburg, Austria

Hello to all! This is Gillian posting another blog. It is about our trip to Salzburg, Austria. We took a train for an hour and a half. Then we walked across a really big bridge to a museum about Mozart. At the Mozart Cafe we asked for dumplings but got some sort of macoroni looking thing that was wasn't even good! We wondered our way to a castle ( Salzburg Castle) and took a roller coaster / elevater thing all the way up. We were really high. We also had a great view. Then we took the roller coaster thing back down again. After that we took a carridge ride. My sister (Devon) got to sit up front with the driver. The horses names were Mona and Lisa. (Mona+Lisa=Monalisa)


Bye! Please comment! - Gillian:)

The Zoo

Yesterday we went to the zoo. They had some really strange animals like the Tapir that looked like an anteater and panda mix. My favorite place was the monkey palace. There was a huge gray monkey who was the king. There were all these baby monkeys that we still pink from when they were born. They were really funny. One of the monkeys hit my sister from behind the glass and started to growl. Some of the animals would stare at us until we walked away. The gorillas were in the zoo for about 40 years so they were pretty old. Except the baby, who was only about 4 years old. He was really cute and started to flip in all different directions. I was really glad we went to a German zoo.

Please comment and ask questions - Gillian

REMINDER

For all who are reading this. Please remember to email me and write letters. If you already wrote a letter and didn't get a response it was because we are trying to find  stamps and envelopes. Bye- Gillian

     

Where we went today

Hi! Today we went to the crape place that I talked about in the last blog and we also went to the gummy store. Everything they had was... GUMMY. Gummy Bears, Gummy Soda, Gummy Gum, and a lot of other things. We spent like $15 USA dollars on Gummy Candy. We also went to Ludwigskirche (LudWig's Church) which has the largest fresco in the world 56 ft. wide, and 35 ft. high. Then we went to the Isar river and watched a surfer. We also calculated the speed of the river.(5 feet per second). After that we walked along the river and crossed over it and saw Maximillianeum ( that is where the home of the Bavarian Parliament is). At last we toke a tram home and collapsed.

It was really tiring, my legs still hurt- Gillian

Where We hope to Go

 Hi. I am glad you guys are also excited that I am going to Paris. I wanted to let you know  what river I was studying. I am studying the Isar  river which is really close to our apartment. Today we hope to go to the gummy bear store, and the crape store. A crape is a hot pastry kind of thing that is great with chocolate, sprinkles, sugar, and cherries.

        We found out that in Germany they don't sell microwavable popcorn, peanut butter, grape jelly, and that fake sugar Equal.  We are also trying to find maple syrup.

                                                        Bye- Gillian

                                   

            

Covered With Snow

Hi Everyone. I wanted to let you know that today I went to a really cool ( and huge) church. It looked like it was covered with snow. ( bottom left)   Also when I looked up there was a dome with a very small but very detailed painting (bottom right). It was really cool.

     I found out where I was going for my birthday (Feb.) Try to guess!  PARIS! I am going to see the Eiffel Tower. Isn't that cool! I can't believe I am going to PARIS. The city of lights. Wow. I am really amazed.    - Gillian

German Words

I know some of you want to learn a few words in German so, here they are:

Abschuss = blast-off

Lehrer = teacher

Schularbeit =schoolwork

gut = good

bad = bath

gifts = poison

To answer your questions.

In almost all of those comments you asked questions. So I am going to answer them:

 What is it like in Germany? - Really cool. They have some strange foods but I really like to try new things.

Do you like Germany? - Yes. The buildings are really colorful and there are beautiful sight.

Do you have any friends yet?- No.

Are you doing the river project?- Yes.

 How are things in Germany?- It's great.

Do they speak a different language? - Yes. German

What's the weather like?- The weather is really cold.

Is your apartment big?- Well sort of. We have 1 toilet, one washer and dryer ( combined)  2 bedrooms, a dinning room, a living room,2 showers and a porch.

Do you like German food or American food?- American food because I  can understand the menu.

What is your favorite thing to do?- Go on walks.

What are you learning?- I am learning what all of you are learning.

Are there different T.V. shows?- Yes there are. The only show I understand is spongebob. I  have seen like every episode.

Do you get tests from your mom?- Yes I do.

 If you have any more questions your can either comment or email me.  Bye. I miss you all. - Gillian

WOW

Wow. I am impressed that I got 25 comments. I am glad you all are checking the blog. If you didn't hear before I don't have everyones email. So if you can, please email them to me. The food here is mostly starch and meat. We have a German word  game called Talk Now and the goal is to get 1,800 points and I already have 757. It's is really cold here but, lately it's been really warm. I am having lots of fun in Germany. My sister still can't believe that we are here. My mom's back went out so she can't help us with school much. I am glad it's Friday. Maybe my mom's back will get better by Monday but, until she is better I am the substitute teacher. Please comment. - Gillian

Going Great

Hi everyone this is Gillian in Germany. I just wanted to let you know that we are doing great and I can't wait to see you all when I get back. If anyone from my class is reading this please send me your email again because I don't have the paper with them all on there. I hope you guys are having fun back there. The food here is a little strange. How strange? There is meat shaped like pandas' in a really big bag. We at out once and couldn't understand the menu. My mom is a good teacher. we are all in the same school room ( dinning room) which strangely looks like a classroom. Although we are having fun we miss you all in America. Bye -Gillian

Hello

Dear class

I am having a lot of fun in Germany. We don’t have a car so we take the tram, u-bahn, or train everywhere. Sometimes we walk.
The food here is a little different. My favorite is the chocolate.
Kinder Eggs and Happy Hippos are so delicious.
At school I am doing the same things what you guys are doing ewith all the same books and everything.

Auf Wiedersehen (Good-bye) - Gillian

First Few Days

Hi everyone! We arrived a few days ago and everything is great but we don't have an internet connection in our apartment yet so I can't start telling you all the details. I will tell you more in a few days. Guten Tag!