Amazing

Today was simply amazing.  Research was fun and I got to do the entire experiment by myself, which showed me that my mentors trust me.  After research, we decided randomly to go explore Mannheim.  We now have tickets that will take us anywhere in Germany, so we might take advantage of that later.  In Mannheim, we took pictures around this building that had statues and carvings of Neptune, nymphs, and sphinxes.  It was a gorgeous building with beautiful fountains on either side.  After we finished taking pictures there, we went shopping.  (I will try to see if Amy will post the pictures on Facebook...she likes to play around with them to make them look better).  I didn't get anything, but there were a lot of cute clothes and they were really cheap.  I'm thinking about maybe entering a European style phase and getting skinny jeans or lose black capris, a red tank top, and either a black or beige fitted jacket or a denim one.  Too bad money doesn't grow on trees (: ...Amy got a really cute denim dress and Krista bought an outrageous shirt just for fun.  We took the train back to Pforzheim and we realized that there was a festival going on.  There are festivals every week in Pforzheim and this week it was a car show.  The cars looked really sleek and were a lot smaller than the ones at home.  I wasn't particularly interested in the cars besides their looks, but there was a concert going on in the center so we hung out there.  I went to the Turkish restaurant and got a meat sandwich with lettuce and chili pepper (I usually wouldn't have asked for this, but the employee insisted).  It was delicious and that is now one of my favorite places for food!  We walked around a lot and found a garden on the top of one of the stores's roof.  We had a great time and it was fun just spontaneously going to a festival that just happened to be in Pforzheim.  Tomorrow's plans are to go to Heidelberg, eat Schpatzel for lunch, visit the ruins of a castle, take lots of pictures, possibly drink tea, and shop.  Sunday, we are taking a tour of a monastery and going to a Renaissance Festival they are holding near the monastery.  According to my mentor, it's one of the most attended festivals and there are jousting competitions, people dressed in costumes, and a lot more.  I'm excited to tell you guys all about it.

Night,

~Kiersten