Of course the first would be the fact that I have family here that I rarely am able to see. It's been a lot of fun hanging out with them and getting to know them better. Plus, having family that has lived here for awhile is nice because they can tell you so much more about the country than touristy places. And you get to stay in a place tourists don't stay in.
I love the greenery. Imagine Rexburg, ID. Extremely green for a longer time. Add in a few hills and mountains and wonderful roads. Then you can almost picture Switzerland. But not really.
I love the speed limits. They are nice and fast. Most of the time.
I love that you can just hop over to visit another country for a day trip if you wish. Today I went to Germany with my cousins. We went to an amusement park called Europa-Park.
If you ever get the chance to go to Europe stop by Europa-Park. It's an amusement park with different parts dedicated to certain European countries. Well, dedicated to the stereotypes of the different countries that just so happen to be true. It was awesome. Some of the countries included France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and even former British colonies. It was extremely fun. Plus, they have the tallest roller coaster in Europe called the Sliver Star. It's awesome. I loved that ride. Another roller coaster is Blue Fire where you go from 0 to 100 kph in 2.5 seconds. That one literally took your breath away. And you spun and spun and spun. They even have water rides where you can get soaked.
There is also a camp ground there where you can stay for however many nights you want. They charge per car per night. We wandered over there after the park closed. What was the most amusing part was that the camp ground had it's own set of stores and playgrounds and such, but it was all the stereotype of the American West. You know, the Cowboys and Indians and Wanted Posters, etc. That was the greatest thing ever. Apparently most Europeans imagine the American Frontier to look just like that.I also love the European cars. They're small. They're fast. They're even pretty. I'm kinda planning to get one sometime. :) You can tell who is from which country based on the license plate. I saw cars from Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Russia, France...
I love the German autobahn. There is no speed limit. You just go. and move quickly out of the way of the faster cars because they will not slow down. I love the laws for driving. It's so simple and so much faster. You are always in the righthand lane unless you are passing, then you move to the left and go back into the right as soon as you pass them. Most freeways and highways are two lanes. But occasionally there are 3 lanes and in that case the same rule aplies. Also, if you are in the righthand lane you cannot pass the car on the left, it's illegal. It makes a lot of sense in practice. It's so so so much easier and simpler and I love it. I also love the roundabouts. They make total sense once you see it in action. Whoever is in the inner ring get's the right of way always. The outer ring always gives way to the inner ring. If there is more than two rings (though there are no dotted lines on the ground, you just look at the size of it) then the same aplies. The very outer gives way to those in the inner ring next to them and so forth. I love it. I really do.
On the way back from Germany we almost decided to go through France on the way home. But we decided against it because it was late. But isn't that odd that you would have an option like that? I love that too.
I also love the odd castles. They are actual castles. Some a little more ruined than others. But I'll be actually visiting one sometime verses driving under them in a tunnel.
I'm loving this trip. I'm loving my relatives. I'm so grateful for this opportunity. Life is pretty wonderful.
Alex, I might be signed in as Monica, but this is your Mom. I didn't know that about the round-abouts. Which is a little ironic considering how many round-abouts we have in our town. Makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad that you are able to do these things. I've always thought that if you ever decided to take your fictional writing seriously, that traveling to Europe would be hugely beneficial as far as setting the scene.
Keep having fun. (And of course help Jennifer and Aunt Alison when ever you can.
sounds like a lot of fun. you surprised me that you took the roller coaster and liked it, then went on another one (the second one is the 0-100km in 2.5 sec).
ReplyDeleteGood thing you write in a journal and blog, that way if I ever do something like this you'll write about it so I don't forget
I know. I'm half terrified of them. But they were awesome. And I had to go after hearing that they were famous well-known roller coasters. I couldn't pass up that opportunity.
ReplyDeleteYup. I'll be your memory-keeper. :)