Manassas. Welcome Home!

„You have your own quit room and shower!!! Welcome Home!!! … Spaghetti with meatballs dinner coming up! And healthy salads!“

Words you LOVE to hear after spending several weeks in tents or hostels and eating overpriced fast-food. I can’t wait to get to Manassas, Virginia and enjoy a few relaxing days with my best American family. As soon as I arrive a hot cup of coffee, pancakes & a delicious omelette are waiting for me. What a great welcome! The following days are truly recreational. We visit the Manassas Museum and learn a bit more about Northern Virginias history through artifacts, documents and images and treat ourselves to a tasty „appetizer journey“ at the local greek restaurant, Katerinas Greek Cousine. Another highlight is definitely the wine tasting at Morais Vineyards & Winery. Steve, Becky and I try 12 different wines and the last one, a Cherry Wine, is served in chocolate cups. Sooooooo good! I have to buy two bottles! Next mission now: How to mail them to Germany? The first post office won’t mail alcoholic beverages. At the second post office we keep the boxes content a secret. $82 shipping & handling. Keep your fingers crossed that the package makes it to Germany; without anything missing! EDIT: Package arrived in Germany. With wine. YEAH!

Playing games, good old card games, bowling or computer games, always is a great way to spend some quality time with family & friends. Lilly and I have a few intense „Hearthstone“ battles on laptop & iPad, while Steve shows us some awesome Minecraft mods. And we all learn a new card game that soon becomes a favorite: Hearts! (Buying ice cream at Harris Teeter at 1:30 AM and eating it at 2:00 AM included.) If we don’t have a game to play, we sure have a TV show to watch. The new fall season is starting and we all like NBCs „Blindspot“. Thanks to Steve I’ve also discovered „Parks & Recreation“. A few episodes to end the day. Perfect!

MANASSAS, VA

A weekend in Chicago

Before I left Germany my American friend Vanessa came to visit me in Nierstein. Now it was my turn to visit her hometown Chicago. We met at O’Hare Airport and I caught a first glimpse of the impressive Chicago skyline on our way to her place. I shared the ride with Daisy & Jemma, who just got picked up from doggie care. The next day I explored The Loop (the central business district of Chicago). A touristy must-do is Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower). An elevator takes you up to the 103rd floor and you get to enjoy some amazing views through „The Ledge“, a glass balcony extending four feet outside the floor. It’s not as much fun as it sounds though. It took me around 1 1/2 hours to get to the elevator (sardines-in-a-can feeling included) and „The Ledge“ was so crowded that I couldn’t take any pictures. Not even a #selfie. The weather however was great and I really enjoyed this sunny day. (You’ll see as soon as you scroll down to look at many, many pictures of the downtown area). I spent the evening with Vanessas sister Liz and we ate delicious rolls in an all-you-can-eat and B.Y.O.B. sushi place in Little Italy. Yes, we had sushi in Little Italy. And we LOVED it. We also had Oktoberfest beer which was brewed in Chicago.

The next day started kinda slow… I woke up late, made some eggs, ate a few cookies and watched an episode of „Parks & Recreation“. Somehow & eventually I managed to get out of the apartment and – following Liz‘ instructions – made it it to the Museum of Science and Industry. Free entry, yeah! (Liz works here and got me in. Awesome!) I didn’t have very much time though and rushed through a few of the very impressive exhibits like „Robot Revolution“. At 4.00 PM I had to be at the Chicago Theatre to see a show called „Red Bull Flying Bach“. Fun fact:

It makes sense that a German breakdance crew would decide to perform to Bach’s solo keyboard music mixed with electronic beats. The result is an energetic, Red Bull-powered live performance that merges classical music and modern dance. Baroque fans and b-boys, unite!

I saw a German breakdance crew in the Chicago Theatre. Nice! Afterwards we went to Giordano’s and shared a famous deep dish pizza. I even managed to „export“ three slices back to Manassas. At night we watched the lunar eclipse and caught a glimpse of the „Blood Moon“. Really early the next morning it was time to say good-bye and return back to my American home for a day. Now it’s about time to leave the United States… Adventure calls!

CHICAGO, IL