Lesson from yesterday: it’s easier to fight hard for something when you want what the fighting will get you.  Anyone who knows me, knows that late nights and lack of sleep does not equal pleasant, friendly, enjoyable-to-be-around Mari.  And considering that I had only slept maybe 4 hours (curled up on a plane) in the last 36 hours or so could have easily been a recipe for disaster.  But I figured that fighting really hard against jet lag for one day would make for better days to follow.

But surprisingly, it wasn’t too hard to make it through yesterday.  Steve wasn’t able to pick me up from Frankfurt International so he send his friend Juliana to come collect me at the airport.  She was a great tour guide and took me to Heidelberg, which is considered a “city” to Germans.  I’d say it’s more like a cute, big villiage.  But it was so picturesque and wonderful.  I took lots of pictures but haven’t uploaded them yet so I’ll just use some I found on Google.  All the streets in Heidelberg are paved with cobblestones (swoon!) and the main street was pretty much pedestrian only  lined with cafes, shops, H&M, students from the local university, girls wearing scarves (I couldn’t resist going to H&M and buying a couple), alleyways, everything perfect and pristine.  I loved everything about this town.  And for lunch: Schnitzel  of course!

Today I’m on my own until Steve gets off work later in the afternoon.  I slept like a rock last night and have been up since 5:40 local time.  All I want to do is find a open-air cafe, grab a cup of coffee (always espresso here), and journal, read, people watch, think, pray, and take it all in.  And from what I saw yesterday, I don’t think that will be hard to find.

Stay tuned!