This is your hotel??

I've been in Germany for almost a month and I'm still loving it just as much, if not more than I did on day one.  I'm still struggling with the language and with the non-American hours of stores.  It's been difficult saying goodbye to the 24 hr Walmart that carries every necessity of life.  You won't find the convenience of department stores in Garmisch, everything can be found in different shops that feature specific items, similar to the small town feel of New Carlisle.  Most stores open mid morning, close for an afternoon break, and then close for the night between 6 and 8 (with the exception of restaurants...most have "normal hours"). Oh, and nothing is open on Sunday...nothing!  Europeans tend to have a more laid back attitude about work and have their own interest at heart, so if they want to take a 2 hour lunch on a Saturday that's okay because their European customers will understand, it's the tourists who aren't used to this type of operation.  They also don't bulk shop.  Food and other daily items are purchased with the intent of using them within the next couple days.  One reason for this is the lack of preservatives in their food, everything is so much fresher!  They also do this because similar to any big city in the U.S. they don't have cars and have to carry their groceries home. 
Friday night was something else!  Even though all three of us girls had to work at 7am on Saturday we decided to go to our favorite German bar, Peaches.  Bret says it sounds like a strip club haha and other than the Porno Party (I didn't attend), it is far from it.  Of course we set our usual "curfew" and all discussed how we would walk home early so work would at least be bearable, so when we strolled in at 3:30am that was no longer an option. I hate to admit it, but we stopped at McDonalds on the walk home where we happened to run into the group of German boys we had just left at the bar.  My excuse for not staying was that I had to work in a couple hours so when we saw them one exclaimed "SOOO Jennifer, this is your hotel!?".  Haha I was a little embarrassed and decided to pass on food for the moment so I could get out of there.  I did try a french fry though, also hate to admit this, but it was much better than what I'm used to getting at home.  We all made it to work with a couple minutes to spare to grab some coffee from the staff cafeteria and went our separate ways.  Eight hours later when we met in the locker room our "morning drunkeness" had worn off and we were a pathetic group.  Was a lesson learned?  Probably not.

Check out those forearms and those massbiers!

For my American friends who are curious about the bar atmosphere I'll give you a little run down.  Most bars close around 3am, but several in Garmisch do not close. Beer is very inexpensive...a 16oz glass of beer is about 2.50 Euro and a mass (about 64oz) is roughly 8 or 9 Euro.  For my fellow liquor lovers, you're not going to like what I'm about to say.  Shots are fairly cheap, running about 3 Euro each.  Mixed drinks on the other hand, start around 7.50 Euro and aren't the strongest drinks I've ever had.  You also can't get a glass of water or soda at the bar for free...makes me miss the pitchers of water they hand out at Sports!  Good news though, they play American hits like The Macarena, YMCA, and more recent pop music. Overall, they're very similar to U.S. bars, as long as you can handle the European smell lingering on the dance floor.