Burger Nation

There is so much for me to comment on so forigve me while I go through the motions of our ten day American extravaganza that included four states and countless hours in the GA.  The timeline might be a bit scrambled - even though I just returned last night my mind is a little jumbled.

#1 Voted Burger

The second visit to the states was much better than my first go round.  Not only did I not see the inside of a hospital, I was able to share my American life with Marcel.  I'm pretty sure he was impressed by the larger than life size of our vehicles, fridges, and personalities.  Maybe impressed isn't the right word, but he did enjoy it.  One of the biggest differences he noticed was how everyone talks to one another whether they have any connection or not.  We are an informal culture based on fake interactions of hellos, half smiles, and how are yous.  Marcel and Alex both agreed that in Germany you wouldn't stop and have a superficial conversation with the person next to you in line at the store.  They may have been out of their element but both guys certainly did impress me with their ability to take in something a little different than what they are used to.  And yes, I'm talking about the beer.  They embraced Budweiser for the first couple days, but once they discovered that Aldi sold German beer (at a reasonable price) that became their go to.  During a fire at Jordan's Marcel opted to have a  Bud Light and the concern on Alex' face was noteworthy.  He was worried he had lost Marcel to the world of light beer.  Next time he'll have his priorities straight.  Another staple of the trip was the burger.  Over the days I lost track of how many burgers the guys ate.  Between fast food and the real burger joints we visited their numbers were really up there.  Don't worry, I got the final decision and their favorite goes to Redamaks with Nicks in Bloomington at a close second.  If the food didn't win over Marcel, I'm not sure what did.  My favorite comment he made was in reference to the chili cheese fries at Redamaks - they were really "special" to him.  Either way, we ate way too much. 

Kassy's apartment before going out

St. Louis was a sixteen hour adventure.  Due to traffic and accidents we spent a better part of the day traveling.  Once we arrived we didn't have much time to do more than say a quick hello to the legendary Keith Keys and drop our bags in the room.  The Arch was our first stop.  We debated on going to the top, but in all reality it is doubtful they'll be in St. Louis again so it was a no brainer.  We rode the little egg up and took in the views of the river and the city.  The Arch really is a beautiful monument, I'm glad we took the time to enjoy it.  After our touristy moment we walked to a nearby pub for much needed food and drinks while we watched Dirk struggle during the Maverick's/Heat game.  We walked back to the hotel in the cooling night to find a little cheese and cracker platter sent up to our room - not quite VIP status, but it's a step in the right direction.  I still can't get over how miserable St. Louis is during the summer.  I don't know how I made it those couple weeks with broken AC in the top floor apartment.

Peering out of the Arch window

Luckily, we spent the next day in the air conditioned Galleria Mall so the Germans could get in some shopping.  They were amazed at the price of just about everything.  On top of cheaper prices the Euro is stronger than the dollar so they were getting a double whammy deal.  I really envied them with the exchange rate in their favor.  It makes me wonder when will I get my monetary break...

Oinks in New Buffalo

   Bloomington was the highlight of the trip for me.  The city has so many positive memories associated with it, I can't help but be happy when my mind wanders there.  This visit was no exception.  It was a thin slice of my entire last summer; lounging around with Kassy and Randy all day then hitting it hard at night at some of our favorite bars.  The 15 cent beer special blew Marcel and Alex away.  They couldn't believe it was possible to do that and they did take advantage of it.  During the day Randy and I gave a campus driving tour to the foreigners and ended it with some shopping on Kirkwood and a long island with the infamous Kilroys breadsticks.  A nap followed shortly after, of course.  That night we went to Nicks for dinner, the Maverick's game, and to play Sink the Biz, an IU tradition.  Before we left Nicks to continue our night elsewhere some students started the Who? Who? Who? Hoosiers! cheer at Nicks.  It was the perfect example of University spirit for Marcel and Alex.  University is so different in Germany, it doesn't appear to have the same social aspect as American college.  So, the rest of the night was more fun than we could handle.  Randy buffaloed me several times, I iced him in the most awesome way possible, and Marcel swept the foosball table (I think he actually only played one game).  Oh, and I forgot the international dart game - my fellow citizens failed me while Germany took away the W (!!!CORRECTION!!!! USA won the game.  Oops!).  The following morning we had big plans to get breakfast at Runcible Spoon, but sleep was priority and we managed to stop at Dagwoods on our way out of town.  Another half day was spent in the car headed towards northern Indiana for a cookout at Dad's.

Our first visit with Dad occurred on Sunday; a day after our arrival.  Seeing Dad was great, although I wish I could have had a lot more time with him.  Marcel was nervous for the big meeting with Bret and Dad and despite his worrying, he did an awesome job and they loved him.  Dad's recovery still amazes and impresses me.  Sometimes I think he has even more energy than he did before the accident.  He kept us laughing the whole visit and managed to feed Alex half of his steak and shrimp lunch at Christo's.  I'll say it again, I'm a lucky girl.

Snapshot at the wedding

A quick walk out to the lighthouse in Michigan City

Saturday night we had the big Miller-Dhoore wedding.  Katey was the first of the girls to get married and I actually got a little choked up watching the ceremony.  She looked absolutely beautiful.  I was disappointed I couldn't be in the wedding.  I've been waiting to give that speech since 7th grade, but with the last minute decision to even attend the wedding I completely understand and was just happy to be a part of her special day.  We ate, drank, and danced right through the reception and somehow found ourselves at The Still for the nightcap where I saw more people than I had hoped to.  Marcel and Alex got the real feel for our townie bar and I'm pretty sure they had a great time viewing some of the fine people of the greater New Carlisle area.  Marcel loved it and commented that it was just like Wal-Mart.  He got a good viewing of some of the fine specimens that frequent Wal-Mart and I recently introduced him to peopleofwalmart.com.  I think he's found a new hobby.

Amy and I playing at the bean

Monday wad dedicated to a quick view of Chicago and a Cubs game.  We woke up way too early to catch the train. When an east bound train passed through they laughed and stared for a bit.   I should have warned the guys that the Southshore is nothing like the train system in Germany.  Chicago was a new thing for both Alex and Marcel.  There are just not cities like that in Europe so they were easily overwhelmed and impressed by the tall buildings.  We first visited the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) which now has a glass bottom observation deck that lets you walk out of the building a few feet.  It was a really cool experience to stand and look down 103 stories beneath your feet.  We made sure to get a foot pic and moved on to our next stop, Giordanos for the famous stuffed pizza.  Again, the guys laughed at the look and size of the pizza, but they loved it and ate every last bite.  We did some more touristy action which included the bean and Navy Pier.  Before we knew it it was time to head to Wrigleyville for the game.  We made the smart decision to wait until rush hour to take the taxi, so it took us about a half hour to go not far at all and we arrived just as the game was starting.  Allyson and Tara met us there along with Marcel's friend, Kevin, that he met while working at the Goethe institute.  Seeing as how they had never watched or been to a baseball game I was really looking forward to explaining the rules to the guys, but Kevin took that role - boys will be boys.

Cubs Game

The trip was way too short.  The travel back to Germany wasn't as horrible as I thought it would be, but jet lag really did take it's toll.  I just have a weekend of graves and hopefully after that my schedule will be back to normal.  I don't know when I'll see Marcel again, but I'm sure it won't be soon enough.
So it's back to the daily Edelweiss grind.....

P.S. I miss Mom.