Hello!  I would say it in German - but still have not picked up a word of German, besides thank you...which we pronounce "DAHNKA!!!".

We had a loooong train ride from Florence to Munich yesterday (the 22nd).  We had to switch trains in Bologna, Italy and ran as fast as we could towards  a McDonald's and I of course had a Big Mac!  It was even better than in the states because they added extra special sauce...yum.

The train ride was interesting, the train was not very nice, but we were in a "cabin" with other people our age that were from Germany, and one other guy our age from Italy.  The German's spoke very good English, one of the guys speaks 11 languages!!  Once we crossed into Austria on the train the police came and checked passports.  There were several times that they only questioned the guy from Italy because he was darker skinned and could pass as a middle-easterner, I guess he was pretty used to it because it didn't bother him a bit, we were very shocked when they would pass through and only question him.  You can't get away with that in the states!!

We made it to Munich last night and found our hostel easily.  It is very nice, with a bar inside and about 6 floors.  We are diva-travelers and asked for our own room again, and we finally have our own shower, toilet, and sink in our room - and we shaved our legs today!!! YAY!

We had a good dinner last night, Bavarian-style food, and a big stein of beer.  There is a festival, called Tollwood, that's been going on in Munich for about a month, it is on the same grounds as Octoberfest.  There are lots of food stands, bars, and tents set up with live music.  The food smelled so good last night but were too full to eat, so we came back tonight and had a wonderful meal!  It is much classier than the Fall Festival in Evansville!  I didn't see a single mullet!

Even though we are in Germany, there is mostly American music that is being played!  Right now I am hearing "ghetto superstar" from the bar at the hostel, and was hearing NSync's Christmas music while walking through town.

We went to the famous beer house here...Haufbrahaus (spelling?).  It was wonderful, we had another big stein of beer (unfortunately I got Leigh Ann's suggestion a little late for the beer/lemonade drink!) but it was still good.  We met some people from London that were friendly and gave us lots of good advice for our time in London.

German boys are cuter than Italian boys and aren't quite as sleazy!  Two boys sent shots of Jagermeister over to Napes and I at Haufbrahaus, and the Londoners were so shocked because they "only see that happen in the movies".  Well...the movies they see are mostly American movies, so I guess that's just an American thing!  

Overall, things have gotten much better for us.  We are more used to counting money, riding trains, and getting around the towns.  I'm getting less homesick, but I think that's because Germany is much more American-feeling than Italy.  We've learned that Italians like to keep things Italian by not speaking English and dominantly having Italian food.  In Germany things are much more diverse and we've had mexican food, American food, German food, and Indian food just since getting in last night.  

We head to Rothenberg in the morning and plan to go to a gorgeous church for Christmas Eve service, even though we won't understand a lick of it!  

Merry Christmas!!!  Might not have internet until after Christmas when we are in Amsterdam so I hope Santa treats you all well!!

LOVE,

Jenna