Grüß Gott

I wake up everyday with this view now. It's quiet, (if you don't count the roosters...) and the air is fresh. The Alps stand tall far behind watching over. Every few miles you come across a statue of Jesus and Mary, and everyone greets one another saying "Grüß Gott" (which translates "Greet God") and it is a beautiful and comforting thing.

Yesterday I did some shopping (read: bought a Dirndl!) and sat alone at a cafe to read my magazine (The German Press seems to love Kate, too!) As I sat there, I realized how at home I felt. How calm, how confident I felt sitting there alone.

After a few minutes I was asked if I could share my table with a few guys on their lunch break. I didn't mind; not at all. I actually was glad to have a bit of company. The only problem I had was that they spoke with a strong, Bavarian accent. I then explained that I can speak German, I just can't understand Bavarian so well. (In the North, I understood perfectly fine!) They laughed. A lot. Yet, nevertheless, continued to ask me questions. In Bavarian.

So I asked politely for them to speak slower and they did what every person in the universe seems to do when someone asks them to do so: they talk louder. This is a phenomenon. And this happens every time.

But don't worry, because after I finally understood what they were talking about (which was how often we renew our car tags in America, oddly enough) we had a pleasant chat.

Also, I came to this conclusion after they, of course, said how much fast food Americans eat: Americans don't have such a long time for lunch. We work through it, most of the time, in fact. It's not that we love necessarily to eat fast food everyday; it's cheaper, and it's exactly that, fast.

I explained and they both were surprised to hear of this. But I also admitted that, even if I had four hours for lunch, I'd most likely go to Wendy's; french fries dipped in a Frosty? heck yes.