Inexplicably Content

I could not be more content than I am right now. First of all, I got out of work early. Secondly, it is absolutely beautiful outside. Even standing for the entire 40 minute commute didn't phase me. Though it did make me feel more than entitled to a stop at Neuhaus on the way home for a chocolate fix. 

Today at work, I went in, chatted for a bit, then made my way to a two and half hour meeting with the Foreign Affairs Committee. For the most part, I've been focusing on the relationship between the EU and the Eastern Partnership, which includes Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, and Belarus. This assignment has been particularly interesting due to the recent resurgence of Russian influence, as revealed through initiating trade war with Ukraine as they near signing a DCFTA (Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement) with the EU and Armenia's choice to  sign on with the Russian Customs Union rather than a trade agreement with the EU. After this meeting, I had a lovely lunch, chatted with one of the guys in my office for a solid hour and a half about life, travel and religion. I then went to another meeting- this one about EU relations with Georgia. After this meeting, I ran back upstairs. I think the office is catching onto my infatuation with Russia because at this point, they sent me to a meeting called The Moscow Bubble and said I could stay for however long I wanted to and leave right after. After the struggle of finding the room, I get in and there are no seats left- meaning no headsets left- meaning I'm literally a useless human being. I stood awkwardly at the door for about 15 minutes, saying nothing. I decided to use this slightly embarrassing turn of events to make a friend, who laughed with me about how I was standing there with a legal pad, pensively staring at the speakers and not understanding a word. I oft find that it's significantly more acceptable to be awkward if you invite others to laugh with you about it. So was the case. Anyhow, I didn't last too long in the meeting, and snuck out to make my way back to Leuven, where, as you know, I celebrated my happiness with chocolate. 

This weekend, I celebrated my German heritage in Dusseldorf. Oh you never heard of it? Me either until I needed a cheap way to get to Germany and pretend I was participating in Oktoberfest. 

In one tourist guide, I read that the best way to act like a local was not too talk and laugh loudly, which is common for Americans. I've kept this in mind, but I sure as hell have not kept it in practice. That being said, everyone sitting in the sketchy Eurolines basement waiting area knows way too much about the lives of us CUA girls. We finally got to Dusseldorf, after a delayed bus. We left the bus and looked around, dropped in the middle of no where with only the vaguest sense of what we were even doing there. One look at the people around the bus stop completely mollified my nerves. There, standing at every bus stop were men in leiderhosen. Hello, Germany, you beautiful country! We had a small mishap in finding our hostel. Long story short: we thought the hostel we booked was a scam and we were going to have to sleep in the streets of Dusseldorf. Well we found the hostel, punched in a weird code on a weird box to get our keys, and climbed 800 flights of spiral stairs to get to our rooms- 23 and 24. You would think with such low numbers you wouldn't have dropped 23 or 24 pounds getting up the stairs, but whatever. LBS, right?!?! (JK, I'm actually switching to weighing myself in kilos... such a confidence boost!!!!) We had planned on going out that night, but it was about 1:00 at this point, so we decided to call it a night and wake up early in the morning to Dussel away.

Priority 1 in the morning was getting a Welcome Card- for 12 euro each we had transportation as well as museum and shop discounts. This turned out to be completely useless as NEVER ONCE DID ANYONE CHECK TO SEE IF WE HAD PAID TO USE THE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION. It's ok though, I guess subsidies paid for it. That's what ridiculous marginal taxes are for, right? Freeloading tourists? #Republican. I digress, we also were unable to use the card for discounts at the souvenir shop because we tried to go on a Sunday- rookie mistake. It's Europe! People don't work on Sundays, silly! #Republican. 

The next stop on our adventure was OBVIOUSLY coffee, for which we decided to make our way to Aldstrass, the old town. Aldstrass was beautiful. Tall stone and brick buildings, with large red flags offset the clear blue skies. The city was still waking up, and just a few others wondered around. We gravitated towards the Rhine River, where we were taken aback by its beauty and the history. Giddily, we wandered around until we found the perfect cafe- One with a good street view, per request of Christina. This quest led us to a perfectly quaint outdoor market. As we sat down for coffee, we looked around at the others joining us on this delightful morning. Couples, families, and friends sat around us. Then we made the astute observation that they were all drinking beer. Sorry, what? We had just ordered our four macchiatos, feeling like huge rejects because we still needed our caffeine injections, and had not yet moved onto the alcohol portion of the day (though we weren't as far from that as we thought). We drank coffee, made a plan, and then walked around the market. I almost wept with joy. If there's anything I hold sacred in the world its food and flowers. This market had both! In epic proportions! Christina walked over at one point with a bag of figs, so naturally I beelined to the cheese counter and bought the strongest goat cheese they had for a midday snack later on. 

After exploring the market and tempting our senses with the kaleidoscope of flowers, cheese, candy, sausages, and pastries, we headed onto to our first scheduled item: A tour of the Rhine Tower. 

We practically skipped to the Rhine Tower, we were so happy and so in love with Dusseldorf. Behold this walk as the time where DUSSELDORF THE MUSICAL was born. We went to the tower, and took the elevator up 167 floors (almost as high up as our room in the hostel). The tower had a panoramic view of the Rhine, circling and rotating like a clock. From the tower, we could see all of the city we had already fallen so in love with. As we circled the tower, we saw the industrial plants, the harbors and marinas, the farms with grazing sheep, homes stacked high and grouped, sweet cobblestone streets, and parks with little dots, no doubt lovers, walking hand in hand in the morning sun. We also saw a bar. And so moved by the wonders of Dusseldorf, we treated ourself to a bottle of champagne. We went back to the "Pimp Room" (trademark Sarah) to enjoy our Porseco and the view. 

A little bit tipsy, we continued our musical/ day with a walk to the art museum. We stopped outside and had a snack aka Christina and I feasted like queens on our figs and goat cheese. Am I the happiest girl in the world? I've often thought so, and I've never been contradicted, so..? The art museum was pretty cool, but I really didn't like the layout. That sounds so snobby, but seriously, if a museum is poorly laid out, it's so much more difficult to enjoy! A little tired and a little weirded out by too much modern art, we decided something more lighthearted was in order. We went to the shopping street, mostly too see a "mossy bridge" we fixated on in our guidebook. We took some pictures and marveled at some fancy cars, and then decided to find dinner. One condition: Sausage. 

We found the sausage. In fact, I almost ordered potato soup with sausage and then for my entree sausage and potatoes, without even realizing that is was LITERALLY THE SAME THING only in reverse order. I would like to give Christina a shout out for eloquently pointing out the absurdity of such a selection and stopping me from ordering it. After an amazing dinner and an even better dessert, we went back to the hostel, got ready, drank mini wine bottles, and went back out. Now, Aldstrass claims to have the longest bar in Europe. That sounds cool, right? Here's the thing.. Leuven also makes that claim so..... I'm gonna let you finish Dusseldorf, but Leuven definitely wins. For the record. 

Anyway, we went to our first bar, based solely on the large male population that had congregated outside it. We got out drinks and stood at one of the high tops outside. Our first visitors were a man and woman. The man looked so intently at Kaitlynn that the woman freaked out, they had a screaming match in German that we really got the general gist of, and then they left. Left so quickly in fact, that they left a beer there. A treat for us? Sure, thanks sir! This was only the first free drink of our night, as the awkward couple (if they're still a couple) was replaced by a group of German boys. 

Now I know a few words in German. I know that Morgen means Morgan. (and let me tell you, there is nothing I love more than hearing and seeing my name all over the place). I know that Schatz is a term of endearment. And I know how to count up to three, which are the only numbers you really need to know because you drink on three, Eins, zwei, Drei g'suffa!) So when the four of them counted themselves and then us four girls, I could tell what was up. We spent the rest of the night half talking and half laughing at our inability to talk to each other. They bought us drinks all night though, which really really helped with staying on budget. They laughed at my name and then took great joy in telling me that Schatz mean treasure, or my dear. You can tell me that anytime German men. 

The next morning, we went to church. The church was small but elaborate and majestic, and even though we didn't understand mass, there's something so heartwarming about knowing that all over the world, Catholics gather with one heart to celebrate the Eucharist. Appreciative and renewed, we continued our day... with STARBUCKS! Talk about appreciative and renewed- I had my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the season!! Guten Morgen indeed! We then went to a palace, where we goofed off, taking weird pictures for a while, letting off some energy before we were cooped up on the bus back to Belgium, where we would have to face studying for our midterm the next day. Yeah. 

The days fly by here. Class, intern, intern, class, travel & repeat. It's exhausting, but so much fun. I couldn't ask for a better experience. It's already been three weeks!