Le Jour Vingt-Trois (Day 23)

Feeling like we were in London again, I got 6 hours of sleep and was exhausted when I woke up. The only thing that got me out of bed was the big breakfast that was waiting for me downstairs. Kelly and I were so tired we didn’t even speak until breakfast! This morning I sat with a girl that was sitting by herself like she usually does; I think her personality intimidates people, but for some reason she likes Kelly and me. We had a great conversation; she just needs some love!

After breakfast, we were off to visit Audi and BMW. The Audi headquarters/plant here in Munich is bigger than Monaco, which means it’s a HUGE factory! I’ll admit, I wasn’t too excited to go to the car company visits; just not really my cup of tea, but I was pleasantly surprised and impressed by these companies, especially Audi.

We went on like a 1.5 hour tour of the behind the scenes work of how Audi cars are made, and observed how thousands of robots put car parts together, men installed dashboards and other various parts, and the intricate details and thought go into each piece of a car. At Audi, each car is custom ordered, so every car is different from the next, which I thought was impressive. I had no earthly idea the amount of work, thought, and time that goes in to making thousands and thousands of cars, and each is inspected and perfectly handled until given to the customer. They also take excellent care of their employees: they have medical services, a stinkin’ awesome cafeteria that we got to eat at, and they get to ride bikes everywhere inside the plant because it’s so big!

Dear mom and dad...

Next was BMW. This time, instead of viewing behind the scenes production of their cars, we got to watch more videos, view different exteriors and interiors, watch the process in which a customer is presented with their new car (which they make like a show), and get inside cars and pretend to ride motorcycles. Dad, you would have really liked to get your hands on some of these cars! This part was cool too, but again, cars aren’t exactly my thing, but all the boys deserved this one after a couple of more girly visits we’ve had.

It started raining at the end of the tour, and we were turned loose for the rest of the afternoon/evening. We boarded the subway and headed to Marianplatz, which is the main town square where all the action is. I wasn’t quite ready to go back to the hotel, so Kelly and I got off here and explored a little bit. Suddenly, the sun came out and she decided to go to the tower I went to yesterday, but I wanted to walk around for a bit in the market place, where they had a ton of fruit/vegetable stands EVERYWHERE! I wanted to get a picture in honor of my family, so here ya’ll go. Thinking about you! Aren’t these cute?! Why don’t ya’ll just pick up and move the business to Europe so we can all be together; stuff like this exists here too ya know…

So, yes, I explored by myself, but it was quite fun. My mere luck, I discovered a place that sells whole-sale perfume of designers, something that I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for. Back in Monaco, I discovered this incredible smelling new perfume by Prada, and I wanted it SO BAD, but it was a little expensive there in the store, even for the baby bottle. I immediately spotted this exact same perfume at this place for a really, really good price. So of course I couldn’t resist and purchased it; it’s like it was meant to be!

I came back to the hotel shortly afterward (yes, I found my way back to the subway I needed to get on, but my the grace of God, he sent me a group of people from my study abroad group at the exact same time so that I was safe and guided back to the hotel from this point, because I was just going to wing it.), and Kelly and I took an hour and a half nap! When we shut our curtains, it feels like a dungeon in our room, so we probably could have slept all night long. It was the best nap I’ve ever had! We were told by the boys to be down at 7:30, so after waking up at 7:15, we somehow made it on time.

We were all craving American food by this point, and we all followed our watering mouths and growling tummys to Hard Rock Café; how much closer to America can you get? It was amazing. Good food, good company: Me, Kell, Garrett, Brady, Dane, Landon, Allen. Somehow, all our girlfriends got split from us, but it was one incredible night. After dinner, Garrett and Brady finally told us this surprise that they had for us that had been building up. THEY BOUGHT US 3 PACKS OF DOZENS OF DIFFERENT FLAVORS OF GERMAN CHOCOLATE!! They have mastered one way to a girl’s instant satisfaction and biggest grin you’ve ever seen: chocolate. Excited to share this moment together, we walked a really long ways through town to this beautiful garden place with a huge restaurant that had a big screen outside, lots of seating, lots of people, and lots of beer. It was a fun atmosphere! Once inside, we ripped open almost every piece of chocolate and almost tried them all. My favorite was when I mixed the espresso chocolate with the coconut chocolate. Although my tummy hurts from all that chocolate (which was mostly eaten by Kelly and I by the way), it was heavenly, and our boys are the sweetest. Ya’ll are the best big brother figures I could ever have, especially on this trip. THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR NIGHT MEMORABLE AND FOR MAKING US FEEL SO SPECIAL! We love you!!! Okay, fine, I’m done being mushy. The comm. Major in me combined with my sentimental, sensitive tendencies tends to get poked at, but I know they secretly appreciate it, right?

While there, Kelly and I ran into this girl named Erica who is 19, from Canada, and just got done being a nanny for a family in Switzerland. Now she is traveling. We thought her life was so cool, so we had an awesome 15-20 minute conversation with her and asked a million questions! Her impression of Americans, mainly from stereotypes, are: fast food, obnoxious, ignorant, rude. Her impression of Texas: girls in summer dresses and boots going to a concert, baha! We loved it. We exchanged e-mails, and agreed to be pen-pals/facebook friends. She said she will come stay with us in Texas if we come visit Vancouver Island. Done, sister!

It was an amazing night; definitely a memory-maker, and one of my favorite nights on the trip. It definitely has to do with the people you spend it with too, and tonight’s company was perfect and ordained by our loving, gracious God who has only continued to amaze me at His goodness, his consistent presence, and His PERFECT timing and  PERFECT plan…

I can’t believe I just posted on day TWENTY THREE! Be prepared family who I’m coming home too: I may or may not be somewhat depressed when I come back home. I can’t believe this trip is almost over. I need more time! I don’t want to leave! AAAAH! We are already leaving Munich in the morning. HELLO Fussen!