We've had a wonderful time in Paris and Germany so far...but this morning at breakfast we were chatting about the similarities and differences among cities so far. At night we always find ourselves at a bar enjoying beer or wine and watching the world cup...in every single city. And we like it..and so do the locals...so well pretend were locals.
We've tried so hard not to be typical tourists..but there are touristy sights and things we should do - we get it. But then we walk around with locals, stay with locals and eat with locals and We find ourselves doing what we did in Charlottesville- walking around downtown shopping then finding a cozy bar to enjoy a drink. So I'm frustrated... Are all cities the same in what the locals do or are we not looking hard enough?
On another note: we've been happily surprised with everything that has turned out this week. We found a ride to Cologne, Germany on BlaBlaCar.com (our hosts in France told us about it-its a ride sharing service) and we rode with a German born lady who lives in Paris, Germany, and Switzerland! Our other passenger is from Iran and lives in Cologne but was visiting his wife in Paris. We had a place to stay that night in Cologne but he offered for us to stay with him that night since we were getting back so late. Perfect! (We found his couch surfing profile on the ride to make sure everything checked out-dont worry) He then offered to let us stay Sunday night with Emily :) After finding the wonderful Emily Knollenberg in Germany (wohoo!) We walked around the cathedral and then met up with another couch surfing local who offered to show us around (personal tour guide..score! Thanks Kim!) So he told us we could climb all the way to the top of the Cologne chapel-which we would have never known about. After a hearty workout we were rewarded with amazing views. He showed us around the old a new market then translated for us at the bar and drove us to the Chocolate Factory!
After all of this positive energy and people with their giving over and over we were feeling pretty lucky..but then we were blessed all over again. We got word from a couch surfing family in Baden Baden Germany that we could stay with them, and they would even pick us up from the train station. But not only that they offered to let us go with them and their family and friends to a cabin in the Black Forest this weekend for a relaxing weekend with cookouts. Its amazing how God provides and how simple people can give so much to complete strangers. We have to figure out how to give back! Here and back in the states.
No comments:
Post a Comment