Svenja's

We caught a train from Jo's grand's down to Vitzeberg or something where the other half of his family live. Picked up by his aunt, we first visited his other grandma and stopped in for lunch while we were at it.

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Here in Germany there are three main activites. Eating, drinking and then sleeping when you have had too much of the other two. We honestly eat ALL THE TIME! You have breakfast (usually around 10 or so cause we sleep in) and then it's time for lunch at around midday. Only here lunch is the main meal and so it is huge. And you're still full from breakfast. And then there's dessert. And no, you can't just eat less cause if they catch you not eating enough (enough means about what you'd usually feed a small battalion of soldiers), then they just keep at you until you start up again.

Then you head home and usually meet someone else who you must then eat a few biscuits with or maybe some cake to be polite and then it might as well be afternoon tea time. So you eat some more.

By the time dinner rolls around, (and, after all the snacks that have been thrown at you left right and centre), you look like you're about to deliver triplets and a horse! And beer goes with most meals so that helps in filling you up too.

Jenny Craig could not live here!

For us? It's brilliant!

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Oops, I'm meant to be writing about Svenja's (Jo's cousin's) place. So here we are now living with his two cousins (16 and 18yr old girls) and his aunt and uncle. As has been the case everywhere, they treat us both like family. Of course Jo is family, but they're nice to me too (o; (wash clothes, feed us, house us, drive us, bathe us etc).

First night with Uncle Joseph was a laugh. He brought us out a beer each and then before too long we'd each had 6 and these are 0.5L suckers with over 5%. After 2 months of near soberiety, we were all, well, pretty pissed really. Didn't actually feel it but the photos and lack of remembrance of conversations had is a good indication. And Sophia (who weighs in at around 50kilos and is half our height) drank the same us! Impressive.

Food is good too. Had a 'round' sausage the other night that was the best so far. Beautiful.

But as i write this I find that Germany so far really has been about the food, drinking and sleeping. As I joked earlier.

Mmmm. Fun, but life needs a little more. Poker tonight will be good and we're doing some sightseeing tomorrow too that should be a good change. And, hopefully, we'll go out on the town tomorrow too. That's what we really need...