(Giveaway winners announced below, as well as my Raw(e) entry!)

Fact about Germany #1: Everything is very old. Nearly all the buildings in the photo above are at least 300 years old. In Germany, if a building is 300 years old, it's relatively new ;) Do you see the church steeple in the background? That's my grandparent's church (it's beautiful inside!). And it was built in the 1400s. Man, I wish we had buildings that old in the states.

Fact about Germany #2: Contrary to popular belief, German men in the 21st century don't wear lederhosen and German women in the 21st century don't wear dirndls. Well, they might for Oktoberfests, but not for everyday wear.

Fact about Germany #3: Germans don't drink regular water like we're used to in America. They only drink sparkling (mineral) water. If you ask for water without the bubbles, they look at you like you have two heads.

Fact about Germany #4: Germany is very, very clean. Every time we come here, I marvel over how tidy and neat everything is...and wish America could be that way. To keep the litter, and to help the citizens recycle more, there is a relatively high deposit on glass (bottles contain beer, wine, etc) and plastic bottles. They have machines that you feed your bottles into; the machine counts how much you returned and gives you money accordingly. It's very effective.

Fact about Germany #5: Again, contrary to popular belief, "Edelweiss" isn't a traditional German folk song. It was merely written for The Sound of Music. :)

How do you like that dude floating in the river above? Apparently it's art, but when I walked across the bridge and saw it, I nearly busted a gut laughing. Heeheehee. Hohoho. Ha.

Do you have any questions about Germany? Ask away, I'll answer them in another post similar to this one.

And now for the giveaway winners!

The winner of the headband is...

Jeska! 

The winner of the earrings is...

Emily!

(I wasn't sure which of your blogs to link to, so I just linked to your profile)

Congrats ladies! Please email me and we'll get you set up :)

I want to thank everyone that entered the giveaway - I wish I could give each of you a prize :) To my new readers, I sincerely hope you'll stick around!

And I'm going to throw my Raw(e) entry into this post. I'm too lazy to write another post...

Oreos may not be the healthiest snack, but gosh, are they good! :)

-carlotta

While wandering around town a few days ago), I stumbled across - or rather my parents pointed it out - this candle room in a chapel. The crooked way they were all standing intrigued me...perfectly imperfect. 

You know how much I love bokeh...I couldn't resist getting this shot.

Our visit to Germany is going fabulously. 

I adore the freedom I have here...no one gives me a second glance if I'm wandering about town alone. Not to mention, everything is so close. It probably takes about 5 minutes to walk from my grandparent's house to the middle of the town. 

There's this fabulous ice cream shop here that I'm obsessed with. I think the attraction began in 2007, and it hasn't lessened since.
This store ice cream amazing. Every thing (including the cones) is all hand made in the store, with fresh, natural ingredients. When strawberries are in season, their strawberry ice cream is unbelievable. And I don't really even like strawberry ice cream! But my favorite - by far - is their chocolate ice cream. Mmm. I wish ice cream that good was available in the States. Seriously. Plus? It's only €.70 for a cone. That would be about 90 cents in America. Good ice cream, for barely anything? That's what I call a deal.

My German is slowly coming back, but now that I want to be more grammatically correct, it makes it harder. I'm probably too much of a perfectionist...but at least people can understand me. It still frustrates me, though. Even though German isn't new to me (I've been able to speak it since I was three or so), I don't speak it often in America, as everyone speaks English. It always takes awhile for everything to "resurface" in my mind...I know what I want to say, but I can't always make it come out right. I don't remember it being this hard last time we were here...but I know it'll get better the longer we're here. I still have another 3 1/2 weeks to improve :)

Jeremiah's birthday was wonderful - thank you all for your sweet notes on his birthday post yesterday! He loved the attention. Among his presents was a new hat he'd been wanting...I stole it - see above photo. What do you think? I'm thinking of getting my own...even if it is a men's hat. Oh well.

Note: I'm not trying to be vain by posting photos of me. I admit, I've posted more in the past few days that I have in a long time, but I really only have good intentions :)

I gave Jeremiah The Encyclopedia of Immaturity. It's just what he needs to give him even more crazy ideas:) But really, from what he's said of the book, it's a riot. He also now has a Blogger profile (with the picture I took of him a few days ago as his profile photo!)...so if you see a familiar face following/commenting on your blog, yes, it is my brother.

And now? I have a stack of homework to do a foot high - yes, classes don't stop even while I'm in Germany - so I'm going to conclude this post.

Also, don't forget to enter in my giveaway! It ends today at noon (CST).

Have a wonderful day! What do you have planned?

-carlotta

Where did the time go? Can it really be that my favorite (and only!) brother is ten today? It seemed like yesterday that I sat on the couch with my grandma late at night while my mom and dad were at the birthing center. I remember the huge thunderstorm that raged outside. I remember my parents finally coming home, with a tiny bundle in their arms. My brother! I was finally a big sister...and was overjoyed.

I remember his "sausage fingers" (My brother and I always laugh over that...his fingers really looked like little sausages ;)). I remember the time he scribbled all over the wall early one morning while everyone was still asleep. I remember how he loved to climb above the kitchen sink and sit on the window ledge (don't worry, it was completely safe...). I remember his made-up sign language...his sign for "deer" was making both his fingers into a peace sign and wiggling them behind his head.

I have so many more stories...he was - and still is - quite the character.

And this is what happens when I try to take a picture with him...

And now? He's ten. He's lived a decade. In three years he'll be a teenager. In just six years he can drive. In another ten years he'll be twenty. That's kind of scary. 

No comment. I did receive his permission to post this, though :)


Jeremiah, thanks for being such a wonderful brother. I know I can get super annoying at times (That's just the job of a big sister! Kidding. Kind of. ;)), but I always have so much fun with you. We've had so many good memories together...I can't even begin to list them.

Happy birthday, Jeremiah. I love you.

Oh, I have a special request. Would all of y'all leave a little note for him in the comment section for his birthday? I'm going to show Jeremiah this post at the end of the day, and I know it would make it him so happy to see everyone's well wishes. A million thanks!

-carlotta

PS Don't forget to enter in my giveaway, if you haven't done so already! You have until tomorrow (9/13) at noon.

With beauty like this, no words are needed. I'm in awe of creation. Isn't it amazing?

Today, I'm remembering all those lost nine years ago today, 9/11/2001. We will never forget.

-carlotta

PS I've taken so many pictures in the last four days it's overwhelming...so please bear with me :)