Fall is here :)

Hello everyone! I know it has been a while since I last posted...sorry! It is just that time has been flying by!  In the past couple of weeks, Zach and I have been exploring around Hannover, and visiting near by towns.  Recently we went to a town that is less than an hour away called Braunschweig.  This town had lots of Medieval influence and architecture.  I took lots of pictures.  You can find most of them on my Facebook page.

The Mall in Braunschweig...Pretty Snazzy!!

We also went back to the garden here in Hannover.  I put up pics from that a few post back, but they were only from the botanical garden.  That day, the main garden was closed for a firework display.  I am sure you will just love the pictures from that day too!

Golden Gates at the Garden

The main garden, so beautiful! 

Another view of the main garden

Also, last week, Zach and I went with the other teammates to an event with Go Karts...It was pretty extreme!  The point of us going was to drive the cars with people who are handicapped.  The drivers that we were competing against use wheelchairs, so the cars were hand operated.  This was no easy task, but it was lots of fun.

 Hockey has been going a little rough lately, but I have hope that the guys will turn things around.  The fans are still behind them, and it is still unreal to go to the games and hear them chant and cheer the entire time.  Last week, Zach and I had dinner with a couple of the fans.  They had us over to their house.  Thomas and his wife were very inviting, and it meant a lot to us that they wanted us to come over :) Thomas is a geriatric nurse here in Hannover, and is possibly going to have me come to work with him one day!  This will be very interesting to see what the health care systems are like over here.  I start my geriatric clinical in January!! 

Zach and I have also been taking walks by the river.  Instead of going our normal route, we opted for the other way.  We came across a large community of ducks!! So, since we have found them, we have been going down there with some bread and feeding them.  We try to go everyday, and each time we go more and more of the ducks trust us and fly up onto the path.  They are pretty funny, and they like to compete for the food :)  Zach took a video of them the other day...I will try to put it up too.

Well, things are going good here!  Thanks for reading, and I will hopefully keep up with the blog for all of ya'll back home :)

-Tschussy!

I can't believe it's OKTOBER!!!!

Hallo! Is it really October?! So, I have been in Germany for a month now and I just started to drive by myself!!! This is a major accomplishment, just so you know... I am mainly just sticking around the neighborhood, but trust me that is a good start! Enough about that, This week Zach and I were able to go to a city two hours north of us called Hamburg.  Hannover is pretty big, but Hamburg is double if not more the size of Hannover! City Hall in Hamburg is gorgeous, and the city is right on the water.  Seriously, the buildings foundations are under the water! The architecture is a lot more European too, because there are more buildings that were saved from WWII.  I hope you enjoy the beautiful pictures that I got!

City Hall

Inside City Hall

A fountain in the courtyard of City Hall

The main train station downtown Hamburg

The buildings along the river literally go into the water

This past week has just been quiet and relaxing.  Zach and I try to go on a walk as much as possible, and recently we have been walking along the river near our house.  There is a huge lock system that allows bigger boats and barges to pass through the river.  It is neat seeing the boats rise and fall 49m at a time!  I started back with Yoga!!! YAY!!! I'm not gonna lie, after the first session back I was super sore the next day, but it felt great! I didn't realize how much I missed doing it! Zach has been doing it with me, and can tell a major difference in the way he feels :) It's amazing how Yoga can change you!

Oktoberfest is also going on now :) We live too far away to go to the real one, but we stopped by the festival here in town.  It reminded me of the state fair back home.  I hope that one year Zach will be playing closer to Munich so we can go to the real Oktoberfest!!

Us at our local Hannover Oktoberfest

I am trying to paint while I am over here...mainly to keep creative  :) The walls of our apartment are so bare so painting also helps this :)                                                    

Owl painting that I did, it's one of three

Well, the weather here is starting to get a lot cooler, and the rain comes and goes throughout the day...Believe it or not, it makes me miss the hot weather back home! It is October though so it is time for Fall :) Well, I love and miss everyone back home and I hope that all is well :)  Thank you for reading and I will have more for you next week!

-Tschuss!

Here's the video I promissed!

It is pretty amazing how the fans really get involved here! Zach is the second player to be called out onto the ice...his number is 4 which sounds like "fear" in German.  The end of the video is the guys "dancing"  for the fans...they do this after each win :) ENJOY!

The quality of this video is poor, it was taking a long time to upload the full quality video, but this still works...I have also added some pics from the Indians website.

 

mein Deutsch ist Scheiße

Hello All! The past couple of weeks have just been a whirlwind of fun and new experiences! On our days off from hockey Zach and I like to explore around Hannover...We recently went to the zoo and an amazing garden.  The first home game of the season was Sunday as well!

If you ever get the chance to visit Hannover, I highly recommend taking a trip to the Hannover Zoo.  This was by far the best zoo that I have ever been to! The views of the animals were great, and you got to get up close and personal with a few of the animals.  If you do go, beware of the gorilla! While walking toward the gorilla exhibit, Zach and I heard a loud thud...needless to say, the gorilla was pretty pissed off from all of the people taking pictures that he threw a handful of soil at a few onlookers...this was scary and hilarious all at the same time! The elephant exhibit was spectacular! You were able to be right next to the fence and could literally touch the elephants if you wanted.  There were mama and baby elephants...SO CUTE!! Also, there were a few trainers working with a few of the elephants, it was neat to be able to see how smart this creatures are.  The other fabulous exhibit was the Yukon exhibit with the polar bears! I will upload some pics so you all can see how active and interesting all of the animals were!

The picture on the restroom at the zoo! hahaha!!!

Hippo in the water

Polar bears sparing in the Yukon exhibit

Close up of the Polar Bears!

Asian Elephant

Elephant Family :)

Crouching Tiger

We also ventured out to the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen.  Part of the garden was closed due to a monthly firework competition, so we plan on going back to see the entire thing.  I will put up some pics from that too.

At the Garden

Zach trying to blend in :)

Beautiful Views

My favorite Flowers in the Garden

More beautiful Flowers!

Also, I made a little video of the first home game of the season. The guys won 3-1 against the Landshut Cannibals.  When you watch the video you will see just how much the fans get involved!!! The beginning of every home game the fans light sparklers and chant for the team.  I have no idea what they are saying because it is in German.  Pay attention to the beginning of the video, Zach is number four which sounds like "fear." But he is the second guy called out...notice how the announcer says their first name and then the fans say the last.  The end of the video is a clip of the guys "dancing."  They do this after each win...it's kind of like them saying thanks to the fans.  The fans are crazy, the entire game they chant, jump up and down, cheer and yell! It is a pretty cool atmosphere to be in.

And the Indians win 3-1!!!

The fans go crazy before the game!

Well, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed the pics and the video is soon to come!

-Tcshuss!

Week One: I made it!!!

Hello Everyone! Thanks for reading! I am going to try and update my blog once a week so you guys back home can see what I am up to.

Well, just to start out...I made it to Germany!!! The journey here was not the easiest, but I made it :) If you are traveling over here, it might be in your best interest to do some research about the airport you are flying into.  I should have! Frankfurt is home to one of the largest airports here in Germany, and to those who haven't flown international yet...make sure you only carry on what you can truly carry! I was not prepared for this...we landed an hour late and instead of having a jet way come out and attach to the door of the plane, a set of stairs and a bus awaited us.  It was a free for all trying to get onto the bus, but there were some friendly passengers who helped me.  Once on the bus I realized what time it was (being on an eight hour flight kind of disorients you, especially when you are six hours ahead of "normal" time).  My flight from Frankfurt to Hannover was leaving in 15 minutes.  By this point, I knew I had to get my butt into warp speed and try like hell to make it to my next flight.  This was pretty much impossible...so knowing that my flight was leaving me I was a little overwhelmed with trying to figure out my plan B.  We eventually made it to airport and once inside there were a lot of people and it was like a maze trying to get to customs...I made it through customs and then through security again and finally I was allowed to find my gate.  I pretty much had to walk a mile to my gate, and rescheduled my flight...Thank goodness most everyone had good enough english for me to communicate! I was able to get on the next flight to Hannover!!! Yay!!! Unfortunately I had to use my iPhone to call Zach...I don't even want to know how much that's gonna cost me.  I got on my next flight and made it to Hannover...the best thing is that all my checked bags made it too!!!!  Once I laid eyes on Zach all the anxiety and worries from my travels disappeared.  I knew I was safe now :)

My first day here I was exhausted, but couldn't sleep because I was running purely on adrenaline.  Zach and I got some stuff for the house and he introduced me to one of his teammates and wife.  It's pretty nice, we live next to two other couples and both wives are super sweet :) The next day, Zach had to go out of town and I got to spend the day with another one of the girls.  We took the train downtown and I experienced the mall :) Downtown is so nice and BIG!!! That night I was alone :( because Zach was away with two away games.  I am not gonna lie, I was a little homesick being by myself, but I am feeling a ok now :) The jet lag wasn't really that bad for me...you just have to trick yourself into thinking you don't have it.  I was surprised that I adjusted so well.  The weather here is so nice! To some, they might think it isn't that great, but I will take upper sixties to mid seventies over the hundred plus degree weather back home.  Driving here doesn't seem so bad, there is no speed limit on most parts of the autobahn so that was scary at first, but Zach and I were going about 107mph today and you just don't really notice...you do however when a really nice audi or lambo pass you going like 160, you can actually feel them passing you! I will be driving here as soon as I get used to driving a stick shift...So, for now I just take the train, but it is only a couple blocks away from the house and it takes me anywhere I need to go.

The food here isn't too different than back home, but you really have to pay attention to what you are picking at the grocery store.  So far we have done good :) Groceries here are super cheap too! I swear you can fill up an entire grocery cart and only spend like 70 euro!! Oh btw...the chocolate and beer here are phenomenal! They really know how to make the good stuff here :)

We could not ask for a better apartment, because every room is huge! The apartment is so open and clean :) Zach and I have been trying to make it more like home, and have made a few trips to IKEA :)  It is starting to look pretty good, but I have got to make some artwork to put on these bare white walls!  

The past week has been full of new experiences, people, food, beer, and places, but as long as I am here with Zach it feels like home to me :)

Thank you for taking time to read :)  Below are some pics that highlight this past week :) ENJOY!

-Tschuss!

The Indian's bus

 

 

Zach and I in front of City Hall, downtown Hannover

My first post on my first Blog!

Hello everyone!!! I have managed to successfully create my first blog, and this is my very first post :) I am doing this because I am leaving for Hannover, Germany in exactly 16 days!!!  This will be a fun and easy way for me to share what I am doing while away from home.  Those of you who know me are probably wondering why Germany and how this move will affect my status in nursing school.  Well, to answer that...I am only going to be gone during this fall semester.  I will be back in January to continue school.  Another question you may have is why I am going to Germany to begin with.  To answer that, I am going over because my boyfriend Zach's career is taking us there.  He plays pro hockey, and has been signed to the EC Hannover Indians this season.  I am very excited for this move, and can't wait to let everyone know what it is like to live in Germany.  Thanks for reading and hope you all stay tunned for more! 

-Erin