The Devil's Canyon

      About a week ago, my brother-in-law Aaron and I decided to get out and stretch our legs on a nice hike. He ended up taking me to this place very close to where we live near a little town called Irrel. I was eager to discover some hiking trails since I love that kind of thing, and this place certainly blew me away! Known as Devil's Canyon, or Teufelsschlucht (don't ask me how to pronounce that), the area is abundant in porous, jagged sandstone. It's covered in green algae and riddled with streams and had at least one river that I saw. The area is also host to an abundance of mice and birds. Aspin, Aaron's dog, made vain attempts to hunt down some of the mice. All he ended up with was disappointment though, as the mice were too swift and they taunted the poor dog before darting beneath a thick layer of leaves and foliage.

      To get a better idea of the place, I put together a quick (and albeit somewhat cheesy) video/slideshow of the hike. It was done using Microsoft Movie Maker so don't expect to be wowed by the quality :). Here it is:

Devil's Canyon Hike

      This hike definitely reinforced the desire for me to want to keep learning Deutsch, as we passed a few groups who attempted to talk with us. One group of hikers (for lack of a better word) were just chilling out on a hill along the path while drinking beer and laughing rather loudly. As we passed by I could barely understand one of them. I think he was asking about Aspin and what kind of dog he was. Another person offered us beer from a bag he was toting. As tempted as I was I declined the offer and said hello, then carried on. Another thing that's weird to me is how nobody cares when or where someone drinks. Anywhere's fair game.

      Another group we passed had a dog of their own and again were inquiring about Aspin, asking "Ist das Mädchen?" I knew enough to realize they were asking if he was a girl, but not enough to really carry on a practical conversation. Luckily they knew some English as well, but boy does it make me want to strive to learn as much of the language as I can. 

      After all was said and done we must have hiked for about 4 hours. The trip down the canyons of the hills was easy enough, and the river at the very bottom was the perfect cherry on top. However, getting back to our origin proved to be a more grueling effort. I definitely will be revisiting this place soon, and hopefully discovering more like it. 

Guten Tag!

My first hefeweizen in Trier

      

      Sometimes reality can present you things which seem like they've been plucked from dreams. It still hasn't fully sunk in yet, even a week after I have arrived, that I am now living in Europe. Go back in time even a year and tell my past self that I'd wind up here and I'd think you were nuts. Alas, here I am across the globe with an opportunity to explore and immerse myself in such a historically rich locale! I have all the thanks in the world to offer my sister Jera and her husband Aaron for inviting me to come check out what this neck of the woods is all about. And also I do have the best parents in the world for supporting my shenanigans all this time.

       First of all it was somewhat of a culture shock stepping off the plain into Schiphol airport in Amsterdam to board my connecting flight into Frankfurt. Eight hours prior I was sitting in the terminal listening to conversations with no care in the world as to their origin or meaning. However getting off that plain in Amsterdam was like being hit by a wave of confusion, amusement, and enlightenment. All rolled into one holy trinity of the senses. I was in a different world. I all of a sudden realized I was the minority. This is what it felt like to be in the dark to what was really going on around me. Chattering of countless individuals and not one single conversation could I understand, no matter how hard I strained my ear. Illegible signs which proved to be a fun guessing game for me as to their meaning. Thank god for illustrations or I'd have been lost trying to find the ATM or restrooms. 

Came home to this after a stroll through the neighborhood

      As for the neighborhood I live in, it's a pretty quaint and photogenic place. The simple thing that still amuses me about the whole area is how green everything is. It's certainly a welcome sight from the brown, arid landscape of Arizona. Most of the locals, including my sister, lament the cloudy skies and frequent rain but I certainly do enjoy it...at least for now. The town, rather should I say neighborhood, of Masholder is a collection of nice houses and rolling green hills with beautiful and ornate flowers coloring spots now and again in the bloom of Spring. Bike paths are also quite common place I am finding out. I've already ridden my bicycle, or Fahrrad as the Germans call them, on one that swept through trees, under bridges, and through farmlands. So far, so good!

Look out, Europe!

And So it Begins...

      My grand adventure to the other side of the world. Holy smokes! My mind is in overdrive as it imagines what kind of amazing and magical places it will soon encounter. But alas, before there can be fun, the strife of unforeseen airline misfortune must be endured. As is the Wynne custom, we left for the airport a couple hours early just in case something happens so we don't miss the flight. Ofcourse, as soon as we arrive to the airport we are told that my plane has been delayed causing me to completely re-route my flight to Frankfurt; I'll ultimately arrive there about 6 hours later than intended. I now get to change planes in Memphis, then fly to Amsterdam, then once again switch planes to fly into Frankfurt. I guess this should have been expected. After all, this would happen to me.

      But what's the rush? At least now I get the chance to start my very first blog while enjoying the company of a steak and beer while I pass the time in the airport. My last American food for what may be a long time. Cheers.