A Surprise That Turned Into A Blessing

My family lives far away from all of our extended family, which is sometimes quite sad as we have a lot of family—my mom has seven siblings and my dad has eight. So, to see an aunt or uncle, or even one of my many cousins is always a rare treat.  

Of course, I wasn't expecting to see any family while I was overseas. But ... life has a way of always surprising me, for good and bad. And this time it pleasantly so when I heard one of my uncles was coming to Stuttgart, the very town where I was as an Au Pair. 

At first, it was just very fun to see family, especially one of my favorite uncles. But it turned out my uncle ended up being very helpful, too, as I was fired from my first Au Pair family just a few days after he arrived, and he was able to bring me to my new family, eliminating a lot of potential  stress. 

But for the fun: we had three weeks before I had to go so we were able to do a lot of fun things together. 

We went to see a musical ... I didn't realize just how fancy it would be until we arrived and I saw everyone wearing heels and suits. And here I was looking like a hippie. But the play was amazing. Alladin, and all in German. I was able to understand a good portion of it. And I really enjoyed the live music and dancing.

Before the musical, we went to a small German restaurant called Ochs'n Willi. WE got duck, a potato patty, and mushroom sauce. Very yummy. 

On another day we went to pawn shops looking for old coins.
Pawnshops are very different in Germany. Some of them were open only with appointments. Most of them had only jewelry and coins, some had cars, too. A couple looked like they might have antiques, especially if they contained gold or silver. All of them seemed very expensive. Most of them were more of an auction house with people behind counters, and all their wares were behind the counters or in glass boxes. Some of it wasn't for sale except for on auction days. But one place was really nice and I was able to buy a couple coins from them for a reasonable price all the while practicing my German. And they also told me of a bank that sold old coins. 

Another misty day we went on a really pretty hike to a waterfall called Urach Falls. 

On the same day, we went to visit a castle called Lichtenstein. The castle was gorgeous, as was the mist below its cliffs. And inside was like a museum, full of many neat old artifacts. We went on a German tour through it (and I was able to get on euro discount for being a student/ Au Pair).  

Outside of the castle were these neat little birds. I have no idea what they were for, but I thought they were adorable. 

On the day my uncle brought me to my new Au Pair family we went to Munich. Here is a picture of a huge church and of people setting up for the Christmas market.
We took a train to the city center, and I was quite happy that I was able to talk to a lady about buying tickets and I understood everything she said ;D 

We bought these amazing Heisse Maroni (hot chestnuts). They were very filling and slightly sweet and soft and just overall perfect. This is a picture of one cracked out of its shell.

There's a river in Munich called the Eisbach with a wave where people surf, so we went and watched that for a while. It was very addictive to watch, and I almost wanted to try it. Except I think I'd be too scared to crack my head open. 

We arrived at my new home at around five o'clock. Everyone was so welcoming ... all the children came and introduced themselves to me, and were immediately talking up a storm (all in German) and jumping on me, just as if they'd known me forever.

I couldn't understand them all so well the first night, and though I still say wie bitte a lot, I'm surprised by how much I do understand now.  Basically, I understand enough to play with the children and laugh and get along.

But yes, my uncle brought me here, dropped me off, and then texted me saying he had a good feeling about this family.

And so, though we had a lot of fun together, I also can't help awing over the fact that he came at just the right time, just when I'd need someone to take me and all of my things across Germany.

Have you ever had hot chestnuts? Which of these activities look like the most fun to you? And have you ever had something like this happen to you as I did with my uncle, where the timing was just so perfect?