Hosanna just uploaded this video I'd forgotten all about from when we went to the Nuremberg Christmas Market.  I hate the sound of my voice but you can see how crowded it was plus Leslie and Hosanna always provide the laughs!

It has been so crazy, snowy here since I've been back from Spain.  There has been snow on the ground since December and I've seen the sun one time the whole month of January (even though it was on the coldest day of the winter so far at like -15 Celsius)! I've never seen this much snow in my life and everyone keeps saying that this is the worst winter they've ever seen here.  Yet we have not had one single stinking day off of school.  We have had about fifteen 2 hour delays though.  That's really the only reason I like snow because where I'm from snow= snow day.  Granted, Germany does do a great job about keeping the roads clean so I haven't really felt unsafe in driving.  It's just the principal.

So my friend Laura was supposed to be going to Machu Picchu in month.  But due to the mud slides and flooding, it's pretty much closed for a while.  So today, she changed over her plane ticket to meet me in Rome for spring break in April!!!

I'm so excited about Rome! The pizza, the gelato, the cappuccino, the history, the men.... what's not to love!!

Next weekend starts Mardi Gras, Karneval or Fasching as it's called in Bavaria.  I've heard Germans take it pretty seriously and there are lots of parades and costumes (the stores look like Halloween in the states- this is the major holiday where they dress up here).

I'm going to Dusseldorf (which is about a 4 hour train ride to the western side of Germany) to meet up with two girls I met on the Spain trip who live in England.  Dusseldorf is one of the 3 biggest cities to be the "hotbed" of Carnival fun! Can't wait!
Karneval in Dusseldorf