I MADE IT!!! Germany is so beautiful, so clean, so green! My flight wasn't as horrible as I thought it might be, and it was awesome because I met my cousin Josh at XNA airport unexpectdly and we were on the same flight to Atlanta!! He was so sweet, took me for appetizers and good talks. Then on the trans-atlantic flight I sat next to a man who was an older German gentleman who currently lives in the states...He laughed at me for what my adventures might hold, especially not speaking German. I know i'll be ok, though, I know that this language  barrier will not be as big of a deal as he probably thought. I also sat across from a very cute german guy who was traveling with (i assume) his grandparents...he was a total doll!
Anyway...Bryn and Carolyn picked me up from the Stuttgart airport around 9 am this morning. we went back to the apartment ( which is HUGE! for Europe!) and kind of settled in and unpacked and freshened up before going to dinner at Faviano's, an Italian "cafeteria" type place where you choose what you want to eat from a menu (in english!) and then watch the line chefs cook it right in front of you! We enjoyed a lesiurely meal and then walked around downtown Stuttgart checking out the tons of cute little shops...went to a HUGE indoor farmer's market type place with lots of different vendors. I was so tired after though! We went back to the apartment and I absolutely CRASHED for about 4 hours...I set my alarm, but didn't even hear it go off! Woke up around 5:15 to the sound of Nate, Bryn's man, who is fabulous, btw, singing downstairs haha... later, the four of us, (Me, Bryn, Carolyn, and Nate) went out to dinner at a local bier garten here in Echerdingin and stayed for almost four hours!!

PICS TO FOLLOW!!