who drank a bit of Alice's shrinking tonic and found that she was smaller than a strawberry...

Okay, okay.

 I didn't actually find Alice's shrinking tonic, and thus, I didn't actually shrink. But the strawberries are bigger than I am! They are bigger than the girls that sit in them. In fact, they are even bigger than the cute old men that sometimes run them. They are quite enormous, for strawberries, if not edible. Sad, that. I know a mouse who would have  a lot of fun protecting this big, juicy strawberry from a big scary bear.

And while we're on the cuteness subject, do note the windmill on the sign.

who discovered that Germans mean what they say and they say what they mean. And they're nice about saying it, 100%.

You don't see me... you don't hear me... but believe me: I'm here!
Kind of creepy for a cute puppy sign, but I guess it beats "beware of dog."

In North Germany, people smile on buses. They plant flowers. They come home with armfuls of fresh strawberries. And since everyone speaks their mind, which means that I've got to get mine on its toes, ready or not.

The dog who lives in this house (just across the street, next to the big gardens) is actually much cuter than the doggie pictured. He's also bigger, whiter and fluffier. He doesn't get out much, though he does like to bark along with the sunrise symphony each morning. (Along with the seagulls, passing birds, and perhaps even a rooster?).

Fritzie's not the only one walking around with a disclaimer around here. On the bus today, I saw a sign for a new brand of cigarettes, named "Vive la Liberté." On the sign, a very chic couple was lounging on deck chairs on top of an apartment in Paris overlooking the Eiffel Tower, smoking. All of the suavity, however couldn't compete with the pictured warning, "smoking can kill!" on two oversized boxes at the front of the picture. Go Deutschland! Major points for honesty.

I can't decide which was better, the Liberté ad, or the advertisement I saw for a tattoo parlor called "für immer" (forever).

It's not like they don't warn you! :)

who lived with her family in a red brick house. When she left for a while, she packed up her home and took it with her. She unpacked it in a pink house surrounded by roses, hedges, and a picket-fence gate.

home for now

My guest family is lovely. Here in Germany, you have to be careful to say exactly what you mean, and lovely is just the word for them. Actually, I haven't met Leo yet, but he's married to Sabine, which is a very good sign. There's something very homey about slipping through a swinging picket gate on your way to see the world (in my case, the darling harbor city) and then again on the way back. 

Everyone loves flowers in Kiel. I've seen at least four times as many flower shops and nurseries as I have grocery stores.  Since it's June in Kiel, and just starting to be really warm, roses are everywhere. Our street is quiet, but since today is Saturday, the street is lined with cars; across the street there is a garden, broken up into plots, and today families are stopping by to garden. The gardeners are everywhere; they grow flowers from the tiniest specks of dirt in front of their houses in the city, and lean out of their windows to plant flower boxes. 

Leo and Sabine's name fits so perfectly amongst the flowers and trees in our corner of Kiel. (Schönwälder means "beautiful forests"). I wonder if  having such a nice name makes you nice from the beginning? Sabine has already fulfilled one of my dreams, to eat Rote Grütze, which is stewed red berries, served with vanilla sauce. 

To study abroad, I had to follow some dear friends' advice and bring my home with me. I unpacked it in the attic room. (I haven't unpacked anything else yet; I grabbed what I needed most). 

who flew over the sea in the midnight sun to a land far away. It was beautiful there.

midnight over Iceland

The sun lit the night sky as I was flying across the ocean on Wednesday night. For a long time, it was difficult to see if it was rising or setting, until I realized that it was doing both. It flickered over the horizon like this for about an hour, then came up over a glimmer of water. 

And when it came up, did it ever come up. I turned to my Brazilian seat mate, (whose lovely name sounds something like "Merida," from Brave, but nicer) and we watched the sky until it was too bright, and we had to slide the window cover shut. 

It's happy to think that somewhere, the sun is always rising, and some places, it never goes down.