Today I woke up in Amsterdam, wished I was back in Scotland, and am on my way to Germany. I took what I thought I remembered to be the way to Amsterdam Central, but of course walked off course a bit, and since I am unsure of what exactly I am doing, the extra jaunt make me start to walk like I am not taking any prisoners. I had made it to the right street, but just a block or two down. Once inside the station it was very simple to figure out where to go, regardless, I asked plenty of questions just in case because my ticket printed in all German (which I unfortunately do not speak.) I reached my platform with time to spare, and got on the train with no trouble. The first leg of the trip to Homburg is from Amsterdam to Oberhausen, to Hamm, to Warburg, and finally to Kassel, where Bob and Christoph will pick me up. The train is comfortable and relaxing, and the view outside, whether suburban or rural, will keep me entertained for the duration. On the train I hear conversations in Dutch, German, and French. One man is talking with a very creepy accent, so in go The Shins and eyes out the window. It is easy to tell when the train crossed the border into Germany because there are German flags flying from houses all over. I have also noticed quite a few hunting stands. So I get to Kassel and I walk out of the train, and straight ahead of me on the platform is Elise (one of Sara's friends from school) on the phone with Christoph to come pick us up. I do not know if it could have happened more perfectly. Bob and Christoph walked right in and met us, and then took us for a late lunch. I had a sweet beer and some jägerschnitzel. After our snack we drove into Homberg and went directly to Chris' Dad's (Jens) house where the reception was held. Sara, Wendy, and Julie (Wendy's friend from Australia) were busy frosting cupcakes when we got there. The rest of Chris' family: stepmom/Claudia, older sister/Anya, younger sister/ Paulina, younger brother/ Heiner, and Grandma were working on other preparations. Sara gave Elise and I a tour around the house and yard to see all the decorations. After meeting everyone and frosting a few cupcakes, we the 1 minute walk up from the house to the Burghotel to get ready for dinner. Elise and my room was so cute. It had colorful pillows and comforter, huge windows that looked out over the valley, and a balcony. When we finished getting ready, we walked back down, and Anya drove us to the next town to go to the Italian restaurant. The dinner was kind of like a groom's dinner. Elise and I shared a #57 Combinazcion, which was a combination of 4 kinds of pasta, hamburger, red sauce, and cheese, which was very tasty. Anya's boyfriend Peter also met us at the restaurant. The entire time Anya, Peter, Sara, And Chris were switching back and forth between Germsn and English so Elise and I could understand, and Paulina who has not learn enough English to converse. The Euro Cup soccer game between Germany and Greece was on, so after dinner we went into the bar area and watched a bit of the game. We left before it was over to get some rest before the big day. When we got back to the hotel, Elise and I had the hardest time getting the main hotel door unlocked. After many tries, and a complicated conversation over an intercom in Germish, we turned the key super hard and the lock finally clicked open. When we were getting ready to sleep Katie Kraeker arrived and stopped by our room to say hello, and shortly after she left, went to sleep.