Bethany Londyn’s art is her own translation of the reality that surrounds her. She has been an artist for over a decade and is now re-launching her Be'sCreations portfolio at bescreations.com. Londyn uses various mediums to create immense depth and texture in her beautiful paintings that wow the eye of the beholder. 
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| View down on Barcelona from Castell de Montjuic |
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| Madrid |
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| Awesome market in Madrid: Mercado de San Miguel |
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| Crystal Castle in the eat park in Madrid |
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| Basilica de Sta Maria del Mar |
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| Gaudi's Park Güell |
This is the second year that I have taken part in the Bierbike. It is quite the event. JessA, Sarah, and I decided to grab dinner beforehand for Sarah's birthday. We were a little late leaving the restaurant and then we didn't know exactly where to go to get to the bierbike. Probably not so smart. So, we find a bus and jump on. Already running late, we were not off to a great start. Then a blind woman tries to get on the bus. For some reason, the bus driver thought she changed her mind and wasn't getting on so he closed the door. WELL that did not go over well with the man in the wheelchair on the bus. He starts yelling at the bus driver to open the door for the poor woman trying to get on the bus. She had actually just turned around to try and find her suitcase that she needed to bring with her on the bus. Doors open again. More yelling. Wheelchair man tells the bus driver to enjoy his last day at work. Bus is not moving. We are now 15 minutes late. Bus takes off and then when the lady wants to get off the bus driver is EXTRA careful with her, going so far as to get off the bus with her and make sure everything is okay. Now we are 20 minutes late and the bierbike is leaving without us, because obviously it only has a certain amount of time to make the planned route. That leaves JessA, Sarah, and I on the street, running around trying to find the place where we can catch the bierbike somewhere on it's route. We run in this direction, JessA on the phone with one person and I on the phone with another person on the bike, and then run in the opposite direction and then sprint when we finally see it. Two bikes have been rented since we are over 20 people. Each bike holds 16 people. The bikes had been evenly split, but then, since we took so long, people jumped bikes and one was full and the other was left with 10 people. ANYWAYS. We get going. I am sweating up a storm pumping on those pedals and drinking apple wine. At the end of the night I discover that the girl who has been pouring our beer and apple wine is 13 years old. How is that legal? Our driver is a nice man. The music goes back and forth between German classics, new songs, and English pop songs. We catch up to the other bike (how?!). Everyone is dressed up in Lederhosen and Dirndl. Pretty impressive group. We have a break at the Römer. Technically, we were supposed to also have a break at the Alte Oper, where we had our only stop last year, but since SOME PEOPLE decided to be late we only get one stop. Those who need to use the bathroom do so. I throw a football around with Will and Paul. Seems like a good idea in the dark when one is slightly intoxicated. We take pictures and then head off once again. I somehow end up in the middle of the bike dancing to Hangover. Deja vu from last year. We finish the route. I somehow end up in charge of making sure our bill is paid. 375 Euros for the 10 of us. Why didn't Will organize both bikes so that the cost was split evenly? Fail. 40 Euros seems a bit steep for the 4 beers Sarah drank. The group heads off to a Karaoke bar. That's where my story telling is going to end. Once again, an interesting night on a bierbike!
Sarah and Sebastian got married a couple weeks ago and their son, Johannes (Jack), was baptized. The wedding was at Sebastian's parents house and it was beautiful, touching, and a lot of fun. We danced, cried, ate, and laughed a lot. Sarah's mom was there for the festivities and she did quite an amazing time with all the German that was being thrown at her. I got to play with a lot of babies, including the largest baby I have ever seen who I danced to sleep. 
Went on the Rhein River Tour to Loreley with some friends last weekend. The weather behaved in the sense that it did not rain, but it was chilly! We braved the top deck of the boat the whole time so we would have the best views of the castles. We left from Assmannshausen - the best named city out there obviously. We ran up the super steep hill between the wine bushes to get to the sign for the town. Best short cut ever. 3 and a half hours, a couple glasses of Glühwein, and plenty of castles later we were thoroughly impressed with the tour.
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| Just a couple more exercises after the run. |
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| Settlers German style. For Kyle's birthday I lost terribly. |
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| So many birthday cakes |
I've been home for a week. Seen the extended family twice now, which was a definite highlight!! Membership at the Nike gym. FABULOUS. Playing with Amy who came in town. Going on runs with friends and family. Eating chocolate. Eating out at least once a day. Church. Visiting with my fabulous friends. Yoga. Laying out by the pool. Megan comes in tomorrow, Johanna on Wednesday and Granny and PopPop on Saturday. It's been busy, but I am loving being home and seeing everyone!!!
Once I get out of the habit of writing, it's hard to jump back in! These past three months have been a blur of activity! I was kindly allowed to skip out on my week of work during the Easter Break so that I could go home and help out at home. Having Esther there was, of course, a huge help since she is such an outstanding person. The two weeks I was home was draining mentally and physically in the sense of lack of sleep and a lot of running around, but I am so glad that I went home. I don't know how they were functioning without me there! No matter how much my Mother likes to be in control of things and likes to pretend that everything is okay, that was very much not the case. It was hard to see her in so much pain and being able to do very little about it, except advise her to stay away from foods that are inflammatory, which she stubbornly ignored. It's hard to be so helpless in helping someone, especially when they are unwilling to change the way they think about things even though, in the long run, it will benefit them. I LOVED seeing my friends as well and was fortunate to have Kayleen and her lovely daughter in town for most of a week. Went on runs, met up with friends for food and drinks, visited my Grandma and Grandpa multiple times (another blessing), and had fun seeing Esther interacting with Daniel. They are so similar and also so different at the same time. Very good for each other. :)
Back in Germany the busy schedule continued - sushi dinner's with the women, knitting club i.e. gossip club, biking around the city, and German class (work pays - yay!!!). Went on a day trip to Würzburg with Susanna and Ning and got to be taken around the city by the fabulous Maria and Julian. Love them. More sushi nights and drinks. BBQ's at friend's once the weather got better. Overnighter trip with the second graders, which was SO much fun. Love playing football with them - Andi, Seb, and I against a torrent of second graders. Marshmellow's. Bon fire. A long weekend in Rhodes, Greece with Susanna, Jennifer, and Will. Beautiful old town city surrounded by a fortress. WONDERFUL long weekend in Walting with my FABULOUS German family plus boyfriend/fiance. Open air concert on the hill over Eichstätt. Canoeing down the Altmühl. Eating, eating eating. Running. Biking. Street festivals in Frankfurt. Popcorn. Apple wine. More BBQ's. Helping a friend move aka going up and down stairs carrying heavy objects for 5 hours and being called a boxer, because of my strength. EUROCUP. Germany has won it's last two games and hopefully kicks butt on Sunday. Going away party for Alana. Another rotation of Au Pairs finishing up their year.
Today: Went on a team building adventure in a "climbing forest" - my direct translation. Zip lines and obstacle courses up high in the trees. It was so much fun. Tomorrow is our school's own euro cup with the kids all playing against each other. Scavenger hunt party with friends around the city.