The Dark Knight

Luke and I and a bunch of friends went and saw The Dark Knight the first weekend that it was out here at Sittard in The Netherlands. I have never been a fan of Batman but I have always enjoyed Heath Ledgers work. I love, love, loved this movie! If you haven't seen it yet, stop reading this post and go see it NOW! It really isn't a typical "superhero" movie, it actually has a story and plot lines you have to think about! Definitely hit my must buy list after I had seen it, am anxious to see it again when it finally makes it to Brunssum. Wish I could have seen it in IMAX though, I bet it was amazing. And I do have to agree that Christian Bale is hot, but his voice as Batman makes me want to rip my ears off!



And on a more somber note, Heath Ledgers performance was absolutely amazing. I was quick to doubt people who said how good it was because a lot of hype as it being his last performance following his death but he really did make the movie. Absolutely amazing and terrifying, it is hard to see the acting in the character, it really is as if he truly becomes the Joker and he is truly believable. A new facet to his abilities and it really makes me sad that we will not see anything else from him. I have been a fan of his since I first saw 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knights Tale. A sad loss for the acting community and all of us who enjoyed his movies.

States Pics

Here are some of the pictures I took when I was in the states in June-July.

First are some pictures from out at Echo Lake with some of the dogs.






Some pictures from the fourth of July in Caliente, mainly the softball games.






Some pictures from the spring with Nash and Abby.





Some pictures heading to Tuacahn in St. George, Utah. We saw The Sound of Music there at the outdoor theater, it was really nice. Although it was so hot! The show got done at like 10pm and it was still warm out!

Sunday August 3, 2008-

Today started out sunny and warm and slowly deteriorated into rain and wind! We planned on going for a bike ride with Marita and Christian in the afternoon. We met up at 2pm and head out only to be hit with a major rainstorm and wind. After facing the wind for a few minutes we turned around and headed back to the house. By the time we got back to the house the rain had subsided. We really wanted to go for a bike ride so we decided to ride to Schierwaldenrath to the Selfkantbahn to get coffee and cake at the restaurant there and then decide if we would go further. We sat outside and watched the Steam train drive by for awhile. The weather had cleared a bit so we decided to ride a little further. We headed over towards Gangelt and the evil hill. There is a hill we go down the is fatal to bikes. The first time we went down it Christians tire popped, then another time the light fell off my bike and then this time Christians chain came off! This hill is just not good for us and bikes! So after sitting on the side of the road for a bit and fixing Christians bike again we headed towards the Netherlands. We rode over to a field were they fly these planes without engines. Seems crazy to me but what do I know. Since the weather was bad there weren’t any planes out flying. There is a cafe were you can sit and watch them take off and land! After we made a stop there we headed back home. Overall I think we rode about 10 kilometers even though it felt like more since we were riding against the wind most of the time. Now we are heading to Heinsberg to find something for dinner! We are thinking either Greek or Italian, then some gelato after.




Back from dinner, it was interesting to say the least. We went over to Heinsberg and decided to eat at a Greek restaurant in the square. We sat outside since the weather was nice. It was lucky that the weather was nice because we ended up waiting over an hour for our food! AND we couldn’t get gyros! The food wasn’t even that good, well I guess the french fries were good and Luke’s hacksteak was good. I ended up eating Lukes food because mine was kind of gross. I was supposed to get steak in a mushroom sauce but it was like steak and mushrooms in some weird red pepper sauce, definitely didn’t go well together! I think the highlight of the meal was this bee that kept flying around our table, it would not go away. Then after we ate we walked down the street to get some eis. The bee followed us! Well after spending way more time at dinner then we had hoped we headed home for the evening and it was too late to go walking. So another restaurant that goes on the “do not eat here” list.

Pictures and posts from the past month still in the works....

Update in the Works

Having just returned...well returned last week....from the states, I am working on an update from my trip and from Luke's foray into Paris for the worldwide Invitational. Once school is caught up (just my luck that it is midterm week and I am beyond jetlagged) and I am back into the swing of things there will be some new posts and new pics! So knowing myself, it'll probably be a week or two at least.

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational

We just found out we won tickets to go to the Blizzard Worldwide Invitational in Paris next weekend! Yay! I was totally bummed that the tickets were sold out before we could buy them (or before I could talk Luke into going). Yes it is dorky I know but I think it is going to be a blast! It is just luck that we got these tickets, one of the podcasts we listen to (World of Warcast) was giving away 3 tickets and we lucked out and won two. So next weekend off to Paris we go for the fourth time in two years. Should be a blast and I should have some pics to put up when we get back.

I am a bit bummed though that we found out on such short notice so I don't have time to get a costume and dress up. I so would have been a blood elf! (and I would have made Luke dress up too)

http://eu.blizzard.com/wwi08/

Bowling

Last night we went bowling with Marita and Christian. I haven't been bowling in years, I think the last time might have been bowling at the Orleans with Pam and some guys from MonteLago, this would have been before Luke and I met!! Well it's safe to say that I was horrible the first game, I think I came in last place with Luke like doubling my score. But I came back strong and beat everyone the last two games!! The last game getting three strikes in a row (which is unheard of by me). It was so fun! The bowling alley was in Sittard and it really wasn't very big and it was packed with kids and families since it was Saturday night. I think we need to have monthly bowling, Luke isn't too hot on this idea he isn't too keen on being beat by a girl! Both he and Christian were baffled because I played SO bad the first game then I came back to whoop on them.
After bowling we stopped at McDonalds which is like the cool place to be here. Everyone hangs out at McDonalds like all the kids and stuff. It is funny because McDonalds isn't remotely like that in the states. But the McDonalds here are actually nicer than those in the states.
Nothing else going on, I started new classes again. Should be one interesting class (contemporary sexual ethics) but the rest look pretty dull (research methods, parapsychology) actually. Getting anxious for my internship, it is really sneaking up on me. Weather has been crappy the past week, I think it has been in like the 60's, it doesn't even feel like summer! And rainy so much rain, Elizabeth and I went to Aachen Thursday to have pizza hut and Starbucks and we got poured on the whole time, thankfully we had umbrellas but even with those we still got soaked.

New Pictures

Here at long last are some of the pictures from Tom and Kriss's trip here. Hey, it only took me a month to get them up...not bad! I should have put them up earlier because I can't remember where a lot of them are from! Especially the castles and little touristy towns!

The first slide show has pictures from Bad Neunahr, Boppard, Rudesheim and our boat ride on the middle Rhine (which just happens to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site). The boat ride was long but the scenery and all of the castles and little towns were really neat to see! Boppard and Rudesheim were both nice towns, I wish we would have had more time to explore them, I love all the little kind of small, touristy towns with little shops all over. There were tons of castles that we saw, but as the pictures show, I do not remember the names of them so they are all labeled "Rhine".

This slide show has pictures from Moselkern and Cochem, which are both towns on the Mosel. We stopped in Moselkern first, to see Burg Eltz, one of the most popular castles in Germany. It was very interesting, but I think that I still prefer Neuschwanstein. After we finished the castle tour we headed to Cochem which is one of the popular towns on the Mosel, there is castle that overlooks the town but we did not get a chance to explore it. We wandered around that town, bought LOTS of wine and had a great lunch at a little cafe. After we were finished shopping we headed to Trier, our final stop for the day. We stayed in Trier and got up early that morning and went to see the Black Gate and to one of the museums that is there.

These last pictures are from Brugges, Belgium. Which I now think is one of my favorite places in Europe. It is beautiful, has chocolate stores all over and the people are actually FRIENDLY which is rare for tourist towns. Brugges is a big tourist town, but compared to other touristy places I have been, Brugges didn't feel all that touristy. It is much prettier than Amsterdam with the canals running through the city. It is clean and there is lots to see for everyone. Kriss and I did some shopping while the guys went on a tour of a brewery. I think we stopped at at least five chocolate stores and I have to say none of them are better than Godiva. The only one that was close was the truffle chocolates at the Chocolate Line! Brugges is definitely a place that I will be going back to before we leave, if i can!