Good Morning, Frankfurt!

I'm in Europe! Wow! 

Goodbye chicago!

I didn't know how to use the digital map thing at this point in the trip, so here's some random coastline! Maybe Canada? we definitely flew over a lot of Canada. 

Frankfurt! It's so pretty! 

Besides a small checked-bag snafu and a few sad goodbyes, my travels so far have been very smooth. I had a window seat on the plane and sat next to a nice old man who had obviously flown a lot before and could show me where the headphone jack was, and how to use the in flight entertainment stuff. Next to him in my row of seats was a sweet old lady from Minnesota who has traveled the world and was on her way to a river cruise. When we were landing and I explained that I would be studying in Italy, she told me "be careful for those Italian boys! They'll pinch your you-know-what!" So my trip here to Frankfurt went well. I didn't sleep much, even though I tried, but a lot worse things could have happened so I'm happy. 

A few observations about the Frankfurt airport/Europe so far. Frankfurt airport is HUGE. It's at least as big as O'hare. It also looks exactly like a mall in parts. I had to walk through what was pretty much a department store (but with more liquor) complete with racks of clothes and a perfume department to get to my gate, and then BAM you keep walking and all of a sudden you're back in an airport. 

As expected during my passport check the large german man checking my documentation looks up at me and smirks and say *read this in a thick manly german accent* "Are you aware of what your last name means?" It was bound to happen I guess. 

Other random observations: 

-European guys seem to all wear super tight pants and leather shoes
-Their newspapers have WAY more nudity than the US ones do
-Their TVs show soccer games instead of whatever weird reality show was playing at O'Hare
-I'm very glad I know English, seeing as it's the only other language on signs here besides German.

I need to figure out when I board, so that's all for now! Here's to hoping the jet lag and sleep deprivations doesn't hit too hard. But that's what all that delicious Italian espresso is for, right?