Home again, home again, jiggity jig

Like all good things, my study abroad has ended. My silence this past month has nothing to do with being unproductive. Quite the contrary, I assure you. So here's a recap of my last fun days in Germany. A post about my final project will follow, but I just thought I'd get this out of the way.


Rhinecruise



The Rhine has a lot of castles. This is almost an understatement. Much of the Rhine cruise was 'hey look a castle, hey look there's another one'. My apathy over this has to do with a persistent headache I had that day. By far the best part of the day was Marksburg castle. This, according to our tour guide, was the only castle that had not been destroyed at some point over the ages. Pretty impressive considering the amount of warring and territory battles that happened in the middle ages.



I think I slept the entire way home. So the rest is a blur.

A May Day Jaunt to Bad Godesburg
So one castle wasn't enough. Castles are one of those childhood play pretend things that never completely leave you as you journey into your adult life. I know I haven't grown out of and probably never will, the SCA will see to that.



The Godesburg castle was only about a 20-30 min U-bahn trip. Bad Godesburg has been a spa town since the 18th or 19th century. It is a relaxing place and was quiet every time I ventured out there. The castle overlooks most of the town and had a little flag blowing around at the top of the tower. And so, up the tower I went. I paid a euro to get inside but I feel it was worth it.



Cute little castle.

Here's some photos of my place in Tannenbusch as well:


FMX Conference: Stuttgart
I don't have any photos of this, mostly because photos were not allowed in any of the presentations.

John Bruno is amazing, AH. I don't think I can reach the level of awesome that he had achieved in his career. Don't know who he is? Well here you are.

I also learned a lot about the next animated Disney film, Tangled. Don't be discouraged by Disney's choice in titling their Rapunzel interpretation something different. It is that way for a reason, I promise. Also: 80 ft of hair. In Maya. I'm also not sure how much I'm supposed to talk about with the presentations I went to. Just know that it was amazing and has lit a fire under my bum that will take my 3D work to a new level...or so I hope.

This probably ranks high on the 'awesome things I did in Europe' list

Last visit to Köln


Catie and I had a mission to complete in Cologne. And that was to place our locks on the bridge. It is usually something lovers do for each other and placing a lock on the bridge is symbolic of a relationship: connecting two parts.


For me and Catie, our locks are a different significance. It is for us to make our mark on Germany. I want to return someday and put a lock on mine that can be for me and whomever I end up spending my life with. For now, it stands as a testament to my trip and a promise to myself so that I may eventually return.


So. The lock to my heart is in Cologne. Good luck finding it haha.


So I'm back at my home in Texas for the moment. I have a long and hopefully productive summer ahead of me. :D I miss Germany already and my jetlag still hasn't subsided after a week of being here, I keep falling asleep at around 10 pm every night.

Next: Sketches, followed by the end result of the Fred project.