Cookie Girl Storms Germany

Some of you may remember dear Tobi, our lieblings-exchange-student-ever-in-the-whole-world who stayed with us when he came to Tulsa for a couple of weeks in high school.  

Tobi always promised that I would have a place to stay if I ever found myself in Europe.  Well, ladies and gentlemen, it just so happens that, five years later, I have found myself in Europe!  So I sent Tobi an e-mail, booked myself a ticket to Stuttgart, packed up my trusty neon-orange duffel, and headed west for the weekend.  

Tobi was so kind as to pick me up at the train station, and we picked up right where we left out.  Not too much has changed in five years.

By "not too much," I mean that Tobi has not cut his hair since we saw him last.  

It's officially longer than mine by several inches.  

Why the long hair, you may ask?  Wellllll, there are lots of things that long hair is good for.  Braiding, for example, or combing.  OR HEADBANGING.  

True story: Tobi is in the most hardcore band in all of the provincial town of Böblingen, I am pretty sure.

Tobi's the guitarist on the left.  I'm the girl in front of the stage with the corset.  Hah!  Just kidding.  But I sure wish I was her.

Anyway, don't let this hardcore facade fool you.  Tobi is still as sweet and goofy as ever and was a great host.  We walked around Böblingen, hung out with the love-of-my-sixteen-year-old-life Andre, ate deeeelicious Schwäbian food and drank deeeeeelicious German beer, and took lots of juggling pictures.  We even got to visit his sister in Tübingen, the cutest little university town about 20 minutes from Böblingen.  Look how precious!

The rest of the weekend was spent eating his mom's delicious food, going to the Stuttgart zoo, visiting museums, listening to music, and speaking Germanglish.  

Tobi also got a new guitar while I was there, so of course we needed to break it in.  What better way than to teach Tobi "Cookie Girl?"  Well, one thing let to another, and before I knew what was happening, it was being translated into German.  And you can't just make something that beautiful without recording it... so I now present to you the international sensation "Keksmädl!"

Baaaahahhaha.  And then when we were done, we translated one of his hilarious German songs about a bearded lady into English.  We are really the poster children for inter-cultural exchange.  

It was obviously just a most wonderful weekend, and I was quite sad to leave.  However, Tobi's mom had just the thing to make my train ride home absolutely magical.  Did I mention she works in a chocolate factory?  Well, she does.  And not only does she work in a chocolate factory, but she was so kind as to send me home with some chocolate.  And not only did she send me home with some chocolate, she sent me home with a TOTE BAG full of chocolate.  I kid you not.  "Here's one of every flavor ever," she said sweetly as she handed over the most magical gift in the entire world.  

Cookie Girl and her roommates, of course, are pleased.  To put it mildly.