the cold never bothered me anyway

I really need to sleep immediately, but I shall take time to record today for posterity, particularly since I may have burned out my short-term memory with a combination of jetlag and alcohol, so recording it is as much of a service for me as it is for you. I awoke in Heidelberg (good thing, since I fell asleep there) after 8+ hours of sleep, which is totally unheard of for my second day in a foreign country (although I did wake up several times as we approached seven a.m., but that was to be expected). I hung out in the kitchen for a bit and caught up on sports scores, then laid in bed again for thirty minutes, and then put on slightly more respectable pants to join my fellow travelers for breakfast (I had as much meat as possible, which should surprise none of you). Then we went back to the apartment, got ready, and loaded up the car...

...and proceeded to have a totally ridiculous drive to a town between Heidelberg and our offsite, which involved a lot of 'karaoke' (singing along to songs) while videotaping the whole thing. This was all v. ill-advised. Also, the drive was amazingly lovely. And the tow we stopped in had a beer tent (presumably for Oktoberfest), where we drank beer (well, I had wine and apfelwein), ate sausages, and listened to a traditional German orchestra. After a couple of hours of awesomeness, we loaded up in the car again and drove to the offsite...

...which may be the most ridiculous thing I've ever attended. Suffice it to say that we rolled in slightly drunk and immediately shot arrows at an archery station, which is extremely ill-advised. Then we kept the buzz going since the place we're at (a castle!!) has an open bar with no bartender, so you can just pour yourself wine. Or you can drink the drink someone made me, which he called a 'Low Anxiety' (no idea what was in it, but I'm sooo calm). Or you can drink the margarita Dave made me, which was highly alcoholic. Or you can drink the Jager shots I did with Dave and Tomas. Or you can keep drinking wine, with some attempt at water. Whatever floats your boat, really.

So suffice it to say that I had a fabulous afternoon/evening; other people arrived throughout that time, and the dinner was gorgeously over the top, and then we all had drinks and karaoke and pool and whatever. And now I must sleep before I die, since I must get up early tomorrow and maybe, theoretically, do some work - goodnight!