IKEA Adventure

We had another long German class today. I felt so drained after! Lots of shenanigans occurred, as per usual. I did manage to get a picture of the indoor window thingy at the IES center though. Go me!

After class, Victoria wanted to buy a new pillow (the ones on our bed are huge lumpy squares), so we had an excuse to go to an IKEA furniture store. Now I don't live anywhere near an IKEA in Wichita. I didn't realize this, but IKEA is a tourist destination in and of itself. People hang out here on the weekends. People come here when they want to kill several hours. People come here on dates! It's so weird...

Anyway, we turned our IKEA trip into a whole evening event. Unfortunately, the building was a good 15+ minute walk away from the nearest S-Bahn station. It was a bit tricky to get there since the sidewalk was super narrow and also along a highway. But we persevered, because IKEA.

For those of you who have not have the privilege of visiting, IKEAs have big cafeterias in

addition to many floors of furniture. So we had dinner at the store, including an adorable pink marzipan princess cake.

Then it was off on an adventure! The biggest appeal of IKEA (I think) is how they display the furniture. Instead of setting it out on the floor in rows, they set up mock rooms complete with walls, windows, dishes in the sink, books open on the tables, beds unmade, etc. As you walk through these rooms, you feel like you are actually walking through someone's (very well-decorated) house. We had a lot of fun testing out all the chairs and couches. Christine fell in love with a giant stuffed bear, and I honestly can't blame her. He was soooo cute!

In one room, there was a claw-footed bathtub in the middle of a library. Because why not?

The IKEA stores are huge, so we easily spent the better part of a couple hours wandering through it. It was fun and all, but I don't think I'll be coming here every weekend or anything.

The real highlight of my day, though, was when we went back to the train station. I've seen the magical little vending machines in a lot of the S-Bahn station, including the one near our apartments. Instead of offering candy or bratwurst (those exist too), it gives you coffee.

So, I mean, obviously I had to try it out, right?

I paid my Euros, and a little compartment opened up where your snack would usually pop out. Instead, there was a cup, and it began filling with coffee. It was the most ridiculous thing ever. Whoever invented these deserves a Nobel prize.

I was so happy about my coffee, I drank it pretty quickly. It was ridiculously hot, though, so I definitely burned my tongue. #worthit Christine seems to find great joy in me finding great joy in food. She was almost as excited about the coffee as I was, even though she doesn't drink it.

I can die in peace now. Cross "drink coffee from a vending machine" off the bucket list! This is what it means to be really living people! ;)