I’ve called the panel physician from the list that I received from the US consulate Monday morning. I need an appointment for a medical examination and the closest doctor on the list is in Dortmund. Great! So I have to go to Dortmund on Monday. I am thrilled 
I have no idea what they’re going to do with me, but it will cost me another 150 euros . What a rip off! These people [who shall not be named] definitely know how to get your money!
I’ll still try everything to get my visa and be on the plane on July, 3rd – but to be honest,I believe it’s not going to happen … the mills of bureaucracy grind slowly.
In the afternoon I went to the photographer with my sister to pick out her wedding pictures. It’s funny, but the new grooms were both not very interested in taking part in this… Jon didn’t even consider coming with me and Dirk pretended to be busy *lol* they both trusted me and Nina in picking out the best pictures ;)
Yesterday morning I went out for breakfast with my friend Ilka T.. She originally is from my town, but she’s been living in the US for a quite a while now and she actually lives in Sacramento right now [and I don’t *sigh*]. It’s always fun to get together with her, because we both get the chance to vent our frustration and anger about the authorities. She’s been through the visa-jungle as well and we both decided yesterday morning that it would be a great idea to write a book together about our common experiences overseas 
I bought fresh strawberries on my way home and then I made strawberry cake in the afternoon:
It was soooo delicious :) My Mom’s cousine came over for some coffee and cake [mainly because she wanted to see some of the wedding pictures], but I made them watch the soccer game, of course.
I turned on the TV a little late and I couldn’t trust my eyes that Germany had scored their first goal in the 4th minute already… how awesome! I really enjoyed the game and I think that the German team played really well together. Is this a sign for the second round?
I must admit… I’ve been kind of infected with the World Cup virus now [since you know me for not being the biggest soccer fan usually ]… I even watched the game Sweden-England in the evening!
Today I went out for lunch with Ira. We went to the Tüschenbroicher Mühle, a very nice restaurant right next to a little lake. Unfortunately, we couldn’t sit outside as it was kind of clowdy and chilly, but we enjoyed the nice view. It was good to spend some time with Ira and recap about the weddings.