Goodbye Freiburg, Hello Düsseldorf!

Thanks for being patient! This week was absolutely hectic. Starting Sunday I had to study for four exams, write two six page papers (all in German), pack, clean my room and bathroom, buy presents, sleep, and say my last minute goodbyes. Needless to say sleeping came in last place! Although it was most likely the most stressful week in my time abroad, it was definitely the most productive. I already know some of my grades- two A-s so far, which is good since most German professors don’t give out A’s unless you are THAT student that actually comes to class, pays attention, readily participates, always knows the answer, does the homework on time and exceeds expectations, etc. No one ever does ALL of the above, so I will most likely be getting A-s, which I am definitely okay with! All in all I am very satisfied with my program, classes, and abroad experience.

But you want to hear about Paris, am I right?

Notre Dame

Up until this past weekend, Nick and I have had exceptionally good luck when it comes to traveling. Our trains are rarely late, we never miss a connection, and whenever there is good luck to be had, we had it. That all changed on this trip! Early Friday morning we met at the train station in Freiburg to get on the train to Offenburg, where we changed trains to Strasbourg. On the very first train, the man sitting across the way had spilled some of his coffee, and I wanted Nick to get his attention so that I could give him something to clean it up with. Nick refused, however the man noticed the commotion and I gave him the paper towel anyway, telling Nick that he is going to need my good karma later, which he mocked for a little while. LITTLE DID WE KNOW that my good karma would come into use in less than 30 minutes! As soon as we got off of our train, that same man came running off the train with Nick’s passport, which he had accidentally dropped and left on the train! So much for scoffing at my good karma! As soon as we made it to Strasbourg we hurried to the ticket window to see if we could quickly buy reservations for the train to Paris. The man at the ticket counter in Germany said that the Germans were only allowed to sell a few French train tickets per train and that they withhold a serious amount for themselves and that we should have no problem showing up in Strasbourg and getting a reservation. Again, no luck.

The lady at the ticket window said that ALL trains from Strasbourg to Paris for the ENTIRE month of December were already sold out! After talking to the poor lady for a good 15 minutes, we had to wait an hour to take various regional trains to get to Paris. In total the trip took over 10 hours, including three one hour layovers and a 40 minute delay, but we finally made it!

We found our hostel and hurried to the Louvre- the entrance tickets are cheaper on Friday nights- and spent an hour and a half wandering around the gigantic museum, getting lost here and there. It is totally understandable why people actually get very lost in the Louvre- it is so easy to get turned around and the map/signs aren’t very helpful! Afterwards we both crashed after a long day of traveling and speed museum-ing.

The next day we were up early and ready to go, out of the door by 10:00. We took the metro to the river, where we got crepes for breakfast and started the day of sightseeing at the Pantheon. We were going to go inside, but entrance was 8 Euros- a fee I was not about to pay! Afterwards we walked over to the Notre Dame, which was gigantic and beautiful. It made me want to watch the Hunchback of Notre Dame again, since I haven’t watched it in ages! It was also inspiring to see a cathedral that I had heard so much about but had never had the chance to see in person. Afterwards we walked along the river for a long time, trying to make our way over to the Eiffel Tower.

After a long walk we finally made it! I could hardly believe that I was finally standing in the shadows of THE Eiffel Tower. We wanted to be a little extravagant and take the elevator all the way to the top, but the line was three times as long and the top was “closed due to congestion” anyway, so we decided to take the cheap route and walk to the 2^nd floor. Midway through the climb, I could see why it was the cheap route! There are about 600 steps and although I made it to the second floor, I was pretty tired afterwards! The view was amazing- you can see all of Paris from the tower. It was also special just because of what I was standing in, looking out on the city of Paris. People wait their whole lives to do what I did and it made me feel very lucky to have been able to have the experience. We went into the gift shop, looked around the tower, and then decided to go back down to get lunch, which ended up being just as expensive as if we had eaten in the Eiffel Tower!! Everything in Paris is crazy expensive and I blew through over 60 Euros in no time!



Santa at the Weihnachts Markt!



After our lunch in a cute café we walked over the bridge where we stumbled upon a “Weihnachtsmarkt”, but did not seem to be very influenced by the Germans. It seemed to be more of a Christmas festival with various kinds of foods and other international things. After we walked through the markt we walked over to the famous “Arc de Triomphe” that Nick wanted to see and then walked through the downtown where we got to see Paris thriving with people out shopping on a Saturday evening. We came across another Weihnachtsmarkt which lined the main street, but was less German and more international. The whole time I had been searching for some dishtowel that Dalaina wanted but was having absolutely no luck finding. After coming close to giving up, we found… a dishtowel store! We went inside and of course, the dish towel she wanted was not available. So I bought a similar one since I had found the store anyway, I might as well get something out of it! Afterwards we went home to the hostel where we made dinner and then chatted for awhile. Around 9pm we met a random guy who was originally from the US but now lives in London and had the most amazing stories and entertained us the whole night. After a long day I went gladly to bed and had to wake up early Sunday morning in order to make our train (which we actually had reservations for) back home.

Although it was a relatively short trip to Paris I enjoyed my time there. I got to see everything that I wanted to see and it made me happy to know that even if I never get the chance to go back to Europe, at least once in my life I have stood in Notre Dame and climbed the Eiffel Tower.

As I already said, once we got back the stressful week commenced. I spent hours upon hours studying and working hard and finally, Thursday night, I got to enjoy my last few hours with my new friends. I feel so lucky to have met all these amazing people, who have truly become great friends. When it came time for me to actually say my goodbyes, I became terribly sad, because although it felt like it would never end it stopped so abruptly that I couldn’t even comprehend it. As I was walking alone to the Strassenbahn, I felt like the next day would be just another day and I could call up the girls, go hang out, go shopping at the Weihnachtsmarkt, or do something else fun with my friends. In reality, I had to go home and clean and pack for three hours so that when my appointment at 8:15am came, I was ready to go. The only feeling I could possibly compare it to is the “ghost limb” feeling an amputee has… you feel like everything is normal and the way it should be, but really it is just a shadow of the past that you just have not let go of yet. Even now, with three days left in Germany I feel like my time is not up. “Tuesday” is just some day in the future that will never come… but that is just unrealistic thinking. What is real is that my suitcases are about 20 pounds overweight each and that I have to savor my last few days in Germany (and figure out a way to make my bags lighter!)

Speaking of my bags, the trip to Düsseldorf was by far the most stressful trip I have ever had! Thank goodness one of my roommates happened to be leaving the same time as me; she helped me schlep one of my bags onto the Strassenbahn and Rhys, although I had only offhandedly mentioned it before, was waiting for me at the train station when I got there (and thank god! I could never have managed to carry my big suitcase down the stairs alone!). Somehow I managed to find a space for my huge suitcases on the first super full train, but I was nervous the whole way. The weather was cold and snowing and I knew that the train would be at least 5 minutes late- and I only had 10 minute to change trains in Karlsruhe! I spent the whole first hour worrying about missing my train (which would have been terrible with so many bags) but somehow, like the hulk, I went down and up stairs with both of my bags at the same time (the big one on this almost worthless conveyer belt) and I ran onto the right wagon on my train and got on ontime! Once I was on the train it ended up being very full and I was worried that my big bag, which I had left in the open, would be in the way or moved or taken somewhere else. But my bags and I made it to Düsseldorf (30 minutes late) and once I arrived I figured out how to use the Strassenbahn and made it to the Reineckes! In case you have never done it before, dragging two huge, heavy suitcases in the snow is not fun or easy.



Me and Max at the Reinecke's House!



Robby and Annette picked me up and I finally made it there, where we all chatted and caught up. We were supposed to go to Bonn for Annette’s father’s birthday dinner, but because of the terrible weather/snow there were accidents everywhere and people could not make it. Annette thought that Max wouldn’t come anymore, but I was sitting alone in the kitchen and he just showed up! Apparently no one had told him the dinner was canceled and he came anyway. Annette’s niece, Antonio came also, but because a tree had fallen onto the tracks she ended up having to get off of the train in some town 20 minutes away. Max and I went to pick her up and afterwards Uli came home and we all ate dinner together- and then Felix finally arrived! I was so happy that the whole family was there, it has made everything fun already! Toni has been very nice and fun for me to hang out with. That night we went out with some of their friends, some of which I knew from a few years ago, and some I didn’t. Three times yesterday people I didn’t know thought that I was German, not American, because I spoke German the whole time (and apparently well!) Even a girl I had met a few years ago didn’t recognize me until I spoke English to her to prove that I was actually American and not German! If nothing else I’m taking it as a compliment that I had a “good” German day!

Today, after a long, deep sleep (after a week of sleepless nights) I was refreshed and Toni, the boys, me, and Uli went to pick out a Christmas tree. Afterwards the girls went to the Ratingen Weihnachtsmarkt. Tonight we are going to a couple's birthday party and as a surprise a group of friends are doing a skit at the party but someone got sick- and I have to play the nurse! It will be very entertaining... we will see how it turns out!

Hopefully tomorrow or Monday I get to see Sarah, Miriam, and Nathalie. Then before I know it, I will have to repack my bags (so that they aren't a million pounds!) and make my way to the airport... to come home! It's been a great trip :)

Standby!

It's finals week... so needless to say I have been absolutely swamped! I know you avid readers are chomping at the bits to hear about my trip to Paris... but just sit tight. Once I have everything under control with school there will be a long update! Expect an update by Saturday!!

Two Weeks!

This week I finally booked my trip to Paris! Nick and I are taking the train early Friday morning (the 10th) and coming back Sunday afternoon (the 12th). I am SO excited to finally be going- I've sure waited long enough! I'm so excited to finally be able to see the Eiffel Tower in person, wander around the Louvre, and see everything else that Paris has to offer! Plus it's a great way to end my semester abroad- one last "hurrah" trip to another European capital!

In order to go, I have to work hard before hand. This upcoming week is the last wek of class (!!!) so I have to make sure everything is in order before I go. On the 17th I'm off to Düsseldorf to see the Reinecke's and my roommate Sarah and I'm really looking forward to it! Annette (Reinecke) already has a couple things planned for when I get there and I also have made plans to see Sarah and another Theta, Nathalie, who will be in Europe for break. I have lots to look forward to- but also lots of work ahead of me!



Fan Section with huge Freiburg Flags



Yesterday I went to a SC Freiburg soccer game, my first real soccer game! I'm definately glad I went. We got the last standing room tickets and were in the north section of the stadium where the diehard fans are. They have huge flags they wave the whole game. The thing in Europe for soccer is that everyone has a scarf of their favorite team, so I bought a Freiburg scarf- officially a Freiburger! The game was freezing but I wore about 6 layers and 3 pairs of socks, so I made it until the end of the game. The best part? They WON! 1-0 against Hamburg, who I think might be a better team. It was a little boring since there was only one goal and it was within the first 10 minutes, but I am just glad they won!! Turned out to be a great Saturday.



Me and the Boys at the Freiburg Soccer Game



Thanksgiving, Snow, & Christmas time!



Snow in Freiburg!



A part of the Weihnachtsmarkt in Freiburg!



Happy Thanksgiving everyone! My first Thanksgiving somewhere other than the USA didn't turn out too badly after all! I had 6 hours of class all day which was pretty unusual, since every Thanksgiving everything is always closed and there is no school. But during my break between classes I went to the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) which started up this week in accordance to advent. and it is absolutely adorable! I could spend all day there, with its yummy food, adorable vendors, and cute Christmas decorations.

 



The Restaurant

After classes we went to a dinner put on by the program, IES, in the Schwarzwald in Freiburg on top of the Schlossberg. The dinner was absolutely beautiful and our professors and program directors came. There was pumpkin soup, salad, turkey, stuffing, carrots, mashed potatoes, corn, cranberry sauce, and ice cream and fruit salad for dessert. Sadly no pumpkin pie! However it was fantastic and we had music played live by other students who were absolutely fabulous. During dinner we finally got our first real snow! Somehow I managed to miss the fact that there was a gondala and therefore slipped and slid down the entire mountain- but made it back in one piece! Freiburg was absolutely gorgeous covered in snow. It makes me want to have Christmas right now!



This weekend was my friend Barbara's 21st birthday weekend (I seem to have made a lot of friends with fall birthdays...) so we celebrated on Saturday night when she got back from visiting her family in Heidelberg. We made her a delicious dinner and then went out! Lots of fun! That night it decided to snow big fluffy flakes again, which definately made Barbara's day! Tomorrow (Monday) is her actual birthday- no doubt more festivities to come!

 



Thanksgiving Dinner



As for me, just more homework and projects. I am about 75% sure that I am going to go to Paris from the 10th-12th of December regardless of what happens in the world! I am determined! After that it is finals week in Freiburg... WHAT?! So crazy- only 18 days left in Freiburg and 23 left in Germany! I can hardly believe it. However, on the 17th of December I will be headed up to Düsseldorf to see the Reinecke's for the last remaining days in Germany- and my roommate from Albion, Sarah, will be in the next town over visiting her old exchange student. I am so excited to see her and the Reinecke's! It will be a great way to end a great semester!











Timeline for the upcoming weeks:

-December 10-12: Paris

-December 17: Düsseldorf

-December 21: USA!

Habla Igles? I didn't think so....

Pretty Lamposts are everywhere in Madrid!

After yet another week of classes, the weekend of Madrid got off to a good start. A cheap 3 hour train ride to Heidelberg with my friends Kristine and Barbara (who I was going to Madrid with) and we were in Heidelberg where Barbara's mom and stepdad live on the American Base. After three months away from all things american, it was like stepping into a new world upon entrance of the American store. Hidden Valley Ranch wasn't $9 (like when I found it at KaDeWe in Berlin) and everything was 100% recognizable and cheap! We feasted on a dinner of tacos and queso dip (which I had been missing dearly) and a movie- a night "away" from Germany was actually quite nice! It was nice to feel just for a day like I was "home" again. However, the next morning Barbara's mom decided it wouldn't be wise for her to go with us to Spain so she didn't come- but she did drive us. Although we thought we were leaving relatively ontime, it turns out that Frankfurt Hahn is further away from Heidelberg than we thought. So after driving about 90mph down the highway for a good hour and a half, I can now officially say that I have made it to an international flight 15 min before I was supposed to board and MADE IT! Checked that one off the bucket list... not hoping to do it again.

The flight was relatievly short and easy. However, I was so thirsty on the plane that I almost bought water, until I asked how much- 3 euros for one cup! When the flight attendant saw my outraged face, she responded: "It costs money. It was a cheap ticket." I had expected items such as peanuts, sodas, coffees, etc. to be costly, but WATER?! It seriously reminded me of this English comedy group I saw a video of who did a bit about cheap flights- follow that link to see it! It's pretty funny.

We had packed everything in our backpacks (cause it cost money to check bags, of course) so the airport was relatively easy. I managed to fit sheets, blanket, pillow, clothes for 3 days, shower items, and make up comfortably into my backpack and still made the measurement and weight requirements for a carry on. Score! Once we landed we managed to find the Metro (subway) and it took less than 15 min for poor Barbara, who was already worried about getting kidnapped/killed/etc to get almost-pickpocketed by a quite terrible pickpocketer if you ask me. Not only did she feel him opening her backpack, but he was wearing a polkadotted bandana (recognizable) and all three of us got an eyeful of him. Thankfully we did not have any more pickpocketing encounters the rest of the trip. Once we got into the city we managed to find our hostel (post being barked at by Spanish men). It turns out the phrase "Habla Igles" is pretty worthless in Madrid and lots of charades, pointing, and gesturing ensued for the rest of the weekend. Negotiating our rooming at the hostal was quite the spectacle, I made the poor receptionist pull up a translation page through google and that was the only way we communicated for almost

 a half hour. Ultimately everything worked out and after traveling for 9 hours we FINALLY got something to eat and drink! It was an early night for us.



In Front of the Spanish Palace



Saturday morning we got up bright and early and hit the town. It was our only day to see anything in Madrid so we had mapped out all of the major places we wanted to see the night before. We started out at the Palace, which ended up being a key move. There was no line and we got an audio tour of the whole palace for less than 6 euros and when we left around 11:30 the line to get tickets was WAY out the door, like down the whole street long. Afterwards we took the Metro to Sol, which is considered the heart of the city, and we found a Kebap restaurant to eat at- we are all on a budget (naturally, with only one month left we've all spent all of our money already) and everything in Madrid is EXPENSIVE! Now I've officially eaten German, Italian, and Spanish Kebaps- I might even venture to say that Spanish are my favorite! (don't hate me everyone in Freiburg!)



Beer Station at the Festival in Plaza de España



Afterwards we took the Metro to Plaza de España where we stumbled upon a festival for the celebration of the 100 years of Mexican revolution. This confused me since we were in Spain, but someone explained that there are a lot of Mexican restaurants and such in the area. Kristine and I noticed that we have a way of stumbling upon random street festivals together! Some good luck if you ask me. What was also cool about the festival was that it had lots of tents selling things and it reminded me a lot of Arts, Beats, and Eats with little crafters selling their cute things. After wandering around for a little while and enjoying the good weather that had surprised us for the afternoon, we decided to head over to Museo del Prado which ended up being a bust- we thought it was free entrance after 2:30pm on Saturdays but it turns out that it is from 6-8pm. We decided to go home for a little while and drop off our purchases and then go shopping along Gran Via which is right next to our hostel and bustling with lots of shops and things to do. At 5:45 we headed back to Prado where we saw lots of famous art works- thankfully Barbara has taken some art history classes because otherwise Kristine and I would have been completely lost! Afterwards we decided it was time for some dinner... It had been 8 hours since lunch! We went over to Plaza del Mayor and found a couple bars to eat in and went home around 11:30pm... quite the marathon of a day! What we found pretty strange about Madrid is that the restaurants open up around 10pm and then everyone parties until 6 or 7am, so most stores don't open until later in the day and nothing is open usually between 2-5pm. It's quite the interesting lifestyle, definately not something I would enjoy!

ALSO- Italian men get a bad rep, but they have NOTHING on Spanish men. I understand my roommate more now! :)

Sunday we were up and out of the hostel by 11am and got some Empanadas for lunch and got on the Metro towards the airport before noon. We made it in plenty of time and everything went smoothly from there! We made it back to Freiburg by 10pm Sunday night. The whole weekend we were waiting for something bad to happen and thankfully everything went (pretty) smoothly! I feel like quite the accomplished traveler now... train, plane, and car I can do it all- and I did twice this weekend!

As for this week... Happy Thanksgiving!!! I'm going to miss getting the long weekend off of school, sitting around and watching football, and eating more turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, and pumpkin pie that I should ever eat, but we still get to have a special Thanksgiving dinner with IES. Hopefully it's good! Also Nick's girlfriend Meg is in town this week to visit so that will be fun! And FINALY the Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Market) starts this week in Freiburg so I'm really excited to wander around all of the little vendors and see what cute things they have to sell! I've definately been waiting for this time of year since I got here in September!

Any questions? Let me know!

Happy November!

You can take the girl out of the USA, but you can't take the USA out of the girl! Starbucks has their holiday cups and seasonal drinks! I also forget that they don't do Thanksgiving in Europe (or anywhere else for that matter) so all of their Christmas decorations are already up, which seems premature to me, but I guess Christmas starts for them in the beginning of December. So hello holiday season! I only found this out due to mass amounts of last-minute studying that I had to do this week (in Starbucks) when my German midterm "quiz" turned out to be a massive midterm exam. Otherwise midterms went pretty well, I'm hoping to get some good grades, especially since in most of my classes my final grade is made up of a good portion of midterm/final exam grades. Let's think happy thoughts!

Like I said in my last post, when I got back from Rome I ended up getting sick but thankfully it went away fairily fast (unlike most of my previous illnesses) and I was able to study for midterms without feeling sick. and my week got better when not only did I get a care package from my mom before Rome, but my friend Melanie sent me a Halloween package out of the blue! It was very exciting and she also sent me a poster to hang on my wall (since I alway complained about how the room is so institutional-white looking) which was so sweet and in the same week I got a note in the mail from her! It was very exciting, I love getting mail! (thanks mom and mel!)

Otherwise all is going well in Freiburg, nothing too exciting happening. I'm going to Madrid next weekend so I'm getting excited for that and I can hardly believe it but after Madrid the next weekend is Thanksgiving! It never fails to surprise me how fast the fall is going by! ALSO- news from the sorority! I am the new Vice President of Public Relations for Kappa Alpha Theta! I'm very excited! I miss my sorority lots and I'm really excited to be able to go back!

I'm also excited for the Weihnachtsmarkt Season to start up! I'm excited to see a real Christmas Market and hopefully I can bring something home, too! yay!

When in Rome!

What a weekend! Thursday night consisted of little to no sleep as I woke up at 4am Friday morning to walk to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) to catch the 4:52am train to Basel with Nick- which ended up being 25 minutes late! Thankfully we made our connection to the train to Milan and then again to Rome. Approx. 9 hours of traveling in total- but we made it to Rome right ontime a little before 3pm. It was only about a 5 minute walk to our hostel from Roma Termini- the main train station in Rome. We checked in and decided to start exploring the town and seeing what we could see before the sun set. Right outside of our hostel is a big church-like building (we never really found out what it is) and decided to take some pictures in front of it- and who walked up but our friends that we were meeting- Kelsey, Ali, and Hannah (all studying in France)!!! It was the best luck since neither Nick or I had a phone that we knew how to use in Rome to call a French cell phone. Once we met up with our friends, we had to walk to meet a friend of Hannah's who is studying in Rome and he showed us around- the Colloseum was only about 10-15 away from the hostel, we saw the ruins, the new museum, etc. and I thought that Rome is absolutely beautiful! So much history and it's all so close together. At around 6:15 we decided to head back to the hostel because they had a free 7pm pasta dinner Friday night. At pasta we met a group of people from Michigan and a guy from Australia and a guy

from New Zealand were sitting with them. Pat (the Aussie) and Jim (the Kiwi) asked if they could hang out with us and ended up being great friends for the weekend! We hung out that night and had a great time chatting.

Collosseum



Trevi Fountain

Saturday morning we had every intention of getting up and going to see the Colloseum and the Vatican since it was supposed to be the last day of good weather for the weekend- but we were all exhausted from traveling and ended up sleeping in by accident. We got up, dressed, and ready to go and headed out a little after noon where we got some lunch (I are a calzone) and got some Italian Gelato- yummy!! We headed over to the Collosseum and wanted to take a tour inside- but it was going to be over an hour of waiting and 12 euros- so we opted out and took a short walk through the ruins. The area right next to the collosseum was where a marketplace and warehouse used to be. We also walked into a little chapel overlooking the Collosseum. While we were wandering around the ruins we came across the most adorable German couple who walked with us part of the way towards the Pantheon and we kept going towards the Trevi Fountain. On the way we got a little lost and ended up stumbling upon the President's house! We had been wondering why there were so many police/guards and we felt pretty silly once we asked. Eventually we found the Trevi Fountain (which was crawling with tourists) and then made our way over to the Spanish Steps (also crawling with tourists) so we didn't stay at either of those places very long. As we were walking towards the Pantheon we stumbled across the best cigar shop in Europe, so everyone bought a nice cigar (except for me- not a big fan of the smoking) and then we kept going and stumbled across the best coffee shop in the world (according to Hannah's friend studying in Rome- apparently it was in the NYT?) so I bought a cappacino for only a euro and it WAS delicious! After that we headed over to the Pantheon but for some reason they weren't letting people in, which was a major bummer. But while we were there a man bombarded us with flyers telling us to go to a Collosseum party- and we were pretty interested! But first we went over to where Hannah's friend lives and got some AMAZING Italian Pizza for dinner. After that we made our way home (through what seemed like Alfred Hitchcock's birds- they were everywhere!!!) and got ready and headed out to the Collosseum party with Pat and Jim- and it was a blast!



St. Peter Basilica



Sunday morning was the last Sunday of the month so the Vatican was "open" so we headed over there around 11am using the metro train system. It was supposed to be pouring rain all day but it ended up just being cloudy/windy so we decided it was worth it. When we got there we found out that the only things open were St. Peter's Basilica, the tombs, and the Capella. The museum had been open but had just closed. We were bummed out but decided that since we were there anyway we might as well just go see what was open. We stood in line for about a half hour and then went into St. Peter's Basilica which I can honestly say is the biggest and most awe-inspiring cathedral I've ever

 seen... and I've seen a fair few cathedrals before. It was gigantic and beautiful. We may be bad Christians for it, but Nick and I the whole time just kept making references to the movie Angels and Demons which takes place in the Vatican city/Rome and it was really cool to see these things for real (even if the story is fiction). After the basilica we walked through the tombs and I saw where Pope John Paul (the one who just died) had been laid to rest and the oldest tomb we saw was pre 1000- VERY old. The line for the Capella was just too long and we decided to call it a day. Once we got back we just lounged around for awhile and then made a huge pasta dinner in the kitchen in the hostel. Afterwards we went for Gelato with our friend Kiwi Jim and went to bed early.



My first Italian Pizza!



Monday morning was the start of a long travel day and Ali and Hannah left the hostel around 5:30am, Kelsey at 9:30, and Nick and I had to be on the train to Milan at 11:15 so we had a leisurely morning. However, we both woke up feeling kinda sick- sore throats and Nick had a cough. I listened to a book on my iPod from Rome to Milan (about 3 hours) and then on the train from Milan to Zurich we did homework, listened to music, and I even sat across from a monk from Tibet- pretty cool. That train ride was interesting because the border guards just went through our car and went up to these two guys, asked them for their passports (which they didn't have) and then took them away- it was crazy! Then Nick almost got thrown off the train for not writing in that we were going to Germany- his eurail pass didn't include Switzerland. But finally, after a close call, the Italian guy figured out what we meant and let us keep going. Once we made it to Zurich we ran to our train to Freiburg and made it home by about 9:30pm- at which time I was CERTAIN that I was pretty sick: hard time swallowing, hot, ears hurt/popping, body aches... yep. Took a nyquil and called it a night!

After sleeping 13 hours I feel a little better but I'm really sad that I couldn't stay in Rome for longer! It was such a blast and I just loved being there- the weather, the atmosphere, the history... it was just so beautiful. I could have just sat around all day and loved being there. and I didn't even spend that much money- everything included the trip was less than $400!!! I'm talking travel, hostel, food, etc. Pretty cheap!



School is going to get a little stressful coming up- we have midterms next week so I'm going to need to spend some time actually studying! Then I'm going to Madrid the 19th and then it's Thanksgiving!! Followed by a potential day trip skiing in the Alps (Grindelwald) and HOPEFULLY finding a time to go to Paris- quit rioting already I say. Then after December 17th (also my baby brother's 16th birthday) I'm going to go up to the Dusseldorf area because not only are the Reinecke's there, but Sarah and Miriam are going to be in the next town over!! Perfect- I will be able to visit everyone I want to!

I can't believe it's already NOVEMBER. This morning I looked out to see tons of yellow leaves scattered all over the ground beneath the tree outside my window, coupled with a grayish sky in the background- typical November/fall. It just reinforces the idea that my time here is limited. Going to Rome this weekend was exactly what I needed- it made me realize just how lucky I am to be able to do the things I am doing. Not only am I seeing the world, but the people you meet walk in and out of your life and change you, no matter how large or small. Your surroundings affect you. Your experiences shape you. I never thought that I would be able to figure out with ease how to use international railways, book hostels, make plans for trips, communicate in multiple languages, make friends wherever I go, or appreciate the things I see and realize that I may never see them again. Like the Buddhists say, the only thing constant in life is change. As I sit here watching the leaves fall from the trees, the trees I look at everyday, I know that those trees will bloom again- but there will be a new person living in this room watching it and I will be back at home and possibly never see these trees again. It makes me sad that I can only stay here for such a short time and only see a portion of what the world has to show me, but I am glad and feel so terribly lucky to have been able to see it, at least for a little while.

Rome-ward Bound!

Another week in Freiburg and I'm starting to get my routine down and it definately feels like home. I had some friends from my exchange program in high school (who live near Frankfurt) come and visit me this weekend! Fabian and Sebastian went to high school with my exchange partner Corinna and when I came back to Germany I mentioned to them both that I was here- so they made the trip down to see me! I was going to take the train up to Frankfurt but it just ended up being too expensive. But that's okay because we had a great time together! They came Friday night and Saturday we went out to eat and I showed them all around Freiburg and took them up into the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) for a little bit and I think they really enjoyed it- it's quite the sight to see.



Sebi and Fabi looking out over Freiburg

 I have been stuck in Freiburg since I went to Berlin in the beginning of October so I'm really looking forward to going on a trip!! Friday morning bright and early Nick and I are getting on a train towards Rome and we are meeting our friend Kelsey from Albion (who is studying in France) and two of her friends from her program in France! We have the day off for All Saint's Day on Nov. 1st so we have the whole weekend to enjoy Rome and I'm very excited to be going.

Unfortunately, France decided to riot some more and we got the official word from headquarters in Chicago that unless absolutely necessary we should avoid France at all costs until their rioting has subsided... so no Paris in the near future. Definately a bummer, but I really don't want to get stuck in the middle of a violent riot. Hopefully they get their act together soon and quit ruining my travel plans! :)

After I get back from Rome it will be November (WHAT?!?!?!) and I'm officially past the halfway point (as I mentioned in my last post) and I really can't believe it. I have midterms in less than two weeks and classes just started! It's amazing how fast things are going by. Wasn't it just August yesterday? It sure feels like it! Reality is setting in fast that my time here is limited... I wasn't kidding when I said the second half always goes faster than the first! Gotta start making the most of my time here while I can (without spending money like it's my job!!)

Look for my next post in November!! (as crazy as that is to say!)

Halfway!

What a week! So much homework but also lots of fun. Nick's 21st birthday is tomorrow (the 18th) so we had a birthday party for him Friday and it was a great time! I got to meet some more Germans and everything is more fun now that it's the first weekend back for all of them- it was "semesteroeffnungs" this weekend so things are way busier in Freiburg! Tomorrow we're going to make him dinner and give him a cake since it's his actual birthday.

It's so hard to believe that as of Thursday I only have two months left in Germany. And everyone knows the second half always goes faster than the first half! Just another schedule check:

-October 22nd: Visting Sebi and Fabi from my exchange program in high school!
-October 29-November 1: Rome
-November 19: Madrid
-November 25th: Thanksgiving- Nick's girlfriend (Meg) is also visiting!!
-December 17th: Last day in Freiburg
-December 21st: USA

I still have to find a time to go to Paris, but their train systems are currently on strike and with the travel alert I'm not in a particular rush to get there anymore. But I'm really hoping I find a good weekend to go! I'm starting to run out of available weekends (strangely enough!) and we also want to try to go skiing in the Alps at some point.

So far my favorite class is my film class- we are learning about how directors film movies by using different types of shots: like up close, far away, etc. and also how they use shadows, colors, lights, and other things to get their point across. Also I get to watch at least one movie every week and I like that I have something relaxing built into my schedule. Otherwise my German Domestic Politics class is very interesting because I have never taken a real politics class before so I find it very interesting!

All in all it was another good week in Freiburg!

Fall is Here!

I woke up today to find leaves falling off of the trees outside my window- it finally feels like fall! I'm not sure if I'm happy about it or not... being here in the fall makes me miss everything about fall at home- the hot caramel apple cider's from Starbucks, sugar donuts and cider from Yates, college football (but I managed to watch the MSU/UM game online!!!!), Albion & Rochester hoemcoming, and Halloween. But I suppose that having nothing to do for a weekend would give me lots of time to think about that kind of stuff- lesson learned: plan something for every weekend!!!

Not that I didn't have about a million pounds of homework to do. I FINALLY had my first week of classes! So far so good, but I have lots of homework to do. IES wasn't kidding when they said that German University is more self directed... I have about 75 pages of reading to do- all in German! I finally decided on all of my classes: German (4 credits), Media, Politics, and Society (3 credits), Intercultural Competencies and Communications (3 credits), German Politics (3 credits), and German Films (3 credits) = 16 credits! Not bad for two months- our syllabuses are silly looking. We have a month of class, midterms, another month of class, then finals. Putting it into perspective like that really showed me that I don't have much time left here- even though I've already been here about a month and a half.

I got my fifth and last roommate last week when I got home from Berlin. His name is Antonio and he is from Spain and VERY excited to be here. Someone told me (who knows the Spanish culture) that he is typical Spanish- very friendly, almost overbearingly, and tries to get us to do things with him all the time like eat, drink, go out together, etc etc. But he is very nice and LOVES to clean, so I don't hate that! But his german is almost impossible to understand, so I have to talk to him in English.

Overall a good week and I'm looking forward to the next- and praying that I don't get the same amount of homework!
P.S. Happy Birthday Dad!! (and Aunt Sue (today) and Mutti (last Friday))

Berlin

From Tuesday to Saturday I was in Berlin and there is so much that happened that I will break it down by day so that we don’t get confused. Take a deep breath… this is a long one!!

Tuesday

At 7am we took an ICE train from Freiburg to Berlin, which lasted about 7 hours and was a very nice way to travel.  16 students and 2 advisors came on our trip and we stayed in a nice youth hostel in the former East part of Berlin, which was definitely an experience in itself. Immediately after we arrived we left our things in our rooms and went to eat dinner at an Indian restaurant where we met with a tour guide who showed us around many of the highlights of the area surrounding where we were staying. It was really interesting seeing the differences in how buildings had been restored and in comparison to the ones that still have not- it made it easier to imagine how East Berlin looked between WWII and 1990. The area we were staying in was near Alexanderplatz (for reference) and learning the S-bahns, U-bahns, trams, busses, and other various methods of transportation around Berlin was confusing, so we decided to make it an early night and watch movies in our room.







Brandenburg Tor



Wednesday



Our first full day started off early and we took a 3 hour boat tour on the Spree through Berlin where we saw many of the major buildings and highlights. Afterwards we went to a market and ate some lunch and walked down Unter den Linden where we headed to the first Ritter sport shop where we all bough mass quantities of chocolate. You had the ability to make your own personalized square of chocolate but I realized too late and it was also quite expensive. Afterwards we headed over to the Brandenburg Tor where we could only take pictures on the East side- because they were setting up for a festival on the other side! October 3, 2010 marks the 20^th anniversary of German reunification so there was a big festival going on in Parisserplatz on the Western side of the Tor. After getting lots of pictures we took multiple trains to Ka De We, the biggest shopping mall in Germany/Western Europe and the mall that helped jumpstart the German economy after WWII. I bought some presents but for the most part everything there was ridiculously expensive. Afterwards we ran around Berlin looking for cheap food where we ended up at another doner shop and ate pizza and fries. By that time we had been on the move for 12 hours and decided to call it a night.

Thursday



Checkpoint Charlie



Another early morning and we were off to Schloss Sansouci- a castle near Potsdam (the whole day I thought of the Sansouci Bar- thanks Grandpa! :] ). Before we went to the castle we wandered around the city of Potsdam for about an hour and a half which was interesting since it was in the former East Germany and it was cool to see their own monuments and reconstruction. That morning I saw my first East German car- the Trabi. I learned that most East Germans had to wait from 14-18 years to actually get a car. Once they actually got their cars, the cars were unreliable and prone to falling apart.  Once we made it to the castle we had a tour which was very much like the other castles I have seen in Germany, but from the tour I had the impression that this castle was used for entertaining, since there were many guest bedrooms. After the castle we went to the house where they had the Wannsee Konferenz- the place where the Nazis talked about the Final Solution. The house had been made into an exhibit dedicated to educating about the rise and fall of the Nazis, anti-Semitism and other things. After spending about an hour in the museum we left and went back towards Berlin where a group of 5 of us went to see Checkpoint Charlie and then we visited a Jewish Museum. Checkpoint Charlie was very cool to see, but the Jewish Museum was very moving. After the museum we scored with some cheap, delicious Chinese Food and then went home where we hung out in our rooms together and then went to bed. All of the touring and walking all day wore us all out every day!

Friday



Reichstaggebaude







Bundeskanzleramt



Friday morning we went over to a museum on the Spree dedicated to educating people about the DDR (East Germany) and how life was in the DDR. This museum was cool because it was interactive and I got to see things lots of things that I may never have seen otherwise, like a set up of an East German “house”, another Trabi that I was allowed to sit in, schooling, and many other things. Afterwards another group of us went to a museum for Greek, Roman, Babylonian, and other historic archaeological finds. The museum was massive just to be able to hold the huge altars, doors, and floors discovered. After the museum we meandered over to the Bundeskanzleramt (The German equivalent of the White House) where we got a private tour and… I SAW ANGELA MERKEL! (The German Chancellor!) A group of us went to the bathroom and as we were walking we were stopped because she was walking in- she walked by us and said “Guten Abend” (good evening) to us- so we got to say good evening to the German Chancellor! It was the highlight of the day. I told the security guard that we were excited because we have mostly never seen any American Presidents at all.  After our private tour of the Bundeskanzleramt we got another private tour at the Reichstaggebauede (The German equivalent of the Capitol Building, although used differently). That was exciting and the building itself is very cool- the top is a dome and we got to walk up it, although that part of the building is always open to the public, however you would have to wait in a long line all day. The whole day was very exciting and we decided that since it was our last night and we had been fairly frugal the whole trip we were going to have a very nice dinner. We went to a great Italian restaurant by our hostel where we had a great time. The whole day was very interesting and exciting- we all had a great day!



Saturday



Another early morning and we had to pack and be ready to go by 10am since it’s our last day in Berlin. Once ready to go, we went to a place where the Stasi (Stadtssicherheitsdienst- the SS) had a secret prison. This prison was used more for persecuting people for political purposes. The way they treated people in the DDR was insane and interesting to get to see how they treated “inmates” to get people to cooperate. I also never knew how smart and manipulative the SS was. There was so much information that it’s hard to explain without going on and on. After the SS museum we went to a Thai restaurant and then picked up our bags and headed to the train station. We took another ICE train home (another 7 hours) but this time we got our own compartments where we were able to watch movies, play cards, listen to music, and hang out together. The train got in around 11pm and although everyone had a great time in Berlin, everybody is happy to be home in Freiburg.



Overall we had a great trip to Berlin- but too short! There’s just too much to see and do in the amount of time we had. I would definitely recommend a trip to Berlin- but make sure you have time to see everything there is to see there! There’s so much history and amazing things to see and do. I enjoyed my trip.

But now back to the grind- school starts on Monday. Wish me luck!



p.s. unfortunately there were young deaths bookending my trip... my sorority sister Melissa Moss has lost her brother this weekend, which I am terribly sad to hear about. It's times like these you wish you could be there with the people you love. Rest in Peace Wiley Moss.



May Angels Lead You In, Emily Lloyd

Today is a sad day. This morning, I found out that Nick's girlfriend's sister, Emily Lloyd suddenly passed away yesterday afternoon. Alex Reinthal and I cancelled our trip to Basel to be with Nick; he is going home tomorrow until Sunday.

I knew Emily; she was a nice, funny, wonderful woman who was taken too soon at the early age of 22. She just graduated from Albion College in May. May angels lead you in Emily, and may you rest in peace. You will surely be missed.

Stuttgart Volksfest!



Chicken Hat! Everyone at Volksfest was wearing these!



After another week in Freiburg and finishing up my tests in German (which were both fairily easy- hopefully I did well!) some friends and I decided to go to Stuttgart for the Volksfest there for the day on Saturday- which is basically another Oktoberfest!



Band in one of the tents at Stuttgart Volksfest



It only cost us 6euros per person round trip (approx. $7.50) and it took us a little longer than if we had paid full price but we couldn't resist- that price is almost unheard of! We got to Stuttgart around 1pm where we met up with a friend, Leigh, and her boyfriend who had spent the night in Stuttgart and when we arrived at the train station they were already decked out in a dirndl and lederhosen! But they weren't alone- almost all the Germans were wearing them! Once we got to the festival, it was pouring so we found our way inside a "Tent" (basically a big room with a band) and we found a table to sit at for a couple hours and some funny Italians were next to us so we had a blast! However, at 4pm the table was reserved so we had to leave. We went outside and wandered around in the rain for little bit but we decided that it would take too long to get in anywhere before we had to leave again- so we said goodbye to Leigh and her boyfriend and headed back to the train station. We still had an hour and a half until our train left at 7:30 so we wandered around Stuttgart in the rain for a little while and found a nice cafe to have some hot chocolate and then ate a Doener for dinner.  



Weinfest in Offenburg



After about two hours on the train we had to make a stop in Offenburg where we had to wait an hour for our next train (which is why these tickets were only 6 per person). We decided to wander around Offenburg for a little while where we stumbled upon Weinfest- a street party with just wine and two stages of music! It was really interesting and looked like it would have been fun, but we couldn't stay. After another hour on a train we made it back to Freiburg- soaking wet, tired, but happy as clams. Stuttgart was a cheap trip but was lots of fun!

Monday I will be going to Basel, Switzerland on another cheap train for free with my RegioKarte- I have to go tomorrow before my card expires. So we will go look around the town for awhile and come back. On Tuesday I go to Berlin for 5 days, so that's going to be really exciting! I can't wait!