waking up

Last post from Freiburg. Tonight I’m going out with my friends and tomorrow I am moving out and heading to Frankfurt with Stephen.

Goodbye, beautiful city, it’s time to wake up from the dream.

falling in love

So I’ve finished my term papers (except for the one I am going to finish in America), exmatriculated (read: unregistered from the university), in two hours I will have finished my last class, and two hours after that I will have unregistered from the city.

I think now I understand how Diana feels about New York. You really can be in love with a place. A place really can become a part of you. My first few days here I was terrified, my first few weeks I was indifferent, but ever since April I have completely fallen in love with Freiburg im Breisgau. This town is so friendly, so beautiful, so full of life. I wish more than anything I could scoop you all up and bring you here, because I’m sure you’d feel the same way.

On Tuesday night we went to a biergarten in the Black Forest to say goodbye to my friend Hannah, who flew home to England this morning. The Schlossberg Biergarten has an amazing view of Freiburg…how much can you love a place?

Europa Park and Lists

So, yesterday I went to Europa Park, which I think is Europe’s second biggest theme park after EuroDisney.  My friend Frank, who I mentioned earlier because I went to his house for an authentic German meal, works for Europa Park’s event planning department, so he was able to get discount tickets for my friend Jenn and I, so the three of us went to the park together.  The park is set up almost like the world showcase in EPCOT, although slightly less uber-stereotypical.

I got over my fear of rollercoasters! I actually went on roller coasters that do massive drops and go upside down! I told Jenn she’s created a monster, I love rollercoasters now! Yay!

Ok, so in other news, a lot of my friends from here have been making lists on facebook called ‘things i have missed and things i will miss’, so here is mine:

Things I have missed:

• Family, boyfriend, friends
• Food: real mexican food, buffalo chicken, instant oatmeal, black sheep cookies
• Charlie’s Tavern with its cheap mixed drinks
• Being able to communicate absolutely everything I need to
• Video games
• Going to concerts
• Hanging out at Bootman’s apartment
• Driving around aimlessly with my ridgefield friends
• New York and all its wonderfulness
• Things being open past 7 pm
• Being able to get everything I need at a grocery store
• All my books

Things I will miss:

• Feierling beer/good beer in general
• All the amazing people I have met here
• Talking and learning from people from all over the world
• Currywurst!
• The Bächle
• The Dreisam River
• The Black Forest
• Getting to speak German every day
• Seeing Stephen Q. more
• Being able to take day trips to France or Switzerland

working hard and playing hard

Here I am in the computer lab, excited to have a working keyboard, though I’ve begun to get accustomed to holding the shift key the entire time I type. I like the computer lab better though because besides working keyboards, the computers are normal size and there are less distractions.

I had quite a fun 4th of July weekend. Although this is my third total 4th of July out of the country, it is still not something I am used to. On Thursday my friends and I went to the Freiburger Weinfest, where we tried many delicious Badisch wines- it must be said the white is much better than the red. On Friday I went back to Silke (our program director)’s hostel in the Black Forest, where several UMass students, studying at universities all over Baden-Württemberg all came together for a barebeque and a fun night in the Black Forest. The weather was absolutely beautiful, much better than in March! The next morning we went on a hike and then took the cable car back down to Freiburg, which was so much fun.

On the afternoon of the 4th my ‘Images of Germans in American Culture’ class met to watch two movies to discuss in class. We watched The Good German, which I think was trying wayyyy too hard to be deep, and Beerfest, a movie I never thought I’d see, let alone in a classroom setting. For the latter movie our professor bought us lots of beer so that we could get into the movie a little better

After that I went briefly to the barbeque by the lake and had some flag cake. Then I went on a late night picnic and walk that my friend Mari and I had been planning. It was really weird, though, because I was the only American there, so it didnt feel very much like the fourth of July.

Back Again

Well, here I am, writing to you on a broken keyboard. My caps lock key is broken so I have to keep my pinky on the shift key as I write this. Good thing this computer has such a small keyboard.

I haven’t written in a while, partly because I’ve been so busy with work and partly because I think the most exciting part of my semester is over. I’m still having a great time butI think my days of jetsetting are mostly over.

Last week I went to visit my friend Frank’s hometown, Koenigsschafhausen, which is located in the Kaiserstuehl area of Baden. Kaiserstuehl is known for it’s small villages, great countryside, and great wine. Frank’s mother cooked a huge German feast, then I tried some of the local wine and Frank’s father’s homemade Schnapps. They even have a small vineyard in their backyard, as well as cherry trees. Frank and I picked cherries and I was sent home with a basket full of them. I think sometime soon Frank and I are going to go to Europapark, because he works for their Event Coordinating department and can get discount tickets.

Today is apparently Canada Day, and I’ve been invited to a big celebration by the lake, then this Friday I am going back to the hostel my program director, Silke owns for a party. I bet Schauinsland (the part of the Black Forest the hostel is in) is beautiful this time of year. Much better than it was in March, anyway.

I can’t believe I only have one month left! Sometimes I feel like I’ve been here forever and sometimes I feel like I just got here. Anyway, it’s nose to the grindstone time!

another day, another euro

So, things have calmed down after a very busy few weeks of traveling. However, I now realize all the work I have to do by the end of the semester, and that I have to work at least 2 hours on school work every day if I want to finish it all without severely stressing myself  out.

This week is one of many birthdays, three of my good friends had/have birthdays. Basically this means baking cakes and bringing my grill out to the lake for barebeques.

Unfortunately I don’t know if I have anything else that interesting to report, it’s getting pretty hot out and mostly I’m just eating ice cream with my friends and going to class. At least I’m getting a good tan =)

Bootman and Xenia Come to Visit

Well, last Thursday evening my dear friends from UMass, Bootman (real name: Andrew) and Xenia, came to visit me. I have never had such a crazy, amazing week!

On Friday I took them around Freiburg and into the Black Forest, we climbed all the way up one of the hills, and up the spiral-staircased tower that goes waayyyy above Freiburg and above the Forest. On Saturday we went to France, and although I’ve already been to Strasbourg once, this time was much better. When I went in March it was freezing and cloudy and miserable, but this time we could not have asked for better weather! It was very nice to see how much my friends were enjoying themselves, especially as it was Bootman’s first trip to Europe. We had the most delicious crepes I’ve ever had and saw much more of the charming little city than I did on my last trip.

On Sunday Xenia’s cousin from Cologne, Constantin (who I met before on his trip to America), came to see us. We were all sitting by the lake when he made a suggestion: why don’t we rent a car and go to Italy? In the most spontaneous move of my life, one hour later we were reserving a car and beds in a hostel for the next day.

The drive was absolutely staggering, unfortunately I don’t think any of the crappy pictures I took in the trip will be able to convey what I saw. We drove through the most rural parts of the Swiss Alps, through northern Italy and the Tuscan countryside, bound for Florence.

I thought Rome was the most breathtaking thing I had ever seen- but Florence might possibly eclipse it. The art, the architecture, the food. Absolutely amazing! I saw works by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, Caravaggio, El Greco, and so on. I saw the tombs of Dante, Galileo, and Michelangelo. I climbed up to the Palace of Michelangelo (i dont think he lived there, i think its named after him) and saw the whole city spread out before me. We ate real tuscan food- I have never tasted pasta, pesto, ice cream, a calzone, or panna cotta like this.  (haha- that really makes me sound like a pig, but I had to eat something in three days!) We also saw the biggest cathedral dome in Europe (if not the world), the Santa Maria de Fiore (possibly misspelled) which was completely decorated on the outside with white, pink, and green marble. On the ceiling of the dome was an absolutely crazy painting of the last judgement.

We got to leave on Wednesday morning, and learn that our tire was cut! I suspect that it had something to do with parking a German car on the edge of Republic Square on Republic Day. However, we found out later that our purchasing a new tire saved us 100 euro, as if we hadn’t, the rental place in Freiburg would have charged us 174 euro for a new tire and servicing the car. After that ordeal was over with, we realized we’d have to cut our detour to Pisa, but luckily we still had time for Zurich.

Zurich’s old city center is much more beautiful than I expected, but people were right in saying it’s one of the most expensive city in Europe! Holy crap! But Xenia treated us to a nice dinner, and we concluded our travels on a very high note.

Last night the two of them left for Frankfurt, but I wish they could have stayed longer! Now I have no excuse not to do work…

Milan, Nürnberg, and Sigmaringen

Alllllright. So last Saturday, I went with my friends Jenn and Conúil on a trip to Milan sponsored by the university. Unfortunately, Milan is not nearly as impressive as Rome and to be honest, not that much to write home about. Especially since we did not get to see The Last Supper.  The Duomo was very impressive- more intricate on the outside than St. Peter’s, but unless you can afford Prada and Dolce & Gabbana, Milan isn’t really your kind of place.

There were no classes this past Thursday, and as myself and most of my friends have no class on Friday, we decided to go away for the weekend.  We chose Nürnberg (Nuremberg) mostly for the sole reason that getting and staying there were relatively cheap. But I had an amazing time, so I’m glad we chose it.

This was my first real youth hostel experience. I stayed in one in Rome, but we got a private room because it was only 5 euro more. This hostel, however, was the real deal- we stayed in dorm style rooms with several other people, hung out in the common room, cooked breakfast in a communal kitchen. We met some very interesting people- on the first night, an incredibly xenophobic Canadian who was extremely polite to the members of our group from Greece, Ireland, Finland, and Singapore- but starting going at us Americans, so much as to personally accuse Rachel of war crimes…oy vey. BUT the next night we met two really nice English guys, bought some 2 euro beer from the hostel, taught them how to play “Kings” and then went out to an English pub with them.

The first day we were there we just walked around and took in the sights- the Pegnitz River flows through Nürnberg and you can really see why its called “The City of Empires” and why it was such an important city for both the Holy Roman Empire and the Third Reich. A lot of it was destroyed in the war, but enough still stands/has been rebuilt to make it extremely impressive. Creepy fountains (see facebook pictures) and sordid history notwithstanding- an absolutely beautiful city. We went up to the castle and ate at a beautiful little beer garden called “the witch’s house”, and really did look like something out of a German fairy tale.

The second day we split into two  groups for the morning, some went to see the Nazi Rally Grounds, but Dachau having quite filled my appetite for Nazi history for the time being, I went with Ross and Mari to the German National History and Art Museum, said to be the best museum in Germany outside Berlin. And boy did it deliver- I’d say it’s my second favorite museum ever, besides the Met. There was very little security, both in the lack of security guards and the fact that there was no rope or glass or partition separating you from priceless works of art. We quite literally got our noses less than a centimeter away from some Dürer paintings (he was from Nürnberg, by the way).  Also, it was very early when we went so we were practically the only ones there. The museum used to be a monastary, and obviously its been added on to, but there are many beautiful courtyards in the center and everything in it seems to be placed randomly, so you really have to examine and see where in history you are.

After lunch, three of our group had to head home, so the rest of us headed to the old town and shopped and rested. Later at the hostel we met the two aforementioned British guys, and after teaching them some American drinking games and an accidental visit to the red light district, we went out to sample some local beer.

This morning we got up early, and on the way home we decided to stop for a few hours in Sigmaringen. You see, we have to take the slow trains to save money, so we thought we’d break up the monotony of  6 hours on a train. I went to Sigmaringen last time I was in Germany, and I remembered the beautiful castle that sits up on a hill overlooking the town. We walked around the castle but didnt go in (didnt feel like paying), and walked by the Danube to stretch our legs.

Now I am home and exhausted and really should have been in bed hours ago.

the long awaited update

Sorry it’s been so long, I’ve been so busy! Class work piles up when you take more than one English class. I had to give a presentation this week in my British Literature course on Poverty In India, because we all met up to see Slumdog Millionaire last week. It was so much fun to get to discuss one of my favorite movies with a whole class of interested people.

Last friday I went to Heidelberg with a bunch of friends,  including Stephen and his girlfriend Katie, who is visiting right now. Heidelberg is even older than Freiburg, and definitely feels it. We walked down the Hauptstrasse (main street), which must be the LONGEST street in the world, up to the castle, which now partly ruins. It has beautiful gardens and the BIGGEST F*ING beer keg i’ve ever seen!

After the castle, Stephen and Katie and I went down to the Neckar River and relaxed for a while. Then dinner, then the long train ride home. (we have to take the super slow local trains cause its cheaper)

Monday nights my friends and I have started going to the irish pub for quiz night, we rarely win anything but I love the irish pub because I can get chicken caesar wraps there, and I’ve been going a lot with friends to watch soccer, pardon me- football.

Yesterday my friend Mari, from Finnland, had a birthday.  A bunch of people came to my apartment and we baked a cake for her, then Mari came over and we surprised her with it.  The cake looked horrible, but it tasted delicious!

Saturday I’m going to Milan! woohoooooo

so tired and so busy…i promise an update soon