A Reunion with Friends!

Ever since high school, a bunch of my friends and I had dreamed of studying abroad in college and meeting up in Europe for a fun weekend!  This finally became a reality, though not everyone was present :(  I had already visited my friends Jessica and Heather in Copenhagen and London respectively on my fall break, but they both came to visit me in early November along with my other friend Michelle, who studies permanently in Utrecht in the Netherlands!  There's a certain amount of pride in being able to show people around the home you live in and share the knowledge you have about it; but there is also a certain amount of stress in hosting 3 people at once in one room and giving up a week of studying!  But, it was so much fun!

I kind of used this reunion as a chance to get some last minute touristy stuff done, since I never really have the time anymore to just enjoy Heidelberg as a visitor, since I'm basically a resident.  When Heather arrived, we took the train to Worms to see the cathedral and site of the famed Diet of Worms in which Martin Luther defended his beliefs!  It was a fun afternoon, despite some train fiascoes.  We also hiked up Heiligenberg, one of the "mountains" in Heidelberg.  It was an incredible hike through the beautiful fall colors up to the abandoned Nazi amphitheater from the 1930s and the ruins of St. Michael's Basilica from the 12th century!  Once Michelle arrived, I gave them a tour of the city and we climbed up to the castle at night to see it all lit up before having flammkuchen and crepes for dinner!  The next day, we took the funicular up to the castle to explore it and the gardens by day!  It was so cool to get much more up close and personal to the castle, which I had not yet done!  We toured the German Apothecary Museum and the giant wine barrel inside the castle and then just played in leaves and admire the ruins!  Later that night, Jessica arrived and we were finally all together and enjoyed a traditional German meal and played cards!!  On our last day together, we went to the Heidelberg Zoo, which never fails to be . . . interesting.  After we took Heather to her bus to head to the airport, the three of us remaining went up to Philosophenweg to have beautiful look out over the city!  Then it was time for Michelle to take her train back to Holland!  So Jess and I still had one more day together, in which I gave her a tour of the castle and city - which I had just done 2 days before for Heather and Michelle, but it was still fun to experience it with another friend!  We ended the day drinking beers up at the castle at night!  It was a really fun 6 days having some of my best friends staying with me!  But it kind of made me miss all of my other friends that couldn't be there with us - you all know who you are!

21 DAYS TIL I'M HOME!!!!

Me in Worms at the Luther Monument!

Wormser Dom

Hike up the Heiligenberg!

St. Michael's Basilica

Nazi Amphitheater

View of Heidelberg from the top of Heiliggeist Kirche

Michelle, me, and Heather at the castle!

View of the Altstadt and Heiligenberg from the castle

Me and Jessica at the castle!

Homestay in the Pfalz!

About 3 weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited to stay with some family friends, Helmut & Gisela Weidle, at their home in Pirmasens, Germany!  It was a very fun and interesting experience!  I took the train to Landau, where they picked me up and took me to the Weingut Voegeli where we sampled local wines - and I actually really like one and I don't even like wine!  I also got a tour of the small winery by Frau Voegeli and saw how schnapps are brewed and how the grapes are harvested!  We then collected chestnuts as we hiked through the forest up to the ruins of Madenburg, a huge fortress on a hill overlooking the German wine valleys!  It was beautiful, especially with all the fall colors!  Then we drove along the German Wine Route through the beautiful vineyards and into France, where we visited the cute, little town of Wissembourg!  They then drove me through the Pfaelzerwald to their home in Pirmasens.  Gisela cooked a delicious meal and then we had the chestnuts we had collected for dessert!  

The following day, they took me out to see where my great-aunt Hanni lived and then we toured the city, which was really nice.  Unfortunately, most of Pirmasens was destroyed in WWII, but it's still a nice city!  There were a lot of statues having to do with shoes since Pirmasens was once home to hundreds of shoe factories, which allowed it to grow and prosper!  After our city tour, we went to the cemetery to see my Hanni-Tante's grave and then came home for lunch.  Their daughter Evi came home and had lunch with us and then we all went to Bitche, France to see the citadel that was a stronghold for the French in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870.  It was really interesting to go there and learn about all that history, because I had never learned anything about that war before!  We came home and had another delicious meal and then played Rummikub!

On Sunday, Helmut drove me around the city and showed me where he used to teach metalwork at a trade school (and he's really talented - their whole is full of his art!) and then we walked through a really nice park.  Gisela then prepared another delicious meal for us and it was time to leave.  Their daughter Evi drove me to Schwetzingen, since she lives close by, and then I took the bus back to Heidelberg!  It was a really fun weekend and I am incredibly appreciative of the generosity and hospitality of the Weidles!  VIELEN DANK!

Hiking of to Madenburg

View from Madenburg!!!

Church in Wissembourg, France

My wonderful hosts - Gisela & Helmut!

Downtown Pirmasens

Saturday market in Exezierplatz

Happy pumpkin at the Bitche Citadel

View of the Pfaelzerwald

Bitche Citadel

My final month abroad!

I feel like all my posts tend to be about my weekend excursions, so I thought I'd switch things up this time.  In exactly one month, I will be spending my last night here in Heidelberg, which will be bitter-sweet.  There are many things I love about being here, but also many things I love about home, so I thought I'd share with you the things I will miss about Germany (and some things that I really won't!) as well as the things I'll be looking forward to about going home!

I will miss...

...being surrounded by German!

Although German can sometimes be frustrating, it is such a feeling of accomplishment to understand what signs mean, to eavesdrop on German people and know what their talking about, to be understood by German people.  At this point, I feel so well-immersed that being in Germany is comfortable and not a hassle!

...traveling!

When else am I going to be able to spend every weekend traveling Europe?  I feel like I've done and seen so much in what really has been such a short time!  It's definitely been my favorite part of this experience!

...EUROPE!

Now that I feel like I live here, I think I really take for granted where I actually am!  It's no big deal to me anymore that I ride the bus through a beautiful, hilly valley everyday, or that I can just see a castle up on a hill as I walk to class, or that I have class in a 300 year old building.  But these things should be a big deal and I should enjoy them and appreciate them while I can!

...my new friends!

I really can't believe that I've only known my friends here for 3 months!  And it's even harder to believe that in 1 month I won't be seeing any of them!  We've shared so many experiences together and I really hope we can all link up again someday despite being scattered all over the US!

I am really looking forward to...

...my car!

Riding the bus everywhere everyday is a real drag.  I feel like I have to live my life on the bus's schedule and not on mine, and that lack of control is really frustrating when you need to get around.  I mean it is nice that such public transportation is available here, unlike in the US, but it's a lot less convenient than I expected it to be!

...internet!

I've been living the past 3 months without internet in my apartment and it is incredibly frustrating!  It's slightly pathetic how dependent I am on it, but it's just such a convenience to have right at my fingertips whenever I need it!  If I realize I forgot to send an email to a professor at 9pm in my room, it will just have to wait the next day...if I remember.  I actually have to make lists of things to look up and check! 

...the American school system!

As I've complained about here before, school here kinda sucks.  Classes meet so infrequently that you hardly feel like you're learning anything.  And the basis of grades is ridiculous.  I will be so happy to not have to worry about one paper making or breaking a grade.  I get stressed about school in the US too, but here it's just so much more extreme - especially because there's things I'd rather being doing!

...my family and friends!

For about the first month of my adventure here, I felt kind of bad because I was never really that homesick.  But just being home with my family and friends is what I want most and what I'm most excited about.  I know it's really cliche, but being so far away from everyone that really matters to me makes me realize how much they really do matter to me.  I can't just call home and vent whenever I'm stressed or have a problem or even when something exciting happens!  I don't have my closest friends around to cheer me up or always be around to hang out.  I really have taken them all for granted and I love them all...a lot!  I can't wait to be home for Christmas!  ...and to have a home-cooked meal!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure there's more that I'll miss or look forward to, but this is the main stuff!

And here are some pictures from my trip to Freiburg and the Schwarzwald (Black Forest).  The excursion wasn't really worth writing about, but the pictures are pretty :]

Baechler in Freiburg - they're just like street gutters that children play in

Square next to the Freiburger Muenster

Freiburger Muenster, which has the "most beautiful church tower of all Christianity" - I can't confirm this since it was covered in scaffolding!

View of the Black Forest in Gutach!

Traditional Black Forest farmhouse

Beautiful scenery!

Ulm - Stadt der Donauschwaben!

Part of the reason I really wanted to come to Germany so badly was to explore my German heritage.  My interest in the German language, and Germany in general, stems from the fact that I am 50% German.  So, I used the fifth and final day on my German Rail Pass to learn a little bit more about my German ancestors - the Donauschwaben, who were Germans that traveled the Danube (Donau) River to settle the newly gained regions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 18th century!  Ulm is considered to be the starting point of this journey on the Danube, so there is a museum and monuments dedicated to the Donauschwaben.  I visited the museum, which was huge - I spent over 2 hours there.  It followed the story of settlement with exhibits on the acquisition of land from the Ottoman Empire, the colonization and building of towns, the farming lifestyle, daily life and the persecution by Nazis and Communists in WWII.  It was very interesting to see.  Perhaps the most shocking and exciting item on display was the church book from Mramorak - which is one of the villages my family is from!  It was one of the only church books from the area to escape the destruction of the war!  Afterward, I walked to the Danube to see the monument and plaques dedicated to the Donauschwaben and to see the river where it all began.  It was a cool personal experience and I'm glad that I made that trip!

Anyhow, that's enough of a history lesson for now!  Ulm also had a lot of cool sites to see, including the Ulmer Muenster - the TALLEST church in the world!  I climbed up all 768 steps through narrow, never-ending spiral staircases to the top, which was well worth it!  the views of the city, river and surrounding area were amazing!  Coming down was rather dizzying, though!  I also saw the old town hall and walked through the fisherman's quarter, a cute, little area filled with canals and half-timbered houses from the 1500s!  Overall, it was an excellent day trip!

Ulmer Schachtel - traditional mode of transport down the Danube

Mramorak Church Book from 1822-1877

Farming Lifestyle

Ulmer Muenster - TALLEST church in the world!

Looking up - GORGEOUS!

View from the top...at sunset!

Donauschwaben memorial on the banks of the Danube

View of the city from the Danube

House in the fisherman's quarter

Romans & Royalty!

As I said before, I am lucky enough to have long weekends - or I am have just planned it out that way ;]  So, for the first weekend of the semester, my friends and I went on two day-long excursions!  On Friday, we took the train for 3.5 hours to Trier, the oldest city in Germany!  It was settled by the Romans in 16BC and was used as the capital of the Western Roman Empire!  So, it is a city full of striking examples of the Roman presence, 9 of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites!  The first thing to be seen upon entering the city is Porta Nigra (Black Gate in Latin).  It is a massive gateway to he city that served as the entrance to Trier during Roman times.  After making our way through the gate, we were in the central pedestrian zone, leading to the Hauptmarkt, which is just incredibly surrounded by thousands of years of history!  With the Roman Porta Nigra to the north, the Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals to the east, and Renaissance and Baroque houses to the south and west, one of which is a former bishop's house converted into an H&M...ahh the progress of modernity!  We next visited the Konstantinbasilika, a former Roman throne room which is the largest Roman building outside of Rome!  Right next to it was the charming garden of the palace of the former royal electorate!  Next we made our way to the Trierer Dom, the oldest Christian structure in Germany, whose foundation was laid in the 4th Century!  On its left is the Liebfrauenkirche, the oldest Gothic structure in Germany, begun in 1235!  It was just incredible to me that there are so many historical monuments in one small area...and there was still so much to see!  We walked past the home where Karl Marx was born in 1818 and then to the Roemerbruecke, which provided beautiful views of the Mosel River!  Then we trekked all the way across the city to see the Kaiserthermen, one of the largest imperial bath houses of the Romans, now left to ruins.  They were massive, taking up an entire city block!  Then we were off to see the Roman amphitheater, which was unfortunately closed, bust still cool to see.  It's just hard to imagine what the city would have looked like 2000 years ago, without the cars and big buildings.  These structures must have been even more imposing and incredible!  

Porta Nigra

Hauptmarkt

Konstantinbasilika

Gardens of the Kurfuerstliches Palais

Trierer Dom and Liebfrauenkirche

Inside the Trierer Dom

Mosel River from the Roemerbruecke

Kaiserthermen

Path leading to the Amphitheater

The following day, we took the 4.5 hour train ride to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg!  The train ride along the Rhein Valley was incredibly magical!  The river is lined with rolling hills, covered with tiered vineyards!  Nestled between the hills are fairy tale villages and atop each hill was the ruin of a castle, hiding in the mist of the early morning!  I had to just stop doing my reading for class and stare out the window the whole time, sinking it all in and admiring it!  This is one region of Germany that I definitely would like to come back to and visit more in depth!!!  Anyhow, we arrived in Luxembourg and I was once again out of element - everything was in French!  But the city was beautiful!  We crossed the valley into the city center and immediately found ourselves at the Cathedrale Notre-Dame.  This was not quite as impressive as I would have hoped, but still cool.  We then just strolled around and found ourselves in front of the Palais Grad-Ducal where the royal family lives...just right in the middle of the city!  After lunch - the best pizza I've had here! - we toured the casemates carved into the old, natural fortification of the city!  It was a labyrinth of underground tunnels leading to craggy openings with spectacular views of the valley and Alzette River below.  It was so much fun exploring - and getting lost - in the secret passageways.  I couldn't help but feel cool ;]  Since it was raining when we left the casemates, we went to a chocolate cafe across from the royal palace where we got very delicious hot chocolate...and I got cake!  Then we explored the Petrusse Valley, which may have been my favorite part of the excursion.  The city of Luxembourg is built on cliffs which naturally protect the city and below them are these beautiful valleys filled with streams and forests.  It was really magical and very pretty with the fall colors!  We even came across a small 700 year old church built into the side of a cliff!  Exploring the natural beauty of the region was a lot of fun, but even an explorer like myself can be humbled when it is time to order a hamburger in French!  I kind of didn't even know what I ordered.  I really take for granted that I am able to speak German.  I am not even that good at German and make so many mistakes ALL the time, but at least I have a sense of what's going on!  Can't wait to go to Paris in a few weeks...hehe!

Traveling through the Rhein Valley!

Cathedrale Notre-Dame

Palais Grand-Ducal

Alzette River from the fortifications

Inside the casemates

Exploring the secret passageways!

Beautiful view from the casemates!

Chocolate in Luxembourg!

Natural beauty of the Petrusse Valley!

Me in the Petrusse Valley!