Travel

Marburg

This is a College town near Frankfort.. it was 45 minutes from Bad Laasphe (where I spent my first 3 weeks in Germany) We went there on a weekend excursion.. Many of the Brothers Grimm depictions and writings are found in this old town. There is also a cool castle overlooking the whole town.

Frankfurt

Frankfurt was 2 hours away from Bad Lassphe.. but it was our second weekend excursion.. we went to the contemporary art museum and bummed around town. It's pretty big with a lot to do!!

Bremer Haven

My host mom, host sister and I drove to the sea three hours away. My host mom had some work to do there so my host sister and I went to this awesome museum I wanted to go to. It's an environmental museum called Klimahaus. We were so tired after haha. I randomly saw one of my friends from the language camp there, I was so shocked that I couldnt even talk when I saw him! haha for dinner we had crepes in a really old town nearby. Bremer is a really really nice town though.

http://klimahaus-bremerhaven.eu/

Sushi in Dusseldorf

I wouldnt necessarily call this traveling because I am 30 minutes from Dusseldorf.. but this was my first official excursion there. There was a festival- which we barely missed.. but everything was still up when we got there.. just barely any people.

Essen

We recently went to Essen one evening to attend a RUHR 2010 event. It's a cultural event going on alllllll 2010.. there is almost something going on..
http://www.essen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet.ruhr2010.de/en/home.html

Xanten

On this lovely Sunday we drove to Xanten, which is about 45 minutes away. We went to the Archaeology Park- which contains ancient Roman ruins.. when they are coming into Germany. 

http://www.apx.lvr.de/ After that we went to an Old WindMill in the town..which is also a bakery. It was really cool.

 

HERBSTFERIEN

Week one:

1. Leipzig: Eastern Germany is SO incredibly different from Western Germany. You definitely know when you have crossed over. It has a completely different energy or lack there of. It's actually really depressing. All of these old buildings which are abandoned and it's just dull. Any way, the city of Leipzig has come a long way and it was really cool, despite the coldness. We stayed in a cool art hotel. We were only there for one night. So little time and so much to do/see. We went to dinner then for cocktails. Leonie doesnt really drink that much so it was amusing to say the least. We shared a room and she was in charge of the room key. Leonie+cocktails+roomkey responsibility= fail. When we were leaving the next morning I asked where the room key was.. and we looked all over before we discovered that she had left it in the door all night hahahahah. We didnt tell any one.
2. Nuremberg(Bravaria): It was a long haul to Nuremberg, but Bravaria is soooo pretty!! Gorgeous countrysides. We stayed in a "castle" up in the mountains for two nights. It was hardly a castle, but merely a family owned place in the forest. It was so pretty. Our rooms were on the top floor...and there was no elevator so that was fun to trek up 4-5 times a day ahah. We went on long walks and met some of Evys family because she was born in Nuremberg. We watched the sunrise/sunset. We went to the place where Hitler held all of his propaganda marches and what not in Nuremberg. It was really interesting. I really liked Nuremberg, the town was so pretty too. we went to the market and shopped around. We also walked around a castle there. We hiked to another castle that was formally owned by Nicolas Cage, but he sold it recently.
3. Dachau: On the way to Bodensee to see Peters family we stopped in Dachau to go to the concentration camp there. It was the first concentration camp built and the model for the other concentration camps. I was feeling so strange before we went...almost sick. I didnt really know what to think. It was really really intense and huge. You have to use your imagination too which can be very powerful. What did me in was the Crematorium and seeing the ovens. Then you would be standing in a room and would read a sign that said " this is where the jews were told that they would be taking a shower" or "this is the shower, with gas holes, Peep holes, etc." or where they stored the bodies. It was eerie. We went on a very cold and gray day too, so that helped put it into perspective. There were a lot of people there, mostly international too. I am glad that I saw it though.
4. Bodensee/Uberlingen: On the way to Bodensee we stopped in this little town so that Peter and Evy could take care of some business. Leonie and I had to pee SOOOOOOOOO bad adn there was no where to pee. We ended up peeing in an apple orchard...then buying apples hahaha. Bodensee is known for their apples and wine. It's covered in orchards and vineyards. So yes we did get like 15 kilos of apples for the way home. Peters mom and brother live in the same neighborhood. Leonie and I were staying with Peters mom while Peter/Evy stayed with Peters brother, Rudy and his wife Anita (who was actually born in St. Luis!). I was a little frightened of Peters mom before because of the stories I had heard. Evelyn doesnt really get a long with Peters mother. She is a great cook;however, she is very very very insistent on food and forcing you to eat. Apparently it's a big family issue and I understand why. It can be rather awkward. They had a lot of fun with my vegertarian-ness that is for sure. Any way... Uberlingen was so pretty and it's right on teh water. The town is super cool. It was a great trip!!

Week two:

Texel, Holland

Holland was gorgeous. We left Mettmann at 8:20 am.. we took two trains, a bus, a ferry, and then another bus until we finally arrived at our house in Texel. It was one big house but split into two condos. The girls got one half and the boys got the other half. But lets not get ahead of ourselves here people because before we got to the house we had a slight incident. So on the last bus (thank god) we took.. one of the girls, Cristina, got sick. I misunderstood when I asked if she felt okay.. because I thought they said her throat hurt, but really they said she is going to be sick. So I am looking at her and I see her start to gag and what not. So I start freaking out and grabbing bags and yelling shes gonna blow someone get her a bag. Everyone was so calm... like it was no big deal. Oh my god it was so nasty.. I felt so bad for her.. but whew. Any way.. she didnt shower or change when we got there so I didnt feel as bad for her because that is just straight up not right. Our house was really nice and Holland is so pretty. When we were arriving I saw this miniature horse farm.. my first thought was hahah freakshow farm cool!! then I realized that EVERYONE has miniature horses in Holland.. I felt like I was in Gullivers Travels. Not to mention I was reading Animal Farm at the time so every farm animal that I saw I imagined them talking. Especially all of the horses.."I will work harder!"... and of course the pigs. Strange things going through my mind haha. Any way.. we were right by the North Sea which some of teh people swam in because they are insane. Some of us rented bikes and that was fun. Holland is completely flat; however, the unpredictable weather caused you to sometimes get caught in rain/hail storms. I was SO incredibly frustrated in holland because the people that we went with lacked any sense of adventure. They sat around so much which is somethign that I just utterly cannot do-especially while traveling. So I would get antsy and go out to do something. I ran a few times which was nice. I introduced them to beer pong.. which was amusing to watch- but they really liked it! haha It was a very long 5 days.. and I hope that i can go back to Holland because I didnt really see anything other than Texel haha. Dutch is such a goofy language too.. I kept seeing Goldmember in my head too.. uhg damn you Austin Powers .."I am from Holland....isnt dat vierd?!!" 

Berlin

This past week I went to Berlin with Evy for 3 days. She had a seminar to attend to so I tagged along to check out Berlin. I will be back in Berlin two other times this year, so I saved all the super touristy stuff for that. Evy stayed in a hotel close to her seminar, while I stayed with a family friend (whom I just met) that owns a gallery/bakery/cafe/hotel... It's called Itwoe Gallery (and anyone traveling to Berlin SHOULD stay here..) it is smack in the middle of the most alternative part of Berlin. Plus, the U-Bahn is right around the corner. I stayed with Greg Peercy, who has known my grandmother(Mimi) for .. 40 something years. It was so much fun. 
DAY 1: I went to my politics class, ran, then hit the road for the 5 1/2 hour drive to Berlin. We arrived around 8:00 pm and Evy checked into her hotel. After that I went to Itowe Gallery to settle in and meet Greg. Berlin has ABSOLUTELY no car parking.. so don't even think about taking a car there. Well we had our car.. and parking was very limited. Apparently Berlin is dead on Mondays... which is strange. That is like Sunday in Mettmann. Any way, we had sushi for dinner. After that we just went back to the gallery. We parted ways, but we made a meeting place for the next morning before Evy had to go to her Seminar.


DAY 2: I woke up.. had breakfast at Itowe and then hit the U-Bahn for my Berlin adventure. I was to meet Evy at 9:00am at the Zoolischer Garten Station infront of Pizza Hut. I luckily found it and changed trains without a problem, in fact, Evy got lost!! I think that is it safe to say that I can navigate through train stations and systems relatively well. We ended up actually meeting around 10:00. After that we went to the Reichstag Building.. which was really cool.. the architecture and panoramic exhibit is amazing. Too bad it was FREEZING. After that we got off at a stop that Greg suggested because of its art culture. Evy had to go to her Seminar but I explored it like crazy. I ended up at this old squatted building.. that is a HUGE art gallery ish.. its called Tacheles.. (look it up!) it was insane... so bizarre.. any way.. I stayed there until around 4 and then returned to Itowe. When I got back from my adventure, I settled down with Greg and made 2 AMERICAN (way better than the German ones) cheesecakes, 8 pie crusts, pie toppings, a ton of sugar cookies using my grandmothers recipe, and pumpkin pie. I hadnt baked in a while so it was nice. We also watched Little Miss Sunshine while we baked. Greg has some phone company with free international calling so I called my parents. It was weird to be on the phone with them again. After that I went to dinner with Evy at some odd restaurant. After that I went to this great English bookstore with Greg to see a bluegrass band play. It was really fun and relaxed. 


DAY 3: This was sadly my last day in Berlin. I woke up around 7:30.. checked my email.. and then took a hot bath. I hadnt taken a bath in so long ohh my god. I dont think my host family has a bathtub.. people just dont really like to waste water taking baths here. So it was really really nice to bathe hahah. Around 9:00 am I headed out to explore the part of Berlin that I was staying in. I forgot that stores don't open until the afternoon in Germany.. adn by the time it was noon, Evy was ready to go. So i bummed around.. had coffee while writing post cards adn letters (sounds like a movie or osmething). OH.. at this one coffee shop I accidentally took the wrong coffee.. so that was embarrassing hahaha. When I left Gregs, Evy and I went to the Brandenburger Tor. We also went to this costume sale put on by the German Opera house.. We had a quick lunch at some vegetarian thai place and then hit the road. It was a long drive home haha and of coourse Greg sent us home with muffins, cookies, and cake! haha