New Blog, New location

Hello loyal blog readers. I have switched my blog to a different address. I now have a Mobile Me account with Apple, and I am using iWeb and Mobile Me to publish a much nicer blog. I will soon have the Berlin update up. Please visit the new blog from now on. I have included all past entries, as well as added some pictures to the top page of each blog. Feel free to look back through it! Also, you can still add comments. I love comments! Please let me know if you have any trouble viewing the new blog site. Send me an email if something is not working out. Thanks!

http://web.me.com/ludvira/Wanderlust_in_Germany/Blog/Blog.html

The December, Holiday 2009, Winter Update! Part I

It has been almost exactly a month since I last updated. Wow. I really need to get back on track! I have been writing this blog entry in pieces in a Word doc when I have had time. Warning: This is quite a long entry, as it contains an entire month´s worth of travel and holidays! I know only those who really love me will read it all the way through. I have put a lot of time into this one, and I am not even up to speed to January yet!

After Lissi visited me in Aachen, the past month has been extremely busy. The first week of December, I kept myself busy with different social events and celebrations. I visited INCAS for a Christmas party, and met some really cool people from all over the world. The next evening, I went to a Salsa class with a student from Indonesia, whom I had met the previous night at INCAS. I LOVED salsa! I can´t wait to go back after the holidays. I was there for about 4 hours and learned so much! Salsa is really fun, especially when you have a parter who knows what he is doing. It also burns a lot of calories, and at the end I felt like I had participated in a fitness class. The next evening I celebrated a Mexican holiday with the Mexican international student organization. I had met some Mexican students previously at other INCAS events. This was complete with homemade Mexican food, pinatas, sparklers, and music! Most Germans are not familiar with pinatas. These were made in the traditional star shape with 7 points, representing the north star. I was only familiar with the kind that we buy in the store for children´s birthday parties. That week I also visited a house bible study. I had met an American, Tim, on the bus that Sunday, and he invited me to his birthday party. He is a part of the bible study, and they had a birthday party for him that evening. I ended up meeting 3 Americans that week- that was 3/4 of all Americans I have met in Aachen. The bible study is led by a couple, Amy and Stefan. Amy is from the US, and lives in Aachen with her German husband and 18 month old. I had a really nice time meeting everyone and connecting with a few Americans! The next evening, I met with Tim and talked for a long time about our experiences in Germany from an American perspective over coffee. I cannot describe how nice it was to relate to someone from your own country. Though our country is HUGE, Tim and I shared a lot of similar experiences and opinions regarding the US and Germany.

That week really was a lot of fun. Every evening I was with a completely different group of people, and experienced something new each day. I am looking forward to reconnecting with everyone after the holidays. Now this brings me to...

My parents visit! As most of you know, my parents visited me for 10 days. I had made it clear this summer that I did not want to come home for Christmas, so we made a joint vacation/Christmas out of our time spent together. I picked them up at the train station in Aachen on Friday, Dec. 11. We took the taxi to their hotel. Dad travels a lot for business, so he enjoyed staying at the Holiday Inn with his points. They stayed 5 nights in Aachen. That afternoon, we had "Christmas" in the hotel. My parents brought several gifts over for me, including my original stocking that I have had ever since I can remember! Mom even ordered special wrapping paper that said Merry Christmas in German! (Fröhe Weihnachten). Mom had brought her homemade fudge, pecans and peanut brittle all the way from Atlanta. I also got a cool digital picture frame to display all the wonderful pictures I am accumulating over here, and to remind me of all the wonderful people back home.

Aachen Christmas market, My stocking with the special paper, and our first of many Glühweins!

That evening, we went to Willi´s house (He is my research professor here). Willi spent time in Boston for about a year in 1990. Ever since they returned to Germany, they brought the Thanksgiving tradition back with them. Each year they have a turkey and invite friends over. Our entire lab group was there, and I brought my parents along. This was a blend of American and German traditions. We had the BEST turkey I have ever had, complete with stuffing that really made the turkey moist. That was the prettiest, biggest turkey I have seen. It was Publix Thanksgiving commercial quality. Now for the German part: We had Rotkohl (red cabbage), Knödel (like a dumpling, sort of), and instead of cranberries, we had Preisenberries. Oh, and lots of wine and champagne. Willi calls it Truthahn bei Willi, or Turkey at Willi´s. After about 8, Mom and Dad were about to fall in their plates. Willi´s son Phillip drove us back.

The whole crew

The next morning, we took the train (2 hrs) to Wuppertal, but not before I introduced my parents to the wonders of the German bakery and breakfast! They learned to eat a lot of meat, bread, and cheese for breakfast!

Christmas time in the bakery

Wuppertal is the town where my grandmother grew up. She left at age 10, and lives in Atlanta now. This is where I got my interest to learn German. We visited Wuppertal to meet the family that still lives there. My grandma´s cousin, Rolf, has lived there his entire life. We met his wife, Lora, and her son Jürgen and his wife Eva. Jürgen and Rolf showed us around town. We rode on the Schwebebahn. This is a suspension train that was built when my grandma was a child. We saw the building where Opa, my great grandfather, had his factory. We saw the place where their apartment building used to stand (before if was bombed), and we saw the Grund Schule (elementary school) where everyone in town went to school, including my grandma, Rolf, and even my Oma (great grandmother). We went back to Rolf´s house and had such a wonderful day. Lora had made a pea soup for lunch, which hit the spot after a cold, damp walk through the town. We saw old pictures from the family. At the end of the day, just before we were ready to take the train back to Aachen, Rolf took us upstairs and showed us quite a surprise. He has built an entire toy railroad that consumes a room in their house. This has been his labor of love the past 40 years. I really cannot do it justice, except for the pictures I can show you.

Model Trains Lora, Me, Mom, Dad, Eva, Rolf

Schwebebahn The School

The next day, Sunday, we met the Sinkens, my other family! Mom brought some Christmas presents for the family and we hung out at their house for a while before driving to Andenne, Belgium. We ate at a wonderful restaurant with a French name of which I cannot remember now. However, everyone could speak German with us, as it is so close to Germany. We had quite the 4 course meal. Afterwards, we drove back into Germany through Holland and arrived at Monschau. This is a beautiful city in the Eifel region. It was covered in snow, and had an old city charm to it. Post card charm, I must say. The city is located in a valley with wonderful mountains around it. We went inside immediately to warm up with hot chocolate. We had quite a time getting there, as everyone else seemed to have the same idea to spend their Sunday in Monschau. They were running shuttle buses from parking areas down into the city. We managed to find a space somewhere along the mountainside. That evening we enjoyed the Monschau Christmas Market, complete with Glüh Wein, of course! We also bought a special mustard made with Riesling. Yum! Hope you guys enjoy that at home this year, Mom and Dad.

At the Monshau market, At dinner in Belgium, and at the Sinken´s House

The next day, Monday, we spent the day in Aachen. We took an audio guide tour through the Rathaus, or city hall, where over 30 kings were corrornated. This was Charlegmagne´s chosen city to call home due to the hot mineral springs during the days of the Roman Empire, and he had the Rathaus and Dom built. We also toured the Dom, where supposedly the relics of the birth cloth of Jesus resides, as well as few other relics. We also saw the Schatzkammer, or treasury, where hundreds of years of relics, statues, paintings, etc is housed under the cathedral. That evening, we bought a fair amount of chocolate at the Lindt factory. Aachen produces Lindt chocolate in a factory near my apartment, and you can buy all kinds of chocolate for reduced prices. Mom loaded up for friends and family back home. That evening we trekked back to my apartment and had Abendbrot.

Tuesday we took the train to Cologne. We toured the Dom, and Dad and I walked up the spire- more than 500 steps! What a workout. What a magnificent view of the city. About halfway up we saw the 9 bells of the tower. In the Dom, the relics of the three wise man supposedly lie in three golden shrines. Many pilgrims come here and walk under the shrine. The church is definitely something to see. It took about 800 years to build. It is in the Neo-Gothic Style.

Pictures of the Dom, need I say more?

As we were looking through handy Rick Steve´s to decide where we wanted to eat, a man came up to us and asked if we needed help. He recommended the Früh restaurant, a well known brewery that brews a special type of Kölner beer. Excellent German food, as well. During this trip I came to really like Rotkohl, or red cabbage. Before we went inside, he paused in front of a statue depicting an old Kölner fairy tale, and explained the story to us. We also learned that he was a retired engineer for Ford, and had spent time in the US on business. He was so helpful, and I helped translate everything into German for my parents.

Drinking the Früh Beee, In front of the statue with the nice man, sadly we did not get his name, and the Shrine of the Magi.

That afternoon we went to the chocolate museum, which looks like a ship on the outside and sits directly on the Rhine River. Didn´t know there was so much to learn about chocolate. From how the cacao bean is processed to how chocolate is made in the factory, it was quite an education about chocolate.

Now, I am waiting on dad to send me pictures from the rest of the trip. From here on down I do not have pictures, but will for sure add them when I receive them:

Wednesday morning we finally left home base and took the train to Rothenburg ob der Trauber. This is an old medieval city, complete with a wall around the entire city. This is quite a quaint little city. It was unbearably cold, and snowed the two days we were there. We stayed in Hotel Spitzweg, an old house built in the 1500s, now owned by a jolly old man that sits down at breakfast with you and gives you whiskey when you arrive to warm you up. The breakfast was amazing. He made a large platter of cheese, meats, fruit, and fresh eggs, coffee, muesli, and bread. I really love the german breakfast here. This was by far the best accommodations we had. No internet, not much modern in this city. That evening, we went on the Watchman´s Tour. This is a tour through the town by a man dressed up like an old medieval watchman who guards the city, and tells you what it was like to live back then in the city.

We also went to the Kathe Wohlfarht, the world famous christmas store. Overpriced, but mom bought many little trinkets for friends and family back home. The Christmas market was tiny, and closed at 7. Well, it seemed the whole town shut down after 7. This was okay, because we were quite exhausted after being out in the cold all day. The next day we walked around the wall, encircling the perimeter of the city. Covered in snow, Rothenburg was unbelievably beautiful. We also ate really good German food here. Several Guest houses also have a small, quaint restaurant that offers refuge from the cold and a nice German meal.

Thursday morning we headed to Nürnberg, also located in Bayern. I definitely picked up on the Bayern accent, and I am glad I do not live in Bayern. It was difficult to understand, and does not sound pleasing to the ears! Anyhow, we arrived in Nürnberg after it had snowed overnight, and it continued to snow throughout our stay there. While in Nürnberg, Germany experienced the coldest temperatures it had had in 60 years. Yeah, believe me, we didn´t need to hear the weather report to know it was cold. We are talking snow on top of snow, 6F , or -15C. And we were out in it all day sightseeing. My feet have never hurt so bad. I ended up buying another pair of boots. This time with GoreTex to keep out the water, lined with fur, and with extra special soles made of lamb fur. My feet are finally happy now, 130 Euros later. I know you guys in the South cannot imagine this. In addition, every day I had to wear about 3 layers on top, 2 pairs of gloves, a coat, hat, scarf, and 2 layers on my legs. Since my parents arrived in mid-December, this has been my daily outfit and has continued to be absolutely necessary in Berlin and as we head into January. After it had snowed so much, the streets were filled with black slush, which manages to find its way into every store. Puddles of black slush in every restaurant and store. Enough about the weather.

Nürnberg has a lot of WW2 history. We went to the DokuCenter, a museum that attempts to describe how and why the Nazi regime came to power, and how to prevent it from happening again. It is not a Holocaust or WW2 museum, however it attempts to explain how Hitler took advantage of post WWI Germany, a country torn by war and without a strong and stable government, rose to power to lead a lost people. The rally grounds surround the museum. This is unreal. I have now stood in the very place Hitler stood to give speeches to his many followers. I have seen the Grosse Strasse, were soldiers marched and later allies used it as a runway. I have seen the Congress Hall which was never finished, built to seat 50,000. We walked around all the grounds in about 1.5 hr, on the coldest day through the snow. For those of you who have been to Nürnberg and Rothenburg, I would like to compare pictures from summer/spring to those we have laden with snow. After our trek through the Winter Wonderland, we found a nice, WARM place to eat. Somewhere where I could defrost my feet. It was after this day we decided I had to have new shoes! That afternoon we went to the Toy Musuem. Germany is well known for its wood work, and was formerly quite well known for its toys. This musuem has toys from the 1800s to present.

The first day we got there we walked through the city and did our own self guided tour. Thanks again, Rick Steves! We ended at the Market place, where the Christkindlmarkt takes place. After all the Christmas markets I saw, Nürnberg by far has the best. We enjoyed listening to choirs singing Christmas songs on a stage, tried Lebkuchen, or Gingerbread, and bought a few Christmas ornaments.

At the end of our stay in Nürnberg, we ended up in Wiesbaden, which is about 30 min by train outside of Frankfurt. Dad had a free night at a Crown Plaza anywhere in the world, and wanted to stay outside of Frankfurt before their departure. Dr. Harris also happened to be in Wiesbaden for the holidays visiting his wife who works for the US military there. We had a wonderful time there, enjoyed a nice dinner with them, and I really enjoyed seeing an Auburn connection. Renee served us eggnog in her beautiful home, built sometime in the 1800s. The home is absolutely beautiful, and has been in her family for a while. Looks like a Victorian house at the turn of the century with vaulted ceilings and filled with many antiques and artwork that she made. Wiesbaden was missed in WW2, and therefore has many old buildings that many cities, like Frankfurt, completely lost in the war. Wiesbaden, as shown in the name, is known for its famous mineral bads (baths). There is a world famous resort here based on these healthy, healing waters. There are fountains throughout the city running with this hot, salty, mineral rich water. It is recommended to drink daily, but only up to 1 L due to the large mineral content. I am hoping to come back in the summer and visit with Renee and her family.

The next morning, and I mean EARLY morning, we took a taxi at 6 am to the train station. After dragging our luggage from the trainstation to our hotels all week in the snow, we were ready for a ride. We rode to the airport train station, where we parted ways to Aachen and Atlanta. I took the train back from Frankfurt to Aachen, and saw snow the entire way to Aachen. After hearing that it only rains in Aachen but seldom snows, I was surprised to see about 4 inches of snow on the ground. Apparently Aachen, or maybe the whole country, got the same cold wave that Nürnberg had.

The next two days, I attempted to get turned around and ready to go to Berlin. The highlight of these two days was my first English lesson. I walked down the road about 20 minutes to the family´s house that was interested in me teaching English to their 9 year old. I had just planned on meeting the family, and not actually teaching the first meeting. It turned into an hour of fun, English teaching! Kimberly is so sweet, and is really interested in learning the language, but is bored in school and her parents are really dissatisfied with how English is taught. We started with the basics- how to say the ABC´s after I realized she had been learning vocabulary, but did not know how to pronounce letters or words, or build sentences. We learned the whole alphabet, and at the end I agreed with the parents that I would come twice a week. It was really a lot of fun and I am looking forward to it.

The next morning, Doris picked me and my luggage up and brought me to her house. Since I was spending Christmas in Berlin, I wanted to say hello before the holidays. We had coffee and Spekulatius (special German cookie that my grandmother always has, and we refer to them as Windmill cookies), and she was so kind to give me a Christmas present: A beautiful necklace handmade in Würseln, a decorative candle, and a motivational book. I am always so amazed at her (and her family´s) hospitality towards me. I actually really missed being with them over Christmas. She took me to the train, and of course, if was delayed, like every other ICE train I have traveled with in December. This is mostly due to the winter weather. Thank God I was not traveling on the EuroStar. I can deal with a 30 min delay or cancel, but not an overnight in the Chunnel! The train ride was quite stressful from Aachen to Koln with the Thalys, another fast train. I did not get past the door, as there were so many people on board. I stood up the whole way and ran across the platform to catch the train to Berlin in Köln. Though I had a reservation, it seemed many didn´t, as the train was SRO. I climbed and crawled through several cars, over people and luggage until I finally reached my reserved seat at the end of the train. I sat in peace for the next 5 hours until I arrived in Berlin.

To be continued...

Traveling West...

I recently found these quotes about travel. I think both sum up my previous observations and thoughts in earlier posts, though much better phrased :)

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.” – Miriam Beard

Since my adventure to Stockholm, I have also been to Maastricht, Holland. Lissi came to visit me from Marburg, and we spent Saturday in Maastricht. What a lovely city! We took the bus for an hour from Aachen, and it is only 5 Euro each way. We bought a map and city guide at the TI, and then proceeded to do a self-guided tour of the city. It is the oldest city in Holland, and has a lot of charm. This is due to its location on the river, the Dutch architecture and language, and all the historical buildings left from the Romans. We wandered into a second hand book store, where an independent book store owner had all kinds of books from all over the world- 1st editions, signed copies, etc. He was your typical book shop owner! Glasses, well dressed like a professor, and curly, longish hair :) Speaking of book stores, we also went into a church that had been converted into a book store in 2005. WAY cool. Lots of books in Dutch and English, a cute cafe, and beautiful architecture. I also ate some yummy dish typical of Maastricht, but sadly cannot remember the name of it. Lissi and I had fun laughing at how funny the Dutch language sounds. Once you know English, you can understand/read it a little! Everyone there could speak Dutch, English, and German perfectly. I kept switching back between German and English, and never knew what to speak.

A little bit of the Roman city walls/fortress left over:

Church renovated into the book store:

More quaint, beautiful Maastricht, and the restaurant where we ate:

Also, finally bought some boots. I have been looking all over Aachen for leather boots, an essential here in this cold and wet climate. I found some in Holland last weekend, and I am very happy to have warm and happy, stylish feet! My bank account is unfortunately much lighter, but a good pair of shoes is always worth it! :)

And one more from Maastricht. The street sign, translated as Saint Hilarious Street. If I were a saint, I´d like to be called Hilarious!

Back to Aachen:

That evening we went to the Sinkens for dinner. Once a year they have friends and family over for mussels. We had lots of yummy food, even homemade pizza. We also brought back Vla from Holland, pronounced something like Fla. This is a pudding-like dessert sold in cartons just like milk. It is thinner than normal pudding, but everyone here in Germany loves it and always buys it when in Holland. It is nothing so special, but nonetheless, I tried it. After an evening of lots of food, wine, and good company, I was tired!

Sunday we went to the Ludwig Forum in Aachen, a modern art museum. We saw some really neat art there, and then went to the Rathaus (city hall) for a self guided audio tour. I must say, Aachen has a pretty cool Rathaus, with a LOT of history.

Views from the Rathaus onto the Market Place in Aachen where the Christmas market is in full swing. The Dom is opposite the Rathaus:

I have been to the Christmas market three times now, and it seems to be getting fuller the closer it gets to Christmas. It is kind of neat to have a month long festival/market going on. Lissi and I filled up on the oh-so-bad-for-you-but-yummy fare Friday night, including Crepes and Glühwein.

My parents are coming next week- less than 10 days! Something else to be excited about- Will has booked a plane ticket to visit me in February for 2 weeks! Lately I have received wonderful mail from some wonderful AU girls and even a package. Thanks to all of you for your constant love and support! If anyone has a request for a small Christmas package from Germany, let me know what you might want! (For those of you who have been here before!)

The newest development is that I will be teaching English to a German 9 year old. I have never taught English before, but I think it will be really fun. She has already starting learning English in school, and her parents would like to send her to a bilingual Gymnasium (5th grade on) where more lessons are taught in English than German. I would have loved to go to a bilingual school! I hope to meet the family soon.

Well, I realize I still need to update pictures about Stockholm. Another time! Enjoy the beginning of the Advent season and December this week!

Liebe Grüße,

Rebecca

Stockholm, Christmas markets, and Thanksgiving

Hello all,

As I write, most of you are probably fast asleep after all that wonderful turkey, dressing, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. I was able to skype with my entire extended family up in NC, as well as Will´s extended family in Birmingham. It was so cool to take part in two Thanksgivings. I feel like I was there. Though it was just an ordinary day in Germany (remember that Thanksgiving is specifically an American holiday), I was truly blessed to share in the celebration over skype. Thanks to all of you who helped make my day so special. I think it was the only day this whole year I will be able to see so much of family at once. I took time yesterday morning to journal all that I am truly thankful for. Most importantly: all my family and friends (those of you reading this blog!) that are back in the States who are always there for me during this year of discovery and change. I am also so thankful for this opportunity as a Fulbright scholar to have the funds and time available to just soak up all the wonderful places and people in this world- to see, observe, learn, and grow.

And by the way, WAR EAGLE! Today is the Iron Bowl back on the Plains. I will be thinking of my wonderful Auburn family! I cannot believe football season is already coming to an end. Where did the fall go?

Since my last post, not so much interesting had happened until the past weekend. I have found the most of November to be depressing- cold, gray, and wet. It really has an effect on your psyche. I was sick for a few days. It seems the past few weeks everyone is coming down with some type of virus. However, I am no longer feeling so blue. This past weekend I went to Stockholm with three Spanish students and one student from New Zealand. Before I comment on Stockholm, I want to say first that living in Aachen has allowed me not only to experience Germany, but the entire world. What do I mean by that? Of course, I have now been to Holland and Sweden while being in Germany. But what I really mean is that I have had the opportunity to meet people, travel, and have really cool conversations with people from all over the world. There is such a large international population here. The past 2 tuesdays I have visited INCAS, the international organization here. They had a special Chinese evening last week, and African evening this week. They have students from these countries talk about what their culture, food, language, etc is all about. Good food from the area always follows! So far, these are the countries represented by the people I have met during my stay here that I can remember:

Germany

Austria

Holland

France

Sweden

Cameroon

Ghana

England

Poland

New Zealand

Mongolia

China

Japan

Latvia

Serbia

Pakistan

India

Iran

Spain

Italy

Ghana

Greece

Turkey

Mexico

Well, that is all I can remember now. Though I have surely not visited all these countries, I can learn about these cultures here in Aachen just by meeting students like myself. This, I find, is really cool. Now, about Stockholm. As I am in the lab writing this, I cannot update with pictures. As soon as I can, I will upload some pictures:

We flew with Ryan Air. This meant we got on the train from Aachen to Dussseldorf Weeze. Not really Dusseldorf, but out in the middle of nowhere, to this tiny airport. We flew to Stockholm, then took at charter bus to the city center. All together, this was about an 8 hour journey. The flight was 25 euro, but we paid a lot of time instead. Ryan Air is great. You can fly to multiple cities in each European country for sometimes mere euros or cents. Speaking of money, Sweden using the Swedish krona. Though members of the EU, they choose not to use the Euro. Each country of the EU can decide whether they want to adopt the Euro or not. The exchange rate is roughly 10:1. 50 kronas is about 5 euro. When you exchange 100 euros, you get almost 1000 kronas. You feel like you are carrying around a TON of money, but sadly, a 50 is only really 5 euros. Many different types of coins, too. Like, half a cent. I mean, why do you need that? I think we should get rid of the penny in the US. Half a cent?

Saturday evening we were really tired, since our day had begun at 5:30 am on the train. We checked into the hostel, and walked around the city. We had a nice dinner, and a coffee and cake at a really cool Swedish cafe. A lot of the cafes here are underground, and really old. You walk down a set of stone stairs, and then you feel like you are in a cave underground. Very cozy, with candlelight on every table. Speaking of candles, all the cafes and restaurants have large candle sticks on the table. This could have something to do with the fact that it gets dark at 3:15 pm. I imagine they have even less daylight come winter. However, in the summer, they have almost 24 hours of daylight.

Sunday morning we checked our of hostel and checked into the next hostel. We stayed at the af Chapman, a ship converted into a hostel. If you are ever staying in Stockholm, you should consider staying here. I highly recommend it. we payed about 76 Euro total for 2 nights, linens, and a Swedish breakfast buffet (complete with lingonberries and knäckebröt). We ate well there, and packed brötchen for lunch.

We took a guided tour of the City Hall, where the Nobel Prize Banquet takes place each December. They have a 3 course meal and a ball for 1000 guests following the awards. Alfred Nobel had about 300 patents, mostly in chemistry and physics. The guy invented dynamite. The prize money comes from his will. He must have been unbelievably rich! The City Hall is beautiful. That afternoon, we went to the Royal Palace to see the changing of the guard and tour the treasury, state apartments and museum. The royal family lives there time to time, and host guests there. I must say, once you have been to Versailles, nothing can really impress you as far as royal homes go. Nonetheless, it was still neat.

We also went to the church where all the royal weddings occurs. Next year, the princess Victoria of Sweden is marrying here personal trainer, and they will close the church for the next 6 months for renovations. It is a protestant church, and once was connected to the State.

I had a really yummy Swedish meal-moose meatballs, potatoes and lingonberries! Also had a meatball sandwich with some type of beat mayonnaise. Not bad.

Stockholm is essentially spread over 14 islands. Everything is very well connected either by bus, metro, ferry, or by foot. We had a 72 hour transportation pass for 2o euros, and could use all public transportation. We took a ferry to the Vasa museum, which houses the oldest ship in the world, the Vasa. A swedish warship, the Vasa sunk on its maiden voyage before it even got out of the harbor. It was found and brought from the bottom on the sea in the 1950s. It has since been wonderfully restored.

We also saw the Ntl. Library of Sweden, and walked around the christmas market. Ran into a guy from Austria who has lived in Sweden for most of his adult life. Drank Gluhwein for two hours while talking in German about all kinds of places in the world. He rents a summer house north of stockholm and will even give you a car for the time there. Sounds really nice. I want to go back in summer when it is always light and it is warm! Sweden is cold. I cannot imagine what it is like in winter.

Saw the NK department store. I guess it would be like Sweden´s version of Macy´s in NY or Harrod`s in London. Each year they decorate their display windows with whimsical christmas-winter scenes, complete with moving robotic animals. The decorations are new every year, and everyone goes just to see the decor. H and M is also a swedish store. It was right next store, and I think one the largest ones in the world. The biggest IKEA is also just outside the city. IKEA was founded in Sweden. We did not go, but I do not know how Europe would function without IKEA over here. :)

The last night, we cooked dinner with two Swedish guys at their apartment. We had met a German couple at the hostels we stayed out, and they also came. They are from Mainz, and invited me to come and visit. I plan on coming sometime next year after the holidays.

A few factoids: The prevalence of depression and suicide is really high in Sweden. Could have something to do with the lack of daylight. Also, the divorce rate is 75%. Stockholm is booming with babies (guess they do not have the same problem germany has). The country only has 8 million people. How tiny!

Last friday night I went to the Christmas market for the first opening evening. I also went back Wednesday night with friends to drink Glühwein (spiced wine). You can get your fill eggnog (Eierpunsch), hot chocolate, beer, etc., as well as Printen (sort of like gingerbread), bratwurst and other fried goodies.

Well, the next destinations on my list, in no particular order are as follows:

Heidelberg, Prague, Brussels, Bruges, Vienna, Hamburg, Paris (though I was just in Paris, I cannot pass up the opportunity to go again for only 29 euros with the fast train in 2.5 hours).

I hope this has been a small window into my world over here. Pictures coming soon, I promise! Enjoy the official beginning of the holiday season today on this Black Friday! My friend from Marbrug, Lissi, is coming to visit me this weekend! It will be nice to a visitor and a friend to spend the weekend with.

Love to all,

Rebecca

Germany through my camera

I have finally lived up to my promise. Rather than posting another newsy post, I will let these pictures allow you to see where I have been the past few weeks. The pictures happen to be in reverse chronological order. (Posting pictures is not so intuitive with this blog). I will go back and add more from earlier from my time in Marburg on another blog post.

Sunset in Münster over the Aasee. No words needed.

Münster. Beautiful city, cold. Official bike city of Germany. There are more bikes than residents in the city.



Like most cities, there was a very lively market in the city on Saturday. I love the street markets in Germany!

Weekend in the Eifel, a National Park in NRW, with SMD. I walked down to this lake with a group of students. Beautiful place!


Note the windmill. These are everywhere here.

On the way back from Vaals (Holland) on my bike on a Sunday afternoon. What type of partnership does Aachen have with Arlington, Virginia?

The UGLY Uni Klinic, and the sheep that are directly behind this monstrosity.

My home sweet home at the Sinkens! This door says welcome home in Würseln!

One of many horses around Aachen. Aachen is well known for its equestrian.

View from the ferris wheel in Aachen. I rode this with Willi, Anne and Marietta the first time I met them in the city. 99 red air balloons...However, I did not ride the hot air balloon :)

This is the landscape located at the border museum from the old East/West Germany. The scenery is breathtaking there.

Former watch tower- I was fascinated with the tour and the extremes the DDR went to keep their citizens inside their borders.

Dreilandereck- Germany, Holland, and Belgium at one point.