Additional Triburg Photos

Apparently there's a limit to how many photos you can add to a post. So here are some more pics from Triburg.

(Base of the waterfall)

(A snowy picture of Triburg)

(More Triburg)

(Heading up to the waterfall)

Valentines Day in a snowy German mountain village.

I woke up to another romantically snow-dusted morning in Horb, stretched my arms to the ceiling and sang out "What a beautiful Valentines day"

Hindsight's 20/20 right?

I went downstairs and had breakfast in the holidy-decorated Goldener Adler, and then got ready to leave for Triburg. Noriko decided that she would like to come, because she's never been there. The two of us bundle up and head towards the train-station. We arrive and I introduce her to the other Americans, Mexicans, Spaniards and Chinese students. As a group we board the train.

It was a three hour train ride, but there was snow everywhere, and we were heading into the Black Forest, which was really just breathtaking. So no one really minded sitting on the train for that long.

We were expecting the normal HHK tour: arrive, make a quick circle around the main part of the city, free time. But our "Führerin" told us that we were doing things differently. First we were going to climb from the train-station up to the biggest waterfall in Germany. Then we were going to, she literally used the word for, hike up to the biggest Cuckoo clock in the world. Finally we were going to end up at a Museum, back where we started by the waterfall.

Meanwhile we were having a Michigan-worthy Snowstorm.

There was no question that it was absolutely beautiful! 

On the other hand... fun to walk in? Absolutely not. The next portion of the trip I like to call "Mountain Climbing". Many people would disagree with me, saying that it wasn't actually mountain climbing. But here's my basic definition; when we started walking we were at the base of the mountain, and when we finished we were significantly higher up. Maybe there were no harness or grapples involved, but there was definitely some mountain climbing going on.

We finally arrived at the waterfall, which I was excited about, because I've never seen a waterfall before. I guess the word "biggest" distracted us in the phrase "biggest waterfall in Germany", because we were all expecting something much much larger.

(Behold Germany's mightiest waterfall)

(Small group photo, Kimmy, Cassie, Kelsey, Elisabeth, Brian and Me in Back)

The highlight of this portion of the trip, was when Elisabeth accidently dropped her purse over that platform and into a torrent of practically frozen water. Brian, everyday hero that he is, climbed down and got it for her. I helped her take the cell phone apart and kept it in pieces through out my jacket so it could dry. 

We were then given some time for lunch. So six others and I headed down to this little pizzaria for lunch. Unfortunately the food took a very long time to come, so we had to call the group to let them know to head up to the Cuckoo clock with out us and that we would catch up.

After lunch we headed to a little travel information store to get instructions. Which is where this happened

(Yup, that's a "No Cell Phone" sign, and a picture of Cassie inside on her phone)

Then we headed still further up the mountain. I'll admit it was a pretty rough hike for me. I actually got so sweaty that by the time we got to the clock and went inside, I was actually steaming from my head. The man working tried not to laugh, but failed.

The clock was basically just a house. We got to go inside and see the gears working.

Then we paid a euro to go out back and take a picture of the actual clock from the outside.

It was really pretty, especially with the snow, but we could kind of picture the guy working there, at the bar with his friends saying "Ok, Ok, guys, I have an idea. Let's charge people a euro, just a euro to go into my back yard to take a picture of the clock. No, they'll totally pay, it'll be hysterical"

We went back outside and headed back down the mountain to the museum. So, here's what happens when you walk up a mountain and get so hot that you start sweating, and then take a break, and head back into the cold.

(Yes. That is an icicle forming in my hair)

We made it back down, paid 3 Euros to get into a museum, that I'm still not 100% sure what it was a museum of, and walked around inside. It was actually a pretty scary museum. Lots of weird statues and mannequins.

There was a room with a lot of rocks and cool minerals that you had to walk down a tunnel to get to. Elisabeth went and explored it on her own. She got to the very end, and on the wall was just a little button and instructions in several languages saying to push it. So of course she pushed it.

Which is when all of the lights in the room went off. 

She said it was like being in a horror movie. But then some of the minerals started glowing, and she finally understood that the lights went off to show the minerals, and not so that someone could come in and harvest her liver, to sell on the black market.

There were some really pretty cuckoo clocks in the museum as well.

After the museum we headed back to the train-station, stopping at a few coffee and chocolate stores on the way back. We ended up being late and having to run to the station, which was thankfully downhill, or I'd probably still be in Triburg. 

We rode home and collectively decided to cancel any plans we had for the evening, to go home and sleep.

We're nearing a month in Germany, and I couldn't be happier. I'm having the best time I could imagine, and it looks like it's just going to get better.

Have a great week, and I'll write again soon!

Week 4 (Feb 9-13)

Another week has passed in Horb. Last Sunday I spent the whole day here at the Goldener-Adler, working on homework, updating this here blog, and sort of just relaxing. 

The theme this week in school was Health/Gesundheit and Sickness/Krankenheit. We learned lots of new vocab about it, and talked about different methods of staying healthy, and methods for treating specific illnesses. 

Probably the most embarrassing part of the week (for me anyway) was during class one day when we were doing a small exercise where we had a word box and we needed to fill in the blanks. I decided to work ahead, cause I'm just so smart and all, and I get to the last question for one of the exercises. The sentence was about a car accident, which in German is an Auto-unfall. I looked in the word box and saw the word "Durchfall" and I thought, "Well I'm not sure what it means, but it sounds like it would fit!" So I hastily write it in the blank, and wait for everyone to catch up. I decided to check my answers, so I borrow Elisabeth's (who was sitting next to me) dictionary, and looked up the word. That's when I started giggling uncontrollably.

Durchfall, doesn't necessarily have anything to do with auto accidents.

Because it means Diarrhea...

And then of course I had to explain why I was laughing. Which lead into a long conversation about "durchfall" and it's opposite "Verstöpfung" (constipation) Including the cures and treatments for both.

I think I'll just stay with the group from now on during class.

The other exciting thing from this week, was that for the first time, we woke up to snow on the ground. 

 

It never lasted for the whole day, the sun always came out and melted it away. But it really is very pretty to see this little village dusted with snow. It's slowly getting colder here, like Michigan, February is the coldest month. So we've been bundling up a little extra.

The excursion this weekend is to a place called "Triburg" proud owner of both the largest waterfall in Germany and the largest functioning Cuckoo Clock in the world.

Also. Here's a couple of pictures I nabbed from Joe, of me with weird animal statues in München.

(Giant Fish eating my arm)

(Dancing with the Lob-Stars. I know. I'm witty)

Konstanz

Konstanz is about as far away as Baden Baden was, maybe a little closer. So we met at the train station in Horb around 9:00am. We had a different Führer this week, still a girl in high school. We got to Konstanz, which was a little grey. It's supposed to be absolutely stunning in the spring and summertime.

We saw the lake, which reminded me a little of Lake Michigan. Except we don't have one of these...

(it spins in a slow circle, just fyi)

The water looked pretty cold, but it was full of these duck-like birds,

In similar Baden Baden style, we followed our tour-guide in a large circle, seeing some pretty things along the way.

(Brian spittin' some game at the Australian flight attendant)

It was a relatively large city, with some really beautiful architecture. We had a little more free time on this trip, which was nice. In the end some of us grabbed coffee and just sat by the lake. All in all a very relaxing trip.

A couple more photos:

(Seekuh means Manatee in German!!)

(I would like to live in this house, at the edge of a pier.)

(Faschings/Karneval decorations)

(I was looking at this building, and I saw pretty face, 

pretty face, Mongolian? [I blew the faces up so you could see])

(Cutest "No Pooping" sign I've ever seen)

Week 3 (Feb 2-6)

Not much to report about the school week. The topic for most of the week was actually clothing and fashion which was pretty interesting.

All this week for lunch there was this big event happening in HHK, the Vesperkirche was providing lunch for one Euro all week. It was in part of the building called "Stein Haus" literally stone house, which it was called because for a very long time it was the only building in the village of Horb made out of stone. But anyway, you go in, pay a Euro and they give you four little raffle-looking tickets, that you redeemed for food, drink, coffee, and dessert. And the food was really good! 

It was mostly a group of old church ladies doing the serving, and they were almost aggressively nice. I got up to put my tray away and this woman practically ripped it from my hands. I told her it was no problem, I could put it away and she smiled fiercely and practically whispered "I've got it!!" That was basically the highlight of the week, having cheap food right downstairs.

Excursion this weekend: Konstanz. A little town right near Switzerland on the biggest lake in Germany.

München Part Two

I would like to start this post with a small collection of photos that I like to call "Joe with Weird Animal Statues"

(Joe & the Bedazzled Bull)

(Joe & the Smiling Boar)

(Joe & the Hungry Fish)

So Joe and I left the other group behind, to begin exploring the city. There's a lot of history in München, some good, some bad, all fascinating. We stayed in the city center for a while, which is really quite beautiful. It's also were we spent most of our time when I was in München in 2006, and I actually remembered a lot of the place.

(So pretty)

(I'm pretty sure I have a picture near this fountain from 2006)

Joe wanted to find a church to take some pictures for his family, so we found a pretty large one and went inside. I tried to avoid taking pictures inside, because I didn't want to be disrespectful, but I couldn't resist snapping a quick shot of this...

(Aegidius, the patron saint of stomach cramps, apparently)

After about forty-five minutes we walked back towards Marienplatz, the center, to see what was on the other side, and low and behold, the tour was still there. They had just been standing there listening to awful anecdotes from the tour guide (who constantly reminded them that she works on tips as a guide) Joe and I laughed and continued on exploring.

(A lion in the shape of a giant glass of beer)

(Mannequin just hanging out on a window ledge)

It was at this point in the afternoon when my camera flashed the warning "Caution, batteries are exhausted) and of course I didn't think to bring any spare batteries for the weekend, so tragically I have no more Munich pictures, and I haven't had time to steal them from other people.

Joe and I decided that since we had paid for the subway all day, we should take advantage of it, and we went to explore places that the rest of the group wouldn't be able to walk to. We found the University and some other neat places, and then headed back to meet up with the tour group, who were getting lunch at Hofbräuhaus, probably the most famous beer hall ever.

When most people picture Germany, they probably imagine Hofbräuhaus, without even realizing it. They serve liters of beer, the robust beer-wenches wear dirndls, there was a live brass band playing, women wearing gingham walked around with baskets selling enormous pretzels, and yes, even old men in lederhosen. We spent several hours there.

We headed back to the hostel so people could change or drop of bags so that we could head right back out for a night on the town. There were four Australians staying in the hostel, and we invited them to join us, which they accepted. We headed to Löwenbrau a place smaller, but similar to Hofbräuhaus. We then decided that really, Hofbräuhaus is where we wanted to spend our night, so we headed back, and things had significantly picked up since we had left. There were hundreds of people, waitresses carrying four liters of beer in each hand, and just the warmest, brightest atmosphere imaginable. It was heaven.

We headed back to the hostel, Kelsey and I went to sleep, which was probably the best choice we had made that day. A group of Americans and Australians headed to the youth hostel/bar that was next door, and continued the night. They rolled into bed around 5:00 or 6:00am. What they forgot was that we had to check out at 10:00.

So 9:00am comes around and we all groggily wake up. It was one of the best/worst mornings ever. I look over at one of my friends (who will remain nameless) who had literally just fallen into bed and stayed there til morning. Clothes: on, shoes: on, blanket: off, pillow: unused. It was pretty amazing. 

As a group, we decided that since we had cars, we could make a quick detour on the way home. So we decided to head to Dachau, which was the very first concentration camp during the holocaust. It was an unforgettable experience. I don't think I can rightly explain the shiver I felt walking through the iron gate that reads "Arbeit macht frei" (work makes free). Most of us split up, needing to experience this place alone for a while. I walked down the gravel path between the buildings that housed thousands of people. I saw the prison cells where people couldn't sit down. I walked through the crematorium. I stood in a gas chamber, and saw the ovens that they used to dispose of the bodies. It was not something I will be able to put into words. It was an experience that I will never forget.

We headed back to Horb rather somberly, but also feeling pretty connected to each other. I went straight to bed, physically and emotionally exhausted. This is exactly what I hoped my experiences in Germany would be like, I knew my life would change, I just didn't know how much or how quickly. 

So. Another amazing weekend in Germany. More soon.

München Part One

For the first part of our trip down the Autobahn, you could have told me I was in Michigan, and I would have had no idea you were lying. Same trees, same clouds, same occasional field. But then we started seeing little mountains, and giant farms, rivers, villages, and we all shared this "holy crap... we're in Germany right now" moment. 

I rode in the family van. It was this little mini-van, and it felt very much like we were on a family vacation together. The trip took a little less than three hours, and we arrived in München(Munich) shortly after dark. It was almost 8:00pm and to our amazement, stores were still open, and there were actually people walking around!! I don't think we're in Horb anymore Toto. We parked the cars in a garage for the weekend, and headed to our Hostel. "Jaegers Hostel" (Jäger means "hunter" in German) We had made reservations, and we started checking in. The girl working made it sound like we had a room with fourteen beds, which was already a little awkward since there were fifteen of us, but hey who minds a little snuggling. 

However, what she meant to say, was that we had beds in a cavernous room in the basement with several other tenants. You had to have a key to get into the room, and directly to your left was the men's and women's bathrooms, then to the right there were four little alcoves lined with bunk beds, and a wall of lockers. We shared the space with maybe fifteen other people. At one point I whispered to someone in my group "This is so cool, that guy is probably straight out of Ireland" when this kid about our age walked past, with firey red hair. (We found out later he was from Texas) But there were enough beds for all, and lockers to keep our belongings safe.

(First impressions of the hostel)

Friday night wasn't particularly eventful to start out with. The Brazilians had brought a special type of schnapps with them, which we in America like to call "moonshine". I tried a sip and felt like the wolf from the old droopy dog cartoons. I wanted to immediately start pounding on the table with my foot, shout "OWOOOOOGA" and have my eyes spring from my face and explode like fireworks. It was pretty strong.

Then we decided to head out and see if we could find a bar to have a beer in. The Brazilians knew this kid who was working in München and had been there for about two months, so they called him. We waited for about 45 minutes for him, and he finally showed up. Then we headed out to find this bar that he knew of. After about an hour of walking we finally realized that he had absolutely no idea what he was doing, or where he was taking us. In the end we found a bar, had some beer, and headed home around 1:00am or so.

Then at 7:00am, someone's (ahem, Cassie) phone went off, and it was virtually impossible for us to go back to sleep. There are few words that describe how I was feeling that early in the morning, but there is a picture that explains it pretty well.

We got up, had a little breakfast at the hostel and started to get ready for the day. Some of us chose to shower, while other's were a little more intelligent and just washed their faces. Thinking back, I'm not sure why I didn't take pictures of the bathroom. Oh wait. I remember, they were pretty disgusting. The first room had a few sinks and a washer and dryer, then further in was a room with a bench and then three shower stalls on the other side, the final compartment had a urinal and a toilet stall. 

I was one of the people who chose to shower, and it will probably haunt me forever. The way the shower worked, in order to conserve water, was that water only came out when you pushed this large metal button on the wall. So I set the faucet to what I figured would be a decent temperature and pushed the button. Then directly into my face came a torrent of the coldest water I have ever felt. It was as if they installed a fire-hose to the wall, to literally blast people clean. I fiddled with the faucet more, trying it both directions, trying to get it to a place where at least I was being assaulted by warm water. But alas, regardless of my efforts, the water just continued to get colder and colder, and it came out faster and harder, every time I pushed the button. Which finally convinced me that I never ever want to go to prison, because that's what I imagine the showers there to be like.

After my traumatizing shower, we headed to the lobby, because there was going to be a free walking tour of München. The tour guide (in German, literally the Führer) explained that we couldn't have a group larger than ten people, but that there would be tours later in the day also. I immediately volunteered to sit the tour out, and explore München on my own, and was quickly joined by Joe. One of my least favorite things, is a guided tour, so I had no problem with that decision.

Joe and I headed to the subway station where this German man with a speech impediment helped us buy an all-day ticket for five euro. At first we were a little weirded out by him, but then as we waited for our train to come, we noticed that he kept helping people who looked lost to find the right ticket, or train. Basically he's an everyday hero who just hangs out in the subway station helping lost people.

We headed to the city center, where we ran into the rest of our group who were getting ready to start their tour. With none other than the red-headed Texan (formerly 'straight out of Ireland')

(The misguided tour)

Then Joe and I headed out to see what München had to offer.

To be continued...

Week 2 (Jan 26-30)

Classes here are pretty much what I expected them to be. We start school at 9:00am, at which point we usually talk about the homework if there had been any, and then we talk about the topic we are currently studying. The theme for the week was "Arbeit und Beruf" (work and careers) so we got to learn the vocab, what the process of applying for a job is like in Germany, a bunch of grammar exercises, and other activities all having something to do with the topic. 

The planned trip for the weekend was Rottenburg, which until this very moment I didn't realize had "rotten" right in the name. Apparently it's a very pretty place, thats very similar to Horb in size. So the group of Americans talked it over, and decided we'd rather not go. Then a couple people found out that the Brazilians were renting a car and driving to Munich for the weekend. 

(Sounds fun right?)

Throughout the day on Thursday it snowballed from, four Brazilians and two Americans, to 4 Brazilians and 11 Americans. Kelsey and I fought back and forth for a little while, because while it sounded amazing, the thought of riding on the Autobahn pretty much had me terrified. We found out that three of the Brazilians had international licenses, which was enough to convince me. Then, maybe five minutes after we agreed to go, and I was at peace with my decision, Kelsey leans over and whispers "What are we doing. Oh my god. I can't believe we're doing this" Which is how we discovered that as long as only one of the two of us is freaking out, then it can't be that bad of an idea. We know that if both of us freak out at the same time, it's not something we want to be a part of. 

So the final plan was to head to Kaufland (basically a Meijer but like, really really nice) grab some snacks, while the Brazilians headed to the rental place to get the cars. And then somewhere around two in the afternoon, our adventure to Munich began...

Climbin' Up the Mountain Children... and a Happy New Year!

So after our trip to Baden Baden, we thought "Hey, it's still early, let's meet up at a bar" which is probably one of the most ominous sentences in the English language. I headed back to Hotel Goldener-Adler, where I had dinner with Noriko and Wuhao (p.o.d. "wu" is actually a childish nickname for Wuhao, except Wuhao doesn't have the language skills to explain to Peter and Eva that his name is actually Wuhao) We had some pretty amazing omelets.

Then at 9:00pm I headed towards the bar in Horb, which is called... Catweazle ... because why not? It's not a very large bar, which means that a seemingly middle-sized group of Americans and Brazilians, seems like a hoard of thirsty vikings. We enjoyed a couple rounds of beer, laughing, comparing cultures, etc.

Then Brian piped in.

"Hey, so there's this big Karneval party in my village tonight. We could totally walk there, it's no big deal"

Party: Truth

Village: Truth

Walking Distance: Lies

We figured that since we were wearing our "liquid jackets" the walk wouldn't seem so bad. 

Well, we were wrong.

It wasn't actually that far, if we had been walking in a straight line, it would have been no problem. But instead, we were walking on a twisted path, up a mountain, in the middle of the night. Needless to say, the walk lasted an hour, a treacherous, sweaty, uncomfortable, cold hour.

But the party actually made up for it. Karneval or Faschings is a big deal to the Germans of Swabia, as the major religion here is Catholic. Basically Karneval is when all of the Catholics decide to get their party on, because Lent is coming up, and they need to be cool until Easter. Trust me, they know how to get their party on. It was a little bit similar to Halloween in America, people dressed up in crazy costumes and went all out with make-up and so on. The party in Brian's village consisted of three outdoor tents that served alcohol and snacks, and then a big dance hall where they played a ton of American music. The Germans shamed us by knowing all of the words to songs we barely knew. 

(A hazy picture of the Faschings Party)

(Maya and Cassie at the Party)

Then around 2:00 in the morning it occurred to those of us that didn't live in Bildechingen... that we should probably... um... find a way back down the mountain. Taxis are pretty expensive here, but at this point, we weren't willing to walk back. Especially since I'm the only one who lives in the city of Horb itself. 

So five girls who live in the village of Ahldorf reluctantly accepted a ride from this 20-something guy who was sober and had a car. Fortunately I had my head somewhat loosely attached to my shoulders, so I snapped a quick photo of his license plate, in case the girls were missing the next day.

(Calm down mother, people are actually really really nice here, and this isn't as dangerous as it sounds)

(Just in Case)

I however shared a cab with three girls who live in a small village on the other side of Horb.

I made it home at 2:30, and was asleep by 3:00.

Then Sunday happened.

So during the Baden Baden trip, one of the girls from China, Wenting, mentioned to me that Sunday was Chinese New Years and in celebration, all of the Chinese kids were going to eat lunch at a Chinese restaurant. They invited me, and asked me to invite all of the Americans who would like to come. I said yes, because it sounded like fun! So I spread the word amongst the Americans, what was happening. I of course left one vital factor out of my equation. The hangover factor. I should have known that no one else was going to come.

I however, live with Wuhao, who knocked on my door promptly at 11:00 so I would have time to shower and head over to the restaurant.

To be fair, the group of Chinese kids were VERY excited that I came, and they kept waiting for the other Americans. 

(Happy New Year! P.S. Wuhao's in the orange shirt)

(Which of these things is not like the others?)

For the first hour and a half, I was the only person who didn't speak Mandarin, which made it difficult to understand what the hell was happening. Finally the waitress came in and I thought "Oh sweet salvation, someone who will, at the very least, speak German!"

Nope.

She proceeded to speak with the group very quickly in Mandarin, occasionally inserting words I recognized like "American" and "Vegetarisch" I was able to order soup and some sweet & sour vegetables. While we were waiting for the food, I tried my best to learn their names. I remember Wuhao, Wenting, Yuen, Chuen and Yin. There were a lot more.  

I tried to be as open as possible, but it was all I could do not to laugh when one of the girls literally folded her napkin into a lotus blossom and handed it to me as a gift. I always feel a little guilty when people live up to stereotypes, like "all Asian people can do Oragami". When the teeny-tiny shoe fits...

Finally Sebastian and Noriko came, both of whom speak German, so for the rest of the lunch I understood everything.

We had our own little room, so after lunch we played a couple of games. We played a game were every person drew a card, and whoever got the Ace picked an activity and two numbers (or letters J,Q,K) and whoever had those numbers had to do what the Ace said.

Which is how this happened

In all it was a good day. Despite the headache. Despite being the only American.

Not bad for the first weekend.