Well, where should I begin? I have let far too much time go by since my last entry - too much time, in fact, that I forget exactly what my last entry included and I am somewhat hesitant to begin on this one because it is going to take so long and yet not be enough to do my travels justice.
I had a two month break during which I visited Rome, travelled with my parents around Germany, travelled with Josh's parents around southern Germany and to Salzburg, Austria, and worked for Berlitz Kids at an English camp in Schoemberg, a small community in the Black Forest area not too far from Karlsruhe. After classes had begun, I went to Paris for a long weekend (April 2 - May 1). The following weekend, I travelled with some girlfriends to Lake Constance and this past weekend, I was to Tuebingen, also with girlfriends. Tomorrow I head to Zuerich, Switzerland with the CYF group.
I really liked Rome, and it is probably because I was reminded so much of Greece. Josh and I flew Easy Jet from Basel-Mulhouse to Ciampino airport in Rome. We stayed at a convent, just 15 min. walking distance to the Vatican. At night, we could see the dome of St. Peter from our balcony. A few of the highlights were Ostia Antica (the harbour city of ancient Rome), the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome on which the very wealthy (in Republican time) lived.
When my parents were here in March, it was FREEZING! I felt quite bad for them, but nothing could be done except visit pastry shops to keep warm. We travelled to Strasbourg, France, and to Marburg and Munich together in Germany. In the middle of their stay - this was the tricky part, when they almost missed their flight from Hamburg to Munich - they travelled north to visit relatives in Brunsbuettel while Josh and I went to Kassel, Erfurt and Weimar. It was good to revisit Marburg, one of my favourite spots in Germany. I liked Erfurt quite a bit too, probably because it was at that point that I was able to eat normally again after having had a long bout of the flu. The day before they flew home, we travelled to Frankfurt together and it was at this point that they finally saw some nice weather. Luckily the otherwise shite weather didn't deter them too much - they liked Germany a lot and would like to come back. Maybe they'll want me as a tour guide/organiser again... I wouldn't mind coming back in a few years, expenses paid, of course! :D
Josh's parents arrived about five days after mine left and on the second day they were here, we left for Ulm. Unfortunately, we didn't make it quite to Ulm, but ended up spending the night in Stuttgart because of an accident on the rails. From Stuttgart, we travelled to Fuessen where we saw the famous Schloss Neuschwanstein (the castle upon which the Cinderalla castle at Disney World is based). After Fuessen, we went to Mozart's city, Salzburg. While there we saw one of Mozart's operas, the fortress and had beer at a monestery. Regensburg was the next stop on our list before going back to Freiburg. Although the Danube was flooded while we were there, this lovely Bavarian town still showed off its charm.
I had a few days off before heading to Schoemberg to work as a camp counsellor. In some ways, I am glad I had this job. In others, not so much. I am STILL waiting to get paid because Berlitz insists on me having a tax number before I get any money from them. I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will get it before our trip to France in June. The kids... well, mixed feelings. Some were good, some were bad and some were plain awful! Berlitz caters to the middle to upper-class families, so we had to deal with some pretty spoiled kids. One of the main lessons was manners - it seemed to be a foreign concept to some of them... The group that I taught and thus spent the most time with was the younger group. In the first week, my German came in handy because most of the kids (aged 8-10)could barely say their name and age in English. The second week of camp, however, ran much more smoothly and I was able to get by with just speaking English to my group. Although I was still teaching the youngest group, they were aged 9-12 and had had much more English in school. At the end of it all though, I have a new penpal. One of the campers will be travelling to North America this summer with her family and we have been writing back and forth. So like I said, camp was good in some ways.
Paris was a nice break after having dealt with 30 kids and camp food for two weeks. We flew into Paris and took the train home. One day we travelled to Versailles to ooh and ahh at the luxuriousness of the former French royalties' residence. We didn't go up the Eiffel tower, but we did climb up Notre Dame to enjoy the view of the city and say hi to the famous gargoyles.
Lake Constance, situated on the Bodensee, was simply lovely - the fruit trees were all in bloom and the gardens were full with colour. We weren't able to catch a ferryride, but we managed to get to Mainau Island by bus. I could have used a few more days in this area of Germany. If I get a chance, I will certainly head back to check out more of the port towns located on the Bodensee.
Tuebingen, one of Germany's university towns, was a long trek from Freiburg with the regional trains, but it was worth it. The Neckar River runs through the city and in the afternoon, we rented a paddleboat to see the city from a different angle. We had a filling lunch of Maultaschen (a large German pasta creation, similar to ravioli - my favourite!) at the Hotel am Schloss restaurant whose owner wrote a book on schwaebishe Maultaschen. Too bad it was such a long train ride... I would go back just to eat there again!
And with that, I think I will (finally) come to a close. I have just two and a half months to go in Freiburg and almost every weekend is booked up with places to go and people to visit. It is a good thing I like being kept so busy... but poor Josh! He'll have to sleep for the month of August when we get back just to recuperate. In September, he will be starting his master's in History at the University of Waterloo and I will be heading to Guelph for a one-year master program, also in History.
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