Awesomness in Heidelberg & Cologne

Ben and I had a great time this week visiting other parts of Deutschland. First stop was Heidelberg. A very old town with some interesting history. The streets are absolutely charming. The OLD castle (which is mostly ruins now) sitting on the hill overlooking the Rhine was one of my favs. We didn't go inside but walked/explored the grounds. The construction of this castle first commenced in the 11th-12th century! And unfortunately was brutalized by the French and later by multiple lightning hits.
The world's largest oak wine barrel sits in the cellars of the castle too. Holding around 57,000 gallons of wine and made out of pure oak. The barrel also has a dance floor on top, thus the stairs on the side! Unfortunately, the barrel is empty now. boo...
I fell in love with this strange brass monkey statue holding a mirror. It sits by one of the main bridges crossing over the Rhine. I don't know what it is but it was fascinating.
We ran into some live entertainment (the band played American songs) in the city streets so we stayed and had some beer and brats. Of course!

 

Me looking at the piece of the Watchtower that was blown off during war.

A better view of the collapsed piece of Watchtower.

Me, hanging out with some statues

Ben enjoying the view of the Rhine from the castle

Heidelberg

THE Wine Barrel, magical! Dance floor at top!

We continued our road trip into Cologne which is a HUGE city. Besides the AMAZING and OLD cathedral that is in the city center, most of the city is pretty new because it was left in ruins from WW2. Okay, so...there is a medieval cathedral that was first under construction during the 12th century! It is huge. One of the tallest in the world and the tallest medieval cathedral in Northern Europe. It's one of those sites that is almost too much for the eyes to take in. Like the Grand Canyon or The Louvre in Paris. Anyways, an awesome site and it has a crypt too that you can explore but not nearly as big as the one below St. Peter's basilica BUT I love the eeriness of both.

There is also a lot to do as far as nightlife goes in Cologne. I wanted to try all of the restaurants, they looked fantastic. I would say...a lot of hidden gems could be found. Clubs and bars galore. Ben and I ate at an Italian restaurant (the menu was rolled up to us on a board) where he had a steak and I had tomato/mushroom fettuccini. As a starter we had delicious calamari that was served as I've never seen before- almost in small steak like pieces. Divine!

Our menu on the board

I made Ben stand in front of this cute building just to take a picture

A favorite of mine.

   This coming weekend we are looking forward to another friend's wedding. Everyone have a fantastic weekend! Auf Wiedersehen.

I'm learning Deutsch!

As my fourth week of studying is beginning in Germany I can honestly say, I am definitely learning! I am really enjoying myself. I am starting to impress Ben's parents too, haha. Definitely have a long way to go of course but I feel as though I am getting some where. I am out of my comfort zone and am challenged. That's what it's all about, right? Growth!


Coffee and studies
 

This week Ben and I have been enjoying walks, the nearby pool and we went to the local Dorffest in town, pretty low key and relaxing. We also met with friends Daniel and Ines for a BBQ, which is always so yummy. Ines picked me up from the train earlier that day (well she attempted to but I missed my damn stop, so she had to drive to the next one to get me) and we went shopping and had iced coffee and ice-cream together.

Dorffest; members of the band in Lederhosen

Backyard view!

We ended the week with a wedding of a long time friend of Ben. It was outside next to the Rhine river on the Swiss side. A beautiful setting. Some similarities to American weddings and then there are differences like the games and the speeches. It was HOT out that day, I was sweating.

So hot the guys had to take a dip!

Prost!

I am looking forward to this weekend as we are driving up to Cologne, Germany! Another adventure awaits! Xo

 

 

 

Ausfahrt

The Deutsch word for exit (as in a vehicle exit off the Autobahn) is Ausfahrt. Which to me, looks like Ass Fart. I can't help but giggle every time we drive pass an Ausfahrt on the Autobahn. It's hilarious. It's one thing I won't be able to get over.

 

I am intrigued by the different car brands here that we do not see in the US. For instance, Opal is a German car brand that is common to see here. There are also brands that are made from GM that are in Europe but you won't see them in the US. Also, Ford is here but, different makes of Ford that I've never seen before. Like a Ford Tourneo, Ka or a C-Max. But you can also find Mustangs, Focuses and Fiestas. Interesting!

Ford Tourneo



 

Since I don't have a car here, during the week I get to school by train, bus and tram. The Germans are naturally impatient and always in a hurry (even though they are completely on time) everywhere they go. So the bus, tram and train are sometimes obnoxious. Calm down Deutschers. No need to cut and push. Stay seated until the bus comes to a complete stop. No, they practically jump out of the bus while it's still moving.

I've been going to the gym for the last two weeks (purchased a membership) and all the equipment is LifeFitness, so it's all familiar to me. The gym crowds don't exist though (unlike CA) which is great but the memberships are more expensive here.

Ben took me out to dinner on Friday to a restaurant I was obsessed with as soon as I stepped in. It's called Mund Art (Mouth Art). Absolutely charming set in an old German barn! They even have the old water troughs and feeders still built into the walls. Right up my alley. The food was great, complete with starter drinks. It was like a little spritzer of some sort with mint leaves. Our salad had popcorn in it with melon and ham. And I had eggplant stuffed with tomato and mozzarella. I will definitely be paying that place a visit again. Ben is always great when it comes to dates. Eating a fancy dinner in a barn? sign me up.

Most importantly this week, obviously, was the World Cup win by Germany. I can't believe I am here not only during World Cup time, not only to see Germany get into the semi-finals and finals, but to see them win is once in a lifetime for me. Way to go Germany! It didn't come on TV until 9pm, earlier in the day we watched Ben's good friend Daniel play in a tennis tournament and win. We also saw a Polo match which was also exciting. Prost to another great week in Germany!! XOXO



Freiburg Adventures

Last week was my first week of Deutsch studies. And after I felt more comfortable (I almost threw in the towel the first day), I decided to explore the city of Freiburg a little more. I really like that city. Well, I always appreciate the old architecture because we aren't used to it in California. A beautiful cathedral (a little bit of some goth style) and a farmer's market surrounding it. I saw two draft horses pulling a cart that I named Dirndl and Lederhosen. Appropriate German horse names haha. I broke down and bought a Carmel Frap one day at Starbucks...it pretty much tastes the same but about 30% more $$. It feels good to get accustomed by myself and kind of throw myself into the culture (and language hopefully). I find myself letting Ben do all of the communicating when we are out, I feel like a child sometimes!

Dirndl and Lederhosen

Little walkways in Freiburg



Cathedral in Freiburg
 

This week was also Ben's birthday (29!). He had a Beach Volleyball tournament (yes, I said beach {they must import the sand from the North? haha}) on Saturday followed by dinner and drinks with his friends and a street festival (referred to as "Strassenfests" in German). They are popular in the Summer and I really enjoy them. Basically- the street is lined with food and drink vendors...and by drink I mean alcohol... a D.J. and live band. The street is shut down to traffic and it stays hoppin til' like 3am. It is awesome and there isn't really anything like it in California, probably because drinking in public is not allowed.

 

We ended the week with some bad ass thunderstorms and dinner and a walk around the lake in Titisee. A beautiful touristy area close by. Tschuss!