Breakfast reminded me of eating at Katharina's house. There were croissants, deli meats, cheeses, yogurt, juices, hard boiled eggs and more. It was so delicious! Everyone remembered that it was my birthday too! I got hugs left and right and the directors of the program even gave me a gift! It was a sweet little card with a nice notebook. How thoughtful! I just love this program. I ate with Heidi, Charis, Maressa, Katie and Dr. Tracy. While we were eating, one of the people on the catering team came up to Frau Heckmann and told her that the napkin she was using was not the right one. She also took her coffee cup! She wanted to know if anyone else had used one of the "special napkins" and one of the John's had also. She got so mad! She said that those were her napkins and cups and that the ones we were supposed to use were somewhere else. It was the strangest thing! She also told us that we were not allowed to take any food out of the breakfast room. If we wanted to eat it, we had to eat it while we were there. Apparantly people who stay there like to take a piece of bread for later in the day, but it is against the rules. Well then! So after that she took her napkins and cups and left. We all kind of looked at each other with smiles and confused faces!
When we finished breakfast we headed back upstairs (nach oben) to pack our bags and hit the road! We went back to the little train stop and waited for our train that would take us to Würzburg. We had to take a train to get to another train station and then waited there for a little while. I got a small bar of chocolate and some gum for the tracks (I say tracks b/c we weren't on the road!) Everyone was just super nice to me. Even at 9 in the morning they were asking me about how my day was and what I wanted to do and on and on. The people in my group couldn't be better!!
You wouldn't believe how excited Heidi was to go to Würzburg simply because it is in Bayern (Bavaria). She lights up everytime someone says Bayern. It's so cute! When we got to the train station we headed to the lockers. There was this bum there who was yelling at us in German and trying to tell us how we should be doing things differently. He said that we couldn't put our things in the small lockers but we had to use the big ones. It was so frustrating/annoying! I was a little nervous about leaving my things there with him hanging around, but I knew nothing would really happen. After we started walking Frau Heckmann told us that if people are like that to ignore them and continue on your way. Don't respond to them or argue. Sounds easy, but this guy was so adamant! So after that strange and interesting encounter, we walked around the gorgeous city for a little while and learned that there are a lot of churches in Bayern in general and that it is a very Catholic state. We had to walk through the main part of the city (Stadt) in order to get to the Residenz. This place was huge!! If I understood correctly, royalty lived there. It was damaged heavily during WWII and they have been renovating and restoring it since. We took a tour with a humongous group. We weren't allowed to have our cameras inside, so I don't really have many pictures to share. The paintings on the ceilings were absolutely breathtaking and the stories they told were very interesting. The paiting above the main (humongous) stairwell depicted four continents: North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. Europe was really bright compared to the other nations and that was to signify that Europe in general was brighter than the rest. That was a complicated thing to understand in German, but with the help of Frau Heckmann, I was able to put it all together! I thought that little story it told was really funny because it shows how egotistical Europeans can be/are. Love it. In one of the other rooms our tour guide showed us the oven that was in the room. There were no doors on the oven (that we could see) but she said that there was a secret hallway where the waitstaff could go behind the wall and open the oven from that side and fill it with wood to warm the room. How clever! There was another room that was nothing but mirrors everywhere. I can't imagine sleeping in there! You would feel like you were being watched! I really liked this tour because it was interesting, but not too long. I stopped in the gift shop to buy a few post cards and then we headed out to walk through the gardens. My camera died just as we got out there, so some of the pictures are from my friends cameras. The gardens were so beautiful and expansive! There was a wedding party off to the side and people were taking pictures. They were doing the picture where they hold an empty frame in front of their faces. it was super cute! We took some pictures, walked around for awhile and then left for lunch because we were STARVING!
When we were leaving to go eat, they asked what my birthday wish was and I said that we would all eat lunch together. So everyone that was already with us (about 12 people) went to find somewhere to eat. They said that I could pick where I wanted to eat since it was my birthday, but I had no clue about what restaurants there were or where to go or anything! So we walked around and found a cute little cafe in the center of town. Walking around with my group was so much fun. I just love when we are all together and can hang out and laugh. Jenny, the program assistant, also came with us. She's so nice!! I love listening to her speak German. To think just a few years ago she was in my position is amazing. I hope that I can speak German as well as she can someday! For lunch I got one of my favorite German foods - Kase Spaetzle. It's like a potato pasta dish, but not. I really don't know how to explain it. But it is delicious! We hung out and talked at the cafe for quite awhile. I sat across from Alexander which was nice because I hadn't really talked to him too much before this. His speaks German very well and rarely do you ever hear him speak English. I think the most I've heard him talk in English is asking how to say certain words. But even then, he only says the word he wants to know in English. Pretty impressive! I felt bad because my German isn't as good as his, but he didn't seem to mind. He's probably the most intellectual guy I know. He's just so interesting! So it was fun getting to know him and talking with Jenny and the others in my group.
We had some free time until we had to meet at the train station at 6ish so some of us went to look at a church and go through the museum. Alex, John Love, Heidi, Charis, Maressa and I walked through the church first and then paid the small price for the tour. This church was probably one of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I just couldn't believe it! The tour was self-guided, which was nice since most of the things were artwork. It was nice and relaxing.
We came to Würzburg on the right weekend because there was all kinds of music all over town. We saw a one-man-band, a group of women singing and playing accordions and a bunch of other people singing and playing their instruments on the streets. It was just so beautiful and authentic. I could have stayed all day and listened to the women playing their accordions. They looked like they were having so much fun!
On our walk back to the train station, we stopped and got ice cream for my birthday. I got the mocha flavor and it was delicious! Heidi was confused about my choice because a few days before we talked about how I don't like coffee. I forgot to explain that I like coffee flavored things, just not straight coffee yet. Outside the train station we saw people salsa dancing! There were three girls and five guys and they were all dressed alike (the girls in red dresses and the guys in all black). We probably stood there and watched for about 20 minutes! It was so cool! Then we went back inside and got our things out of the lockers. The guy was still there, but this time there were two policemen. He didn't talk to us as much, but still some. John Kornfeld (one of my favorites) couldn't help but talk to him. He just loves to talk to people in general. I told him not to make eye contact, but he did anyway. Oh John...I think he even gave him money earlier so that he would leave us alone, but that really didn't work too well!! When he speaks German, he sounds like a German, even though he isn't always right. I just love it.
Our train ride was pretty long to get back to Heidelberg. I sat with Sarah Hale, Patrick and Eric on our first train. I slept pretty much the entire way. We got to the other train station just in time to make our next train. We walked quickly to get on and then after we sat down it started to leave! Whew! I sat next to Charis and John on this train. I mostly looked out the window and talked some. Charis went around and made sure that everyone could come out to celebrate my birthday that night. We made plans to meet at AJY at 9:45. How sweet!!
I decided during this trip that I definitely want to switch classes. I just love Frau Heckmann and feel more comfortable with her and her teaching style. Also, I don't want to be so stressed about a grammar class. The challenge is important, but not to the point where I'm so frustrated and can't understand it at the pace we're learning.
When we got back to the train station Katie and I got on the bus back to the Universitätsplatz (University Place). We call it Uniplatz for short and I like that! It's right outside AJY. I walked back to my apartment and unloaded my bags. I was so excited to show off my new wine glass! Julia thought it was pretty cool. Then Keith got home and asked if I wanted to eat dinner with him. I showered before dinner and then sat down to eat after I had done my makeup and stuff. He ended up making chicken and potatoes. That was better than I had planned for my birthday dinner of bread with Nutella! I didn't think I'd be eating with anyone since we had all been together all day and then were going to be hanging out again at night. So that was a nice surprise. He's just such a sweet guy and I really like hanging out with him.
About 20 minutes before we left, Keith asked me if it'd be ok if he didn't come out with us. I told him that it was fine, but that I would love for him to come. He was really tired from the night before, but changed his mind and decided to come. I was really happy because #1 I wanted him to come and #2 I didn't want to walk home alone! Katie stopped by our place and we all walked over to AJY together. We were fashionably late. I mean, I had to be late to my own party, right!? I was so surprised because almost everyone in my program was there!!! It made me feel so special and really happy. Patrick and some of the other guys have gone out a lot since we've been here so they know the best places to go. We decided to go bar hopping and I let him pick the fist place. He found this place with two huge tables inside where we all could sit. It was perfect!! Everyone was so excited for me to have my first alcoholic drink EVER! It took a lot of deliberation to decide what I should have to drink, but then when the waitress came, she said that I needed to have my ID since I was ordering something other than beer. She didn't even believe that Heidi was 18 (She's 22) and would only let her order soda! Heidi was so mad! So John and I walked back to my apartment to get my ID. It was kind of nice that she wanted to see my ID though because it was like I was celebrating at home! When we got back and showed her my ID she looked at it really skeptically like she didn't believe it was real! But she let the guys order a shot of Vodka for me. I can't believe that I actually agreed to that, but I figured that I might as well have something out of the ordinary since I've waited so long to drink! Let me tell you that this was the most nerve-wracking thing I have ever done! Before I took the shot, they all sang happy birthday to me and were cheering me on. I was so hot and was sweating and kept fanning myself. I had no clue how to do a shot! They told me that I needed to have Heidi's soda as a chaser, so we got that all situated. Then they started counting down from 10 in German and at EINS (1) I took the shot! I wanted someone to get a video of it to put on here, but that didn't work out. But I can only imagine how funny it was to see. I loved it though (not the taste at all, but everyone's excitement!) This group just makes me SO happy! We all support one another and its just all around great. So after everyone else finished their drinks (and paid for mine!) we headed to this bar called T-Punkt. There we ordered this huge 5 liter drink that cost 39 Euros! It came with about 10 straws and was super yummy!!! That was so much fun!!! Since there were so many of us, it didn't take too long to finish it. I think the best part of this drink was the ice in it! It was my favorite ice!!!! In case you don't know, my favorite ice is that pellet-like ice that they have at Sonic. Oh yummy-ness!!!!
The next bar we went to didn't have too many people in it. There was a light-up dance floor and we sat in a room with huge wrap-around couches. It was pretty cool. I decided not to get anything to drink, but had a taste of Patrick's beer. I think that's an aquired taste! We stayed there for awhile and talked and danced and had a lot of fun. At about 1, some people decided to leave (Keith and I included). We were all so tired from this weekend! Keith told me that tonight was the most fun he's had since he's been in Heidelberg and that he thinks he's found a group of people he wants to hang out with. That made me so happy, especially since he wasn't even going to come!! We walked home and talked for a bit and then went to bed. I thought I would just sign online really quick and then get ready for bed, but instead talked to April from Scrap Shack for about an hour. I showed her pictures from the night and we had a good time talking. Then Jessica and Brittanie signed on! So we decided to get on Skype and ended up talking until about 4 AM!!! That worked out fine though because I didn't have any plans for Sunday morning. It was so great to talk to them and to see them too!
This was by far one of the best birthdays ever. I had such a great time with great friends. Before coming to Germany, I was worried about celebrating my birthday here. I just didn't know how it would be. But I couldn't have pictured it any better!!! Oh and thanks to those who wrote on my Facebook wall! It was so great to hear from you and it made my day that you remembered my bday! Yay for officially being 21!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment