Adventures away from Camp Adventure
Oh am I ever in love with Germany… I don’t even know where to begin! I’m almost regretting paying so much for the Flexi-European eurrail pass just because, as much as I want to travel around Europe, there is so much to see right here in Germany! The summer is just feeling way too short for everything I want to do. My roommates were all talking about their 5-year plans last night and it got me thinking about what mine is, and how I’ll incorporate more traveling into it. This experience is making me realize not only how many places I want to see, but also how badly I want to spend time in each country and really experience each place. I don’t know where the time and money will come from, or how the “home-body” in me will do it …but I can worry about it later!
The first weekend here five of us went to Nuremberg for an evening. Like everywhere else I’ve been so far it was gorgeous. Just the character and life that these cities have- all of the flowers and cobblestone streets, the quaint little restaurants- I love it! We had dinner and drinks at a fun Mexican restaurant, Salsalitos, and had so much fun talking with the bartenders and other people, we ended up staying there most of the evening. Of course none of us quite understood the train system, so we ended up spending the rest of the night people-watching, drinking coffee, and being woken up by train security while we waited for the next one.
The next night, all 10 of us roommates took the train to Bad Windsheim, about 15 minutes away, for some Thai food and gelato. The language barrier is definitely difficult in restaurants- I swear no matter what I say, I get water with bubbles, and salad drenched in dressing. At the end, the waiter came around just throwing out random prices- so 2 people with the same order were being charged completely different prices. When we asked him about it, he would bring the price down…multiple times- I kind of felt like I was at an auction. 12 euro? 8 euro? Ok…4 euro. …Who knows, I hope we didn’t rip him off, we weren’t trying to barter?
…here are all my roommates! How do I get so lucky every time!?…
When we got home we went downstairs to just relax. There are always lots of local (usually inebriated) German men who always have a beer in hand and want to talk. They danced, sang, and performed magic tricks for us…so I might have some new skills when I get home :)
Today I’m starting a list of things that I’ve noticed are different from the United States. Just mainly little odds and ends that don’t fit in the rest of my blog :)
-EVERYBODY SMOKES, EVERYWHERE you go :( It doesn’t matter where you go or what you’re doing, there’s someone smoking. Today in Rothenburg I was standing at the edge of this park taking in the view, and I closed my eyes for a minute just to breathe it all in. Instead, I got to breathe in the smoke of the man next to me…Finding iced coffee is impossible, but cigarette vending machines are on every corner. Gas station refrigerators are filled with cigarette cartons instead of soda. …It’s crazy.
To top it off, I catch myself just watching peoples’ mouths as they talk to me. I think it comes with all the smoking, but there are some incredibly yellow teeth in this country. …I think I’ll buy some crest white strips at the store tomorrow!! There’s just something about a white smile :)
-All of the water sparkles! I think the majority of the sodium in my diet now comes from my water.
Plus, it is cheaper to buy beer here than it is to buy the water. Hmm…
-The birds outside our window start chirping at 11 p.m. every night, right as the sun goes down.
-The majority of nutrition labels only list three things: Calories, fat, and sometimes sodium.
Anyways, I’ll start weekend #2 tomorrow! Sorry I’m still so behind, but its off to another busy week of work. I romise I’ll get caught up soon!
Auf Wiedersehen!
Hallo, guten tag! Sorry to everyone that it has taken me this long to write but I am finally safe, sound, and settled here in Germany, and have some time to make sense of everything that has happened. I’ve sat down multiple times before to start blogging but never knew where to start! So, since I’ve waited so long, this might be a pretty hefty post! I’ll try to do at least one a week from here on out so that I can make them a little shorter and keep you all up to date on my travels! I’ll break this one down into chunks so you can skim over what you want :)
The Flight
The flight and everything over here was a breeze. I ran into about 6 other girls in Portland who were also from Camp Adventure, and then we met up with even more counselors in Chicago, so I had lots of people to pass the time and figure out the airports with! From the get-go everyone was excited and friendly, which made it so much easier to relax a bit! …but you’d have to be outgoing to wear the uniform and sing songs about purple penguins in public, right? :)
I think the girl next to me on the flight could tell that I was nervous because I always imagine I’m holding my mum’s hand, close my eyes, and pray during take-off…when she asked me where I was headed I told her Germany and she responded, “Germany…as in France?” …we didn’t have a whole lot to talk about after that! On both legs of my flight I got to sit in emergency exits though, and the people immediately next to me never showed up, so I had lots of room to sprawl… I’m nervous for the way back now because it’s crazy how clausterphobic you can start to feel on those long flights, knowing there is really nowhere to go. I tried to get up and walk a couple of times like everybody told me to, but the stewardess kept coming around not only with food, but with alcohol and cigarettes. Can someone please explain to me why they are selling cigarettes on a 9-hour, non-smoking flight? I have no desire to smoke, but I would think that if I were a smoker, that that would be such a tease!? If you have to wait to smoke anyways, why not wait to buy it? Anyways, I ended up watching 4 movies on the flight from Chicago to Dusseldorf, Germany, proving just how ridiculously long the flight was..I think I beat you for most movies watched in a row now, right Drew?:)
Finally, after 2 long layovers we arrived in Nuremburg and met up with my director and more of the Camp Adventure counselors! We then got driven to where I’ll be living in Illesheim, about an hour southwest of Nuremberg…If you’re looking for it on a map you won’t find it, just find Ansbach :) It’s an incredibly quaint German village, and I kind of just felt like I was driving back to Pullman, passing wheat fields and haystacks all along the way…but the school mascot here is a Cougar..I think it was meant to be!!
Where I’m Living and my new roomies!
I love love LOVE where we’re living! Normally with Camp Adventure the counselors live on base- usually in base hotels, baracks, or apartments. But Storck Baracks, where I’m working, is a very small base so they put us in the Gasthaus Dietz, a guest house and Biergarten just off base. The owner Simon is the sweetest man, and has basically adopted us for the summer…he’s started a tab for us all, so we’ll see how that looks at the end :) There are 10 of us girls living in the 3 bedroom guest house, and Simon, his mom and dad, and his 3 sons all live on the other side… not to mention constant German guests! We are quite cozy over here!
When we pulled up to the house the first night Simon and my “fill-in Rusty” were here to greet us!
It was the same night Germany played Australia in the World Cup so, before the game, the mayor of Illesheim- or as we now call him, “the Bergermeister”- drove us and a bunch of people from the community around in his tractor. They were dressed up, waving flags, playing loud music, and cheering. All of the people in the town would come out and wave to us, while others joined on along the way. It was such a great way to break the ice, get to know everyone, see Illesheim and celebrate the start of the World Cup!!
Some of my roommates and I on the tractor and with the Mayor!
Oh but we are living the life here! Other than it getting a little crowded now that it’s hot, I can not complain one bit! We’re living in the middle of gorgeous German countryside with beautiful weather, are being taken care of by one of the most caring, honest families alive, can go down in our pajamas to get authentic German food and beer downstairs, and can celebrate with inebriated Germans whenever we want…what more can a girl ask for other than a true German experience, right!?
First Post
I’m starting a blog to keep track of all my fun German adventures
