Wednesday, November 30, 2011
The adventure continues! Was fuer ein ausgefuellter Tag!
Okay, after rereading my previous post I do believe that I imposed a negative tone. That was completely unintentional, because Germany is nothing short of amazing so far. The people that I've gotten to know are amazing people, my German has improved beyond words (or so I think, I'm certainly more confident and it's only been a week!) and the places are beautiful.
That, however, is the thing I don't understand. People here are either extremely modest when it comes to their homeland, or it's just that when you live in a certain place, you can't see the beauty anymore. The town that I'm in currently is definitely a quaint, romantic little place. The houses are traditional and cute, like gingerbread houses or cottages in a storybook. Except, the funny thing is, everyone that I have talked to responds to my statement "Germany is beautiful" with a scrunched up face and a "No, really? I think it's ugly." No seriously guys, if you're reading this, Germany is beautiful! Hopefully my photographs can prove that to you! :P
Anyways, a lot has happened since I've last written. I went to Bielefeld (the main city in my area) several times. Bielefeld has a Christmas Markets too, which was conveniently the first place I ate Currywurst (Bratwurst with Ketchup and paprika powder or something?). Currywurst is the best, for those who are wondering. I'd highly recommend just coming to Germany to check it out.
That, however, is the thing I don't understand. People here are either extremely modest when it comes to their homeland, or it's just that when you live in a certain place, you can't see the beauty anymore. The town that I'm in currently is definitely a quaint, romantic little place. The houses are traditional and cute, like gingerbread houses or cottages in a storybook. Except, the funny thing is, everyone that I have talked to responds to my statement "Germany is beautiful" with a scrunched up face and a "No, really? I think it's ugly." No seriously guys, if you're reading this, Germany is beautiful! Hopefully my photographs can prove that to you! :P
Anyways, a lot has happened since I've last written. I went to Bielefeld (the main city in my area) several times. Bielefeld has a Christmas Markets too, which was conveniently the first place I ate Currywurst (Bratwurst with Ketchup and paprika powder or something?). Currywurst is the best, for those who are wondering. I'd highly recommend just coming to Germany to check it out.
Me with my Currywurst (Hey, it's sausages Haerim)
Weihnachtsmarkt
We also visited a fort, which was built on top of a mountain in Bielefeld for defense purposes. It was night, windy and cold when we visited there but it was definitely nice all the same! The view was good though.
That's what the fort looks like, pretty much!
The view of the city from the top! It was foggy, so I couldn't see much but it was nice nevertheless.
German Maccas, for those who are interested!
Anyways, today my host family and I travelled to Bremen, an odd 200km or so from where I'm currently situated. The drive itself was mostly uneventful. The houses, the countryside... everything was beautiful, as per usual. Bremen was also beautiful, as you can probably tell from these photos.
Bremen Christmas Markets
A pretty street.
There were also these hardcore traditional german guys cooking some traditional german food, including delicacies such as Bratwurst and traditional german steak (I believe). The steak would be cooked on a rotunda, so I think it's safe to say that it was smoked. Either way, it tasted fantastic!
The German Food Stand
Another popular attraction of Bremen is the Bremen Stadt Musical. I didn't see it, but it's basically a story of the resilience of these animals. It's supposed to be quite famous, and there's a statue erected in front of the Town Hall, which was crowded by all sorts of tourists.
Us in front of the Bremen Stadt Musical Statue
A statue of some significance
The church with the town hall in the foreground
The first thing on the agenda was a town hall tour! It was thoroughly fascinating. I'm not quite the Human German Dictionary yet so I decided to go with the english speaking group, but that didn't detract from my learning one bit because I learnt so feel about the town's rich cultural diversity and historical significance. Here are a few pictures from inside:
Entry Hallway
The Parliament Room
A beautiful room with the most amazing wooden spiral staircase
After the tour, we walked around a bit in the Weihnachtsmarkt, where quite conveniently we ran into a Gluehwein shop. I'm not saying anything in particular, but my glass went something like this:
To this;
Then we went and ate some food.
Steak Burger!
Pretty street.
Kanguru... I don't know why they spelt it like that. It's like chinese whispers but internationally :P
After the Weihnachtsmarkt, we went to the Bremen Universum, which was fantastic. It's like a gigantic science centre and it's really hands on, which means fun.
Exercise powered tv :P
Nah honestly guys.. I'm that pro
Looking attractive. Must've been all those doughnuts
Looking totes hot after this "mirror surgery"
So yeah, we did interesting things. There was this one room which was complete darkness and we had to navigate our way out of it. It was hilarious! We kept on screaming and running into things. I swear, the people who were monitoring the attraction thought we were crazy. They spared us a half smile after the attraction. I think that means that they thought we were crazy! :P
Anyways. After the museum, we headed for home. The was a Stau (traffic jam) for a while afterwards, but I didn't notice because I was knocked out sleeping! And for that matter, I should really sleep now! Goodnight.
Oh, and as a post script, I must say: Read Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. It's amazing.
Good dreams!
Steph