2011

Twenty-eleven doesn't really ring as nicely as twenty-ten...but if beginnings are any indication of what's to come, this is going to be a good year.
Feeling more inspired than usual, I will warn you that this post is 1) not very exciting (there was no trip to Prague or anywhere "fabulous") and 2) is primarily written for my sake, rather than yours.
An ordinary day, by my standards, filled with a touch of boredom and longing, became very suddenly a reminder that each day here, mundane or thrilling, is actually extraordinary in the scope of my experiences...or those of many, I suppose.
I slept in much too late, watched some meaningless television, cleaned a little around the house, became restless and decided to take a walk. My roommate, Elly, came along. We walked down our little river, deposited our glass in the the proper color receptacles, went to our favorite cafe for the afternoon coffee and cake. There we saw our favorite waitress from across the street, a student of mine, and a few friendly, familiar places. We walked up to the local park, and then Elly returned home to continue studying. As the sky began to explode with the colors of postcards and watercolor paintings, I decided to climb our little berg and watch the sun set over Eislingen. It was here that I had my sudden surge of life and appreciation that I so often lose here in the routine of every day life. If time capsules could hold moments, this would be a precious moment for me. I did not take a picture, because sometimes the photo dulls the reality not only in the splendor of the image, but of the moment. Unfortunately, the only time capsule that I will have is a memory of a very pleasant moment. A sunset. A bubbling up of emotion and fondness for my youth, my health, my wealth of experiences and memories that are happening here. And as I watched the sun set, I mentally composed cheesy prose about the fleeting moments in which we live and our inability to see in the clarity of the moment, blah blah blah. But there is a certain wisdom to these moments. There is a new found clarity after one has one of these amazing moments. And though these moments seem to be rare, I am lucky to constantly discover things here, making these moments abroad much more common than at home.
After this, I will play my flute, and then have some wine with my roommate before joining some friends for a quiet night of movies...and the introduction of NFL to my German friends. If I have to sit through handball (since they all play), they at least pretend to be excited to watch the Packers in the play-offs.
And speaking of this cultural exchange. I want those of you still reading to know (again) that I am not alone, here. Thanks to my amazing roommate and some too-good-to-be-true friends I have made, my boredom has recently reached a lull. How will I ever leave these amazing people behind? Can I be here and home, too? What if I just hide out here for a while longer? I know the answers to some of these questions, but for now I will just keep running full speed ahead until I reach the cliff known as "the end" and make some choices.
I am sending you all my warmest thoughts and wishes. And know that as much as I am feeling the honey-moon effect right now in Eislingen, I think about everyone at home often. Your pictures litter my walls, and just knowing I have so much support at home keeps me from being homesick.

But to reward you for reading so many of my wandering thoughts, I will conclude this blog with photos from last Sunday's hike. I took a bus to Offenberg with my roommate, Peter Ritz, Bruno, Joe, Uli, and a collegue of Bruno's. We hiked three hours through the rain to the top of Rechberg, where they had ordered a goose from the Polish restaurant. Though my meat-eating days are sort of over, I partook in the white-gloved ceremony of drinking and eating at the top of this berg with great company and lots of laughs. I could only take photos for so long, since it was dark when we reached the top, but here's a taste...

Among the horses, I thought that we had already climbed to the top...you will see that I was mistaken.

We would be climbing there. To the top, of course.

Fog and rain, but still rather beautiful.

Uli prepares the traditional Glühwein break drink.

We reached the top just as the last light was leaving. Spectacular sight in person.

A beautifully presented meal.

Liebe Grüße....
xoxo
Sara

New Years in...Prague

And, finally, here it is. Happy New Year, everyone.
Now that I am pretty much caught up, I can return to my usual babbling for miles (or kilometers over here) about everything I am seeing and doing. And I am extremely pleased to say that it's a lot. These past two weeks have made me think of what it might have been like to be one of those kids who could afford to just take a year off and travel around Europe. It's also made me realize that I'm not that far off from that dream... I sometimes complain about the job, but since it's so minimal, I am learning to enjoy my free time.
So as Sarah announced back in November that she would be coming for two weeks, I decided that we ought to do something fabulous for New Years. You know, so we wouldn't be missing out friends and family members not celebrating with us.
So I picked Prague! Praha! Prag! And the result was a spectacular adventure...

Vltava River...beautiful views, bridges, memories...

Our "map" to the hostel. Conveniently right by out hostel.

 We left Thursday morning as dawn was peaking from beneath our permanently grayed sky. And I ought to add, the crack of dawn in my mind is 6 am. I really always find it hard to believe that life happens that early. But it did! and we took a train to Stuttgart where we would meet our Mitfahrgelegenheit. Mitfahrgelegenheit is the ride service I have been using. We traveled with a young couple who were doing nearly the same thing we were: escaping to a new city for the new year. We arranged to travel to and from Prague with them, and I have to say that we were extremely lucky to have found such a great ride. They were friendly, accommodating, full of conversation and questions, and even brought us directly to our hostel (und picked us up there on Sunday). Although I have not yet had a bad experience with this ride service, this was by far the best and most enjoyable. Unfortunately for poor Sarah (as had been the problem for the past few weeks) they did not speak English. For two weeks I had had to try and convince my friends to either speak English, or allow for pauses as I did a horrible summary/translation for Sarah and attempted to relay the humor of a joke or a conversation to her. In the process, though, my friends and I had a great time translating common phrases ("he who sits and a glass house..."), especially the ones that make no sense in a literal translation.
Anyway, to sum up my tangent, we were lucky to have had such nice people for the ride to and from Prague, though (like many Germans) they were either too self-conscious to speak English with native speakers or didn't speak very much English.
We got to Prague at noon on Thursday, and stayed until about 4pm on Sunday. We had three adventuresome nights and four exhausting, exciting days.

Last stop of the tour in Old Town Square.

We took a tour, did some exploring, went to the castle, dined in the restaurants, and climbed to the top of Prague's berg! However...we nearly froze to death in the process. It turns out that I am quite good at choosing the coldest weekend to visit absolutely anywhere I want to go. Thursday after we arrived, we put down our things, took a tour...and then allowed ourselves approximately 2 hours to de-thaw afterwards before deciding it was just too cold to party our first night. (Am I getting old?...sorry readers older than me...even young people have these thoughts)
Anyway, as per usual, I loved the tour. I learned a lot about Prague, and I was reminded of the rich history and different aspects of another amazing city. When asked by friends about Prague, I tell everyone how amazing it was...but a lot of people were clearly in Prague to party. Don't get me wrong. I like a good party, too, but I really learned a lot and had a great time doing it.

Castle...and really...the castle is a small city of amazing buildings...

Friday, though, was already New Years Eve. We got up, put on a hundred and three layers, and headed out for a really busy day/night/morning! We walked over to the vegetarian restaurant we had heard about to make reservations for our posh dinner for two on the way to the Prague Castle. As luck would have it, the restaurant was not yet open, but the friendly store next to our restaurant brought us inside anyway. Not only did they make a reservation for us, but the owner just happened to have a family pass to all of the castle exhibits (worth about 70 Euro, mind you) which she gave to us to use! We walked (about an hour) to the castle (it's up quite a hill, people) and did the usual castle exploring business that happens in these parts. I wish I could say that it blew my mind, but it was probably one of the least exciting things I saw in Prague. The ticket did, however, include the art galleries, there! Which, of course, I loved. I realize this is hard to explain for those of you not living within an hour of several castles...but after a while....a castle is just another castle...and the Disney dream of living there with my knight in shining armor has long faded. The art, however, was spectacular. Mucha Mucha Mucha. sigh... I think one of my favorite things in most fantastic cities is usually the art housed there. I had no idea that there were so many interesting Czech artists!

Old Town Sqaure lit up with fireworks and festivities!

Well, after we saw what we could before the castle closed, we moseyed on home to get ready for a Sylvester celebration! First was dinner at Cafe Radost! And what a fanastic dinner it was! This cafe was all vegetarian or vegan dishes not only with a fantastic variety, but with fantastic flavor as well. Delicious! Plus it's located on top of it's club (also really cool) and the cafe serves until 4am! Finally an alternative to Dennys and McDonalds! Anyway, it was great. We then headed to our Prague Pub Crawl. I know this sounds cheesy, and it was a bit cheesy by design, but! we had admission to the best clubs that night and quite a few drinks for much less (and without the waiting) than we would have paid trying to get tickets and get into clubs that night. As it turns out...Prague is crazy on New Years. Big surprise, right? On the walk over, we passed a temporary hospital/police station near Old Town Square and hundreds! of police officers. There were also already fireworks and performers in the squares...the celebration had begun by 7pm in Prague!
Well, we enjoyed the pub crawl, met some fantastic new people (and also some less than fantastic drunk people), and ended up at the biggest club in Europe just before midnight. We got in, checked out coats, and headed outside (yes, the order was less than logical) to the famous Karl's Bridge to watch the fireworks.

Karlsbridge after midnight: my attempt to capture fireworks on camera

As midnight struck, I was outside on the bridge surrounded by fireworks (in the air and in the crowd), champagne spraying, an uncountable number of languages and cultures, and the feeling of revelry. A perfect way to begin 2011: overwhelmed by the amazing opportunities, people, and places that I am able to experience during my time here.

I could not imagine a more exciting New Years, unless it included my friends and family, of course (sorry for the cheese). My intention was to be somewhere fantastic so that I wouldn't be missing all of you people, and it was most definitely successful.

We returned home circa 6:30am...and spend most of our first day of the new year enjoying our capacities to sleep most of the day away. When we got up eventually, we took a walk around Prague, grabbed some dinner, and spent the night reading, relaxing, and planning out our last day in Prague.

Sarah and I at the top!

Since we were leaving so late on Sunday, we were able to spend the entire day out and about. We did a little shopping ( I browsed and dreamt of all the fantastic things I would buy if I were rich and not exactly the opposite, thank you LU) and then we ventured up the Prague Berg! It was a bit of a walk, but well worth it! Mounted at the top of Prague's southern region was a beautiful church/gallery/other holy-type stuff (there was only information in Czech due to the fact that it's not the most common tourist destination sans castle, and everything) and the most amazing view of the city from all sides! From there we could see all the famous buildings, all of the most famous bridges, and a spectacular view of the city.

By the best views were these stone maps that pointed out all of the biggest sights...really cool.

And a view of the bridges of Prague...again mapped out for us in stone!

We headed home on Sunday satisfied and exhausted...and for me with an even more noticeable itch to continue traveling. I cannot wait to travel eastward again. Prague, though very touristy and international, was extremely different than Germany. Five hours seemed to make a world of difference... the dress was more eastern, the buildings all that grey dream-like glow with rounded turquoise tops, and the language was undecipherable (due to an excess of consonants in every words). And I loved it. A few more pictures for you all...

Karl's Bridge with castle in the background

Kafka statue! Can anyone name the story?

Beautiful Prague sunset...

The dancing houses

New Years stroll down the river...

Since I blew all my money in Prague (hehe) I will be hanging around these parts for a bit. I have been spending a lot of time with Meli, Florian, David, and Steffan...as they have all been extremely welcoming of me into their group of friends. I finally saw the infamous "handball" that they play...and I have to say it wasn't thrilling. To be fair, though, this is coming from a girl who is bored by basketball...and this was like basketball with a soccer goal...and a lot more pushing and shoving. Oh, and the ball it sticky! (Found that out the hard way...) Wednesday night is American Night at my place! David is going to be studying in Maine next year...and everyone will be visiting him (and tentatively me, too...yippie!) so I have decided to force them all to speak English with me once a week. Plus it gives me an excuse to keep practicing my cooking skills (last week was Mexican food...the enchilladas and Spanish rice were to die for!) and have people over.

In other news...I have begun thinking about my future. First choice: stay here and travel around Europe for a few more years (problem: funding). Second choice: grad school. Yes, that's right. I have just received some GRE prep material and I am going to start studying in case I don't find a way to stay here. Still thinking about speech pathology...and starting to snoop around and programs, etc. Mind you, though, I am doing this very slowly! Don't expect me to come back all motivated. I will surely come back all mopey and sad (at least for a while) and not ready to immediately begin another round of schooling. But, just so you don't think it's all fun and games (just almost), I am at least considering the fact that I will eventually need to return home. Sigh...

Thanks for all the holiday thoughts, wishes and gifts! I am thinking of you all.

Much love, everyone.

Cuckoo for Triberg!

But wait, there's more!
So after a lovely Christmas in Eislingen with relatives and great friends...we took a train into the Black Forest to see my roommates hometown: Triberg!

Gospel Choir concert going on for Christmas!

I have to tell you that every stereotypical thought I had long ago about small towns in Germany were realized here. Beautiful forests, towns nestled between mountain-ish hills, and even Cuckoo clocks and dirndls. In fact, Triberg houses the biggest Cuckoo clock in the world, and claims its fame from being home to these magnificent woodwork clocks. And! For just hundreds of Euros! You could be the proud owner!

Small festival!

 We got up early Monday morning...and took a train to Triberg. And by one train, I mean 4....and by four trains...I mean little baby trains with only two cars! I never realized the trains that small were carrying people, too. Well they are; they are just traveling to unknown places deep in the black forest. I wish I had pictures from the train ride there, because the views were phenomenal. I forgot how beautiful the landscape is there. You think Harry Potter was pretty...Harry potter was not in the Black Forest.

Wouldn't be the same without Glühwein...or Glühwie!

So we got in, took a trip down to the waterfalls where we were surprised to see an elaborate celebration going on. There was an American gospel choir singing inside. Then we headed toward the famous waterfalls and stopped at the small festival to view the thousands of lights on the hills. It was a villiage made of lights...just like home!
After we looked at the lights and enjoyed the Glühwein, we walked up the loooooong path toward the waterfall. There was a fireshow going on, though! We watched from  distance behind hundreds of toursists as an apparently famous fire-breather did a show literally on top of the waterfalls. I believe he was from some European talent show...but he was breathing fire, so its all the same to me.
We walked around end enjoyed the show and the sights until we could no longer feel our extremities and then went back to Ellys for a home cooked meal. Ellys mom likes to cook. A lot. A lof of food. She made us a mixture of German and Bosnian food....and we ate... yes, a lot.
That night we went to Ellys friend Katas house. Between all of the people there, we had two Americans, one German, one Russian, one French(wo)man, one Spaniard, several Bosnians, and a few others from Croatia. We could speak 8 languages, and some of us were unable to actually speak with one another...but it made for a great night. Multi-kulti/ethnic Deutschland is a reality in my life.
We had a great time at Ellys home, and I loved spending time with her and her family. She has a twin brother, too, Elvir (yes, for those of you paying attention, thats Elvira and Elvir...twins).
We left for home late the next day in order to rest up before our big trip to Prague. All in all...another great trip.

You might not see the firebreather...but the resulting fire is there.

The waterfalls!

Five young women, five different passports!

Elly and Elvir!

Ridiculously large cuckoo clock. We did not wait the 40 minutes to see it go off...

Harry Potter-like steam engine that pulled up as we waited for out first train home.

Its Christmas time in Eislingen!

Well, it was...

So as you all know, I spent Christmas here in Eislingen/the area. I have to say that I missed everyone terribly, but I am really glad I chose to stay here. I got to experience Christmas in another country, and it was truly wonderful!
I baked Christmas cookies with my pseudo-family (Maya and Silke pictured). I sang in a Christmas concert in Ebersbach. I watched my school give their Christmas show and then had a traditional schwäbisch meal with all the teachers. And then break began!!!

Esslingen Medieval section!

Sarah Dunlap my co-worker and friend from summercamp came to visit me here in Eislingen and share Christmas, and it was something to remember. The day I picked her up from the airport, I made a stop in Esslingen, where there is a very famous Christmas market. It featured a medieval section lit only by candles with people in costume selling medieval objects and featuring games like archery and such. A really cool sight to see...and very romantic. Before you get all excited, though, I went alone. hehe
Sarah made it here without any hitches luckily, even though the weather in these parts has been crazy--snow and cold for ages.

Soaked, but enjoying it nonetheless. Meli, Benjamin, me.

Left-right: Florian, Benjamin, Sarah, Sara, David

Before we knew it, the big day was here: Christmas Eve. Yes, they celebrate the night before we do, here...which I think is pretty great. So I did what everyone else does that morning...went out drinking with my friends! I met up with some friends of mine for a Glühwein...which turned into 2...3...4...well, enough not to notice the freezing cold and the snow falling everywhere. I have made fantastic friends, here, and was thrilled to see some of them on Heiligeabend and cheers to health and the coming year and all that thankful gushy stuff.

We actually enjoyed ourselves waiting for that train! (with Florian and Sarah).

But I will say, this whole drink before you go and see your family concept was on that I approve of. Our evening was even extended, though, after Glühwein, some Jack and Cokes, and some friendly singing at Rock Cafe, the bars closed up and told us to join our families. I went with Florian and Sarah to the train station...where we waited for 1,5 hours for our 3 minute train ride. Every few minutes, we were told it would be a few minutes later. Thank goodness we were in good spirits, or there would have been some frozen, unhappy people at that train station. In any case, we eventually got home, and were nearly immediately picked up by Dave and Kris for a Christmas meal with my relatives here in the Uhingen area...

And Christmas dinner was a feast, just as it usually is at home (though it was the night before). We all opened up Christmas pajamas, then, and watched, at my request, Christmas Vacation...because one thing I missed here was the obnoxious displays of Christmas lights and ridiculously high energy bills that Americans like to put out during this holiday season. I actually miss this, honestly! I am looking at our house, Dave ;) haha

We then settled down for a long winter's nap...and before we knew it (although there arose no such clatter) Christmas was upon us! I was spoiled with an unnecessary amount of presents, even though I wasn't home...but almost best of all...we awoke to one of the most striking white Christmases I have ever seen!
There is still a bit of magic Christmas morning when everyone wakes up and the world has been blanketed in fluffy whiteness. Santa may no longer hold my attention, but cover the world in snow, and that child-like joy that used to accompany Christmas seems to find its way home.
After a long day of presents, movies, leftovers, and just plain laziness, Sarah and I hurried home to host some friends. Meli, Florian, David and Steffan came over from some Christmas drinks. At the request of my curious German comrades, I made my best attempt at bloody marys. They were not the best I have ever had...but I thought they were good. My friends, on the other hand, did not think they were good. Too spicy...surprise, surprise! But we played trivial pursuit...which though already a challenging game in English...basically felt like I really hard test I was failing in German. I gave it my best, though.
All in all, it was a Christmas to remember. You all were missed dearly. But I am surrounded by amazing people in an amazing place, and everyone took care of me, here.

Berlin

So I think you all should know that I have fallen in love.
With Berlin.
Too bad I am stationed in Eislingen...but I got to take a trip one month ago to this lovely city. Here are some pictures to feed your hungry curiosities...
I got a ride to Berlin with Mitfahrgelegenheit...but due to a horrible snow storm...I sat in a 5 hour traffic jam. You might think to yourself that this is an exaggeration, since there is no way Sara actually sat in the same place for five hours. Well, you would be wrong. It took me 13 hours to get to Berlin. By car. I opted to take a train home after weather looked to be similar to the way there. I was not taking the chance of having an actual mental break-down in a car full of strangers. I had an amazing time. Almost lost my limbs due to extreme cold (mind you, this is the first week in December!), but somehow still managed to love every moment of my time in Berlin.
Enjoy the photos...

I met my fellow Lawrentian, Margaret, in this great city...excited to share all the city has to offer with a familiar face.

Christmas market at Alexanderplatz... One of many Christmas markets in Berlin!

My fellow Americans...attempt to endure the cold by indulging in some Glühwein.

Just want you all to see how cold it was...yes, that is floating ice in a river. Yowza!

Tacheles! My friend, Eddie, showed me this place two years ago and I returned to see this art house still thriving...

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. A view from the inside...I found this more interesting after having discussed this in quite detail back at Lawrence.

More Christmas Markets...

The Babelplatz memorial to all the books burned by students here decades before...empty bookcases memorializing the works destroyed...

Looking toward my favorite part of Berlin...the east center Alexanderplatz...

Just beautiful...

So...my trip was cold but lovely. An amazing city filled with a rich and complicated history...worth many more visits...I will be back in March, and I cannot wait :)