September 19
I slept in quite a bit even though I had taken a long nap the day before. I made some quesadillas for lunch/breakfast. We went to a different Discothek for a little while.
September 20
Nothing
September 21
Nothing
September 22
Tom was in town today, I think he was just on the way to pick up his wife at some airport. There was another open air concert with a couple of guys playing guitar. We watched them for a little while and then went to the farewell party at the Goethe Institut. We had a good time partying and dancing some more.
September 23
Today was our last day of classes here. Most of the class showed up late and with hangovers. During the first half of the day we went over the different prepositions that go with certain verbs IE 'I am waiting for some one' is the English way, but in German you say ' I am waiting on someone'. After our break, we signed our class photos and got email addresses. We went to the town square to get some coffee at a cafe. We sat and talked for the rest of the class time. The one person who didn't show up for class was at the market buying fruit, so he hung out with us at the cafe.
September 24
Today we got up at 630 and ate our last breakfast in Schwaebisch Hall. We had to get to the train station by 730. It was a long train ride going through Nuremburg and Munich, which were both a ways out of the way. We got to Salzburg and Tom's directions were awful. We asked at a different hotel and they told us the wrong place. When we go to the wrong place we asked a woman and she knew right where it was and took us most of the way there.
September 25
Today we slept in late because we had gotten up early the last few days. We had breakfast at the hotel and packed up all of our stuff. Jesse, Spencer, Jake, Kay, Paul, Eric, and I went to the castle hohensalz. There was a great view from the top.
We got back to the hotel in time to buy some energy drinks at the nearest Spar and get our stuff on the bus. I was about one minute and thirty seconds late and Tom said that he almost left without me. I guess we really have to be on time down to the minute.
The drive to Mittersill was really nice, and it really reminded me of Switzerland. Most of the time we were driving through a valley with a river running through it. The bus brought us almost all the way to the top of the hill where the Schloss is. (Schloss means castle or palace in German) We got into our rooms and ate our first dinner at the Schloss. Dinner was good, we had spaghetti and some garlic soup which some people though might have been alfredo sauce but we weren't sure. That night we got a short introduction to the history of the schloss, and we shared stories about our adventures in Germany.
Jesse got the key to the sound room in our little auditorium/classroom and we worked with it for a couple hours, getting sound and video from a laptop to come up on the projector. We also figured out how to get the light system working so we can do some disco dancing up there.
September 26
Breakfast was mostly the same as our breakfasts in Schwaebisch Hall, with the addition of hard boiled eggs. We took the train to Zell am See today. I was here in spring of 2005 for a German class trip. I was also in Salzburg on that same trip. We went skiing there in 2005 and I didn't get to see much of the city. Today we walked about a third of the way around the lake before we had too turn back. Some groups made it all the way around the lake but we took our time eating and walking. Jesse, Jake, Mark, Dan Chang, and I all jumped in the lake. It was cold, but not so cold that you couldn't get used to it.
We went shopping briefly after getting back to Mittersill, picking up some snacks and some clothes. Today was our first chance to hike up the hill to the Schloss. When you look at the pictures I've put up then you can see that its a bit of a hike from the town to the schloss. I only took one short break on my way up, so I was winded and sweating by the time we got to the top.
Jesse set up the Bethel homecoming game on the projector, but it was really choppy. We're really hoping we can get tomorrow's Vikings game to work better. It's just a matter of how fast the internet is.
September 27
This morning we had a little church service where Dan Chang played some guitar and Spencer played piano. Then they hooked up a little podcast for us to listen to. A couple on vacation joined us for our little service. There is only one real church in town and its a catholic one. There is also a house church but it usually only could handle 10-15 people and our group would just be too big. I'm glad we didn't go all the way down the hill for church.
We took a bus from the train station over a few towns to the highest waterfall in Europe. I think that means that it's the highest in elevation, not the highest fall. It was a good three hour hike, and my group only went two thirds of the way up. Some others went all the way to the top but they really had to hurry. We ate our sack lunches on the rocks by the river and it was a really nice way to spend the day. Tom came up after us and also go the the two thirds point. He's in pretty good shape.
This time coming up the hill I took the easier path, which is not as steep but more slippery. I prefer the steep one. Tom slipped and fell down part of the “easy” path yesterday, its a good thing he didn't get hurt. Some trees kept him from falling all the way down.
The vikings game was put up on the projector, but it was in Danish so it wasn't the best. We had a fair bit of homework to do tonight, mostly reading.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
A whole week in one post.
September 12
This was our big day in Switzerland. Jake and Spencer went out skydiving and I think Anika and Laura did too. The rest of us took a bus to a train that brought us up into the mountains a bit and then we hiked. I took a ton of pictures. For most of the way, the hike was a wide paved path through a valley between two mountains. Basejumpers would jump off of one of the cliffs and you could always hear their parachutes opening up.
After a couple hours, the group split into two and half of us went back. I went on ahead for another couple hours. I'm grad I did because then I got to get up real close to the second waterfall. The hiking started to get a little tougher after the waterfall. The path was now dirt and steadily uphill. We still had a long ways to walk back so 4 of us turned back. Only Jesse, Mickey, and Paul kept going. They eventually got all the way up to a glacier.
I think it was on their way back from the glacier that they crossed over one of the little bridges over the river. Paul was still on the bridge when they all heard a cracking noise. Part of the glacier must have cracked and let a bunch of water out because it flooded the river and swept away the bridge that they had just crossed.
It was about an hour and a half walk down the mountain back to the train station. We were pretty hungry but the prices in Switzerland are horrible. I eventually paid for two cheeseburgers at McDonalds for about $5.
When we finally got back to our hotel, Jake and Spencer were back from their skydiving. We hung out at the hotel for a while until Mickey, Jesse, and Paul got back. They really were starving because it was about 10 o'clock by then. We found them some food and went to sleep.
September 13
We were all exhausted after yesterday's hike so we slept in some and got ready for our 6.5 hour train ride back to Schwaebisch Hall. We picked up some Ok brand energy drinks for the ride. Our route back was really confusing and we had to take the S bahn at one point. That was a really bumpy and noisy ride.
We got back to Schwaebisch Hall just in time for the 7:00 bells. We had a little time to do some homework and recuperate and then get ready for our last full week of classes.
September 14
Second to last Monday of German class.
September 15
Tuesday... nothing.
September 16
Not too much happened today, it was standard weekday. Me and Jesse watched two episodes of the Colony together.
September 17
My class had another test today. I think it could have gone better, but we're not graded by bethel according to these tests. I don't know how we're going to be graded though, or if its taken pass/fail. Since it's Thursday, we went to the grocery store for lunch and they had Hawaiian pizza, which was the best one yet. This is probably the last day for pizza at the grocery store because we will be leaving early next Thursday.
September 18
The weekend is finally here. I was so tired that I took a 3 hour nap right after class. I made some brats for dinner and relaxed in my room until about 8:00 where we went to check out the party at the Goethe Pub. We played a little foosball and some cards, but then everybody was leaving so we left too. We walked around for a little while and considered going out to some discothek, but we didn't know where it was or where to find a taxi. Kelsey and Anna went back to go to sleep.
We ran into some Brazilian guys that we knew from the Goethe Institut who were going to the discothek outside of town. They convinced us to go and we jumped in some taxis and went. We had a great time dancing at the disco until about 3 in the morning and then we left. One of the girls we came with was outside and still very drunk so we took her back to her place. She kept on talking to us but she switched between German, Spanish, and English so none of us could understand more than 2/3 of what she was saying. I think she tried to use a fake ID to get into the club and they called the police. Anyway, she was real thankful that we helped her get back to her place.
This was our big day in Switzerland. Jake and Spencer went out skydiving and I think Anika and Laura did too. The rest of us took a bus to a train that brought us up into the mountains a bit and then we hiked. I took a ton of pictures. For most of the way, the hike was a wide paved path through a valley between two mountains. Basejumpers would jump off of one of the cliffs and you could always hear their parachutes opening up.
After a couple hours, the group split into two and half of us went back. I went on ahead for another couple hours. I'm grad I did because then I got to get up real close to the second waterfall. The hiking started to get a little tougher after the waterfall. The path was now dirt and steadily uphill. We still had a long ways to walk back so 4 of us turned back. Only Jesse, Mickey, and Paul kept going. They eventually got all the way up to a glacier.
I think it was on their way back from the glacier that they crossed over one of the little bridges over the river. Paul was still on the bridge when they all heard a cracking noise. Part of the glacier must have cracked and let a bunch of water out because it flooded the river and swept away the bridge that they had just crossed.
It was about an hour and a half walk down the mountain back to the train station. We were pretty hungry but the prices in Switzerland are horrible. I eventually paid for two cheeseburgers at McDonalds for about $5.
When we finally got back to our hotel, Jake and Spencer were back from their skydiving. We hung out at the hotel for a while until Mickey, Jesse, and Paul got back. They really were starving because it was about 10 o'clock by then. We found them some food and went to sleep.
September 13
We were all exhausted after yesterday's hike so we slept in some and got ready for our 6.5 hour train ride back to Schwaebisch Hall. We picked up some Ok brand energy drinks for the ride. Our route back was really confusing and we had to take the S bahn at one point. That was a really bumpy and noisy ride.
We got back to Schwaebisch Hall just in time for the 7:00 bells. We had a little time to do some homework and recuperate and then get ready for our last full week of classes.
September 14
Second to last Monday of German class.
September 15
Tuesday... nothing.
September 16
Not too much happened today, it was standard weekday. Me and Jesse watched two episodes of the Colony together.
September 17
My class had another test today. I think it could have gone better, but we're not graded by bethel according to these tests. I don't know how we're going to be graded though, or if its taken pass/fail. Since it's Thursday, we went to the grocery store for lunch and they had Hawaiian pizza, which was the best one yet. This is probably the last day for pizza at the grocery store because we will be leaving early next Thursday.
September 18
The weekend is finally here. I was so tired that I took a 3 hour nap right after class. I made some brats for dinner and relaxed in my room until about 8:00 where we went to check out the party at the Goethe Pub. We played a little foosball and some cards, but then everybody was leaving so we left too. We walked around for a little while and considered going out to some discothek, but we didn't know where it was or where to find a taxi. Kelsey and Anna went back to go to sleep.
We ran into some Brazilian guys that we knew from the Goethe Institut who were going to the discothek outside of town. They convinced us to go and we jumped in some taxis and went. We had a great time dancing at the disco until about 3 in the morning and then we left. One of the girls we came with was outside and still very drunk so we took her back to her place. She kept on talking to us but she switched between German, Spanish, and English so none of us could understand more than 2/3 of what she was saying. I think she tried to use a fake ID to get into the club and they called the police. Anyway, she was real thankful that we helped her get back to her place.
Switzerland
September 11
Today we had our test and I think it went well. I don't think that the tests actually count for anything as far as Bethel is concerned. Right after class we all rushed back to our rooms and grab our stuff for the weekend. I kept on forgetting things and had to run back twice, but we made it to the train station on time. We bought tickets to Stuttgart so that we could validate our EUrail passes. Tom said that the people in the small towns don't always know what they're doing and the pass costs 400
Euros so we didn't want that to happen.
Once we got to Stuttgart, we validated the passes and got on the train to Interlaken. It was a long ride, about 6 hours from Stuttgart. We got to Interlaken late and apparently the people in our group who booked our hotel didn't look up how to get there. We wandered around a bit asking people where the hotel was. About half the people we asked didn't know what it was. We eventually went to Hooters to get directions. It was one of the few places still open. They told us it was somewhere on the other side of the park, very helpful. Finally we stopped at another hotel and they gave us a map and directions.
Once we got our stuff in the hotel we were all really hungry so we went out to look for some food. Of course the only place was the Hooters we asked for directions at. That was my first time eating there, and I got a burger and it was good. The prices were a little insane. I think it was 17 swiss francs which is about $17. And since I had to pay in Euros, it was more expensive because they charge extra for the currency exchange.
By the time we got back to the hotel the group from Freiburg was there. Their train ride was 3 hours shorter than ours. It was fun to see Jake and Spencer again (not that I don't like the rest of the Freiburg group).
Today we had our test and I think it went well. I don't think that the tests actually count for anything as far as Bethel is concerned. Right after class we all rushed back to our rooms and grab our stuff for the weekend. I kept on forgetting things and had to run back twice, but we made it to the train station on time. We bought tickets to Stuttgart so that we could validate our EUrail passes. Tom said that the people in the small towns don't always know what they're doing and the pass costs 400
Euros so we didn't want that to happen.
Once we got to Stuttgart, we validated the passes and got on the train to Interlaken. It was a long ride, about 6 hours from Stuttgart. We got to Interlaken late and apparently the people in our group who booked our hotel didn't look up how to get there. We wandered around a bit asking people where the hotel was. About half the people we asked didn't know what it was. We eventually went to Hooters to get directions. It was one of the few places still open. They told us it was somewhere on the other side of the park, very helpful. Finally we stopped at another hotel and they gave us a map and directions.
Once we got our stuff in the hotel we were all really hungry so we went out to look for some food. Of course the only place was the Hooters we asked for directions at. That was my first time eating there, and I got a burger and it was good. The prices were a little insane. I think it was 17 swiss francs which is about $17. And since I had to pay in Euros, it was more expensive because they charge extra for the currency exchange.
By the time we got back to the hotel the group from Freiburg was there. Their train ride was 3 hours shorter than ours. It was fun to see Jake and Spencer again (not that I don't like the rest of the Freiburg group).
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Donnerstag ist Pizzatag
September 10
I got half of my homework done at breakfast today and rushed through the rest of it during the first part of class. Tom met up with us on our break and gave us some more money. He gave us 90 Euros for meals and housing on one weekend of our free travel. I was running low and I didn't want to go to the bank, so that worked out well. He told us to check out the art museum in town and that it was really interesting.
During the second half of our class the teacher took us on a field trip... to the art museum that Tom was talking about. There was an exhibit there by David Hockney who does paintings with many canvases put together. The exhibit was all trees, and he did some 4 season paintings of the same trees. There were only 30 or so paintings but they were really big, one of the biggest ones was about 25 feet across and 20 feet high. We were supposed to split up into groups and describe a painting in German. I wound up in a group with Angela from Spain and Hisham from Tripoli, Libya. Once we had done that we had to read the description to the whole class when they came and looked at our painting. The field trip was a lot more fun than sitting in class all day and I wish we would do some more things like that.
Since it's Thursday, we went to the supermarket because they have really good pizza but only on Thursdays. I think they use only Parmesan cheese on the pizza, so it tastes different but really good.
After the hike back up the hill to our little apartments I was tired so I read for a little bit and took a nap. After my nap I got caught up on some homework and blogging.
I got half of my homework done at breakfast today and rushed through the rest of it during the first part of class. Tom met up with us on our break and gave us some more money. He gave us 90 Euros for meals and housing on one weekend of our free travel. I was running low and I didn't want to go to the bank, so that worked out well. He told us to check out the art museum in town and that it was really interesting.
During the second half of our class the teacher took us on a field trip... to the art museum that Tom was talking about. There was an exhibit there by David Hockney who does paintings with many canvases put together. The exhibit was all trees, and he did some 4 season paintings of the same trees. There were only 30 or so paintings but they were really big, one of the biggest ones was about 25 feet across and 20 feet high. We were supposed to split up into groups and describe a painting in German. I wound up in a group with Angela from Spain and Hisham from Tripoli, Libya. Once we had done that we had to read the description to the whole class when they came and looked at our painting. The field trip was a lot more fun than sitting in class all day and I wish we would do some more things like that.
Since it's Thursday, we went to the supermarket because they have really good pizza but only on Thursdays. I think they use only Parmesan cheese on the pizza, so it tastes different but really good.
After the hike back up the hill to our little apartments I was tired so I read for a little bit and took a nap. After my nap I got caught up on some homework and blogging.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
New Book
September 9
Today I found out that I have another test on Friday. Some of the people in other groups are finally having their first tests. We played a little 500 with a football during our break. Nobody outside of our group joined in, I guess they were too busy smoking.
After class I hung out in my room a little bit and then listened to my Ipod in the park. We played some catch, and the ball attracted a few dogs for us to pet. Everybody loves their dogs here. They are allowed in any store.
I started reading a new book called “A Game of Thrones”. A review of the book said that you would probably call in sick the next day so that you would have more time to read it. It made me skip my homework, so I guess it was pretty close. The review also said that the author has no qualms about killing off the main characters, which is refreshing sometimes because sometimes the main characters are just too invincible and unbelievable.
Today I found out that I have another test on Friday. Some of the people in other groups are finally having their first tests. We played a little 500 with a football during our break. Nobody outside of our group joined in, I guess they were too busy smoking.
After class I hung out in my room a little bit and then listened to my Ipod in the park. We played some catch, and the ball attracted a few dogs for us to pet. Everybody loves their dogs here. They are allowed in any store.
I started reading a new book called “A Game of Thrones”. A review of the book said that you would probably call in sick the next day so that you would have more time to read it. It made me skip my homework, so I guess it was pretty close. The review also said that the author has no qualms about killing off the main characters, which is refreshing sometimes because sometimes the main characters are just too invincible and unbelievable.
Piano in the park
September 8
After classes, we rushed over to the train station to pick up Tom. Everybody made little signs welcoming him to Swaebish Hall. He wasn't expecting such a greeting and was surprised to see us. We walked him back to his hotel, which is a restaurant and hotel right on the central square of the town. Its a really nice place, but being right next to the town bells with be annoying I bet.
I don't think I mentioned yet how annoying the bells are. I know there's one at 600 or 630 in the morning, but I rarely hear that one. I keep my window shut at night so that one doesn't wake me up. There are some other bells at almost random times through the day. They're not even always on the hour. The 700 pm bells are the worst though, they ring for a full five minutes every day.
We ate dinner at Tom's hotel and I had something like hash browns with slices of tomatoes and cheese on top. It wasn't bad, I even ate the tomatoes. Two of the girls ordered an Italian dish that sounded like a steak salad. It turned out to be some paper-thin pieces of raw tasting meat with a few leaves of lettuce on top. Neither of them liked it, so everybody else gave it a try; it was awful.
We took a walk down to the park and found something unexpected. There was a big crowd of people there and a guy playing the piano (with speakers and everything set up). When we got there he was playing Elton John songs, and he was doing a really good job of it. He was also singing in English so that was neat too. It was just a nice evening in the park and we stayed there for a couple hours until he was done playing around 10. He played a little Billy Joel, Robbie Williams, Phil Collins and Stevie Wonder. I think the guy's name was Donavon Aston. I really had a good time there sitting on a little hill and listening.
We went to the town square and all the buildings are lit up really nicely so we took a few pictures and just talked there. After a while it was time to do my homework and get to bed.
After classes, we rushed over to the train station to pick up Tom. Everybody made little signs welcoming him to Swaebish Hall. He wasn't expecting such a greeting and was surprised to see us. We walked him back to his hotel, which is a restaurant and hotel right on the central square of the town. Its a really nice place, but being right next to the town bells with be annoying I bet.
I don't think I mentioned yet how annoying the bells are. I know there's one at 600 or 630 in the morning, but I rarely hear that one. I keep my window shut at night so that one doesn't wake me up. There are some other bells at almost random times through the day. They're not even always on the hour. The 700 pm bells are the worst though, they ring for a full five minutes every day.
We ate dinner at Tom's hotel and I had something like hash browns with slices of tomatoes and cheese on top. It wasn't bad, I even ate the tomatoes. Two of the girls ordered an Italian dish that sounded like a steak salad. It turned out to be some paper-thin pieces of raw tasting meat with a few leaves of lettuce on top. Neither of them liked it, so everybody else gave it a try; it was awful.
We took a walk down to the park and found something unexpected. There was a big crowd of people there and a guy playing the piano (with speakers and everything set up). When we got there he was playing Elton John songs, and he was doing a really good job of it. He was also singing in English so that was neat too. It was just a nice evening in the park and we stayed there for a couple hours until he was done playing around 10. He played a little Billy Joel, Robbie Williams, Phil Collins and Stevie Wonder. I think the guy's name was Donavon Aston. I really had a good time there sitting on a little hill and listening.
We went to the town square and all the buildings are lit up really nicely so we took a few pictures and just talked there. After a while it was time to do my homework and get to bed.
Another day of classes
September 7
We made it to the store today after class. I picked up quite a bit of food. I got 4 bottles of juice/pop. I got some frozen curry rice which was okay, but not fantastic.
Me and Jesse watched a couple episodes of The Colony, which is a really great show on the discovery channel.
Tom Johnson is coming to our town tomorrow. He's been making the rounds and was coming from Freiberg.
We made it to the store today after class. I picked up quite a bit of food. I got 4 bottles of juice/pop. I got some frozen curry rice which was okay, but not fantastic.
Me and Jesse watched a couple episodes of The Colony, which is a really great show on the discovery channel.
Tom Johnson is coming to our town tomorrow. He's been making the rounds and was coming from Freiberg.
Lazy Sunday
September 6
I slept in a bit on Sunday and then watched John Piper's broadcast on the internet. We tried to go to the store, but it was closed because it was Sunday. We didn't have much food left to eat so we stopped at a Kebab stand that we hadn't been to before. It wasn't great, they really loaded on the red cabbage.
I had a little homework to do and I did a video chat with the family on Skype. Grandma (Waller) thought that was the coolest thing ever. Then I played a couple of games with Andy online and then went to bed.
I slept in a bit on Sunday and then watched John Piper's broadcast on the internet. We tried to go to the store, but it was closed because it was Sunday. We didn't have much food left to eat so we stopped at a Kebab stand that we hadn't been to before. It wasn't great, they really loaded on the red cabbage.
I had a little homework to do and I did a video chat with the family on Skype. Grandma (Waller) thought that was the coolest thing ever. Then I played a couple of games with Andy online and then went to bed.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Adventure Day
September 5
Today is our first Saturday in Swaebish Hall. Mickey cooked some scrambled eggs for everyone this morning. We decided to go on a hike/walk together this afternoon. I suspected it was going to be a long one because most of our group is the “get up early and run around” type. And so our 4 hour hike began at noon. We didn't have a specific direction we wanted to go, but we saw the nearby castle up on a hill so we set that as our target.
The castle was a cool little place. We got around to the inside but they were doing some repairs to the street. We couldn't find another good way up so we climbed up on the the inner part of the wall, which is a walkway all the way around the castle. We took a break next to the big church in the center of the place. It wasn't open so we couldn't go in.
From the top of the walls we could see hang gliders off in the distance by some kind of tower. It was a long ways away, but we decided to try to walk up there and see what we could see. We had to walk to the next town, which is where we had to change trains on the way to Swaebish Hall. It was called Hessental.
From Hessental we caught a brief look at the tower up on the hill and just started walking in that direction. We saw two little hedgehogs on the side of the road and played with them a little bit.
The road we took split off into a nice looking trail and the main road. The trail was going in the right direction so we took it. It turned out to be very muddy and steep. After a horribly tiring climb we finally got to the top and rested. We still had a little more road to cover, but then we got to the top of the hill.
I wish I had some pictures to show, but I don't. Everybody else took pictures and I'll get them later. The top of the hill was a nice grassy field with a great view. The tower that we saw earlier was part of an old church with only the walls still standing. The tower was open though and we got to go in and go all the way to the top.
We played around at this little park at the top of the hill and took some pictures and then tried to find a better way back to Swaebish Hall. We took a more direct route through a field. It was a steep trip down but on the way there was an apple tree. I was the only one in the group who hadn't brought an apple with me so I picked one from the tree. Most of the apples were bad, but I found one and it was fantastic.
The trip back to our rooms was long and my feet had really started to hurt. I was so tired when we got back around 400 that I took a shower and then a 3 hour nap. When I woke up me and Jesse made some spaghetti for dinner. It was probably around 9 by the time we were done. One woman came into the kitchen to make some food. I think it's Ramadan, because she was there around that time the day before.
I hung out in the kitchen with Jesse, Mickey, and Amy for an hour or two and then went to sleep.
Today is our first Saturday in Swaebish Hall. Mickey cooked some scrambled eggs for everyone this morning. We decided to go on a hike/walk together this afternoon. I suspected it was going to be a long one because most of our group is the “get up early and run around” type. And so our 4 hour hike began at noon. We didn't have a specific direction we wanted to go, but we saw the nearby castle up on a hill so we set that as our target.
The castle was a cool little place. We got around to the inside but they were doing some repairs to the street. We couldn't find another good way up so we climbed up on the the inner part of the wall, which is a walkway all the way around the castle. We took a break next to the big church in the center of the place. It wasn't open so we couldn't go in.
From the top of the walls we could see hang gliders off in the distance by some kind of tower. It was a long ways away, but we decided to try to walk up there and see what we could see. We had to walk to the next town, which is where we had to change trains on the way to Swaebish Hall. It was called Hessental.
From Hessental we caught a brief look at the tower up on the hill and just started walking in that direction. We saw two little hedgehogs on the side of the road and played with them a little bit.
The road we took split off into a nice looking trail and the main road. The trail was going in the right direction so we took it. It turned out to be very muddy and steep. After a horribly tiring climb we finally got to the top and rested. We still had a little more road to cover, but then we got to the top of the hill.
I wish I had some pictures to show, but I don't. Everybody else took pictures and I'll get them later. The top of the hill was a nice grassy field with a great view. The tower that we saw earlier was part of an old church with only the walls still standing. The tower was open though and we got to go in and go all the way to the top.
We played around at this little park at the top of the hill and took some pictures and then tried to find a better way back to Swaebish Hall. We took a more direct route through a field. It was a steep trip down but on the way there was an apple tree. I was the only one in the group who hadn't brought an apple with me so I picked one from the tree. Most of the apples were bad, but I found one and it was fantastic.
The trip back to our rooms was long and my feet had really started to hurt. I was so tired when we got back around 400 that I took a shower and then a 3 hour nap. When I woke up me and Jesse made some spaghetti for dinner. It was probably around 9 by the time we were done. One woman came into the kitchen to make some food. I think it's Ramadan, because she was there around that time the day before.
I hung out in the kitchen with Jesse, Mickey, and Amy for an hour or two and then went to sleep.
Weekend
September 4
We had a test today in German class. I think it went well, but I've been making a lot of little mistakes on the homework. Its nice that we get a weekend. Classes really aren't too bad but it will be nice to have some more time off. We didn't do anything too exciting besides watch the whole second season of the IT Crowd.
We had a test today in German class. I think it went well, but I've been making a lot of little mistakes on the homework. Its nice that we get a weekend. Classes really aren't too bad but it will be nice to have some more time off. We didn't do anything too exciting besides watch the whole second season of the IT Crowd.
Untitled
September 2
Now that we've settled into our routine at the Goethe institute, there isn't so much to write about. I'm not traveling all over Germany and seeing all the sights, or really doing anything interesting. The daily routine is that I wake up at 720 and go to breakfast at the institute. I usually meet up with the other Bethel students there. Then we have classes until 1245 and I usually go to the supermarket with Jesse to pick up some food for lunch and dinner. After the decently tiring and hot walk up the hill to our rooms I'm usually a little tired and take a nap. On the weekends there might be some more exciting things happening, but for now not so much.
Now that we've settled into our routine at the Goethe institute, there isn't so much to write about. I'm not traveling all over Germany and seeing all the sights, or really doing anything interesting. The daily routine is that I wake up at 720 and go to breakfast at the institute. I usually meet up with the other Bethel students there. Then we have classes until 1245 and I usually go to the supermarket with Jesse to pick up some food for lunch and dinner. After the decently tiring and hot walk up the hill to our rooms I'm usually a little tired and take a nap. On the weekends there might be some more exciting things happening, but for now not so much.
A new month
September 1
I had the great pleasure of getting up at 700 this morning. Breakfast only goes from 700 until 800 and classes begin at 815 so I'll be on an early schedule. It's a lot different than sleeping from 3 AM until 11 AM like I was usually doing in the summer.
Breakfast was exactly the same as every other breakfast so far. That might get old, but for now it's still good. All of the students met up in this chapel room and they called out our names for our classes. My teacher is Jochen Gaile. He's a little strange but that way he keeps my interest.
Class goes from 815 to 1245 with a 30 minute break and a 15 minute break. In our first class we learned all of our classmate's names and where they came from. At the beginning of the class I was the only person from an English speaking country, but a guy from Ireland came in late. There are two people from Japan, two from The United Arab Emirates, one from China, two from Spain, one from France, one from Moldova, one from Thailand, and one from Ireland. The class work wasn't so hard today but I think it will be harder tomorrow.
I went back to my room after class and ate some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. We relaxed until there was a tour of the city. We started going with the tour but we had already explored so much of the city that it wasn't really interesting. Jesse and I tried to find the Aldi store in town and eventually found it. It's a bit out of the way but everything there is really cheap. One interesting thing is that at the grocery stores you have to pay for your own bag. At Aldi's in MN they don't give you a bag so I was expecting that, but the main supermarket was the same way.
We took the long hike back to our room and cooked up some bratwurst for dinner. I finished my book, and started the long process of blogging about the last few days. I also put up a couple hundred pictures, which still aren't done uploading now. Now I'm going to do my German homework and go to bed.
I had the great pleasure of getting up at 700 this morning. Breakfast only goes from 700 until 800 and classes begin at 815 so I'll be on an early schedule. It's a lot different than sleeping from 3 AM until 11 AM like I was usually doing in the summer.
Breakfast was exactly the same as every other breakfast so far. That might get old, but for now it's still good. All of the students met up in this chapel room and they called out our names for our classes. My teacher is Jochen Gaile. He's a little strange but that way he keeps my interest.
Class goes from 815 to 1245 with a 30 minute break and a 15 minute break. In our first class we learned all of our classmate's names and where they came from. At the beginning of the class I was the only person from an English speaking country, but a guy from Ireland came in late. There are two people from Japan, two from The United Arab Emirates, one from China, two from Spain, one from France, one from Moldova, one from Thailand, and one from Ireland. The class work wasn't so hard today but I think it will be harder tomorrow.
I went back to my room after class and ate some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. We relaxed until there was a tour of the city. We started going with the tour but we had already explored so much of the city that it wasn't really interesting. Jesse and I tried to find the Aldi store in town and eventually found it. It's a bit out of the way but everything there is really cheap. One interesting thing is that at the grocery stores you have to pay for your own bag. At Aldi's in MN they don't give you a bag so I was expecting that, but the main supermarket was the same way.
We took the long hike back to our room and cooked up some bratwurst for dinner. I finished my book, and started the long process of blogging about the last few days. I also put up a couple hundred pictures, which still aren't done uploading now. Now I'm going to do my German homework and go to bed.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Last Day of August
Aug 31
Today is Monday and it is the day that our group splits up into 4 smaller groups. The Swaebish Hall (It's really spelled with an umlaut over the the first a, but I'm not going to bother to type it) group which is myself, Jesse, Amy, Mickey, Paul, Anna, and Kelsey left around 830 in the morning from our hostel. All the other groups were going to start using their EUrail passes, but we didn't because we had such a short trip. This way we have one more EUrail pass to use later.
Since we changed trains by not using the passes, we had to wait about an hour and a half at the train station for our train. It left at 1030 and we got to Swaebish Hall by 1200. I had to ask people on the street where the Goethe institute was because we really didn't know. They were really helpful and we got there without a problem.
Once we got to the Goethe institute we were told a little bit about where to find stores and where our rooms were. Paul and I had to take a proficiency test in German, and we both thought it was really hard. The test took a little over an hour and it really tired me out. The students are divided into ten or so classes depending on how much German they knew. Everybody except for me and Paul are in the A0 class. I think Paul is in the A 2.1 class and I'm in the A 2.2 class. That is the highest class of the beginner classes. I also got my room key and trekked up the hill (a pattern?) to my room.
The rooms here are single bed rooms, and every two rooms are connected by a bathroom. My room is right next to Jesse's so we share a bathroom and shower. The room is about the size of the one I lived in when I was a Freshman at Bethel, so it's roomy for one person. We also get our own refrigerators, which will be nice because we only have breakfasts provided for us.
I only had a few minutes to throw all my stuff in my room because the others had been waiting for me to finish the test and eat lunch with them. We found the nearest Kebap stand and ate there. After eating we went shopping for some food and drinks to keep in our rooms.
I took a little time to read a book in my room and relax a little bit. I had started reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown at the train station, and by the end of the day I had finished half of it (I got to page 450). We went on a short excursion into the town to buy some dinner. We ate Lahmacun, which is like a rolled up pizza with no cheese. I went to bed early so that I would be fresh in the morning.
Today is Monday and it is the day that our group splits up into 4 smaller groups. The Swaebish Hall (It's really spelled with an umlaut over the the first a, but I'm not going to bother to type it) group which is myself, Jesse, Amy, Mickey, Paul, Anna, and Kelsey left around 830 in the morning from our hostel. All the other groups were going to start using their EUrail passes, but we didn't because we had such a short trip. This way we have one more EUrail pass to use later.
Since we changed trains by not using the passes, we had to wait about an hour and a half at the train station for our train. It left at 1030 and we got to Swaebish Hall by 1200. I had to ask people on the street where the Goethe institute was because we really didn't know. They were really helpful and we got there without a problem.
Once we got to the Goethe institute we were told a little bit about where to find stores and where our rooms were. Paul and I had to take a proficiency test in German, and we both thought it was really hard. The test took a little over an hour and it really tired me out. The students are divided into ten or so classes depending on how much German they knew. Everybody except for me and Paul are in the A0 class. I think Paul is in the A 2.1 class and I'm in the A 2.2 class. That is the highest class of the beginner classes. I also got my room key and trekked up the hill (a pattern?) to my room.
The rooms here are single bed rooms, and every two rooms are connected by a bathroom. My room is right next to Jesse's so we share a bathroom and shower. The room is about the size of the one I lived in when I was a Freshman at Bethel, so it's roomy for one person. We also get our own refrigerators, which will be nice because we only have breakfasts provided for us.
I only had a few minutes to throw all my stuff in my room because the others had been waiting for me to finish the test and eat lunch with them. We found the nearest Kebap stand and ate there. After eating we went shopping for some food and drinks to keep in our rooms.
I took a little time to read a book in my room and relax a little bit. I had started reading Angels and Demons by Dan Brown at the train station, and by the end of the day I had finished half of it (I got to page 450). We went on a short excursion into the town to buy some dinner. We ate Lahmacun, which is like a rolled up pizza with no cheese. I went to bed early so that I would be fresh in the morning.
Last Full Day In Nuremberg
Aug 30
Today I got up and ate breakfast and promptly went back to bed. I didn't really realize how tired I was until I woke up again at noon. The best thing to follow the patter of Sleep -> Food -> Sleep is of course more food. Our entire group went out to eat at a nice German restaurant. Half our group (the guy half) all ordered what's called “something I couldn't possibly spell so lets forget what it's called”. It was a big hunk of meat of some kind. After lunch I was feeling tired so I went back to the hotel and slept some more (This is a lie, I just wanted to continue my sleep -> food cycle).
After lunch our group got on a bus and went to the Nazi party rally grounds. There are really two parts to this trip. The first is big stadium-like field (The zeppelin field) where Hitler used to give speeches. It's mostly intact but not maintained because it was built by the Nazis. After we saw the zeppelin field we took a long walk around the lake. It was a really nice park area with people feeding the ducks and riding around on paddle boats. I could have done without the walk around the lake. We've been doing a lot of walking lately. The second part of our trip is the Party Congress Hall which looks like the Colosseum from one side and has a very boring boxy bunker-like building attached to make a connected horseshoe shape. Inside was a museum detailing the history of the Nazis and they building projects in Nuremberg. They were planning on building several more buildings but they must not have gotten around to it. The museum was very detailed but it was all in German so we had to listen to some portable audio devices that were uncomfortable to hold up to your ear for more than ten minutes.
I went back into the main part of Nuremberg and went to Starbucks, which is right next to the river, and chatted until dinnertime. We made our hike up the big hill to our youth hostel and ate our last dinner in Nuremberg.
That night we had a class. Tom promised that this would be the only Sunday class that we would be having. Our other class was postponed because of Kay's accident. This was our first real business writing class because the other one was more of an introduction.
We went out for ice cream after the class and I talked with Jake and Spencer for a while. I won't be seeing them for a couple weeks, but we might meet up if we take a weekend trip to Switzerland.
Today I got up and ate breakfast and promptly went back to bed. I didn't really realize how tired I was until I woke up again at noon. The best thing to follow the patter of Sleep -> Food -> Sleep is of course more food. Our entire group went out to eat at a nice German restaurant. Half our group (the guy half) all ordered what's called “something I couldn't possibly spell so lets forget what it's called”. It was a big hunk of meat of some kind. After lunch I was feeling tired so I went back to the hotel and slept some more (This is a lie, I just wanted to continue my sleep -> food cycle).
After lunch our group got on a bus and went to the Nazi party rally grounds. There are really two parts to this trip. The first is big stadium-like field (The zeppelin field) where Hitler used to give speeches. It's mostly intact but not maintained because it was built by the Nazis. After we saw the zeppelin field we took a long walk around the lake. It was a really nice park area with people feeding the ducks and riding around on paddle boats. I could have done without the walk around the lake. We've been doing a lot of walking lately. The second part of our trip is the Party Congress Hall which looks like the Colosseum from one side and has a very boring boxy bunker-like building attached to make a connected horseshoe shape. Inside was a museum detailing the history of the Nazis and they building projects in Nuremberg. They were planning on building several more buildings but they must not have gotten around to it. The museum was very detailed but it was all in German so we had to listen to some portable audio devices that were uncomfortable to hold up to your ear for more than ten minutes.
I went back into the main part of Nuremberg and went to Starbucks, which is right next to the river, and chatted until dinnertime. We made our hike up the big hill to our youth hostel and ate our last dinner in Nuremberg.
That night we had a class. Tom promised that this would be the only Sunday class that we would be having. Our other class was postponed because of Kay's accident. This was our first real business writing class because the other one was more of an introduction.
We went out for ice cream after the class and I talked with Jake and Spencer for a while. I won't be seeing them for a couple weeks, but we might meet up if we take a weekend trip to Switzerland.
Quick Post
I've started to upload my pictures and videos to the internet. Its a long process so bear with me. The upload speed here is decent so I should be able to get all of my stuff up soon, but I also have to do homework and all that other good stuff. Here is the link to my photos
http://europeblog09.shutterfly.com/
Nice how I used the same name right? For my youtube videos it would be fastest to just look up my username and look at all of my videos (username is LanCaiMadowki) Here's a link anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lancaimadowki&search_type=&aq=f
I'll put up the last few days of my travels once I finish writing them.
http://europeblog09.shutterfly.com/
Nice how I used the same name right? For my youtube videos it would be fastest to just look up my username and look at all of my videos (username is LanCaiMadowki) Here's a link anyway.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lancaimadowki&search_type=&aq=f
I'll put up the last few days of my travels once I finish writing them.
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