Youth Camp and Coming home!

At the high ropes course the second week

Kasia and I in the camp house

I left Tübingen for (almost) the last time to head down to southern Germany and a little town called Oy, just a couple kilometers from Neuschwanstein castle, to spend the rest of my time abroad. Here I was working at a summer camp for German kiddies to learn and practice speaking english with some native Americans like myself. Although I was just a volunteer, I did quite a lot of work, like cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping for forty people, and planning daily activities with the kids.

Both sessions were a week long, so the first group of 30 kids was switched out with another 30 after a week. The first week was really great and the kids were pretty angelic looking back. One of the teachers that Kasia and I shared a room with liked to create drama, but luckily she was just there the first week and was pretty much the biggest problem we had. The second week wasn't quite as blissful because the children were everything, but angelic. After the first night of chaos, Kasia and I retreated to the Seehaus on just the second day for more than a couple Zotlers. Since we were used to such friendly, positive, and kind kids, it was pretty hard to switch to the cliquey, mean, and bullying dynamic that happened the second week. The first week was fun, but by the time we were done with the second week, we were all pretty ready to be back.

I spent that last Friday night and Saturday at the hostel in Tübingen with Kasia, and hung out with the other camp counselors since all of my friends had already headed home. It was pretty weird to be back in Tübingen without everyone I usually hung out with there, and kind of depressing. But since it was only for 48 hours, it wasn't too terrible. Leaving was definitely a little surreal when the time finally came, since I was leaving the home I had known for many months. It made me happy to head home and see everyone, but also sad thinking I might not be back to this place for a very long time. I know I will be back to Germany sometime soon and will hopefully keep up all the German that I learned during my time there.

The kids and us counselors after the first week, with the house in the back

Leaving home again

I ended up spending my last week in Tübingen mostly not in Tübingen, because there was suddenly so many things that seemed more important than going to my last classes. The Grafs picked me up on Sunday, the day after the Holifest in Tü, and I went to stay with them until Tuesday. Then I took the train to Würzburg to visit Krissi and her family for a last time as well. On Thursday I headed back to Tü and finished up university business, packed and moved out of my room, and hung out with my friends there until Saturday morning when I headed to the summer camp.

At the Holifest

It was really strange to finally leave Tübingen because even though I knew it was coming and had been there since April, it seemed like it happened really fast and sudden. Saying goodbye to my host families and friends was really hard and strange because I really don’t know when I’m going to see them again, or if I’ll ever see them again, now that we’re so far away. It was so cute and sad when my younger host sister, Nele, asked me when I was going to visit again, because even if I see them again in a couple years, that will feel like a much longer time for her than it would for me. There were definitely tears shed when hugging everyone goodbye and just knowing how far around the world we were about to be from each other. The worst was when I was leaving the Abschiedsparty at Kuckuck and had to say goodbye to my friend Heloise and was crying and sad, then proceeded to cut my foot on a broken cocktail glass and bleed for a long while until it stopped…

At one of the University buildings

As excited as I was getting to go home, finally leaving was pretty sad and I felt like I could have stayed longer. After being around my friends in Tübingen since April, we had gotten really close and I didn’t want to leave what we had there. I am so excited to see Gus and my family and Domino again when I get home, and then to move back to Ann Arbor in my new house, but goodbyes are never easy.

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...

I wrote about a few of my favorite things in Germany back in March when I lived in Schwäbisch Hall, so I thought I'd update my list with more things I love in Tübingen, and what I'm going to miss when I head home in a couple weeks. [Warning: this list is mostly food items]

1. Gelato. This is probably an obvious choice for being in Europe, but boy do I love the ice cream here. My favorite spot sells one scoop for only 1 euro and makes the ice cream fresh every morning in every flavor you can imagine: almond, hazelnut, walnut, coconut, pistachio, biscotto, chocolate muffin, snickers, chocolate hazelnut, choco-banana, mango, banana, pineapple, melon, lemon, cherry, currant, strawberry, raspberry, strawberry cheesecake, strawberry quark, yogurt... The list goes on and on. My favorite is probably raspberry with cherry or currant, perfect for hot summer days. It's a rare day when I don't stop for two scoops at least once.

2. Trains. Frequenting the trains here really makes me wish they were cheaper, more convenient, and available in the US. Nothing is more on time, allows you to skip traffic, pay for gas, and lets you relax like the trains, and they make traveling 3 hours there and back in one day not nearly as terrible as driving the same amount of time.

3. Open alcohol in public places. There is really nothing better than going with a friend to the park and casually drinking a beer together. This is allowed occasionally in the states, but not nearly as often or acceptable, which is going to be sad to come back to in the fall.

4. Small and local grocery stores. I LOVE being able to walk one minute to Netto, the cheapest grocery store in town, (or two minutes to Edeka) and be able to do my grocery shopping every day. It's such a shame we're not able to do this in Ann Arbor or East Lansing, and are pretty much forced to drive to Meijer or Kroger to get the best prices. Definitely going to miss this back home. Also, it's necessary to bring your own bags, or else you have to pay for plastic. Forced recycling is the way to go.

5. Fruit stands. Much like the previous post, I am very spoiled with two fruit stands both within a one minutes walk from my dorm. Nearly everyday I pick up a carton of raspberries, strawberries, a quarter of watermelon, or fresh peaches to take back and enjoy. Sometimes at the end of the day the owner yells out "Angebot!" and you can get something like a whole pineapple for 1 euro. 

Twinning in Europe

My latest vistors for the last 12 days were none other than my siblings, Harriet and George! It was Harry's first time in Europe and George's second, so they were both very excited and I think it was a good graduation present from Dad. They flew in and got to Tü on a Thursday and the next morning we took the early TGV train to Paris, Harry's request since she learned french in high school.

I was a little surprised at how much I liked Paris, just like I was with London. Both seem like such big, expensive, and typical/mainstream European cities, which made me hesitant to go, but I really loved both of them. Surprisingly as well, I spent less in London than Paris even though the pound is more expensive than the euro.

Macaroons in Montmarte

Regardless we had a really nice time in the "city of light" (which means enlightenment/knowledge!) and Harry got to practice speaking a bit. My favorite parts of our long weekend was the Eiffel Tower light show that we saw on Saturday and Sunday night, the free walking tour that Harry and I did, and the Sacre Coeur Basilica in Montmartre. We didn't climb up the Eiffel tower, but did climb to the top of the Basilica, which I think was better since then you actually get to see the tower in pictures! I was disappointed by the Moulin Rouge, since I imagined it quite glamourous from the movie, but impressed with the macaroons which I thought I might not love. We managed to fit quite a lot in the almost four days we had there, including two art museums, the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay, and got to be in the annual Gay Pride parade which was pretty awesome, especially with all the politics surrounding it in France right now. We experienced that first hand when we saw the anti-gay marriage parade, which was super lame and just a bunch of cars with flags honking up and down the street...

Harry and Jor in front of the castle

We got back to Tübingen late on Monday and spent the rest of their time in Germany, mainly in
Tübingen but also with some day trips. On the 4th of July we ventured to Schloss Lichtenstein, which is quite close, not taking into account the necessary hike up the mountain that I was unaware of, and probably would not have worn flip flips if I had been. That Friday was coincidentally the Sommerfest for the stipendium program I receive for studying here, so I registered us all for the fest, and we got two free bus rides to and from Konstanz, free entrance to the Insel Mainau (a tourist island full of flowers), free mimosas, free dinner, free dessert, and free stolen glasses! It was pretty awesome to see another site in Germany and not have a pay a euro cent to do so. That weekend was also the Stadtfest in Tübingen, so we were welcomed back to a pretty decent hip hop concert in the park, although we were too tired to see much else of the fest. On their last day here, we took the train to Schwäbisch Hall to see my host family and for them to meet my real family. It was a super nice day and we got to swim in their pool and catch up, in German and English for the twins. I didn't realize how much I was missing living with the Grafs until we got there! I'm hopefully going to get to visit again soon for a little while longer too.

On the Bodensee

It was really good to see the twins and manage to be together constantly for such a long time without bickering like we used to, and definitely would have if we were younger. I can't believe that they're heading to college already in the fall, but I think it's good because now we're all experiencing similar things again, and the gap between us doesn't seem quite as big. Our goodbye wasn't too hard though because I will be being picked up at the airport by them in just over a month! Crazy how time flies, and I am sad to be leaving Europe and all the possibilities it holds, but am becoming more and more excited and ready each day to head back to the good ole USA. 

Hamsterdayum

Mike, me, Heloise, Alex, Chris, and Ryan on the bus

This past weekend was my second in three consecutive weekend trips in June: Amsterdam! Five friends and I took the overnight bus on Thursday night, got to Amsterdam on Friday morning, then had a long 11-hour bus ride home to look forward to on Monday. While I did like the city, it honestly wasn't my favorite, especially after loving Greece the weekend before (although it's probably my fault for scheduling so much traveling in a row... it's hard to not compare them!) Not to mention that it rained nearly the entire time we were there, while in Greece we had perfect beach weather...

One of our favorite activities was also taste-testing
every cheese store we passed on the streets

Anyways, some of the highlights of the trip were as follows. The first day after checking into Bob's Youth Hostel, we walked (in the pouring rain of course) to the Van Gogh Museum, one of the most popular tourist spots. It was literally full with nearly all of his famous paintings, including the sunflowers and his self portraits. The next day we went to a traditional Dutch pancake house, and I had a delicious, ginormous waffle with bananas and bacon. Even funnier was that the NBA player Andrew Bynum rolled up with some friends and sat at the table right behind us. I didn't know who he was at first, but a giant black man dressed in sweats with an American accent is quite rare for Europe, and I correctly assumed he must be an athlete. The best part was that I overheard one of his friends ask what language the menu was in, and his response, "French!".... Classic American jock, seriously. On Sunday, we went to the house where Anne Frank hid for years before being found, which was super interesting, but also sad and eerie.

After being in Germany where you can literally buy beer everywhere, it was super interesting and strange that you can buy and smoke weed everywhere in Amsterdam. It's a totally different approach than what we grew up with in America and by the ratio of guys to girls in our hostel, you can clearly tell how many come to the city just for that. The second big difference is the amount of prostitution in the city, which I found super creepy and didn't want to be around. Some people say it's fun and part of the "Amsterdam experience", but all I could think of was that those women were most definitely not there by choice, or that it was really their best and only option. Seeing some of the women on their iPhones in the windows made that pretty clear, and I really don't understand how anyone can take enjoyment from it all. This all kind of put a damper on my time in the city, and I got pretty annoyed with one of the guys in my group. Regardless, I did love that the city had canals all through it and that I got to travel and join in on their first hostel-experience with my French friends, Alex and Heloise, who really haven't done that much travelling throughout Europe although they've lived here their entire lives.

Ya sas, Thessaloniki!

Ya sas, which actually is spelled like this Γειά σας, is the only Greek word I managed to pronounce and remember, but I want to try and remember to use it as a greeting regularly! Last Friday, I flew with 4 girlfriends to Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece. I wasn't expecting/planning on getting to go to Greece during my travels, but when we found a 42 euro round trip flight with Ryanair, it was hard to resist! It ended up being one of my cheapest trips yet as well, since the hostel was only 12 euro a night, and restaurants were super cheap as well! Plus museums and historical sites are almost all free for EU students like myself. :) 

My favorite parts of Greece were probably the beach, bakeries, and olives. I've never been the biggest fan of olives, but omg these were amazing, and wayyyy cheaper than any I've ever seen in my life. We got a quarter kilo-bag for only 1 euro-- amazing. The bakeries were also fantastic, and every day there started with a sugar-high off of their chocolate molten cake, mounds of shortbread cookies, baklava dripping with honey, and a delicious Thessaloniki special pastry, like of like a flaky hot pocket filled with vanilla sauce. And lastly, of course the beaches were beautiful and wonderful. We took a bus to Halkidiki, just south of Thessaloniki, on Sunday, packed a picnic, and spent the whole day basking in the sun and in the salty Mediterranean. Even more amazing was that I managed not to get sunburnt after being exposed to some deadly rays. 

Greek Salad! Veggies, eggs, feta, olive oil. Delicious.

The rest of our time was spent sightseeing and eating Greek salad and gyros. We went up in the famous White Tower, saw some ancient artifacts at the Archaeology Museum, and went on a free (minus cocktails) Pirate ship around the harbor. The nightlife there was super alive, and the streets were more crowed at 2am than 2pm. The financial crisis going on was definitely noticeable with the many street beggars and state of the majority of houses, but it seemed similar to the life in Italy, Spain, and Portugal. It was interesting traveling in a big group of girls, with sometimes contrasting opinions, but overall a really nice mini-vacation. I would love to go back someday and visit one of the islands, and stay on the beach absolutely the whole time. 

Ameera, Alex, Tiffany, me, and Kasia

Besucher, Besucherin

Kristi and I in my kitchen, before Top10

Gus and I at Schloss Hohenzollern

Ever since I got back from my nearly two-week vacation, I've had quite a bit of company in my dorm in Tübingen! Kristi was here a couple nights before we took the bus to Munich, then Gus was here for almost a week after we got back from Hamburg, and Margaret and her boyfriend, Tim, were just here for two nights on their mini-Euro vacation. It's been really nice being able to see people from home, and getting to show them around the city I've been living in for the past couple months. It's also cool because I have a chance to see the "touristy" sights around Tübingen that I might not have done otherwise. I took everyone to see the castle in Tübingen, where I have my archeology class, as well as Neckarmüller, the local brewery that has really good schwäbisch food, and one of my favorite bars, Bierkeller, which serves french fries until midnight!

Marge and Tim at Bebenhausen

While Gus was here, we took the quick train over to Schloss Hohenzollern, which was (and still kind of is) the home to the Prussian royal family. Afterwards we stopped and explored the town of Reutlingen, which is only a train stop from Tübingen, but I had never bothered to go before. We also popped into the Stadtmuseum in Tübingen that I had never been into, which had a really cool exhibit about Lotte Reiniger, famous for silhouette films and animation. While Marge was here on one of the first summer days, we walked the 5-6 kilometers to a small village called Bebenhausen, where there is a really old and beautiful monastery.

Besides my visitors, I've been living a pretty normal, college life in Tübingen, similar to in Ann Arbor, minus the crazy studying and hours in the library. This Saturday, I went to a typical brazilian 'June Party', which included a "wedding" where everyone joined in and danced. It was a pretty hilarious experience! In other news, I'm flying to Thessaloniki this Friday with four girlfriends-- yay!!