So I somehow managed to go about 2 months without posting... I wrote up a post a few weeks ago but so much is always happening that I never got around to actually posting it.. Sorry!
It's insane that it's already pretty much mid March... I hit my 6 month mark on March 6th, which means I now have under 4 and a half months left here... Time is moving way, way, way too fast. As it usually does, February went by really quickly, but it we also had a week off for Fasching so that's probably why. Fasching or Karnival was the second weekend of February I believe... It starts here the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, and lasts through the weekend. There was something to do in my town the whole weekend, and on Saturday there was a parade. Everyone dresses up, kinda like Halloween except also really different. I met my friends on Saturday before the parade and then we watched it all together. I was dressed up (kind of) like a tiger. People who participate in the parade threw candy, confetti, and even at one point hay at the onlookers. They also have paint and stamps that they just kind of randomly put on peoples faces. They also sometimes takes people (mostly girls I think) and just kind of bring them along in the parade. It was overall a really fun day and it's pretty unfortunate that we don't have something like that in the U.S.
Over vacation we went back up north to stay with my host family's family. It was really nice, and we got to take some day trips which was really cool. We visited Köln/Cologne and climbed up the dom, which was definitely a lot shorter than the one in Ulm. The views of the Rhine were so pretty, even though the weather wasn't the best. We also went to Essen and visited a huge museum about Ruhrgebeit/The Ruhr. There was so much in the museum, from human and natural history to old artifacts, and it would takes days I think to look through everything. On our way back, we stopped at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz, where the Moselle River meets the Rhine. The monument there is huge, the picture doesn't do it any justice. We took a gondola/lift thing (I have no idea what it's called) to the other side of the river to a looking point. It was raining but the views were still amazing. After that we drove along the Rhine towards the Lorelei. We stopped for lunch in Rudesheim, which was really pretty, but I forgot my camera in the car... I'll be back soon though. We drove to the Lorelei, which had a spectacular view over the Rhine and the surrounding area.
I was back in school a couple of weeks, then left on Tuesday the 3rd for Hamburg for my mid-stay CBYX/PPP camp. I had already had my normal chapters mid-stay in January, but the one in Hamburg was with half of the other CBYXers and was also for 6 days. I was the only one to fly there, but it was a lot more convenient and cheaper, and only took an hour... It took around 7 for a couple of other people taking trains. It was so, so, great to see some of the other CBYXers again, and the camp was so fun. We all stayed in a hostel together where we had dinner and other AFS orientation activities. We had a lot of free time to explore the city on our own (which pretty much just included shopping and getting lost a lot). The weather was pretty bad most of the time, but last 2 days were pretty warm and even sunny. We spent most of the time doing things around the city. On the first day we took a tour of the Rathaus/Town hall, which was so beautiful. We took a boat tour of the harbor and a long walking tour of the St. Pauli district (interesting but it was freezing and pouring rain the entire time). We also visited the Auswanderermuseum/ Emigrant Museum, which was really interesting and reminded me of a smaller Ellis Island. We visited the Gängeviertel, which is pretty much an "occupy" area in Hamburg filled with art and artists, so that was really interesting to see. We also took a tour that touched upon homeless issues in Hamburg. It was led by two former drug addict/homeless men, and they told their story which was really interesting and sobering. There's a magazine in Hamburg that can be sold by homeless to help them get back on their feet, and this is how they both achieved that. We visited different homeless shelters around the city and they basically just talked to us about their experiences with homelessness. It wasn't a tour I would typically take, but it ended up being really informative and interesting. Overall the mid-stay camp was amazing and I can't wait to see all of the other CBYXers in Berlin in June!
It's insane to think about that I have only a few months left, so that just means I have to make the most of it. I'll be sure to write another post next month!
The pictures are out of order but here ya go:
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| Me with Grace in front of the entrance for the Red-light district men-only street |
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| Herbertstraße |
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| Der Michel |
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| The graffiti in the Gängeviertel was incredible |
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| exchange students ya know? |
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| Della and me |
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| Der Hamburger Hafen |
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| The shopping district was around these little canals and was absolutely stunning. Seriously one of the most beautiful cities I've been to. |
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| Why aren't public buildings in the U.S like this? |
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| das Rathaus |
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| Wernauer Fastnet |
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| The costumes reminded me of the Sinterklaas parade I go to in Rhinebeck with my family every year |
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| Slightly frightening |
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| Kölner Dom |
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| View over Cologne |
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| The Rhine |
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| Das Deutches Eck |
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| CBYXers reunited |
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| Outside the Rathaus in Hamburg |
