An Interesting Weekend

My weekend actually begins on Friday the 14th. After being sent home early from school (yes), I began to prepare for the guest I was expecting that evening. We, my friends from the Leipzig language course (Andrea, Sunniva, Ajda, and two German girls who were friends of Andrea), we're planning to attend a "Disko" in Leipzig which began at 10 pm. The lovely Erasmus party was held in a gorgeous club.

But back to the preparations; I had spent all of Friday evening preparing "American Breakfast." It was to the disappointment of my host father when he found that pancakes were not on the menu. And for all my American readers who are shocked, I had cooked breakfast once in the past and made pancakes. I figured I'd make french toast bake, egg casserole, fruit salad, and bacon, change it up a little bit. The bacon, therefore, made the breakfast American. I also set up the guest room and went over all the details for the weekend.

We had such high hopes, and unfortunately, they were not met. We were told countless times to not drink, not to smoke, do drugs, this-that-this, things I knew better to do and had no interest in doing. My main hope was to dance and have fun, but..... Once we were carded at the door, paid our 5€ entrance fee, and walked around, we realized we were the first people to arrive. Of course, there were countless workers, but partiers had yet to arrive. They didn't do so until we had to leave, which was at 11:40. There was a plus side. We had a 3 story beautiful club to ourselves. The music was great. The way too expensive bars looked nice. We didn't do anything we weren't supposed to do. We had no opportunity anyway. But it was nice. I had a great time with my girls and always enjoyed going out with them. We danced and yelled at the music. 

It was the first time in a long time I felt my age, 16. I must admit I felt foolish. Having spent the entire week planning to party and dance to then find no one in the club, it's strange, weird. It's just like a teen trying to find something they shouldn't get into, to get nothing they wanted or hoped for, just like a lost tourist trying to find good nightlife, getting everything wrong. Like all things, you learn, except loss, and move on. 

Saturday was a smooth day. Breakfast was awesome, and my host family ate all the leftovers. My two friends who spent the night had a wonderful time, mission accomplished! That evening we took the train to Leipzig, where we waited around for the train to take us home. I had decided to crash the night at Sunniva's guest home. That night we went to a community show. There was dancing, plays and they even cleared the stage away for a dance floor. We danced with her host mom. It wasn't a get wild party, but nonetheless very fun. 

Looking back, the past weekend has been one of the more interesting weekends I've had. It's always refreshing to see the other students abroad and talk with them. They are the only people who could understand and relate to what it is I'm facing and feeling. It's also really good that we all get along well. We're always laughing, helping, smiling, listening. I'm content to have these 5 international friends for life. It's so exciting to know we have 8 more months to make more amazing memories. Don't worry, I'll be sure to share, so always read it then! 

BFAST PREP

IN THE CLUB

JAMMIES AND COOKING TIME

BFAST FIT FOR QUEENS

AJDA, ME, ANDREA, SUNNIVA
THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR!

A Party Weekend to Remember

(Published originally in 2014) Anyone who knows me well understands I work incredibly hard. Ever attempting to make plans with me is sometimes a feat in itself. I generally plan things very well in advance. Wanna grab a coffee? We'll see ya next month! There are those rare moments when I'm able to do something spontaneously, but all are often planned. From assignments to events, shows, and outings with friends. This weekend was planned, but what happened the last few nights were not!

JAZZHAUS DANCE CLUB 

(An annotation from 2018) As a former RA, in my sophomore year of college, things were incredibly stressful and intense. I would go for long periods of time without having much free time. I found I managed to give less and less time for myself to simply do nothing. Between bedtimes, school responsibilities, club commitments, and managing a floor as a second year, I was too pooed to ever do anything else.

My friends who went out with me Friday night reiterated that I could have fun, I could relax. I know it may be silly, but I was told to have fun. It required a lot of trust on my part to really let myself get into the festivities, and I'll cherish that forever. Learning how to have safe fun is important. It's very simple to work yourself to insanity, but it's more important to practice self-care. 

Beauty on the Mountaintop

(Posted originally in 2014!!) Monday, I went on a hike accompanied by my host father, sister, her two cousins, and their father. It was a lot of fun. And though we walked for what seemed like forever, we only walked 7 km. This mountain was extremely steep and had a lot of steps. It was also very beautiful and well worth the trek. At the top are breathtaking views of the surrounding area, and it wasn't just the wind taking your gasp of breath away. Though we had a few breaks walking up and down the mountain, we were all very winded walking up and up all the steep stairs. I was also pretty worried I wouldn't be able to keep up, but I was both surprised and happy that I kept a strong pace and was even in the lead a few times. 

When at the peak of the mountain, I was met with gratitude and bliss. I was overjoyed to be able to partake in my German adventure. It made me realize my travels were to be much like this mountain: steep, tiring, well worth it, and fun. I just have to be patient and willing to push and ask for a break. At the top of the mountain, looking at the great Elbe River and lovely towns, I couldn't help but smile. I wanted to emit that warm fuzzy feeling through my very being to be set free in the strong wind. So that maybe it was even able to reach you; can you feel the happiness!? Maybe that was the reason all those people kept looking at me, but I was happy to find that if I looked at them and smiled, they too would smile back. 

ELBE RIVER AND TOWN

STEEP PATHS AND ROCKY WALKWAYS

A RESTING STONE FOR WARY BONES

AT THE PEAK

THE BREATHTAKING VIEW 

A Week in Eifel

And by Eifel, I don't mean the tower; Eifel is a large region in the northern part of Europe shared between Germany, Luxembourg, and Belgium. On Saturday 25th, we drove 7hours from Sachen to the border of Belgium, where we stayed in a vacation home next to the Our river (pronounced oar) on the German side. The Eifel is best known for all the Castes it holds and the many different hiking trails. It's very beautiful and scenic. Here are a few of my favorite days: 

Sunday

We went into Belgium to see a museum where there was a model train room with RC racers and other electronic car things. Upstairs was a sand sculpture exhibition which was very interesting. I also went to ride a rail bike on an old Belgian train track. Allow me to explain the rail bike, its like one of those multi-person bikes you see at the beach on a boardwalk, but it's a station on a train track. My host family and I took turns between two rail bikes to pedal. It only went but so fast, very exhausting work, but very fun too! I also tried a traditional Belgium waffle which is nothing like it tastes in the USA. It's dense with sugar chunks in it, but it's 100x better than the ones we have in the States! 

BELGIUM WAFFLE AND HOT KAKO

Tuesday

We went to Luxembourg to see some castles. The first was the largest I saw for the week. It was very old, very cool, and very cold; the Château de Vianden. They had the castle sectioned off, so you couldn't go exploring just anywhere all on your own, which was what I wanted to do... And I didn't get to see a single old-style castle toilet, I really wanted to see one... and use one too! I even went into the restroom to see if the old-style toilet would be in there. 

CHATEAU DE VIANDEN

The second castle was renovated to be a war museum that displayed and discussed Luxembourg's liberation from Germany through the help of the US. Two things that stood out, the candy bombers and the smiling mannequins. The candy bombers were the flight crew of the US who would drop candy-filled bags down to Luxembourg children in the promotion of peace. The mannequins, on the other hand, were all smiling in their wartime displays. I know I shouldn't be so critical, but to that mannequin solder behind the model of an old army car- "Wipe that smile off your face boy, this ain't happy-vill!" * in a Drill Sargent voice*

That night we also went to a German pool. It was amazing; a water slide, a cold pool, a warm pool, a bubbling laying area, complimentary recreation pool toys, lap pool, diving, and a deep end section, play pool, kiddie pool, and my favorite, a steaming room! They also had a sauna and massage rooms in another section, but that cost extra.

Thursday

We went into Belgium again to a town to first look around. The cities here are smaller than what I'm used to, but they're nice and have a clean look to them. We went to a museum that had several random exhibits. The main exhibit was on WW2, but I liked the side exhibits better. One on how paper is made and old mills around the area, one on a traditional festival that takes place in the town, one on leather and an old leather mill in the area. After eating in a french style restaurant, we went to go into a cave. I don't recall if I have ever actually been inside a cave or not, but this cave was huge - Many different open spaces, tight corners. We even rode on the river inside the cave in canoes which was really cool.

IN AND AROUND TOWN

In between these days, we hiked the countryside. I would like to say that the Eifel is the hilliest place I have been to in my whole life! So hiking was actually a hike! We hiked for the whole day too. It was sooo tiring. Even though we walked shorter distances every time we hiked, it seemed to get more and more difficult! The first time we hiked 18k in total from the vacation home to see a castle. The next time we hiked 16k in total to what we were hoping was an open cafe, but it was closed, and I was heartbroken. The last time we hiked 12k to a small cave, but it was gated to stop people from going in. But of course, it was beautiful. 

It's Autumn here in Germany and being in the Eifel was amazing. I had so much fun, I loved that we did something different every day! Makes me look forward to the next place we'll be going to...

GOODBYE EIFEL