My second week in London was mostly spent seeing lesser known attractions. I spent some time visiting/doing the following:
-Tragalfar Square
-Platform 9 3/4 (from Harry Potter) in Kings Cross Station
-the former homes of Benjamin Franklin, Herman Melville, and Heinrich Heine
-the National Gallery seeing work from artists such as Monet, Manet, van Gogh, Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Pissarro, Cézanne, Seurat, and Renoir
-Regent Park
-Camden Town
-A Jack the Ripper walking tour
I was really impressed by the National Gallery, I hadn't expected to see so many works from so many famous painters. In a few of my French classes in high school we studied these very artists and the artistic movements during which they painted. I had seen some of their works in the Louvre in Paris, but I was really excited to see some of their lesser-known work. Shout out to you, Mme Mooney!
On August 26, Wes and I went out to Wales to visit Cardiff. While in the bus station waiting to leave, an older couple began talking to us. The woman was from Australia and her husband was French. At one point the woman asked me where I was from, commenting that it sounded like I had an Irish accent. I thought it was fairly obvious where I'm from, but apparently not. Anyways, in Cardiff we first went to the Cardiff Castle, then to the National Museum, the Wales Millennium Centre, the Pierhead Building, and Cardiff Bay. The coolest thing for me, as a language dork, was that everything was written in English and Welsh. Of the approximately 3 million Welsh people, around 560,000 of them speak Welsh. (Unfortunately I didn't actually hear anyone speaking it.) Wales kind of reminded me of Texas in the way of their pride. There was not a moment when I didn't know I was in Wales, as they had Welsh flags on every single corner.
On Saturday morning (August 29) it was time for me to head back to Germany. My flight was out of London Stansted at 7:30am. Before booking these flights I had no idea that Stansted is an hour and a half outside London. In the end I booked a bus leaving London at 4am, which meant I had to leave Wes's flat at 3am. I had planned to take the bus from his place to the bus station. When I got to the bus stop at 2:53am, I read the bus information and discovered the bus only ran at 18 and 48 past the hour at that time of day. The bus ride alone would take 25 minutes and then there would be another 10 minute walk to the station. I decided to wait and try to catch the bus, as long as it was on time. While I was waiting for the bus, a young man started talking to me. He first offered me his jacket (it was 55 F outside and I was cold), the proceeded to ask me 21 questions about where I'm from, where I'm going, why I'm in London, when my flight leaves, etc. I was giving him very short and vague answers, trying to make it obvious that I wasn't interested in talking. I would have been very uncomfortable if it wasn't for the two police officers standing across the street. I obviously looked uneasy. At one point he asked if he was making me nervous. I wanted to say, "uh, no sh** Sherlock," but I refrained. Eventually his bus came and he left. My bus ended up being late so I was forced to grab a taxi, spending $25 just to take a 15 minute car ride. Once at the airport I had to get in line to have my passport checked and also to check my bag. I ended up standing in the wrong line, not being informed of such until I had been in line for 10 minutes. After going through the correct line I made my way to security. There must have been 100 people in line in front of me. Luckily they had a lot of stations open so the line moved fast. There was an announcement reminding travelers of how to efficiently get through security, which included putting things like mascara and lip gloss in the toiletry bag (I found that part to be excessive). When it was finally my turn to go through the metal detector, it beeped. They pulled me aside, made me take off my shoes to scan, and then frisked me. It was the most intimate pat down I'd ever had. She actually ran her fingers around the circumference of my breasts twice, across my pelvic region, over my entire bum, in the waist ban of my pants, and so on and so forth. The minute it lasted felt like 10. I was absolutely mortified. The flight back to Frankfurt was without incidence and so was the bus from the airport to the city center.
Matt picked me up from the Hauptbahnhof in Frankfurt at noon. We decided to head to Mainz and spend our day in our most favorite city. We ate at our favorite restaurants and walked around. At our favorite döner place the two guys working were the two who we often saw when we lived in Mainz. I watched as the flicker of recognition went across their faces and they smiled back at us. I was so incredibly happy to see they remembered us, and yes, I am aware of how silly that sounds. It was a fabulous day.
Today was less busy. Matt and I went to a food festival and then later out to dinner. I was scolded by an old German man at the food festival. It was hot here today, in the low 90s, and will be again tomorrow.
I am incredibly excited to be back in Germany. I'm really tired of all the traveling. I've been a guest for three weeks now and that alone is exhausting. I've also been very active most days, walking up to 12 miles some days. Being in so many new environments and less than ideal sleeping situations have also led to a constant fatigue. Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed seeing my friends and making memories with them in new, beautiful, exciting places. I'm just ready to be settled into my new life and no longer living out of a suitcase.
I leave for Nuremberg on Tuesday afternoon. I just really hope my host family likes me. I'm a different person in German than I am in English. I'm not as funny and generally less talkative and personable. Then again, we did skype in German, so they've already met that version of me. I guess I shall see in about 36 hours!
Oh, I'll try and post the rest of my England pictures soon.
Monday, August 31, 2015
Monday, August 24, 2015
Pictures
I assume that most of you reading my blog know me in real life and are Facebook friends with me, so I'm not going to upload all 100+ photos here that I uploaded there. Instead I'll upload just a couple of my favorites from each location.
The Bull Ring in Birmingham
The Floozie in the Jacuzzi in Birmingham
The canals in Birmingham
Selly Manor (Tudor house) in Birmingham
Warwick Castle in Warwick
Warwick Castle in Warwick
Radcliffe Camera in Oxford
Museum of Natural History in Oxford
Christ Church in Oxford
Buckingham Palace in London
Green Park in London
The Palace of Westminster/Big Ben in London
The Globe Theatre in London
The Tower of London and King Henry VII's armor in London
The Tower of London and the spot where Anne Boleyn was beheaded
Hampton Court Palace in London
Hampton Court Palace in London
The White Cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs and the Port of Dover
Sunday, August 23, 2015
A Small Step, A Giant Leap
I've been in London for almost a week now and it's been incredibly busy. There's so much to see and do and it can be overwhelming at times. Again, I'm glad I'm able to stay with Wesley and get the local experience while still doing some of the touristy things.
Wesley and his cousin Liz met me at the train station on Monday. After dropping my stuff off at the apartment, we headed out to do some major sight seeing. We saw places like the London Eye, The Tower Bridge, the Palace of Westminster/Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, and Westminster Abbey. Most of these places we just viewed from the outside, but it was still really breathtaking to see them in real life after seeing them in pictures or on a television show for years. By the evening we were all exhausted, so we grabbed a bite to eat and a drink near the apartment before turning in for the night.
Fun fact, Wesley lives right next to Portobello Road, which is where they filmed many of the outside scenes in the movie "Notting Hill." How cool is that!
Tuesday the 18th we spend the better part of the day at the Tower of London. Some of you may be familiar with this because it's where the crown jewels are kept (and yes I saw them!!). It's also a castle dating back to the 1000s. A number of famous people are buried there. A number of famous people were also executed there, namely Anne Boleyn. It sits on the Thames River so it made for a good point of defense. Upon arrival we had a guided tour from a particularly hilarious British solider, otherwise known as Beefeater. He was an equal opportunity harasser and made sure to poke fun every single nationality - but if you ask me he seemed to make the most fun of Americans and the French. Considering the vast history of the place, he also kept it light yet and interesting yet informative. At one point during the day I was separated from Wes and Liz, so I sat down with my phone to connect to wifi and text Wes. As I was sitting there, a young guy approached me and asked in a very thick French accent and said, "Excuse me, you are so beautiful, can I take a picture with you?" It was sufficiently awkward. When we finally left the Tower of London, we strolled across the Tower Bridge onto the other side of the river. We had dinner and some drinks at one of the oldest pubs in London, which also sat on the Thames, and then walked past the Globe Theater (Shakespeare) and St. Paul's.
Wednesday was a rest day for me. Wes and Liz ended up going to the castle where they film Downton Abbey. They thought their guided tour of the Harry Potter Studios was Wednesday, but didn't realize until they arrived at the bus station that it wasn't until Thursday. Seeing that I don't watch Downton Abbey and that it would have taken too long for me to meet them to head to the castle, they went without me and I happily had a quiet day at the apartment. When they got back we headed to Chinatown for dinner and then to a pub called O'Neill's. A cover band started playing at 10pm. One of their first songs was Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd. My previous experiences with the English and US Geography led to the discovery that most of them have no idea where or what anything is, including that New York is a state as well as a city or that Los Angeles isn't an entire state in itself. I bet if I asked most of them if they knew where/what Alabama is that they wouldn't have had any idea. I sang my heart out anyways.
Thursday was the day Wes and Liz were actually supposed to go to the Harry Potter Studies. I had a slow start to my day and eventually made my way to the British Museum. It took me nearly two hours just to get through half of the top floor and by then I had to leave to meet Wesley and Liz. Once we were reunited, we headed to a huge mall for dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant. After dinner we spent some time walking around the mall before heading back to the apartment.
Friday was definitely my favorite day since I arrived in England. The three of us went to Dover, about an hour and a half train ride from London and known for it's famous White Cliffs. They're made mostly of chalk with streaks of black flint. It's also the point where England is closest to continental Europe, consequently offering a view of France. We walked from the train station to the visitors center at the beginning of the cliffs and stopped there for lunch. From there we began our walk along the edge of the cliffs, which reach 350 feet at their highest. There's a light house at the end of the trail, but none of us were interested in walking all the way out to it. At the end of the day when we reemerged at the visitors center, we had already walked 9 miles. I much prefer nature scenes to cityscapes, so this was perfect. The cliffs were simply stunning. By the time we finished our little hike and got back to the city center it was nearly 5:30 and our train was to leave at 7. We decided to grab a drink at a pub since there wasn't time to go do anything else. We got back to Wesley's flat close to 9:30, showered, and headed to a pub close by for a drink.
Yesterday (August 22) we went to Hampton Court Palace. This quite large and very diverse palace was most famously inhabited by Henry VIII beginning in 1529, though it was first built in 1515. It was later added to, redesigned, and some parts demolished by later kings and queens. Some other famous residents include George III and James I (known for the King James Version of the Bible), among many others. It's celebrating its 500 year anniversary this year - at 4:15pm the fountain in one of the courtyards begins spewing water instead of wine. I really enjoyed all the expansive gardens. I think my most favorite part was being in the kitchens and seeing how much work and how many people were needed to feed Henry VII's court of 600 people. There was also the world's longest grape vine in the gardens, planted in 1769 with the longest vine measuring an astonishing 120 feet long. Since the grounds were so extensive, we were there for a solid 4 hours. That evening we had dinner in Wes's neighborhood. We walked around to see some of the famous shots from the movie "Notting Hill" before heading home.
Liz left this morning. I slept in while Wes took her to the airport. After some lunch, I made my way back to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone. Since it seemed like half of London was also at the museum, I left and decided to walk back to the flat (4 miles straight back). I ended up walking past the Kensington Gardens and Palace. I didn't get a good look of the actual palace, but it was still neat to see parts of it. If you didn't know, Kensington Palace is the royal family's residence. Tonight is just going to be a lazy night in. We both need some time to relax after such a busy week.
Wesley and I booked tickets to Cardiff for Wednesday. We're going to be there for just about 7 hours. I'm really excited to see yet another part of the UK. By the time I leave I'll have visited Birmingham, Warwick, Oxford, London, Dover, and Carfiff (Wales). Not too shabby!
Pictures will be up as soon as I actually have time to go through all of them.
Wesley and his cousin Liz met me at the train station on Monday. After dropping my stuff off at the apartment, we headed out to do some major sight seeing. We saw places like the London Eye, The Tower Bridge, the Palace of Westminster/Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, and Westminster Abbey. Most of these places we just viewed from the outside, but it was still really breathtaking to see them in real life after seeing them in pictures or on a television show for years. By the evening we were all exhausted, so we grabbed a bite to eat and a drink near the apartment before turning in for the night.
Fun fact, Wesley lives right next to Portobello Road, which is where they filmed many of the outside scenes in the movie "Notting Hill." How cool is that!
Tuesday the 18th we spend the better part of the day at the Tower of London. Some of you may be familiar with this because it's where the crown jewels are kept (and yes I saw them!!). It's also a castle dating back to the 1000s. A number of famous people are buried there. A number of famous people were also executed there, namely Anne Boleyn. It sits on the Thames River so it made for a good point of defense. Upon arrival we had a guided tour from a particularly hilarious British solider, otherwise known as Beefeater. He was an equal opportunity harasser and made sure to poke fun every single nationality - but if you ask me he seemed to make the most fun of Americans and the French. Considering the vast history of the place, he also kept it light yet and interesting yet informative. At one point during the day I was separated from Wes and Liz, so I sat down with my phone to connect to wifi and text Wes. As I was sitting there, a young guy approached me and asked in a very thick French accent and said, "Excuse me, you are so beautiful, can I take a picture with you?" It was sufficiently awkward. When we finally left the Tower of London, we strolled across the Tower Bridge onto the other side of the river. We had dinner and some drinks at one of the oldest pubs in London, which also sat on the Thames, and then walked past the Globe Theater (Shakespeare) and St. Paul's.
Wednesday was a rest day for me. Wes and Liz ended up going to the castle where they film Downton Abbey. They thought their guided tour of the Harry Potter Studios was Wednesday, but didn't realize until they arrived at the bus station that it wasn't until Thursday. Seeing that I don't watch Downton Abbey and that it would have taken too long for me to meet them to head to the castle, they went without me and I happily had a quiet day at the apartment. When they got back we headed to Chinatown for dinner and then to a pub called O'Neill's. A cover band started playing at 10pm. One of their first songs was Sweet Home Alabama by Lynyrd Skynyrd. My previous experiences with the English and US Geography led to the discovery that most of them have no idea where or what anything is, including that New York is a state as well as a city or that Los Angeles isn't an entire state in itself. I bet if I asked most of them if they knew where/what Alabama is that they wouldn't have had any idea. I sang my heart out anyways.
Thursday was the day Wes and Liz were actually supposed to go to the Harry Potter Studies. I had a slow start to my day and eventually made my way to the British Museum. It took me nearly two hours just to get through half of the top floor and by then I had to leave to meet Wesley and Liz. Once we were reunited, we headed to a huge mall for dinner at an authentic Mexican restaurant. After dinner we spent some time walking around the mall before heading back to the apartment.
Friday was definitely my favorite day since I arrived in England. The three of us went to Dover, about an hour and a half train ride from London and known for it's famous White Cliffs. They're made mostly of chalk with streaks of black flint. It's also the point where England is closest to continental Europe, consequently offering a view of France. We walked from the train station to the visitors center at the beginning of the cliffs and stopped there for lunch. From there we began our walk along the edge of the cliffs, which reach 350 feet at their highest. There's a light house at the end of the trail, but none of us were interested in walking all the way out to it. At the end of the day when we reemerged at the visitors center, we had already walked 9 miles. I much prefer nature scenes to cityscapes, so this was perfect. The cliffs were simply stunning. By the time we finished our little hike and got back to the city center it was nearly 5:30 and our train was to leave at 7. We decided to grab a drink at a pub since there wasn't time to go do anything else. We got back to Wesley's flat close to 9:30, showered, and headed to a pub close by for a drink.
Yesterday (August 22) we went to Hampton Court Palace. This quite large and very diverse palace was most famously inhabited by Henry VIII beginning in 1529, though it was first built in 1515. It was later added to, redesigned, and some parts demolished by later kings and queens. Some other famous residents include George III and James I (known for the King James Version of the Bible), among many others. It's celebrating its 500 year anniversary this year - at 4:15pm the fountain in one of the courtyards begins spewing water instead of wine. I really enjoyed all the expansive gardens. I think my most favorite part was being in the kitchens and seeing how much work and how many people were needed to feed Henry VII's court of 600 people. There was also the world's longest grape vine in the gardens, planted in 1769 with the longest vine measuring an astonishing 120 feet long. Since the grounds were so extensive, we were there for a solid 4 hours. That evening we had dinner in Wes's neighborhood. We walked around to see some of the famous shots from the movie "Notting Hill" before heading home.
Liz left this morning. I slept in while Wes took her to the airport. After some lunch, I made my way back to the British Museum to see the Rosetta Stone. Since it seemed like half of London was also at the museum, I left and decided to walk back to the flat (4 miles straight back). I ended up walking past the Kensington Gardens and Palace. I didn't get a good look of the actual palace, but it was still neat to see parts of it. If you didn't know, Kensington Palace is the royal family's residence. Tonight is just going to be a lazy night in. We both need some time to relax after such a busy week.
Wesley and I booked tickets to Cardiff for Wednesday. We're going to be there for just about 7 hours. I'm really excited to see yet another part of the UK. By the time I leave I'll have visited Birmingham, Warwick, Oxford, London, Dover, and Carfiff (Wales). Not too shabby!
Pictures will be up as soon as I actually have time to go through all of them.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Ain't No Rest For The Wicked
On Friday I tried to go to Cadburry World, a huge chocolate factory. I arrived around 12:30 and all the tickets were sold out for the day. I looked around the gift shop and got a hot chocolate before I headed to a place called Selly Manor. Selly Manor is an old Tudor home from the 1300s. It's a short walk from Cadburry World because the Cadburry family bought the house when it was slated to be destroyed and restored it to its original condition. To be honest, I probably enjoyed the Tudor house more than I would have enjoyed the chocolate factory. I also made my way to and from these places on my own with the buses, despite the fact that the buses don't have anything informing you of the stops. When I was finished I headed back to Marcella's, collected my things, and headed out to meet Marcella at the university. We walked around the university a bit, then made our way to the bus station to catch our bus to Oxford. We arrived in Oxford around 9:30 and went straight to our hostel. The hostel was fine. We were in a room for 8 people, so the two of us and then 6 strangers. There were two showers, two toilets and one sink on our hall for probably no less than 30 people. After settling in we found a local bar down the street and had some drinks.
Saturday morning Clare met us at the hostel and we set off for our own little walking tour of Oxford. We pretty much walked around and saw just about everything there is to see. For lunch we bought some pre-made food from the grocery store and took it to the University of Oxford park to eat. After dinner we went to the same bar as Friday night and ended up sitting next to five of the people in our hostel room and a German guy also staying in the hostel. Marcella and Clare ended up turning in early but I spent the rest of the night hanging out with the people from our room and the German guy. All 5 of the roommates were British: 2 dudes and 3 chicks. We didn't get back to hostel until 4am. Lots of fun was had by all.
Sleeping in the hostel was basically impossible. The windows in our room faced the really noisy street below. And with 8 people in one room, there was practically always someone moving around. There's also something overly intimate about sharing a room with strangers. You see how people operate on a very basic level. You likely don't even know their name, but you quickly discover whether they snore, what their morning hair looks like, if they're a light or heavy sleeper, and so on. In the end, it was neat to make such quick friends with people I didn't know 24 hours before.
This morning (Sunday) we had to be out of the hostel by 10:30. Again, we wandered all around Oxford to see a couple things we missed on Saturday. By the end of the weekend we had visited places like Christ Church Meadow (where they filmed Harry Potter), the Oxford Castle, the Bodleian Library, the Ashmoleoan Museum of Art and Architecture, the Museum of Natural History, and likely walked half the streets in town. After an early dinner we headed to the train station, bid farewell to Clare, and headed back to Birmingham. To say that I am exhausted would be an understatement. I head back to London tomorrow morning, where I will be until I head back to Germany on the 29th.
I'm beginning to get a little weary of all this traveling. It's only been a week and a half since I left the States, but I'm quickly growing tired of the lack of stability and the cost. I'm having fun seeing my friends and enjoying their company, but I can never get a good nights sleep, living out of a suitcase isn't fun, and everything is very expensive. First world problems, right?
Photos of the weekend in Birmingham and Oxford coming soon!
I'm beginning to get a little weary of all this traveling. It's only been a week and a half since I left the States, but I'm quickly growing tired of the lack of stability and the cost. I'm having fun seeing my friends and enjoying their company, but I can never get a good nights sleep, living out of a suitcase isn't fun, and everything is very expensive. First world problems, right?
Photos of the weekend in Birmingham and Oxford coming soon!
Friday, August 14, 2015
KEIN ROTGELD!
The second half of my time in Frankfurt was more acclimating and hanging out with Matt than exploring. Seeing as I had already been to Frankfurt several times, I didn’t really feel the need to go out and see all the sights. Plus, there aren’t that many things to see and it was really hot. Have I mentioned that air conditioning isn’t standard in Germany?
Sunday started out slowly. We opted to avoid an alarm and didn’t end up leaving the house until nearly 3pm. We traveled to the other side of Frankfurt where we went to an “African and Caribbean Festival.” It was exactly what it sounds like - music, food, clothing, dancing, etc from Africa and the Caribbean. Had I been more adventurous I may have tried some ethnic food. Afterwards we headed to downtown and ate at an Italian restaurant, which happened to be right across from the Apfelwein festival, so naturally we ended up going there after dinner. While we were at the Apfelwein festival I had to go use the restroom. We decided to return to the restaurant where we had dinner. German establishments are very rigid about their restroom usage. If you aren’t a customer, they insist you pay to use their facilities. Not an entirely unreasonable request, but not so clever in practice. Matt and I walked in, used the restroom, and had walked out before anyone approached us. A waiter ran outside after us to ask if we had paid before we left. We had, though it had been hours before, and Matt told him this. It didn’t take much to convince him. I’m sure if we hadn’t paid we could have lied and gotten away with it.
Monday was a day of relaxation for me while Matt was at work. I couldn’t fall asleep until nearly 3am; thunderstorms kept waking me up throughout the night and I was just too hot to sleep. I didn’t wake up until 1pm the next day. Since Matt got off at 5, I figured I may as well just wait around for him to get off work, as he would want to come home and change anyways. While I was lounging around, Matt’s roommate, Margret, asked me, “Did you come all the way here just to sit around all day?” Those saucy little Germans.
After Matt was off work, we went downtown and walked around the Zeil (a huge shopping street) walked into the Dom (cathedral), and then wandered around until we found somewhere to eat. The evening activities consisted of - you guessed it! - the Apfelwein festival. Matt tried to get some of his co-workers to join us, but no one came.
Later on that evening I needed to use the restroom. They had restrooms at the festival, but they cost €0,50. Matt had that much in 1 and 2 cent coins, so I tried to pay for the bathroom using that. The woman attending the bathrooms was really rude when she exclaimed, “KEIN ROTGELD!” (literally “no red money”) and then mumbled some other stuff in German that I couldn’t quite understand. I’d never heard this before, but she was referring to the 1 and 2 cent coins, which are red/copper (the 5 cent coin is also red). The 10, 20, and 50 cent coins are gold, and the €1 and €2 coins are a combination of silver and gold. Their smallest bill is €5, and the actual bills get physically bigger the more they are (aka the €10 is bigger than the €5, the €20 bigger than the €10, and so on and so forth). Needless to say, I didn’t use the restrooms. Afterwards we made a pit stop at Rewe (grocery store) on the way home to pick up some essentials, aka the delicious local specialty known as Spundekäs - some kind of mixture of cream cheese, sour cream, and spices.
Speaking of Rewe, this is the "USA" section there. This is what the rest of the world thinks of our eating habits.
Tuesday was more active. After I woke up I made my way to the Zeil (huge shopping street), Dom (cathedral), Römer (medieval style buildings), and Main River, where I wandered around, people watched, and read. I met Matt after work and we made our way to the Hauptbahnhof where I caught my bus to the airport (Frankfurt Hahn, which isn’t anywhere near Frankfurt as it took me an hour and forty-five minutes to get there) for my flight to London. I flew to London via Ryan Air, which as Wesley so aptly described, is the Walmart of airlines. Overall it wasn’t bad, but it made the airlines in the US seem like luxury airlines. I had to fly into London Stansted (also not near London, nearly an hour and a half outside the city), where Wesley picked me up. The customs agent was fairly rude to me. I wasn’t aware that I needed to provide the address of who I’d be staying with, so I didn’t have one. The agent scolded me and asked to see my return ticket. He informed me that next time I better be prepared. He also questioned me about all the other 5 stamps in my passport, who I was staying with, how I knew these people, how long I would stay, when I was leaving, and what my job is in Germany. It was very ridiculous. Anyways, Wes and I took the train into the city and then caught a local tube line back to his place. I don’t think I finally went to sleep until nearly 3am.
Wednesday morning we slept in. We had a quick bite to eat in Wesley’s neighborhood, and then we made our way to the coach station. One funny thing about England is the fact that they have "<-- Look Left" and "Look Right -->" painted on their roads at the crosswalks, ensuring everyone actually looks the correct way before crossing the street. I caught my bus to Birmingham that afternoon and I arrived here just after 6pm. Marcella met me at the station. We went back to her house and dropped off my things before we went to a restaurant in her neighborhood for dinner.
Today (Thursday) was my second most active day since being in Europe. At the end of the day I had walked an impressive 10 miles. I know that may not sound like a lot to some of you, but for some perspective: I had only been averaging a couple miles (excluding my workouts) in the months before I moved. Now I'm averaging about 5, with the random 10+ day thrown in. Since Marcella has work, her mom, Geraldine, and I took the train out to Warwick where there is an old castle from the 1068, aptly named Warwick Castle. It’s a really neat place. It’s different from most castles I’ve been to in the way that it wasn’t so stuffy. All the room you were allowed in had wax figures of the real people who lived there or visited and they even had speakers playing conversations they may have had. Even many the artifacts were original and available to touch. I picked a book up off the shelf in the library. We were there about four hours and by the end we had been through the entire castle and walked most of the grounds. They also had shows you could go and watch like jousting, catapulting, and something involving eagles. It was really interesting and I really enjoyed it. Here's a panoramic photo from above, taken in one of the lookout posts. It was really overcast, but I'm loving the cool weather with the highs in the 70s and very low humidity.
We met Marcella in town around 5:30. Geraldine went home and Marcella and I left to tour the city center before we met her friends for dinner. We walked all around Birmingham seeing the brand new library, the Bull Ring, Town Hall, Victoria Square, Gas Street Basin, the canals, and so on. After dinner we wanted some dessert so we found a restaurant with some delicious chocolate things. As we were going inside the restaurant which also appeared to be a crowded bar, the bouncers looked at us, and then pointed at me and asked to see my ID. Marcella and I started making a fuss and joking with them about why just me. The bouncer was immediately interested in me because he said he couldn't place my accent, and ended up letting us in without checking. I thought my accent was pretty obviously American, but I guess not. On that note, the past two days I've noticed people turning and looking at me when they hear me speak, obviously trying to hear me and see where I'm from. Oh, how the tables have turned!
So far I'm really enjoying England. I'd never been here before this trip and I'm realizing how similar it is to the rest of Europe in some ways but also how similar it is to the US in some ways. Tomorrow Marcella and I leave for Oxford where we'll be visiting Clare. I'm really excited to see yet more of this country and for the three of us to be reunited.
Cheers!
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Ausstieg in Fahrtrichtung rechts
After Matt was through with work on Friday we went out in Frankfurt. Matt's not overly familiar with Frankfurt, so we walked around awhile before deciding on where to eat. After eating, we stumbled upon an Apfelwein festival, so we stopped by and enjoyed some Apfelwein and live music. Apfelwein literally translated is "apple wine," but it's more like a cross between a cider and a wine. It has a light apple flavor like cider, but is lighter like wine. It's delicious. As I paid for dinner, I realized I had forgotten the customary way to interact with the waiter. In Germany when you ask to pay, the waiter comes to your table, tallies up your bill in front of you, tells you the total, and then waits for you to pay (typically in cash - many places don't accept card at all). They give you your change right at the table from a large wallet they carry on their person with their whole shifts worth of payments. It's common to tip just slightly. For example, if your total is €16,50, you would tell the waiter €17, and they'd keep the €0,50. This slight tip is probably more due to convenience for the waiter than anything else - keep in mind the large wallet they carry around. As I paid for the €18, I forgot to do this with my waiter, and she ended up keeping the whole €20. Not a big deal, but it reminded me how many of the little things I had forgotten.
A representative from Amnesty International approached us looking for a donation that night as we were walking around. I was thrown off guard for a minute. At the moment I'm still not expecting people to randomly start speaking German to me, and I end up looking like an idiot. In fact, the girl looked at Matt and asked "Spricht sie?" or " Does she speak German?" I was mortified and immediately felt like I had to prove myself, thus I quickly spit out some German phrases. I remember that it took some time for me to expect German and understand it from strangers, so that's another thing I have to re-train my brain to do.
Yesterday was amazing, as Matt and I made a journey over to Mainz (where we studied abroad last year). Mainz truly feels like home for me. I know where everything is, how to get everywhere, where the best places to eat are, all the good tourist attractions, etc. We spent the day walking around - 11.25 miles, to be exact - seeing all the old places we used to go. We also ate some döner (shaved mystery meat, possibly lamb, in a toasted ciabatta envelope with vegetables and sauces) and also schnitzel. We went pretty much everywhere in Mainz, even to a few places I had never been. I also rediscovered my dislike for German doors. I'm not really sure how to describe doors here, but they're kind of opposite from ours. I always end up pushing when I should pull and pulling when I should push. Surprisingly, this has little to do with my brains inability to remember push (drücken) and pull (ziehen), which aren't even on most doors. I just simply can't remember which ways the doors go. In the end I always end up looking like an idiot, which I suppose really isn't that uncommon for me.
Also, it's really hot here. It was in the low 100s when I got here on Friday, and yesterday it was in the low 90s. It's not quite as humid, but they also don't have air conditioning.
I'm not sure what the plans are for today. Mostly lounging around and then we'll head out for some exploring and dinner.
A representative from Amnesty International approached us looking for a donation that night as we were walking around. I was thrown off guard for a minute. At the moment I'm still not expecting people to randomly start speaking German to me, and I end up looking like an idiot. In fact, the girl looked at Matt and asked "Spricht sie?" or " Does she speak German?" I was mortified and immediately felt like I had to prove myself, thus I quickly spit out some German phrases. I remember that it took some time for me to expect German and understand it from strangers, so that's another thing I have to re-train my brain to do.
Yesterday was amazing, as Matt and I made a journey over to Mainz (where we studied abroad last year). Mainz truly feels like home for me. I know where everything is, how to get everywhere, where the best places to eat are, all the good tourist attractions, etc. We spent the day walking around - 11.25 miles, to be exact - seeing all the old places we used to go. We also ate some döner (shaved mystery meat, possibly lamb, in a toasted ciabatta envelope with vegetables and sauces) and also schnitzel. We went pretty much everywhere in Mainz, even to a few places I had never been. I also rediscovered my dislike for German doors. I'm not really sure how to describe doors here, but they're kind of opposite from ours. I always end up pushing when I should pull and pulling when I should push. Surprisingly, this has little to do with my brains inability to remember push (drücken) and pull (ziehen), which aren't even on most doors. I just simply can't remember which ways the doors go. In the end I always end up looking like an idiot, which I suppose really isn't that uncommon for me.
Also, it's really hot here. It was in the low 100s when I got here on Friday, and yesterday it was in the low 90s. It's not quite as humid, but they also don't have air conditioning.
I'm not sure what the plans are for today. Mostly lounging around and then we'll head out for some exploring and dinner.
Friday, August 7, 2015
...und jetzt bin ich hier.
I'm here!
The trip over wasn't so bad; in fact, it was actually quite good. My flight out of Huntsville was delayed an hour due to thunderstorms, but my mom was able to rebook me before I even left Huntsville. I ended up flying to Atlanta where I caught a direct flight to Frankfurt (~8.5 hour flight). I got lucky enough to get a window seat in the exit row right behind the bathrooms, which meant SIX FEET of leg room! Not only that, but I also didn't have anyone sitting next to me. It was nearly as amazing as first class.
I landed about 4 hours ago. Matt had some trouble navigating the airport (the Frankfurt airport is insanely large and confusing) and I couldn't connect to the wifi to talk to him, so it took us a bit to find each other. We left the airport around 10am and took a train, tram, and bus until we finally arrived at his apartment an hour and fifteen minutes later. Since he took the morning off of work to pick me up, he is now working from noon until 6. Being that it's supposed to be 101F here today, I decided to just lounge around the apartment until he's off work, taking my time to shower and rest (and blog, of course).
Naturally, there was one casualty today. As I was getting on the tram in the airport, my suitcase wheel got stuck in the crack between the platform and the tram. I pulled, but instead of my suitcase coming with me, the handle broke off. The guy behind me was watching the whole thing and made a point to look at me in the eyes and smile. Luckily I'm still able to wheel the suitcase around even without the handle, so it's a mild inconvenience. Matt is kind enough to let me leave my 2 "big" suitcases here when I'm in England, so I just have to be able to get the broken suitcase to Nürnberg.
Matt rents a room in an apartment from an older woman, so he basically has a 65 year old German roommate. I've spent some time chatting with her since Matt left, and my German isn't as rusty as I feared. I'm definitely off to a good start.
The trip over wasn't so bad; in fact, it was actually quite good. My flight out of Huntsville was delayed an hour due to thunderstorms, but my mom was able to rebook me before I even left Huntsville. I ended up flying to Atlanta where I caught a direct flight to Frankfurt (~8.5 hour flight). I got lucky enough to get a window seat in the exit row right behind the bathrooms, which meant SIX FEET of leg room! Not only that, but I also didn't have anyone sitting next to me. It was nearly as amazing as first class.
I landed about 4 hours ago. Matt had some trouble navigating the airport (the Frankfurt airport is insanely large and confusing) and I couldn't connect to the wifi to talk to him, so it took us a bit to find each other. We left the airport around 10am and took a train, tram, and bus until we finally arrived at his apartment an hour and fifteen minutes later. Since he took the morning off of work to pick me up, he is now working from noon until 6. Being that it's supposed to be 101F here today, I decided to just lounge around the apartment until he's off work, taking my time to shower and rest (and blog, of course).
Naturally, there was one casualty today. As I was getting on the tram in the airport, my suitcase wheel got stuck in the crack between the platform and the tram. I pulled, but instead of my suitcase coming with me, the handle broke off. The guy behind me was watching the whole thing and made a point to look at me in the eyes and smile. Luckily I'm still able to wheel the suitcase around even without the handle, so it's a mild inconvenience. Matt is kind enough to let me leave my 2 "big" suitcases here when I'm in England, so I just have to be able to get the broken suitcase to Nürnberg.
Matt rents a room in an apartment from an older woman, so he basically has a 65 year old German roommate. I've spent some time chatting with her since Matt left, and my German isn't as rusty as I feared. I'm definitely off to a good start.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
The Good in Goodbye
I'm nervous.
This nervousness is also mixed with a lot of excitement and a little bit of sadness, which is almost exactly how I felt before I left for my semester in Mainz. I've been planning this for so long that it doesn't feel real for it to almost be here, for me to leave everything behind so soon. I have spent the past two days packing, so that has helped to make it feel like it's about to happen, but it's also helped to make it feel so far away. As you can tell, I can't really put into words how exactly I feel.
I'm nervous.
That's what it boils down to. My stomach is in knots (also not uncommon, as I have a genetic predisposition to having a generally dismal digestive tract). I guess if you really boil it down to the basics: I'm leaving everything I know behind. My family, my friends, my way of life. It's all going to be so fundamentally different so very soon. The only thing I can control is my reaction to that.
My words are failing me right now.
On that note, I'll see you on the flip side.
This nervousness is also mixed with a lot of excitement and a little bit of sadness, which is almost exactly how I felt before I left for my semester in Mainz. I've been planning this for so long that it doesn't feel real for it to almost be here, for me to leave everything behind so soon. I have spent the past two days packing, so that has helped to make it feel like it's about to happen, but it's also helped to make it feel so far away. As you can tell, I can't really put into words how exactly I feel.
I'm nervous.
That's what it boils down to. My stomach is in knots (also not uncommon, as I have a genetic predisposition to having a generally dismal digestive tract). I guess if you really boil it down to the basics: I'm leaving everything I know behind. My family, my friends, my way of life. It's all going to be so fundamentally different so very soon. The only thing I can control is my reaction to that.
My words are failing me right now.
On that note, I'll see you on the flip side.
Saturday, August 1, 2015
FAQ
Well, we're down to the last few days in the States! Last night was my going away party and I got to see most of the people I wanted to see before I left. I was asked the same questions approximately 30 different times, so I thought I'd write a post answering these very important Frequently Asked Questions.
What exactly is an au pair?
When do you leave?
I leave on Thursday, August 6 for Frankfurt. I fly Huntsville --> Atlanta --> JFK --> Frankfurt.
What are your plans for the three weeks before you start work?
I'll be spending a long weekend in Frankfurt with Matt. I leave Frankfurt on August 11 for London, where I'll spend one night with Wesley, a friend and fellow MSU grad. On August 12 I leave London for Birmingham, where I'll spend a few days with Marcella. On August 14 Marcella and I leave for Oxford to spend the weekend (in a hostel!!) with Clare. Matt, Marcella, Clare and I hung out frequently in Mainz. The are all English, and they all went to the same university in Birmingham. They all also studied German (Matt also studied Italian, Marcella also studied Spanish and Portuguese, and Clare also studied French -- we are clearly some of the biggest language nerds you may ever meet). They are definitely the closest friends I made during my study abroad in Mainz and we have kept in close contact since we left Mainz. Anyways, after the weekend in Oxford, I head back to Birmingham for one night and then depart for London August 17 where I'll be reunited with Wesley. At this point, my plans become blurry. I was originally supposed to head to Ireland August 21 with Wesley and others, but all of the others have backed out, so I'm not sure what I'll be doing. The only thing I know for certain is that my flight back to Frankfurt is on August 29. Perhaps I'll still go to Ireland. My German friend Kalle will be in Ireland and we have tentative plans to meet up. Perhaps I'll head to other parts of England, or maybe Scotland or Northern Ireland. Traveling within European countries is relatively cheap, so I'm not too worried about it yet. I'll be in Frankfurt again August 29 through September 1. I'll be taking a bus from Frankfurt to Nürnberg where my host family will meet me at the bus station!
What's your host family like?
Both my host parents work full time; my host dad as an engineer and my host mom as an investment banker. I have two host kids, both boys, one age 4 and the other age 1. Both the kids attend a German-English bilingual school, so I will be speaking to the children in English (and German with my host parents). In the interest of privacy, I won't be listing their names or posting pictures of them.
What are your working hours?
I work the opposite hours of most people. I work in the mornings from around 7am to 9am, and then again in the late afternoon and evenings anywhere from 4:30pm to 10pm, depending on the day. I'll work some Saturday mornings, but not all, and I get Sunday off. I have to have 1.5 consecutive days off per week. In the morning I'll mostly be doing stuff like helping to get the kids up, fed, and ready for school; at night I have the same duties in reverse: helping to feed the kids dinner, getting them ready for bed, and putting them to sleep. Some days I'll take them to swim class or other afternoon activities (in fact, they listed swimming as a necessary skill for their au pair to have).
What are your other duties?
My host family has a cleaning person, so I won't have to do heavy cleaning, just the normal daily things like clearing the kitchen table, doing dishes, putting toys away, etc. I'll also be responsible for helping to prepare meals, doing laundry, and vacuuming when needed.
Where exactly will you be?
My host family is from Berlin but resides in Nürnberg (Nuremberg in English). They live in a three-story house with a garden. Nürnberg is a large city in northern Bavaria, population approximately 517, 498. It's the fourteenth largest city in Germany. Most people are familiar with Nürnberg because of WW2 and the Nuremberg trials when German officials were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
What are your benefits?
In addition to getting 1.5 consecutive days off per week, I cannot work more than 30 hours per week (excluding mealtimes). I get 4 weeks paid vacation throughout the year, which to my knowledge does not include bank holidays that I will also get off. My host parents pay for my health, accident, and liability insurance. On top of all this, I get paid on a monthly basis. It's not much, but considering that I don't pay for any living expenses, it's straight pocket money. My host parents will also reimburse me for my flight cost to and from Germany upon the completion of my contract.
How long will you be there?
My contract is from September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016. Ideally, I'd like to live in Europe for 3-5 years in order to become fluent in both German and French.
Do you plan on coming home?
Barring any unfortunate circumstances, I won't be coming home in the next year. It's quite expensive and I want to enjoy my time there as much as possible.
Are you excited?!
Without a shadow of a doubt!
I think I covered all my bases! If I missed anything, leave a comment and I'll be sure to answer it.
What exactly is an au pair?
au pair
ˌō ˈper/
noun
- a young foreign person, typically a woman, who helps with housework or child care in exchange for room and board.
I leave on Thursday, August 6 for Frankfurt. I fly Huntsville --> Atlanta --> JFK --> Frankfurt.
What are your plans for the three weeks before you start work?
I'll be spending a long weekend in Frankfurt with Matt. I leave Frankfurt on August 11 for London, where I'll spend one night with Wesley, a friend and fellow MSU grad. On August 12 I leave London for Birmingham, where I'll spend a few days with Marcella. On August 14 Marcella and I leave for Oxford to spend the weekend (in a hostel!!) with Clare. Matt, Marcella, Clare and I hung out frequently in Mainz. The are all English, and they all went to the same university in Birmingham. They all also studied German (Matt also studied Italian, Marcella also studied Spanish and Portuguese, and Clare also studied French -- we are clearly some of the biggest language nerds you may ever meet). They are definitely the closest friends I made during my study abroad in Mainz and we have kept in close contact since we left Mainz. Anyways, after the weekend in Oxford, I head back to Birmingham for one night and then depart for London August 17 where I'll be reunited with Wesley. At this point, my plans become blurry. I was originally supposed to head to Ireland August 21 with Wesley and others, but all of the others have backed out, so I'm not sure what I'll be doing. The only thing I know for certain is that my flight back to Frankfurt is on August 29. Perhaps I'll still go to Ireland. My German friend Kalle will be in Ireland and we have tentative plans to meet up. Perhaps I'll head to other parts of England, or maybe Scotland or Northern Ireland. Traveling within European countries is relatively cheap, so I'm not too worried about it yet. I'll be in Frankfurt again August 29 through September 1. I'll be taking a bus from Frankfurt to Nürnberg where my host family will meet me at the bus station!
What's your host family like?
Both my host parents work full time; my host dad as an engineer and my host mom as an investment banker. I have two host kids, both boys, one age 4 and the other age 1. Both the kids attend a German-English bilingual school, so I will be speaking to the children in English (and German with my host parents). In the interest of privacy, I won't be listing their names or posting pictures of them.
What are your working hours?
I work the opposite hours of most people. I work in the mornings from around 7am to 9am, and then again in the late afternoon and evenings anywhere from 4:30pm to 10pm, depending on the day. I'll work some Saturday mornings, but not all, and I get Sunday off. I have to have 1.5 consecutive days off per week. In the morning I'll mostly be doing stuff like helping to get the kids up, fed, and ready for school; at night I have the same duties in reverse: helping to feed the kids dinner, getting them ready for bed, and putting them to sleep. Some days I'll take them to swim class or other afternoon activities (in fact, they listed swimming as a necessary skill for their au pair to have).
What are your other duties?
My host family has a cleaning person, so I won't have to do heavy cleaning, just the normal daily things like clearing the kitchen table, doing dishes, putting toys away, etc. I'll also be responsible for helping to prepare meals, doing laundry, and vacuuming when needed.
Where exactly will you be?
My host family is from Berlin but resides in Nürnberg (Nuremberg in English). They live in a three-story house with a garden. Nürnberg is a large city in northern Bavaria, population approximately 517, 498. It's the fourteenth largest city in Germany. Most people are familiar with Nürnberg because of WW2 and the Nuremberg trials when German officials were charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.
What are your benefits?
In addition to getting 1.5 consecutive days off per week, I cannot work more than 30 hours per week (excluding mealtimes). I get 4 weeks paid vacation throughout the year, which to my knowledge does not include bank holidays that I will also get off. My host parents pay for my health, accident, and liability insurance. On top of all this, I get paid on a monthly basis. It's not much, but considering that I don't pay for any living expenses, it's straight pocket money. My host parents will also reimburse me for my flight cost to and from Germany upon the completion of my contract.
How long will you be there?
My contract is from September 1, 2015 through August 31, 2016. Ideally, I'd like to live in Europe for 3-5 years in order to become fluent in both German and French.
Do you plan on coming home?
Barring any unfortunate circumstances, I won't be coming home in the next year. It's quite expensive and I want to enjoy my time there as much as possible.
Are you excited?!
Without a shadow of a doubt!
I think I covered all my bases! If I missed anything, leave a comment and I'll be sure to answer it.
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