Budapest A-Z in Photos!

Hello :)

I'm finally getting around to my Budapest post – more than a month late. Lately I haven't been up to much more than my internship (which I've also been copying and pasting from the journal my university requires me to do) and I therefore haven't been doing a lot of writing about my life.

Last weekend I went to Bad Urach to go swimming in the thermal pools there, which was a really nice day to spend a freezing cold Saturday. There has hardly been much snow at all here, buy as you can see in my previous post, it's been cold enough for the Neckar River to freeze over – which apparently hasn't happened for quite awhile. In addition to my internship, this past week has been filled with trip planning, as my mom is coming to visit in a few weeks, as are two of my friends from Valparaiso. We plan on traveling a little through the area together and seeing some local sites before heading off to Dublin to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Ireland! (We'll see how that turns out – as a gluten-intolerant in the country home to Guiness on St. Patrick's Day...) Then I'm off to Sweden, back to Germany to see my sister who will be here for a week, and then at the beginning of April I'm going to southern France. It's possible that I'll be able to squeeze a few small weekend / day trips in between, but so far that's my plan for the next two months – and it's taken a lot of time to plan everything!

As the semester comes to a close, a lot of friends I made in our five-week "Deutsch Kompakt Kurs" are soon going home, or have already left, so I've of course been trying to spend as much time with them as I can too. If everything works out alright, it looks like I might have the chance to visit two of them in Belgium with the other Valparaiso students in April! 

Other than that, my life has been much better since the end of my final exams! They all, surprisingly, went pretty well with the exception of my Marketing Exam, which was kind of a verbal-exam nightmare. Verbal exams are quite common in Europe, although I had never had one before. I felt that I was pretty prepared, but some of the questions were very obscure and dealt with content they told us as international students not to learn. So, that could have gone better, but it's not the end of the world. Theology went surprisingly well, and my two courses at the German as a Foreign Language center were very good too. 

SO, that's my update, here's my Budapest photo blog! I was way too busy when I got back to do a daily play-by-play of everything we did and saw (and we accomplished quite a lot in six days) but here's my attempt at getting something recorded so that I can read about it 20 years from now. Some of my pictures aren't all that great – it was cold and gray most of the time we were in Budapest, but I included some of them just for the sake of trying to have one for every letter of the alphabet. (Click photos to enlarge.)

A is for Andrássy Avenue - A trendy shopping and commercial district, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent a couple days exploring the historical sites along this street, as well as the excellent restaurants and beautiful scenery. 

B is for Bridges - Budapest, situated along the Danube, is famous for its eight bridges. All of these bridges connecting "Buda" and "Pest" have been rebuilt within the last century due to the mass destruction the city has seen during decades of war and oppressive governments it has endured. The Chain Bridge (shown above) is probably the most well-known, and in my opinion, the most beautiful. 

And for Baths – I didn't bring my camera to go swimming, but Budapest is famous for its thermal, hot springs where the water is said to cure a ridiculous amount of ailments. It was very relaxing to sit outside in a hot, steaming pool, but getting out and walking barefoot on the cold, concrete ground was torture. (I didn't think to bring sandals...) Budapest has many "Baths," but we went to the ones in City Park, which are the most well-known and the largest.

C is for Castle - Overlooking the city is Buda Castle, a building that much like the rest of the city, bears an illustrious past. It was for many years home to Hungarian Kings and royal families, and today houses numerous museums. It is deceptively large, and it amazes me that it is in such perfect condition. Budapest is honestly the most beautiful city I have ever seen, but it is amazing that it was even able to be reconstructed after the war at all. Check out this link for a picture of the Chain Bridge with Buda Castle in the background following World War II: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lanc_hid_-_Budapest_3_Febr_1946_Foto_Takkk_Hungary.jpg 

And for Cave Church - Located on Gellert Hill, the Cave Church has a significant history and meaning for the Catholic Church in Hungary (where the national religion is Catholicism). This entrance to the within Gellert Hill was built by Pauline Monks in the early 1920's, who returned to the church in 1992 after it was reopened. During World War II, It was used by the Nazis as a field hospital, but after the war it was barricaded by the communist government with a two-feet-thick concrete wall that sealed the cave church from visitors until 1989. 

 D is for the Danube River that divides the former cities of "Buda" and "Pest."

E is for Eternal Escalator – the escalators down into the subway went on forever. The subway lines ran under the Danube, so I can only imagine how deep that must be in reality. It was sometimes a little scary to look down the fast-moving escalators and see how far you would fall if you tripped on something...

F is for Forint – the Hungarian currency that is worth less than the Euro AND the Dollar. We had dessert at every meal, and still came home with extra money. That was a much-welcomed change after 5 months in the Eurozone. :)

F is for Fisherman's Bastion – In medieval times, each guild of tradesmen was given a part of the city of "Pest" that they were responsible for protecting. The Fishermen were responsible for protecting the part of the city where the Fisherman's Bastion currently stands. The large, castle-looking structure is a monument to the Fisherman's Guild with excellent views of the city. 

G is for Gellert Hill – Home of the Cave Church, as well as the Hungarian "Statue of Liberty" seen above. It's a great place to take pictures of the city and all of it's bridges spanning the Danube.

And for Grand Hostel where we stayed. Friendly staff, and nice rooms :)

And for GermanWings an airline that everybody in the Stuttgart (and Köln!) area should know about! They have great deals on flights, and good service too. Try the Blind Booking if you're up for a surprise!

http://www.germanwings.com/ 

H is for House of Terror – a museum dedicated to telling the history of Hungary's Nazi, Communist, and Fascist governments. It was as interesting as it was sickening, and included a part of the underground concentration camp that the communist government kept under this entire block along Andrássy Avenue. I didn't take this picture (it wasn't this sunny and green when we were there) but it is copyright free – I checked! http://www.terrorhaza.hu/index_1.html 

And for Hungarian Cuisine – which was amazing. Here are Rachel and Harry with their dinners at the restaurant we were recommended by the hostel staff. Hungarian food is known throughout Europe for being spicy (which it truly is) and every tourist shop in Budapest sells hot-pepper shaped souvenirs with "Hungary" written on them.

And for Heroes' Square – An open plaza with monuments dedicated to historical figures of Hungary's past and in honor of its current democracy. Looking towards the obelisk, there are museums on either side of the square, and City Park is directly behind.

I is for International Speed Skating Competition – While we were in Budapest, there was a Speed Skating competition being held in City Park. Rachel, the Winter Olympics expert, explained it all to us and we got to watch a couple races. Fans from Norway, the Czech Republic, and of course the Netherlands were prominently in attendance!

J is for Jewish Museum and Europe's largest Synagogue – This was for me, one of the most interesting parts of the trip. I had actually never been in a Synagogue before, and this one was absolutely stunning to see. We couldn't take pictures inside, and I unfortunately couldn't really get a good shot of the outside. I thought it was really sad that we had to go through a metal detector before we could go inside and buy our ticket to the Synagogue and museum – never have I seen a Christian Church that actually requires security guards and a metal detector to protect it from such violent and hateful people, even in 2012...

Here's a photo of the cemetery form the outside behind the Synagogue. Thousands of Holocaust victims are buried here in mass graves – many remain unidentified today.

K is for Köztársasági Elnöki Hivatal – Which apparently means "Office of the President of the Republic of Hungary." Here's another picture of the building below.

L is for [Trabant] Limousine – Even as a former communist country, there were surprising amount of Trabants still on the streets. I think it must have taken at least four to create this Limo?

M is for Metro that reminded me of Communist-Era Moscow – I was, of course, never there (during that time period anyway, but I hope to visit soon!) but these old subways look like they're straight out of the Soviet Union, which I'm quite sure they are. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzycFeqNxIA

And, a link to my favorite German 80's song, just for good measure. It's what came into my head every time our subway pulled up to the platform.

N is for National History Museum – Housed inside of Buda castle

And for National Museum – Not housed inside of Buda castle

O is for the Budapest State Opera House – Where we saw a performance of The Nutcracker.

P is for [Hungarian National] Parliament Building – Probably the most beautiful building I've ever seen (along with the Sydney Opera House) along the banks of the Danube. Nighttime picture below.

Q is for Queen Elisabeth of the Austro-Hungarian Empire – for whom the Elisabeth Bridge (pictured above and below) was named.

R is for Rendörség – The Hungarian Police

And for Royal Hungarian Crown – Which is located in the Hungarian Parliament Building, and guarded at all times by real, live, Hungarian Soldiers. (Just because it's been stolen a couple times in the past...) They have swords.

 S is for St. Stephans Basilica – Which looks like an ordinary European church on the outside, but is an amazing sight to see from the inside. It is decorated absolutely everywhere. I think we spent more than an hour inside just looking around. We actually found it by accident while looking for the Synagogue, which I thought it was at first (the map made it seem so) but the Christ-references in Latin written above the door soon proved us wrong, as did the crosses... Duh. It was on our list of things to see anyway, so it was good we found it!

 And for Széll Kálmán tér – The square we took the tram to every day before switching to the Metro to get into the city. Until recently, it was called "Moskova tér" (Moscow Square) but since communism in Hungary has been over and done with for more than a decade, they decided to change the name.

 T is for Tram – Which was also delightfully, nostalgically Soviet-era-esque. (See the picture above – it's the only one I have!)

U is for Underground in the Labyrinth of Budapest – Much of the city sits on top of a massive underground cave system caused by the hot, thermal, mineral water that Budapest is today so famous for in Europe. It is known as the "Spa City." We explored the caves for a couple hours, including some dark rooms where there were absolutely no lights at all. Good thing our cell phones here have flashlights built into them!

V is for Vajdahunyad Castle – Built as a temporary exhibit for some sort of fair/event (I forget what exactly). Vajdahunyad Castle is located on an island in City Park and is a fusion of multiple architectural styles from all around europe. Most prevalent, however, are the cues it takes from castles in Transylvania, Romania. The people of Budapest liked it so much that it was rebuilt to last. When you're up close, you can barely tell that the styles on each of the sides don't match up.  

W is for World's Largest Hour Glass – Located in City Park. The last grains of sand run through at exactly midnight on New Year's Eve.

X is for nothing starts with X. – Not even the titles of the places we visited in Hungarian.

Y is for Yellow railings along this bridge we crossed with the tram on the last day – The metro we needed to take to get into the city, to take another metro to the airport was conveniently closed. We had no way of knowing ahead of time – we showed up expecting to get on the subway like we had been doing every day. There were signs on every door in Hungarian, and masses of people looking confused and frustrated. We finally located the English sign stating that the Metro was closed that day. After a couple minutes of panic, we found a tram to get us to the metro that took us to the bus that took us to the airport. (We have become experts at public transportation. Budapest was a true test of our map-reading and public-transportation-navigating skills!) It's too bad that we never got the chance to walk across this bridge, because I would have loved to take some pictures. I managed to snap this one of the Parliament building, the river, and the castle all in the same frame. It was a nice way to say goodbye to Budapest!

Z is for Zach – Because we didn't see any Zebras. Here are some wonderful, less-than-flattering pictures of me.

Winter in Tübingen! (Pictures)

(Click to enlarge)

Tübingen and the frozen Neckar

The Hölderlinturm

PHOTO CONTEST!

So last month, I got an email inviting me to apply for a photo contest sponsored by the Study Abroad Office at my University. There were various categories, (people, nature, "postcard-perfect" pictures, and Valparaiso Students abroad.)

I submitted one for the nature category, and one for the "postcard-perfect" category, since I didn't really have good shots to fit the other categories.

A couple days ago, I got an email asking me to come pick up my prize at the International office, because I had won! It just didn't specify which photo I submitted...

Here are the pictures I submitted!

(Click to enlarge)

Postcard-picture category:

Hungarian Parliament Building in Budapest

Nature category

Blautopf in Blaubeuren, Germany

Third picture that I wanted to submit, but decided to enter the Budapest one instead:

Esslingen, Germany

I'll let you know which one was the winner as soon as the International Programs office gets back to me :)

(Update: Just found out: my Budapest picture won third place in the Places category. Not as great as I originally made out, but still cool :)

Quick Update

Hey Blog Readers!

Although it looks like I've forgotten about my blog completely, I haven't!

My first exam is next Wednesday, the 25th, and I've been doing a ton of studying. After the 31st, I'll be all finished and then I'll for sure have some time to blog about Budapest! (I've been wanting to for a long time!)

Until then, check out my pictures on Picasa (see Picasa Photostream to the right) and/or follow me on Twitter @zmnelson!

I'll be starting my internship with PCS Consult on the 1st of February, and as required by my university, I will be keeping a frequent journal of my experiences, which I will also post here.

Bis dann!

Zach

Christmas Break (& catch up. Zürich, Nürnberg, etc.)

Hello Blog Followers :)

Once again, it has been quite awhile since I‘ve written anything… I‘m a pretty lazy blogger. Anyway, I have been up to quite a lot since my last post! It‘s currently New Years Eve, and I‘m blogging from Ettingshausen, where I am visiting Jamina (a good friend from High School who studies Medicine in Frankfurt.) I have quite a long list of things to blog about, so I‘m going to start chronologically from where I last left off!

Here goes the run-down of everything in my life over the past few weeks:

Christmas packages / My experience with German Customs – Wednesday, December 14^th

On Tuesday, December 13^th I received a letter in my mailbox that a package sent to me had been intercepted by Deutsche Zoll (German Customs) and that I had two weeks to come and pick it up at the Customs office in Reutlingen. I had been waiting on a few boxes that my parents had sent a week-and-a-half before, so naturally I was curious as to why one of the three boxes was intercepted while the other two hand‘t been delivered yet. (It was also surprisingly fast considering that the last box took more than three weeks to be delivered. One would think that during the Christmas season that shipping times would be longer, but three, bigger, heavier boxes were delivered to me in ⅓ of the time it took in October.) Anyway, I found out later that our Hausmeister was on vacation, and my other two boxes were delivered to his office where they remained locked up until he returned a few days later, at which point they were delivered to my door. (In addition to my presents, my parents also sent a bunch of gifts for the Stübers – friends with whom I spent Christmas.)

By the time I had deciphered the harshly-worded letter from the German government (with the help of my helpful neighbors) the customs office was already closed. So on Wednesday in between my classes, I was on the train en route to Reutlingen (which is luckily only 10 minutes away.) The customs office was luckily right on the other side of the train tracks as the main station in Reutlingen (probably because these clever Europeans use the train to deliver mail), but the actual office itself was a trick to find. I had looked up the address on Google Maps, but to my surprise there were four *separate* buildings with the exact same number. After walking into the wrong customs building (there were two) I was directed to the correct one, where I was told my package could not be delivered because my parents tried to send me a stuffed teddy bear filled with cocaine. Just kidding. The real contraband items my package contained were Pepto Bismol and Ibu Profin. I knew that the German government was really strict about medication, which is why I went through the one month of stress to get a whole year of Asthma medication approved by my insurance company, but I had no idea that Pepto Bismol would be held to the same standards as prescription medication. Actually, in Germany, most medication is given out on a prescription-only basis, which means no over-the-counter Advil for sale at Gas Station checkout counters. I can‘t imagine what kind of a pain that would be to have to go to a doctor or pharmacist for Tylenol every time you had a headache… And even if you make the trip, there‘s always the chance that the Pharmacist could say no. I know of people in Tübingen who have experienced such situations in which they were not given medication because the pharmacist said they didn't necessarily need it. Although I will be the first to admit that Americans are way too over-medicated, I think the Germans are a little too strict… I think it‘s too bad that in America we have pills for absolutely everything that some doctors are willing to give out like candy, but on the other hand, there are plenty of responsible people who occasionally get headaches and would appreciate some relief.

I was then given the option of sending the entire package back to the United States, or, keeping everything except the illegally-sent medication. I obviously opted for the latter. Because my christmas present (a new Kindle Touch!) was inside, I had to pay importation taxes of 17% of the declared monetary value, which ended up being €13. Even though the Kindle isn‘t actually being imported in a sense that it will be staying in Germany, as I‘m taking it home in August…

Mackenzie was my present-opening audience. Very early in the morning in Minnesota...

I then proceeded to make my way back home with a big, heavy box, where I opened my presents. It was a little early, but I didn't want to bring wrapped gifts to the Stübers (see below!) for christmas and open them in front of everybody. I figured if I wasn't going to wait until Christmas, then there wasn't really a god day to wait until anyway. Plus, I kind of knew there was a Kindle inside, and I needed to bring materials from the internet to a class the next day. Printing things here is the world‘s biggest, most inconvenient hassle. (That could be a blog post in itself.) So, with the Skype audience of my sister in Minnesota who had just woken up, I opened Christmas presents on the 14^th of December.

Nürnberg – Friday, December 16^th

On the 16^th, I went to Nürnberg with a few friends to see the city, and of course, Germany‘s most-famous Weihnachtsmarkt. A bus company in Reutlingen, Kocher-Lutz, offered a bunch of decently-priced day trips all around Germany in December so that people could see the Christmas markets, which we took advantage of. Unfortunately, our group (which was supposed to consist of Jake, Emily, Rachel, and myself) was for some mysterious reason reduced by one unfortunate member… I had made the reservation for the four of us online a week before and received the confirmation that all of us were given seats, and could pay the bus driver on the morning of the 16^th. For whatever reason, Rachel‘s name didn't appear on the bus diver‘s list, and as soon as everybody on the list had arrived, we sped out of the parking lot (as Rachel ran alongside of the bus.) There was plenty of space, and Rachel would have definitely been able to come along. She was exactly on time too, but we ended up leaving a little early. I felt horribly all day, and questioned whether I had somehow forgotten to add her name to our reservation. (I didn't! As soon as we got back I checked my email and her name was most definitely on the confirmation. I kept it as proof.)

The bus ride was much longer than the one to Strasbourg the week before – almost four hours. It rained almost the whole way there, but once we arrived the weather was nice for the better part of the day. Early in the evening, however, it started to rain and the wind picked up. There were broken umbrellas in every trash can, and the indestructible, really cool umbrella that I found in my WG was soon added to the collection…

The christmas market itself was beautiful, and in addition to the Glühwein I make a point of purchasing at each and every christmas market, I also bought a nutcracker. How very German / Christmas markety! Walking through the market, it became really apparent that the Chicago Christkindlmarkt is modeled after the one in Nürnberg. I guess I had always known that, but they were surprisingly similar. Right down to the appearance of the carefully-selected ,,Christkind“ (literally, the „Christ Child,“ – the angel-like figure who visits Germans on Christmas Eve with presents).

In addition to the market, Jake, Emily, and I visited the ,,Nürnberger Prozess Museum“ where the Nürnberg trials took place following World War II. The museum was very interesting, and unlike many museums, it was not overpoweringly huge. We spent a few hours there, but we were able to take the time to read everything and get a good look at the courtroom as well as the other exhibits. What I found interesting, is that the courtroom used to try the Nazis and other WWI criminals is still in use today by the government of Bavaria. The museum was quite a walk from the city center and christmas market, but we got the chance to see a lot of the picturesque city of Nürnberg, especially along the Pegnitz river. Overall, I think Nürnberg is one of the most beautiful German cities I‘ve seen. Once we got back to Tübingen, the normally scenic, slow-flowing Neckar had risen tremendously due to all of the rain. The high volume of swiftly-flowing water changed the entire mood of the city, which took on much more spooky and mysterious atmosphere. I didn't get a chance to look down at the Neckarinsel (Neckar Island) on the other side of the bridge, but I‘m sure it must have been flooded. After a cold walk through the city, I was off to meet up with Hannah, Rachel, and some other friends at Hannah‘s WG Christmas party. They rented out a really cool room in a basement of a restaurant, and although it was jam-packed, the music, food, and atmosphere were all really great. Because I had to get up early the next morning to catch the bus to Zürich, I didn't stay too long, but I was glad to have been able to make a short appearance and get some dinner!

My broken umbrella. It was nice while it lasted... for three days.

Zürich - Saturday, December 17^th

Day two of my busy travel-weekend was a day trip to Zürich, Switzerland, located about two-and-a-half hours south of Tübingen by car – or in our case, bus. If Nürnberg is in my opinion, one of the most beautiful German cities, Zürich is undoubtedly the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Nathan, my friend from France, and I spent the day wandering through the city and exploring all of the free admission tourist sites we could find (many very beautiful churches.)

SWITZERLAND

The weather was quite cold, and although we drove through some snow to get there, there was no snow in the city itself. Once the fog cleared up in the afternoon, we were left with stunning views of the snow-capped Swiss Alps in the distance beyond the Lake Zürich. Zürich, and all of Switzerland, for that matter, is extremely expensive. We brought lunch along to avoid 1) having to change our money into Francs (as Switzerland is not a member of the EU or the Eurozone) and 2) having to buy food in Switzerland. That didn't stop me from scouting out cheap places for lunch for curiosity‘s sake. My currywurst with fries that in Tübingen costs €3.50 was the equivalent of €8 (or roughly $10) in Switzerland. For fast food, without a drink, or a table to sit down and eat at.

I did make an exception and treat myself to a Glühwein at the christmas market which we briefly walked through for €5. Many places in Switzerland accept the Euro although it is not the official currency, but they only offer a one-to-one exchange rate, and since the Euro is worth more than the Franc, it can be a giant rip-off to pay in Euros. But, I figured that if a Glühwein is €4 in Germany after the mug deposit, I could pay an extra Euro for convenience‘s sake.

At the Tourist Information Center in the train station we picked up a map and a free guide of the city, which were both really helpful. There was an indoor christmas market going on inside of the train station, which made finding the information center a little difficult, but after we finally located it, we were off to explore the city. We accomplished surprisingly much over the seven hours we were there, and made our way by foot through much of the city.

The church tower in the background features the largest clock in Europe

Zürich is probably the cleanest, most perfectly-looking city in the world. Not a single building was unkept or in the slightest state of disrepair. Even walking through the narrow Gassen (Gasse = alley / a tiny, narrow European street) which seemed to be free of tourists, not a single house or building was in any other condition than perfect. I think the high prices must also keep out every last low or middle income person in all of Switzerland as well. Walking through the city it seemed as if every car was a Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Bentley… After observing Swiss parking lots, I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen so many Porsches in one place. We didn't see one single homeless person all day long. I‘m sure, however, that many people in Zürich have lots of extra money to donate.

In addition to the beautiful churches, alleys, parks, walkways along the river and lake, we also saw a small Modern Art Museum, we also saw the „Paradeplatz“ the home of the notorious Swiss Banking Industry.

Christmas party/dinner/Secret Santa gift exchange! – Sunday, December 18^th

On the 18^th, we „Tübinger Fünf" from Valpo had a small get together and gift exchange at my WG before some more friends arrived for a potluck christmas dinner in my kitchen. We set our limit at €15, and I drew Hannah‘s name. In addition to the „Phantom of the Opera“ (Hannah‘s favorite book/opera?) I also made her a 2012 Calendar of photos – mostly from our Vienna trip. (Calendars are a very German christmas present. The Germans love to give/receive calendars. Me too ;) )

Then we all ate dinner with our friends from Belgium, Canada and a couple Germans for good measure :)

Christmas etc. cards on my closet doors

"Christmas" Dinner!

Hannah with my present!

Me with my present from Rachel

All of us in my room, and a lovely view of my bed in the foreground

All of our presents under "Der Weinachtsbaum" on my desk

Sushi in Stuttgart – Thursday, December 22^nd

On the 22^nd, I was invited by Merle, my Tandem Partner, to join her and some friends for Sushi in Stuttgart. Merle studies Japanese Studies, and we meet once a week to talk in English and German to improve our conversation skills as part of the Tandem Program. We usually speak one hour in English, and the second hour in German, which is actually very helpful. Anyway, I don‘t remember the name of the restaurant anymore, but it was a „Running Sushi“ restaurant, a type of all-you-can-eat place where every table is next to a conveyor belt upon which an endless supply of sushi and other foods comes around. It was a lot of fun, and for €15, you can eat as much sushi (my favorite food) as you want between 7 and 11 PM. I then came home around 10:30 and packed everything for my nearly two-weeks away with the Stübers and Georgs over christmas break.

Christmas with the Stübers / 6 days in Netra - December 23-28

Very ridiculously early on the morning of the 23^rd, I began my trip to Eschwege via train to visit the Stübers. Because I procrastinated to pack my things and because my bus to the train station left at 5:15 AM, I had to wake up at 4:30 AM – only two hours after I finally made it to bed. Needless to say, it was a very, very long day.

My large suitcase was jammed full of Christmas presents from America that my parents sent for the Stübers and the Georgs, and it was therefore extremely, unfathomably heavy. I came to Germany in August with only two large suitcases (filled with everything I would need for nearly 12 months), and here I was at 5:00 AM waiting for the bus with one of those suitcases all packed and ready for only two weeks. And it was way, way heavier than it was in August.

So, anyone who has ever traveled by train can understand the misery of having only five minutes to make it from Track 5 to Track 12 carrying the world‘s heaviest suitcase. After struggling for my life to get it down the stairs from one platform and up the stairs to the next platform twice, I decided to change my train reservation. It was honestly so miserable I couldn't take it anymore. Both my arms hurt for the next three days afterwards. Originally, I had planned to travel only with regional trains, and avoid the high-speed lines to save money. This meant more transfers, but I didn't imagine at the time that my suitcase would be so heavy and saving €20 seemed like a good option (Normally with just a backpack, it isn‘t at all bad.) During a layover in Würzburg, I went to the Deutsche Bahn travel office, and paid the difference of €20 to take a more direct route with fewer transfers via the ICE (InterCity Express – the High Speed train, with a very German name.) Because I was late in buying the ticket during holiday travel season, the agent informed me that all of the reserved seats were taken, and that I could try my luck at finding a non-reserved seat – something I‘ve never had any luck in finding in the past.

So, a half hour later, I took my rightful place in the „People-With-No-Seats Club“ AKA: the floor. As soon as I got on the train and saw that people were already sitting in the entry way, I didn't even attempt to drag my gargantuan suitcase through the train in attempt to find a free seat. So, for the next 35 minutes, I sat with my suitcase and backpack on the floor of a train going 160 miles per hour. (There are screens that display all sorts of information, including how fast you‘re going. The Germans love to have all the details.) It was a short trip, I rode only to the next stop, but it cut two hours and two train transfers off of my original travel time. I think that was probably the best use of €20 yet to be discovered. I got to Eschwege early in the afternoon, at which point Jonas (my exchange partner from our high school trip to Germany in the 11^th grade) picked me up and drove me to the Stüber house in nearby Netra. On the evening of the 23^rd, according to the German tradition, I went with Jonas, Daisy, and Isi to their Grandma‘s house to decorate her Christmas tree before returning back home to decorate the Stübers‘ tree. The trees were much smaller than American christmas trees (at least the ones that I‘ve seen) but they took much less time to decorate. I always find decorating the Christmas tree at home to be such an eternally-long process. And the German Christmas Trees are in my opinion, much more classy – or maybe classic is the right word. They somehow don‘t seem to have the glitz and glam of commercialism, which I like.

Early in the afternoon on December 24^th, Jonas and his dad, Christian, took me to the nearby Wartburg Castle, where Martin Luther lived and translated the Bible. Because they live right on the border to Thüringen, the city of Eisenach (where Wartburg is located) is only about a 15 minute drive away. The former „DDR“ (East Germany) has had more than 20 years now to rebound and catch up economically with the West, but one can still observe differences when entering the eastern part of the country. What struck me most was the architecture – in Eisenach there were so many giant, rectangular, cold-looking, communist-era apartment buildings that you really don‘t see in the former „BRD“ (West Germany.) The castle itself had closed about an hour before we arrived, but we still got to get a nice view (and some good pictures) of the castle from the outside before making our way back to Netra. We took a scenic route along the former militarized border, as Christian explained the experience of living most of his life in a divided Germany, a few kilometers away from the DDR. Until the very early 90‘s, there was a fence separating Hessen and Thüringen with streets for tanks and jeeps on either side which the American soldiers and the Russians used to patrol the border (Hessen was one part of Germany that America controlled after the war). There were patrol towers every so often (when I visited Germany for the first time in 2008 they took me to see an American tower and a Russian one) and very many land mines were buried underground along the fence that would explode if stepped on by anyone trying to cross the border. With everything that I‘ve experienced in Germany – for example, one of the world‘s strongest economies and most advanced infrastructures – it‘s hard for me to imagine what it must have been like shortly before I was born in 1990.

Jonas and me in front of the Wartburg

Panoramic of the Wartburg

After our excursion, it was time for the Christmas Eve Church Service (in which Isi, Jonas‘ six-year-old sister was an Angel in the Christmas Pageant.) All of the little German kids dressed up telling the christmas story were unbelievably adorable! It‘s just too bad that I didn't remember any of the christmas songs by memory that we had to learn in High School...

After church we hurried home to see if the Christkind had come. To the surprise of big-eyed, beaming Isi, the Christkind had indeed found her way to the Stüber home. And the gifts that I spent the better part of the morning wrapping had also made their way under the tree as well. Imagine that! (Actually, the second that Christian left with Isi for church to get dressed in her Angel costume it was a stressful rush to get everything under the tree before we had to leave as well!) Daisy passed out presents, and we proceeded to open what the generous Christkind had brought us. The whole time I was treated like a member of the family – it was unbelievable. Never did I expect to get so many things for christmas as a guest! I was given money, chocolate, a bottle of alcohol that Daisy made with berries they picked during the summer, and a really cool game called „Siedler“ that Jonas, Daisy, and I played together the night before. (It‘s the coolest game ever. After we played it, I actually searched Amazon to see how much it would be to buy it, so it was really the perfect present! It‘s so much fun!)

Christmas picture!

Isi the Angel!

After all the presents had been opened, it was time for dinner and gifts at Oma Gisela‘s house. Once again, the entire family was so nice and generous to me. They gave me money, chocolate, and an Amazon gift card. I was really so shocked – they've always been so kind to me, but I really wasn't expecting anymore than to join them as a guest for a few days to celebrate the holidays. The dinner was excellent, and it was the first of very many holiday meals to come that I walked away from wondering whether or not my jeans would still fit the next day.

On the 25^th, the Stübers hosted Christmas with the paternal side of the family, which is quite large. Following lunch, we were visited by the Weihnachtsmann (Christian) who arrived with a bag of presents, a book with all of our names in it, and some sticks in case any naughty children needed a good beating. The Weihnachtsmann went around the room starting with the college students, then the high school students, and finally, to the youngest child, Isi. Everyone had to pick a christmas song that they had to lead the family in singing in order to receive their presents. (Luckily I was exempted.) When the Weihnachtsmann got to me, he announced that he had just gotten a text message from Santa Claus that they had a guest from Wisconsin for christmas. Isi was the only one who didn't know it was her dad, so as you can imagine, the entire family was just entertained as she was by making inside jokes with the Weihachtsmann. It was very funny.

Isi with the Weihnachtsmann

Another one of my presents was a day-trip to the nearby city of Kassel (about 45 minutes by car) where I had not yet been. On December 26^th, we left mid-morning for Kassel, where we hiked through a really beautiful park built in the 1800‘s (I think) following the British example of building parks in the Medieval style as if they were authentic. During this time, people looked back on the Middle Ages as the highest point in history, and parks like the one in Kassel (featuring ruins of „medieval castles“) were built to give people the impression that they had stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient medieval settlement. The park is best known for the famous Hercules – a human-made waterfall of sorts, that flows down a mountain from its source at the top, marked by a giant statue of Hercules. The entire park, although not „authentic,“ is nonetheless beautiful, and really a sight to see. I took quite a lot of pictures. We finished the day in the „Altstadt,“ (Old City) where we ate lunch and walked around for a little bit. Before arriving they warned me that Kassel was a very ugly city because of how hastily it was rebuilt after the war. Honestly, I didn't find it that unattractive, and the Altstadt was actually very nice.

(Some photos of Kassel and the park where the Hercules is)

Hercules

Christmas vacation part two: Ettingshausen with the Georgs – December 28 - January 2

On the 28^th, I was back on the train en route to Ettingshausen, where I am right now. After I arrived and we ate dinner, Jamina‘s family gave me a christmas present to open – a really cool travel guide book with information about every country in Europe. I was actually really excited to get it, and I‘ve already read a couple sections. Jamina studies Medicine in Frankfurt, and has a lot of studying and other work to do over the break in preparation for a couple big medical exams she has coming up. It‘s been really nice and relaxing here – I‘ve been sleeping in every day, and I‘ve also gotten a fair amount of Theology homework done. Yesterday (the 30^th) her parents took me to nearby Marburg, a very nice small city about 45 minutes away with a well-known university. The castle and the church we visited were both closed to visitors, but we got a nice view from the outside before walking through the city, and having a Glühwein at the Marburg Christmas Market (which is still running. A few stay open into the New Year.)

Marburg

We‘re about to leave for a New Years party with some of Jamina‘s friends, so I‘m going to wrap up here! Finally – after eight pages in Word… On Tuesday I‘m going back to Tübingen for a couple short days to pack etc. before leaving to Budapest on the fourth. I‘m very excited to see Hungary (country # 14!) but I‘ve also really been missing Tübingen over the past few days. It will be nice to finally get back on the 9^th of January and get back into my normal routine.

Frohes neues Jahr!

Happy 2012!

Please excuse the German quotation marks. I'm too lazy to go back and correct them all – my word processor is in German mode.