The Fast Lane (Osterferien and More)

Cafe Niederegger

What I wouldn’t give to slow down time; to have at least another few weeks more. I guess I should get everybody caught up on what has happened since I last wrote about a month and a half ago. The largest thing that has happened is the Osterferien, or Easter Break. In the first week, I got to go up and visit family from all over Germany in Hamburg. I did a day trip to Lübeck and went to a Birthday lunch of my great uncle Hermann. Afterwards, we were invited to go with him to the Café Niederegger, which is the famous home of the best Marzipan in the World for over 200 years. We enjoyed cake and I had, as a special treat for the occasion, a marzipan coffee :). The last time I was in Hamburg I only got to see a little bit of the city, but this time I had a bit more of a chance to walk around and explore. It truly is one of the most beautiful cities in Germany. It also happens to be the second largest city in Germany, after Berlin and before Munich, with 1,786,448 people. It is a harbor city which still today is a trading point for international goods.

Hamburg

After a brief stop back in Wuppertal, I was off again down to my second stop of the vacation, the Bodensee, or Lake Constance in English. An old family friend, who I call an aunt, invited me down to one of the most beautiful corners of Germany to stay with her in her apartment on the lake in Wasserburg. In surface, Lake Constance is the third largest sea in Central Europe and in water mass it is the second largest. It is a huge tourist attraction, water source, and the best part is that it is culturally a European crossroad. The Bodensee borders Germany in Bavaria (Bayern), and Baden-Württemberg. It also borders Austria and Switzerland, and is relatively close to Lichtenstein. While driving through the streets, there are not only license plates from all over Germany and the other countries bordering the sea, but also Italy, France, and from all over Central Europe. But let’s cut the facts and just say that, at least from the German side, the sea is gorgeous because, directly after the water ends, the Alps begin. I did learn, though, that the Swiss had the short end of the deal because they have to look at Germany, which is just flat. It is like living inside of the most beautiful building in an ugly city. The best thing is that you can go from sailing in the morning, to skiing in the afternoon. Many people, who work on Lake Constance, will take a lunch break to hike up a mountain and ski down once, before getting back to the office. Even though swimming in the summer is not only possible, but very popular, I arrived on Easter weekend, and the weather gods decided that they wanted to give us snow on Easter morning, just because they didn’t give it to us on Christmas. I suppose it is too cold to go swimming in early April anyway, but we did have the luck of it being around 68° F (19°C) for our many excursions into Bregenz, Austria and St. Gallen, Switzerland. It was my first time ever in Switzerland!

Bregenzer Seebuhne (Sea Stage)

            I got to see multiple beautiful churches with my aunt, which very much belongs to the culture and special parts of southern Germany. We took a trip through Bregenz and explored the city. We got to see the stage for the Bregenz Festival, which is a festival of Musicals, and the stage is built every two years, uniquely for the play being done. The best part is that the stage is in the Lake, so the background is the sea and the land across the way. Other than that, Bregenz was a low-key, industrial looking city, but we did discover a beautiful church at the top of the town. In the south of Germany, the key is to simply walk into every church in any town you see, because chances are that they will look fantastic with sculptures, art, unique architecture and gold everywhere, as well as being very old. We visited Basilika Birnau, a famous Church, which over looks the sea and the Alps, and we took a tour through Schloss Salem, an old campus for one of the most prestigious European international schools. 

Lindau am Bodensee

            In our day in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland, we went through the city, looked at the ancient library which is literally over a thousand years old, and we looked at the famous Stiftskirche, which may be the most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen. Then, after a few nice days on the Bodensee, it was off to my aunt’s other apartment, in Munich (or München), the third largest city in Germany. I had already been to Munich with my Dad and brother this summer, and with my host family this fall, but it was nice to see the city again, and I can never get tired of the nice cars and beautiful streets of Munich. I only had two days, so we tried to just have a relaxed time walking around in the nice weather. We went swimming a few times in a famous pool called “das Müller’sche Volksbad” which is over one hundred years old and is an architectural masterpiece. In my whole stay, my wonderful aunt always made sure that we were relaxed, had something nice to eat, something nice to drink, and something nice to see or explore. Then it was back to Wuppertal with me.

Stiftskirche, St. Gallen

            On the last Sunday before school started again, I got to do a day trip down to Frankfurt to visit friends of my host family, which was a nice excursion and a good way to spend more time with my host family after being on the road for so long. We bowled and ate and went on a walk through the community there and just tried to have a nice end to the two-week Easter Vacation. 

            I suppose I should fill everybody in briefly on the other things I have been filling my time here with. I took part in the Stadtmeisterschaft (or City Championship) for swimming, which decides who gets to represent their school and go to the State Championships, and maybe even the National Championships. I unfortunately was only allowed to swim in three events, of which two were relays, and the other butterfly (my best stroke). I didn’t stand a chance in the relays, because my other teammates were more recreational swimmer, and a bit younger, but no matter. The individual was on me I guess, because of the cultural difference in the way that they start races. It was the first race I was in, and I had no idea that the whistle means here that I have to start. So I looked like an idiot for a second, getting myself psyched up, only to be a bit later out of the blocks, and lose all of my concentration. I tried my best, and I almost caught the front runner, but ended up coming up a half a second short. Too bad.

City Hall in Munich

            We had a triple whammy of Birthdays in March, where Annika and Max (my host sister and brother) have their birthdays on the same day, and my host father has his birthday one day before that. Three Birthdays within two days! Amazing. I had a few more Water Polo matches, where we heavily crushed our opponents, moving up a seed in both of the teams I am on. I even was one of the top scorers in a few of the matches. I think I am really starting to get a hold of the rhythm of the game. I had to hold a presentation about my life in America for my AFS committee and all of my international exchange student friends, of which there are now five new ones in our committee, from Brazil, Guatemala, Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand. Therefore Sam, the exchange student who came with my host family and I to the Alps in the Herbstferien (see far below) returned to Australia, because he was only in Germany for a semester program.

View from my window in Lindau am Bodensee

            With all of the hanging out with German friends, playing soccer and working out at McFit (my gym) with Trym, and doing homework for school, there hasn’t been much time to write in here or to do much of anything else. I have a lot planned, and I have just realized that I have almost no more free weekends left. I still fit in occasional opportunities for great things such as seeing a Pina Bausch Dance Theater piece, which is one of the famous things that has come from Wuppertal (if you haven’t heard of it, look it up). I still fit in the time to travel to Cologne and Düsseldorf on a regular basis, as well as go and see a movie with Trym or hang out in town with some friends. This past Saturday I attended the Öhlberg Fest, which is a street festival in Wuppertal, which takes place every two years, and has tons of Rock and Reggae band playing on every corner. It was full, to the point where I could no longer move. I was amazed that something so large could happen in Wuppertal. It was a pretty wild night, and getting my ears blasted out by music, bumping up against people with beers in their hands, and breathing in nothing but smoke, was not my idea of a safe place to spend a lot of time, so I ended up enjoying the experience, and carefully leaving before it got too wild. We had today off for International Workers Day, but it is off to school again tomorrow. I am looking forward to the end of the month in one way, because after the end of May, I have no more Tests or Finals left! Also, as a side note, I did of course fill out and follow March Madness. I even entered my bracket against Obama and I beat his Bracket! I picked the winner too!

             I am sure that I have forgotten plenty of things that I have done, but I am also sure that nobody is interested in hearing any more about what I have done. Believe it or not, but the end of my year is flying at me faster than I can believe. I have so much I still want to do and so little time left. It is truly unbelievable. Everybody tells you in the beginning that you should get as much done and enjoy your time, because it will be gone before you know it, but nothing can really prepare you for the realization that there simply isn’t the time to get all of your dreams out in the end of your year. I am trying to enjoy myself, while still working hard, but I truly would have liked the possibility to slow down timed right about now.

            I leave you all with a Happy May Day, and I am excited for the many cool things I have ahead of me; Paris trip, Holland North Sea trip, European Championship, Berlin CBYX camp, and much more. I will talk to you all soon, I hope.

Ich liebe Deutschland