Back to school.

The Herbstferien and associated lie-ins are a distant memory and I'm back to school. I've also been given a new timetable. Although I have kept some of my classes from last term there are a few new ones which is a challenge. In honesty, I'm so bored of constantly having to introduce myself. The school week was varied. The high point: introducing the topic 'A day out in London'. The low point: a class listening to me read a paragraph and guessing I had an American accent. Just no.

Outside of school I actually had a bit of success. I have joined a choir! It's called Ö Chor and is based in Hildesheim, about 2km from the Hauptbahnhof (yay). I walked it once but have decided never again so will have to investigate the bus services to Drispenstedt. It was however worth the walk. The choir members were lovely and amazing and so welcoming. We're talking giving me a round of applause for introducing myself in German levels of loveliness. I even got a lift home! Unsurprisingly the choir is preparing for a Christmas concert, featuring carols from around the world. I was very happy to discover that Ding Dong Merrily on High was amongst them... at least the pronunciation won't be an issue on that one!

Before you go on your year abroad, you are told to say yes to (almost) everything. And that is how I found myself at the 7d class sleepover in the school hall on Friday night. I didn't actually sleepover (devastatingly I don't have a sleeping bag) but I did go along to the buffet, meet the parents and stayed for the film. I will now share my favourite conversation of the evening, which occurred just after the film.

        Student: Are you going home now?

        Lucy: Ja.

        Student: Wahhh you can speak German!?!?!

        Lucy: Yes, I just watched a film with you in German...

General doziness aside I had a surprisingly fun evening.

After completely failing on the exploring front last weekend I was determined enough to set an alarm (never let it be said that I am not a dedicated explorer) and headed off to Celle. As you can see it is a very similar looking place to Hameln, Wölfenbuttel etc but that doesn't stop it being pretty. The half-timbered buildings were everywhere and it was market day so absolutely packed. I visited the Rathaus, Church and wandered around the assorted pretty streets for a while before going to the Schloss [palace]. I was confused by the ticket system so didn't go in beyond the courtyard but enjoyed a walk in the grounds (so autumnal!). Although pretty there wasn't that much to do in Celle so after a few hours I hopped back on the train to Hannover.

I'm not sure how many times I've been to Hannover but I still find it so confusing. Nevertheless, I bought myself a Christmas jumper from Primark and met Meadbh for the evening. As usual we found somewhere for affordable cocktails and had a catch up, resulting in me getting the last train home. But it was fun.

Sunday has been as inspired as usual. I've still got lemon drizzle cake left over from Tuesday (I made it so I could watch the Great British Bakeoff final with tea and cake) so I might finish off the week with more tea, more cake and Downton Abbey. Living the dream.

My kingdom.

It's time to introduce my new flat. I have been living here since 1 October but haven't got round to taking photos of it until now. Fortunately (considering I'm living here for eight months) I love it. It has obviously had the full Lucy treatment in terms of decoration (anyone who has ever lived with me knows what that means).

desk area // 'walk in wardrobe' // Lucyfication

This is the living room. It's also the bedroom. And the kitchen. Pretty impressive multitasking from a room.

Moving on to room number two. The bathroom. Not a lot worth noting apart from the presence of a urinal. So continental. Don't know what to do with it, tempted to put a plant in it. But I probably shouldn't. Also, the bathroom here is bigger than the little room in 8 ChAv. Hah.

Well that's my flat. There are a lot of photos, a lot of ice tea and an obscene amount of crockery. We're talking seven different types of glasses (with a set of at least six for each type). Oh and a dishwasher! Loving the student life.

I'm going to conclude with a photo of the view from my window. As you can see I live in the more modern section of Bad Salzdetfurth. I promise it's not always this sunny.

Autumn days.

I would love to say that I've had a really exciting past few days but in truth nothing much has happened. The furthest I have been from my flat is Hildesheim, and that was to return my library books! It took me a couple of days to recover from the Scandinavian extravaganza, and since then I've been sorting out my German life. There are always emails to send and forms to complete, all of which I wanted out of the way before the school term starts again.

Bad Salzdetfurth is looking particularly pretty at the moment. Autumn is here, bringing with it bright blue skies and turning leaves.

I've felt a long way from home this week, more so than any other time since arriving. October is birthday month for many of the most important people in my life and it's been a strange time to be away. Although there have been moments when I just want to get on a plane back to London, they are just that. Moments. I'm happy here. I'm happy that I get this year to explore a country that I love and a language that I love (despite its grammar). So I don't really want to go back to England after all. For now Bad Salzdetfurth is home.

So we do it like the Titanic.

Yes, that's exactly what you want to hear before getting on a ferry... clearly the alarmingly cheerful DB officer was not into history or films. In any case, this was the instruction Katherine and I were given as we waited for a replacement bus service to take us to the ferry to Denmark, having been told to leave our ICE train. It's a long story.

Lucy and Katherine's short (no pun intended) trip to Scandinavia was a wonderful lesson in spontaneity. We set off from Bad Salzdetfurth Solebad at 10:12 with a change of clothes, a train ticket to Hannover and hope. We had no accommodation booked, no further train tickets and no useable currency. But this didn't worry us too much. Perhaps the 45 minute delay for the Hildesheim to Hannover train was a warning that the next five days were not going to be simple. If it was, we ignored it, taking a different route to Hannover and then the ICE (super duper fast train) to Hamburg. The next stage was to buy a ticket to København/Copenhagen. The heavy police presence on our platform was slightly disconcerting, but the first section of the journey passed without complication. Nearing the coast, our happiness was interrupted by German border security. They proceeded to interrogate us (genuinely the most appropriate word). Somehow they found us an unusual pair of travellers: one English student living in Germany and one Irish student living in the Netherlands, going to Denmark and Sweden for five days. Maybe they had a point. We eventually managed to convince them that we weren't involved in drugs trafficking.

A few minutes later there was an announcement, informing us that there had been an incident on the track/involving a truck (we never established which). Either way, we were told to leave our high speed train in the buzzing village of Großenbrode (deserted) and wait for a bus to take us to a ferry. Katherine and I were so Irish/English that we didn't push our way onto the first bus, instead attempting to queue. Idiotic. Our politeness was rewarded with a long wait for the second bus, so long that the track/truck incident was resolved and we instead got a different train to the ferry port. At the port we are told to get on the next ICE train (the one that set off 2 hours later) to board the ferry. This was all a bit of a shock, we hadn't really realised that a ferry would be involved at all! After a windy 45 minute ferry, with very heavy doors (definitely gerbil proof), we arrived in Denmark. So we hopped back onto the second ICE, which celebrated reaching Denmark by going at 158km/h.

We arrived in Copenhagen just after eight in the evening, still without accommodation and useable money. By this point tourist information was closed so we also had no idea where we were going. We left the station, panicked and went back inside again and rashly booked a train to Sweden (the normal response to confusion). Our second attempt at leaving the station was more successful, and we managed to book ourselves a hotel for the night. The room was tiny but the location (right next to Tivoli Garden) was brilliant. We had a lovely evening, wandering round the Tivoli area and eating Chinese takeaway in the station.

Copenhagen // Nyhavn // The Little Mermaid // Rosenborg Castle // Danish Danish pastry

The next morning we obtained Danish Kroner, drank dubious tea and began our quest to see as much of Copenhagen as possible. Starting with the statue of the Little Mermaid, we worked our way though seeing the Amalienborg Palace (including the changing of the guard), Rosenborg Castle and the longest shopping street in Europe, only stopping for Danish Danish pastries (no, not a typo, just excitement at eating Danish pastries in Denmark!). The obligatory trip to the souvenir shop was completed, free hot chocolate was obtained and of course we climbed a tower. This one (The Round Tower) was very straightforward to climb with a spiral ramp up to the top. The love of towers continued as we walked to every tower we could see (too many to name). We also ended up in a delightful covered market... lots of free tasters (especially useful when food is so expensive).

As it was getting dark we went into Tivoli. Absolutely incredible. It was all decorated for Halloween and looked amazing, undoubtedly worth the 95 DKK entry fee.

Tivoli Garden

Our time in Copenhagen was almost over and we headed back to the station once more, ready for a night train to Sweden! There's no direct train from Copenhagen to Stockholm, so instead we got a normal train to Lund (in Sweden) and then changed to the night train. Lund was absolutely freezing. I cannot explain how cold it was waiting on the platform for the night train. Anyway, we got the train which unsurprisingly wasn't comfy at all (my neck might recover, Katherine's shoulders probably won't). Sleep or no sleep, we arrived in Stockholm central station at 6:17, walked outside and then back in again (it's becoming a habit). We got our Swedish Krona, ate muffins and waited in the warmth for a while. At the first hint of light we bravely headed outside to watch sunrise in Stockholm which was simply breathtaking. It certainly made up for the temperature and lack of sleep.

Once it was light we set to work seeing as much as possible in Stockholm. Gamla Stan, the palace, the city hall, you name it we saw it. And there was plenty of time for sitting by the waterfront and watching the world go by. Rather than climbing a tower we walked across a very high bridge near Slussen for panoramic views of the city. All this time, we had also been trying to find accommodation for the night. Unfortunately, as we sat outside the city hall watching sunset, we still didn't have any. And thus began the last ditch attempt to find somewhere to sleep. Walking round for over an hour, asking in every place we saw got us nowhere so we formulated a plan.

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Lucy and Katherine's foolproof plan for doing an all nighter in a very cold city.

1. Stay in the main station until it closes (until 00:45).

2. Go to Burger King under the premise of wanting coke and chips. Consume painfully slowly (01:00 - 03:00).

3. Go to McDonalds and repeat the process with different food (03:00 - 05:00).

4. Return to the station as it opens and stay until just before sunrise (05:00 - 07:00).

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Incredibly the plan worked beautifully. Whilst not ideal, the night was strangely enjoyable (being a Saturday night there were plenty of people around). We rewarded ourselves with coffee and Kanelbulle (Swedish Danish pastries) for breakfast and then went outside to watch sunrise over the waterfront (just as beautiful second time round). Our final morning in Scandinavia was spent wandering through the city, in my case taking hundreds of photos.

Stockholm Palace // city hall // Gamla Stan // Stockholm // the waterfront

At midday we headed back to the station to buy food for the journey home. As usual, everything apart from bread and pastries was extortionate so it was an uninspired selection. At 13:45 we set off from Stockholm bus station and began the mere 16 hour journey back to Hamburg. It's clearly not the most popular route (three other passengers) but at least it was quiet. The advantage to having not slept since Denmark (apart from 20 minutes in a coffee shop in Katherine's case) was that it was very easy to sleep on the coach.

The first interruption came in the form of a slightly confusing ferry from Sweden to Denmark (Helsingborg to Helsingor). Confusing because we had assumed we'd be doing the Malmö to Copenhagen bridge. The second ferry from Denmark to Germany (Rødbyhavn to Puttgarden) was at the wonderful time of 2am. Urgh. We eventually made it to Hamburg, had yet another failed attempt at procuring normal tea and just made Katherine's train back from Utrecht (and yes she made her lecture)! I decided to fight the exhaustion and cunningly bought a Niedersachsen train ticket, providing me with free transport around Hamburg as well as being my ticket back to Bad Salzdetfurth.

Although I walked to the Rathaus [town hall] from that point on I travelled by U-Bahn [underground]. Hamburg was on a completely different scale to the other German cities I have visited since arriving and I ended up being very relieved I could use the underground. After four hours of visiting numerous churches, St. Pauli, the harbour and shopping streets I began the journey home. The highlight of the exploring was the St. Nikolai church which had been destroyed in World War II with the exception of the tower, which now stands as a poignant monument against war.

And that is the story of the short trip to Scandinavia. In five days I spent 38 hours travelling on a combination of trains, ferries and a bus. In four nights I spent one in a bed, one on a train, one in a station/fast food outlet and one on a bus. But I did get to see two fascinating and spectacular cities. It was absolutely brilliant.

Ikea, mining and a medieval revival.

As promised, this is the blog post for last week. At least it was delayed for a good reason: I was in Goslar with my parents! Back to the beginning...

Goslar market square

The school week was really short (only Monday and Tuesday) because there was a teacher training day on Wednesday, a bank holiday on Thursday and no point in having school on the Friday right before the Herbstferien (Autumn holidays). Yes, when you start school in the middle of August you're ready for a holiday by early October. The small section of school that occurred was wonderfully uneventful.  That's about it!

1 October. A brilliant day. I moved flat! Although I was fond of my other flat, it had some quirks and my new one is amazing. It is still close to the school, but wins by being able to provide fully operational heating and internet. I think I can cope with eight months here. The new internet situation was even good enough to Skype in to Hazel's birthday evening back at university. It might not have been the clearest call ever and the time delay was interesting but it was so lovely to see everyone. I definintely gave some weird answers to questions that had never been asked and couldn't tell who was who but I officially love Skype. This makes it sound like I miss university (which I do) but given the choice of Bad Salzdetfurth or Canley it's an easy decision. BAD SALZDETFURTH!

To celebrate the new flat and start of school holidays I headed into Hannover to get myself a few decorations. As usual, I woke up obscenely early so had plenty of time to shop before I met Katy and Meadbh for the afternoon (which included helping Meadbh move flat). Meadbh and I headed back to Badse to a wonderful dinner of spaghetti bolognese with pombears, followed by watching the Great British Bakeoff.

Ready to move flat // Pombears and spagbol // Ikea Hannover

Now to the aforementioned parents. As you can imagine I was pretty excited to see them (which definitely had nothing to do with the quantities of Yorkshire Tea they were transporting to me). We spent the first day sorting out my new flat, including a trip to Ikea. Doing my first ever visit to Ikea in Germany might not have been the best plan ever. I was completely confused, but remembered something about picking up loads of pencils and set off. It took us two loops of the store to work out what we needed and where we were going, but after about four hours and a portion of meatballs each everything was fine. Although I did end up running through the store in the opposite direction to the arrows on my quest for some drawers. Don't worry, I received plenty of glares. The trauma/fun was worth it though, as you will see if I get round to doing another flat tour.

For the weekend we headed to Goslar, a town on the edge of the Harz Mountains and featured in Heinrich Heine's Die Harzreise. Rather than drive directly to Goslar, we stopped in various places en-route.

- Zellerfeld. A pretty mining town with a mining museum. Obviously we were unable to leave without a rock or two... something to add to my salt collection!

- Clausthal. The next town along. Home of excellent coffee and cake and the largest wooden church in Germany called Marktkirche zum Heiligen Geist (which was beautiful).

- Altenau.

Goslar certainly made an impression. The cloud was right down over the town, swirling round the sqaures and narrow streets of slate-clad houses. It was an eerie place, with people disappearing into the mist and the infrequent street lamps completely failing to illuminate the town. The sound of church bells from invisible churches filled the streets, producing a atmosphere and presence unlike anywhere I've ever been. Walking into the main square, a collection of tents and people in medieval dress was visible thanks to flaming torches. All of a sudden the connection between Goslar and witchcraft seemed more logical...

To explain the medieval-ness, we visited Goslar during the Kaisermarkt weekend, which google informs me is one of the cultural highlights of the town. I have no idea why this celebration featured camping medieval-style in the main square... only in Germany?!

Goslar building style // Town fountain // Clausthal church // Goslar // Rammelsberg // The mine

During our weekend in Goslar, the parents and I wanted to see as much of the area as possible (especially bits difficult to access by train).

- Hahnenklee. A very unusual church called the Stabkirche.

- Lautenthal. Another mining town.

- Bad Grund.

- Bad Harzberg. A more 'normal' town without the timber and slate building found everywhere else we visited.

- Brocken (attempted). I had no idea that there was no car access to anywhere near the Brocken mountain and the weather wasn't good enough to walk... a trip for another day.

- Schierke.

- Braunlage.

Goslar itself was the biggest and nicest of the places we visited. The historic centre is extensive, with countless stunning buildings. They are made of a combination of timber (usually painted and carved) and slate tiles. Some of the tiles are shaped to form intricate patterns such as eagles, or to curve round windows. A visit to the Kaiserpfalz [imperial palace] confirmed that Goslar could do grand and imposing too. The compulsory tower climb was found at the Marktkirche [Market Church] with the added entertainment of a bell that struck every 15 minutes. Safe to say it was a swift ascent and descent! The architecture of the town as a whole was incredible.

Goslar from the Marktkirche North Tower.

It would have been a travesty to go to the Harz and not visit a mine, so we decided to visit Rammelsberg, a mine just outside of Goslar, which primarily produces copper, lead and zinc. The first section of tour was to recent mining (1950s and 1960s), showing how increasing mechanisation changed mining. The second section was to an older area of mine, which used an enormous water wheel to generate enough power to transport ore to the surface. The bits of tour which I understood were interesting, but I enjoyed walking through the mine (the journey in a transportation wagon less so). My mining-related vocabulary is definitely improving!

I also left Niedersachsen for the first time since arriving... so it was for about an hour into neighbouring Sachsen-Anhalt. This did however involve crossing from former-West to former-East Germany, the border of which was marked by a monument and road sign.

All in all, it's been a hectic week (and two days). I could easily write so much more about my time in the Harz but I think that's getting a bit excessive...

Sunday is delayed until Tuesday.

Unfortunately (not for me) I'm away travelling this weekend. Please check back on Tuesday for tales of moving flat, Ikea and medieval Goslar...