Holidays are coming.

It is the end of the third weekend of Advent which means it is also the end of the third weekend of Christmas markets. Reubs came to visit for the week which meant I had the perfect excuse to visit plenty of Christmas markets. Not that I really needed an excuse. I was definitely the more enthusiastic, but that is more a testament to my unrelenting enthusiasm for all things Christmassy than a comment on Reubs. The Weihnachtsmarkt concept was introduced with a trip to Hildesheim which is not my favourite market but fun nonetheless. The town square has a lovely atmosphere but the rest of the city is a bit too city like to do 'Christmas magic'.

It will come as no surprise that we went travelling at the end of the week, stopping off at Goslar for a couple of hours on our way to Wernigerode. Yes, I ventured out of Niedersachsen and into Sachsen-Anhalt. Wernigerode is just on the edge of the Harz mountains and known as one of the best small Christmas markets. Our hotel was wonderfully close to the Weihnachtsmarkt. However, as we wandered along the main street we came across another Weihnachtsmarkt... there were two! Amazing! I had Glühwein from a boot shaped mug, Reubs had white hot chocolate and we wandered the Christmas markets. Although there was nothing particularly unusual about Wernigerode Weihnachtsmarkt, the setting and atmosphere were brilliant. The following morning we walked up to Wernigerode Castle, standing on a hill overlooking the town. Predictably the views were lovely, straight into the mountains.

Wernigerode Rathaus // Schloss // Märchenwald

Goslar is my favourite Weihnachtsmarkt. This sounds like a bold and foolish statement, but I promise you, it is AMAZING. There are all the usual stalls selling roasted almonds, Lebkuchen, Glühwein, the best cheese pretzel I have tasted in my life, Schneeballen ('snowballs' made of holly-leaf shaped pastry held together with marmalade and dusted in icing sugar), half metre sausages, mushroom stir fry and then there's a bakery. An actual bakery, with bread ovens and bakers kneading the dough in the middle of the square. Genius.

Christmas markets smell incredible and it is primarily thanks to the sweet stalls. They are adorned with hanging Lebkuchen and the counter is full of roasted almonds, some sugared, some mixed with cinnamon, some with desiccated coconut. 

Goslar Weihnachtswald // Feuerzangenbowle // Bakery // Weihnachtsmarkt

As mentioned in my previous post about Goslar Weihnachtsmarkt, there is also a Christmas forest. The idea is that you buy your Glühwein/alternative alcoholic beverage and enjoy drinking it in a forest, conveniently located just off the main square. In case you hadn't noticed, I am absolutely obsessed with the Weihnachtswald [Christmas forest]. I think that all towns should have one. Fetcham may be a disappointment.

Just to confirm Goslar as the most wonderfully Christmassy place to be in the world, by pure coincidence the Coca Cola Christmas truck stopped there that day! Explanation:

Basically, the Coca Cola trucks (as seen in the Christmas advert) go on tour during the build up to Christmas. You can go along, get your name printed on a coke can and generally enjoy what happens when Coca Cola and Christmas collide.

That's it for another week. This time next weekend I should be on a plane whizzing back to England! Wow! But do not fear, there is plenty to do between now and next weekend...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it hurricane.

Orkan Xaver. [Hurricane Xaver]. It might have a fabulous name but that is the only thing I appreciate about it. There were severe weather warnings for all of Northern Germany, so school was closed on Friday (not that I was going to be working anyway) and my walk to the supermarket on Thursday was horrendously windy. Suddenly it became acceptable to open a conversation with a comment about the weather. In fact everyone was so preoccupied with the weather that it felt like I was in England! To quote one news article: "flights, trains, schools and Christmas markets were closed". You know it's serious when the Christmas markets are closed.

On Friday when I opened my front door I was greeted by a little wicker basket filled with chocolate. I was slightly confused, then realised that it was 6th December and the basket had probably been left for me by St. Nikolaus because I had forgotten to leave a shoe outside. In Germany, 6th December is St. Nikolaus' Day. Every year, on 5th December, children are supposed to clean their shoes and leave them outside their doors. Overnight St. Nikolaus appears, filling the shoes of 'good' children with sweets and toys and those of 'bad' children with twigs. A lovely tradition, and one that I was surprised to get the opportunity to experience. I asked my landlady to pass on my thanks to St. Nikolaus!

The happiness and joy of Christmas continued in the most unexpected of places: the train from Bad Salzdetfurth to Hildesheim. As a Christmas present, Nord West Bahn (my local rail company) are giving out train shaped cookie cutters! Brilliant!

Hannover Weihnachtsmarkt // Prezzies from St. Nikolaus // Bad Salzdetfurth Weihnachtsmarkt

Unfortunately the weather was too rubbish to go exploring. I went to Hildesheim to have a peruse around the Weihnachtsmarkt but gave up due to snow and high winds (and fear of the train line being closed). The following day I attempted Christmas shopping in Hannover which was awful. Do not mess with shoppers on a mission. Primark in Hannover on the second Saturday of Advent was the worst idea I have had in a very long time. As for the Weihnachtsmarkt, it will have to be saved for another day as I walked through it but couldn't even see the stalls. In the end I decided that it was much better at home, so finished the weekend with a wander to the Bad Salzdetfurth Weihnachstmarkt... nothing like as impressive but pretty cute.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

It is December! The advent calendar had begun, the Christmas jumper has been worn out of the house, the first slice of Christmas cake has been eaten and I'm writing this whilst listening to carols. Fortunately, Germany's level of excitement for all things Christmas seems to be as high as mine. The pupils have organised secret Santa, there are fairy lights everywhere and the bakeries are going Lebkuchen crazy. But possibly the most famous thing about German Christmas is the Weihnachtsmarkt [Christmas Market]. Therefore, this December I want to experience real German Christmas markets in Germany (as opposed to Birmingham). The markets open at different times in different areas, but the Niedersachsen ones opened on the first weekend of advent. Joined by my parents, the quest to visit the Christmas Markets began.

Braunschweig Weihnachtsmarkt

German Christmas markets have apparently become a bit of a cliche, springing up everywhere and offering exactly the same stalls regardless of whether you are in Berlin, Birmingham or Chicago. However, my experience here has been nothing like that. Obviously there are set types of stall; no self-respecting German Christmas market would be without Bratwurst, Glühwein and Lebkuchen but there is still variety. For me, the thing that makes German Christmas markets special is the setting, and beautiful historic town squares is something that Niedersachsen seems to specialise in. It didn't matter that my hands were freezing, my nose was numb and it was pouring with rain: the markets still looked wonderful. I should also apologise for the lack of photos... it was getting too rainy to use the camera!

BRAUNSCHWEIG.
The first and biggest Weihnachtsmarkt that we visited. We wasted no time at all in buying our first mug of Glühwein and sheltered underneath the Weihnachtspyramide to drink it. The market smelt amazing: either of cooking sausages or sugared almonds depending on which stall you were walking past. Unfortunately the weather was so bad that we retreated into a museum so it looks like I will have to go back to Braunschweig sometime before Christmas.

WOLFENBÜTTEL.
A much smaller place with a much smaller market. The rain continued so we went to an indoor Christmas craft market in the residential palace before braving outside. It was beginning to get dark, so the market looked really pretty as we drank apple Glühwein (mixing things up).

Braunschweig Weihnachtspyramide // Wolfenbüttel Weihnachtsmarkt // Hameln Weihnachtsmarkt // Goslar nativity // Hameln // Goslar Weihnachtswald

GOSLAR.
The best Christmas market ever. I loved Goslar on my previous visit but this one was even better (we went twice in two days). The highlight has to be the Weihnachtswald [Christmas forest]. Yes, they bring lots of enormous fir trees into the market (we're talking 30ft) and assemble a forest by the main square. The idea is that you buy a Glühwein and enjoy it standing in a forest. Incredible. There was also a nativity with real llamas and donkeys, and more types of sausage than I have seen in my entire life. Of course we had to try the food so had a couple of sausages and Kartoffelpuffer (according to google 'potato pancakes') with apple sauce... surprisingly tasty. And all this against the backdrop of a medieval square...

HAMELN.
The final market and the only one seen in sunshine. The market was much smaller than those Goslar or Braunschweig but was still pretty. We had some Glühwein, Bratwurst and deep fried cauliflower (?) before it was time to head home.

Rather than staying in Bad Salzdetfurth, the parents and I spent two nights in Zellerfeld, a village in the Harz Mountains. So on Friday night, after my choir rehearsal, we set off driving into the mountains. The roads were understandably deserted and all we could see was blackness. As we entered the village it began to snow, progressing to a blizzard whilst we unloaded the car. After checking in we went for a walk in deserted, snowy Zellerfeld. A truly magical way to see my first German snow.

Up in the mountains the visibility was ridiculously limited (about 10 metres). Each day we drove off into white nothingness as all you could see was snow and cloud.

Clausthal-Zellerfeld

In amongst all the Christmas markets and snowy-ness was my choir Christmas concert in Hildesheim. It went really well, and there was only one song I needed the words for (to be fair it was Ukrainian). Mum and Dad came along and got to meet my friends from Ö-Chor as well as enjoy the concert. The audience participation on Leise rieselt der Schnee might have been asking a bit much but I think they had a good evening... it certainly put me in a Christmassy mood.

So, the first weekend of advent is over and it was brilliant. I look forward to the next three!

Ampelmännchen, Archaeopteryx and the Alphabet.

Firstly apologies for the mammoth blog post. I was originally going to write a little bit about some of my experiences at school and living here in general, but then I went to Berlin for a couple of days. And then Bad Salzdetfurth was looking pretty...

It has been trying so hard to snow.

So. Please bear in mind that these are obviously only my observations of living here. From talking to other students living out here it is clear that everyone is having different experiences but I can only recount my own. They are definitely not representative of the entire ‘English but living in Germany’ experience.

1. The Germans do not speak flawless English. I don’t mean that they are bad at English, more that their English is not as intimidatingly good as I thought it would be. Before arriving, I had thought that I would speak virtually no German at school. The truth is far from it. I speak more German than English. On the whole people are patient with me attempting German and saying multiple verbs and then helping me choose the right one. There are exceptions, such as one of my 5th graders who laughed at my sentence structure(auxillary verb in the wrong place - nightmare). My reply was something like “wellwhenyourEnglishisbetterthanmyGermanyoucanlaughatme.Untilthenifyouwantmyhelpbenice”, spoken in very fast English. Then in slow English. And then in German. He still asks for help...

2. Directness and rudeness are very different things. I’ve received a few comments which would usually offend me but here they are not designed to. This direct approach is continued in the lack of ‘English politeness’. I stand out by saying ‘excuse me’ and ‘thank you’ far too frequently. I also hold open doors, don’t push people on trains and am able to queue. I automatically ask ‘how are you?’ even if the information is not essential to my future happiness. Politeness is the thing I miss most about England.

3. Going to the supermarket is a traumatic experience. Everything is in a strange order (why is the milk next to the to tomato passata? Why sausages next to the cheese?) so it takes me forever to find what I want. Just when you think the ordeal is over you have to go to the checkout. Your items are scanned at the speed of light, leaving you fumbling, simultaneously trying to pack your bags and pay. And don't even think of trying to talk to the cashier. My top tip for surviving is to buy fruit and vegetables that need to be weighed and intersperse them amongst the other items on the conveyer belt. While the cashier is weighing the aforementioned fruit or vegetable, you have enough time to pack the other items into your rucksack. It's taken me nearly three months to develop this technique and it is remarkably effective.

4. Learning the German alphabet is really important. I wish I had realised this 9 years ago. The letter ‘e’ is awful and is irritatingly overused in English.

5. Living here is not easy. There are ups and downs but what matters is how you take them. There have been a couple of moments when going home was all I wanted. I have even got as far at looking up the cost of flights. But you have to experience the downs to notice the ups. I’ve met some wonderful people here. I’ve made it onto ‘best friends’ lists in student planners. I get greeted when walking around the school building.

Now onto Berlin, my destination for the weekend. Berlin is possibly my favourite city, so with an unallocated weekend and free accommodation it was just too tempting. I informed Emma (a friend from uni studying in Berlin this year) that I wanted to visit and 24 hours later arrived at Berlin Hauptbahnhof... not bad going. I had a lovely couple of days, doing plenty of sightseeing (this is me we are talking about) and spending time with fellow year abroad-ers Emma, Vicky and Maia.

Brandenburg Gate // Natural History Museum // Schloss Charlottenburg // Reichstag // East Side Gallery

The first sight seen was Schloss Charlottenburg, the largest palace in Berlin. After dropping my bag off at Emma's we went to an indoor food market near Görlitzer station which was great. Unfortunately we had made the mistake of eating before going! Thursday ended sitting in a pub in Berlin... hard to believe that I had actually been to work that morning.

Emma had seminars the following morning so I had four hours to explore by myself. I set off at Brandenburg Gate, getting there so early that there were no protesters or people dressed up in military uniforms. I walked to Checkpoint Charlie, via the Dom and then along Unter den Linden as far as Alexander Platz. I then got all over excited at the Ampelmann shop. To explain, Ampelmännchen are the little traffic light men which existed in East Germany. Nowadays they have become an icon of East German culture, so much so that there is a shop which sells Ampelmännchen themed products. The final stop on my solo tour was the Natural History Museum where my inner geologist came out and I got all over excited at the brachiosaurus skeleton (the biggest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world) and the archaeopteryx (widely regarded as the best preserved fossil in the world, and yes they had the real one on display). Enough with the dinosaurs.

I met up with Emma, Vicky and Maia and we had a catch up over a wander and a burger. And because we hadn't eaten enough food we went to the Haagen Dazs cafe.

Once it had got dark (so sometime after half past 4) we wandered to Brandenburger Tor and then along to the already Christmas-ified Sony Centre. In the evening Emma and I headed to VEB Ostzone, an ostalgie bar near Hackescher Markt station. It's actually located under the railway tracks. And ostalgie isn't a typo, it refers to nostalgia for East Germany. So it was decorated in all sorts of GDR paraphernalia including a couple of Lenin portraits. I tried a Rot Berliner Weisse, a type of beer with raspberry syrup in it... sounds strange but tasted good.

On my final day in Berlin Emma and I went to the East Side Gallery, a 1.3km long section of the Berlin Wall which is now covered in paintings and acts as a memorial. The paintings were powerful and more extensive than I had realised, but many have been heavily graffitied which detracts from their message somewhat. Anyway I was pleased to visit before the gallery is destroyed in the name of property development.

Fuelled by my first ever Dönor I went to meet my Mitfahrer for the journey home. The driver and other passenger proceeded to discuss a wide variety of subjects including communism, socialism, consumerism, americanism, advertising, aspirations and unemployment. I found myself in the middle of their debate and unable to add much to the debate which lasted the full 2.5 hours. I was forced to engage in this debate when the passenger started discussing English food, which he described as horrible. I said that I disagreed, and thought English food was actually pretty good. He then asked if I had heard of Marmite, a 'bizarre product which he had bought as a joke'. I informed him that Marmite is amazing, tastes particularly good on toast and that I'd brought some with me from England. Ah. He suddenly realised that I was English! Maybe I should have mentioned it before he started with the insults...

My love for the Brandenburger Tor continues.

So many Niedersachsen tickets.

It's Sunday again! And I'm actually updating on a Sunday! School was the same as usual, although I am gradually getting more involved. The task this week was explaining Bonfire Night and the Gunpowder Plot... miraculously successful. At the end of the working week (so about 9:30 on Thursday) I went to Hannover, primarily to meet Hannah from the airport but also to generally enjoy Hannover. I am proud to announce that I actually found arrivals at the airport. Wahoo. I showed Hannah and her suitcase a little bit of Hannover before grabbing a Ditsch and getting the train back to Badse.

The following day we visited Hamelin: the city of the Pied Piper. Some things don't change... Hamelin's obsession with rats is one of them. To celebrate we had a rat shaped almond-biscuit-cake-type-of-thing. The day was dominated by food (rumball, massive waffle, schnitzel with potato and fennel bake...) but we did squidge in some sightseeing.

Schloss Marienburg

Another day, another Niedersachsen ticket... this time beginning with a journey to Nordstemmen. We then got a mini-car-train-thing (like the sort children go on at the zoo) up the hill to Marienburg Castle. The castle was very pretty but unfortunately the tower was closed for Winter. No panoramic views for us. Instead we wandered in the grounds/courtyard/vicinity. We returned to Nortstemmen station on the road train and got an actual train to Hannover for Meadbh's pre-birthday meal. Fitting eight of us around Katy's table was interesting but it was a fun evening and we predictably ended up on the last train home.

Neues Rathaus - Hannover

Sunday was thrilling as all Sundays are. We went for a walk and discovered that all the coffee shops were closed, so went back to the flat and made cake. And watched a film.

My only other news is that my phone has died. I mean properly died, not just run out of battery. I am already feeling lost without it, so will have to invest in a new one as soon as possible. Good thing Hannah is here so we still have an alarm for school tomorrow morning...

Waffles and Truffles.

Where to begin. It's been an eventful week-and-a-bit (apologies for not blogging sooner... no real excuse).

1. I took my first ever lesson by myself! And then a second one the next day. Both went surprisingly well but I still don't want to be a teacher. I did however enjoy myself.

2. I am feeling German. I now imagine myself driving on the right hand side of the road. Slightly scared to drive when I go home for Christmas.

3. I went to Belgium.

Tyne Cot Cemetery

Time to elaborate on the whole 'going to Belgium thing'. On Thursday I woke up at 6am, had two lessons at school and then hopped on the train to Bruges. Obviously there isn't a direct train from Bad Salzdetfurth Solebad to Bruges, it was more of a Bad Salzdetfurth to Hildesheim, Hildesheim to Hannover, Hannover to Köln, Köln to Brussels, Brussels to Bruges sort of journey. The journey was beautifully straightforward; the German trains were actually all on time and the ICE hit 190km/h! I met Katherine in Brussels station, something which is easier said than done. We had slightly forgotten about the number of people going through Brussels station at rush hour to it took a while to meet up and then a bit longer to identify a train going to Bruges. Anyway, we arrived in Bruges, left the station and DID NOT RETREAT! Definitely progress on our Scandinavian adventure. Using the foolproof method of walking along the peripheral canal until we came across the right street we located our hostel. Yes. A pre-booked hostel. We were so proud of ourselves that we didn't question the lack of room lock, instead keeping everything safe by hiding it in the wardrobe.

After a wander into the Market Square and some exceedingly salty and ketchup-y chips it was time to sleep.

In Bruges

The sightseeing began the next day. We made the most of being able to afford things and understand how much they cost (love Euros), consuming the best hot chocolate, the best waffles in Bruges and a couple of truffles. In between all of this eating we visited an exhibition where you experienced Bruges in the Middle Ages, climbed the Belfry (366 steps) and went on a canal tour. The novelty of being able to eat something other than pastry continued, as we had an after-dinner waffle to share.

The following day began with more of the best hot chocolate and a wander round Bruges. We had waffle number three as lunch and then headed back to the station to travel to Ypres. The train to Ypres was not particularly successful. At Lichtervelde we ended up on the unannounced replacement bus service to Roeselare. Nope, I hadn't heard of them either. The next train only took us to Kortrijk which was lovely but not Ypres. An hour later we got the train to Ypres, arriving just before nightfall and in torrential rain. Undeterred we left the station (and did not retreat) and walked to the main square where we found the tourist information and Flanders Museum. We then walked all around the square trying to find our hotel. It turned out to be opposite the tourist information and we just hadn't noticed. Urgh. Due to the impending darkness we postponed our original plans and instead went to Ramparts Lille cemetery.

After tea we went to the Last Post. It was an unforgettable experience. Being at the ceremony on Saturday 9. November was even more poignant, as there were veterans and other military groups present. A bagpipe band filled the Menin Gate with sound as we waited for the ceremony to begin. I usually hate the noise of bagpipes, but in this setting they contributed to an incredible atmosphere. The crowd were silent, the wreaths were laid and the Last Post sounded. I don't know how to describe the feeling of being there, at that moment. Humbling. At the end of the ceremony we walked past the wreaths and into the memorial, past names and names and names. Overwhelming.

Ypres

The final day of the Belgian adventure began with an early start for Katherine and a lie-in for me. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the hotel (first ones down!) and went to the station to catch bus 94 to Tyne Cot Cemetery. This is the largest Commonwealth War Graves cemetery in the world (nearly 12 000 graves) and a reminder of the Battle of Passchendaele. There is also a memorial wall bearing the names of 35 000 servicemen whose bodies were not recovered or identified, a continuation of those inscribed on the Menin Gate. Incidentally the bus back to Ypres was at 11:11.

We made it back to Ypres in time to do two minutes silence on Remembrance Sunday standing next to the wreaths laid at the Menin Gate.

With a quick diversion made to buy waffles and truffles we went back to the station to begin the journey home. This began with an utterly bewildering train to Brussels. Bewildering because it seemed so unlikely that we would ever make it to Brussels. I then met Soufiane, a member of blablacar who was driving me (and a couple of other people) from Brussels to Hannover. Apprehensive doesn't quite cover it, but apparently this sort of thing is normal in Germany. To be fair the journey was fine and I made the last train home with five minutes to spare!

So, to conclude, Bruges and Ypres are amazing. Both places were really pretty, and being in Ypres on Remembrance Sunday is something I will never forget. On a less serious note, I still have no idea what a Belgian waffle is actually like. We ate four and they were all different. And on an even less serious note I have a story. I'm only typing it because Katherine won't forgive me if I don't:

In the hotel room in Ypres...

Lucy: Urgh why doesn't the wifi work. I've tried it loads of times and the stupid thing won't connect.

Katherine: That's weird, mine worked first time. I just typed the password and it was fine. Maybe make sure you're not capitalising the 'R' in Roger?

Lucy: Roger?!?! I'd been typing Nigel! .... I thought they were equivalent names!

Ten minutes later the laughter had not stopped.

I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 21.

So that's it. I'm 21.

I had always expected the birthday to be a difficult day and it lived up to my expectations. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry (I actually looked at how much the evening flight from Hannover to Heathrow was!) but despite my over-emotional-ness I had a lovely day. I stayed up until midnight to Skype the parents, George and Reubs. At this point I realised that for me it was my birthday but for everyone in England it wasn't yet... cue feeling a very long way from home.

Whilst not a typical birthday it was surprisingly good. The teachers gave me flowers and chocolates, I got a couple of little presents from my students and everyone was nice to me. I had cake in my flat by myself (fruit cake of course) and opened my pressies before heading into Hannover for the evening. Katy and Meadbh cooked roast dinner. There were even parsnips! We finished off with exceedingly lemony lemon drizzle cake. I ended up staying in Hannover for the entire weekend (it was sort of pre-planned).

On Friday evening we went out in Hannover, firstly to a Disney themed party and then to Steintor.  First night out since June. There was a distinct lack of sleep but the night was good apart from losing my coat (I have since got it back). After a pootling nothingyday on Saturday we met up with another couple of language assistants for cocktails in our favourite bar (aka the once with a litre for 10€). I eventually made it back to Badse on Sunday afternoon after an exhaustingly sociable weekend.

So the birthday was happy. I feel incredibly lucky to know such lovely people in both my English world and my German world. People who went to the effort of sending birthday cards (with long messages), people who cooked me dinner, people who left chocolate in my pigeon hole at school. I even got an email from my choir...

Simply amazing. So I'm going to finish this rather blog post by saying thank you for making my birthday wonderful.

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...

The last tea bag.

It's been an up and down sort of week, what with Reubs going home, running out of tea bags and the realisation that I'm not going back to Warwick this year. I never thought that I'd miss uni but I'm strangely envious of everyone moving back to Canley ready for another year together. The other low point was going to make myself a cup of tea and discovering that I'd run out of tea bags. I bravely tried the generic Teakasse black tea but it is disgusting. I miss England!

School was pretty quiet this week as classes 6 and 9 were away on a school trip.

- 5a. Good lesson, lots to do and stayed for second lesson.

- 7d. Final lesson before the class test, attempting to construct sports poetry...

- 7a. More sports, more posters, more presentations.

- 5c. A couple of incidents (9th formers bursting into the classroom due to one of the 5c-ers annoying them, another 5c-er crying because she wasn't getting enough attention) but otherwise fine.

- 5b. Loving 5th form this week. Helped Martin take a cover lesson which was a fun way to end the school week.

Due to having a visitor I actually went somewhere other than Rewe during the school week. Firstly the Kabusturm, another random tower in the middle of the woods. I still don't understand why these constructions exist but there is a good view from the top.

View from Kabusturm // Kabusturm // Somewhere between Badse and Wesseln

I also had my first ever Currywurst (how I got this far without trying one is beyond me, inadequate German student) in Hildesheim and it was amazing. Literally amazing. Will be going back there. Wednesday was Hannover day. After a wander to the Rathaus and some last minute Milka buying I deposited Reubs and a suitcase on the train to the airport. I had a brief Primark raid, chat with Meadbh and made the second to last train home... success.

For my exciting exploring Friday I went to Wolfenbüttel, not a particularly big place but known at the home of Jägermeister. Unsurprisingly I wanted to visit the Jägermeister factory (on Jägermeisterstraße) and was offered the wonderfully early 9am tour (you have to book in advance). I only had to leave the house at 6am,  enjoying a dark, misty and freezing cold walk to the station. The level of dedication was well worth it as the factory tour was amazing.

The basic mixture for all the Jägermeister in the world is made at that one factory in Wolfenbüttel! The tour started with the ingredients: 56 herbs and spices are used to make Jägermeister, of which we saw 25 and 4 are top secret (to the point that they are stored behind frosted glass in the factory). Next stop was the labs, where all the ingredients are analysed as well as the Jägermeister mixture at various stages of production. Apparently 383 quality control checks are carried out! We also saw the maceration tanks, oak barrels for maturation (the biggest containing over 22 000 litres of Jägermeister), and the bottling process. It was very impressive. My knowledge of Jägermeister production is now comparable to my knowledge of salt (alarmingly high). For example, 98 shots of Jägermeister are drunk per second worldwide. The tour itself was completely free and at the end we were given a present of a small bottle of Jägermeister and two shot glasses to thank us for visiting! Incredible.

Already loving Wolfenbüttel I set off into the town centre, full of the standard timber-framed buildings. The Herzog Ernst August Bibliothek [library] is apparently world famous so I went there to admire the floor to ceiling leather-bound books and the library-associated (and logically named) Lessinghaus [Lessing House], a house that Lessing lived in. It had been made into a mini museum, so I've now seen a handwritten copy of Emilia Galotti. Wahoo.

Stadtmarkt // Historic town centre // Herzogliches Schloss // Side street // Hauptkirche Beatae Mariae Virginis

Wolfenbüttel town centre was lovely. It had a nice market place (like all towns here), a nice Rathaus (like all towns here) and some nice churches (like all towns here). There was also a Jägermeister shop where you could buy items from bikinis to toasters.

Stadtmarkt

On Saturday I went for an 'Anna walk'. For the uneducated, an 'Anna walk' is a walk where you don't follow a route or even take a map, instead wandering wherever you feel like. My walk took me (a very indirect route) to Wesseln, the next village along the valley. Along the valley because I wasn't in the mood for a hill.

The week finished with Konzert in the Kurpark. Brass bands seem to be a German obsession, and able to play anything from Flashdance to a Toto medley (Africa was surprisingly effective). Worryingly there was also a sing-along schlager setion... something about a Fischerin von Bodensee... No idea on the others. Despite all this the highlight of the week has to be Niedersachsen winning the Bundesvision Song Contest 2013.

The blog post that almost didn't make it.

A day late thanks to the atrocious internet but we made it in the end...

Another week is over. Although I really like my school I'm still not feeling particularly useful. I'd expected to be sitting and observing for the first couple of weeks but this is week three and there have still been lessons in which I haven't said a word. I'm not saying I want to take a lesson (or even lead activities) but I can cope with reading out vocabulary and answering questions. There is no point in me sitting in a class and listening to Luca, Ellie, Adam and Berry (the characters in their English textbooks) discussing a trip to the beach. Martin was also away for a couple of days which caused a bit of a kerfuffle.

St. Martini Kirche from the Altrathaus

- 5a. Very slow start due to planner checks, homework checks, etc. I really enjoyed listening to Luca, Ellie, Adam and Berry discussing something.

- 9b. The cover teacher thought I was a student (apparently I look 16. I got asked for ID as well last week) and no amount of explaining would change his mind. I was told to sit with the class, join a group and do an A to Z of Australia poster. Fortunately my group was lovely (even giving me a thank you pressie at the end!) and the cover teacher sort-of apologised at the end... it seems that suggesting 'quokka' for 'Q' was enough to prove my Englishness.

- 6d. Not needed so got sent home.

- 7d. More sports but still good. At the end I managed to remember everyone in the class' names... wahoo!

- 7a. Complete fail of a class. There was no cover work and the cover teacher didn't turn up. After waiting ten minutes I went someone to the staffroom to get a teacher. Not ideal really.

- 9f. New class. Not exactly the hardest group of students but they were friendly (even if they'd only talk in German).

- 5c. Uninterested in English. Shockingly Jens hitting the glockenspiel didn't restore control.

- 6b. Another new class. I had been switched out of the less than successful 7abc and this was my replacement. I took a small group out of the class and we had a lovely time identifying verbs in the simple past. So much better.

- 6c. I got to write loads of sample sentences on the blackboard and the students were actually asking me questions. Success.

- 5d. More problems with cover teachers meant I got left alone with the class for half the lesson which was going fine until someone started crying. My ability to comfort in German is limited.

As routine dictates I went into Hildesheim after school on Thursday. This got off to a great start with an out of order ticket machine, so I did the unthinkable and got onto a train in Germany without a ticket. I went to the library but wasn't allowed to borrow anything because I forgot to bring my proof of address certificate. Oh German bureaucracy.

For my new city of the week I went to Braunschweig/Brunswick, the city of Henry the Lion. It didn't do well on first impressions, with a 2km walk from the station to the city centre, past many 'lovely' buildings (including a youth drug rehabilitation centre). I got very confused, walking round in circles in the Aegidienviertel. The actual city was nice (once I made it) with lots of modern shopping in old buildings. This was epitomised in the Residenzschloss [residential palace], the majority of which is now a shopping centre. Interesting. There were a couple of reconstructed rooms in the palace which I was thoroughly confused by and I got glared at for standing less than a meter from the elaborately set dining table. Hmph.

Burgplatz // Alte Waage // Rathaus // Residenzschloss

On a walk into the centre of Braunschweig I saw the Rathaus [city hall] which was very pretty but hosting so sort of wedding expo. The whole Burgplatz area with the Burg Dankwarderode castle, Dom St. Blasii cathedral and of course the Braunschweiger Löwe (lion statue). After all, no self-respecting 'city of the lion' would be complete without a lion statue. Next I headed to the Altstadtmarkt and the Altstadtrathaus which had been made into a little city history museum. There were lots of maps and documents showing the history of Braunschweig and it was an interesting place to hide from the rain. Finally I went to the Old New Town, home of a church, Wollmarkt Alte Waage and the Liberei (so plenty of half timbered buildings). Other things seen at some point (effective exploring) include the Staatstheatre and Happy Rizzi Haus.

Braunschweig was a city which tried really hard to feel like a big place but was actually not. I kept putting the map away, wandering for ten minutes, panicking and thinking I was lost then turning around and being next to a church which I had originally thought was too far away to walk to. This wasn't entirely surprising given the number of churches. St. Martini Kirche, St. Ulrici Bruedern Kirche, St. Andreas Kirche, St. Magni Kirche, St. Aegidien Kirche and St. Petri Kirche. And the cathedral. So on first impressions Braunschweig wasn't amazing but it did improve. 

Bad Salzdetfurth // Presents from England // Bad Salzdetfurth

I headed into Hannover on Saturday to meet my next visitor, contending with a train that completely overshot the platform and had to reverse (standard DB Bahn). Due to the suitcase situation, Reubs and I headed straight to Badse and then back out into Hildesheim (lovely Niedersachsen ticket) and had a wander, schnitzel and ice cream. Hildesheim was slightly chaotic with politcal party members everywhere in a final push for votes and some sort of disaster had happened on a side street. A disaster that required multiple fire engines, police cars and the wonderful Katastrophenschutz. The weekend ended in usual style with Kaffee and Konzert in the Kurpark... ahh, Badse!