Perfection in a phrase: ankle support

The Easter holidays have been a blur. A wonderful, exciting and exhausting blur. And given my love of travel it only seemed right to finish off the holidays in style. This particular adventure had been in the works for quite a while, and after reading you will understand why plenty of planning was required. Did I mention that it involved four capital cities in three days...

The alarm went off  4:45. Urgh. Just urgh. But somehow I got up and off, even remembering my passport as I set off to the train station again. A while later I arrived in Dortmund (anyone would think I’m obsessed with the place given the number of times I’ve been). I found Katherine and together we found the airport and our flight to Vilnius. As you do. WizzAir (my favourite airline, not just because it amuses me that I have a MyWizz account) safely deposited us in Lithuania, where we successfully organised currency (Litas), procured a map and found a bus to the city. So by found a bus to the city I mean literally walked out of the airport building and onto the nearest bus...  it worked.

Vilnius made a good first impression; sunny and pretty. There are about a million churches and far too many squares but it was a nice city centre. We had a brief wander around before finding food, and then cake because it is always time for cake. Cutting the cake in half with a piece of cardboard was an excellent idea. As the sun began to set it was time to head back to the bus station. Yes that would be the bus station, no hostel for us tonight. Instead a night bus to Estonia. The bus was remarkably comfy and mercifully warm (shoes and socks off for sleeping!) so considering my bed was moving it was a good nights sleep.

In Tallinn we began the standard procedure of working out how to get from the bus station to the city centre. The answer: follow the tramlines. We had a couple of hours to explore downtown Tallinn which was just as pretty as I’d expected. There is something special about a city wander in the early morning, before everyone else is out and about. Anyway, before too long it was time to find the ferry terminal. You know, the place ferries go from. Because the normal response to a flight and night bus is to get a ferry. A mere two hours later we arrived in Helsinki and caught a tram from the ferry terminal to the city centre.

Let the sightseeing commence. First stop Kauppatori (the market square). Directly on the sea front, the square (more like rectangle) is full of stalls selling food, textiles and souvenirs. It seemed like a lovely, albeit windy, place to eat lunch. So after meeting Emma that's exactly what we did: Baltic herring steak and salmon with fried potatoes for three. Then back on a boat from Kauppatori to an island called Suomenlinna (or as we tended to call it semolina). Suomenlinna is a sea fortress off the coast of Helsinki, consisting of multiple tiny islands connected by bridges. It is a very interesting place, having been used by Sweden, Russia and Finland in defence over the years. We walked 'the blue route', taking in the main features from the main quay in the North to King's Gate in the South of the fortress via the Church and Kustaanmiekka earthworks. The terrain was not exactly ideal; probably the worst cobbles I have ever walked on. This was particularly unfortunate considering that we had just over an hour to walk the fortress... with the recommended visit time being 2 to 4 hours! Poor feet.

Back in mainland Helsinki we headed to the Uspensky Cathedral then Senate Square and Cathedral. Now what? Another walk, past Parliament towards the Olympic station. Just because it is a fantastic name I'm going to mention that it was by a lake called Töölönlahti Tölöviken... look at the number of umlauts! Anyway, where was I... the Olympic Stadium. Attached to the stadium is a viewing tower, promising impressive views over the Helsinki. And we all know how much I love climbing towers. The view was pretty good, bringing home how much water there is in and around Helsinki.

We made the most of our travel card, hopping on and off trams as we pootled back towards the very centre, with a final few minutes by the cathedral and in the very chilly and windy Kauppatori before returning to the very terminal. Yep, we did a day trip to Helsinki. We grabbed food from Hesburger on our way, which I certainly do not recommend, and then discovered that the ferry was absolutely heaving. Therefore we ended up sitting on the floor in a corridor, where we were treated to a mini guitar concert... for two hours.

Whilst the ferry might not have been the most enjoyable two hours of my life, it did successfully get us back to Tallinn. We even knew where the hostel was, so wasted no time at all in dumping our rucksacks (amazing feeling) and heading out for a nighttime explore of Tallinn. We'd done well with the hostel selecting so were staying at the edge of the old town so were straight out on to winding old streets and yet more cobbles. The walk in the vague area of the Town Hall Square, then over towards St. Olav's Church which was at one point thought to be the tallest building in the world. Things might have changed but St. Olav's still dominates the Tallinn skyline.

The best thing about a night bus/night train, aside from the obvious travel benefit, is how well you sleep the following night. That morning in Tallinn, we woke up ready to do some serious sightseeing. But first breakfast. During our walk the previous evening we had identified a suitable place to breakfast: an awesome coffee shop right in the centre with a teacup ferris wheel. Yes people, a teacup ferris wheel. Breakfasted, we began with Freedom Square, with the Monument to the War of Independence (1918-1920) and then headed up to Toompea. The Old Town is divided into the Lower Town and Toompea hill, so it was literally heading up. There are various impressive buildings, including Parliament (complete with tower) and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a Russian orthodox church complete with onion domes. Unfortunately we couldn't go into any churches because it was Good Friday. The route back into the Lower Town took is along Lühike Jalg, a steep narrow road lined with galleries.

There was plenty of time to wander around the Lower Town, over towards St. Olav's again and Fat Margaret Tower. After searching for ages, we finally found a tower unaffected by Good Friday opening times. Even better, it happened to be a way onto the city walls.

Food was found in the main square and we sat outside because it was sunny and lovely. I was brave, ordering traditional Estonian sausages with mashed potato and onion marmalade and was pleasantly surprised! And just like that our time in Tallinn was nearly over. We began the walk back to the station, adopting the 'follow the tram lines' method once more, but got distracted by a cake shop (standard). Five minutes later we were sitting in Tammsaare Park consuming cake (mine was of the blackcurrant and chocolate ganache variety). And then it really was time to head back to the station.

Congratulations on reading the first half of the Baltic extravaganza. It's a bit of a mammoth story so I'll be back on Monday with the second instalment!

The potato masher incident

I am home, as in actually England home. The school week lasted a whole two days and thanks to the bank holidays next week I only have to miss three days of school in order to have 9 days at home. Win. My journey back to Heathrow was not the best journey in the world. The train and carrying of multiple suitcases was fine... bruised legs but what can you do?

It was all going so well until security. The first problem was with me... my shoes were suspicious and my socks were very suspicious. And then they found a large suspicious metal object in my suitcase. So we went on a hunt through my suitcase, encountering various items including a teapot, head torch, assorted currency and then found the item in question: a potato masher. But the security people did not know it was a potato masher. I had to explain what it was and how you used it. I thought I'd lost it forever. But for whatever reason they gave it back and allowed me to take it on the plane. Stressful.

But hey, it's worth it because I am home. And the flight was wonderful. I got a cup of tea with milk in it and we had stunning views of London as we came in for landing. It looked magical.

"Mange, mange"

Predictably weekend two of the Easter holidays was not spent in Bad Salzdetfurth. Instead I visited Charlotte (from England, met in India, aupairing in France) in Yutz, a town in France close to Luxembourg. The journey was very very long. We're talking twelve hours, due to the indirectness rather than the distance.

On the Saturday we went to Luxembourg for a spot of sightseeing. There's not a lot there but it was a pretty place to have a wander. It is wonderfully multilingual: Charlotte could ask for things in French and I could ask in German. In the evening we headed back to Thionville (France) for a red beer and a chat, before heading home to watch Frozen. Crazy student life.

The following day we met one of Charlotte's friends and went to Metz, the closest city. Again, there was not loads to do but we had a nice wander.

As Charlotte is aupairing, I was staying with the family too. They couldn't have been lovelier or more welcoming. We left the house after lunch each day, mostly because the food was so amazing. Sunday was highly anticipated beef bourguignon day. So good. As were Fred's special potatoes. But this was apparently not enough French food; I needed to experience French patisserie. So we hopped in the car and drove to a patisserie to choose pudding, returning home with a boxful of éclairs of various flavours, religieuse, mille-feuille and strawberry tart. Obviously, everything tasted amazing and I was very very full by the end of the meal. But that didn't stop Fred trying to convince me to eat more!

All too soon it was Monday morning hometime. The walk from Yutz to Thionville, train from Thionville to Luxembourg, train from Luxembourg to Köln, train from Köln to Dortmund, bus from Dortmund to Hannover, train from Hannover to Hildesheim and train from Hildesheim to Bad Salzdetfurth. Urgh. But I had a wonderful weekend with Charlotte, Marie, Fred and Izaak. And hopefully Charlotte will come and visit me in the Summer...

When life is too busy to blog

The current situation goes something along the lines of 'I have so much to write about but no time to write it'. It's a nice problem to have but I do feel like I'm neglecting A Lucy in Germany. But there's nothing I can do about it now because it is bedtime in preparation for the 5am start tomorrow. 

That's six days off stuff right there. I am worryingly proud. Next time someone asks me what I have learnt on my year abroad I will defo say 'the ability to pack light'.

It's getting brighter

So I'm in the middle of school holidays and I've not gone home. Well there's only one thing to do: travel. I waited a whole two hours after school finished for the term before setting off to Dortmund. An evening of the 'Dortmund experience' (football and beer) later and it was off to Milan. Thank you Germanwings mystery flight for choosing my travel destination again. Despite DBBahn's best attempts to ruin everything, Matt and I made it to the airport in time.

The first challenge upon arrival was to get from Milan Malpensa airport to actual Milan. The ticket machines were not the easiest things to use ever but we got a train and 45 minutes later found ourselves in (the very impressive) Milan central station. I do love a good Hbf. It was then time to find the hotel, complete with very grumpy receptionist (now known as Julian) which was in a pretty good location close to a metro station. In the middle of the central piazza in Milan is the Duomo (Milan cathedral), an absolutely spectacular building. It dominates the piazza, which is pretty impressive considering some of the other buildings there... the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II and Palazzo Reale to name a couple. With help from our amazing map (we were far too enthusiastic about it but it had little illustrations of the main sights) the sightseeing began with Villa Reale. After the obligatory ice cream stop we went into the shopping area. Just wow... Armani, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana etc. The words "there's Prada shops everywhere" were definitely spoken. But our favourite shop was Versace home - perfect for student living...

In the evening we went to Navigli, the canals bit of Milan (no I didn't know it had any either). Perfect for sitting out, drinking cocktails and people watching. The side effect to sitting out is that you get approached by a steady stream of flower sellers, who don't seem to listen when you say "no I hate flowers". Hmph. Then it was back to the hotel, via the Duomo.

New day, new metro ticket, new sights to see. First stop of the day was the San Siro. It was not as impressive as I'd expected but it was very big and stadium-like. Then back on the metro to Castello Sforzesco/Sforza Castle. It was a good castle, but difficult to enjoy with so many bracelet sellers around. They were... erm... persistent. And calling me Shakira was not going to get them anywhere. But we managed a wander through the courtyards and the gardens beyond (complete with arch). We found the Santa Maria delle Grazie, home to Da Vinci's The Last Supper but tickets were sold out for the day. So it was back to the map, taking us to assorted churches and interesting looking buildings, including an amphitheatre. Well the remains of an amphitheatre. It was sad to imagine what once would have stood there and look at what is left.

Then it was back to the Duomo for a wander on the terraces. After getting through security (surprisingly tricky) we were allowed to climb the stairs to the terraces and onto the roof. We stayed up there until closing time, when we were escorted down in a lift.

The final sight was supposed to be Cimitero Monumentale di Milan, a huge cemetery. But that was closed for the day, so it was back to Navigli for tea. The done thing seems to be paying a set price for a buffet meal and a cocktail. A genius plan if you ask me.

And we're up to day three. It set off early (we're talking leaving the hotel at 7) as there were a lot of trains ahead of us. It began with three hours of train from Milan to Lavagna, a small town on the Italian Riviera. It was far less touristy than Milan, as we discovered when finding and ordering breakfast. Then it was back on the train along the coast to Cinque Terre. As the name suggests, Cinque Terre consists of five small towns: Monterosso al Mare; Vernazza; Corniglia; Manarola and; Riomaggiore. And we had a day to explore all of them. We bought a Cinque Terre card which gives you unlimited use of the railway between the towns. Although they are only 2 or 3 minutes apart by train they are 2 to 3 hours apart walking, which gives you an idea of the sort of topography we are dealing with! So so steep.

Monterosso al Mare is the flattest and most beach-like of the towns. It was very exciting wandering along the beach and being warm in early April.

Vernazza has a wonderful harbour area. So we sat on the rocks and had an ice cream and enjoyed our surroundings. However, the sea thought differently. We both saw the large wave heading straight towards us but knew there was no way we could move fast enough. Absolutely soaked. But it was pretty funny. There are steep paths on either side of the town, revealing lovely views over the town and landscape beyond.

Corniglia is the hardest to get to. From the station you have to climb and climb, as the town is on the cliff top rather than by the water. The streets are so narrow and full of stairs. Exhausting but very pretty.

Manarola is possibly the most picturesque, with buildings clinging onto the steep hillside.

Riomaggiore was the final stop. Like the other Cinque Terre towns, the streets are narrow, the place is full of stairs and there is a lemon (and limoncello) obsession.

After we had made our way down the coast it was time to find somewhere to watch the sunset. So it was back on the train to Manarola where we sat with limoncello on a rock and watched sunset over the sea. The clouds were not cooperating so it wasn't the best sunset ever but there's always something special about sunset over the sea.

The trains run until midnight so, determined to get the most out of our Cinque Terre card, we went back to Vernazza for a wander. And then back to Lavagna where we had a near disaster as the hotel was locked. No amount of trying to use our key was working, so we rang a doorbell and knocked on the door. Fortunately someone came and let us in. Phew.

Our final day in Italy set off with an exploration of Lavanga, which was lovely considering I chose it purely based on its proximity to Cinque Terre. The cemetery is worth a mention - completely different to British/German cemeteries - all marble busts and family tombs.

We walked by the harbour (which is probably bigger than the town) into neighbouring Chiavari, which was very similar to Lavagna. Then it was time for a train journey up the coast to Genoa. The trains are actually quite fun because they go right by the sea so you get a lovely view... when you aren't going through a tunnel. On the way to Genoa we laughed at the description of it as a city full of "enticing alleyways". However, after visiting I can confirm that the alleyways are actually very enticing. The buildings are so tall and close together that the whole place is a maze. You can't see any of the churches or palaces until they are straight in front of you which is fun.

Genoa has that falling-apart quality to it. If you took any of the buildings out and plonked them in Fetcham they would look dilapidated but somehow in Italy they look charming.

I then had my ice cream related highlight of the trip. A violet frappe. An amazing ice cream shop with a massive selection of flavours, any of which could be made into a frappe. It was like drinking parma violets. AMAZING. It possibly tasted even better because it was hot and sunny and we were sitting on the cathedral steps.

And suddenly it was time to begin the trek home. A horribly hot train from Genoa to Milan, then the Malpensa Express to the airport, then a flight to Düsseldorf, then a train to Dortmund, an overnight in Dortmund, then a bus to Hannover and a train to Bad Salzdetfurth. And that doesn't include the metro/S-Bahn. Home.

Easter Holidays

The Easter Holidays are officially here! Another year abroad milestone right there. When I arrived in Bad Salzdetfurth the Easter Hols seemed about as real as unicorns. So I guess unicorns are real after all.
And because the holidays are so long I have under twenty days left of language assistanting at IGS. This time a year ago I still had no idea which Bundesland I would be spending the year in, and now it's almost gone.

Last time I finished school for the holidays I practically bounced home because I was so excited about flying home for Christmas. This time I walked home from school knowing that I would not be going home this holiday. There are still three weeks, seven countries and two days of school between me and England. April is going to be a very exciting month!