It's not you, it's the night train

On Thursday evening I met Katherine again. Predictably this meant the start of an adventure. It all began in Münich Hbf, having spent the previous six hours whizzing backwards through Germany at 250 km/h on the ICE train from Bad Salzdetfurth. I had a couple of hours to explore Munich before Katherine arrived, and then we had another couple of hours to wait until our train departed. The train in question was the Lisinski, a night train from Munich to Ljubljana. Armed with 1,5 litres of ice tea and a blanket we hopped on the train and discovered that there were no other reservations in our cabin so we could both lie down and actually sleep. Well, sleep as well as you can on a night train. The trains stop and start intermittently, pull into the sidings for a break and are very noisy. Combined with a constant awareness of who is moving around while you sleep, the nights don't tend to be particularly refreshing.

We arrived in Ljubljana at 6:55am, and in standard Lucy and Katherine fashion headed straight to the bus station to buy a return ticket to Lake Bled. Because 13 hours of travel is clearly not enough.

Lake Bled

The colour of the water doesn't show up in the photos but it was a stunning emerald green. Snow capped mountains, emerald lake, castle, historic church on the island in the middle. A fairytale.

Lake Bled

Fortunately there were very few people around, so we ambled from bench to bench for a couple of hours before getting the bus back to Ljubljana.

After a brief stop to grab lunch we walked into downtown Ljubljana: Prešernov trg square, with the Franciscan Church and Tromostovje (Triple Bridge). We had a wander round the city centre, not just because it was actually a nice temperature to wander!

Stritarjeva ulica // Franciscan church // Ljubljanica // Market

Ljubljanski grad [Ljubljana Castle] is the place to go for stunning views of the city and is pretty impressive itself. We got the funicular to the top which was brilliant, aside from us pushing the buttons to try and make it work ourselves...oops. The castle is home to a museum of Slovenian history, a short film detailing the history of the castle and of course a good tower to climb. The view over the city and to the mountains beyond is certainly impressive.

Ljubljanski grad

The Ljubljana exploration continued with a visit to the town hall, assorted churches, the market and various other bridges. A sit down was required so we had ice cream and sat by the River Ljubljanica... how civilised!

I usually don't bother to write about our accommodation but I'm making an exception here. We stayed in the Celica hostel (celica translates as cell, which makes considering that the hostel is a former military prison). Built in Austro-Hungarian times, and in use until 1991 (when Slovenia gained independence) the building was due to be destroyed. It was protected by a group of artists and after years of struggling with the authorities the building was developed into a hostel. Twenty of the cells were converted into rooms, and it was one of these we stayed in.

Each cell was designed by a different artist. Our room, 119, was by Anthony Gormley. We found our room (or should that be cell) slightly disconcerting, firstly because there were dozens of screaming clay figures under a glass panel in the floor and secondly because to get into bed you had to climb up a vertical ladder and then across a second glass panel. Eeek. It was a hostel like no other, and a fascinating place to stay.

Room 119

The following day (yes that was really all Friday!) we went on another excursion, this time to the Škocjan Caves. What should have been an okay train journey descended into a replacement bus service spectacular. The villages were far too small for our bus and it became like a TopGear challenge: "you will now drive your bus along this narrow unfinished road, avoiding the tractors. Backwards". There were even spectators. And to make matters worse, we didn't seem to be getting anywhere; all the stations were all called Postaja. Somehow we made it to Divača, and looked confused enough that someone pointed us in the direction of the shuttle bus to the caves.

The Škocjan Caves were incredible. The system includes various caves, passages, natural bridges and sinkholes; all formed by the Reka River. The river still flows through the caves, so visitors walk along a path cut into the side. This path is lit at floor level, and snakes away into darkness, giving an idea of how vast the cave is. In fact the caves are the biggest in Europe: up to 150 metres high. Photography is not allowed so you'll all just have to visit for yourselves!

Škocjan Caves

Then came the unenviable task of getting back to Ljubljana. Miraculously the shuttle bus arrived, as did the replacement bus service and we got back without any problems (and much faster than the outward journey). This obviously called for a celebratory vanilla milkshake by the river. The main street has such a lovely atmosphere from late afternoon into evening.We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering because the weather was sunny and lovely. At tea time we ordered identical meals once again because it is just easier that way. Our Slovenian experience finished sitting by the river with a cocktail... not bad for March!  It was soon time to walk back to the station for our train back to Munich, our second night train in three nights. It was typically bizarre, being a night train and all, but uneventful.

Another adventure over... aside from the six hours back to Badse!

15 Staff + 50 Students + 1 Castle =

Schloß Dhaun. Two words which I first heard on a Warwick uni open day about three years ago, and have been reminded of at regular intervals since. Therefore it was a bit of a milestone to finally be on the ICE on my way there. To explain, Warwick German Department hold an annual 'year abroad residential school'. The lecturers fly over from England, meet the year abroaders and everyone spends a weekend together in a castle in Germany (called Schloß Dhaun). It sounds bizarre, as I realised when trying to explain it to my teachers/friends, but as one of the major selling points of doing a German degree at Warwick had a lot to live up to.

Schloß Dhaun

There was a definite feel of school trip as we arrived at the castle, found out which rooms we were in (or if we were relegated to staying in the hotel... hmph). Well, a school trip in which you haven't seen your classmates for a few months.

Over the course of the weekend we analysed some short prose by Kafka (one of the most confusing writers ever; the sort for which you need to suspend your concept of time and space to understand), had a day of translating and generally discussed our varying experiences of living abroad. There were personal tutor meetings, careers presentations and final year modules to apply for. But it wasn't all about the academic stuff.

It was just lovely to see everyone again. Between the walk, numerous coffee and cake breaks and a bar there was so much time to have a chat: sometimes to people I knew well already and sometimes to people I barely knew.

There was an open mike night which could have been awful but was actually brilliant. The lecturers sang and guitar-ed, the students sang and guitar-ed... we had an excellent singalong to Wonderwall... Even I got involved in a rendition of Is this the way to Amarillo, in honour of Marie (the departmental secretary who is leaving very very soon)... purely chosen so we could point at her every time we sang Marie! What could have been an incredibly awkward evening became a reminder of how lovely the department is.

The last night was a time to let our hair down (literally in the case of a lecturer I shall not be naming). There was a band and a bar so we had an amazing evening of dancing... potentially with the lecturers... 

Schloß Dhaun made me realise how much I like my uni department. I can honestly say that it was amazing to see everyone again, and I really mean everyone. What's so nice about being a small department is that you are not anonymous. The tutors actually seem to care, and I suspect that all the other students actually know who I am (a status which I never achieved at school!). We are all very different people, but together we form an amazing year group in the best department at the best uni (biased? me? nahhh).

I have far more memories than photos, but the memories will last for a very long time (the bus singalong, the midnight walk that never happened, the power of dance to name a few). It was a chance to spend time with everyone, lecturers and students alike. There are not many uni departments that could pull off going away for a weekend together but Warwick German definitely can. Absolutely amazing.

A day trip to Heidelberg

Warning: this is a photo heavy post because Heidelberg is stunningly amazingly beautiful. And for the Germany geography geniuses out there, yes Heidelberg is a very long way from Bad Salzdetfurth. About 6.5 hours by bus. I would know because I've done it. I got a night bus. I would love to be able to say that the night bus was amazing, because I fell asleep in Hannover and woke up in Heidelberg. However, it was more like 'I fell asleep in Hannover and then woke up from semi-sleep at least every 20 minutes the entire way to Heidelberg as we stopped for fuel/a break/to change driver'. Because why would anyone choose sleep when energy tablets and coffee work just as well?!

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The number of times I arrive in a new city with no idea where I'm going and when tourist info is closed is alarmingly high. This is what happened when I arrived in Heidelberg at 6:15am, hopping of the night bus into the unknown. Because my phone is incapable of loading maps I resorted to looking at the bus routes and working out from those which way I needed to walk to get to the old town.

Heidelberg // Brückentor

Being 6:30am, the Altstadt [old town] was fairly deserted so I had a nice solitary wander though the main square, the high street and across the Alte Brücke [Old Bridge] towards the Philosophenweg. I do love a good cobbled city centre. After breakfast in Starbucks, selected because it was open and had a toilet, I set off to Heidelberger Schloss [Heidelberg Castle].

The funicular was closed and the alternative was a replacement bus service (no thank you) so walking up the very steep steps was the best option. All 310 of them. But there was a gorgeous view waiting at the top, over the old town and along the Neckar valley. You could see the paths snaking up the hill on the opposite side of the valley (which were explored later in the day).

Aside from the view, the castle itself is spectacular. It was built around 1300 but the sections vary hugely in style and age, having been destroyed and rebuilt numerous times over the centuries. The castle was resigned to being a ruin forever when it was struck by lightning in 1764. Incidentally, this was the second time it has been struck by lightening... what's that saying about lightning not striking twice...

I returned to the castle and castle gardens in the evening to watch the sunset. The evening light brought out the reddish glow to the castle walls. It is easy to understand why these romantic ruins of a castle are world famous.

Heidelberg Schloss // Rathaus // Broken Turret // The Ruins // Schlangenweg // Sunset // Heiliggeistkirche

The other main feature of my day in Heidelberg was the Philosophenweg [Philosopher's Walk]. This was reached by walking up the Schlangenweg (literally snaking path), which unsurprisingly is a very wiggly path carved into the side of the valley. At the top of this path you join the Philosophenweg, so called because it was popular amongst philosophers. Maybe it was inspirational or something. In any case, it provides stunning views of Heidelberg. I spent most of my day sitting down and admiring the view (although this was probably helped by the weather: sunny and 20°C).

There were various points to stop and watch the world go by. A stunning view, a blossom tree and a wall to sit on... idyllic.

Heidelberg is the Oxbridge of Germany, so there are plenty of university related buildings dotted about and lots of students. It has a feeling of academia to it. On the high street I found a fabulously cluttered second-hand bookshop. Inside, you could hardly move for books. The floor to ceiling shelves were full, and the overflow books were stacked in haphazard piles on the floor. I had an academic moment and bought myself an old copy of Wilhelm Tell as a souvenir of the day.

So my verdict on Heidelberg: beautiful, peaceful, tranquil, picturesque... the list goes on. As you may have gathered from this blog, I'm not usually the 'sit down and watch the world go by' sort of traveller (my reputation is for excessive amounts of walking) but here sitting and watching was the thing to do. And to be fair, I was tired. Energy tablets and coffee cannot replace sleep.

At the end of my day trip to Heidelberg I got back on a night bus. This time I managed to get a bit more sleep (at the expense of my neck) but was still zombified when I arrived in Hannover at 4:50am. I was pleased I'd opted to get the bus from the airport, because at least there were plenty of other people around. Back to Starbucks for more coffee...

Ice cream and sunshine

Exchanges reunited.

When I was in year 10 at school I took part in the German exchange. A 15 year old Lucy headed over to Fürstenfeldbruck, near Munich, for a week. A couple of weeks later my exchange partner, Sarah, came to visit me for a week. The experience completely changed how I viewed learning German; without it I would not be where I am now.

Lucy and Sarah

Sarah and I continued visiting each other for a couple of years but then life got in the way: I hit A-levels and moved to uni whilst Sarah went to the USA for a year and then did Abitur. There was never enough time. So when I realised I'd be living in Germany for a year I was determined to see Sarah again.

On Thursday, after four years of not seeing each other, I was reunited with Sarah. So much has happened in four years but it felt like nothing had changed. There was something strangely familiar about walking along in the sunshine together. Over the course of the weekend we did all the 'Lucy and Sarah traditions': making Eierlikörkuchen, playing yahtzee and laughing at me trying to ride a bike that is so big I can't touch the ground. There is something worrying about cycling around a city knowing that the only way to stop is to fall off.

Friday was spent in Nuremberg/Nürnberg, which is only about 20 minutes by train from Erlangen. To go all British on you, the weather was absolutely gorgeous: sunny and warm and lovely. It was a momentous occasion as I actually went out for the day without a coat... now when did that last happen?! The first thing that struck me about Nürnberg was how tall the buildings are. Not the skyscraper sort of tall, but normal, tall buildings with steeply pitched roofs and dozens of windows. The city has retained a medieval feel, despite the majority of the buildings being reconstructed following World War II.

We had a nice wander round the city, to the Frauenkirche [a church], Mauthalle [toll house], Hauptmarkt and Schöner Brunnen [main market and beautiful well]... you get the idea. It was a standard 'Lucy exploring a city on foot': see as much as possible. Visiting the Kaiserburg [imperial castle] is a must so off we went. It is a steep climb into the castle, but it unsurprisingly offers lovely views of Nürnberg. And even better there was a tower to climb! But before climbing the tower we saw the Deep Well. I can confirm that it was very deep. Apparently this is a famous feature of the castle...

It was a hazy day, but the view from the top of the tower still impressive. Underneath each window there were photos of what the view had looked like before World War II and then immediately after the war. I had no idea how badly hit Nürnberg was - second only to Dresden in terms of extent of damage and civilian deaths. Being able to compare the 'before' and 'after' made the view even more interesting.

Rathaus // Nürnberg // Schöner Brunnen // Frauenkirche

After lunch Sarah and I set off on the trail of more recent history. Nürnberg has the dubious honour of being a favourite city of the Nazi Party, with numerous conferences and rallies being held there. There is now a museum on the former rally grounds, the Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände [Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds]. Henceforth referred to as the Dokuzetrum because there is no way I'm typing that again. The Dokuzentrum is a museum housed in the unfinished Nazi Congress Hall (which was designed to hold 50 000 people- that's twice the size of the colosseum!). It was a fascinating museum, detailing everything from Hitler's rise to power through to the Nuremberg Trials and executions. There was almost too much information but it was so interesting. At the end of the museum tour you walked out into the centre of the hall, which felt absolutely colossal. The Nazi architectural aim of making the individual feel insignificant certainly worked here.

The rostrum

Suffering slightly from the information overload, Sarah and I walked to the Zeppelinfeld. This was the part of the rally grounds I recognised: a huge grandstand with steps down to the 'Führer's rostrum'. Nowadays the grandstand is slowly falling apart but you are still allowed to climb it. Up the stairs and along the back of the stand to the metal double doors, then down the central stairs on to the balcony. This was where Hitler stood in front of his people. He stood where I was standing. Knowing who stood there before you and what he did is a feeling unlike any other. The rally ground still has a certain atmosphere. The stands may be crumbling and there may be a football pitch and lorries in the middle of the field but there is still a presence to it. The scale of it all is hard to convey. Zeppelinfeld is bigger than 12 football pitches. The rally grounds covered 11 square kilometres. Eleven.

The next day was Erlangen day. With Sarah as my tour guide we had a relaxed day wandering round, visiting the assorted churches, squares and the Schlossgarten. Erlangen is the perfect size place: it has everything you need but is still easy to get around.

Erlangen

All in all I had a fantastic weekend with Sarah. It was a bit of a relief that we still got along so well, and I loved being back in Bavaria. I can't wait to spend the Summer here (spoiler alert!).

Surprise!

This weekend was one I'd been looking forward to for ages. I had that 'nothing can stop me now' feeling all week, that is, until I saw the size of the plane I was about to get on. It was tiny. And it sounded more like a car than a plane. But hey, as long as the car with wings could get me safely to Birmingham I didn't really care.

Three hours later I was standing on Reubs' doorstep. I was feeling slightly apprehensive. He was presumably feeling just as normal, mostly because he had no idea I was visiting. Fortunately he was pleased (but confused) to see me. And he promises that he genuinely had no idea.

It wasn't just him that found the whole experience confusing. I found it really strange to be back at Warwick as it felt like I'd never left. It was more like I'd been home for the weekend than been in Germany for six months. Maybe that's not such a bad thing though. I'd been a bit nervous about seeing everyone, having had relatively little contact with them for the last few months, so it was a relief to find that nothing had changed.

One evening ten of us headed to the Phantom Coach for Reubs' 21st birthday (it's almost like I planned it...), where we practically had a feast... there may have been some discount vouchers involved. Although more food was definitely not required, we then had birthday cakes complete with an amazing firework candle thing. It was a lovely evening.

Other than the meal, I spent most of my time walking around campus or at Curiositea. I love the Warwick campus, as you are straight onto open fields and woodland, and as anyone who regularly reads my blog will know I do like walking. I surprised myself with how happy I felt wandering around uni. I went to the library, the learning grid, the humanities building... all the places that usually mean studying. I'm not ready to go back just yet but I do like my university.

Warwick Uni // Canley // Warwick SU

My other favourite thing about Warwick is possibly Curiositea, a really cute coffee shop in the SU. It's beautifully vintage style, with teapots and bunting everywhere. I had my favourite Vanilla Velvet (latte with vanilla syrup and whipped cream) and a slice of red velvet fudge cake. So amazing we went twice.

The weekend vanished. When I was back at Warwick it felt like I'd never left, but sitting in Bad Salzdetfurth it now feels like I've never been. It was so nice to see everyone (well nearly everyone) again and have a good catch up. Whilst it might have been the most surreal weekend, at least I have supplies of mini eggs and bournville to get me through the next two months.

So thank you to Alex, Anna, Brendz, Catherine, Georgia, Hazel, James, Mike, Rach and Reubs for a brilliant weekend. It was amazing to see you all (running out of adjectives). Good luck with the exams/dissertations/projects/life in general!

The six month anniversary

Today is a very special day: it is six months since I moved to Germany. The time has gone so so fast, but I think I'm making the most of it.

Some things haven't changed. There are still students who don't believe I am English. I am still the height of the average German 11 year old. And I still don't want to be a teacher (ooooh controversial). It might seem strange that I chose to work as a language assistant despite not wanting to be a teacher. I maintain that the only thing worse than standing up in front of a class and speaking is standing up in front of a class and speaking in their language, not your own. But it gets easier. And fortunately most of my students are absolutely lovely which makes it worthwhile. If this year doesn't make me more confident what will?!

But lots of things have changed. I have discovered just how much I love Germany. I know that I want to live here after university, for at least a couple of years. I feel completely at home in Bad Salzdetfurth, and have begun to realise how much I will miss it when I leave in three months. I am happy, settled and 'me' here. It feels like home in a way that Warwick never did.

The travel has been ridiculous. I've done an all-nighter in Sweden, booked a flight to an unknown destination and turned up to far too many countries without the right currency! I have gone from being a very organised traveller to happily bunging a jumper, purse and passport in a rucksack and going. I have the freedom to go where I want and be who I want.

I can understand why people say the year abroad is the best thing ever. No you can't share it with your family and friends from 'back home' but you can have an amazing time being you. For once I have time and money and am making the most of it. I am more independent than ever but appreciate my favourite people more than ever. I look forward Skyping home and having a chat over a cup of tea. In the surreal world that I currently live in I need a reminder that normality continues. And I look forward to writing my blog. It continually amazes me that people are interested in my life so thank you, all of you.

I have had so many wonderful experiences in the last few months and I cannot wait to live the next few.

The unexpected carnival

What is the world coming to: I actually spent an entire week in Germany?! Monday to Thursday was school as usual which is still fine most of the time. Friday was wonderfully lazy, exactly what I needed after waking up at 6 for the previous four days (no amount of time spent in Germany will convince me that 6 is a reasonable time to get up). In the evening I went to the English speaking group in Hildesheim. I am fully aware that this is not the right way to go about improving my German but it is perfect for guilt free, complicated English. I enjoy being able to speak English as I want to speak it, rather than thinking about whether the language is too complex. I have to leave early (loving the 21:38 last train home on a Friday night) but it's good fun.

On Saturday I dragged myself to Bremen. I was so so tempted to stay at home but a quick flick through my diary revealed that I only have four unallocated weekends before leaving Bad Salzdetfurth, thus motivating me to go out and about. Once in Bremen I followed the crowds of people from the station to the main square, where we were greeted by an oversized cat on a cherry-picker. The square was packed with people listening to this most knowledgable of cats as she discussed the concept of 'Heimat'. Some of the people were people that looked like people, but others were people who looked like parrots or boats or ferris wheels. The penny dropped. I had just found Bremen Karnival.

To be precise I had found the very beginning of the parade, where each group was introduced before setting off around the city centre. So I found myself some stairs to stand on (short person problems) and watched. I think I have mentioned before that Germany does bizarre worryingly convincingly.

Eventually I'd had enough of watching the parade (aka. my toes were numb) so I went for my city explore. I'd already found the main square, with its spectacular Rathaus [town hall, but Rathaus is a much better word] and St. Petri Cathedral so headed towards the river. There was another church but little else to note so I headed towards Böttcherstraße. This is an impressive art nouveau street, with plenty of cafes, shops and a museum. It was a lovely place for a wander, something which I had not expected from Bremen!

Rathaus & Dom // Böttcherstraße // Bremen

It was then time to go back to the station, with a brief stop at the city moat on the way. There was a windmill but after last week I couldn't face taking another photo of a windmill!

Bremen was nothing like I expected. For some reason I thought it would be industrial and not exactly beautiful but I was pleasantly surprised. The main square in particular was lovely, but there were plenty of pretty buildings dotted around. Although the carnival was a shock I had wanted to go to carnival here so that's one thing to tick off the lift. All in all, Bremen was worth dragging myself out of bed for!

Moments of Awesomeness

There are moments when you realise how awesome it is to be able to speak two languages*.

I was reminded of this on the train last week. An English-speaking man wanted to plug his laptop in but couldn't find the socket. The English-speakers behind him couldn't help. However, a German guy (who had worked out what was going on as English-speaking man was waving around the laptop cable and looking confused) explained where it was in German. But this only made English-speaking man more confused as he couldn't speak German... This is where I came in: the person who could translate German guy's advice and tell English-speaking man where the socket was. It sounds ridiculous but it was one of those moments that made me proud to be able to speak more than one language. It is when you realise that you are getting somewhere with German.

These moments of awesomeness happen in the most innocuous of settings. I've translated things in coffee shops and train stations, hotels and museums. No the language required isn't demanding but that's not the point. The point is that I can actually do it.

*When I say speak two languages I mean it in a loose sense and I definitely do not class myself as anything close to fluent. My German falls in the categories of 'can usually get the point across' and 'work in progress'.

The very windy land of windmills

The week of the new timetable! This is my final timetable of the year so I got more of a say in which classes I'd like to be in. I requested more classes with the younger students which is exactly what I got, as well as Fridays off so the travel can continue.

Talking of travel, after school on Thursday I headed off for the weekend. Despite having spent many of my weekends in the last few months travelling around Europe with Katherine, I had never actually been to visit her in Utrecht. A mere six hours later I was in Utrecht Centraal. There was only one incident on the journey, and for once it had absolutely nothing to do with the beloved DB Bahn. Basically, I convinced myself that I had left the hob on in my flat and it was going to burn the building down. This was 10 minutes before getting the train from Hannover Hbf to Amersfoort, so not the best timing in the world. Fortunately I managed to contact my landlady who checked my flat... unsurprisingly I had not left the hob on. Panic over.

I was met in Utrecht by Katherine and Emma (Katherine's uni friend) for a relaxed evening featuring genius tea courtesy of Julia's, a takeaway pasta place in the main station. You simply choose your pasta, choose your sauce, watch it getting cooked and then it is given to you in a box with one of those fun plastic forks that looks like a metal fork. Like I said, genius.

Utrecht

The following day was Valentine's Day. How to celebrate? Hmm, how about stroopwafel for breakfast and maybe a day trip to Amsterdam?! The Netherlands is a fairly compact country, so it only took about half an hour to get from Utrecht to Amsterdam. We obviously began with a wander into the centre, down the main shopping street and to the square with the Royal Palace. There really is a lot of water! There are canals everywhere with bridges and bikes and building that are tilting so far forward it's amazing they are still standing.

In amongst all these buildings is the Anne Frank House. As it sounds, the Anne Frank House is the hiding place where Anne Frank wrote her diary during World War II. It has since been made into a museum as a reminder of Anne Frank the other occupants of the secret annexe, the helpers and all others like them. We had to queue for about 45 minutes to get in, but once inside the queuing is forgotten. It is absolutely fascinating. As someone who has read Anne Frank's diary numerous times it was amazing to walk round the 263 Prinsengracht. You begin with the warehouse, offices and storeroom, from which Otto Frank (Anne's father) ran his companies. The people in the warehouse knew nothing of the inhabitants of the secret annexe, but the office staff were the helpers. Next you walk through the doorway which was concealed by the bookcase (the actual bookcase is still there!) and into the annexe. Although there is no furniture there are still signs of Anne and the other inhabitants of the secret annexe: pictures of film stars and artwork stuck on a bedroom wall, lines on the wall marking how much Anne and Margot (Anne's older sister) grew whilst living in the annexe and Otto's map marking the advance of the Allies.

The feeling of walking from room to room in the secret annexe is indescribable. But inevitably you continue into a room documenting how it all went wrong. How the eight people in hiding were found and arrested by the Nazis, how they were taken to a transit camp and then onto various concentration camps.

Perhaps the highlight of the museum is the diary itself. A red-checked diary kept by a thirteen year old girl. It looks so ordinary, that it's hard to believe that this is the actual diary, the one that has been translated into dozens of languages, read by millions of people all over the world and symbolises Nazi atrocities during World War II.

If you ever get the chance, go to the Anne Frank House.

After a carefully chosen lunch we saw a very different side to Amsterdam. Whenever you go to a capital city you want to see the most famous things there, which in Amsterdam happens to include the Red Light District. From an architectural point of view it is one of the oldest and prettiest areas of the city; you just have ignore the signage and window displays. Oh and the smell of weed.

At this point the weather (which had been rubbish to begin with) went downhill. We managed a visit to the Old Amsterdam Cheese Shop where I shamelessly had tried loads of tasters, but gave up and went home. The upside was that we spent the evening in central Utrecht which I'd seen little of so far, enjoying pasta and cocktails.

Amsterdam

With Emma safely on her bus back to Prague (!!!), Katherine and I headed to downtown Utrecht to see the sights. It might not be a big place but it is very pretty. There are cobbled streets, flowers, canals and bikes everywhere. On the topic of bikes: I'm not a big fan. They are absolutely terrifying and people carry such stupid things on them. An ironing board for example. Or there are the couples cycling along holding hands... it is just me who sees that as dangerous?!

Back to Utrecht, where I had a lovely guided tour by Katherine so saw the Dom and Dom Cathedral (which used to be attached), some university buildings and ate supposedly the best chips in the Netherlands (to be fair they were good). Then it was back on the train for a trip to Zaanse Schans, a town which is basically a microcosm of the Netherlands. It might be close geographically to Amsterdam but that's where the similarities end.

Het Jonge Schapp (saw mill), De Zoeker (oil mill), De Kat (dye mill), De gekroonde Poelenburg (saw mill)

Zaanse Schans is a well-preserved traditional Dutch village. It was once the most industrial area of the Netherlands, with over 1000 windmills. Now there are only thirteen. Unsurprisingly it was an amazingly windy place, and with water on either side of the paths it was amazing we didn't fall in! The windmills were certainly working. We wen't inside 'De Kat', a dye mill, and the blades were turning so fast that the whole windmill was shaking. The visit was 'at your own risk' and we realised why once we started climbing up the wooden stairs inside the windmill. A combination of high winds and ladder-like stairs meant you had to hold on tight. There were three levels, including a particularly precarious balcony area. Eeeek.

Zaanse Schans

Our exploration continued with a visit to the cheese farm for more tasters, and then a clog museum. I can confirm that clogs are very uncomfortable, and gave Katherine a splinter. Our 'chocolate box' Dutch village even smelt like cocoa! On the way home we stopped in at Amsterdam (because we could) as the weather was so much better than the previous day. Another reason to love Amsterdam: we found Dairy Milk there!

Sunday was home-day. Back for another week of school.

The Mystery Flight

This story begins the evening after BratPest, when Lucy and Katherine encounter the 'mystery flight' option on the Germanwings website. Germanwings is a budget German airline. A mystery flight is what it sounds like: you pay for the flight before you find out the destination. And so Lucy and Katherine clicked 'confirm'. An agonising wait for the page to load followed... where were they flying to?!

Four days later we were on a flight to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Surreal doesn't quite cover it. We travelled from Bad Salzdetfurth to Köln the previous day as our flight was at stupid-o'clock in the morning. When we landed it looked like we were still in the air. It was cloudy and snowy and foggy and generally not ideal. But by the time we had sorted out our Kuna supply (like hakuna matata - 1 Kuna is about 11p), found a map and worked out how to get the bus to the city centre the weather had drastically improved. At 8 °C it was positively tropical.

After the walk from the bus station to the main square we were in need of cake. As it happens we found the most amazing cafe ever. Amazing enough for us to go five times in 48 hours. There were macarons in flavours from blueberry to mint chocolate, dozens of cakes and hot chocolate that was just like chocolate custard in both flavour and consistency. But the most popular dish seemed to be chestnut puree with cream on top. In fact there's a bit of a chestnut obsession going on. So if you ever go, watch out for 'Kesten'! Have I mentioned that it was cheap too?! The only slight issue was the language barrier. We had to earn our right to eat macarons by pointing, smiling and nodding until we were understood. It was clearly worth it as we visited as many times as we could.

Zagreb is split into the Upper Town and the Lower Town. Possibly because the Upper Town is literally much higher up. To get from one to the other you can either use the funicular or walk one of the very steep paths. The Upper Town is home to the palaces, St. Mark's Square (and St. Mark's Church). The first time we went there was a protest thing outside the church but our second visit was far more successful.

The catchily named 'Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary' is the big cathedral right in the centre of the city. The two spires can be seen from pretty much everywhere (including the airport). Close to the cathedral is Dolac Market, which the internet informs me, is the biggest open air market in Croatia. There was the largest selection of salad leaves I have seen in my life. There are numerous markets though, including those for flowers (in Flowers Square) and an antiques market.

Dolac Market // Ilica // St. Mark's Church // Upper Town // Jelačić Square // Zagreb Cathedral

The Zagreb Eye. I imagined it to be a little like the London Eye. It is nothing like the London Eye. It is effectively a viewing platform at the top of an office block. Your ticket is valid all day so you can admire the city in daytime and nighttime. From the top you could see the mountains surrounding Zagreb by day, and the main shopping street at night. Typically, our night viewing was also a business event which we had to sneak through... We did laugh at all the jokes which we definitely understood...

In between the eating and sightseeing (the National Theatre, Tkalčićeva, the list goes on) we actually went to a museum. The Museum of Broken Relationships. It has won prizes for innovativity (is that even a word?!) and was definitely unlike any other museum I've visited. The layout is simple: a series of personal objects, each accompanied by a description of the failed relationship. The story varies from a couple of words to multiple paragraphs. A truly bizarre museum, slightly depressing but weirdly interesting. Unique.

Our whirlwind visit ended in Ban Jelačić Square: the centre of Zagreb. It is full of people and tram intersections. And an excellent place to eat macarons and watch the world go by.

To conclude: Germanwings made an excellent choice when it sent us to Zagreb. It was such a fun city, it's hard to explain but something about it just felt nice. It feels like a modern capital city but it hasn't forgotten its past. Opposite a brand new shopping centre there is a 'row' of dilapidated single level buildings with crumbling brickwork and missing roof tiles. There are signs that 'Westernisation' hasn't been entirely successful, escalators blocked by concrete. There is still a hint of former Yugoslavia about it but that makes it all the more interesting. It feels like a city in transition, with glass office blocks and bars alongside markets and very cheap food. I definitely recommend it.