Back From the Land of Luther and Bach

So I have not written on of these bad boys in a while so it is time to get on that.  I have been recuperating from my travels to Leipzig, Wittenberg, Eisenach, Erfurt, and Wurzburg.  99% of this was with my prof for our Luther and Bach class and then Sarah and I took a side trip at the very end to Wurzburg.  So this is gonna be a long one, but I will include pictures for the people like my mom who just like the pretty pictures;)

The beginning of our trip to Leipzig was not without its issues.  Our second train was so late that we missed all of our connecting trains afterwards and thus our reservations, but we were so lucky and made trains in time with seats.  Leipzig has a famous orange beer so that night we went to a famous brewery and tried it.  The next day was all about Bach and music in Leipzig.  We went to the Thomaskirche where Bach worked and taught and then went across the street to the Bach Museum.  Other places we visited include the oldest coffee house in Europe, the Stasi museum, Mendelsohn's house, and the Grassi Museum.  Below I am having a moment with my man Bach.

 
The next day was Wittenberg where it was all about Luther.  We visited the house and school where he lived and taught as well as the Castle Church where he posted the 95 Thesis and St. Mary's church where he preached.  Sarah, Allie and I stayed later than the others to shop and go to an English church service.  You would not believe it but there were two Valpo graduates at the church and one of them was the coordinator....it was unbelievable.  This is the door where the Thesis was posted.


Eisenach was our next step where we went to the Wurzburg Castle where Luther was held in exile and where he translated the bible into common Germanic language.  After the castle we visited Bach's house and a museum there.

Erfurt was a blast the next day.  We went to the monastery where Luther stayed and studied as well as the Cathedral where he was ordained.  One of the highlights was stumbling upon this church that had opened up there tower to the public so we climbed all the way up and looked down on the city.  Dinner was with the whole group at Luther Keller which was like Medieval Times.  This cathedral was one of the major highlights


The last day Sarah and I broke up our travels back with a stop Wurzburg.  We visited the Residence, which is Europe's second largest palace and my gosh was it fantastic.  Not only was the inside gorgeously painted and sculpted but the gardens were also exquisite.  After that we visited the cathedral they had which was very different from the other churches we had visited, because everything was stark white.  The next stop before we made the last leg home was the Marienberg Fortress at the top of the hill and above a vineyard.  We made the long sweaty hike but it was definitely worth it.  The gardens of the Residence were my favorite by far.

This was an amazing trip but it was good to be back in Reutlingen which feels more like home everyday.  It has also been great coming back to all kinds of new international students who are so fantastic and great new friends to hang out with.  Tomorrow morning I will be heading out to Munich and Fussen to see Neuschwanstein.  A week from tomorrow we will be taking our other class trip to Berlin and then with some free time I think I will be doing the Rhine Valley and a day at Oktoberfest.

Auf Wiedersehen,
Chels

A Hidden German Gem

There is nothing more exciting than doing something on your own and actually accomplishing your goal.  I had this exact feeling while sitting on the bus home from Tubingen yesterday.  I decided that I was going to see the Bebenhausen monastery and castle yesterday and boy am I glad that I did.  I left quite early yesterday morning and took the train into town where I then had to find a map and start the trek to the monastery.  It was a three mile hike each way to get to the city of Bebenhausen, and needless to say my poor little feet are  yelling at me today.  On the way I stumbled upon a musician practicing organ in the city church and some awesome little shops as well as Tubingen University and some fantastic river views.

The hike was gorgeous and everything here is so green.  I followed a little river on my way to the city and did more of a deep forest hike on the way back.  The Germans are big bikers and many many a biker passed me on the river trail.  When I emerged from the woods this was the beautiful sight that I had.

Who wouldn't be breathless with this view.  I walked into town and bought my tickets to get into the monastery and for a castle tour at noon. The monastery was so serene and was very old.  The monastery itself was built in 1160 and the castle was the monastery guest house the housed King Wilhelm II and Queen Charlotte until both of their respective deaths.  The castle is in the heart of hunting country and thus is all decked out in deer and animal mounts that the king, queen, and guests had killed themselves.  On the tour there was only one other German couple.  So, the tour guide being pretty good in English and a college kid probably about my age would give the German tour and explanations for everything and then would give me the English cliff notes version.

After such a long day and putting over 8 miles of walking on my poor feet I of course had to get an ice cream cone on the walk home from the train station to the dorms.  Last night my international friends in my dorm took three of us girls out to our first European clubbing experience.  O my gosh was that an experience.  Nothing that I need to do every weekend but the guys were so fun and we had a blast dancing for hours on end in three different themed rooms which were all jammed pack.

Yesterday taught me a lot.  It taught me to do what I want to do.  Looking back it was also probably one of the days that will stand out to me the most because I did so much reflection and it was nice to be surrounded by nothing but the sounds of the birds and little creatures in the leaves.  It was nice to be me and have no one else to answer to or to please. 

I'm heading off to a Reutlingen soccer match...


Auf Wiedersehen
Chels

The Beauty from Above

The best day thus far has been seeing Reutlingen from a bird's eye view.  We climbed Achalm and the ruins that awaited us on top.  It took us two hours, but boy was it worth it.  We had a gorgeous sunny day and stumbled upon some great sights all the way.  W even enjoyed a beer at the very top and looked upon the gorgeous cities and landscape that God had created all around us.

We also met some amazing little friends on the way.  Reutlingen is known for its textile industry and thus farmers have a lot of sheep that roam freely on these green hills that surround the city.  We stumbled upon a shepherd with a lot of sheep and of course his three sheepdogs.  The ewes must have just had babies because there were so many little ones as well as a lone donkey.

This hike put so many things into perspective and was a great way to start my first week of classes.

Auf Wierdersehen,
Chels

Beer is Liquid Bread

Ok so the stress of not having money or knowing anyone and being bored has started to wear off and the fun has begun.  We went out for beer as a group yesterday and went to downtown Reutlingen for the first time.  Not only am I living in the Doner capital of the world, but I also saw the world's smallest street.

We also meet our econ prof yesterday and had our orientation for the school.  He is such a cool and funny person.  He is the one that told us that beer is liquid bread and it is medicine.  Prof O took us out for ice cream before our walking tour of Reutlingen. On the tour we saw St. Mary's Church as well as the wall that was built around most of the city and places where the houses had been built leaning against the wall.
Tomorrow we are spending the day in Stuttgart and tonight we are having our first of what I hope to be many family dinners.

Auf Wiedersehen
Chels

10-4 Im here

Well I'm here.......so now what????

After a brutal plane ride and being up for twenty four hours I feel like I should have arrived in this magical place and so far it has not felt that way.  I think it may have something to do with the fact that my debit card is expired my credit card won't work and for some god forsaken reason the bank decides to take Wednesday afternoons off.

So after this being in a country with no money situation is handled Germany might start to feel a little more magical.  The room Rachel and I are in is huge and everything fits with room to spare.  The hardest part was putting up pictures with all my Valpo friends and knowing that they are not gonna be coming to school with me.

Today we tried Doners, which is exactly like a gyro and is very delicious.  Hopefully after everyone gets a good night rest there will be an extra pep in everyone's step tomorrow and we can tackle a little more of Germany.

Auf Wiedersehen,

Chels

How do You Prepare for Germany????

June 19, 2013

Well hey there!!!!
I though I would start a blog to help connect with friends and family while I am studying abroad in Reutlingen, Germany.  I cannot believe this experience is even possible and I am so excited come August 21 to board that plan and live in another country for 4 months.

But, there are a lot of things to do before then.  Last week I got a backpack and looked pretty silly walking around REI with a stuffed backpack trying to make sure it would work.  I found the perfect one though, even made by a Germany brand, go figure!!  In the same shopping excursion I also picked up Rick Steve's travel guide to Europe.  I have a feeling that in the next couple of months he and I are going to become quite familiar ;)

So, what else is there, what else can I do?  How do you prepare yourself to spend 4 months in a country that does not speak your language, eat the same food, or carry the same types of brands that we are so used to.  Well seems like an adventure in itself before I even get to Europe!!

Auf Wiedersehen

Chelsea