Nick Mason » Trips and Vacations

Deutschland | Tage 24 | The Last Day

Nick Mason — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 13:40:58 +0000

Tage 24, THURSDAY 21.JULY.2011
This day was the last day of our Germany experience.
I slept for about an hour and a half. The only problem was that I had my alarm set for 1.45 and I woke up to the sound of Petra asking if I’m awake… it was 02.20. I got up in a panic and got ready, showered and such in 30 minutes. It was quite the accomplishment. I then had to finish packing in a rush and eat breakfast. We left the house at about 03.20. I was getting so sad!
We got to the train station and found the group. We collected for our final group photos in the ghetto train station of the Münster.
We all went to our platform. The train arrived at approximately 04.10. We all began exchanging our goodbyes. Mostly everyone started crying. It was so sad. We might never see some of them again! We were all reluctant to get on that train. I hugged my host family and a few other people… it was so hard to get on the train. We were in tears when we had to sit down, our families were right by the windows, waving, mouthing words, crying as well.
The train slowly left the station. We were just a wreck.
These two bitches sitting in front of Emi and I were being very sarcastic and rude (they were strangers and saying some pretty mean things about everyone.) So she said some pretty funny dialogs, pretty loudly. LOL.
We rode on that train for about two hours. Then we got off and waited for our other train. I used my handy luggage scale to see if my suitcase was going to go over the limit. It was! It was 55 pounds. So I threw away a ton of stuff, and Amber let me put a few things in hers. Thank you!!
The next train came after about 30-40 minutes. We boarded and this time, Frau Gierke, Emi and I found this small little room on the train with plenty of room. Nobody was in it, so we went in it. How convenient! This train also lasted about two and a half hours.
We got off the train at the airport. We went through check-in, security, etc., and then we waited. For like, two and a half hours. We went shopping, snacked, talked. We finally boarded our plane. I had to sit in between people! At least they were Emi and Catherine, but that doesn’t make up for the lack of space… or the heat.
Luckily, we were all able to sleep for half of the flight. Also, food, food, and more food.
We then talked, watched movies, and planked.
When the flight was finally over, we unloaded, made our way through customs, and waited for the bus. When we stepped out of the airport, we all made it vocal how intense the heat was, and how little we actually wanted to be back. We loaded the nasty bus and sat. I slept almost the entire way home, until we got to our exit.
A few of us, including me, when we finally arrived in Stoughton became severely depressed.
We pulled into the same lot we left in. My car was waiting for me in the lot. Emi and I loaded our bags into my car, then we went to visit Lexa. She wasn’t there, and then we went to visit Taby.
I then had to drop her off.
I went home and just kind of went to sleep. My room was a mess!
I don’t want to be home…
I had such an amazing time and I want to go back…

Deutschland | Tage 23

Nick Mason — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 22:00:56 +0000

Tage 23, TUESDAY 20.JULY.2011
Today was pretty good, but was also depressing.
First was breakfast and then our way to school. It was the last time I would have to ride that bus in the morning. It was kind of relieving but also sad. I went to my first period as usual.
We filled out a survey and Frau Gierke noticed that I was not really myself. She talked to me after our period. We first talked on some stairs. The next hour Amber joined us and we moved into the café. It was really nice and did make me feel better about many things. We also took some time to vent about people. LOL! Thank you, Frau Gierke!
Then, the three of us decided to go to not go to the sport thing that was planned. Instead, we went to the little pizzeria/pasta place on the corner near the school. She got the Spaghetti Napoli and Amber and I shared this spicy pasta with peppers. It was so delicious. I also had a Mezzo Mix, which I will miss!
We then decided to get some ice cream. Amber wanted to first get some money out of her bank for the way home. She took out five dollars. We walked down to the ice cream place. We all got some delicious fancy ice creams. I got Spaghettieis. YUM! It was so good. We found a place to sit and then some other GAPPies came. We all chatted. It was pretty nice. We then went back to the school at 13.30.
We then waited for our Germans. When Manuel came I had to go almost directly to the bus. We went home and ate lunch. We had pizzas. Mine was the delicious pasta pizza. YUM!
We then went on our computer for about half an hour and then left for Lukas’ house. We then drove to a car place and they took out a starter from a car. We then went to Christian’s work, pushed a car into the garage and they lifted it up. Manuel then installed the starter into this car. It worked! It took a long time though. We got back to the house at about 17.40.
Then, right before we were going to leave, they brought out two gifts for me. I felt so sad! That’s when it hit me that it was really over. The first gift was a photo album. It has a ton of photos that they took during my stay! It made me so sad and happy! The second gift was a Nightwish wristband that Petra pointed out at the Musikgeschaft. LOL!
I am so grateful. We then got into the car and headed out to this little restaurant. We met Emi, Jacqueline and her mom there. Every Wednesday this restaurant has a vegetarian buffet. It was so delicious. I wasn’t very hungry but I had a ton anyway. I had many potato wedges, spinach lasagna, cheesy potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and it was just a ton. Also, we had desert. I had some different types of pudding and a ton of strawberries. YUM! It was delicious. We then all laughed a lot, talked and took funny photos.
We all went outside, talked and I did my ghetto voice. We were so giggly…
Then we were sad and went to our cars and drove back home.
I began my interview with Petra. It went well, but I was a little too nervous. I need to learn to relax a bit more. Manuel’s grandmother then came over to say goodbye. After she left, his aunt and uncle came over also to say goodbye. How nice of everybody! I’m going to miss them all so much!
They then left and we all went to our rooms, everyone else to sleep and me to pack, write this, and sleep… for a few minutes at least.
I have to get up at 01.30. YUCK!
The return to America is going to be bittersweet…
Well, bis dann!

Deutschland | Tage 22

Nick Mason — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 22:59:59 +0000

Tage 22, TUESDAY 19.JULY.2011
Today was a good day.
The start of the day was quite nice, as I did not have to get up until 7.15! Manuel did not have his 1st period today, so we got to sleep in a bit. We got to school a little after 9.15 and looked for Frau Gierke. We couldn’t find her, so I decided to go to the Sportplatz with many of the other American GAPPies. I then found out where Frau Gierke was. I went there and found her there! She was in the teachers’ lounge, sneaky. LOL.
I then talked to her for a while about various things, assignments, blogs and such. She helped me edit a few things online.
Their computer lab is super ghetto – they have about six computers and only three of them actually turn on. LOL!
I stayed there until the end of the school day. Manuel and I left for home and we had lunch and watched TV. I had this noodle/cheese/broccoli dish. It was tasted very good! YUM!
We then went to Lukas’ house, took out a tractor and their motorbike. I did not want to drive because I don’t really trust two-wheeled vehicles, especially small ones that were broken yesterday. So we were there for an hour and a half or so, then we rode our bikes back home.
I started the packing process. SAD!
We then had to leave for our GAPP goodbye party!! SAD!! The party started out swell, as any party should. The party was at Jacqueline’s dad’s house. She and Emi did a little speech. Afterwards, Emi said she didn’t feel too good. She started feeling very sick. She went inside and lied down. I went in after a few minutes. She was laughing for a while and all of a sudden she couldn’t breathe… it kept getting worse. She had a seizure, (not the type where you shake,) but she lost all control of her body and was hyperventilating. We tried to fix it with the teachers, but then the ambulance came and took them away… I was so scared!! I cannot type about it anymore because it’s just too hard to describe and recollect everything that happened.
I had to stay behind and I talked with a few GAPPies on the spiral stairs for the rest of the party. We then all left and came back home. I was still just so scared, even though I knew she would be okay.
Manuel, Petra and I started doing weird things when we got home. First, we cracked our joints. Then, Manuel popped his hands. I did my finger/hand tendon movements. Petra did this awesome windy-sounding thing with her tongue. I made a funny sound with my teeth. Manuel did that one fish face. Petra did a rabbit face. It was SO hilarious, I cannot even begin to explain.
After our laughing and screwing around, I presented my gifts to Petra. The blueberry pancake mix and Wisconsin maple syrup from Cheeser’s, my grandma’s dishcloth that she made of Wisconsin, and the Madison photo book. I wish I could’ve given them more, but I had no idea what to give. We talked for a few minutes and then I went and got ready for bed.
When I was about to change, Petra came in with the phone. It was Jacqueline. Emi was A-OK! I was so relieved. They said that I could come over for a while, so I said yes. Her mom came and picked me up.
We had fun at Jacqueline’s. We talked, talked, talked, and Jacqueline played a Sims 2 song on the piano! And then she got me the sheet music! I’m so excited. She also showed me some awesome photos from a music-video. They were amazing! When it was time to go, Emi had fallen asleep. Her mom took me back home and now I’m going to sleep. What an eventful day.

Deutschland | Tage 21

Nick Mason — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:40:04 +0000

Tage 21, MONDAY 18.JULY.2011
Today was a pretty good day.
I woke up as usual for a school morning. I felt very sick still.
The difference with this morning was that Christian drove Manuel and I to the train station. Manuel walked to school from the station and I got on the train with all of the other American GAPPies. We were going to Amsterdam!
We took a few hours to get there by train, but we had a lot of fun on the train.
We transferred twice. It took quite a few hours. On the last train Amber and I went onto the second floor and sat next to these two girls. One was from the Netherlands and the other was from Kansas! We talked with them, found out a little about where we were going, and just generally chatted about differences between countries. They were so friendly! We arrived in Amsterdam and immediately it was different than Germany. The largest noticeable difference was the fact that people were friendly! Some people made money transactions and then we went to find the information centre. After this we all split up, eat or shop, and come back by 13.00.
Emi and I went back into the train station and looked in the shops and went to this place called “Julia’s Pasta.” Nobody had ANY idea whether to speak English or German… we assumed English because the Dutch don’t really seem to like Germans…
To our surprise, everybody we talked to throughout the day spoke VERY fluent English! It was insane. Nobody had any idea they would. Anyway, we both ate some wheat penne pasta with tomato sauce and red peppers. YUM! It was so delicious.
We then went back to our meeting point and everybody eventually showed up. We began our tour.
It was very interesting. The city itself is kind of dirty, plus there are sex shops and “coffee shops,” which are places people get high, everywhere. It’s pretty nasty.
The architecture is so cool in the city.
We finished our tour at a little after 15.00. We then split up and were to meet back at our original point at 18.00. Emi, Amber and I went by ourselves. We walked to this store Emi wanted to go to. There was like nothing there, so we went to this other store. There were a few things there, she bought a few items.
We then walked back into the Asian area. We found this cute little Chinese restaurant and decided to eat there. Amber got some meaty thing and Emi and I shared some French fries and then a huge plate of rice with vegetables! It was SO AMAZING to have Chinese food. YUM!
We then all took turns using the restroom. By the time we were finished, it was about 17.15. I wanted to go to this one area that they have unique clothing such as Medieval and Gothic clothing, but of course we ran out of time. We always run out of time when it comes to going somewhere I’d like to go…
Oh well. We then all had to meet back together. We had no problems finding our way around, surprisingly. We did have a map but there are no street signs ANYWHERE in that city! We just found places and retraced our steps from the tour.
We got on our train and left back for Greven. The train was a little fun on the way back, but I think we were all just so tired from the day.
It was a great day, but I just wish we could’ve had more time. But we still got to experience it and had a great time doing so. We got back in Greven at about 22.30. I went home and slept.

Deutschland | Tage 20

Nick Mason — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 19:49:39 +0000

Tage 20, SUNDAY 17.JULY.2011
Today was definitely not the best day here in Germany for me. Not to complain or anything, but I just feel nasty. I have a cold. At least I’m not like, throwing up though.
Luckily, I got to sleep in until 10.00. That was nice. Some of Manuel’s friends came over a little later and so did one of Manuel’s aunt’s kids. He’s very young and small.
We all got in two cars and drove to this car racing place. It’s not really my thing, but I wasn’t super bored. I had my iPod. But, I just started feeling sicker and sicker.
After standing for a few hours and getting mud and dust thrown in our faces, we decided it would be best to leave. So we left and went back home.
We watched TV and I went on the computer.
Then Petra got dinner ready… We were going to have the soup I made two days ago. I told them it tastes better a few days after, so we decided on tonight. I was so nervous! They all said that they liked it. Petra and Christian both took seconds, so I think they did like it.
We finished eating and Manuel left to Lukas’ house and the rest of us are in the living room and the Women’s World Cup is on. I am not watching, but I am doing some shopping online. I cannot wait to buy some new clothes and accessories! YAY!
Well, I need to sleep soon, as we are going to Amsterdam tomorrow and I don’t want to be a zombie.

Deutschland | Tage 19

Nick Mason — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 02:13:09 +0000

Tage 19, SATURDAY 16.JULY.2011
Today was just… AMAZING!
I slept so good last night. I didn’t have to get up until 08.00. I ate breakfast with Petra at 09.00.
Then, after finishing getting ready and a little bit of waiting, Jacqueline’s mom came and picked me up at about 09.40. We chatted a little in the car on the way to their house.
We got there and we all got ready. They lent me some leather pants that lace up the side, an awesome jacket with buckles on the arms, some belts, and a bag. They have such a cool house, there’s medieval stuff everywhere. We finished getting ready. Emi, Jacqueline, her mom, her sister, and I all got into their car and made our way to Bückeburg for the “Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum.” This is a medieval festival that has so much!

http://www.spectaculum.de/termine/bueckeburg/

We listened to her sister’s iPod on the way there with the car stereo. The first three songs I knew and have on my own iPod, which is funny to me because nobody in America has ever heard of my music. But here, they have.
So anyway, we arrived at the festival probably a little after 11.00 or 11.30. We parked, prepared, and walked along the long stretch of road to the festival.
We got there, got our tickets, and entered the main area and headed to the main stage. There were free posters, and of course I had to take one!
We were in the second row! The introduction began. It was very funny. All of the people who are part of the fest, as merchants, employees, etc. all did this little show. It was very random at times; they performed a “wedding.” LOL!
After a good 20-25 minutes they all left. We went up near the stage as music would start soon. I was so excited… Saltatio Mortis was going to play! They are my FAVOURITE German band! I couldn’t believe that they were going to be there playing, how cool! I have never seen a band I listen to live. It was so awesome. We danced along too; I took oodles of photos and videos. When they finished their mini-concert I had to go to the merchandise stand. I purchased their logo necklace and a “Wer Wind Saet” T-shirt. YAY! I thought I would never get that T-Shirt because they don’t sell them anywhere online anymore, so I got super lucky!
We walked around the huge-ass place. There were shops selling swords, necklaces, clothing, chests, foods, liquors, and everything else you can think of. We walked to this sitting area of hay and sat down. We watched these acrobat people for a while and talked. It was so relaxing!
We then finished looking at all the shops. We stopped for a food and drink break. We were having such a blast.
Everything was just so real; it really was an experience of a lifetime! My pants, being made of leather, got pretty uncomfortable pretty fast, especially with the heat. So we looked for some new pants for me. I wanted to buy some pants in Germany anyway, so I decided “why not here?” I bought some wonderful pants. They weren’t cheap…
We went around and around, looking, inquiring, chatting. It was so nice, relaxing and unique.
We listened to other bands as well. I’m not sure what their names were, but they were pretty cool.
A little bit later we walked back to the car and changed. I had to put on my new pants and Emi took off her main dress. We said she was not a princess anymore, but a high-class hooker.
We walked back, walked around some more, and Emi ate some falafel.
Saltatio Mortis was playing again, and it was getting dark out. We danced, clapped, sang. It was so much fun! People looked at us like we were crazy, but that just added to the fun.
There were these giant bundles of wood and they started to burn them. We went up and danced by one… it was VERY hot! LOL! Tonight, I really felt like myself. Everything just felt so right…
After they finished, we all sang for an encore… actually, there ended up being two encores… LOL!
We then all walked over to where the Black Plague was starting. We walked right with the demonstrators, which was super cool. We walked around picking up the “sick” and the “dead.” It was really amazing, and pretty realistic!
Afterwards, there was a fire show. This was SO amazing. How people do these things with fire, I will never know! It was beautiful as well as amazing and confusing.
Then everything was wrapping up for the night. It was about 00.15. I decided that I had to buy another Saltatio Mortis T-shirt. So I did. We then walked back to the car.
We drove to a McDonald’s to use the restroom as the portable toilets at the event were now filled with vomit from the drunk people, and that’s just really, really nasty.
People gave us the funniest looks when we walked in… LOL!
We then made our way back to their house. It was kind of a long drive, and Emi, Jacqueline and I all slept! Almost the entire way back.
When we arrived back, I got my stuff together, took of their shirt, belts, etc., and her mom and I made our way back to Saerbeck. It was such an amazing day!
Really felt
Just… awesome! It’s 04.12 and I really, really need some sleep. LOL!

Deutschland | Tage 18

Nick Mason — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 21:20:57 +0000

Tage 18, FRIDAY 15.JULY.2011
Today was another good day!
We had breakfast, but I had a little less than usual because I had a stomach ache and my throat was hurting like a mother. We then left for the bus.
I stood today as there were too many kids. I kind of like standing in moving vehicles. It’s fun!
We got to school and I went to my homeroom. The only problem was that it was a Projekttage. People do all sorts of projects on these days. So many kids needed our room. We were then all escorted across the street to the other school building, walked all the way upstairs, just to find out that our secondary option was also taken. We then all went to a random room in the school and had our meeting there. I also introduced a girl to everybody. She had sent a letter to Stoughton High School, but they never received it. So we all had a chance to say hello. I think that Emi and I are going to be her pen pals. She seems like a really cool person.
The rest of the meeting was kind of a therapy session for everyone. We all feel differently about a variety of issues we have been facing at the school. It was good to talk about them.
Then we split up into our presentation groups. Most of the kids did a baseball presentation. I went with just a few people and we explained exchanges in America after school, for college and such. We then planned some for their new group for exchanges. It took a long time, all the time of school for the day!
When we finished that, Emi and I went to try to find our partners. We searched in both buildings. We then decided to go to the Sportplatz. This is where everyone else was with the baseball game. We stayed there for a while talking on the swings of the playground.
When everyone else was finished we went back to the main building’s steps outdoors. There our partners were. We all sat there for a while talking.
Then Emi, Jacqueline, Manuel and I went to the bus stop. We got on the bus after waiting for a while and talking. We talked about this Medieval festival that Emi and Jacqueline are going to. After this talk, I am now going with them tomorrow! I am so excited for it!
They then got off the bus at their stop.
We then got off at our stop.
We ate lunch. I had leftover spaghetti from yesterday. It was so delicious! YUM!
Then, Petra and I went to the store. We bought ingredients for my soup.
We got back and I began my soup.
I cooked for quite a while, until it tasted just right. I hope it tastes a lot better in a few days for when we eat it.
Then Petra took me to Manuel’s handball practice. I did not understand it at all. That finished at about 19.00 and we went back home.
We were having a cookout. A bunch of Manuel’s family was there: his grandma, aunt, uncle, cousins, cousins’ friends, and other brothers! It was nice to meet these new people and it was nice to see the ones I have already met. I actually understood mostly of what they were talking about! YAY! We ate some delicious foods including a variety of meats (veggie burgers for me,) spinach salad, tomato/cheese salad, potato salad, breads. YUM!
Then, all of the kids played air hockey. It gets so intense, the puck flies around the room. It’s so funny!
Then everybody had to leave. We all cleaned up the outdoors and the indoors. It’s now 23.06 and I’m in bed and am very tired. What a great day! I can’t wait for tomorrow!

Deutschland | Tage 17

Nick Mason — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 19:29:14 +0000

Tage 17, THURSDAY 14.JULY.2011
What a great day!
For breakfast, I had bread, cheese, and chocolate milk. But there was a little ‘kick’ to breakfast today. Petra randomly got up out of her seat and walked into the mini hallway. She came back out with this odd suit on. It was getting bigger and bigger. It shaped into this huge soccer ball outfit with German colors on the arms and legs. It was so hilarious! She makes me laugh, I love it!
We went to school as usual.
When we got to school I went to my homeroom. We talked the entire time.
When the hour ended, our Germans picked us up and we parted for classes. My first class was Chemie. We took test tubes, put some liquids and something else in them and then put them over flames to see if the balloons would inflate. It smelt awful. I had no idea what we were really doing… LOL. Then we had Deutsch. We watched Shaun das Shaf. It was easy to understand because there was no dialog. LOL. We also had Chemie again… and we did the same thing, but took more steps to do it.
School was pretty boring as usual, but hey, I’m in Germany. That’s pretty awesome.
After school Manuel and I rode the bus back to Saerbeck. We walked to Saerbeck’s school, where most of his friends go. I met some new people. They have billiards, ping pong, and other games in the basement of the school! It’s crazy.
We then walked back home when class started and walked home. We ate lunch which included Spaghetti with Tomato sauce and Tofu. It was so tasty! YUM!
After lunch, we met up with Emi and Jacqueline at the Eiscafe, just a few blocks away from home. We had lots of fun, and I ate this delicious chocolatey-vanilla ice cream. YUM! We then walked to Schlecker. I bought some gifts (chocolate,) some hairspray and some cough drops. My throat has been hurting all day long. I think I’m getting sick! DAMMIT!
We spent a good chunk of time in Schlecker. We then came back home and we decided they should come to the go-kart racetrack!
So we got in the car with Petra and she drove us (Emi, Jacqueline and I) to the track, about 10 minutes away. Manuel went with his friends. We got there, geared up with our classy hair/face caps and helmets and got in the cars. They went SO FAST! It was amazing and super fun! We did a total of 20 minutes. I first got in 5th place and then 6th place. LOL! I did awful, but I had an amazing time!
We then talked for a few minutes and left and dropped Emi and Jacqueline off at their home. We came home and ate dinner, which was of course, super delicious! We had this garlic-like bread, soy schnitzel, and these cheesy scalped potatoes. YUM! All were so delicious! We were watching Galileo, a very interesting show.
Manuel and I then went upstairs and watched some crime shows and went on the computer.
I’m so tired and must sleep! Bis morgen!

Deutschland | Tage 16

Nick Mason — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:10:57 +0000

Tage 16, WEDNESDAY 13.JULY.2011
Today was another great day in Germany. For me, it started out like any other school day. I awoke at 5.45, showered, did my hair, packed my backpack. Breakfast for me consisted of the usual: Brötchen mit Käse and Milk with cocoa powder. YUM! I am addicted to breakfast here, it’s so good!
I then finished getting ready and we were off to the bus stop. We got on the bus which is usually quiet. We got to school and went to our homeroom (for American GAPPies only.) The conversation was very interesting…
Anyway, after our homeroom our Germans came and got us and we went to class. Our first class of the day was art. We did nothing at all! After art we had English. This class was more interesting as we watched a movie, in English, about these guys who were falsely accused of bombing this pipe thing while they were in a park. After English we had History. We watched another movie, but this time it was completely boring. It could have been because I only could hear a few words, but hey, I also got in a little nap.
When school was finished, Manuel, Amber and I went to this small pizza/pasta place on the corner by the school. Amber and I had Spaghetti Napoli. It was so delicious and satisfying!
After this we went back to the school and waited for some other GAPPies. When we all met up after the next period we all walked to the train station for our train to Münster.
We arrived to Münster and walked to the shopping area. We first went to the large mall-like building. There were many floors. I first went to the Saturn and bought a Europe to USA adapter for my new German appliances. We loafed around for a while in the Saturn store.
Then we all met up with other GAPPies, and browsed some shops. I bought two little metal shopping trollies. They are so cute!
We all then made our way to the Cineplex. We arrived to the Cineplex and purchased our tickets for the new and last Harry Potter movie, in 3D. We bought our concessions and made our way into the theatre. Before the movie starts, many previews show. The final commercial is always an ice cream commercial. Then, the curtain closes over the screen and an employee comes in with the ice cream so you can buy it. Nobody ever buys it…
They then leave and the curtain opens and the movie begins. The movie was in English! The German version comes out tomorrow and in America on Friday.
The movie was wonderful. It was very sad though. It was very enjoyable.
We all then used the restrooms and made our way to the Hauptbahnhof. We caught a train back to Greven. We all then went home.
In today’s end, it was nice to recollect the events and fun times of the day.

Deutschland | Tage 15

Nick Mason — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 20:59:08 +0000

Tage 15, TUESDAY 12.JULY.2011
Today was amazing!
Just like any morning, I got up, showered, got ready, etc. But, for some reason, I flipped some of the steps I take and it completely screwed me up… you’ll read about that later on.
So we ate breakfast, finished getting ready, and I put some snacks in my backpack for the long day ahead. We were leaving the front door, and I realized that I had left my EurRail pass and Passport in my room! I ran back inside to get them. Then after finally leaving, we were walking quickly to the bus stop and I realized that I had forgotten my CAMERA! I panicked and considered running back. Then our bus pulled away from the stop. Luckily, another one came right afterwards. We got on and Emi and Jacqueline were on it. That was a nice surprise.
We reached the school, dispersed and waited for the rest of our group (the Americans.) When everyone finally got there, Frau Gierke went to a bank and an Apotheke. We then all walked briskly to the train station.
We boarded the train. Emi and I had some funny and intellectual conversations on the ride. We transferred trains. On this train, there were these disgusting little kids sitting right near us and their mom did nothing to control them. One of them came over and tried grabbing Emi’s leg. She yelled, “Nein! Stop bitte!” It was pretty funny…
We finally reached HAMBURG! It was so exciting.
In the Hauptbahnhof almost everybody got Eis. I had a scoop of Erdbeer and a scoop of Kinder! Plus, a free mini-scoop of Italian Cream, or something like that.
We met up with our tour guide. The tour was so interesting! He was great at telling us the information we actually want to hear, unlike all of the other tour guides we’ve had.
We walked so far and covered so much. It was pretty awesome! We saw churches, the Rathaus, and even the building, originally a cigar company, where the fire of 1854 started in! It was all so wonderful.
After about three hours of touring around the city, we all got to do whatever for the next three hours. We had passed these cute authentic Italian restaurants during the tour, but we walked around everywhere and could not find them! Aah! So we went shopping instead. I bought two shot glasses and two post cards. I really would like to get some non-souvenir/food stuff, but I’m not sure what!
We ended up, at 5.30, 30 minutes before we had to be back, looked for more food. Everyone got something different in the mall/place/thing. I had two slices of cheese pizza and a cola from Pizza Hut! They have Pizza Hut here! It was super delicious, different than USA. YUM!
We hurried back to the Rathaus, where we met. We did some souvenir shopping, then met up as the group. We rushed around and took a group photo. Then we rushed around trying to find the correct train. We finally boarded one and began our journey back to Greven. We transferred three times, I believe.
We had even more intelligent conversations on the train to Greven. Jacqueline’s mom took me home. I think my German is much better now, because I understood almost everything she said! Yay!
I got back home and I scared Petra by walking in the door. It was funny. We talked for a few minutes, all in German. I’m so happy; I think I’m getting confortable speaking German with others. Yay!
Although I had forgotten my camera, I will still hopefully always remember the beautiful architecture, facts, and the experience of being in Hamburg.
Good night!
P.S. Vegetable soup with croutons from a vending machine is super delicious, in a gross way.
P.S.S. PAPRIKA CHIPS!