April 26th {ramblings from the day I arrived}
My feet are on a different continent. I’m just about 27
years old and although I’ve travelled to many obscure places, I’ve never been
outside of North America. Europe has always been a dream, and now I’m here. It
feels surreal. It’s absolutely beautiful here. My first thoughts upon landing
in Frankfurt and driving to Heidelberg went something like this:
- It natural landscape looks surprisingly a lot
like Vancouver. Very green and wet.
- It’s humid like Ontario.
- They don’t drive on the left side of the road.
Am I the only dumby who thought that all of Europe drives on the left. Well if
you thought that, you’re not alone, but you are mistaken. They drive on the
right side of the road, just like us. Whoops.
- It’s absolutely stunningly gorgeous here. TAKE.
MY. BREATH. AWAY.
- I don’t speak the language well enough to have
in depth conversations with the locals. I could ask them directions, but then
I’d have a hard time understanding their response. That poses a problem.
Thankfully, many Germans speak English and are happy to practice their skills
by communicating to us in our mother tongue. However, I was proud when I made a
purchase fully in german. J
- While I’m speaking about language, there are so
many words that are similar or the same. Muffin = muffin… in case you were
wondering.
- Wifi isn’t as readily available here as it is
back home. It’s 2 Euros an hour at the hostel, and you only have access in the
lounge, and not your room. As it turns out, I’m quite addicted to text
messaging, Facbooking, checking my email, checking the weather, google mapping,
etc. This really puts a kink into my ‘staying connected to the world’ plans. That
being said, I discovered a few coffee shops that have free wifi that aren’t too
far from where I am.
I’ve learned a whole bunch more, but I’m tired as heck and I
must go to sleep. I’ve been up for over 26 hours…and I’m running on…? Lord only
knows.
April 27 {yesterday’s thoughts}
Today was a whirlwind of a day. After being up for over a
day strait, I had every intention of having a great sleep. I fought sleep all
day, and following the directions of other travelers, stayed up as long as I
could, so not surprisingly, I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I
thought for sure I’d sleep all night and wake up today feeling bright eyed and
bushy tailed, and on German time. What happened instead was that I woke up at
4am and couldn’t fall back asleep until about 6. I even contemplated just
staying up, but finally opted for doing everything I could to go back to bed,
knowing that my day was jam packed. When my alarm rang at 7am I cursed the
world for a brief moment, until I remember that I. AM. IN. GERMANY!! Besides, a
few cups of coffee was sure to solve my problems.
I ate breakfast at the hostel, which provided quite the
spread. Everything from buns, 3 types of fresh bread, with jams, honey and
nutella, cold cuts, cheese, muesli, yogurt, fruit, and coffee. I wasn’t all
about the cold cuts for breaky, that’s too lunchy for me, but I did have a
chunk of Brie cheese with my toast and jam, apple, banana and muesli.
Then it was off to Old Town by bus. We were met there by
Anke and a University Tour guide named Valerie. We were all in awe of the
beauty and rich history bursting from every corner in Heidelberg. We saw the
Old lecture hall, the oldest University in Germany founded in 13--. Then we
moseyed through the streets, seeing the old Cathedral and where the Vicar
lives, and the oldest Church in the city from the Gothic time period. Walked
along Philosophers Bridge and we’re all snapping pictures like crazy, because
off in the distance, perched in it’s perfect ruin form, up on the hill,
overlooking the city is the castle. So up we went on this cute but steep
tramcar to the castle grounds. I’ve never seen a real life castle before. Walking
the grounds, taking in the sights, running my hand along the archways and
ancient stonework, my mind is in another place, wondering about the history.
Who stood where I stood. I got teary. Because that’s what happens when I’m
really, REALLY happy. Again, HOW IS THIS MY LIFE!?!?!?!
April 28 {today’s thoughts}
I slept through the night and am finally feeling back to
myself. It’s supposed to get up to 28 degress today, so I’ve got my sundress
and suncreen on and I’m about to head to Hoffenheim to catch my first German
soccer game: Hoffenheim vs. Nurnberg! WOO HOOO
But, before I got I thought I’d leave you with a few
glimpses of my first few days here.
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| Ready to board Lufthansa flight 493. This was when I had great intentions of sleeping the whole flight. HA |
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| Because I couldn't sleep, I got to see some pretty great sights. I was way up in Northern Ontario this summer but never got to see Hudson Bay. |
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| But that's to my large flight neighbour who made it impossible for me to sleep, I got to see it in all it's frozen and eerie glory! |
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| Half the gang upon our arrival in Heidelberg. At this point we'd been up for over 20 hours and needed coffee. |
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| My {swollen from the flight} feet on German soil...err...cobblestone. |
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| This is what most of the streets, homes and buildings look like in Heidelberg. GORG! |
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| The ruins of Heidelberg Castle. |
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| One of the castle fountains. |
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| Doesn't it take your breath away? I mean, I know it's a picture but its just so beautiful. |
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| The Old Bridge on the Neckar River. |
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My view of the old city from the boat ride on the Neckar River.
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Okay, I could tell you a million stories and show you over 200 pictures but the internet is slow, and I've got a beautiful city to explore. I can't believe this is my life right now. So blessed.
xoxo
