Hello everyone!
Today my post might not be as long, but I will try to share as many of my European adventures as possible!
On Wednesday I went with Henrike by train to the city of Leipzig which has about 500,000 people and is about 30 minutes away from the village. The main train station we rode into in Leipzig is HUGE!! There is basically a mall inside of it too full of high quality stores, specialty stores (there was a store just for tights and socks!), and food places. Also, there were typical train station amenities such as mail drop boxes, ATM"S, and ticket windows. After leaving the train station, we walked downtown where we met up with Henrike's boyfriend, Jonas, who is in college there studying physics. We spent the morning with him around the pedestrian area of the city. First we walked to the Nicolai Church which is a once Catholic but now Protestant church that is famous for being the place where the protests for a reunited Germany began in 1989. The church welcomed all people- Catholics, Protestants, and even atheists to come and protest. Inside was absolutely gorgeous! It looked like the cathedrals I studied in my art history class. After that, we walked to a museum of German history since 1945. It was a unique museum experience for me, since most everything was in German! Luckily, Henrike was wonderfully patient enough to translate for me. The museum began with the end of World War II, then showed the division of Germany into the different sections controlled by the Allies, the shrinking of German territory and the migration of Germans, the creation of new nations such as Poland, the establishment of the GDR (which is really what we in America call East Germany), and the influx of communism. The museum ended with the fall of Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany. What surprised me most was the fact that we learn so little of the plight of eastern Germany in our U.S. History classes. I knew about the Marshall Plan and the dividing up of Germany, but after that all I knew of was the split country, and then Russian control until the fall of the Berlin Wall. I learned that actually, Eastern Germany was not part of Russia, but it's own nation: The German Democratic Republic (GDR). Russia just exerted a heavy influence on the country and was supposedly helping protect the people from fascists. I think I learned more from Henrike's explanation then I could have from any English facts on the wall. Since her parents grew up in communist Germany, I gained real insight into the effects of dictatorship and socialism on the people of Germany. Germans were not allowed to have religion or church. To fill that void, Stalin worship was established as was a "youth group" and secular right-of-passage into adulthood form of confirmation.
I could talk about the museum and society for hours...So ask me about it when I get back! Anyways, after the museum, we had lunch outdoors at a lovely Italian restaurant. You ordered your food inside and got a buzzer for it to pick it up when it was ready. I ordered a pesto, spinach, tomato pizza that was delicious! It had Blue Baker style crust, but softer :) And Jonas paid for my lunch because he said, "You're invited, which means you're a guest." I was so excited to get in some green vegetables!!! I have missed vegetables, normal water, and my American breakfast so much!! Germans eat tons of bread, which is just empty calories....I don't understand it. You get no nutrients out of bread. And they drink carbonated water which basically tastes like club soda. You can get it "without bubbles", but even that doesn't taste like normal, American water. I have tried tap water too, but it has a weird after-taste. So, I stick with a drink that is a combination of German water and Apple Juice. It is delicious and somewhat nutritious.
Enough with food.... I am now at Theresa's (Henrike's friend I am staying with for the night until I get my train to Passau in the morning) and her family eats awesome food! I love it and I even will get cereal in the morning with a banana :)
For the rest of the day in Leipzig Henrike and I did some European shopping. I got a pair of shoes (mom, please don't be alarmed!) that were only 29 Euro. I also went to my first ever H&M which is like a giant Forever 21. It is a store from Sweden that has awesome deals! I got two skirts for only 3 Euro each. I was excited! We then went to another church, the St. Thomas church, which is where Bach played the organ and attended. It was also really old and beautiful. Bach is buried right in the front of it, which is kind of creepy, but very European. He apparently hasn't been there long though since he was moved after World War II. It was such perfect timing too, because as we were walking up, the Thomas Boys' Choir was singing outside. It is a world famous choir that once was directed by Bach.
After getting Starbucks (Yes, I finally found my home-away-from-home), we took the train back to Henrike's house. Later that evening, we went into Halle to meet up with some of Henrike's friends, Hanne and Judith. We went to a place that was basically a bar version of Sweet Eugene's. I don't know the exact name, but it had tons of tables and shelves of board games you could play. All of us each brought a food item (we brought strawberries and nectarines). After ordering cherry juice to drink, we played a board game called "Cafe International" and then "Settlers of Catan"! It was so much fun :) Both of the other girls spoke English pretty well, and are actually about to go take gap years in Argentina and Ecuador, so I got to use my Spanish a bit too.
After our late night of game playing, we slept in on Thursday morning. While Henrike spent the morning packing her bags for the U.S., I walked around the village and took some pictures. The buildings are so cute! They look like real gingerbread houses. Then I got some stuff for school done on the computer, had lunch, and got ready to head into town. We went into Halle again that afternoon to get things done and see Henrike's friends again. I got stamps, went to the ATM, bought the card game version of "Cafe International" and some more socks. I also went to my first bakery! We got some pastry called the Halleische which was delicious! For all of you culinary enthusiasts out there (Averie) it was a flaky muffin sized pastry with a swirl design on top that had a Halle star in the middle of it. Inside, it had a thick, almost cream cheese like, filling which tasted much like a marzipan or almond type of thing. After that, we stopped at Judith's flat (which is awesome, old, and right across the street from the Market Square Church) where we watched a movie some girls made for a class project. (Even though it was in French, I still thought it was awesome and hilarious!).
When we returned home, we had dinner with Henrike's family, finished packing, and spent some time just hanging out.
Today, we all woke up at 4:00 to say bye to Henrike. After sleeping for another hour, I got up, dressed, and finished packing. After breakfast, Annett (Henrike's stepmother) and I headed into Halle for the end of the school year church service. Even though it was raining, it was still a wonderful morning! I actually went to church in a 500 year old cathedral!!!! I took tons of pictures of the amazing art and architecture. Like most churches around here, this one also is now Protestant. Apparently it was built by a Catholic Bishop, but mass was never held there because the bishop was forced to flee during the Reformation. This morning's service though was a mixed service, meaning it was for Protestants and Catholics who attend the private school in Halle. But, the private school is partially supported by the Catholic church. Confusing, I know.. It was really almost sad though, how unlively and dead the service felt. Though the organ sounded pretty and everyone sang the hymns, it lacked the life, warmth, fellowship, and authenticity of a church service back home.
At the church, I met up with Theresa, who I am now staying with. I got to meet some of her friends and go to school with them to pick up their report cards. It was really weird being in a foreign school. It looked a lot the same as an American classroom, but it just lacked some of the technology we have. Their class teacher, who happened to be their English teacher, was super nice and asked me all sorts of questions about the U.S. And when a phone went off in class, he asked me what the cell phone rules in the U.S. are, haha. We also got to eat cake!
For the rest of the day, Theresa and I have been with her family. I enjoy them so much. We had a wonderful hot lunch outside on the patio. Her mom is hilarious- a planner, hostess, and chef extraordinaire. We had some chill time and then went to this really pretty park with a lake in it in the country side for the afternoon. We got ice cream and drinks at this little cafe looking over the lake. There were also all sorts of rocks from all over Germany there that we got to walk on and see! It was a lovely day :) The water was too chilly for swimming, but the sand felt good on my toes and I enjoyed getting to talk with Theresa for a while.
We have now eaten dinner, which in Germany is usually a cold meal. We had bread, tomatoes with mozzarella, herbs, olive oil, and spinach leaves, boiled eggs, ham, and fresh brewed peppermint leaf tea.
I am so glad Henrike connected me to Theresa to stay with for the night. I have really enjoyed my time here. Tomorrow I will board a train (which I have to change twice) to Passau to meet up with the A&M group. I am so excited about having other Americans to talk to now!
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