The long-awaited Winter Break

How is it winter break already? Where did most of my semester go? And HOW did it go? I am having a bit of trouble answering those questions right now...maybe I will be able to in retrospective.

Once again, what makes me feel Christmas spirit the most is being out, in the market squares, in outdoor christmas markets, watching people, young and old , out for hours, enjoying the old school fun. Before shopping malls and restaurants were ever build, this is what people used to do, and you can feel this tradition so well when standing still in the midst of it. Handmade wooden tiny ferris wheel, skating rink, smell of roasting sausages, waffles, gluhwine; walking from stand to stand with every kind of sweet imaginable, filling your nosrtils with scents of cinnamon and vanilla! This is Christmas for me, a pleasure for all the senses and by now I have experienced at least 5 markets already. Feels like the whole December was one big Christmas celebration. No pressure of buying gifts, no overcrowded malls, no frustration in the parking lots-just leisurely strolling from one timber stand to the next. Germans know how to do it!

And now-the final touch! My own Christmas tree! We bought a tiny tree (1 m height) by the coolest-looking church in Stuttgart, while looking for something else completely. It smells amazing! Like having a tiny piece of forest in your living room. After puzzling over a self-improvised tree stand (I wasn't about to spend another 10 euros on a stand, that's just going overboard!)s, the tree is now up and decorated. First christmas in Germany! Wow, a year ago I wouldn't even have imagined any of this at all...

Esslingen Medieval Christmas market

A church in Reutlingen square

I wish I had more photos of the pure awesomeness that surrounds you at one of these markets, but usually I am too enthralled and completely abandon my photographer's duties!

First signs of winter

Its starting to get real cold in here! The Germans really enjoy saving on energy bills. Hence why our Geoscience building has an overall temperature of 17 degrees. I find that even if I wear 3 sweaters, winter boots, scarfs in class, it's still not enough. It's still somewhat above the freezing point. I don't have a clue how I am going to survive a whole winter here.

Thus I made some trips to nearby towns of Esslingen and Reutlingen, mostly looking to stock up on sweaters and thermal underwear. If i can't buy any christmas gifts for people this season, at least I will buy things for myself to keep me warm!

The closeness of Christmas is starting to be seen everywhere, as more markets pop up, people talk about their travel plans for the winter break...I miss family and home and it is sad I won't be going home for the holidays. 

Esslingen church on the neckar river

Fresh baked buns in Esslingen

small town life

Today I looked at how my choices and beliefs led me here today, remembering what it was that made me go to university in the first place. It's very interesting. Being here gives you such a perspective! Later, watching a travel documentary, they showed a bit of Calgary. I must say, whenever I see it, the images of the city do not make me miss it at all. I have come to appreciate the rugged Canadian wilderness, the impressive mountains and how much of it is still to be explored, but as far as everything else, I am happy to be somewhere else. Even if Tubingen feels very small sometimes (example: Today, in 3 hrs we walked in 2 different areas of the city, had dessert at a cafe and went grocery shopping!) Still, it's the human interactions with the people who I have come to know and love that I miss most...And not really miss, but just appreciate that it took a while to find people in Calgary and it is good to know that no matter what, these people will be in your life. I know people like that exist here too, I am yet to find them though. 

Well, I must go to bed, Monday always comes too soon. Wish you all pleasant dreamy journeys in your sleep tonight. 

Guten tag!

Today was my 3rd German class. I am making quite the progress. Actually, I sat in the front row and had too much fun yelling out all the answers before the teacher could finish a question. Sorry for all the other students, but I had a great time. So I guess it's official, I will register for the class even though it makes my Tuesdays and Thursday to be 12 hrs long! Ah, the sacrifices I make for learning!

Also the teacher told us that Tuebingen is known for science and philosophy but not so much for visual arts. Literally, she says, there are no painting studios on campus! You have to go to the towns nearby. No wonder I couldn't even find drawing paper. 

The Berlin trip

 It is a long weekend and I have been pondering the idea of going outside the Baden-Wuttermberg region. Berlin or Munich were both high on my list, as I was beginning to ache for some art and culture. Being so close to the date, neither German Wings, nor the Air Berlin had any good deals for flights. The only option left was the Deutsche Bahn, or the Damn Bahn, as I prefer to call it. I mentioned earlier my complete disillusionment with the "speed and comfort" I seemed to remember from some travel show I watched about Europe back in Canada. The trains are expensive, slow and often not air-conditioned.

Not having any other option, I looked into the cheapest way of getting to Berlin from Tuebingen. The funny thing is, if you are a "youth" (under 26) it is often cheaper to get a 2-3-4 day pass than paying the last-minute fare one way (which, in my case, was 148 euros for 2nd class. No, thanks, DB!)

 And so with the German Rail youth pass I went...8 hrs on the train! Amazingly enough, it wasn't too tiring. It was actually a good time to relax and reflect. I listened to Deva Premal the whole way there and I arrived in a very peaceful, accepting state. And I am sure this was a big part  of why everything went fantastic. The hotel was great (booked on hotels.ca) and Berlin itself was very interesting to see. The metro system was surprisingly easy to figure out, while the trams-not so much. At one point I started walking in what I thought was the hotels' direction, based on the posted house numbers (they are usually at every intersection), which turned out to be exactly the opposite. However, I wasn't about to take my chance with the trams, that seemed to go every way but straight. Well, that's just me.

I took a bus tour for most of one day and walked around on the other two. Parts of the city reminded me of Moscow, parts were just like in the tourist book and others were just surreal pieces of history that could be felt very strongly....I am talking about the Berlin wall, of course. What an experience to walk where it all happened, to read the timeline posters that were put up with great care in order to fill the tourists in on the timeline (let me summarize: the Russians are to blame. Germany wanted nothing but peace, of course. Ha ha ha)

It is one of those cities where you just like to wander, eat food from the street vendors, take lots of bad pictures and blend in with the crowd. It was equally as exciting to explore the sights during the day and at night, when the shop windows became lit in all colours of the rainbow. 

First impression of Hauptbanhoff was the surreal, 5-story design with trains going on the top floor (!) and the shops on the lower ones. Then, stumbling upon a swanky but unexpectedly cheap wine bar in the same central train station, I knew I wasn't in Tuebingen anymore. A pleasant change from donairs to curry wursts was also quite welcome. The Zoo square, in particular, caught my attention. It had food booths from every international food group imaginable. You could have fish and chips with a noodle box and shashlik without walking as much as 50 steps. Oh, Berlin, a food lover's paradise! I am quite happy to say with selection like this, I never once made it to a restaurant in 3 days. Unfortunately, I also did not make it to a contemporary art museum, as most art destinations were outside of the city centre and frankly, I was too lazy to figure out how to get there on transit. Partly, my laziness was due to knowing that soon enough, I will be back for more.

Curry wurst mit pommes und ketchup. It's Bio (meaning organic)-eat up!

Charlottenburg palace. I never made it inside, the only time I had to see it was at night. It 's prettier this way anyways.

The Braedenburg gate.

The awesome contemporary architecture (art gallery, I think?) right across from the Reichstag.

First dance

Hearing my mom talk about our community gathering back in Calgary makes me miss our community so much. But I am slowly beginning to like mine and have a feeling it can grow here too. 

I went to my first dance class today-hip hop. It was so great to move again! It makes me feel truly alive. Such an amazing feeling, I am so thankful for the reminder to start doing that more. So I have pretty much made extra-curricular plans for mon-fri. With dance classes on mon, wed and thurs. I even found an african studio, which I hope to get to soon. Also I have been paying attention to the dance workshops going on...I have the impression that there are a lot of possibilities for meeting people with your interests outside of school. Two girls actually started talking to me, translating the dance instruction here and there. It was really sweet.

 Also there are a few yoga ones but I think there you need to understand German a bit more than in dance. (I did just fine without any in class today, though!!!) For now I have alot of spare time between my classes and overall the program is not nearly as intense as last year's was.

to move or not to move?

Upon returning home, there was still no news about switching apartments. Despite my efforts, so far nothing came through with moving into a double apartment either. Apparently, there were other people ahead of me on the waiting list and they tell me to come back in November. I can't live with these dimwits until November, there must be another way out!

I heard that there is one 2-br apartment available for 600 euros,  through a private renter. I haven't seen it yet, but that means that I will have to buy my own furniture, find a roommate, hire a car to move my stuff, etc and it just doesn't seem worth it. I want to invest a minimal amount into my surroundings (I bought a very cute orange tapestry at the Spanish market for 10E, which I'm using as curtains/wall cover)...I'm trying to make what little space I have more livable. 

Glorious Mediterranean coast

Well, today finds me on day 4 of the eurotrip.

Let me start off by saying this: I am sitting in my bikini on my private patio, drinking French Bordeaux. The price of this? 30 euros a night for a private peace pf heaven, also known as small mobile home with kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and 2 euros for authentic Bordeaux. 

Ah, I love my life. Today I saw the Mediterranean sea for the first time. This morning I woke up with the well-known intent from all the travels before: "to the beach!” And so I eventually found my way. Also, as usual, the water is colder than you might expect and the cold wind from the sea doesn't help. However, by 11 am on Tuesday we witnessed more than a few couples and families make their way down and bear the cold water. Some just suntanned, making the best of a nice, 25 degree moderately warm weather. And then my favourite thing happened: I went to the local supermarket! I find it to be my ritual, almost. When in a new country, you have to go to the local supermarket, see what local and regional food is being sold, watch how others shop, buy something you'll never get anywhere else, and , of course, find a deal! I did all of the above. Honestly, i had the best time grocery shopping in Europe so far! Compared to Germany and Switzerland, everything was extremely cheap. Fresh, local cherry tomatoes that taste like heaven, perfectly ripe avocados, Italian mozzarella for cents, real french Brie, fresh meat, dairy, not to mention the ridiculously cheap wine. I have not been this excited in days. Everything is fresh and delicious. My tastebuds cannot stop shouting and moaning at the full aromas of every single thing.

Shortly after, I came back into my lovely private cottage and prepared the most delicious salad I had in days and just savoured the moment. Sure, I planned to be in Spain by now. But really, I don't know when else I will get this chance to simply stop, relax, cook anything i feel like, sleep in a real, queen size bed, and just lay out in the sun on the beach doing nothing. Tomorrow, though, we are heading to Girona, which is 100 km away for Barcelona to stay in a campsite and hopefully find a warmer beach there. Although I already feel like I am somewhere in Spain. There is an interesting mix of French and Spanish lifestyles here. Sure, most people speak french, but the food, the architecture, the palm trees- to me, that's all Spain.

The Road

In the last 2 days we drove through most of Switzerland and a good chunk of France. Other than the Alps in the distance and the cute cows with the bells feeding on picturesque green hills, Switzerland is an easy miss from my future adventures. It was worth to drive through it once, but I still cannot believe how expensive everything was, from snacks to gas. Also, it's the only country around here with its own currency, the silly Swiss franks. Yes, some gas stations will take your euros at some obscene rate, otherwise you are stuck with these funny looking bills that you have no use for. Pff, Switzerland. I don't even like your chocolate. 

France had its share of adventures as well. First off, if you choose nice, freshly paves,speedy highways, expect to contribute to France's economy. A lot. I am talking about toad tolls. And it's not a few coins here and there. Overall, to cross into southern France, it cost us over 20 euros. Ridiculous. If you think you can outsmart the toll roads, like i did, try the secondary roads running parallel to the highway... here's the catch: The French do not build stoplights. Instead, the love traffic circles, usually consisting of 2 lanes, with the all cars constantly switching and merging and exiting without signaling. Basically, a recipe for an accident in a rented car. Not only that, but it literally took us 40 minutes to drive 10 km, with all the speed limits and huge amounts of traffic. So on the way back I have to just bite the bullet and pay again. The town roads are so not worth it! 

wait, is this automatic?

Well, well, well. The car was booked well ahead of time through Europcar. I find these guys have pretty good rates and, frankly, there aren't many choices in Tuebingen. Upon picking it up and signing for it, I realize one small detail that completely escaped me: i booked a car with manual transmission. I don;t know how many times already I'd wished I hadn't been ignorant and learned how to drive a stickshift, as these make up about 90% of all European cars and the other 10% are at least twice more expensive. So I had to suck it up and feel like a complete idiot going back to the agent with “Umm, do you have any automatic cars in the lot?” he gave me a funny look, then said that indeed I was in luck and could upgrade to a BMW 120 for only 150 euros more. It's not like i had a choice. If you're doing a Eurotrip, might as well do it in style. Hello, built-in navigation and satellite radio! The car is a dream.

After spending much too long at the car rental, we were off to find a tent. The nearest outdoor equipment store was nearby and we decided to check it out. They do not seem to understand the idea of a “end of season sale”, as all the tents were 200 euros and up. This didn't suit my budget all too well, since we are only planning to spend up to five nights in a tent and for the other two I booked a great little cabin in south France. Next on the list to try was Metzingen, the greatest outlet shopping centre in south Germany, which happens to be only half hour drive from Tuebingen. Of course, we got there 5 minutes too late and shops were already closed! 8 pm on a Friday night. Germany will take a while to get used to. Imagine my roommates' surprise when I walked back into our dorm a few hours later, saying oh well, better off to start fresh next morning!