Things in Germany so far have been absolutely amazing! I apologize for the lack of information within the past few days (or more like weeks). I´ve seen so much and have been exposed to many new and wonderful things; I fear this post might be a long one. So, just as a warning, brace yourself for quite a lengthy read (if you dare).
But first, I now have pictures uploaded which you may view by clicking on the album of your desire on the dark-blue side panel. I will try to update these albums and add many more so that you truly can visualize what exactly I´ve been up to.
So, if you´ve already glanced over at the number of albums created, I´m sure you realize that I`ve visited quite a few places since my last post on the 12th of September. Starting at the beginning of these series of recent adventures within Nordrhein-Westfalen (the state of Germany in which I´m currently residing), on September 16th, Hildegard and I made our way into the Volkswagen and headed for the Autobahn. Afer 45 minutes we arrived in Düsseldorf (the capital city of this region)and soon found our main destination: Schloß Benrath. The surrounding gardens were gorgeous, but even more so was the Schloß (palace) itself. After touring the interior, my host mother and I took a ferry down the Rhine River to a medieval town called Zons were we enjoyed the lovely and nostalgic atmosphere along with the beautiful architecture.
Within Wuppertal itself I´ve also had quite a few adventures. On the 18th of September we went to the Zoo with other AFS students and I´ve also had the opportunity to visit many of the towns (e.g. Schwelm, Remscheid, Solingen) in the region surrouding Wuppertal.
My next large adventure occured this past weekend when Hilde, Janna, and I decided to go to Aachen for the day. The historical seat of Charlemagne´s empire, Aachen itself was a delight to visit. We were luckily able to have warm weather (actually above 60 degrees) and viewed the Aachener Rathaus (like a city hall). Touring the medieval building, we found many old portraits, the throne room, and even the Crowne Jewels of Charlemagne himself! Shortly thereafter we walked into some of the shops in the Altstadt (old town) and then headed to the beautiful and uniquely designed Aachener Dom (cathedral).
After a quick lunch in Aachen, we headed towards the amazingly beautiful town of Monschau, right on the border of Germany and Belgium (we even entered Belgium through the Autobahn for 4 minutes)! Monschau was truly the typical German town that is conjured up whenever one thinks of the nation. It had half-timbered plaster houses, cobblestone streets, baroque churches, and even a fortified castle (along with the remnants of a city wall).
Yesterday was spent touring the city of Köln (Cologne in English) with my host sister, Janna. This city is home to both Kölnisch Wasser and the Kölner Dom (the largest cathedral in Germany). After exciting the train station, we first headed to the Dom and even climbed the hundreds of steps to the top of the tower. As a reward, we received a beautiful view of the city. We also visited the shop where Kölnisch Wasser (cologne) got its name along with some other random shops along the way.
Today itself was spent in Münster. Early this morning, a friend and I decided on a whim to go to Münster and greatly enjoyed our time there. Everyone has been telling us about how charming this city was, and after seeing it with my own eyes, I can´t agree with them more! The Altstadt itself was scattered with churches and shops, and even outside of the downtown, the city was still beautiful (you´ll have to see the pictures to understand what I mean). So, with our cultural fill for the day, I headed back to Wuppertal and will return tomorrow morning to our Sprachschule (language school) for another week and a half of learning.
In about 10 days my time in Wuppertal is over, but I truly believe I´ve found a special place in my heart for both the people and the city itself. I look forward to meeting the Ottmars, my yearlong family, and beginning a relatively normal routine in the south German town of Schwäbisch Hall.
And so I leave you for now...with thoughts filled of all the adventures permeating within me at every second of my time here.
Until later,
Danny
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Life in the Wupper
Greetings from Germany! After many days of orientations, travel, and simply "setting-in," I´ve finally become acquainted with my surroundings and its happenings. I apologize for the time gap, much has truly passed since my last post and I will try to fill you in on everything (however long this post may turn out to be).
To begin, D.C. itself was really great (or at least the parts when we were able to see the city and bond with some of the other CBYX students). However, as day and night were spent at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Herndon, VA, I began to realize the magnitude and significance of this adventure! Traveling to the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Union Station, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, the Capitol, and so forth, the importance of this trip easily showed itself.
The plane trip also went well (however long it really was). We departed at 5:00pm and arrived at Frankfurt International Airport at 1:00am (or 7am in "German time"). We were even able to fly over Ireland, Great Britain, and the Netherlands before entering Germany itself. Once we arrived in Frankfurt, the next 8 hours were spent sitting in a lobby, quietly waiting for our train with the other AFS students studying this year from around the world in Germany. Finally, late that afternoon, we were able to catch a train to Wuppertal where 6 other CBYX students were headed (along with myself) for one month of language camp.
Upon my entrance into the city, I was kindly greeted by Hildegard and Janna Völpel (my host family for the first 4 weeks). Although Wuppertal itself doesn´t have quite the normal "German charm" to it, the suburb where I live (Cronenberg) certainly does. Built on the side of a hill, Cronenberg allows one to almost look down into the Wupper valley, but also be facing the countryside at the same time. It also has somewhat of a small town-like charm, and is still connected to a larger city. Anyways, now on to the events of these past few days in Germany.
September 9, 2007:
--Once I had settled down in Cronenberg, I was still greeted early in the morning by the smiling faces of Hildegard and Janna. After breakfast, Janna and I began the daz walking through the woods inbetween Wuppertal and Solingen (a small town). We also walked around Cronenberg itself for a bit and I even was treated to an amazing cone of Italian ice cream.
Later on, Hildegard and I went to the Wuppertal Bühnen and enjoyed the theatre festival there. I was also shown around the city and became better acquainted with the Sprachschule building and the bus stops.
September 10, 2007
--Another day, another experience. Once again I woke up to the faces of the Völpel family and Hildegard and I soon made our way towards the downtown of Wuppertal for another adventure. Although through some misunderstanding we arrived at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) too late, we were eventually greeted and taken to the Sprachschule by AFS.
Our teacher in the Sprachschule (language school) is quite young, and after 3 hours every day, all 7 of us are ready to depart.
We also went to Schwelm, a small town in the area, and visited the home of Bettina Spitz (my AFS liaison).
September 11 and 12, 2007
--How amazingly confident the easiest achievements can make you feel! After my first day using the German transportation system alone, I felt as if I could take on the whole world!
The food here is wonderful and the people are actually quite friendly. I´ve had a few days to explore around the city in the afternoons, and it´s actually quite nice! Janna, my host sister, is unfortunately preparing for her Klausur...but hopefully we will be able to have some more adventures in the next week or so.
Everything is going to swell and I truly feel like I´ve finally gotten used to things here. Perhaps it was just Jet-lag, but even now I´m not making the mistakes I was just a few days ago.
I´ll also try to upload pictures of my adventures so that all of you can view them soon!
Bis dann,
Danny
To begin, D.C. itself was really great (or at least the parts when we were able to see the city and bond with some of the other CBYX students). However, as day and night were spent at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Herndon, VA, I began to realize the magnitude and significance of this adventure! Traveling to the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Union Station, Library of Congress, Supreme Court, the Capitol, and so forth, the importance of this trip easily showed itself.
The plane trip also went well (however long it really was). We departed at 5:00pm and arrived at Frankfurt International Airport at 1:00am (or 7am in "German time"). We were even able to fly over Ireland, Great Britain, and the Netherlands before entering Germany itself. Once we arrived in Frankfurt, the next 8 hours were spent sitting in a lobby, quietly waiting for our train with the other AFS students studying this year from around the world in Germany. Finally, late that afternoon, we were able to catch a train to Wuppertal where 6 other CBYX students were headed (along with myself) for one month of language camp.
Upon my entrance into the city, I was kindly greeted by Hildegard and Janna Völpel (my host family for the first 4 weeks). Although Wuppertal itself doesn´t have quite the normal "German charm" to it, the suburb where I live (Cronenberg) certainly does. Built on the side of a hill, Cronenberg allows one to almost look down into the Wupper valley, but also be facing the countryside at the same time. It also has somewhat of a small town-like charm, and is still connected to a larger city. Anyways, now on to the events of these past few days in Germany.
September 9, 2007:
--Once I had settled down in Cronenberg, I was still greeted early in the morning by the smiling faces of Hildegard and Janna. After breakfast, Janna and I began the daz walking through the woods inbetween Wuppertal and Solingen (a small town). We also walked around Cronenberg itself for a bit and I even was treated to an amazing cone of Italian ice cream.
Later on, Hildegard and I went to the Wuppertal Bühnen and enjoyed the theatre festival there. I was also shown around the city and became better acquainted with the Sprachschule building and the bus stops.
September 10, 2007
--Another day, another experience. Once again I woke up to the faces of the Völpel family and Hildegard and I soon made our way towards the downtown of Wuppertal for another adventure. Although through some misunderstanding we arrived at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) too late, we were eventually greeted and taken to the Sprachschule by AFS.
Our teacher in the Sprachschule (language school) is quite young, and after 3 hours every day, all 7 of us are ready to depart.
We also went to Schwelm, a small town in the area, and visited the home of Bettina Spitz (my AFS liaison).
September 11 and 12, 2007
--How amazingly confident the easiest achievements can make you feel! After my first day using the German transportation system alone, I felt as if I could take on the whole world!
The food here is wonderful and the people are actually quite friendly. I´ve had a few days to explore around the city in the afternoons, and it´s actually quite nice! Janna, my host sister, is unfortunately preparing for her Klausur...but hopefully we will be able to have some more adventures in the next week or so.
Everything is going to swell and I truly feel like I´ve finally gotten used to things here. Perhaps it was just Jet-lag, but even now I´m not making the mistakes I was just a few days ago.
I´ll also try to upload pictures of my adventures so that all of you can view them soon!
Bis dann,
Danny
Monday, September 3, 2007
From Toothpaste to Turquoise T-Shirts
That's right folks...packing has begun. Spending the majority of today raiding out my closets and dresser drawers, I soon realized the clock was ticking away and I only had 24 hours left in little Ashland, Ohio. At exactly this time tomorrow evening, I will be sitting in my hotel room in Washington, D.C. and preparing myself for the upcoming flight on Friday. And, at this time four days from now, I will be aboard American Airlines on my way to Frankfurt International Airport in Germany.
Although I will be taking a short detour in the D.C. area, my adventure is truly about to begin (or at least it will at 5:30 tomorrow morning). Even though I'm very excited to embark upon this new and wonderful journey, after some time packing my things, I've realized how little I really am allowed to bring with me (one check-in and one carry-on). Considering the fact I'm trying to account for 11 months of belongings, packing "light" isn't necessarily an easy thing to do.
However, once I do arrive in Germany, I will definitely make an effort to update this blog much more often (perhaps even weekly if I have the electronic availabilities). In doing so, hopefully you'll realize I'm still alive and can figure out what exactly a foreign exchange student gets to do. I also hope to create a vivid image for those of you back home in the States and share my experiences with any who are willing to read them. If you feel the urge, don't hesitate to comment on my posts or just send me a message - I'd be more than happy to hear from any and all of you!
With that said, I believe it's time I headed to bed. It's been quite a long day and I'm sure tomorrow will be even longer. Please keep me in your prayers as I begin this wonderful new step of my life. I will miss everyone here very much, but will most definitely look forward to seeing you upon return.
Never Goodbye,
Danny
Although I will be taking a short detour in the D.C. area, my adventure is truly about to begin (or at least it will at 5:30 tomorrow morning). Even though I'm very excited to embark upon this new and wonderful journey, after some time packing my things, I've realized how little I really am allowed to bring with me (one check-in and one carry-on). Considering the fact I'm trying to account for 11 months of belongings, packing "light" isn't necessarily an easy thing to do.
However, once I do arrive in Germany, I will definitely make an effort to update this blog much more often (perhaps even weekly if I have the electronic availabilities). In doing so, hopefully you'll realize I'm still alive and can figure out what exactly a foreign exchange student gets to do. I also hope to create a vivid image for those of you back home in the States and share my experiences with any who are willing to read them. If you feel the urge, don't hesitate to comment on my posts or just send me a message - I'd be more than happy to hear from any and all of you!
With that said, I believe it's time I headed to bed. It's been quite a long day and I'm sure tomorrow will be even longer. Please keep me in your prayers as I begin this wonderful new step of my life. I will miss everyone here very much, but will most definitely look forward to seeing you upon return.
Never Goodbye,
Danny
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