Days 1-3

Hey everyone. So guess what? We're in Germany.

The flight from Detroit to Frankfurt was direct and pleasantly uneventful, but was very long and we didn't get much sleep.

Every seat had a little tv and there were free movies and tv shows to choose from. I watched Doctor Who (The episode was Midnight, for those of you in the know), and then mostly just read my book for the plane ride.

We got off the plane and customs was really short. Like honestly they just stamped our passports and we were on our way!

The train ride from the airport to downtown Frankfurt was short. It took us a while to figure out the ticket machine, but that was the only hardship.

At the airport we met a fellow American and former U of M student named Watcher (yes that was his real name, no he looked nothing like Anthony Stewart Head). He is currently a grad student at The University of Minnesota and was heading to Oman to do a summer work internship. He had 5 hours to kill in Frankfurt and was looking for some food.

He came with us on the train and to the Hostel where we checked in. We stated at the Frankfurt Hostel on Kaiserstrasse, which was less than 500m from the Hauptbahnhof. From there we walked a few more meters to a Biergarten for lunch.


(The Hauptbahnhof)


(Frankfurt)

We all ordered Bratwurst and Bier and just chilled for a while. Watcher had to go back to the airport for his plane ride, and the rest of us went to take a nap and try and overcome the jetlag.

We woke up a few hours later and hit the town. Visiting many of the sites around Frankfurt, including some museums (we didn't go in), an amazing cathedral, some roman ruins, and the red light district.


(Church)

For dinner we had some Donor Kebabs, and then we went back to the Hostel to watch the Fussball Spiel. Germany beat Bosnia 2-1. Then we all passed out for the next 12+ hours.

This morning we woke up and had a delicious free breakfast provided by the hostel. Yogurt and Granola is 100x better than cereal and milk, and I don't know what they put in their apple juice here, but I had 5 cups.

We checked out and headed to the train station. From there we went to Heidelberg, which is where I am writing this from.

We checked into a lovely little Hostel called Steffi's Hostel, which is on Alte Eppelheimerstrasse, a short walk from the Train station. The Hostel is on the third floor of this building, and there is a grocery story on the ground floor! I bought some apple soda earlier. It was very tasty!

After getting settled in (This place is much nicer than the last one!), we walked Heidelberg. Heidelberg is absolutely gorgeous and much more quaint and old-timey than Frankfurt was. It's a mid-eval town and is all lying in the shadow of an ancient castle. It was nearly 5 miles round trip and we're all very tired right now.

The castle at the end was worth it. Much of it was ruined during the second world war, but it is in very good shape and is just amazing to look at. We didn't go inside because you had to pay to get in, but you were allowed to walk around the walls and in the courtyards and gardens for free so we did plenty of that.


(View from the wall)

Also! I finally found a Kinderüberraschung! I couldn't find them anywhere in Frankfurt but the tourist center in Heidelberg had them! I got the coolest little toy.

Lindsay and Caroline are currently sleeping and I think I'm going to go take a nap too. We've walked all day and it's been really really hot and we're not sure what we're doing tonight.

Tomorrow we are going to finish our journey and end up in Schwaebisch Hall, which is where we'll be staying and taking classes for the next two months.

Pictures are going up on my facebook as I type this, and I will edit the first few videos together and post them tonight.

Ps: The beer here is so amazingly good. As is all the food and drinks. I don't know if i'll be able to revert back so easily when I return.