Reading the Newspaper Is Not A Quiet Activity

     On Saturday (April 12) we had a nice breakfast in the hotel before we left for Ansbach, which is in Bavaria. After having some trouble figuring out which train we were to get on, we were finally on our way. We took a train to Aschaffenburg, then transferred to a train to Würzburg. In Würzburg we transferred to the last train that took us to Ansbach. On one of the trains, there was a bachelor party group walking through the train. They were selling small trinkets like flowers, inflatable balls, and so on. This type of activity is a tradition here. The point of this is for the bachelor to make some money to pay for his last night with his buds. This particular bachelor was also dressed up like Captain America. We bought a tulip for €0,50. Three trains and four hours later, we were in Ansbach. 

     Some old friends from Kwaj, the Martins, live in Ansbach. Gail picked us up at the train station and then we met up with Dick for a late lunch. There is a really cool piece of the Berlin Wall near where we ate lunch, and I'll post that picture later. Once we finished eating, the four of us drove to the Colmberg Castle. It's a private castle that is also a hotel and a restaurant. We didn't stay for long. We then drove to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a really awesome city in the Franconia region of Bavaria. It's part of the Romanic Road that goes through southern Germany. This medieval city dates back to the 900s, and it remains as a walled city. We walked around and went into some shops. Mom and I also went up to the top of the Roedertor Tower, which was 200 feet above the city. The view was spectacular. We could even see an old Roman bridge on the edge of the city. We stayed in the city for awhile, but we left around the time the sun was setting. We went back to the Martins and had dinner. 

    Sunday was less action packed, but still quite enjoyable. Gail and Dick showed us around their little village and the surrounding areas. We ate at a restaurant called Storchennest, or The Storks Nest, which has an actual stork's nest on the top of the restaurant. This is a sign of good luck here. We then walked around Ansbach and finally got to see Eddie, Gail and Dick's son. We got some ice cream and walked around the Orangerie and a garden. We finally sat down and had a drink at a local cafe. We left the cafe and headed back to the train station. Our train left to come back to Mainz around 5:15pm. On the first train, we befriended two young Mormon men who were on their Mission in Germany. We talked to them for awhile. They were very interested in my choice to study languages and also my birth place. Aside from talking to them, the ride back was pretty boring. We got back to Mainz around 9:15pm and we both went home from the Hbf.

    Monday was my fifth day of the intensive course and the second to last day with my mom. We had breakfast in the morning and then I went to class. After class, I brought Mom to campus and also showed her my dorm. For dinner, Joe came over to Mainz and took us to a restaurant he liked. It was quite enjoyable. After dinner, I hung out with Mom in the hotel for a bit. Around 10pm I left to meet up with the British kids. We enjoyed a drink and talked for a few hours.

    Yesterday was Mom's last day here. As usual, we had breakfast together and then I left for class. I went back to the hotel after class, and we left to go find the Roman ruins in Mainz. We went to the museum that my mom thought contained the Roman ruins, but instead had old Roman boats. The man behind the desk showed us where we needed to go, and then we jumped on a bus to get there. Well, we ended up getting on the wrong bus. We hopped off at the next stop and go on what we thought was the correct bus, but ended up going the wrong direction. We ended up getting on another 2 or 3 incorrect buses, either going the wrong direction or the wrong bus number. Eventually, we gave up. The Roman ruins museum was to close at 6pm. We got to see much more of the city, just not in the way we expected. We didn't get back to the Mainz city center until around 6:30pm, and we were hungry. We walked through Kaufhaus, a department store, and then found the restaurant where we wanted to eat. After dinner, we had a drink in the hotel and hung out for a couple hours until Mom wanted to go to bed. Her flight left at 10:15 this morning. We had an awesome week together. Although I spent a lot of time in class, she walked around and was able to explore Mainz on her own. 

     I also got my debit card and health insurance yesterday! Hopefully my DAAD money will transfer soon and I will be able to buy as many groceries as I want. I should also get my internet problem solved tonight, so I will be able to post pictures from this week in the next few days. 

    Today was the last day of my intensive course! We took our test and it lasted an hour. This course was not at all what I expected. I thought we would be spending most of our time working on grammar. Instead, we did listening activities, reading comprehension, some dictation, and a lot of group work. I discovered how difficult it can be to communicate in a language that is the third language for most of us. I don't think I learned much in the course, so I'm hoping the semester language course will be more beneficial for me.

     Keep posted for some pictures!