This long weekend has already been incredibly busy and it's only Friday!
On Wednesday night I met Clare, Matt, Marcella, and Niall at the Hbf. We sat there for a little while until we made our way to a shot bar. We didn't stay there long, as it was incredibly hot inside and we wanted to go to schonschön, a popular club that was having a 90s night. We eventually made it to schonschön, but the line was very long and the cover charge was 5 euros, which none of us wanted to pay. There were also so many people that we decided it wasn't worth it. While we were standing in line, a girl came up to me and asked me how much cover was. She didn't come up to our group and ask all of us, but instead targeted me specifically. She had also asked me in English, even though she was German. This was especially strange, because she was German and I was clearly not. Why didn't she just ask a fellow German, since she knew I wasn't? After waiting in line at the club for a little while, we decided that we were all hungry. We headed to our favorite kepab shop, but it was closed, so we settled for the one next door. After eating, it was around 2am and we all decided that we were tired, so we each went our separate ways.
Thursday was a holiday, so I went to Rüdesheim with about 30 people. It's about a 30 minute train ride away. Niall had been invited by Max (Germany), so he in turn invited us (the Brits plus me). We met at the Hbf at 12:20 and jumped on the train. I recognized many of other kids from the Mix Tour in Bad Kreuznach, or knew some of them from my language course and orientation, or just recognized them because they hang out with other international students that I know. I met some new people from Germany, England, Spain, and Italy. It's always fun to make more friends. We got off the train in Bingen. We walked in a garden in Bingen along the Rhein until we reached the ferry and took it to the other side of the river, which was Rüdesheim. We walked through the city for a little bit, specifically down a more famous street in the town, called Drosselgasse, which reminded me of Diagon Alley from Harry Potter. Once we reached the end of Drosselgasse, we made our way to a cable car that would take us from the center of town up to Niederwalddenkmal. It was really cool to see the town from such a great vantage point. The number of vineyards in Germany never ceases to amaze me. The ride up to the monument probably took a good 10 minutes. At the top, we enjoyed the sights and ate our lunches before we headed to the monument. The Niederwalddenkmal was built in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War, as a reminder of the establishment of the new German Reich. The whole thing is about 125 feet tall, so it's a really impressive sight to see. It had been raining on and off all day, so we headed back to Mainz after this. While we were waiting for the train, I looked over and could tell that one of the guys and his girlfriend were talking about me, so I kind of looked at them questioningly, and he explained that they were talking about my eye color. More strange encounters to add to the list. By the time we got on the train to head back, we were exhausted. Niall, Matt and I had to go to another car to sit together, while the rest of the group stayed on the first car. Well, we didn't know that they had planned on getting off in Wiesbaden to then jump on another train back to Mainz. We ended up getting off in Mainz-Kastel (across the river but still Mainz) and then had to take a bus back to the Mainz Hbf. Always an adventure!
Today I went to Frankfurt with Niall, Matt, and Clare. As I was on my way to the Hauptbahnhof, a car pulled over to the side of the road, rolled down the window, and asked me for directions. I can't even make this up anymore. They were wanting to go to the University, so I was able to actually give them clear directions. Once we all met at the train station, we hopped on a train around 1 and got there about 40 minutes later. I had done some searching to get a general idea of what we should do, but we had just planned on doing whatever fell into place. We first made our way to the Römer, which is a set of buildings that has served as city hall since the 1400s. Really neat. As we were standing around deciding on what to do next, a woman approached me and asked me to take a picture for her. I'm really starting to wonder what it is about ME that looks so approachable. Many of these random encounters happen while I'm in a group, and I'm always singled out. The random person doesn't ask all of us, but rather me specifically every single time. We then went to Dom St. Bartholomäus, which is the cathedral in Frankfurt. There was a really amazing organ inside. It started raining once we left, so we took refuge under a restaurants umbrella as we munched on some french fries. When the rain subsided, we went to Paulskirche, something I had learned about in one of my German classes back home. In 1848 it was used for the first National Assembly to write the first constitution for a united Germany, though the efforts later failed. During WW2, Paulskirche was destroyed, but a few years later reconstruction began. Instead of returning it to its previous state, it was decided to serve as more of a museum and demonstration place. JFK even made a speech there. It really is humbling to be in places with such historical importance. After Paulskirche, we made our way to the Goethehaus, or the house where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born and lived until he was 26. For those of you who aren't familiar with Goethe, he can be compared to our Shakespeare. He lived from 1749-1832 and was a famous author. You may have heard of his novel "Faust." The guys didn't want to go in, as it costed 3 euros, but Clare and I did. We spent some time walking from room to room and reading about what happened there. The house was actually also destroyed in a bombing during WW2, but since most of the furniture and things were being stored elsewhere, they were able to restore the house to its former glory. I even saw the desk where Goethe wrote Faust! My inner dork was probably too excited about this. We then made our way to Zeil, which is a famous shopping street in Frankfurt. After Zeil, we tried to find the Cider Taverns, but we failed epically. Apparently, Frankfurt is known for its cider and there is a particular part of town that has lots of cider taverns. Since we didn't have an exact address, rather just a neighborhood, we couldn't figure out where exactly to go. We eventually gave up and went to a local brewery that Niall had looked up. Niall is here in Germany doing apprenticeships at different local breweries. He plans on opening his own brewery in the near future and is definitely a beer connoisseur. We ate dinner there, so of course I got a schnitzel. It was delicious, as always. By this point, it was 8pm and we were ready to head back. We got back to Mainz around 9:30 and parted ways.
My friend Kalle had called me earlier to ask if I was interested in going to a bar with him and his friends, so I took him up on his offer. Matt and I met up with him and then the three of us met his friends at a local bar. It was nice to be speaking German with real German students. When I'm in a big group of international students, English is always the default language, so I'm constantly trying to find actual Germans to hang out with. While at the bar I even met an actor from the play that Clare and I went to! Kalle also informed me that my German is already better now that it was when I got here, so I'm glad for that. Speaking of which, I've now been here for a month!! I have no idea where the time goes. One fourth of my time here is already over! This makes me quite sad. I've yet to be homesick, and I'm not sure that I will be. I already feel as if I belong here.
It's late here and I'm ready for bed. I'll post some pictures of Frankfurt later.
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