Week 1: Travel & Nuremberg (Nürnberg)
JULY 1 - Travel Day
Starting our journey to Germany, my friend and co-conspiritor (if you will) Mitchell Walker and I pause for a quick second so our parents can get one last picture before we run away to Europe for the summer. We flew together from Cleveland to Boston and then to Düsseldorf, at which point we had to sprint from customs, through two terminals, to his gate for a flight to Berlin. Luckily he made it safely, and I continued on alone to Munich, where friends were waiting to pick me up.
JULY 2 - Day One in Germany
After far more than 24 hours in transit, I made it safely to Nuremberg. Unfortunately the particular Friday that I picked to land in Germany was also the first day of vacation for Germany, and everyone and their brother had decided to take to the roads. During my previous trip, I really had not seen the way the highways and roads were laid out for drivers since Grandma Judy and I mostly traveled by train and tram.
Over the course of my time in Nuremberg and the bus ride to Dresden, I had plenty of time to observe. A brief observation: German drivers generally drive better than Americans, but often glare each other down during the process of passing each other. It is hard not to laugh at the grumpy old men in tiny cars shaking their heads at any faster-moving vehicle.
JULY 2-6 - Nuremberg
Compared to the adrenaline-filled rush of the last time I visited Germany, this one was nearly a walk in the park. Due to jet lag and consistently rainy weather, the tempo of this visit beat more to the pace of a steady stroll. There are many reasons for this, the more obvious reason being the length of my visit, but also -- thanks to the unending patience of Matthias, Astrid, Val, and two semesters of practice under my belt -- I was actually able to converse a little. It took closer to five days instead of 3 hours for my brain to reach the point of meltdown this time around. Victory!
Days were spent drinking coffee and reading or talking out on the back terrace. Astrid and I cooked Käsespätzle and Käsekuchen together. She and Matthias suffered through a few games of Spot It with me, each of us playing in our non-native language and sharing frustrated laughs. My family will be surprised to learn that I actually came in last place once and lost many games! The last night was chilly but nice enough to go out, so we went to a family birthday party and then a large festival in Erlangen, a city just north of Nuremberg. I have been told that it is normally absolutely packed, but we saw otherwise on a Tuesday night. If I hadn't know it were the holidays, I might have been concerned.
Short note: German fair rides are much more intense than American fair rides. These things last 5x longer, move 5x faster, and typically involve 100x more intoxication. We stood around one for a while waiting to see some poor drunk sap get the beer spun out of him. (We were disappointed.)
My friend Val and I went into the city one day for breakfast and to wander, but the weather kept us from doing much. At this point, having spent a total of two weeks in Germany, I was able to conclude for certain that I am not a huge fan of German breakfast unless it is socially acceptable to eat Brötchen (buns) with butter and fruit spreads every day instead of meat. I miss french toast, honestly.
< This breakfast looked pretty and tasted alright (the buns! the honey!!) but did not sit well with either of us. But it's alright - we had an extra pretzel that fit perfectly in my purse. How convenient!
We wandered the city, visited Matthias at work in the town hall (Rathaus), and saw the Beautiful Fountain - yes, that's it's name - which had still been under renovation and covered with fences and screens when Grandma and I visited last summer. It truly was beautiful. Apparently it is good luck to turn the black ring on the gate and make a wish, so...when in Rome.
Observation: The grass in Nuremberg is filled with poppies! It grows long and wild nearly everywhere but looks so strikingly beautiful with brilliant spots of bright orange-red dancing between the blades as the wind blows, mixed with other purple blossoms of some sort. ^ A nice view from one bridge to another.
JULY 7 - The main event: Dresden
On Wednesday, Matthias and Val were kind enough to take me into the city to grab a bus to Dresden.
Note: The original plan was to take a train, but it ended up being $45 cheaper and only 30 minutes longer to take a charter bus - and with cleanliness standards far out of the realm of a Greyhound bus. This college girl's wallet is a fan of Flixbus. (I did not get paid to say that, but I certainly wouldn't say no to an offer...)
I arrived safely in Dresden in the early evening, got settled in, took a walk to find a grocery store, and crashed. Part 1: check.
This concludes Week 1 of my "I forgot to post things so here's everything at once even though I said I would get better at this" updates. I am very grateful to the Seichter family for opening up their home (and pantry) to me and for being so kind and encouraging.
< The Beautiful Fountain, looking beautiful as always.