Wine and Wurst? You bet!

#15 Friday, September 8: After a long day of classes, Cait and I decided it would be a good idea to run errands and pick up food for the next week because most stores are closed early Saturday and all day Sunday. Sadly, things did not go as smoothly as planned. We managed to embarress ourselves in the grocery store, take the wrong train...again, got lost trying to find a stinkin mailbox as well as temporarily break my phone. It was a long afternoon to say the least. Thankfully we had a really cute little stir fry dinner with our group of friends, cooked by the one and only Momma Nelson, and then went out in Heidelberg with the rest of the AJY group. We went to a disko on "Unterstraße" and for the first time got some lovin from the German boys. It was about time. haha Boys are very shy in this part of Germany. They do not really approach girls or buy girls drinks...defintely different from the US.

#16 Saturday, September 9: We originally were going to go to France, but we found out that the following week we got to go for free with our group...so that plan was scratched. We decided to hit up the WORLDS largest wine and wurst festival instead! Brats, Spätzle, chocolate covered fruit and wine tasting....can't get much better. The festival was actually really cool. It was like a huge carnival, but with more intense rides and of course...way better food. It was a great trip for us, especially being last minute. It is so nice that every weekend we can find these festivals or concerts or fairs and normally we never have to pay to get there, or for anything but food.

Cait and I have made several blog entries thus far, but they have not been uploading well. We want to be able to show you all at home what the atmosphere is like through all of our travels. It is so much easier to show you than to try to explain. We just can't do these amazing places justice with only our words. This is the 3rd video we have made, but the first one I uploaded to Youtube. I am slowly putting the previous ones up so feel free to check my Youtube channel if you want to see them later this week. Warning, although this video is not too bad..the others are CHEEZZZZYYYY :) Enjoy.

#17: We got the TV to work! After a long day of walking and eating Cait and I spent the afternoon watching German TV which was a first since we have been here. Then some of the girls came over for a "girls night". We made some food and watched the Titantic in German! Nice relaxing end to a great day!

3 more "firsts" to add to the list.

"AJY Excursion? Or is this Hogwarts?"

Ah, its been a whole week since I have blogged. I really need to work on making this more of a priority. Lets see...what have you all missed?

#13 Wednesday, September 6: Our AJY group went on an overnight excursion to Bronnbach, Weikersheim and Schwäbisch Hall. We stayed in Bronnbach on the first night and in an old Monastery...that was a first. It felt like we were at Hogwarts. Tons of little hidden doors, and outdoor corridors that looked like they were straight out of the movie! It was so much fun to explore. And they had renovated the part we stayed in into a very modern, hotel like atmosphere. The old and new feel made it a very unique place. Such history, yet also so new. They had beautiful garten grounds that stretched out across the valley we were in. It was gorgerous. Aside from the scenery and the tours, we also had a great meal at the Orangelia, and had an opportunity to bond as a group as well. Great midweek break!

#14 Thursday, September 7: We then took a bus to Weikersheim and Schwäbisch Hall the next morning. In Weikersheim was a beautifully ornamented castle with a HUGE garden that we frolicked in for almost an hour. I could not even imagine what it would have been like to live in such a beautiful place. Schwäbisch Hall was also very quaint, but we didn't get much time to walk around because we were spending time looking at a lot of modern art...which I decided is not my thing. I tried to be open minded, but if my little cousin Jack can make the same thing effortlessly...I don't think it should be hanging in an Art Museum. Just sayin...

On Thursday night when we got back we also went to ladies night for the first time and made some GERMAN friends. SUCCESS!

3 new cities off the bucket list...check! :)

15 seconds of fame. Life goal = accomplished.

Today was quite the exciting day! The AJY group split up into 3 sections, each going on a different excursion. One to a museum, one to a brewery and one the the Rhein Neckar Fernsehen (television station). Although the other excursions were nice I'm sure, my group had it the best...

#12 Tuesday, September 6: Got to be on German TV! One thing to check off my life bucket list :)

ahhh so exciting! We learned all about the production of television and such and then got to sit in on the nightly news. We met the newscasters and the head of the entire program. Not too shabby for a Tuesday evening!

Tomorrow we have an over night excursion to Kloster Bronnbach (monastery), Weikersheim, and Schwäbisch Hall :) Should be exciting!

Hope all is well back home :) Miss you all.

Craving Chipolte already? Pathetic..

You would think I could last more than a week and a half before I had a Chipolte craving, but no...it hit hard yesterday! The bread, cheese and pastries here are delicious; however, they get old when you have them every day. Caitlin and I have been trying to save money and having been cooking for ourselves...so pasta is now on the X-list as well, since we have made that at least 4 times in the last eleven days. We plan to be more creative, but with a fridge that doesn't get very cold, we are scared to buy meat and keep it fresh. So after a long day of class...

#11: we found the one Mexican Restaurant in Heidelberg and treated ourselves. So worth it...no Chipolte, but Chimichanga subsided my cravings!

I also finally got to catch up with Julia for a few hours after class. It was great getting to hear about what she has been up to in the last few years and comparing stories. Being exchange partners really has made us life long friends. We can talk for hours and its like I've known her my whole life. She was also nice enough to let me vent about Germany a bit, and having studied abroad herself, she understands my petty frustrations.  She also showed me how find all of the REAL local grocery stores, instead of the ones the AJY program tells us about. A great afternoon with an old friend :)

After my time with Julia and dinner with our little group, I came back and ATTEMPTED to do my homework. As always, facebook and skype got in the way so I had to get up early to get my blogging in, but it was worth it catching up with people back home. I also bought my TICKET TO SEE THE POPE last night. He will be in Freiburg in a few weeks and is holding a youth service for free! All we had to do was register, so Caitlin and I, as well as a few other classmates, are all making the trip to see him. Not only is it cool to see him, but I know Oma/Grandma would probably love that I am getting this opportunity as well. Not to mention..I get to see Freiburg and the Bächlen. I learned all about Freiburg in high school from Frau, so its really exciting I get to visit while I am here. Overall a good Monday.

I hope everyone had a relaxing labor day at home. Off to start my Tuesday. Miss you all!

Princess Problems

Originally this weekend was supposed to be complete European adventure, but reality took its toll and we realized going to France today would probably not be the best idea when we have so much homework to finish up. No worries, we just postponed it until next weekend.

This weekend did have its share of adventures, even if we could not leave the country...

# 7 Thursday, September 1: This day was particularly overwhelming when it came to German class, but it was also so exciting because we finalized our plans to travel to Scotland and England over our Fall break. Round trip with 4 buses and 2 flights came out to only be 150 American Dollars! How amazing? We wanted to celebrate by going to Moor's, an Irish Pub in town for ladies night, but we were all too tired. The free champagne would have to wait. We instead wanted some comfort food. French fries it was! We even splurged and paid the extra 30 cents for ketchup (yeah, they charge you for everything around here), but that was a rookie move. We forgot they don't have normal ketchup in Germany, but rather curry ketchup. Ughhh, huge disappointment after we poured it all over the fries. I guess you live and you learn...no ketchup around here.

#8 Friday, September 2: After a very rough week of grammar, we all decided the diskos in Mannheim would be a perfect place to celebrate. We got all dressed up and headed out...except on the wrong train of course. It was bound to happen sometime. Once we got ourselves headed back in the right direction we realized we still had about an hour of traveling ahead of us...sooo, we decided to make friends. An Irish man next to us recognized we were Americans and we started chatting. He was real cool and told us the best places for dancing in Mannheim. Once we arrived we explored the city using Hannah's map...it was surprisingly helpful.

Overall, it was a successful night at the diskos!

#9 Saturday, September 3: This is where we all started to develop Princess Problems. We live in the cutest city....that sits in a valley....overlooking the river....with beautiful mountains surrounding us...and a castle...how can we not feel like Princesses? Every other city looks like poop compared to what we have and we feel bad because we know when we get home we will probably never find things nearly as pretty anymore. We just like expect this beauty now...seriously a problem. Anywhooo, this all began when we went up to the Heidelberg Castle to celebrate Schlossfest. Schlossfest is celebrated 3 times a year in remembrance of when the castle was burned during the French Revolution. We toured the castle and were amazed by what we saw. The castle is not only beautiful, but also enormous! Although it was destroyed, old parts still remain along with the additions that every Kaiser built during their reign. In that sense it is very unique.



It also has the BEST views of the city! I remember coming up the castle when I was in high school on the exchange, and although we saw numerous castles..this one always was my favorite. 4 years later...

We all have discussed and just feel so honored to being able to spend our days in such a city. It is unreal. to end our day of activities, we climbed up the Philoshophenweg on the mountain on the other side of the bridge. There we all relaxed and waited for the fireworks show and the "burning of the castle".

Again, all I can say is that it was amazing! Do you see where the Princess Problems arise from?

#10 Sunday, September 4: No France. Although we had to reschedule, Caitlin and I still managed to have a lovely day laying out by the river doing homework. We might have been eaten alive by bugs, but it was still worth it.

I am just literally in love with this place. I hope you can all see why! Thanks for checking in! Miss you all

- Molly

Travel Plans!

TGIF! Too much German grammar for one week, but thankfully things are calming down and I feel more comfortable with all of the new stuff I have learned. We are also doing less activities as a group, which means more free time to explore!

We just booked tickets to fly to Edinborough, Scotland and London during our fall break! ahhhh so exciting! We got great deals. Less than 150 American dollars for all of our transportation! We are bumming on our friends couches so no need to pay for places to stay! :) France, England, and Scotland all in the next 3 weeks, and then Austria, Switzerland & Italy the following month. LIVING THE LIFE.

Exploring Hansel and Gretel Style

I swear I will get better at this blogging more often thing, but our days are just so packed that it is hard. That being said, daily adventure updates are a must.

#5 Tuesday: Climbing the mountain! Hansel and Gretel Style.

Since I haven't really done hills all summer, I decided it would be a good idea to run the mountain for my workout and Matt (my fellow AJY classmate) decided he would come along. In class we learned that on top of the mountain sits an old Nazi Amphitheater. Hitler bulit the theater on this particular mountain because it is known as the holy mountain. He wanted the Heidelberg citizens to view his Reich as they did this mountain. It is no longer allowed to be used, but we were told it was worth the hike, so we took it upon ourselves to run there instead. Naturally, we felt the need to explore and that means making our own trails. Good idea? Well, not quite. We got lost. Probably around 4 times...but we actually made it to the top in record time. 10 minutes faster than our teacher said was possible. Yup, studs...we didn't even need the breadcrumbs! :) Anyway, not only did we find the theater, but also 2 ruins of monasterys that date back to 1070. HOW CRAZY IS THAT! In one run I felt like I was transported back the Middle Ages and the 3rd Reich. So bizzarre, yet so cool....and also so beautiful.

Nazi Amphitheater

Old Monastery from 1970

#6 Wednesday: This was really the first HARD day of German classes. Our class managed to cover every aspect of German grammar in one hour which completely left my head spinning. We all thought that our first month would be the relaxing time, at least school wise, but we were so wrong. We spend our mornings in class, and then all afternoon into the evening doing homework. Such a bummer when I still have so much space outside to explore, but I just keep reminding myself I have 3 more months to fit it all in. Anyway, the experience of the day also involved the mountain. We ran it again, but this time we split up (don't ask me why, Matt was just being dumb) and were by ourselves for a while. GETTING LOST IN THE WOODS = adventure #6. Thankfully I made it back okay, but I am not used to deep woods and steep falls...Skokie doesn't have those. Overall, still an amazing day in Heidelberg. I don't think I will ever get used to how pretty it is :)

Please excuse my grammar mistakes in this blog! I am already forgetting how to write in English. Check back after this weekend! We have day trips planned to Mannheim (Disko central) and Weissburg, France! Miss you all <3