Medieval Festival/ Schwarzwald ;)

I thought I'd add a few pictures of my trip to the Schwarzwald and the Mittelalterfest BEFORE I go to Switzerland in a few days! I'll have to take some more pictures in Switzerland and add them when I get back ;-)

 

 

 

**It's a LOT harder to shoot a bow than I thought it would be :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

We found an adorable Gasthaus during our hike through the Black Forest. There, I tried a slice of Black Forest Cherry Cake and a Mocha ;)

 

Mein erstes Fahrrad!! :)

I finally have my very own bicycle! It's like getting my first car all over again; I feel like I have so much freedom now! lol :) So I attached a few pictures for anyone interested. It rides really smoothly, it has a little bell and basket, and it has a speedometer.

In other news, I now have my class schedule!! I am pretty content with my schedule, I have to say. I only have about 9-12 classes per week, and only 1-3 per day. That will leave me with plenty of time to study and enjoy the day. ;)

Bamberg :)

Last week, I got to visit my very good friend of 6 years in Bamberg! It was so nice to see her again after SO long! Bamberg is one of the cutest German cities I think I've ever visited; it is very "traditional/typical German". During my stay, I got the chance to visit some historical sites, drink delicious beer (including Rauchbier--which tastes exactly like smoked ham), and I met some wonderful people (including 2 very friendly Luxembourgers). :) I am very certain I will be back in Bamberg in the future (and I may even have to check out Luxembourg sometime too) ;)

Fotos:

                                   
                                                                    Downtown

 

The Closter  

 

 

Der Dom (beautiful Catholic cathedral)

 

 

 

The Rose Garden behind the Cathedral

 

 

 

old City Hall

 

 

klein Venedig ;)

 

 

Janka and I

 

 

 

 

 

 

I FINALLY got my Currywurst ;)

 

 

This is the bar where I tried both Rauchbier and Kellerbier, and where I also met some very pleasant people :)

 

 

 

Alles ist vorbereitet ;-)

I had the most AMAZING time in Loerrach. I have to say: I am 100% happy that I made the decision to move here! I didn't take a lot of pictures since I was busy literally 90% of the time...

I woke up at 5am on Monday morning, and I left at 6am for Loerrach. Immediately upon arrival, I went by the Auslaenderbehoerde (city hall) to figure out everything for my Visas. Since I won't have my apartment until October 1st, I'll have to wait until September to get my Visas (but this luckily won't be a problem at all for my University and Work).

Then I went directly from the city hall to my University to meet up with the Head of Department International Business and his secretary (I've been emailing them back and forth for 2 years now!) It was amazing to finally meet them in person; and they were SO nice! The Head of Department read my story from my U.S. College and said he might even suggest to a few local newspapers to write a column about me. Everyone I spoke to was quite impressed with how much work I've put in to even have the shot to study in Germany.

About 30 minutes after my meeting at my University, I had a 2 hour meeting with the bank to open my account and go over all my documents.

Then immediately after, I had a meeting with my land-lady for my apartment. I didn't get to see my bedroom yet since there was still someone living there, but I got to see everything else. It kind of smells, but there are plenty of windows that I can OPEN! :D And I have 2 beautiful windows in my bedroom (which is amazing since I couldn't open my bedroom windows in America). My room is 18.5 m^2 (which is the biggest room in the apartment). And it's centrally located; the main shopping strip and campus is only a few blocks away! ;-)

I spent the night with Margret and her sister, and got to meet her other sister and niece again (I haven't seen them all for 3 years now). They are all amazing people, and it was wonderful to spend time with them!

Lastly, I FINALLY got to meet my company. I've been emailing the HR Plant Manager back and forth now for about 2 years, so it was great to finally meet him face-to-face. I really didn't know what to expect, and I honestly prepared myself for the worst, BUT I think this is in fact one of the best decisions I've ever made. He was extremely nice, welcoming, and helpful! And I met a few other members of the company and a few other students, and they were just as wonderful. Besides the fact that I was nervous in regard to the language barrier, and that was obvious since I could not stop fidgeting, but I was very confident and I think I made a good first impression. (And I'll have the opportunity to continue learning German at a Language-School) :)

PICTURES:

                                                 The best Italian ice-cream in Germany ;-)

 

Burger King in Germany

 

I found a delicious Mexican restaurant in Karlsruhe!

 

 

 

The modern-art museum in Karlsruhe. Very interesting.

 

I finally found my University! :D

 

A few pictures of my new home-town! It's wonderful! :)

 

 

The Milka Chocolate Factory!!! (btw the whole town does NOT smell like chocolate. You can't even smell it outside the building ;-)

 

I had the cutest little German-breakfast this morning. We even moved everything outside and sat on the back porch since it was so beautiful outside. LOVE the German culture/food :D I still can't believe I'm actually here...I don't know if it's hit me yet xD

 

 

 

 

 

1ste Woche in Deutschland ;)

It's good to be back!! I had a pretty eventful first week in Germany. The first few days were pretty rough, since it was kind of complicated to get back in the hang of speaking/hearing/seeing German all the time, but things are much better now.

So far, I am back in the habit of eating much healthier foods, I've learned how to ride a bike again (since I don't have the opportunity to do that in the USA), I've met some awesome people!!, I relearned how to play the game Dominion, and I visited a few beautiful places (we walked a few miles along the Rhine river). :)