the final two days.

tomorrow morning i leave for bilbao. it will definitely be a relief to get out of this house! yesterday was rather uneventful. L and i took my 66 lbs box to the post office. that was fun. after waiting in line we found out that 30 kg packages must be paid for online. thankfully, the man helping us let us leave the package there. the rest of the day was spent around the house and packing. this morning, i ran a lot of errands and everything necessary for me to get out of town. L and i went back to the post office to drop off my packing slip for the package. we also went to the train station to buy my train ticket to the airport. both of those errands involved long lines. afterwards i had to go to the atm for the first time. i love taking money out in euros and then looking at my bank account and realizing exactly how much money i am losing due to the exchange rate. i also had to close my german bank account that i never used. afterwards, i went to city hall to tell hildesheim that i won't be spending the year with them. following lunch, i wandered around the city for the afternoon. i walked through the park, towards the old city gate. there was a really nice shaded path, and today was hot. i found a nice bench with a good view of the city as well. my favorite part of the walk was the women's correctional facility. it is right next to a really old church and a sight along the park path. barbed wire aside, it's actually a nice building. i guess if one must go to prison, might as well go to one with a view. the thought of a german women's correctional facility actually really scares me. i just picture butch women being kept in line by some intense prison guards. hopefully i'll never have to find out what the inside of that place is like. moving on...i stumbled upon this random herd of sheep for the second time. in the middle of this park (it is situated between two rather busy roads) there are hundreds of sheep. as far as i can tell, there is no farm around, so i really don't know why they are there or where they live. it's still funny. they just baa at everyone walking by.

sheep!

the women's correctional facility, nice, huh?

my last night in germany was spent with my au pair friend. i went over to her house and we had pizza. (i have only eaten 3 meals with her and all of them were different types of pizza.) after dinner i watched some csi-miami and house. all dubbed over in german, of course. i learned that every country has their own version of 'american idol' and 'who wants to be a millionaire', the same cheesy car commercials, and some sort of way easy contest where you can win tons of money. i've had fun with the people i've met here. i am also a little sad about leaving the city. i finally feel like i have a pretty good idea of how to get around. though, i'm sure bilbao will hold brighter prospects for me.

tomorrow morning i get to take a taxi from the house at 7:30. C and i are taking the 8 o'clock train into hannover. i have a connection train to the airport. the train supposedly stops at my terminal. if everything goes as planned, i will be in bilbao by 4:30. then part two of my adventure begins...

almost all packed, but ready to go.

today we hit the awkward bar. i was mostly confined to my room and packed. tomorrow i am shipping out 66lbs of my luggage. i spent most of my day stepping on and off the scale making sure my luggage isn't overweight restrictions. my box is exactly 30.1 kg. (the max is 30). i'm accounting the extra .1 as the scale's error. yes, there were times when i stepped on the scale, without luggage, and it was reading over 200lbs. what can i say, i hide all my weight well! jk, error obviously. my other suitcase is right around 44lbs. maybe a few more...i hope they are lenient. i am trying to lessen my carry-on weight as much as possible. last time it was not fun! as i said before, things were awkward with the fam. luckily tomorrow they have school and work. just 2 more days, and one breakfast to go!

the box, practically held together by tape

other suitcase (in case you can't tell)

stuff going into the carry-on

so you're looking at pretty much everything i've got. riveting, i know. excuse the super lame post. everything is closed on sundays so i have no incentive to go wander around town yet again. lots of that tomorrow and tuesday because i have like no packing left to do.

what the hail?

yes, as my title reflects it did in fact hail today. we'll get to that in a minute. so i slept kinda late today. ate some oatmeal and nutella toast (going strong for 11 days now with that breakfast). after breakfast i worked on the washington post crossword. i did fairly good considering it's a saturday. it's not finished, but i haven't cheated. around 2:30 i met my au pair friend. we biked downtown and walked around a few stores. then we decided to bike to this park/lake area. it is in the same park where i went swimming. so we found a nice spot and sat for a few minutes. then it decided to rain. mind you, it's been around 60 to 65 and cloudy all day. so there is a classy little cafe/restaurant right next to us so we decide to stop in for a drink. right after we sat down inside it starts to pour. next thing we know it is hailing. the hail didn't last long, but it continued to pour for awhile. so we wait it out and then had to take a cold bike ride back home. so other events of the day...i was getting my bike out of the garage and i wheel it out and put the kickstand down while i close the garage door. (this ain't america, i gotta open and close this door manually. no, i am not talking about a regular door that swings open, but is on the garage. it is a legit garage door.) as i am pulling the door back down my bike decides to lose its balance, topple over, and the top of the back wheel falls directly on top of my foot. it definitely didn't feel good then and it does not feel good now. i can't comfortably sit cross-legged. i'm sure tomorrow morning i will wake up to a nice bruise. i haven't had anyone to complain to so all of you get to be my outlet. this evening i also had to make a giant shipping box out of two smaller ones. it took some work, but i think it should stay together. thanks countless studio hours spent with cardboard. also an empty cardboard box of this size weighs more than one would expect. and i am on a real weight crunch these days. considering i was supposed to be here a year i packed light! i also wasn't expecting to go through all of this stepping off and on the scale with luggage a mere 3 weeks later. on another note i've managed to avoid the family for the day. (actually they've been the ones gone for most of the day, so no real work involved. tomorrow might be another story.)

me and au pair friend, pre-hail

freitag

well today my freedom ended. the family returned this evening. nothing too awkward as of yet, but i only saw them for about an hour. this afternoon i was hoping to go to kafenion again. i left too late and decided to find a spot to sit and read. i decided to sit in the grass by one of the churches near the house. i can see the steeple from my skylight window. the weather was warm, but there was a strong wind. later this afternoon i went to visit my brazilian au pair friend. we hung out at her house for awhile, ate lots of chocolate, and then decided to go get dinner. we got pizza at a restaurant near her house. (yes i've been out to eat 3 times since i've been in germany. twice for pizza and once at kfc. don't judge me. i am poor and i have been escorted to all of these restaurants.) i have decided to ship most of my luggage. by decided i mean i can not take more than 44lbs on a european flight. that leaves me with an additional 66lbs. my weekend will mostly be spent packing. i have to ship my luggage on monday. i'm sure i will also do a lot of wandering around the city and saying my goodbyes.

hannover

rather than sitting around the house all day, i decided to venture to the great city of hannover. up until today, all i have seen of hannover is their airport. i got a late start, and had to bike rather quickly to make the train. however, i did make it in time. i mostly wandered wherever the wind took me. this was mostly along 'the red thread' walk. it is a path throughout the city leading walkers to many of the famous sights of hannover. my favorite sight on the entire walk was the aegidienkirche. this church was bombed in 1943. the entire exterior of the church is still standing. the interior, roof, and windows are now a void. the church casts beautiful shadows. ivy is overtaking parts of the church. today it stands as a memorial. most of hannover was bombed during the war. few parts of the original city remain. later in the day i met up with some friends. we sat by the man-made lake and i tried a bavarian beer (made with yeast). afterwards they wanted kfc. so we went. not gonna lie, it was good! i found two contemporary furniture design stores. i don't think i will be affording anything from there anytime soon. it's fun to look, and dream. hannover had more modern architecture than any of the cities i have seen so far. (but let's be honest, i've only seen small towns. for the most part they have been very german.) i didn't see anything terribly exciting, but still. hannover also had a lot more public art. my favorite were splayed metal sculptures around the city. some were integrated into buildings, others were along the streets. one of the museums in hannover has a large collection of kurt schwitters (haha). i wanted to go, but i ran out of time. oh and my camera died in the middle of my day. bummer. ok that's enough excitment for one day. the family comes back tomorrow...wish me luck!

aegidienkirche

the new stained glass

sky blue sky

mid-day shadows

another day in paradise

well, today was slightly the same old. i've been watching a lot friends lately. i can't help it. i also went for a run this morning on panoramaweg. actually it was more like i went for a walk posing as a runner. at least i was out of the house, right? i did laundry today too and i've been packing some. this afternoon i met some friends and we went swimming. there is a big public swimming pool. it's actually kind of like a waterpark, in that there are several pools, some high dives, a waterslide, and there is a lake. we mostly laid out. i did get in the water. it was around 70 today. so warm, but not hot. the water was a little cold for my taste. but i did get in (with a lot of convincing). i even biked there. i sort of got over my fear of biking along one of the main roads downtown. i did make it alive. that is the true test.

on another note, cultural differences always amuse me.

here are the top things i have been asked multiple times in the past few days:

-what does a frog say? (germans don't believe that frogs say ribbit)

-what does a horse say? (again they disagree with the neigh thing)

-have you been to spring break? (i don't know why europeans find it so appealing)

-how do you say bach? (if you don't say bach like you are choking on your spit, it isn't correct)

-do you drink lite beer? (i will cut people slack on this one)

oh and another favorite, they can not believe i am 22 and have a bachelors in architecture. school here is way different. most people are just starting their university studies at or around this time.

oh and i just have one week left in germany. i'm actually a little sad to be leaving so soon. but don't get me wrong, i am relieved to be leaving the family and am looking forward to less of a language barrier in spain. (it's been 2 years since i've used my spanish. it's better than my german though!)

i'm going back to spain!

i just booked a flight to bilbao! i will be leaving next wed. i'm not really sure what i will be doing there besides staying with friends of the family. there will be 5 hopefully not too awkward but awkward days with the family. (they come home friday) between paying for my ticket and luggage fees i will be spending the same amount i paid for my ticket to europe. but let's not talk about it. on another note, i met with a friend of a friend today at coffee and beans. i now have 3 friends in this city! woo! i walked downtown today. it took about 45 minutes one way. it definitely doesn't seem that long, especially with an ipod. it is less scary than biking and cheaper than the bus. walking into downtown i passed a tattoo and piercing parlor called 'last resort'. it really makes me laugh. i mean i were to get a tattoo i don't think i could live with myself if i went to a place called last resort. i also find it humorous that it is an english name. what german decides to open a tat and piercing place and comes up with the name 'last resort' in english?! ok, obviously my day was uneventful. so i'll stop talking now.

...yay spain!

plan?

saturday evening i broke down and went to the grocery store. i got just a few things to hold me over. my one au pair friend came over and we made pizza and watched a movie. sunday morning i woke up to the sound of ringing church bells. it was quite nice. i also went for a run. it was literally the 5th run i've taken in 2009. no joke. applause welcome. i stayed near the neighborhood. and learned my way around just a bit more. i decided to make the most of my free time and go for a walk in search of a park. i found a nice little park with a great overlook of the city. i sat and read the god of small things for a while. afterwards i walked back home and made some dinner.

view from the park

this afternoon i biked to the train station/downtown area. it really scares me biking downtown. don't get me wrong, a leisurely bike ride is great. biking as a form of transportation along highways and busy sidewalks, it's just not my idea of fun. i walked around town. and went into some stores. let's be honest, i have nothing better to do and no money. i went into the german equivalent of corte today. it's called kaufhof. it wasn't the same. it didn't smell like jackets. really it didn't smell like anything. after wandering for some time, i headed back towards the train station. i decided i should take advantage and seem somewhere else in germany, that costs less than 20 euros to get there and back. i bought a ticket to hannover for thursday. the machines only let you pay with cards so i had to wait in line to talk to a ticketing agent. through his lack of english skills and my nonexistent german, we somehow managed to understand what one another was saying and i got a ticket for the day i wanted. below are some random shots from the day.

german corte.

the city beach. it's behind marktplatz. people just lounge and sometimes play volleyball.

and drumroll please...i (sort of) know what i am doing next. callie's wonderful aunt and uncle and cousin live in bilbao. they have graciously offered to let me come stay with them. they may or may not know of a family in bilbao who needs an au pair. there also could be other job possibilities. we'll see. currently i am putting the job search on hold. getting to bilbao is going to be tricky. i have a lot of luggage and i'm definitely going to have to pay some sort of baggage fees. also, catching a flight on short notice to and from smaller european airports, doesn't offer the cheap flights i am accustomed too. no vueling unfortunately! hopefully i'll be in spain by the end of next week! once i smooth out all the kinks in the plan, i will go from there...

and now what...

well here i am two days later. i am still surviving the great unknown. my days are mostly occupied by unfruitful searches. i keep hoping the whole what to do next will just hit me. as of yet, nothing. i've been watching a lot of dvds. yes, i know i am in germany. there's only so much you can do with little money. everyday i tell myself i will go do something exciting. by the time i get around to leaving the house it's practically dinner time. so i give up. last night i went out with some german people. my first fun (in the way that one would typically define fun, not fun as in this is an adventure so i might as well make the most of it kind of way) outing. a friend of a friend got in touch with me and invited me to go out with them. it was a good time. the american music played in european clubs never ceases to make me laugh. right now i can't think of what was actually played. mostly 4+ year old rap and hip-hop songs. i requested billie jean (duh). it didn't happen. you can imagine my disappointment. on another note, i still have managed not to go to the grocery store. and i haven't starved yet. one of these days i promise i will go to do something fun. if for no other reason than to blog about it. time is dwindling. i only have 6 days of freedom left. hopefully i can figure out alternate arrangements between now and then. keep your fingers crossed for me!

me, myself, and i

yesterday, i woke up to an empty house that is not my own, in a town i don't know my way around, in a country where i don't speak the language. and i was surprisingly happy. a clue that this was not the family for me. i realized for 10 days (well just 8 remain) i have no obligations or agenda for the day. it also dawned on me that i have never been alone for such a long period of time. i mean, at most, probably just 2 days. part of me revels in this new found independence. part of me is scared shitless--i mean i'm practically homeless in europe and i have the unknown and fear of 'what now?' looming like a cloud over my head. i need to get out and do things. unfortunately, i only have 80 euros to my name (i am doing my best to not make this a money losing endeavor) and i have about 1 friend in this town. the other problem with this whole family bachelorette pad situation, is i have limited food. the family said i could eat what was at the house and the rest is on me. great in theory until i got back and realized food in the house= oatmeal, cereal, bread, nutella, milk, and european peanut butter. i scrounged up some tomato soup last night for dinner. basically it will be a lot of carbs for me! i am avoiding the grocery store if at all possible. now i have to figure out to get from hildesheim to ??? which requires $$$. i have too little money and too much luggage holding me back. i would just travel some, but i don't think that's in my budget. today i think i will walk around the neighborhood and pick blackberries. i need some fruit in my life. oh and hildesheim decided to have a heat wave. yesterday it was at least 80. today is supposed to be 98! (ps there is no air conditioning and my room is on the second floor. i also have yet to find a fan in this house.)

on another note, yesterday i biked along panoramaweg. it's the way we went to pick blackberries on day 2 or something like that. there are great views of the city. i got some pretty pictures. check them out below. again, hot, but i had to get out of the house.

the top of the hill

schindler lived in hildesheim after the war. i thought maybe his house was on this street. but i didn't see anything to prove it.

view of the city

i biked along that hill. it's bigger than it looks.

proof that i am actually in germany.

as far as the whole changing families goes, i have been talking to other au pairs and the few connections i have made through this family and whatnot. everyone has been very supportive and helpful! i really feel like i am making the right decision. i just wish i could have figured it out a few months ago so i didn't have to go through all this packing and repacking and spending more money, blah, blah. just like everything else...it's an adventure! and i suppose i am learning something. maybe finding out who i am?! why doesn't someone just tell me!

a change of plans

well for those of you smart cookies out there, it has only been about 6 days since my last post. meaning, i left haffkrug 10 days earlier than planned. after talking with the parents, and expressing my concerns and disappointments with some of their ideas of 'light' housework, we decided it would be best for me to return to their house for the rest of the vacation. currently, i am exploring other options...

anyways, what i saw of the baltic sea was nice. the beach is more like american beaches. the sand feels the same and there aren't rocks in the sea, like the mediterranean. i saw a few topless tanners, but nothing compares to the beaches of spain. the weather was nice. definitely very cool. i was wearing long sleeves at night, something that never happens at sc beaches! the water was also much too cold for my taste. i only put my feet in the water. the town was cute. it was pretty much the typical beach town. one main road, mostly pedestrians, with restaurants, ice cream, and souvenir shops.

the beach

the town

the baltic

monday, i took a day trip to the city of lubeck. it was a 30 minute train ride from haffkrug. lubeck is an old port city. it was very cute...it reminded me of a german bilbao (minus the gug) mixed with amsterdam. the churches were amazing. very old. some were slightly creepy. i saw a lot of cute shops, nice cafes, and good restaurants. the lack of money and german skills prevented me from partaking in the latter. i mostly wandered aimlessly. i got coffee in a small cafe to rest my feet and use the bathroom. i refuse to pay to pee. sorry europe. i also bought some toblerone and haribos...when in germany eat german things you can buy in america. i found a tj maxx. random. obviously i went it. h&m and zara were also around. i was thrilled to find little pieces of spain. the city has a beautiful old tower house. i chilled in the green there while i waited for the next train. i successfully caught all the right trains. woohoo!

the town and the river

holsentor (old city gate area)

st. marien

creepy candle holder in st. jacob's church

tuesday i packed my things and left haffkrug. i took a train from haffkrug to hamburg, hamburg to hannover, and hannover to hildesheim. (way too many h cities). i was a little nervous because i had short connection times and everytime i switched trains i was afraid i was on the wrong one. but alas, i arrived safely. in order to conserve 2 euros and get some exercise, i walked back to the house, with my backpack and all. it wasn't too bad. the weather was nice. quite warm actually. it took me about 45 minutes to walk to the house. i was relieved to once again have my personal space and internet.

...the rest will come tomorrow.