Berlin, Kassel, and June!

As of today, I have exactly one month left in Marburg, which is crazy to think about. It doesn’t feel real yet. Right now, a month seems like an incredibly short amount of time. I’m not sure if I’m ready to leave yet, when I’ve only just started getting the hang of living here. Undoubtedly, I’m looking forward to seeing family and friends, and enjoying familiar foods, but I’m going to miss some of the friends I’ve made here, and other aspects of being here. I suppose there’s no use dwelling on it, only enjoying it as it lasts.

During the rest of May, I was able to do a little more travelling, finally making it to Berlin and Kassel. I don’t really have any more big trips planned for the rest of my time here, outside of occasional day trips within the state of Hessen, which are free on my semester ticket.

Also, some crazy news: BCA, the study abroad program I’m with, was actually sold to another company, Amizade. The BCA Marburg program will continue next semester, since students have already signed up and booked things. But after that, it’s not clear whether or not the Marburg program will continue, and if it does, there’ll likely be major changes to it, like the removal of the two months spent in Vienna. Kris, who was our program manager, also decided to leave BCA last month, though he only found out about the changes coming to BCA afterwards. All of these changes were a little stressful, but I’m doubly glad that I came this year instead of waiting until my junior year to do study abroad.

A Weekend in Berlin

One of the other BCA girls wanted to go to Berlin, and invited us along. In the end, four of us went on the trip. It was perfect timing for me — that particular weekend stood at the point between two presentations where I’d finished one, and the next wasn’t quite close enough to start really worrying about it. An added bonus was that it’d be a good chance to work on my photography final, and get some photos outside of Marburg.

I would’ve liked to stay another day in Berlin, but we wouldn’t have gotten back to Marburg in time for a meeting with BCA on Monday. We also arrived in Berlin too late Friday evening to do much beyond going to bed so we could be well-rested for the next day of activities.

Saturday

On Saturday we crammed as many things into our itinerary as was possible. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s perhaps not the best way to experience a city, but we wanted to see as much of Berlin as we could. I don’t know about the others, but I knew that would probably be my only chance to go.

After stopping by a cafe to grab some coffee, we headed to our first destination: the Reichstag Building, where Germany’s legislative branch of government meets. Then we walked to the famous Brandenburg Gate.

Our third stop was Potsdamer Platz, to see some segments of the Berlin Wall that still stand there. There were some informational panels between the different sections of the wall, but the wall itself was almost completely covered by wads of gum that people had stuck on it. Yuck.

We got a little turned around while on the way to see the Holocaust Memorial, and spent several minutes by Berlin’s Boulevard of Stars, which features famous German actors and directors. We also passed by Berlin’s LegoLand, which I thought Nicholas would enjoy.

Eventually, we made it to the Holocaust Memorial. Here, most of us decided to split up and spend time reflecting as we made our way through the pillars. As you walk through, the pillars get taller and the ground gently slopes downward. It’s a somber attraction, but an important one to see.

One of the other BCA girls, Emily, has a friend who studies in Berlin, and she met us at the Memorial. We headed to Alexanderplatz, where we got lunch.

We then headed to the East Side Gallery, which is a long stretch of the Berlin Wall with murals painted all along it. Due to our limited time in the city, we didn’t have time to walk along the entire length, but the ones we did see were amazing.

Our next stop was Checkpoint Charlie, which was part of the border between the Russian and American sides of Berlin during the Cold War. One thing I found interesting was the sign about crossing over into the Russian sector — it had the message in several languages, but German was last and in the smallest font.

Our last planned place to visit for the day was the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This church was mostly destroyed during a bombing raid in WWII. They didn’t rebuild it afterwards, and instead chose to make the ground floor of the spire a memorial hall.

Near the church was a small shopping mall with a bunch of fancy, expensive shops. Although everything there was incredibly expensive, we had a fun time wandering around and getting whatever free samples were available. The back wall of the mall was a pane of glass through which we could see into the Zoo that was behind the mall.

After dinner, we decided to head back to the Airbnb we were staying at to have an early night in.

Sunday

Sunday morning we headed out fairly early to first see the Charlottenburg Palace. It was a short walk there, as our Airbnb was in the same district, which was nice. We walked around the grounds a bit, but didn’t go inside the palace itself, as we wanted more time at the DDR museum we were visiting next. In any case, the grounds of the palace were gorgeous, and the weather was perfect.

As it turns out, the DDR Museum was right beside the Berlin Cathedral. The cathedral was another attraction that had been on our list of things we’d like to see, but we had ultimately crossed it off the list because we didn’t think we’d have the time. We didn’t go inside of the cathedral, either, but it was still a gorgeous building from the outside.

The DDR Museum was incredibly interesting. It’s an interactive museum about East Germany. One of my favorite parts of the museum was a Trabant car you could get in and drive a simulator. It’s insane, how poorly designed these cars were. Another cool exhibit was about interrogations done by the Stasi. You sat at a table, and put your elbows on two marked circles on the table, and then covered your ears with your palms. A loud speaker in the room would play the voice of the interrogator asking questions, and then you’d hear the response through your palms, to make it feel as though you were the one speaking.

We probably could’ve spent even longer in the museum, but eventually we had to go so that we could grab a small lunch and get to the bus station. There were some delays, but thankfully we were able to make it to Kassel in time for our train the rest of the way back to Marburg.

Introducing: Spaceship!

There’s a lot of stray cats in Marburg, but I just wanted to share my favorite, who we’ve been calling Spaceship. Why Spaceship? Why not? She’s super friendly, and I love her! She always lets me pet her for a really long time, and has actually ran up to me a couple times.

“heehee time to share some cat photos and talk about the baby” – me, planning this post

A Weekend in Kassel

I mentioned in February that I had a visit from Erin in Marburg. Well, I finally had a chance to go visit her where she lives in Kassel!

We had dinner out at a Mexican restaurant, and then Erin showed me some interesting art sculptures in Kassel.

Though once we got back to the house, we made something that changed my life: rhubarb apple bread. It’s kind of funny — neither of us had ever eaten rhubarb until a couple of weeks before we met up, but we both loved it. She has a huge garden that has a couple of rhubarb plants, so we cut a stalk to make the bread she’d had with a friend a couple weeks before. It’s absolutely delicious, and since then I’ve made it back in Marburg four times already. It’s moist, has a great balance between sweet and tart. I can’t over-exaggerate how much I love this bread; it’s definitely something I’m going to be making in the U.S., assuming I can find the rhubarb for it.

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe

One of the most popular things to see in Kassel is the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, a huge park that features waterfalls, two castles, artificial aqueducts, gardens. Erin actually lives right next door to it, and regularly goes running there, so not only was it easy to get to, but Erin also knew where all the different things to see were.

It was a perfect day for it; the sun was out, and there was a cool breeze that kept it from getting too warm. We walked first through these fields known as the Hundewiesen, aka Dog Fields. A lot of people bring their dogs there and let them go off-leash, so we got to see a bunch of cute dogs. Erin told me that sometimes, when she goes running through there, a bunch of dogs will end up running after her, ignoring their owners.

I was so glad that I brought both my film and digital cameras with me. The park was incredibly beautiful, from the streams and waterfalls, to the gardens and forested areas, and the grottos and castles. Throughout the park there were various half-hidden paths and places to explore, and while we were out we found a waterfall and pond with stepping stones that Erin hadn’t seen before, despite running through the park almost daily.

The king who used to rule there had two castles built. He first built the palace, but was jealous of his friends who all had older, medieval castles, so he built a second castle that purposefully looks older and medieval. We didn’t go into the palace, which is now a museum, and we couldn’t go into the majority of the fake-medieval one, which is currently being renovated. There was a small area we could go into, and a gift shop.

At the top of the mountain, there’s the Hercules statue, but we decided to walk around the rest of the park more. By the time we were heading back, our legs and feet were exhausted enough, and if we had gone up to the statue, there was no way we could’ve seen as much of the rest of the park.

At one point we stopped at a Kneipp Bath. The idea is that walking through or dipping your arms in the freezing cold water helps circulation and can be healing. The first time I saw one was on my group trip to Germany and Austria last summer. I wasn’t able to try it out then, but I’m glad I was able to in Kassel. I loved it, because I felt too hot and it was a nice contrast. Erin could barely stand it.

We headed back to her house, where we hung out and had lunch. We had a fight with a fire alarm that needed its batteries changed (we lost…). Eventually, it came time for me to leave. Erin cut a couple stalks of rhubarb from their rhubarb plant for me to take back to Marburg. Unfortunately, we hadn’t looked at train and bus connections earlier, and ended up needing to walk, and eventually sprint, to the train station to get my train. I’m sure I was an amusing sight — a girl with a massive backpack on, running through the streets holding rhubarb. The rhubarb was definitely worth it, though.

At the end of the day, I’d walked 11 miles total, between the park and going to and from train stations to get back home.

Baking with Nóra-Bríd and Dnd

My chance to use the rhubarb Erin gave me came the following week. That Thursday was a holiday, so Nóra-Bríd came over and we baked two loaves together, one for us to share and one to have as a snack for our Dungeons and Dragons group. Because of the holiday, not only was Dnd going to start a little sooner, but Niklas had the idea to make it a dinner. He made Leberkäse and Käsespätzle, and the others brought some other foods and snacks to share. I always enjoy our Dnd sessions, whether there’s a lot of food or not, but I love making and eating food with friends like that.

Also, I don’t think I’ve shared on here who my character is, which is a shame. I play a purple tiefling (basically a descendant of demons, has horns and a tail) bard named Jimothy Holiday. He plays the bassoon, the triangle, and the organ, and enjoys giving people in authority lots of trouble and headaches. Our party, like most Dnd parties I’d assume, find it easy to get in troubling situations. That session was definitely a memorable one — we fought some mimics (creatures that disguise themselves as other items and then attack you), and Jimothy ended up getting a mimic disguised as a loaf of bread stuck to his face, which was then set on fire by another player. Ahhh, good times.

A Carnival

I’m not sure what event this officially was, but there was a small carnival set up along the Lahn in Marburg. I met up with a couple friends from BCA to go check it out. There were a lot of stands selling street food, and we did eventually cave to getting some “American” donuts that were made right in front of you. But my favorite thing was definitely the other attractions.

Chris and I decided to go into the mirror maze together, as neither of us had ever been in one. They’re surprisingly difficult, and I am not ashamed to say that I definitely ran into a couple.

The other ride we all got on was like the Himlaya fair ride at home, with the circle of chairs that go in a circle and speed up, only here the ride was called Musik-Express. It’s been a couple years since I’ve gone to the fair in Georgia, since it takes place in October, but I could swear that this ride went much faster than the one at home. I was glad that I had tied the top of my bag shut — it would’ve been all too easy for my phone or any of my other belongings to go flying out.

Floor Party on M2

My floor of the castle, M2, had decided at the start of the semester to have a floor party. As implied in the name, our floor would be where the party was held, although it wasn’t confined to the seating area and kitchen — everyone also opened up their rooms as additional places to hang out.

It was an exercise in trust, to be sure. At first I wasn’t planning on also having my room open, but my roommate Celine came up with a good idea to close off part of our room so people couldn’t get into our things. We used various furniture and suitcases to create a nice barrier. She also had a bunch of fairy lights that we hung up around the room, and since the party it’s been the most-used light in the room. The one ceiling light is too dim in the corner where my desk is, but the string lights have an even glow that’s not bad to work by.

In the main area of the floor, we covered the lights with transparent colored paper, which gave the floor a nice look. Lots of people came to the party, both from the castle and other friends we had all invited, and most brought food or drinks, or some combination thereof. Most of the BCA students and a couple friends I’d invited from outside of BCA came.

I ended up having a really good time. There was lots of good music, it was fun hanging out with friends, and it was also kinda cool to see the rooms of the other people living on M2. My roommate and I both went to bed around 1:30am, but I believe the party went on for another hour or two after that.

The only downsides to the party were that my neighbor ended up fracturing some bones in her foot, and the clean-up the next day.

Erdbeerfest – Strawberry Festival

A small village just outside of Marburg, Dagoberhausen, holds a yearly strawberry festival in June. I went with several other BCA students, along with one student’s family members who were visiting. We decided to hike the way to Dagoberhausen, since the buses only started in the late afternoon, and when the others first heard of the activity it was advertised as a hiking event.

It was roughly a 7km hike there (4.34 miles). I brought along both my cameras again, which was once again a good decision. The hike took us through the beautiful countryside surrounding Marburg. At one point, Kory and I both fell behind the group because we were stopping to take photos. Niklas waited up ahead for us, and we ultimately ended up taking a different, slightly longer, more scenic route there than the others, who had followed a sign advertising a park-and-ride service.

We wound through neighborhoods and along fields, and ended up taking a path that lead through the woods. It was really beautiful out, and once we were in the shade of the trees, the heat wasn’t so bad. I’m glad I brought my film camera along; I ended up using the other half of the roll that I had started while in Kassel’s Bergpark.

The strawberry festival itself was pretty small, but with a lot of people in attendance. We actually didn’t find the group we had separated from until we were all on the bus back. There were of course, stands selling strawberries and strawberry-derived products, including wine, jams, cake, and crepes. There was also an area selling more filling grilled food. Niklas, Kory and I all got nutella crepes with strawberries on top. There were also stands with a bunch of bottles of various sauces and butters, with tiny bread pieces to try them out. I actually really enjoyed the barbecue sauce.

We considered going to pick our own strawberries, but it would’ve been another long walk to the field where they were doing that, and our feet were already pretty tired. Instead, we bought a small basket of strawberries from one of the stands, and then rushed to jump onto the bus, where we then saw the rest of our party. I’ve never been on a more crowded bus. We were the last people on, and were so tightly packed we could barely breathe. We were standing right at the front by the driver, and the entire time he kept making amusing comments about how full it was.

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What I’m listening to this week: Back to Autumn by Tall Heights. I had a lot of trouble picking a song this week, I’ve been listening to a lot of new music lately.

But here’s a bonus song, one that’s good for study music: Ronald Reagan Blvd by AK (title sound familiar, anyone?). Erin’s boyfriend, who I didn’t meet during my visit because he was visiting his family in Malaysia, writes music.