Weekend Adventures with our Gastfamilien
By Nick and Anni
Editors’ Note: Our students spent the weekend with their host families, so we asked them share some personal experiences with us. Enjoy!!
From Nick: It was the first weekend of our trip to Germany and 2 days where we have the entire day completely with our hosts. Many of the students had different plans from each other, so each individual student made different memories today. I, Nick, started today bright and early at 7:00 in the morning with breakfast, which was a from-scratch, loaf of bread and some cold cut pork, which was delicious. Our first journey consisted of a one and a half hour train ride, over 2 different train lines. It was kind of a bore, standing on a German train, having nothing to do but stand and admire the repetitive German wheat fields, but the destination almost made me forget the trek itself. When we arrived, we walked down the main street, admiring the architecture and the street performances. Lunch was fast approaching and my phone was close to being out of battery. Luckily, most cafes have outlets, so I had bought one at the nearby MediaMart, remember this place for later. We were strolling down the street as a familiar sight hit my eyes and I immediately knew the location of our next meal. None other than the house of Ronald Mcdonald, McDonalds. Now it may seem bizarre for an American to try fast food from America, rather than experiencing the local delicacies, but my rationale for this decision was that, being it was my first time in Germany AND Europe, I was curious about the what differences existed between the locations, especially since I had already seen some when I went to Asia earlier this year. When we arrived, we acquired a seat and I went down to order my food. As a went through the menu, I saw some foreign items that seems to only be outside of America, like the wrap and the McRib, which were available in Canada, Hong Kong, and now Germany, but I ended up trying something new: plant based nuggets with a side of curly fries, a Germany exclusive. The meal was of standard quality for a chain restaurant and my phone had sufficient battery, therefore my host, Mika, and I went clothes shopping for multiple hours. After that, Mika was hungry (he didn’t have the appetite for McDonalds and didn’t eat anything there). We decided to go to his favorite spot for a döner, which is a Turkish-German dish of roasted, shaved meat and vegetables in a garlic sauce, all stuffed into a pita (similar to a gyro). After, we went to the Mercedes-Benz Museum. Going inside was a surreal experience, since they not only had the history of the first cars and their developments, but also the ties with the entirety of German history, which I thought was really cool. After that, we headed back home to rest up for the upcoming day.
From Anni: On Saturday I got the chance to visit another country in Europe, France! It was so much fun. We were able to see the Notre Dame Cathedral, the beautiful river and traditional houses. We wandered the town and had some French Pizza for lunch then of course we had to buy some macaroons and Eis! Saturday night I attended my host’s friend’s birthday party and got to meet several new people who I get to call my friends now too! On Sunday I had a delicious breakfast at the Jungle Cafe with some friends and host students. I had Schinken Eggs Benedict with an iced coffee and passion fruit lemonade. We picked up a chocolate croissant and cappuccino from another bakery on our way to play some volleyball! We ended our night with Italian food right near the Walldorf Gymnasium and got to meet some more of my host’s friends where we spent a few hours all getting to know each other!
It was such a great new experience to be able to travel to another country by train in only a few short hours since we were in Europe. It may sound boring but I would definitely recommend traveling to different countries in Europe because it is so much different than what we are used to the America! The most beautiful thing I saw this weekend was the Notre Dame Cathedral in Strasbourg, France. When I got right in front of it, my jaw completely dropped and I was speechless. It was so amazing to see the architecture and sturdiness of the building despite its age.
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