Frohe Weihnachten!

Washing's in the washer, Christmas pressies wrapped, and I'm sick of mulled wine....it must be nearly time to go home! I've had an absolute whirlwind of a first four months, and I can't believe that, weather permitting, I have two weeks on British soil with friends and family to enjoy. I, however, don't want to jinx anything...snow, I loveyou if you're nice.

Year Abroad is mental. It is nothing that you think it will be, it will be harder than you think it will be, however it's so much more fun than you think it will be ;)

I've learnt so much, about myself more than anything, and really would like another year abroad...wait, why am I talking like this, I still have a solid 9 months before going back to Edinburgh!

Having said that, it's made me realise how much I miss Edinburgh, and obviously, Yorkshire. Friends and family, I love you :)

My birthday week has been brilliant. I had been worrying, because one's 21st birthday is meant to be a little bit more exciting than a 20th, or 22nd. Thus the prospect of spending it teaching was not particularly appealing! However, I managed to make it brilliant....

Mum and Stephen arrived the night before my birthday, and came through to Diepholz (they stayed in the nearest city, Bremen) the next day. I had to teach until 1, however had informed my pupils the lesson before Wednesday that I was turning 21 on Wednesday and if they were mean and loud I'd be annoyed and I, quite similarly to the Grinch, would cancel their Christmas Party....it worked! They were all delightful, I'd brought sweeties, we played games and had an "English" Christmas. My Year 7s even sang Happy Birthday to me as I came down the corridor! What absolute loves. As well as all this, a few teachers had got me gifts, lots of people wished me a Happy Birthday and I just generally felt very much loved :)

Following this, Mum and Stephen came to the metropolis that is Diepholz.

We had a little tour of the town, lunch, and then they came to my house to meet Cornell, the lady whose house I rent. Cornell had made me Schwarzwild Kirschtorte as my birthday cake, which was SO riesig but yummy, and we all chatted and drank lots of tea :)

Mum, Stephen and I then ventured back to Bremen, where we all spent until Saturday wandering round Bremen, trying lots of Gluehwein, discovering cute little parts of Bremen and generally relaxing. I had so much fun showing them where I live...I guess I don't really live in Bremen, but I spend so much time there, it definitely feels like it!

The snow started whilst they were here, but luckily they flew home without a problem. I am starting to worry, because I am due to fly Tuesday afternoon...so far nothing is closed, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything will be in order. I can't wait to be home!

Nathan and Annwyn came to stay last night, to celebrate Nathan and me turning 21 this month! We drank lots of wine, ate birthday cake and watched films :) It was nice to chill out on such a horrible evening!

That's it now, four months down, two to go. I'm now officially scared. This means I will have to probably book my flight to Almeria, make some form of living arrangements, and enrol in some classes. All these things scare me far too much for me to think about....so instead I'll plan my next two months :) I'm going to Warsaw at the end of January to see friends, and I'm planning a weekend to see Sam in Chemnitz. Time is running out!

Peace out, frohes Fest, u.s.w. :) xxxxxxx

Christmas time is fun!

I love Christmas. Oddly, the day itself doesn't always entice me, it's the days surrounding it, the people I see, the kitschy decorations everywhere and the cheesy jingly music tinkling throughout shops.

The fact that I get to celebrate two Christmas' this year is brilliant. Or at least that's how it feels!

My life is so intensely busy, and has been, for so long. This I *love*, and I hope it continues to be so brilliant and busy in January and February.

Since I last wrote....so many things have happened! I went for Advent breakfast at the Redetsky's last weekend, which was so nice, I really enjoyed partaking in a tradition that was a little bit different to in England....we ate whilst I spoke all about Christmas in Britain, and I even got to light the advent candle :) I feel really welcomed by the Redetzky's, as well as, obviously, Cornell and all the wonderful staff at my school. I do love Graf-Friedrich Schule.

Last week seemed to have flown by in a flurry of Christmas markets and other Christmas themed activities....Sunday evening I went to Bremen Christmas market with Svenja, and we had a lovely evening looking round and sampling Gluehwein :) Monday/Tuesday passed in a flurry of school work, Skyping friends and family and a lot of Christmas shopping....Wednesday we made decorations with the wee ones at youth centre....Thursday after school I went with Hanne and Manfried Redetzky to a cute little Christmas shop...my week flew! Thursday evening, Nathan and I attempted to go see some jazz in Bremen, only to realise it'd been cancelled on arrival...pfft. We have, however, planned a little birthday celebration for us both in Diepholz with other language assistants. So not all was lost!

My week was somewhat insane! And all of a sudden, Deborah and Sam had arrived! It was so lovely to have two such dear friends visiting :) In fact, I am, in my slightly loserish ways, sat in the bed I had to make up to accomodate extra friends....because I miss them....oh, Amelia!

Ryanair quite kindly decided to deliver Deborah to me 4 hours late, meaning that we missed our last train home to Diepholz....we survived in wine bars and McDonalds until 5am, when we fell asleep on the train home like the classy ladies we are, luckily waking up just in time to get off at Diepholz!

After a few hours sleep, we got up and set off on our travels to Bremen. I did my standard sight-seeing of Bremen tour that I am somewhat perfecting (:P), and before we knew it Sam had arrived with us in Bremen :) After mulled wine, sight-seeing and a lot of catching up, we decided to head back to Diepholz for dinner, a bit of wine and an early night...I was sadly a little bit under the weather on Saturday, but sleep did me the world of good!

Sunday morning arrived, we got up early and headed to Hamburg! It was so unbelievably cold, and it would seem that the weather is always against me when I go to said city! We wandered around the pretty little old town, looking at all the little markets and taking pretty pictures of buildings. The Rathaus in Hamburg is so grand, with such intricate architecture...everytime I see it, I forget how amazing it is! It (nearly) puts Bremen's to shame! Having sampled a bit of mulled wine, we decided to head to Reeperbahn, a very big wish of Sam Cosgrove's....unsuprisingly!

To those not in the know, Reeperbahn is Hamburg's apparently internationally reknowned red light district, this being something I wasn't aware of until reading my guide book! It is so, so, seedy. As you'd expect, I suppose! Bizarrely, there is a Beatles monument, and a "Beatles Platz", because this is where they also played their first ever gig...! Entirely out of place, but still good to see! We then went to the Reeperbahn Christmas Market, which was so funny! They'd tried to "sex" it up a little bit, by saying "Pfand oder Ficken", essentially meaning, you could get the money back for returning your cups, or you could get a free shot, also known as a "Ficken"....or, auf Englisch..."fuck". Oh Germany.

After far too much mulled wine, we stumbled back onto our train, where Sam got fined for drinking on the only train in Germany (to our knowledge!) on which you can't drink....and sobered up suitably, arriving back in Diepholz a little bit weary. Once again, we had an early night, all got pyjamas on and watched Aristocats! What sensible kids we are...

And then today I had to teach, so Sam and Deborah met me after school, and then I delivered my friends safely on their way to their respective cities :)

And now I'm just trying to get some motivation. Mum and Stephen arrive tomorrow night, then it's my birthday Wednesday! Then Mum and Stephen leave Saturday, Nathan and Annwyn are coming to stay in Diepholz, then I'll be home on Tuesday....all busy.

In other good news, Cornell is back home! I'm not sure if I'd mentioned this before, but the lady whose house I live above had gone into hospital a few weeks ago, and been quite ill...but she's back on her feet and back home! It's so nice to have her back in the house, we've become quite close, especially in the past month. It's nice to have people here that really care about me. I do love Diepholz, and I'm going to be sad to leave it in just under three months.....

And that's it for now!

It's bestimmt Christmas!

It may not yet be December, but it is definitely Christmas time here in Germany. There is not a lane without Christmas lights, not a supermarket without Cliff Richard's CD playing, and Lebkuchen and Stollen is in abundance. I even managed to get "Mulled Wine to go" today. My friends, this is why I am here, to live the German Christmas lifestyle to it's full, kitschy potential!

My week had dragged somewhat last week, what with the weather getting colder, mornings feeling like they were getting earlier, and teachers being busier. The sad thing about teachers being busier, is that they have less and less time for me, and can't invite me on random trips places, etc. It also often means my classes have been cancelled as kids are writing tests....and I hate that, I love my job, I love working and keeping busy, so it's a bit annoying turning up to school to find out you may as well have slept in. Naja.

HOWEVER I managed to get my brave outgoing self together to join something I wouldn't normally do.....I took up badminton club this week. Having played it in my secondary school, I knew that I at least understood the rules, and low and behold, I actually enjoyed myself. I was shocked that I could remember how to play, and got quite into it, however unfortunately didn't manage to beat my super keen opponents. I aim to beat them at least once before Christmas, but they're really good! So I'm glad I've found a "new sport" that I enjoy, a hobby I can maybe take back with me to Edinburgh...maybe. We'll see =)

Yesterday, Friday, Rachel and I decided to visit Laura in Bueckeburg, a lovely little Niedersachsen village not too far away from us both. By absolute chance, we visited Bueckeburg on the one day of the year where something massive happens- Winterzauber! The Prince of Bueckeburg pays for the Castle to be all opened up, with lots of food stands, tents, etc! It was magical! I cannot describe how truly Christmassy it was. There was a tent where we drank Kaffee and watched a Nutcracker peformance, and in the castle there were lots of pretty decoration stalls, food stalls (with lots of probieren =) ) and then to finish the evening off, a big firework display over the moat, with cheesy American Christmas songs blasting out.....it was beautiful! It was so lovely to get in the Christmassy spirit, and Rachel and I had lots of fun being very English, getting excited about our very German surroundings! Laura had to work at her school so sadly couldn't join us, but we got to visit her school who had a Christmas Bazzar in full swing, so we got to poke around there too =)

After fireworks and excitement, it was hometime....but Deutsche Bahn being Deutsche Bahn decided I wasn't going home, as my last train was late messing up my connection...but the lovely Laura very kindly put me up for the night, so I wasn't homeless =)

And today I trekked out to Braunschweig, a very underrated German city in Niedersachsen! I've had such a lovely day strolling around the old town, doing a cheeky bit of shopping in the (what I presume was a former castle) shopping centre, and indulging in a wee but of Gluehwein =) I did find the most brilliant shop ever, which sold food and wine and schnapps, but in a sort of "try before you buy" stylee....if they had one of them in Diepholz, I'd never pay for anything! Ha!

Now I'm home....and sleepy....and so not ready for the big day of preparing for school tomorrow! But I am bestimmt ready for my exciting December adventures, not long until Sam and Deborah's visit now, and then Mum and Stephen are arriving the week after =)

Not much has happened, but I've been busy!

Liebe everyone,

So, it is that awkward, inbetweeny part of the year.... it's not quite Christmas, it's not quite winter, but heck, it's cold!

This week, however, has felt like a turn around! Since coming back from Prague, I have really noticed a marked improvement in my German...I think my biggest problem is, or was, worrying what people think of me....there are some people who, when I speak German with them, I get so nervous, and think too much about what I want to say before I say it...and I shouldn't. I should just go for it, because having no confidence in myself was getting me nowhere. And since sacking off my constant worry, I have been coming on leaps and bounds.

I've also been 100x happier because I've been busy! Not that I wasn't happy before, but there were days that dragged, you know? Being a Language assistant, a free day can be a killer, especially when you see those jammy people in cities who have millions of student friends, or the people who are in schools with lots of clubs...mine is lacking, somewhat, in any form of social activity, mainly because it's under renovation! I'm not moaning, love my school, teachers, flat and I have a BAHNHOF. I am so so so grateful I have a train station. So grateful!

However, having things to do has been bliss. I am writing this as a form of procrastination today, as opposed to giving me something to do with my time! Which is wonderful!

Last Sunday I met up with Rachel, Annwyn and Laura, three other assistants in Lower Saxony. We had such a lovely day out in Bremen, but due to terrible weather conditions, spent the most of it inside! Becks Bistro (Becks is brewed near to Bremen) was the lunchtime destination, I had a lovely chicken salad, which sounds boring, but it was so yummy! Then we went onto Cafe Toelke in the Schnoor (Debs/Sam/any other visitors, we are going), which is so small, so Vienesse, so cool! It was a perfect Sunday with lots of quatschen and bonding. Looking forward to our Weihnachtsmarkt visits!

I went to see Harry Potter on Wednesday! It was brilliant, so cool, and I could actually understand the most...I was somewhat perplexed by the magical vocabulary, and I am so looking forward to seeing it in English too! Teil 2 comes out in June, or July, whenever it is, it is when I am in Spain....I think that's quite cool, that I get to see a part in each language! Nerddd.

I went to see Katrina and Jenny, two of my course friends who are nearby me in Germany, on Friday. It was so lovely to see smiley friendly faces and catch up on our respective year abroad times! It's also nice knowing I have two lovely Edinburgh people nearby, because we all seem very spread out through this country!

Yesterday I went to see Andrea, in Hamburg! For those people who don't know me that well/didn't know my 18 year old self, Andrea is my very very good friend from the German Exchange in Year 10/13, we were so lucky to get along so well and have kept in touch since being at school. She's currently studying in Kiel, which is about four hours North of me (so VERY North!), so we decided to meet halfway in Hamburg and have a catch up. I had such a nice time, catching up like old times, only this time I could actually speak German, as opposed to my GCSE/A Level set phrases that I would blurt out. We had a very funny day, spoke lots of mixtures of German and English, and I now am Hamburg's No1 fan! So excited to go back in a few weeks when Deborah and Sam (and maybe Ailsa! Come on Ailsa! :P) come to visit!

And today, well I'm having a big sort, clean, organisation of my life, and it's actually working. I woke up horrendously early, slightly hungover....I went out with my friend Christian last night, I had TWO drinks, no more, no less, and I was honestly absolutely wasted. So drunk. And today I'm hungover! No fair!

And then Annwyn is coming to visit this afternoon! It'll be nice for her to see where I live in things, and it's a lovely spontaneous surprise, especially as all I'd planned was to do planning all day. Instead, I got up super early and am sorting my life out! Then next week new things are happening to. I am so happy, I love year abroad, and I can't believe I only have three months to go in Germany.....

But exciting plans are lined up! I am going to Warsaw in January, and hopefully Frankfurt in the New Year too! I want to slide in a trip to Amsterdam before I leave too, so that's on the cards somewhere. It's just finding the time and money!

Now back to sorting my life out. Ciao! xxx

Prague macht Spass!

So, I went to Prague last weekend!

It's something I'd been looking forward to for ages. My big sister went to Prague when she was 18, and ever since looking at her photos, I've been dying to go. So when invited by friends to go on a wee mini-break there with them, how could I refuse?!

To add to this, my trains were dirt cheap (I heart Europa-Spezial tickets), and accomodation was equally cheap...and beautiful. And central. Aaahh.

So, after a 9 hour train journey (which I have to say I am becoming a pro at), I stepped out into the big city of Prague. After getting a bit lost, receiving our keys, finding our apartment and finding a lost friend...we went for dinner, in what appeared to be a French themed restaurant, with German posters on the wall...serving Czech food and wine. I can but presume it was a little culturally confused as to what to aim for. I, quite boringly, went for chicken (somewhat Italian styled, confusingly!), swilled down with some French wine....all good. It was so nice to see Magda and Richie again, and we were very quickly back to the giggly times, similar to our July antics...

After dinner, we walked around the old town. I am somewhat a fan of touring cities by night, or by evening....everything looks nicer in the dark in my opinion! Or maybe having moved to Germany, I have just realised that things look better lit up with artificial lighting, as opposed to the dreary rainy daytime..an hour later, everyone but me and Richie decided to head back to bed...true to form, we decided to explore Czech nightlife. Which, for a Thursday, in a capital city, was somewhat DEAD! We found an underground bar, where we managed to get suitably wine-d, and caught up on each others lives...it was lovely.

The next morning, as per, I was hungover. I had drunk quite a lot, and I guess I haven't really been drinking since being in Germany, so my liver isn't quite as used to it...but the fact that I always end up being hungover when others aren't does annoy me! We got up bright and early, headed out for coffee and breakfast...where I ended up paying 24 Euros for a coffee, an orange juice, and a sandwich. 24 Euros! It would seem some places in Prague have been taking "How to be robbing twits" lessons from their Swiss counterparts.

Magda and Richie had a meeting to attend, so I left them and joined two other friends that had come with them from Warsaw. I was still hungover, but determined to see Prague, with the little time I had there already! So we walked into the town, along the river....and it was stunning. I haven't mentioned this yet, but the weather was oddly warm. Especially for Prague. Especially for November. Coats were certainly not needed, at any rate. Walking along the streets of beautiful Prague in the sun, well, it was perfect. We walked up to the cathedral, and to the Jewish Quarter, and then through some unknown little streets until we muddled our way back to the old town. En route, I found Franz Kafka cafe...though, I can but presume, it has nothing to do with the man himself. All the same, I took a photo!

Then it was lunchtime. Lunchtime saved me. Although hungover, I sort of new, deep inside me, that a beer was going to solve me...and it did. It was shameful. But it worked...they do say nothing like hair of the dog?! This was followed by a walk back to the apartment to pick up Magda and Richie, where I then decided to crash. Midday crashes are the best things ever. And I needed it, for I would be on my feet for the next 14 hours. Eek.

We set off back into the city of Prague once more, with no other aim than to see pretty things! It was much of what I'd done all day, just wandering...followed by beer and researching Jazz Bars for the night time! We researched, and then trekked up to the castle to meet some friends who'd left us earlier....the castle was beautiful....

Dinner was so much fun. We met with a friend of Magda's, who lives in Prague, and she took us to this little restaurant by the river. Because the weather was quite nice, and not too cold, we could sit outside. The food and beer was good and cheap (or guenstig, as the Germans would say!), and it was lovely to sit and talk, so relaxed, without a care in the world! We did, however, stay a bit too long, as we realised the clock was ticking on our evening, and me and Richie were determined to get changed before heading into the nightlife of Prague....so we hurried everyone along, got our gladrags on, and headed to venue numero uno- a Jazz Bar called something or other that roughly translates into White Horse! We should have got there earlier, as the jazz sadly ended half an hour after our arrival...but it was so brilliant. We spent the rest of our evening, and well into the morning (bedtime was 6.30am...) in various clubs and bars in Prague, meeting many interesting characters and having lots of laughs along the way!

The next morning, half drunk, half hungover, I clambered onto my train....which was delayed...and 10 hours later, I arrived in Diepholz. The whole thing felt like it had been a dream....but it is definitely full of brilliant memories. And I can't wait until I go back.

My life after Herbstferien...it's getting serious...(not).

So, after my Autumn holidays, reality hit me with an almighty thud. Don't get me wrong, I love my life here, I love my school, and it beats lectures hands down! But having been to Edinburgh, home, and visiting good friends in my holidays, the loneliness of Diepholz was not really beckoning me!

Amazingly, I seem to fill my time here. I don't have many things that I do regularly, but I seem to acquire random invitations to places, or like this week, I have just been sleeping...but then again, I have had an exciting life of late!

For this blog, I have to rewind. I have done quite a lot, and my memories are becoming quite vague!

So yes, back to my first week back after half term. School began, I had a new timetable, and I just got on with it, despite feeling sad... The fear has officially set in now, the fear being that I will never learn German....the fear is exactly what I need, and I feel like I've thrown myself into German a little more. I'm still not speaking enough, but at least now I know it's not for want of trying!

Anyway, first week passed, and then Janni came to stay! It was lovely, and oddly me knowing a friend would be coming to stay got me through the relative melancholic first week back!

Janni's train was inevitably late, yet upon his arrival we had dinner, and headed out into the night of Diepholz...even on a Saturday night, it isn't particularly the place to be! However, we frequented the new cocktail bar that has recently opened, and actually had people in it, and it wasn't half bad. We didn't go mad, deciding a clear head for Hamburg the next day would be the best idea.

We went to Hamburg on Sunday! Hamburg is such a brilliant, vibrant city! I really badly want to go back, and I am already planning to take any visitors that may come over (Deborah Britland, you're next!) there. Sadly, the day was slightly marred by horrendous weather, that left us soaked through and freezing...nevertheless, it was a great city.

So we stumbled off the train into City Hafen, which is a growing industrial area, with some beautiful archtecture. Janni has dragged me into appreciating architecture after my stay in Konstanz, and there were some really impressive buildings. We then decided to find this little cafe we'd heard of, which took some doing, but was definitely worth it! It was so small, had a menu of about 5 things....however was cheap and cheerful, and so cute! The food was really yummy and North German, and moreover, the cafe was WARM AND DRY, something I had longed for since my arrival in Hamburg! Full of food and Hamburg beer, we dredged back outside into the cold of Hamburg....

This is when we found the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, what is to be a great orchestra hall. Like everything else in Hamburg, it was under construction, but we got to see the outsides, and what it has the potential to be like, and I was impressed! A future visit to Hamburg when it is completed is a must, any music fans take note, I will take you there!


After a quick tour of the Altstadt (standard, when in German cities...), we jumped on a train to Bremen. I was entirely determined to not have our day ending on a sad note (we were thoroughly downhearted due to horrible cold Hamburg weather), and thus made Janni go to Bremen Freimarkt-like a Christmas Market, but without the Christmas!

This was so worth it, lots of happy people, lots of beer tents, lots of bright lights...enough said. We were happy, and back to Diepholz we went!

Janni stayed two more days....the next day we visited Bremen again, and I did a proper tour de la Stadt, ending in us drinking in the Becks Bistro (Becks is made near Bremen...) and eating some traditional North German grub! During his stay we also visited Bremerhaven...I do not recommend it as a winter destination, but I am sure the beach and sea is very pretty in summer! We did however go to the Einwanderer Haus, detailing the millions of people who fled Germany in the 18 and 1900s. We ended up spending all afternoon there, and it was quite geekily, the best 10 euros I've spent in a while!

And this marked the end of Janni's stay. Svenja came to dinner one night, which was lovely and full of good chat and giggling. I am so thankful to have Svenja here as a friend!

So yes, I will publish this very haphazardly written post...and will write about my Prague visit soon, probably over the weekend...I have big gaping time holes to fill!

Home. Augsburg. Konstanz. And a cheeky bit of Switzerland, thrown in for good measure.

"Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got 'till it's gone?"

So, I did quite a lot with my Herbstferien, or Autumn Holidays, to say they were just two weeks long! I flew into Edinburgh, which was so great, but I definitely cannot stand the studenty pace anymore! Having said that, I managed two very substantial nights out, and saw lots of people I wanted to see, so all in all, a good time was had =)

Then I went home. Which was perfect! Lots of sleeping, eating good food, seeing old friends and chilling.

Back to the mainland Europe stuff...

I flew back to Germany, into Munich Airport on the 19th October. I didn't get to catch a glimpse of much more than Munich airport, as I skidaddled off to the city of Augsburg!

Augsburg is lovely. It's this quaint little city, a fourty minute train ride outside of Munich. It has everything and more, and is such a nice University town! Ailsa and I did a lot of catching up, as well as wandering around Augsburg, seeing all there is to see. Brechthaus (we didn't go in, a picture outside was sufficient!), a lovely grand Cathedral, and lots of lovely little rickety streets. We found a pub called Dudelsack, which is the German word for bagpipes...never have I been so keen to enter a pub, however it looked ever so slightly elite, so we decided against trying it out...

We went to the Botanical Gardens one day too! Which was super, really really pretty, but definitely the wrong time of the year to go...far too cold, and things were starting to die....all the same, we managed to find a play park to play in, and a cool greenhouse (although it did nearly suffocate us...) with lots of big tropical plants.

Oh my, I am typing more like a five year old than usual. Apologies.

So, I left Augsburg on Friday morning, and embarked on my trip to Konstanz. The quickest way for me to get there was by boat over Bodensee, which was a beautiful, and exciting experience. The views were so picturesque, and I felt like such a tourist as I snapped away at the sights on my phone. I think I was potentially the only person on that boat that wasn't travelling home, or to work...

Once Janni met me on the harbour, we spoke at each other, and quite often over each other, for the majority of the day...I sometimes wonder how we are friends, as we both have equal sized gobs, and blabber far too much! We had lunch at a good old German Brauhaus, (I had my new favorite thing, Flammekuchen..like pizza, but better/German!), drank some German beer, and then went on a walk with one of the teachers from Janni's school, to this really quirky little fish shop, which was inside someone's house! It sold all sorts of everything. It was brill! Jans and I then trecked back to his, had dinner, then went out....a quiet night out, resulted in us singing the Sound of Music and Moulin Rouge Soundtrack on our walk home. You can take us out of Northern England/Scotland....

Our hangovers were very substantial the next day, however, we managed to battle our way (by train, not by actual battle) to Basel, in Switzerland. Basel was fantastic, and just how I expected Switzerland to be. Everything was ridiculously overpriced, but everything was perfect. Tourist shops were organised and perfect, the people were not arrogant and lairy, and best of all, the trams had witty slogans like "Ich komme dreimals pro Nacht" (I come three times a night....advertising trains, obv).

Sleazy slogans aside, the place was total schoen! We wandered up and down and embarked on an architectural tour...sadly, my mind falters and I cannot remember names of any of the marvellous buildings we saw, but we took many many photos, so if you're curious, check my facebook when I have got around to uploading :P

We finished off Basel with a typical Swiss delicacy, Cheese fondue...we ate far too much, and slept all the train journey home.....

That was the end of my Herbstferien! I jumped on a train and headed back to Diepholz the next morning. I am struggling so much to write today, which I am hoping is a sign of my brain switching back into German again. Failing that, I am just losing both languages!

Tag der Deutschen Einheit, Berlin, and very little sleep.

My life took a U-turn this weekend! As I have mentioned more than once, my life in Germany is normally quite sleepy, definitely un-studenty and to be honest, all quite grown up! This weekend, however, I most definitely reverted to being a typical 20 year old...

A group of us from Edinburgh, and also a few from Altenberg training weekend, all decided to meet up this weekend to celebrate one of the girl's birthdays in Berlin. This quite nicely coincided with the 20th anniversary of the day of German unity, which meant that the city was jam-packed with people wanting to celebrate! My main sightseeing day was Saturday, and Sam, Bronagh and I went exploring the typical Sehenswürdigkeiten of Berlin. We visited a remaining bit of the Berlin Wall, Reichstag, Brandenberg Tör...all the things that make up Germany's history. I love Berlin. As you walk round, you can feel all the events that have happened, the things you learn in the classroom more or less come to life around you. To think I am older than unified Germany is quite strange...

One of my favorite things about Berlin is are the Ampelmänner, and the endless memorabilia you can my in relation to them. Earrings, keyrings, tea towels, pasta-you name it, they sell it. To those non-Germans in my life, the Ampelmänner are the traffic light men, or figures, that you see when your crossing the road...only, when you are in former East Germany, they look like this...
There a bit of Ostalgie, or Eastern nostalgia, being one of the few things to have survived the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the transformation of Eastern Germany into Western culture. Berlin's souvenir shops thrive off these Ampelmänner, but I love that the traffic lights have stayed despite Westernisation. It reminds me that divided Germany wasn't just a story, and that the signs of this split are still present as you walk around. It has only been 21 years since the fall of the Wall, and although the country is all very much Westernised, it is interesting to see that there are still some differences. My friend Sam, for instance, lives about as East as you can get before falling into the Czech Republic, and his town "Chemnitz" still has an air of Communism, it's focal point being a statue of Karl Marx. In fact, up until 1990, the town was called 'Karl-Marx Stadt'. To me, it is so interesting to see that although Germany is entirely unified, the two former 'countries' can at times be entirely different, and to visit places where communism isn't entirely forgotten is all quite strange.

Moving on from traffic light men, where our daytimes were filled with sightseeing, our two evenings spent in Berlin were both quite crazy. On Saturday evening, we had dinner by Brandenberg Gate, which was suprisingly cheap despite the brilliant location. We followed this with plenty of Glühwein whilst partially watching the bands that were playing to celebrate this anniversary of German Unity. We then went to a bar, which later on also became almost like a club, and drank, talked and danced until 7am...me and Sam had to check out of our youth hostel at 10am, which meant the 9am rise was not at all pretty, whatsoever. We somehow survived the morning, somewhat inebriated, and I managed to catch my very lengthy train home.

Our Youth Hostel was brilliant, and in fact, if you are planning to visit Berlin in the near future, I cannot recommend 'Wombats' nearly enough. It is all very clean, breakfast is cheap, and it has a small cheap bar on the top floor. To add to this, there is a patio on the top floor, attatched to the bar, which over looks Berlin. The view is astounding, as you can see in the picture to the right, and it was a perfect place for a glass of red wine before heading out into Berlin for the evening. I've stayed in a Wombats Hostel in Munich before as well, and although it was entirely lacking in a bar with such a great view, it was equally clean, and its' services of a high standard. The best thing about this hostel was that it was so central, very close to Alexanderplatz, which meant that our time and money wasn't consumed by travel.

So there we are! My first trip away at a weekend since being in Germany. I fly to Scotland, and then home, this weekend for Autumn Holidays, and then I have my trip down to see Ailsa and Janni in the South of Germany. I truly cannot wait to be home, I'm not homesick, but I do miss everyone, and I am very much excited for a proper Sunday Roast with my family =) Sometimes, British food is just the best!

First milestone.

I have been living in Germany for a month today now. Wow. It still feels like an extended holiday, or like the exchanges we did at school, where I stayed just two weeks...one month down, five to go. I can't believe how quickly it has gone! Here's to many more fun filled months!

So this week has been very quiet, really. As usual, I got nothing done that I wanted to (I keep trying to do a bit of grammar work, in a plight to improve my German, and it isn't happening), however I had a few trips out, and a few evenings with activities too. All in all, this week has actually been quite busy!

I went to see the film "

Groupies bleiben nicht zum Fruehstueck" (Groupies don't stay for breakfast, for you none Germans), and it was brilliant! Such a cheesy little film, it's a love comedy, centred around a girl who falls in love with someone from the most famous pop group in Germany.. It was actually terrible, but so terrible that it was brilliant, and it was all based around Berlin, which meant it got me all excited for my trip away next weekend!

School's getting lots better, and I'm really enjoying myself! I'd like a few more hours, but to be honest I'm not complaining, and my timetable gives me a lot of leeway to travel. My challenge of the week was teaching the differences between much, many and more. When you speak English, you just don't think of why you say what you say! Best lesson of the week, however, was my Year 10 class. I had been warned that they can be a little bit hard, but they were such excellent kids! I took groups out of the class to chat to them in English, as I do with my two older classes, and had such a good time! I have to do the same in my next week year 10 class too, so I'm looking forward to an easy 45 minutes!

As well as that, I'

m starting to tutor a few pupils as of next week. After Herbstferien I'm starting a language club for people who want to practise their English....I'm excited! I like that I'm finally getting some form of routine to my weeks, the thing I miss the most about having a job at home, or being at University, is not having a set amount of things to do. My work here is so small, only twelve hours a week...I'm absolutely not complaining though. It means lots of free time for travels and visits, which was one of the biggest things I was excited about doing this year :)

Speaking of visits, my three day weekend proved itself very useful this week for the first time. On Thursday, I went to see Lucy, a friend from language assistant training, in Osnabrueck. Osnabrueck is quite a big town/small city inbetween both of our towns, and we had some dinner, wine, and a general catch up about all our different experiences since being in Germany. It was really great! Lucy then invited me to check out Haren, her town, and with me having Fridays free, I felt it a perfect opportunity. We drank rum and beer and watched German Harry Potter....and then I got a tour of Haren on Friday! It's a really nice town, it's quite similar to Diepholz, only less ghost town like!

I bumbled back through to Diepholz on Friday evening, full of pizza and coffee, and on Saturday, I went to Bremen with one of the history teacher's sons, Christian. He showed me around the little places I've not seen before, took me to the student area which reminded me of South Clerk Street a little bit...only with less kebab shops. We then went to the Schnoorviertel, which I hadn't been to on my two previous visits to Bremen. Now, any people intending to visit me, make sure I take you here! It's not that exciting, however it is so cute. There are lots of old little German houses, with really really narrow streets, quaint shops, musicians, tapas bars, coffee bars, beer gardens...the sun was shining, music was playing:- to be honest, it was all a bit eerily Spanish! My favorite thing there was a "Hochzeit Haus", a very small (there is just one room) hotel namely for newly wedded couples to spend their first evening together. So adorable!

We then went to the Konditorei. And I had a really yummy cake. Any visitors, we are also going there when you come here!

And now it's Sunday! Again, I seem to have made a big post about not very much! I went out last night, so today has been a big tired sleepy day, as I didn't get to bed until late, and naturally I woke up very early! We went to a club in Wagenfeld, and it was essentially Strata/City, but maybe a little bit cooler...beer was cheap, I wasn't complaining.

So today has been a bit redundant. I've been missing home (for the first time!) a bit this weekend, but all will be fine again when I have less time to think and more things to do! Plus, I'm heading back to Scotland on the 8th October, and then Grassington on the 10th, for a few days, the time will whizz by!

I think I am one of the few people that looks forward to going to school...so much so that I usually stay there a lot longer than needed. (Usually just on the BBC website though, not actually doing work...)

Berlin next weekend! I can't wait! As of Friday, my exciting weeks of travels begin. Berlin this weekend, home the weekend after, then visiting Ailsa and Janni the week after that down in the South of Germany! As well as all that, I have a cheeky trip to Prague early November all booked too....so very, very excited.

Wir feiern die ganze Nacht!

Diepholz Grossmarkt made up the main activity of my weekend this week...I decided that whilst there was something actually going on in Diepholz, I'd refrain from going anywhere. I plan to go to Bremerhaven or Oldenberg on Saturday...getting in all that free local travelling whilst I can with my under 21 railcard!

My weekend so far has been quite eventful, as days in Diepholz go! I went to Bremen on Friday, with the two other nearby language assistants Matthew and Nathan. It was so lovely to not have to speak German...which sounds awful. But sometimes a constant awareness that your grammar/word order isn't perfect, or knowing you won't always be understood, is so tiring! We had a drink in a Biergarten on the Rhine, and wandered round a pretty Church or two. A very peaceful day.

The Grossmarkt has taken up every night of my weekend thus far. Friday night was the big one. We had a "Grillabend"....i.e. a bit of a barbecue, at Annika's house, along with some "vortrinken". That being the word for predrinking...I cannot describe the pure joy I felt on finding out that Germans also have a word for pre-lash. Love it.

What I didn't particularly love (or at least not the next day), was the German drinking games.... I tell you what, that was an education. I learnt all sorts of new drinking/card game related vocabulary, and a very impossible game, that seemed to involve attempting to lie. If your lie gets busted, you have to drink. A no brainer really. Needless to say, I was much happier once the game was over, and I could relax and just chat with some really nice, new people.

Diepholz Grossmarkt was super cool. There was a carousel that was like a bar, but it spun round...this was enough to keep me entertained for a while. Booze orientated carousels aside, we drank beer and chilled and danced in one of the tents until the wee small hours of the morning. My first German nightlife experience, and I am presuming it will be one of few! However, not the last time I hear this....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLWP84ktoN4

However it was great fun, and I'm really happy that I've met some pals here, who seem genuinely interested in me, and don't mind being friends with the one whose German is a bit hit and miss.

Speaking of the German language, I really really hope that I slide into mastering mode soon. It is driving me insane! After Friday, where I'd spent all night speaking German, from about 8-3 consistently, I woke up on Saturday feeling so much more confident with it. But it really does just take one day to slip out of it, because now I feel I couldn't string a sentence together. I'm trying to get a bit more going on in my life, i.e. taking a few courses at the university in Bremen, and volunteering in a youth centre...fingers crossed for improved speaking! I'm going to the cinema with my German pals tonight, I'm taking this year abroad thing one day at a time....

I've been here three weeks today! Which is crazy. But exciting. That means nearly a month. Nearly a whole month living very independently...i.e. alone...but I'm really proud of myself. And I have a lot more work to do, but I feel like I'm turning myself around a bit, and having so much more confidence in myself. And making myself do things I wouldn't normally do. If I hadn't impulsively chatted to strangers, I wouldn't have the friends I do today here in Diepholz...speaking of making friends, it truly is so hard. Think Freshers Week, without the pre-prepared social events to make you meet people, and without you all speaking the same language..so essentially, not Freshers Week at all. But definitely that feeling of awkwardness, as you try muddle through the small talk conversations and find common areas of chat...I am getting there.

Graf-Friedrich Schule.

This week has felt like my first real week at GFS. Teachers have put a bit more trust in me, and have let my creativity flow...I have just finished my first proper lesson, where I was in front of the kids on my own for 1 and a half hours. I had the time of my life! It was the 8. Klasse, making them all about 12 or 13, and they know their English irregular verbs to a tee! For none linguists, this is something that we didn't get introduced to greatly until we hit sixth form, and even then it was barely tested. Anyway, I played lots of little games making them run around the classroom (inadvertently testing their English!), and then made them write funny little dialogues about having a 'problem' in New York. They were so excellent! I am feeling overly confident about everything now, all my fear has depleted, which could potentially be a bad thing. I have just one more lesson this week, and that's my next one on London with 7. Klasse. What an excellent week in GFS! And having Friday's free makes life just that bit sweeter =)

School aside, my week hasn't been particularly jam packed! Beginning tonight, my life here in Diepholz should stop being as sleepy. It's the long awaited Diepholz Grossmarkt tonight, and for the rest of this weekend! I am warned that it is not very big, but in all honesty, I am just excited that there seems to be something, some spark, in this otherwise very quiet town! Svenja, my friend who works at the local Sparkasse, and I are going to go check it out tonight, and have a Bierchen or so. Then there's a bigger group of us all going together on Friday evening, after 'vortrinken' (love that Germans have a word for prelash too!) and some food. And then on Saturday, there's a few of the staff from here at GFS who have asked me to go along to the Grossmarkt with them. All in all, I have a feeling I may be sick of the Grossmarkt by Sunday. But we'll see!

Back to this week...I went to see Marcello Marcello this week, which is an Italian film, but this was dubbed with German. I strongly recommend it! The story is as follows- little Italian island in the 1960's, where it is that once a girl turns 18, the young men of the village must bring a gift to the girl's father...the one with the best gift, 'wins' a date with the daughter. It sounds corny, I know....we then meet young Marcello, who finds love at first sight with young Elena. He thus does everything he can in order to get the perfect gift for the girl's father, and along the way he encounters all sorts of mishaps, that make the film so very charming. Suprisingly (or not), Marcello finds the perfect gift, him and Elena are united (then split apart, then reunited), and all is happy on the island. As I type, I can tell I am describing the sort of film I normally find ever so slightly lame. Maybe it was the mood I was in, but it really was such a cute little film, with really stunning scenery. Oh, and (some of) the male characters were absolute stunners, which always helps!

I apologise that this blog post is of little substance. As the weeks pass by, I have more and more upcoming adventures to excite me and entail. Berlin is the first, two weeks tomorrow, and I cannot wait! Especially as our dates coincide with the Tag der Deutschen Einheit. Hopefully, a brilliant time to be partying in Berlin! It'll also be brilliant to see all my other assistant friends again. Sometimes, there ain't nothing like a friendly face!

Also, I fell off my bike this morning. Spectacularly. I had to document it somewhere, because it really upset me! Especially as one of the students saw me do it, and didn't even flinch. Or ask me if I was ok! Pfft.


Until next time!

Sunny sunny Diepholz...don't get used to it!

Life's all gravy in the North West of Germany. It's a sleepy Sunday in the town of Diepholz, and as I enter into my third week in Germany, I am happy to call it my home :)

This first half of this week was a bit hard... but I feel like I've come full circle! It began with a dreary, horrible Monday. I was so tired, I felt incredibly lifeless and thought there were no friends to be had in Diepholz. In a bold moment, I took it upon myself to go into the night of Diepholz (which I have to say, is quieter than a mouse), and seek out someone. Oddly, whilst reading my Marie Claire and drinking Prosecco in an Eiscafe, this worked, and I made two friends, Jan and Martin...I then met them and Svenja, one of their friends a couple of days later....and this weekend we all hung out a couple of times, which was nice. Just a massive shame that I've been a bit ill, so really wasn't on form! However next weekend, they have invited me to the Diepholz Grossmarkt with them...this seems to be the event of the year! I get the feeling it's about an 1000th the size of Oktoberfest, with rides/bands/beer tents. I honestly cannot wait for my first German night out. I anticipate beer. And one of my many pairs of heels might finally get an outing. Brilliant.

Aside from my attempts at improving my social life here in Diepholz, I have also been at school. As it was my first full week, it included a lot of observation. But it was really nice to get to meet the kids I'll be teaching, I have about 7 different classes in total, and they're all such good kids. Haven't met the Oberstufe (A-Level equivalent) class yet...I have my first lesson with them at 7.50am tomorrow, and have been informed that they're very good! I am sure my German vocabulary will be tested. Eek.

My first full week in Diepholz was a blur, and now I'm settling down, I am trying to get myself into a bit of a routine...which is hard, when you have a lot of time, and not very much to do! I'm generally in school until about 13.00 during the week, and that is the latest I'm in until! I also have Fridays off, which is brilliant for planning future adventures. First of which, is Berlin on the 1st October. So excited.

I went to Bremen yesterday. I live approximately 40 minutes away, by train, and I can see myself spending a lot of time there in the next few months. It's a stunner.

As you walk away from the Hauptbahnhof, you descend into the "Altstadt". The main attraction of this, as with most popular German cities, is the old Rathaus, and also some governmental buildings. They are great, proud, decorative buildings, all centred around a square. There was music playing, the sun was shining....I got that feeling you get when you're on holiday..love it.

I wandered around aimlessly for a while, loosely following a map given to me by Cornell, when I stumbled across Boettcherstrasse. This quaint little street is really narrow, and leads you through to near to the Weser, the river that runs through Bremen. Now I am no enthusiast, but the architecture is truly magnificent, with carvings, stain glass windows, and cute little bars and restraunts all the way down. Definitely want to celebrate my 21st birthday somewhere down here, that's for sure :)

I spent the rest of my day in Bremen drinking coffee in the glorious sunshine, wandering cluelessly around little streets, and lazily browsing the shops...I did however, notice how Anglified, if that in fact is a word, Bremen is. Maybe it's the whole of Germany, but I certainly haven't noticed it in other cities. Bremen has it's own Primark, it's own Oxfam, and down Boettcherstrasse, buildings had names like "Robinson Crusoe Haus". That's the West for you. In fact, as well as this, I found a park, with a big windmill....that looked like it had walked straight out of Holland. Bremen, I think there is something you are not telling us.

That brings me to today! Sort of. I spent my last two nights with my new local German pals, and they're really lovely. I, however, have been so tired this week, I'll blame it on feeling under the weather, so really wasn't on top form to keep my German language banter up. We played cards/board games on Friday night...which was interesting. Learning new card games, all in the German language, is mighty confusing! But it all worked out in the end. Last night we cooked pizza, drank beer, whilst sat out on Svenja's balcony...followed by some very competitive Wii games! I'm so glad I've got a group of people here that I'm starting to be friends with, and I'm looking forward to the Diepholz Grossmarkt next weekend, because by then, hopefully, my German might have improved just a little bit more...

Speaking of which, I'd love to say I can feel my German improving. But as yet, it seems to have ever so slightly regressed. I'm blaming this entirely on feeling under the weather!

This week is a brand new week, and I'm feeling a hell of a lot more settled. Excited to explore outer Diepholz on my new bike...

Bis spaeter :) x

Week one- German beer, lesson planning and Freies Tanzen...

My first week in Germany has passed, and it has been a whirlwind of lugging heavy suitcases, drinking German beer, and meeting a lot of new faces.

Cologne was nothing like I expected. It is so world reknowned, that I expected to walk in and be bombarded with tourist attractions left right and centre. It was nothing at all like that..the central attraction is the beautiful Koelner Dom, which stands with pride at the entrance to the train station. It is one of the few things to have survived the war, and is the central attraction in Cologne. Sam and I spent a day exploring, however ended up drinking a lot of coffee, having a few muddled (but successful!) German conversations, and attempting to see some other sights than the Dom. We reached the chocolate museum, to find it closed Mondays, and decided against going to the less popular Senfmuseum (Mustard Museum, yes, honestly) that was opposite. So, we opted for Currywurst and Pommes and sat on some seats by the Rhein. It was lovely.

Then came three days of training in Altenberg. We were in a gorgeous old Catholic Youth Hostel, with amazing scenery. Training saw us plan lessons, and receive general information for life in Germany. Planning lessons was great, and having to teach the "class", i.e. other language assistants, was so much fun, as was getting to be a child for the day!

The evenings at training were a mixture of lots of German beer (at 1,50, who could say no) and meeting 160 new faces. Although quite often we stuck to our little group of people we knew, on the last night I decided to go chat to my friends from my Arbeitsgruppe, who I'd planned my lessons with, and this decision led me to not sleeping until 3.30...with a 6.15 rise the next day. Ouch.

Thursday morning arrived with a deep pit in my stomach. I had to leave all my friends behind, and embark on my own journey to my new town, Diepholz, in the South of Lower Saxony. My journey was helped along by meeting someone from London who is nearly in a neighbouring town, a reassuring thought! Despite the feelings of fear I had on my 3 hour train journey, the views as we spanned over the Rhein were stunning, and I slowly began to fall in love with the country I will call home for the next 6 months.

I arrived in Diepholz, Lower Saxony, and Cornell, the lady whose house I am staying in, met me at the train station, and took me to sort out all the formalities in my new town. The next day I went into school, and there was such excitement! The people at training had made us ready for no one to care about our arrival, however, Diepholz has not had an English Languag

e assistant before, so everyone was rallying around me, and several English teachers informed me they "wanted me", I can but presume for English teaching! I then visited three classes, which were all really nice. The kids seem really nice, very intelligent, and I am therefore hoping this might make my life a wee bit easier than had thought! I spent all my breaks having to do paperwork for the school, which meant getting to meet people properly was hindered massively- this is my aim for next week! I did however get chatting to a few teachers, one of whom says she will organise some teacher and me day out next week. Which is nice. I got invited to go dancing on Saturday by one teacher, an invitation I did accept...more on that later. I spent Friday afternoon in Vechta, a neighbouring town, that seems to have a lot more going on. I can see myself spending a lot more time there!

Going to school on Friday though really was funny. In training last week, my group decided to do a lesson on "Stereotypes", and discuss what people thought about Britain...having now arrived in my town, I cannot quite get over how much the people I've met believe in our stereotypes. The teachers in the school kept asking me all sorts of tea/scone/fo

otball team/Manchester related questions, and my confessing to not having tea and scones at 5pm every afternoon genuinely did make one teacher's face fall. I think they actually whole heartedly believe in British stereotypes, so from now on I think pretending might be the way to go! A moment that truly did make me smile was one teacher saying "Amelia, oh, like Amelia Earhart!". Him then discussing the Joni Mitchell song Amelia with me has meant that we will definitely become firm friends.

Saturday came, and I awoke with a tinge of sadness, something I have all but avoided since arriving here. I realised I had a big friendless weekend ahead of me, in a brand new town, with just one or two people I knew....this, thankfully, was saved by a phone call from my mentor teacher, who invited me out to Schloss Ippenburg in Bad-Essen, which was stunning. It was like a palace, with beautiful themed gardens. It was such a cute day out!

Following the language assistant code, I decided I could not decline an invitation to dancing class, although I did foresee that it would not be my cup of tea. On arrival, I noticed the name of the class to be "freies tanzen". Free dancing. I essentially spent two hours in an incense filled room, expressing my inner hippy. Any Peep Show fans that have seen the epi

sode where Mark and Jeremy attend the dance class, yes, it was identical to that. Only without the touchy feely aspects. But all in all it passed my Saturday evening, and you can't say I didn't try it!

My flat, in Diepholz, Lower Saxony, is more of a first floor of somebody's house. Cornell and her son Yannick live on the ground floor (and the dog Luna, who has finally stopped growling and barking at me whenever she sees me), whereas I live am ersten Stock. I really have got a good deal. The staircase up to my flat is away from their rooms, so if I were to come in late (which I sincerely doubt, Diepholz is extremely quiet!) then they wouldn't hear. Also, my flat has a sizeable bedroom, study, bathroom and kitchen. Anyone who wants to visit, there is plenty of room for you!

This brings me to today. The family I live above have some friends visiting, and have invited me for Pflaumekuchen und Kaffee, and this evening my mentor teacher is taking me out for dinner. Then tomorrow I have a 6:30 rise for my new week in the school! Hopefully this week I will get my timetable for future weeks, so I can know when to go on my travels :) I am but 3 1/2 hours from Amsterdam, 4 hours from Berlin, and just 40 minutes from Bremen. Very excited for my many trips around! I was at first slightly disheartened by how quiet Diepholz is, however the train station has great connections to Oesnabruck, the nearest city, and once I have met a few people from around here, I am sure I will be keeping busy!

Now to the Pflaumekuchen. Auf Wiedersehen!