Time flies!! I have already been living in Germany for one month! It feels like I have already been here for a year! Thankfully, the adjustment has been incredibly easy. Although many things are different , so many feel the same. And I am blessed to be here with my Brock University family. There is always someone to turn to 🙂
My plan is to make a blog post once a month to capture all of the adventures of the month! I am keeping myself quite busy here and I can’t maintain weekly blog posts.
The Why-Am-I-Even-Here: When I chose my university program in 2012, I stumbled across a brilliant program between the Goodman School of Business at Brock University in Niagara, Canada and EBS Universität fur Wirtschaft und Recht in Oestrich-Winkel, Germany. The program involved spending 2.5 years at Brock University and then moving to Germany to complete the last 1.5 years at EBS. The program also involves completing two work terms, one in Canada and one abroad, and when I graduate in May of 2016 I will receive, not one, but TWO undergraduate degrees. Gotta clear some space on my wall. But first, I need to finish my degrees and write a thesis…
The Where-I-Live: I live in a very small town called Oestrich, which is part of a collection of small towns referred to as “Oestrich-Winkel”. Oestrich is in the heart of the Rheingau Valley, which is the wine-producing area of Germany. Everywhere you look there are vineyards. The flat I am living in is in a 120 year old house that is on a winery. I literally live on a winery. The main inhabitants of Oestrich are elderly people and students who attend EBS. Apparently the Rheingau Valley comes to life in the Spring and Summer, when the sun is shining and the wine is flowing! I am looking forward to spring, the winter weather here mainly consists of cold rain. I think the sun has only been our for 2 full days, but at least I am not shoveling snow!
The Where-I’ve-Been:
Wiesbaden:
Wiesbaden is considered the beginning of the Rheingau area and is the closest metropolis to Oestrich. I don’t really count Wiesbaden as a trip, as it is only a 20 minute train ride from Oestirch and free using our EBS Student Cards. It is mainly a residential city but nevertheless it has unique charm, and beautiful architecture as well as a lively ex-pat community!
Frankfurt:
Being a student at EBS allows me to travel within Hesse for free which means free travel to Frankfurt, which is the nearest hub for travel across Europe. Unlike students on a typical semester-long exchange, we are carrying quite a heavy course load, so we do have to pay attention to our studies and pace ourselves when it comes to travelling. The good thing is we have a whole year and a half to travel around Europe, so we really get the best of both worlds.
We started our travels with a weekend in Frankfurt where we took advantage of the awesome shopping and nightlife! The MyZeil mall/street has excellent shopping and is also known for the modern architecture. The large shopping mall has a giant glass hole in the building that is not only visible from outside but also extends throughout the inside of entire building. The picture below does not do it justice!
We also went to dinner at the traditional German restaurant, “Adolf Wagner”, which is also a Apfelwein Brewery. I was not a fan of the apple wine, it tasted a lot like apple juice mixed with vinegar, but some people genuinely enjoy it. I had a very odd vegetarian meal, vegetables trapped in a dill flavored gelatin, but the potatoes on the side did not disappoint!
Amsterdam:
Although it involved a 15-hour round trip bus ride, Amsterdam was so worth it! We arrived on a Friday evening and were able to a bit of exploring that night. We were quite exhausted and chose to sleep around 11 pm, but when you are staying in a 12-bed dorm in a hostel, there is no such thing as a good nights sleep. Saturday was a beautiful day and we wandered the Albert Cuyp Markt which was fantastic!! It is probably around 2 km of shops and stalls selling everything from cheese and clogs to underwear. The shopping was on point, you really can’t compare European shopping to North American. SO much better! We also were able to hit up The Heineken Experience which is another must-see when in Amsterdam! You get to tour the old brewery, learn how to taste the beer, and learn to tap your own beer just to name a few things. Later in the day we visited the Sex Museum, which was very unique (for lack of better words…it is definitely not a PG place), one of Amsterdam’s world-famous coffee shops, and a traditional Dutch restaurant (quite a hilarious experience). Lastly we went to a nightclub, which is so different than back in Canada. We didn’t even go to the club until 2 a.m., which is when bars close in Canada….needless to say the Dutch have mastered the art of clubbing!
On Sunday we visited the oldest part of Amsterdam. We were able to see the Anne Frank house from the outside, but there is a 2 hour wait to get in and we did not have enough time. Instead we wandered through the city and enjoyed more Dutch food (Dutch food is so decadent) and eventually made it to the Mega-bus where we had a lovely 10-hour ride home!
Amsterdam is such a unique city, and all of us really fell in love with its charm. For anyone traveling through Europe, DO NOT MISS IT. There is not another city like it !
All in all, this first month in Germany has been excellent. I am finally all settled into my flat, and I am adjusted to the German culture. So far the hardest class I am in is my German class. The Germans have definitely figured out the best way to teach a language. Our professor refuses to speak a word of English. No amount of English questions or confused looks will result in her speaking English. She is quite a patient lady. This is a much better approach, as it is really forcing me to understand and I am learning quickly. If only second languages were taught this way in Canada… All of my business classes are taught entirely in English, which is a blessing! Some of what we are learning in our classes we have already learned in Canada, however they build on the content and concepts in a different way and it is really interesting to learn things from a European perspective. Next on the travel agenda for February is Munich and Koln!! Looking forward to some more adventures!
Lastly, I found a wonderful quote on the side of a building in Amsterdam, which mirrors my thoughts perfectly:
“Like all great travellers I have seen more than I remember and remember more than I have seen.”
-Benjamin Disraeli
talk veggies to me 