WELL. I certainly have a lot to talk about as Ive not written since last weekend! This week at school was pretty average. The highlight was being invited on a gym class trip to Italy for this coming week (can you imagine this happening in the states?!) by Arne, and if it werent for the facts that I was moving in to a new apartment on Thursday, picking up my Visa on this coming Thursday and hopefully leaving for a fantastic two weeklong vacation next Friday, I would be going. That is really the biggest news: I got an apartment! I actually dont remember if I mentioned this in the last blog, but I actually got two last Friday. One was a bit small, but only 220Euro a month ($300) right in the Innenstadt, a 3 minute walk to the train station and about 10 minute bike ride to school. Best part: completely furnished (except for towels, sheets and pillows . . .). I took that apartment, but I really like the girl who would have been my roomie in the other one, so it was a bit strenuous decision-wise. I think this is for the best. So I moved in Thursday, its great, queen sized sofa bed thingy, amazing desk with a detachable piece Im turning into a vanity, two sets of drawers, plants and about 20 shelf-boxy things. So Cool!
Friday was a holiday here in Germany, the Day of German Unity, celebrating reunification after the fall of the wall. Therefore, everything was completely closed on Friday (just like it usually is on Sundays), which was-is very frustrating. So, I went to Hamburg for the day with Andrea and Paul F. (Fulbrighters to Hannover) for the giant national German Unity day party. There are tents for each Bundesland where they give out free canvas bags and information about their Bundesland. Plus tons of local food and stuff. So I got a bunch of free crap and maps and ate a ton of food, and it was overall a very pleasant day! Even though Hamburg is a bit dreary and cold.
Friday night, I stayed at Andreas in Hannover. I got up the next morning and went shopping for sheets and stuff before the stores all closed and stored them in a locker in the train station, because at 12p we took off for Bremen! Freiestatt Bremen is a Bundesland to itself right in the middle of Niedersachsen. It was a really cute old city with these amazing streets and shops. Below is a link to the pictures where you can find descriptions of the stuff in the pictures in the captions. Also the ones from Prague and Hannover to which I neglected to link in the past.
OH! I forgot something. Last week I met this guy (Rene with an accent on the last e) for lunch, because I had written to him about a WG that I didnt end up seeing (as Id found one) but instead asked if we could meet since I dont have any friends. Except Sean, I mean. So we did, and he was really interesting! And he invited me to a CouchSurfers meeting on Thursday night at this bar called Thanners. CouchSurfing is this american NPO that has become international in which you register like Facebook and if you are going to travel somewhere, you can find people who live there who are willing to host you and you can ask to stay with them or have coffee or have them show you around or all three. It is such a cool thing and really a lot less sketchy than it probably sounds to the American adults reading this. So anyways, the Göttingen CouchSurfers Hospitality Group hosts a weekly Stammtisch sort of thing at this bar where they CouchSurfers in Göttingen and the people who are visiting get together to meet and talk over beer. We met maybe 20 new people who are living in Göttingen and it was so much fun! Anyways, that was a really great find and Im very excited about it :)
Hannover
Prague
Hamburg (Day of Unity)
Bremen