Mein Geburstag!

    Today was my nineteenth birthday and it started early in the morning.  On the 16th of May I was invited to a German party because the 17th happened to be Christi Himmelfahrt Tag (Christ going to Heaven) this year and is a free day.  This meant no school for the rest of the week.  My birthday started out with a rather unusual round of Happy Birthday. I didn't get to sleep until 3 in the morning and then woke up later that morning at 6 something, which I promptly rolled over and tried to get more sleep.  The reason for this was because I was going to be heading to Berlin for the day.  After squeezing in a bit more sleep I was privileged enough to have a ride home that allowed me time to get ready for the day ahead.  The first thing we did after a wonderful breakfast that included cheesecake for me was open my present.  A sock and a pair of earrings... the sock is the second to one I am still knitting.  After that we took the train to Berlin and enjoyed a little bus ride through the city.

"For the German People"

The Reichstag

Then we visited the Reichstag.  This meant we walked in and around the glass dome, which was super cool.

The glass dome of the Reichstag.

Anna, Me, Jakob

   The view was amazing - Berlin was spread out before me.

The Brandenburger Tor (The Brandenburg Gate)

Berlin Hauptbahnhof (Berlin Central Station)

Chancellor's House

After enjoying the opening in the center of the dome we headed down and ate Italian food.  I had a gigantic yet delicious pizza.

After that we headed to Tränenpalast (Palace of Tears), an old crossing point (East/West Berlin) by the Friedrickstrasse Bahnhof (Train station).  At this point I was dragging a little because of my lack of sleep and during our guided tour I almost fell asleep standing up, a feat which I didn't think was possible until I nearly crashed into a display.  After that we got ice cream and took the train back to Brandenburg.  All in all it was a birthday that will go down in the history books of Hanna.

Pre-Euro Tour Rambles

  Tomorrow I will be heading off on the grand adventure known as EuroTour with around 90 fellow exchange students.  I will do my best to have a blog post but I can guarantee that pictures will posted on my Shutterfly site: Journeys Across the Globe (see link in side bar).  Because of Easter holiday and EuroTour I don't have school for a month - yikes!  I'm a bit worried about going back because I will have missed 2.5 weeks.  At the end of March Laura headed back to Finland, her exchange over (she was with a different program) and we had a wonderful going away party for her, it's going to be sad going back to school without her.  My German has improved by leaps and bounds.  Frequently people will be speaking and it takes me a while to realize that, though I understand them, they are not in fact speaking English but German.  My English has also deteriorated and I often struggle to remember basic words.  And I dread when the English teacher asks me to define a word because now I just sort of nod and say "it's sort of like... you know..." because I forgot how to define it.  But all in all my exchange has been going peachy and I am not looking forward to July 25th because that means the end of the best year of my life.

Paris!

4.11.11 - 6.11.11

In November Rotary had a mandatory trip to Paris... How cool is that, a mandatory trip to Paris.  There was no reason other than to let 90+ exchange students enjoy France's capital city.  It was fun and crazy to say the least.

The Itinerary

Highlights from the Trip:
-Sleeping on the floor of the bus on the way to Paris
-Going to the Louvre
-Seeing the Mona Lisa at least 2 times (one due to running around the Louvre without a map)
-Trying to locate famous pieces of art without a map and then later using a French map with Noora
-Finding out elevators are really good at helping you get unlost
-Seeing part of Hammurabi's Code
-Walking through Paris
-Eating street food on the steps of the Opera
-Buying a mini 2x2 Paris Rubik's cube key chain
-Seeing the Eiffel Tower at night
-Seeing the Moulin Rouge from the outside
-Buying and eating a baguette while walking around Paris
-Versailles
-Trying to walk to the end of the Versailles garden with Sarah
-Taking a boat tour on the Seine
-Walking around the Eiffel Tower
-Eating a Nutella crepe in front of the Eiffel Tower
-Wandering around Paris and ending up in a non-tourist area - enjoying Paris at it's best
-Going to Notre Dame de Paris - dream come true, though I did resist singing a song from The Hunchback of Notre Dame
-Sleeping on the floor of the bus again, it's a comfier than trying to squish in a little seat

There was more space than there looks...

Österreich - Skiing!

29.1.12 - 4.2.12

      On the week of January 29^th to February 4^th I was privileged to go to Austria. It was bit of an adventure getting there because on January 28^th my father had to play in a concert so we were leaving once it was over (at around 10:00 pm) and then spending the night in a city half way to our destination. Also joining us was a fellow musician whose family was waiting in the same village we were headed to. We arrived at our hotel at 1:20 am and were planning on waking up at 6:30.

Later that morning (Jan 29^th) we dragged our tired bodies back to the car, planning on eating breakfast at a later time. At around 2:30 we arrived in Scheffau, Austria and SkiWelt. Well my family isn't one to waste time so we immediately went to rent our gear from Hansis. Because my family was German and Austrians speak German (albeit a slightly different dialect), German was the language of communication though it was noted that I was an American exchange student.

The first step to renting was getting ski boots. The man helping me explained that your toe should barely touch the tip of the boot, with the pair I was trying on I wasn't exactly sure if my toe was touching. So he gave me a size smaller. Then I went and was outfitted with skis, poles and a helmet. We were standing outside, fully equipped and about to head up the mountain, when I asked if your feet were supposed to feel like an African brush fire was raging in your boots. When I received a resounding no, my mother and I went to exchange boots (a handy deal that Hansis provides at no extra cost). I was the given the the correct size and headed out (Boots #2). My mother headed up the mountain but didn't do too much skiing because visibility was low (10 meters or less). That evening was a group dinner. There were 18 people in our group and it was split half and half – 9 kids (including me) and 9 adults. Group Role Call – adults: Andreas, Anna, Annette, Bernd, Kerstin, Sirke, Yenz, Marika, Ben; kids: Hanna(18), Jakob(14), Yan(14), Erik(13), Berk(14?), Finn(10?), Elina(17), Keno(10), Emily(5). After dinner the kids played poker, Elina and I teamed up because Elina had never played. January 29^th was also the 1 year anniversary of learning I would be living in Germany for a year. Hard to believe that it was so long ago.

View from my room

January 30^th

The next morning we caught the ski bus, a wonderful bit of free transportation from Scheffau to SkiWelt. Once there we proceeded to Hansis to pick up our gear (because in addition to free exchanges they store the equipment so you don't have to haul it around). My mother and I met up with Annette (our neighbor here in Brandenburg) and decided to ski the Talabfahrt (the run that is the entire mountain) from the Mittlesation (Middlestation) because it was foggy on the top of the mountain. The first run my feet started killing me so my mother and I plodded to Hansis and exchanged my boots... again. This time I got what they said were the newest technology, there were super fluffy and cushy (Boots #3). Then we proceeded back to the Mittlesation for more skiing. After thawing over lunch I headed out to ski with Elina, who was just learning to ski, and her father Yenz. It was fun and we even tried our hand at a red (middle) run.

F: Finn, Jakob
B: Bernd, Kerstin, friend, Annette, Berk, Yan, Erik, Andreas, Anna, Hanna, Elina, Yenz, Marika, Sirke, Ben

January 31^st

      I woke up feeling like a Mac truck had run me over which is not all together a pleasant way to greet the morning. My mother and I joined with Annette, Finn and Marika, we skied the entire Talabfahrt, which was super fun. Then we headed up a different mountain. After that was lunch with the group. I joined Elina and Yenz to ski one run with them but my knee was just hurting too much so I headed down the hill. During lunch I had talked with my mother about changing skis because mine weren't great on turns. So I headed to Hansis to return my gear and exchange skis. I explained as best I could what I wanted but ended up with longer skis, which was not what I was looking for (Skis #2). That evening after a delicious dinner my family and Elina and Yenz played a came that had little blocks for pieces. Once the game came to a close we got in touch with our inner child.

The Brandenburger Tor

 

February 1^st

      Got to sleep in today, usually we were up at 7, because my mother and I were planing on taking the day off.  But I came up with a brilliant plan.  Because my mother and I only had ski passes for 5 of 7 days we could not ski every day but my idea was to barrow ski passes from two other people and then ski the Talabfahrt once.  My mother thought this was a very good idea and we put our plan in action.  The ski was fun and afterwards we went shopping for food and I bought postcards.  After we got home I wrote my post cards and enjoyed the lazy day.  After Andreas and Jakob got home we went out for a group dinner.  Let's just say it was sure a crazy party, Jakob and Erik managed to break a glass while we were playing poker.  We also got to enjoy some traditional music which was very fun.

February 2^nd

      Today we did a SkiWelt tour with the big group.  It was crazy and fun.  A smaller group of us toured an Igloo which was super cool.  It was beautiful though very cold but that's to be expected.  Eventually Annette and I headed back a little earlier and enjoyed hot chocolate smothered in whipped cream.  Then we did a little more skiing before heading down the mountain.  For another evening of game playing with Elina and Yenz.

Igloo

February 3^rd

6 MONTHS IN DEUTSCHAND!

      Once again I got to sleep in because my mom and I were going to do a "card exchange" she would ski the first part of the day and I would ski the second part.  But as the day wore on I decided on the Talabfahrt.  So after getting a ski pass I joined Anna and we waited for the big group at one of the restaurants.  It was fun going down the run as a big group, thought it was a bit challenging keeping everyone together.  That evening we celebrated Erik's birthday and once again it was a party with poker and even spoons - though we played using poker chips instead.  Yan and I got particularly good at stealing Erik's poker chips much to his consternation.

The Group

February 4^th

      Last day in Austria.  But we did a little more skiing, only after having a few car troubles including the emergency brake freezing to the wheel.  It was fun skiing and I was definitely sad to be leaving, since I was just starting to get the hang of skiing again.  But as far as winter vacations go it was definitely one of the best ones I've ever gone on and I definitely plan on going skiing in the Alps again.

Last Day Skiing

Neuruppin & Greifswald! - Rotary District 1940 Inbound Orientations

(16.9.11 - 18.9.11 & 2.3.12 - 4.3.12)
   Being a Rotary Exchange Student comes with responsibility.  The responsibility to meet the other exchange students during a few Inbound Orientations.  The first took place in September in Neuruppin.  There 60 some of us at a hostel.  Lets just say not very much German was spoken because most people didn't have a good grasp on the language yet, myself included.  We went over the basic information, the 4 D's - No Driving, No Dating, No Drugs & No Drinking, the Travel Permission form and a little bit about EuroTour.  We also had a lovely city tour.  And then later we had to present our countries.  There are 16 Americans in my District and our presentation was mainly improv and was far from the best.

   In March we were privilege to go to Greifswald for another orientation, this time with another District.  We got to tour an old, never used, Unit at the Greifswald Nuclear Power Plant.  It was super cool walking around and seeing the interior of a nuclear power plant.  Then we had a short orientation for the "newbies," exchange students from New Zealand, Australia and Argentina who come for a year but in January instead of August.  Then once again we had to present our countries but this time we requested to speak about our Easter/Spring traditions.  And once again the U.S. did not prepare anything... lets just say it was the worst presentation but there were over 20 of us (2 Districts combined) and we couldn't all speak.  Afterwards it turned into a dance party.  The next day we had another city tour which was fun and then we said good bye to the other District and took our various trains back to our cities.

Hardhats...

List of Countries represented:
Argentina
Australia
Bolivia
Brazil
Canada
Chile
Ecuador
Finland
France
India
Indonesia
Japan
Mexico
New Zealand
South Korea
Taiwan
Thailand
U.S.A
Venezuela

Berlin Again

(24.9.11)
    My mother had a general rehearsal in Berlin with the choir and decided that it would be nice if Jakob and I came to listen. Upon hearing this my father also decided to join the group.  So we decided to do a little sightseeing before hand.  We took the train and disembarked near the zoo.  We had a lovely stroll along what I would equate to the Boise Green Belt.  We could see several animals and often stopped to have a closer look.  We also proceeded to walk down Strasse des 17 Juli (Street of 17th July) to the Berliner Siegessäule (Victory Column).  It was quite fun climbing to the top and we had a wonderful view of Berlin.

Berliner Siegessäule

Brandenburger Tor

Winged Victory

 After our brief trip up the column we headed to the Philharmonie to listen to the rehearsal.  At one point I nearly fell asleep though the lack of leg room kept me awake.  My father, brother and I walked through Potsdamer Platz and saw masses of people.  It was the first day of the Berlin Marathon, which meant it was Inline Skates day.  Yep - a marathon on inline skates.  There was also a kids marathon which was considerably shorter.  It was quite enjoyable watching the skaters and I decided if I ever have the crazy desire to participate in a marathon inline skates is the way to go.

Inline Skate Marathon

(23.10.11)


Jakob, Anna and I drove to Berlin to meet Anna's cousin and her husband at the Berlin Wall center at Bernauer Strasse.  It was very interesting walking along the remaining parts of the wall and reading (or in my case, attempting to read) the information plaques.  It was amazing what the people of Bernauer Strasse did in attempts to cross the wall.  There is also a portion of the wall that is sealed off and left exactly like the border when have been like.  After reading and listening to what some people went through, the people who successfully crossed the Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall) became my heroes.

Stretch of Berlin Wall

Spire from Conciliation Church that was demolished in 1985

Tunnel in an attempt to cross the Wall

Preserved section of the Berlin Wall border.

After walking we went to eat dinner.  Anna and I split an Eisbein, which was delicious.  I also managed to break a glass.

Eisbein

A Small Tour of Germany

(10.4.11 - 10.12.11)

During the fall holiday, a result of Germany's reunification (Celebrated on October 3rd), my family enjoyed a nice little tour of southwestern Germany.  The towns on our trip were Quedlinburg, Eisnach, Neckargemünd, Speyer, Heidelberg, Neckarsteinach, Köln and Duisburg.

Some of the highlights from the trip included:
-Walking through old town Quedlinburg, a UNESCO site
-Seeing the treasures in the Quedlinburg castle/cathedral
-Spending the night in the Creuzburg Castle
-Visiting the Wartburg
-Standing in the room where Luther translated the Bible from Latin to German
-Seeing the Bach house and statue in Eisnach
-Seeing Luther's house in Eisnach
-The Eisnach Cathedral
-The Narrow House
-Spending several nights with Andrea's brother and his family in Neckargemünd (their house was gorgeous), we would make day trips from their house to other cities
-The Speyer Dom (Speyer Cathedral)
-The Crypt in the Speyer Dom
-Der Bretzel-Mann (The Pretzel Man, a statue on Speyer Dom)
-A quick trip to France for the afternoon
-Heidelberg Castle
-Giant Wine Barrel in Heidelberg
-Walking through Heidelberg
-Heidelberg Cathedral
-The castle ruins in Neckarsteinach (Mittelburg, Hinterburg and Schadeck)
-The castle ruins Eberbach
-The Upper Middle Rhine Valley (UNESCO)
-Stoping in Köln (Cologne) on the way to Duisburg
-Köln (Cologne) Cathedral
-Meeting Anna's sister (who speaks no English) and going to the SeaLife with her and Jakob

Quedlinburg Rathaus

Quedlinburg Castle

View from Quedlinburg Castle

View from my room in the Creuzburg Castle

The Wartburg

Eisnach Cathedral

Bach

Me in front of the Speyer Dom

The Crypt of Speyer Dom

Getting in touch with my inner child.

Der Bretzel-Mann

Heidelberg Cathedral

Heidelberg Castle

Giant Wine Barrel in Heidelberg Castle

In front of Köln Cathedral

After climbing up the tower

Köln Cathedral