So for the last two weeks we've had ‘Herbstferien,’ which
can only mean one thing…two whole weeks of lay-ins – hell to the yeah! Two
weeks is actually quite a lot of time to fill, especially when a place is still
quite new to you, but it was a nice break, nonetheless.
Luckily enough, during the first week, Germany was
experiencing a mini-heat wave. According to the BBC, temperatures reached 22
degrees on Thursday – London, eat your heart out. No rain for us here! I took
that as a sign to make the most of the nice weather while it lasted, and get
out and about, with the odd lazy day spent in pjs with multiple viewings of the
Lion King and Harry Potter thrown in, natch! I went to see a performance by
Simone (my mentor’s) chamber choir in a huge church in a town called Weinheim,
which was really lovely, and something a bit different. I’m a bit of a sucker
for classical music anyway – I know, I know, you’re all amazed at just how cool
I am – so a chamber choir / orchestra / big church combo was always
going to be something right up my street. Plus it made me miss the good old
days of Senior Choir and Mr Werner at school. I also paid the nearby city of
Mannheim a visit, meeting up with a teacher from school and her friend for a
very relaxed afternoon of coffee and shopping, and, due to the gorgeous weather
on Friday, I cracked out the walking boots and went for a hike into the hills
that surround Bensheim with Simone and Thomas – a great way to spend an
afternoon; chatting, walking and blowing the cobwebs away.
A snippet of the weather we were having
On Monday, I ventured over to Nuremberg for a couple of
days, as it was a great excuse to meet up with some uni friends and explore a
new German city. Monday was mainly spent shopping, catching-up and enjoying
‘Kaffee & Kuchen’ – a German tradition that I’m embracing wholeheartedly at
every opportunity, despite the calories. From what I can gather so far, we’re
all going to comeback with many-a weird and wonderful tale of life here. I’m
collating a small dossier of them already. After a dinner of Bratwurst -
they’ll make a proper German out of me yet – Sarah and I wished tschüs to the
others, and stayed overnight in Nuremberg to do a few more culturally things on
Tuesday. After wandering aimlessly around the Hauptbahnhof for a while trying
to find the tram (note to self: the overhead signs are there for a reason,) we eventually headed out of
town to the Doku-Zentrum, to a huge Colosseum look-a-like that the Nazis had
built for their party rallies during the 1930s. It’s hard to convey the sheer
size of it unless you’ve been there yourself, but ‘imposing’ seems the most
appropriate adjective to describe it... hence why they had it built, I
guess. Despite that, and the weather,
which was beginning to turn much colder after the short-lived Indian summer of
the previous week, Nuremberg is a truly beautiful city, and I think definitely
one of my favourite places I’ve visited so far.
You may be wondering how the mention of feeling homesick
ties in with 10 days of travelling, nice weather, and a Warwick reunion. Well,
on the last weekend of the holidays, the famalam arrived in Germany to pay me a
visit. In fact, I've just left them at the airport, which possibly isn't helping the situation. I've mentioned this several times now, but it does
genuinely feel like I've been in Germany fooorrrrevvvverrrrr, and I've been
looking forward to seeing my family for practically the last nine weeks – ever
since I waved goodbye to them through the security gates at Stansted airport.
The past couple of months have been all-systems-go, and my feet have barely
touched the ground, so many have been the new experiences, new people and new
places. But two weeks off gives you enough time to stop and re-evaluate your
situation, so it’s only really been the last couple of weeks that I've begun to
appreciate how much I miss home. That’s not to say that I’m not having a good
time, or that I want to leave Germany, because I don’t. I really don’t! I absolutely
love it here, I think I've settled in well, I’m [hopefully] making new friends,
and feel really at home, but I miss my family and my friends…a lot. And hence I've come to the conclusion that it is ok to admit to missing home as well as
wanting this year never to end.
Moving to another country and setting up shop there on your
own can be a fairly daunting task at times, and everyone needs a family hug
every now and again to give you an extra boost. We had a really lovely weekend,
although the weather in Bensheim very hospitably made my family feel at home, by
merrily tipping it down throughout Saturday. (Some of the rain, however, did
turn to snow, which was quite exciting). Having had my parents visit me, it
also means they can now appreciate for themselves all the things I've been
harping on about for the last two months; the school, Lehrersport Simone and Thomas, double-decker
trains etc. There have been several occasions in that time, however, when I've thought to myself ‘Gah! This would be so much easier if Dad were here to help
me through it, and Mum were on hand to give me a massive hug, and the brother
were around with his endless supply of “helpful” comments.’ But what I have to keep reminding myself is
that missing home doesn't detract anything from how much I love this year.
There…I've admitted it…that’s a weight off my chest. Now to
put the kettle on, crack open a packet of chocolate digestives, and put on an
episode of Downton Abbey. There’s nothing like a few home comforts when you’re
feeling a bit wobbly.
Maybe I’ll have to wait a little while longer before I
feel like a true German!
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