Heimat

Dear dear blog, haven't you been neglected! Absolutely shocking behaviour from me.

Truth be told, the reason for my reluctance to post in the last wee while has been down to a pretty awful bout of homesickness. When all I could think about was my beloved Glasgow, it was hard to find the motivation to write about what I'd been up to over here. A particularly low point came when I visited Prague, one of the most beautiful places I've been lucky enough to visit, and somehow spent the weekend with an overwhelming feeling that something was missing. Days later I was on a flight back to Glasgow for the weekend and I think it was just what I needed, even if it was so close to Christmas.

To recap my November and December I only need one word, really: Weihnachtsmarkt. I spent an awful lot of time and money at the Christmas markets this year, particularly in Leipzig. No evening in Advent was complete without a cup or three of Gluehwein. The atmosphere at the markets is so infectious, it's almost impossible to spend an hour or so there without leaving filled with Christmas spirit at its finest. A special mention has to go to the market in Lutherstadt Wittenberg where we found a knitted hat shaped like Sonic the Hedgehog and some old women gave us little cakes "because sisters share everything".

By the end of December though the markets were becoming something of a trial, as they got busier and I got more impatient and intolerable of the crowds. It was definitely time to get home, and I think this year was the best festive season yet for me. Hogmanay in particular could hardly have been more perfect. Spending time with my family and best friends was wonderful and has left me refreshed and ready to take 2014 head on! I've already got some pretty excited stuff planned for the next couple of months!

Here's a little instagram roundup of my last two months:

The idea of home is a strange thing. To some people it's a place, to some a person, to some it's something completely different. Before I moved here, I don't think I really had a clue just how much Glasgow is home to me. In summer I was so bored from working all the time that I couldn't wait to get away, as scared as I was. I felt like I'd had enough of the city I'd spent my whole life in. I wished that I'd had the opportunity to move away for university, and experience a different city.

Now, though, I think that Glasgow will always be home no matter where I live. There's such a warmth (not literal, of course) and familiarity to the city that I don't think anything could replace. After four months spending everyday life in another language, the accent is as comforting to me as my parents' faces or my oldest cuddly toys. I love the rough edges as much as the most beautiful buildings, and nowhere here in Halle can replace my favourite bars or clubs in my heart. There's no parks here to rival Kelvingrove and, despite the abundance of horrible fizzy drinks and processed meats, no Irn Bru or square sausage to be had.

So maybe this year and the homesickness it's brought so far have been what I've needed. Where before I was desperate to break out and try life somewhere else, I now can't wait for my last two years at uni in Glasgow. To use a terrible but very fitting cliché, I definitely belong to Glasgow.

The Lost Weeks.

It's strange that it's taken me so long to write another post in here, when I've been up to loads! I was a bit overwhelmed with the last couple of weeks and even now I don't really know what to include. Let's just say that since my trip to Weimar, far too much of a certain mouthwash-flavoured alcoholic beverage has been consumed.

Two weekends ago I embarked on a night out in Halle with Sophie and Ruth, two of the awesome girls who live in Leipzig. My bag broke. There was Pfeffi. There was skipping. Needless to say, the next day wasn't looking to be too fabulous but we fixed that with a trip to my favourite cafe in Halle for some amaaaazing waffles! They're the best hangover cure I've found so far. At night I found myself heading to Leipzig as we decided to visit a flea market the next day and I hate early mornings to travel to such events. I didn't end up buying a single thing; even the furry hat that made my head feel so cosy was quickly tossed aside when the guy selling it appeared behind me with one hand on my hip and the other brandishing a mirror dangerously close to my face. Flea markets are definitely one of my favourite ways to spend a Sunday in Germany though - not that there are many other options!

Ruh-roh.

The week was just as busy with some other assistants visiting Leipzig from Thueringen (I was reunited with the Glaswegian accent, love you Emma 2!), an attempt to visit an Irish folk music session in Halle that ended up with us eating gigantic burgers in the pub instead, and a dinner/drinks session with Fanny, Jack and Paul that led to my introduction to a bar above an antiques shop! Sadly I wasn't feeling brave enough to join in poker night, but maybe next time. I did at least get to sing along to Loch Lomond in an Irish pub.

On Friday I met the lovely Lara for an East German style lunch then we proceeded to be very bad influences on each other and empty our purses in Monki. Emma appeared to stay at mine for a night as she couldn't bear to be without weekend plans, and as soon as we received a phone call including the word "debauchery" we were back on a train to Leipzig! Jack's brother was here for the weekend and we thought it only fit to introduce him to the wonders of Pfeffi. While I had a lot of fun in the pub and at karaoke, at some point on the way home the week, my many many emotions and the alcohol caught up with me somewhat and I ended up making a mess of my eye makeup, my phone screen (the little German Nokia thank god, not my iPhone) and my knee, which has now turned a lovely shade of black. Many thanks to Emma as always for being an absolute saint and putting me into my pyjamas.

Spot the twins...

Despite being in some state the next day we did manage to make it back to Leipzig for a football match! I had a pretty good time even if the atmosphere maybe wasn't what it could have been, what with the away team being Dortmund reserves. A Mexican dinner sorted me right out, but I was definitely glad of having the Sunday to relax before we headed out for a big Language Assistants Dinner.

French corner!

I dunno either.

This week has seen the arrival of the fabled Erasmus grant, which combined with another payday has left me with more money than I know what to do with! I think I'm putting it to good use, though, by travelling to Erfurt this weekend and Prague the next! I'm sure I'll have plenty to report, though I do plan to take my next post in a slightly different direction. Watch this space!

The Land of Goethe and Schiller

It's been an eventful week, dear readers. In the last seven (or maybe eight) days I've been called upon to face a lot of things I didn't really want to have to, including horrible homesickness, internet banking troubles and a haircut I wish I hadn't bothered with.

Luckily, I've also had lots of fun too, starting with the morning I checked my internet banking (at that point still accessible...) to see that I had been paid! I could have cried tears of joy but instead I responded by going for coffee with the other assistants in Halle, the lovely David, Fanny, Anastacia and our visitor Adam from Leipzig, which of course turned into beers. The next day I headed out onto Halle's shopping boulevard with images of myself tossing credit cards in every direction and strutting down the cobbled street laden with bags full of luxurious goods. In reality, though, Halle's shopping leaves much to be desired, and I came home with one sad bag from H&M. Looks like I have miles to go before I can get used to this Shopping In Germany thing!

Thursday night saw me putting on my war paint for the Erasmus students pub crawl. I met Franzi and her bike at the first pub then met Fanny, Charlotte and Jack at the station. When tequila got involved, things definitely escalated quickly. I don't remember too much from the "club" we ended up in, but I can't forget the Currywurst we inevitably ended the night with. Delicious.

After guiding my somewhat weary Leipziger friends to the station on Friday morning I went for lunch with Eliza and Helena, two other assistants working in the region, and then headed to Dresden! I was really excited to see where one of my best friends had ended up, and meet the flatmates I'd heard so much about. Emma, Ross Anne and I stuffed ourselves with Mexican food then headed to hear some blues music but decided on a fairly early night due to feeling sick. After blaming the food, we eventually realised the cause was actually the carbon monoxide leak in Emma's flat! Don't know if anything could have put a much bigger damper on the weekend. But Dresden is a really overwhelmingly beautiful city and it was great to see my girls, and I'd definitely love to go back and visit again properly when the dangerous gas has been eliminated.

After a lazy but stressful Monday, which involved waking up at midday (got to love school holidays!) to discover I had been locked out of my online banking, I woke up bright and early on Tuesday for a trip to Weimar! I didn't know much about this little city in Thuringia, but after about half an hour there I had already fallen in love with it. It's beautiful in a very different way to Dresden: while Dresden is all about grandeur and spectacle, Weimar is stunning in a much quieter, more modest way. It's wonderful to just walk around and take it all in, and I think we visited at the perfect time of year as the autumn leaves made it even more picturesque! We didn't visit the Goethe or Schiller museums, being terrible German students, so I can't report on those. But I would definitely recommend a day trip to Weimar if you're within easy reach, and if you can get one of Deutsche Bahn's ridiculously good value Laender-Tickets then even better, as we managed to get there and back for 7 euros each!

I also took some photos on my new/old SLR too, which I'll be posting when I get them developed! I'm off to the zoo here in Halle tomorrow with one of my flatmates, and tomorrow night I'll be partying with two awesome ladies, so I'll have plenty to report on next time!

Ich bin kein Berliner

Germans like punctuality. Normally I am also a big fan who starts to sweat at the thought of a delayed train, so this shouldn't be a problem. But this weekend left me so sleep deprived and worn out I just took an afternoon nap and slept in for my first ever Irish dancing class here, which is unfortunately miles away. Hopefully I will soon be such a confident cyclist that missing a tram isn't such a problem, but for now my hands are covered in minor bike-related injuries, so I won't be risking getting lost tonight. What better way to be productive, then, than to get a blog post hammered out!

(OK, maybe cleaning the bathroom would be a start. After dinner.)

I barely had a moment to myself last week, from Wednesday to Sunday I had something going on every day. Wednesday was the Lichtfest in Leipzig, commemorating the peaceful demonstrations there that contributed hugely to the collapse of the GDR. For a history student with a particular interest in those weird, distant years where Germany was two countries, being able to take part in such an event was so exciting. The Augustusplatz was full of people, all with candles in their hands, and the German President even came along. (Having read up on him since, it would seem he's a pretty cool guy.) Obviously some of the references in the play and speeches were a little lost on us non-natives, but the atmosphere was something really special, and I'm so glad I got to experience it. Naturally, in the spirit of dissent and freedom, we then headed to a lovely pub afterwards to rebel against having to work the next day.

Augustusplatz

I spent Thursday both very excited and very, very stressed, as it turned out I had booked my train to Berlin a little bit too early. I hadn't even packed, so it was all a little touch and go whether or not I would make it. But I huffed and puffed and power walked to the station, which is thankfully not too far from my flat, and stepped through the train doors with just seconds to spare. I should probably have apologised to my fellow travellers for my sweaty, stressed presence. Two hours or so later I was in Erin's flat in Friedrichshain, one of the coolest areas of Berlin and my personal favourite!

Berlin is one of my favourite cities in the world. There's always something going on in every corner of the city. The first night saw a birthday night out for one of Erin's friends, another language assistant called Chelsea, and after being knocked back from one club for being under 21 ("it's in the law"... I don't think it is, actually, I think you are in a bad mood, Mr Bouncer) we found ourselves stumbling into one that was only charging 2 euros entry to an indie/rock night - result!

On Friday we headed to Berlin Oktoberfest, so that me and Emma could experience a little taste of what we hadn't managed to get to Munich for. Stepping into the slightly empty tent I was a little doubtful, but after a massive beer I was feeling much happier, and the hall was getting busier all the time. Eventually we were dancing on the benches to German party classics (some of which have associated gestures and dances - think Agadoo) and smashing our beers together so enthusiastically we accidentally caused a glass shower. Erin's phone suffering a little from the ensuing beer droplets meant an early exit for us

Ein Prosit der Gemuetlichkeit!

Making such a premature exit turned out to be a good idea, as we were feeling fairly fresh the next day to go and meet Lydia and Rosie from uni for lunch! We ended up in a Korean restaurant, which would never have been my first choice, but I'm happy to say that my lunch was pretty delicious and I'm glad I tried something new, even if eating with chopsticks is definitely not my strong point. At night we headed out for another one of Erin's friends' birthdays, ending up in the Stadtbad, a club that used to be a public swimming pool. The main dancefloor was in the pool itself, which meant a very slopey floor and a very surreal feeling. Emma said she felt like she was in a scene from Blade. Unfortunately, I am definitely not a natural Berliner, and as the morning wore on I was craving sleep more and more. I need to try and develop the hardy German attitude to partying, as I am definitely still too much of a Brit! Sunday morning was a trip to the flea market at Mauerpark, where I got myself a replacement for my Praktica camera (which I left in Britain since it was adding about 3 kilos to the weight of my suitcase...) and some tasty bruschetta.

Tasty food and happy bargain hunters!

After such a fun but exhausting weekend I'm happy to be back in my flat in Halle, and being in Berlin made me realise that although I absolutely love the city, I'm actually sort of glad I wasn't placed in a school there. My commute is much shorter than it would be there, my rent is much cheaper, and I hear German absolutely everywhere I go, whereas in Berlin I did notice a lot of English being spoken. Totally normal for a European capital, but not what I want from this year. Here, if I speak with a bad accent or make grammar mistakes, hardly anyone will switch into English in response. I'd love to spend some time in Berlin at some point, but this year is for learning German, and I'm pretty happy to have been placed in a city where English is still fairly rare.

Apologies for the length of this post, but I hope I did Berlin justice. If that's possible. Since I've not been paid yet it looks like I'll be spending the near future in the Halle/Leipzig area but hopefully I'll still have plenty to report. Bis gleich!

A Weekend in Leipzig

I meant to write this post on Sunday, but I was too tired and said I'd do it on Monday. On Monday I was also very tired and not too well so I said I'd do it on Tuesday, when I'd stopped making my way through the flat's massive selection of herbal teas. And yesterday I met a friend for coffee and my flatmate invited me to the pub, so that was that. Now it's Wednesday and tomorrow I'm off to Berlin so this needs done. Two awesome cities would make for one excellent but ridiculously long post.

SO. Leipzig. It's half an hour away and full of excellent people who also happen to be working as language assistants. And in the spirit of German Unity that meant a four day weekend, we decided to embark on a mini pub crawl on Leipzig's Kneipemeile, Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse. Strangely, we found the street pretty empty, but marched on regardless - this turned into stumbling later on. Two pubs and an unsuccessful attempt to fit seven of us in a photobooth later, we ended up in Flower Power. Thinking it was a club, we were surprised to find it was pretty small and had no dancefloor in sight. But this could not ruin our high spirits and we just continued to drink to music from ye olden days of the 1950s and 60s. We even met another group of Brits which led to free Jager bombs (or at least the German attempt at them) from a very generous lieutenant. Thanks Archie!

 

 Smiley Brits abroad! Jack, me, Sophie, Ruth and Paul. (Jack, here's your photo credit. Doesn't make you a professional but whatever keeps you smiling, pal.)

Friday morning saw headaches all round. When I woke up in Jack's spare room I wasn't entirely sure what was going on at first, just aware that the view from the window didn't belong to Halle. Neither of us had our best moments that morning and I think it would have been easy for me to go home and crawl into bed. But we decided to soldier on, seeking hangover food, and did a little tour of the sights, including the beautiful Nikolaikirche and the MDR Tower with panorama views over the city. Leipzig is lovely, I'm already a big fan. The little shopping passages were especially pretty - I wasn't expecting much, since the Neustadt Passage here in Halle is like something from a dystopia novel, but they were thankfully more like Glasgow's Argyle Arcade. 

Hi Leipzig!

After a lovely but tiring day I headed home for my second plate of pasta of the weekend (student life...) and got an early night because Saturday meant a visit to Leipzig Zoo! I hadn't been to a zoo since a disappointing trip to Edinburgh a good few years ago so I was especially excited for this part of the weekend, and even more so when it turned out to be a gorgeous day for wandering around outdoors! The zoo is massive, but worth every penny of the 14 euro entry fee. Seeing the big cats was my favourite part: I've never seen anything as beautiful in real life as a tiger or a snow leopard, and the big male lion playing with a pizza box like any domestic cat was brilliant. The chimps were also amazing and unbelievably close to us in their behaviour. One orangutan was sitting at the glass at the front of the enclosure, watching the two little girls who were watching him with a somewhat similar expression on his face. 

Beaaauuuutiful!

After a lovely Italian dinner at Vapiano I headed for my train, exhausted from the weekend. Needless to say, Sunday really was a day of rest for me. I feel so lucky to have this awesome group living so near me and I can't wait for more fun with them all!

Tonight I'm heading back to Leipzig for a quick trip to the Lichterfest, an annual event commemorating the Peaceful Revolution, then tomorrow after work I'm catching a train to Berlin for the weekend!!! I'm so excited to visit my favourite city in the world and see two of my favourite girls. Expect a lengthy blog post on my return!

Hallewood

When you think of Germany, one of the first things to come to mind is beer. I may not be visiting Oktoberfest in Munich this year, but I've been doing my best to make up for that here in Halle. This might be a small city but what I've seen of its bar and clubbing scene so far has been pretty great! I think the huge university here probably has something to do with it.

Last Friday my flatmate Sebastian took me to what he described as an "underground club". I have no idea what I was expecting, really, but where I ended up reminded me a lot of my trips to Berlin. A yard with a bonfire and a caravan selling food, and inside two rooms playing great electronic type music, a laid-back crowd, and equal amounts of beer and Club Mate* being drunk. We met a friendly Bavarian, Elias, so I did get a bit of an Oktoberfest experience - also thanks to the Bavarian dinner my mentor teacher and her husband made me that night!

*For the uninitiated, Club Mate is a fairly disgusting, highly caffeinated drink popular here. Ross Anne described it as "like if you use a cigarette as a teabag" and I think she was pretty spot on. The cola is ok though.

On the way to the Marktplatz

Another night I went to the Hallesches Brauhaus with my buddy from the uni, Franzi, and some of her friends. It was all very German, with waitresses in traditional clothing and local beer on the menu. I've also been to Cafe Nöö, a great little cafe/bar by the river that served delicious chicken wings, and La Bim, in an abandoned building and full of football tables. I think I might have disappointed everyone a little with my very poor performance - I am not even a table athlete, it would seem - but I was happy enough to just soak up the atmosphere with yet another kind of beer, this time Astra from Hamburg.

I've had a really busy weekend because three of my wonderful friends came to visit me! Lara was the first to arrive on Thursday, with Emma appearing at dinner time (cue terribly greasy takeaway food) and Ross Anne just after midnight. We had a little party in the flat for Emma's 20th, with GDR Sekt and beer flowing. My flatmates joined in too, as well as Lara's friend Cindy who studies here, and it was lovely to sit in the kitchen with everyone just chatting away! Emma, I hope we made your birthday as awesome as it could have been at home!

Happy birthday, Emma!

We went exploring on Friday, walking from my flat to the Marktplatz and then into the Kleine Ulrichstrasse, Halle's "Kneipemeile" or bar strip (not an ideal translation, as Kleine Ulli is definitely classier than that phrase would imply!). We had lunch at an Italian restaurant and discovered that eating outdoors in late September is not a fantastic idea. Wasps divebombing towards our faces did not make for a very relaxed meal, especially for me with my phobia. Then Cindy showed us a great little cafe where we got delicious waffles! I need to go back ASAP, it was a lovely little place and I can't think of a better way to get a sugar rush than with these waffles. At night we met David, a language assistant from the US also working here who it was great to get to know - you were so much fun, David! We went to a lovely cafe on Kleine Ulrichstrasse (natürlich!) and talked nonsense all night until the sassy waiter told us it was last orders.

Hi Lara!

Yesterday we tried to find somewhere to have lunch and once again ended up on Kleine Ulrichstrasse, in an Irish style pub. Then we hit Moritzburg castle where there was a flea market in the moat, with DJs, vegan cakes, and personalised canvas totes on sale. I bought one with a cat, obviously. In the much more commercialised Woolworths (it's not dead!) we found Ross Anne a dirndl - she is living in Bavaria, after all - which we had a lot of fun modelling back in the flat with our beers and taco kit! We narrowed down our clubbing options to three and ended up in Schorre, round the corner from my flat. Approaching the entrance, we quickly realised we were the youngest people there, and decided to cure our trepidation with spirits. It ended up being a pretty fun night, as we danced to all the choonz from 2007 or so as well as Das Geht Ab. Schorre isn't quite my scene but if I'm ever in the flat on a Saturday night drinking with someone and we want to go out dancing, I think we could make worse choices!

Emma and Ross Anne modelling for my fashunn blog.

I had a four hour nap today which sums up how I feel after such a busy, wonderful weekend. I could sleep forever. But alas, I have to plan a lesson on British schools and tomorrow I have to get up at six. It's only a three day week though, thanks to the Day of German Unity on Thursday, so I'll definitely be making some plans for the weekend to come! I also promise to take more photos with my camera rather than my phone from now on as I'm not loving the quality. Tschüssi!

Endlich da

My first two weeks in Germany have been pretty crazy. I feel like I've barely stopped for a second! There's been so much for me to do and see, and as I write this lying in bed contemplating making french toast, I'm delighted to finally be able to just relax for a bit.

I haven't had a proper chance to settle in in Halle yet, as last Sunday meant a train journey across Germany for training week near Cologne. Sitting on a train isn't my favourite way to spend five and a half hours, though I have a feeling it's something I'll be getting used to this year. When I finally got to stretch my legs I found Ross Anne and Emma in a coffee shop abusing the WiFi and we traipsed to our hotel for the night. Evening meant McDonalds (ouch), cocktails and Koelsch (yum) as well as talking absolute nonsense til the early hours with our bottles of beer. Needless to say it was a painful coach trip to Maria in der Aue the next day.

At Cologne Cathedral with Ross Anne.

Induction week was pretty intense, despite the constant food breaks. We were all paired up with roommates who were going to be working near us, and I found myself sharing with the fabulous Eliza who will be living just north of Halle. Our little working groups were also area-based and I have to say, us Sachsen-Anhalt ladies are pretty fabulous. I also got to meet a few people who will be based in Leipzig, which is pretty great as they're only half an hour away, and another girl from Glasgow, Emma, who is living in Jena! There was so much information to take on board it got a little overwhelming and tiring, despite the PAD's best efforts. We also had to prepare mock classes, with the others in the groups acting like the pupils, which was very nerve racking, especially when we realised a beautiful Bavarian would be assessing us. But we had fun making the others play charades and acting like primary school kids learning the colours in English!

Naturally we all found our way to the bar every night which made for some great fun, as well as some ill-advised hangovers. The last night was especially great, I found myself at a room party paired up with an Irish guy trying to teach the Gay Gordons to uninterested English people. The coach trip back to Cologne wasn't so much fun, but a traditional lunch in a brewery type restaurant helped a lot! I'm not sure what I made of Cologne. It was very modern, and I felt a little guilty complaining about how ugly it is when I realised that was the Brits' fault! I think if I visit again, I'll need someone who lives there to show me where and how to have fun.

Glasgow girls in the bar!

This week has been my first in the school, which has been interesting to say the least. I'm teaching in the Realschule classes and as English is a compulsory subject, naturally some of the kids aren't so interested. Can't blame them - I felt the same about maths! Hopefully I can do a Sister Act 2 and make them super enthusiastic by the end of the year! It's very strange being back in a school atmosphere, especially as it's one I don't feel particularly comfortable in. But I think I'll get used to it and it's nice being in the staffroom for a change, even if some of the teachers have mistaken me for one of their senior pupils!

I'll be back soon with another post about my recent "cultural" (read: alcoholic) experiences, as well as my ill-fated attempts at emulating the Germans and riding my bike. Bis dann! x