Schwarzwald and Fireworks (and lack of a witty title)

Yesterday we took a program study trip to the Schwarzwald (Black Forest.) When you imagine a location for all the old German fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel and the like, you're probably picturing the black forest. It's located in the southwest of the country, all in the southern part of Baden-Wuertemburg. Met at the train station bright and early at 8:30, boarded the bus, and made the two hour trip down on the autobahn. We always travel via train, so this was only the second time since being in Germany that I had ridden on a big charter bus on the highway. We were all pretty tired, but had an enjoyable bus ride. There was a clear division between our program all sitting in the back of the bus, and the summer students all in the front of the bus... yes, apparently we are still in middle school.

Arrived at the Schwarzwald Museum or whatever it was called... it was strange because Herr Doerr did our tour in English, the first time anyone in AJY has spoken English to us in over three months. Almost all the summer students know at least a good bit of German, so they went with their instructor on the German tour, but five of the kids don't know any German, so they came with us and Herr Doerr, which is why he did the tour in English. Not gonna lie, it was SO WEIRD listening to him speak English, and I can honestly understand him better when he speaks German. My spoken German has definitely improved just by me being here, but it's not something I've really been practicing... my written German is probably honestly at the same level because I haven't been writing a lot of German except a few notes in class that we usually copy off the powerpoint, but my comprehension has definitely improved. It's still not that great, but I definitely noticed during Herr Doerr's tour, when he would slip into German anyways and I wasn't even realizing that he was speaking another language because I was still comprehending it all.

So we saw the giant farms and farmhouses and huts of the old people that used to inhabit the Black Forest...they were all much smaller than people today so the ceilings and doorways were very small! The straw roofs were built to as low as possible in order to better insulate the house during the very cold winters.





After our little tour, we were free to walk around the premises. Will and I split a piece of freshly baked bread-- baked in the outdoor oven mmmmm.


Got bored with walking around, so we stopped at the little cafe/biergarten with Krista and Monika and ordered a piece of the famous black forest cake-- made with cherry filling, because cherries grow really well in the region.


Back on the bus and drove for another hour or so-- this time we were all wide awake and laughing our heads off at random stuff in the back of the bus. Yeah, we were the cool kids in the back of the bus. Those kids.

Finally arrived at our picnic site-- a SPECTACULAR view, but just random really tall grass to sit in while eating. We found a rock to sit on and eat, and I surprisingly enjoyed my weird curry spicy pasta salad I had made to eat, as well as some nice carrot sticks and cookies and an apple!



Back on the bus and drove to an area of the forest where the kloster ruins and waterfall are. All of that was pretty cool-- the waterfall was very pretty and it was a gorgeous day to walk all around nature, though we were all sweaty and gross on the bus ride home. As I've said, I got a new camera and this one has a "vivid colors" setting, which captures photos in...VIVID COLORS! Seriously, it makes the photos so beautiful and bright, and I don't think I'll be able to switch back to the normal setting again...

Just check out the colors:





Left the waterfall, back on the bus, and I think every one of us fell asleep and were really groggy and sweaty when we got back to HD. We all stopped at Kaufland afterwards to pick up some beer, went home to shower, and met on the Wiese for pincincing and snacking and drinking for a couple hours waiting for the fireworks! On a few summer nights, Heidelberg puts on summer fireworks right next to the castle, so the Wiese and bridges were packed with people eagerly awaiting. Jolly and buzzed with some cups of cheer, we were all just enjoying the night (except for the GIANT beetles that were attacking us...) and the company of one another.



After relocating to escape the plague of beetles and forever losing a beloved shoe in the process, we awaited the fireworks. It doesn't get completely dark in HD until about 10pm so they didn't start until 10:15. Gotta say...unimpressive. And I think it's because we're all Americans and were expecting something along the lines of July 4th fireworks (especially me having seen them in DC so many times...) They were still cool, but very unimpressive. Stayed out on the Wiese for another hour or so...I think at some point we broke into choruses of Disney songs.

Made our way to the bridge and crossed the river into the Altstadt which was a SHIT SHOW. A combination of a Saturday at midnight and the fireworks shortly before had created a madhouse on Unterestrasse and Hauptstrasse, all along every bar. And here I am with only one shoe. Luckily I was careful though and avoided any broken glass! All of our usual bars were PACKED (I rarely go into the Altstadt on Saturday nights specifically because it is just too crowded to be fun unless you get there early enough to snag a table) so we made our way farther down Hauptstrasse and visited teh Dubliner--one of two Irish pubs in HD. I've always wanted to go, and it was only comfortably crowded-- we ordered a liter of beer:


It got really late and we called it a night. Borrowed a pair of Krista's shoes so I was able to successfully make it home. It was a pretty lazy Sunday today-- made some actual progress on my work and had a good, long run. I just had a four day weekend, but with two full-day trips, it went by so quickly and I am exhausted! Leaving for Lyon on Thursday, so soon before YAYA in Europe!!