9 Juli // Family Time

Hallo alle :)

Today was the first official weekend day of immersion! Waking up, I was reminded that there was no A/C as I felt a chilly breeze slip into my room. Nonetheless, after making my way downstairs, I was greeted with a lovely breakfast with an assortment of bread, jam, and juices-- and to make things even better, we had breakfast outside in the perfect morning air... an experience that I, like many others, wasn't fully accustomed to.

After some good food, Annalena (my exchange partner) and I headed out on foot to look at Stühlingen, but shortly after departure, we decided that a moped would be more efficient in the hilly streets. And as somebody who has never ridden a moped, this oppurtunity was one that I couldn't pass up! We hopped on the moped and Annalena showed me the smallest street in Stühlingen; I can confirm that it was maybe 1.5 cars in width... small no doubt! But, after roaming the streets for about 20 minutes, we rode up the hill/small mountain to the top where the Stühlingen castle sat.

Stühlingen Castle

What a beauty, right? But we couldn't even go in because it's privately owned (I was told that this makes the people of Stühlingen upset that they cannot even enter their own castle due to the private property right)! Regardless though, the castle exterior was gorgeous and the moped ride down and home was even more fun :)

We came home at around 10:30 to make Nudelsalat (pasta salad) for the exhange barbeque later in the night. It was surprisingly simple-- just chopped cucumber, tomatoes, cooked mini farfalle noodles, and a dressing consisting of basil, olive oil, vinegar and a few other liquids I didn't catch. 

Nudelsalat

At 11:30, my family headed out to Zurich, Switzerland and I got a feel of the hills on the winding roads that felt like a rollercoaster. Upon arrival in Zurich, I was astounded by the old buildings and intracate Trolleybus system! Everything and everybody seemed to move in synchronized motions whether it was crossing the street or just walking. ---I would try to explain the amazing aesthetic but I also took tons of pictures so take a look for yourselves...

Trolleybussystem Zürich

Zürich, Switzerland

Zürich, Switzerland

After looking at the famous stain glass windows by Marc Chagall in the Fraumünster Church, we had lunch at Contrapunto, an Italian restaurant, where I learned that Germans really like Italian food (who knew)! So of course after lunch, we looked for more food-- macaroons from Ladurée to be specific. Let me tell you, these were the best macaroons I've ever eaten... I've eaten A LOT of macaroons... trust me. And most importantly, after macaroons, we arrived at I Love Leo, a frozen yogurt shop!

I Love Leo frozen yogurt

At around 19:00 almost everybody at the exchange met in Rheinheim for a bbq by the Rhein River and we cooked meats, roasted marshmallows, and cooked dough over the fire. 

At around 22:00, we left to a Stühlingen party where I got the feel of a real town party and was welcomed by all of Annalena's friends. There was so much food, music and lights-- it was crazy! And after a long day of playing, we came home and went directly to our rooms to get some well deserved sleep-- All in all, a fantastic day!

Look out for Tony's post tomorrow about family time on Sunday!

Tschüss :)) -Meghan