*Last weekend, il fine settimana scorsa*
See pics here: Click!
We woke up early once again this past weekend in order to get to the airport in time for our flight to Germania. The flight took about an hour and a half which still amazes me. You can get to a totally different country in less than two hours!! Living in Europe is fantastic. We flew over the Swiss Alps and the view was incredible. As we descended into the clouds we couldn’t see anything for awhile and then all of the sudden the clouds cleared and we looked out the window to see that we were only a few feet from the runway!! It fascinates me how pilots can fly like that. Our first view of Germany was a grey runway surrounded by big black pine trees. It was really cool to note the difference between this landscape and that of Italy. Spain’s landscape was relatively similar to what we had grown accustomed to, palm trees and sunny skies. Germany, however, was the complete opposite. It was snowing and although Cait and Christina were happy about this, I was not so thrilled. We stepped off the plane and headed towards the Frankfurt Hahn airport.
Once we got inside and made our way to the bus ticket desk I became even more aware of the fact that we were now in Germany…away from everything I was used to. The signs and advertisements were all in German (obviously) and I could not even begin to understand what they said. In Italy, France (when we went a few years ago) and even Spain I could get the gist of the language because they are all so similar, being romance languages. German is nothing like any of these languages, however, the longer you look at it you can start to see some similarities between it and English, which is cool. You can tell it’s had an influence over our language. So we purchased tickets for a shuttle bus that would take us to Frankfurt International Airport, since that was where we needed to catch our train to Rothenburg, met up with two other Loyola students who were headed somewhere else (don’t ask me where) but taking the same bus and sat down to wait for the shuttle. One of the students bought us “Berlins” (I think that was the name), little powdered donuts with jam in the middle, they were very good and a very good start to our German food education!
The shuttle bus took about an hour and a half and although it might seem like an inconvenience, for those of us who have never been to Germany it was a very nice way to get to see the German countryside. It really is a beautiful country. We drove through huge green fields with cows, horses and sheep. Saw farmers walking up and down their plots with their big dogs running happily ahead of them, and many, many little clusters of beautiful colorful cottages and high steepled churches. We even drove along the outskirts of the Black Forest! How cool is that!?
Once we arrived to the Frankfurt International Airport we scurried to find the train so we could make our way to Rothenburg (it’s a HUGE airport so I’m really impressed at how fast we found the station). Luckily we only had to wait about 15 min. for the train and then we were off to the lovely little town of Rothenburg!! The trip took about 2 hours with 4 transfers onto different trains. The trains in Germany are like clockwork, they arrive at the exact time they are supposed to and leave at the exact time they’re supposed to. It blew my mind. Again, it was nice to be able to relax and see the beautiful landscape. Once we finally reached Rothenburg, at about 6:30, it was sleeting and freezing (ok, it was like 40 degrees, but that’s cold to us Mediterranean woman!!). I would just like to say how proud I am of us for being able to navigate throughout the countryside of Germany knowing only a few phrases of the language (we made sure to know the important ones like “thank you” so as to not be rude; always attempt to learn a little bit of the language before you go to a foreign country, it just makes people more willing to help you, especially in Europe). We found our hotel, after a lot of map reading, and checked in. We were told where to go and I have to say that walking up the steps to our room was hilarious. Our hotel was in a little cottage that seemed like it had been built in medieval times (and probably was!), the staircase was tiny! I felt like I had to duck and I’m not exactly the tallest person on the peninsula if you know what I mean! (Italy is a peninsula…) We got to our room, opened the door and were so relieved to see a cute little room with three tiny beds. The place was adorable, like everything else in Rothenburg. Once we had settled in we went out in search of a restaurant. Most of the restaurants in little villages like this one are in the first floor of hotels and most are very very good. The first one we went to was called Brӓustüfle…I think…and it was tiny! When we went in there were 2 tables of Japanese people and a table of young Irish boys and of course us Americans (although we like to call ourselves American/Italians now); 4 tables in all and the place looked packed. It was almost strange to see that diverse of a crowd in such a small little village, but it was very cool. The owners were adorable and we had a delicious meal of wurst (sausage, pronounced “verst”), schnitzel (breaded meat mmm), kraut and herb potatoes…along with plenty of beer, of course J…we had to, it brings out the flavor of the food. Speaking of the food, it was amazing. The kraut is nothing like what we have in the States, the cabbage is cooked in coriander and other spices and tastes great. The bartender liked us a lot and gave all three of us a shot of amaretto, because we’re Italian, of course! The food was the perfect antidote to the cold winter night and we all flopped into our tiny beds warm, full and slightly drunk. It was a great start to our German adventures.
The next morning we got ready for a day of shopping around Rothenburg. Our first priority was to find a bakery/café to get some coffee and breakfast. We found a cute one called Bӓckerei Striffler which had a large assortment of pastries and an Italian espresso machine, marvelous. I had a cappuccino (you can take the girl out of Italy…) and another form of a “Berlin”, a jam filled donut, along with a poppyseed pastry (hey, when in Germany, and when freezing, you need to eat a lot! Bend to the cultural norms!). We then went around to all the little shops and bought souvenirs and trinkets. The Christmas shop was very impressive, and is apparently what the thing in Chicago is modeled after (Rothenburg is called the Christmas town because of its huge festivities around that time of year and all their little Christmas shops, they just love that holiday year round). We checked out the coo-coo clocks, which are so intricate and beautiful, but very expensive, same goes for the Steins. Later, we came across a wood engraving shop owned by an old man who painted and engraved everything he made by hand. Lunch was another meal of wurst, kraut and beer (seriously couldn’t get enough of it, my kind of food) and the afternoon was filled with more shopping and Schneeballen. Schneeballs are big, round, fried cookies dipped in an assortment of toppings like powdered sugar, cinnamon or chocolate, and can also have a delicious filling. That night we skipped dinner, we had a lot for lunch, and went to a big bar outside the town walls and had a few nice dark brews to cap off our final night in Germany.
The next morning we got up early and reluctantly made our way back to the train station. Since the station was locked (I honestly don’t think it’s ever open) we went into a little café next to the tracks and had some coffee. There was a group of older men in their drinking beer, it was a little past nine in the morning, they instantly got my nod of approval. So back to Frankfurt we went, it began snowing again on the way, and then we set off towards Italy. When we arrived into the Ciampino airport it was late so the trains weren’t operating (ohhh Italy) and it was pouring down rain, by the time we got home to the JFRC we were all soaked. We ordered €4 margherita pizzas and changed into our PJs. Ahh home sweet home.
Da Roma, con amore.
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