It's been almost two weeks? Uhh... oops.

So I was sitting on the tram today thinking to myself that I should write an entry... and I realized it had been this long. So silly of me- but I have been very busy. Since I last wrote, I have done so much. SO much. In order to keep everything straight, I will go about this entry using numbers. Cause that's how I feel tonight- I miss them. I think they'll be a tiny bit unnecessary, but who really cares. Also, the pictures appear to have uploaded backwards, so we're doing this counter-intuitively.

1. Fall is in full swing here in Baden-Wurtemburg. The colors are pretty amazing as the Black Forest transitions to fall. I am hoping to take a Halloween gondola ride up a mountain to enjoy the fall Colors. It's funny, Halloween is completely an American holiday. But it's beginning to come here. There were pumpkins and maybe a couple costumes available around town. I'm wildly curious to see what is going to happen tomorrow night since Vauban has a lot of families around.

2. Today we went to Eurocorps in Strasbourg. It was all right. The speaker kept putting us on the spot asking us about things and acronyms we had never heard of before. We looked VERY stupid, and instead of defending us, our teachers were annoyed. Frustrating since it's their job to teach us the answers to those questions, and they were making us look worse. Oh well, only another 48 days with those fools. We had lunch at the base, and then drove further into France to go to this old WWI German military fort. You might say, 'German? But you were in France!' Well, let me tell you. Alsace has a very divided history as France and Germany basically took terms having it apart of their countries. During the late 19th century, Alsace was a part of Germany. Anyway. The base housed a TON of personnel and covered a square mile. The majority of the base was underground. We got to see trenches and machine guns and cannons. Pretty cool, but the idea of trench warfare is chilling. And I wouldn't want to be on the other side of those machine guns. If cooled properly they can go till they run out of bullets. Fortunately, it was never attacked so no one really died there. We kept joking that it was too bad France and Germany put so much effort and money into both wars since the US won them both anyway. We found this funny but our German professors didn't. Sorry, Herr Schuler, but I'm pretty sure he's just bitter since Germany lost. Twice. In Germany's defense though, it was just supposed to deter France from taking Strasbourg while the Germans headed through Luxembourg and Brussels in order to take Paris. This was effective, but clearly I don't understand warfare because I think Germany should have just gone around the fort and taken the town anyway. Good thing I'm not in charge, because for whatever reason, this would not have worked.

3. Last wednesday we went to Strasbourg to see the European Parliament. The building was pretty bizarre but the chamber was awesome. We got to listen through headphones as translators converted everything as it was said. Unfortunately the important stuff was happening later in the day so we may have outnumbered the parliamentarians. There are over 700 of them, so that is impressive. It was AWESOME though. Nigel Farrage, from the UK, went crazy about the Lisbon Treaty. He said President Klaus should hang-on so that the UK could democratically ratify because it hasn't yet (It has, thought not through a referendum, which is a good thing.). He won't recognize the Lisbon Treaty until it's put to a referendum in the UK. Then the Commission President said what he needed to then switched to English to rebuke Farrage. Farrage got angry, and with the rest of the UK delegation, walked out. AWESOME. You can see Farrage's speech here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2Yq-pvV1D0

After that we went into Strasbourg which was beautiful. The pictures were taken there. We had a good laugh though. I think Strasbourg is a little confused. It's cathedral is called Notre Dame (Our lady) and across the square was the Museé de l'Oeuvre. Hehe. Get it? It's like Paris... but not at all. But it was beautiful. We had all you can each Flammkuchen. Only that's the German name. Hmm. Doesn't matter. It was like a very thin crusted pizza. Without red sauce. It's a very traditional meal from Alsace. It came in rounds, and we thought it was the same each time... but turns out it was 4 different varieties. Clearly I don't have a very developed palate. Oh well! But ohhhhhh the dessert ones ROCKED. One was apple cinnamon and the other was covered in chocolate chips. That's my kind of flammkuchen!

4. Last friday we went to a winery just outside of Strasbourg. Are you counting? That's three times in 2 weeks. How silly. Anyway. It was really fun. We got to taste a million wines, yumm. A course related trip? Oh yes. It was really fun. Have you ever had Winterwine? Or It's proper name is EisWine. So good. The one we tried tasted like honey. oh! And we got to taste a wine that wasn't all the way finished... or something... that was literally an alcoholic fruit juice. Yummy. And they had a Weissbergunder wine. WEISSberGUNDER(son). I obviously bought it. Two of my names in one wine? That's simply too good to pass up.

5. I got the H1N1 vaccine. This was a traumatic experience. Hurray for universalized healthcare in Germany? NOT. Sketchiest vaccine I have ever received. Plus the one available here isn't the one available in the US because something in the one I received isn't allowed in the US. Great. And then due to some awesome side effects, I learned gingers are officially more likely to experience side effects than everyone else. Ridiculous. But it's okay. Sarah Root helped me out in my late night crisis (well it was late in Germany), and let me know I was okay. I am so glad she (and Miah) helped me. I was definitely in crisis mode. Well? Crisis averted. And once I'm finally not feeling a bit sick, I will be INVINCIBLE against the swine. Yesss. I plan to lick doorknobs to make sure I'm exposed to make it all worth it.

6. Back at the ranch, I've been so busy. They keep us glued to the books here. In the past two weeks, I have written a 7 page paper, researched and written a four page outline for my term paper, done a presentation of France in preparation for the Model EU, written a mid-term, turned in 14 homeworks, plus a million readings. Even though I spend a lot of time traveling, they sure kick our butts while we're in Freiburg. And even on the trips we have academic meetings about everyday we're away. Actually, these are fun sometimes when we have dynamic speakers. This happens about once a trip and it's amazing when it does. So... I may be traveling and seeing a lot, but I'm hitting the books hard. Don't worry- I'm not having TOO much fun. Haha. It was pointed out to me the other day that I haven't really talked about academics- and it's a HUGE part of my experience here so I thought I should talk about it a little.

So that was much longer than I intended it to be, but I've been been doing a lot! So much to update on. I will try to be better about updating in the future.

Happy Halloween!

Anna

PS. Kidding about licking the doorknobs. That's totally disgusting.

Pictures from my recent trips!

This is the hall of Mirrors at Versailles. It was very beautiful. I couldn't help but imagine that grandeur that once was. Heavenly. Living like that must have been amazing.

Eiffel Tour!! It was every bit as amazing as I hoped it would be. :)

Well this is the Champs Elysee!!

I will be representing France along with this fellow Mike at our Modle Eu at the end of the semester. I'll be Frances finance ministers, and will sit on the ECOFIN council

This is the charming mannequin Pis. Note the cinnamon waffle. Mmm

This is the bar of 2000 beers.

My first Belgian waffle. May have changed my life.

This is the Cathedral in Cologne!

Cologne, Dusseldorf, Luxembourg, Brussels, Paris

Disclaimer: I wrote this on a bus after not getting enough sleep for an extended period of time. I'm choosing not to read back through it, so forgive me for any silly errors!

It has been so very long since I last blogged! So much has happened in the mean time. I will try to be too long winded, or this will end up being a novel.

A week ago Thursday I took the train to meet mom in Cologne. The cathedral there was AMAZING as I walked out of the train station. It honestly blew me away. I tagged along the last day of their trip in Cologne and I enjoyed it a great deal. It was pretty similar to what my group does on our field trips so it was neat to see the other side. Mom and I wandered around and made some schtooopid mistakes but had a wonderful time.

The next day we went to Düsseldorf and went to Schloss Benrath, which was beautiful. I had a few epic encounters with some Swans, and it was lovely. Mom and I bravely figured out how to take a regional train to the Düsseldorf Haputbanhof, and then the Metro to downtown. It sounds simply, right? Oh no. We asked at LEAST 10 people and were still confused. Then we wandered around Düsseldorf and just enjoyed each other’s company. Mom and I have a great time just hanging out, and it was so nice to be with my mom. She’s the best. It’s okay if you’re jealous.

I had a very sad train ride back to Freiberg, where I had Sunday to get organized for the next big field trip, which left at 5am Monday.

We bused to Luxembourg for lunch and a meeting at the EU Court of Justice. I can’t really tell you anything about Luxembourg cause we were literally there for… 3 hours tops.

Then we arrived in Brussels that night. I. love. Brussels. I honestly can’t remember how many days we spend there but it was amazing. I finally had free time to explore. We had some neat meetings at EU institutions and at NATO. But Brussels. Wow. I would rather not thinking about the calories I consumed in Fries, Chocolate, Beer and Waffles. Oh my. SO worth it, and unbelievably delicious. One evening we went to a bar that had over 2000 beers. I had three, Peach, Cherry, and Mango. The peach was the best. I had to get my fruits!! Everyone teased me…. But I was pleased with my choices. Hmm ooh the Grand Place was unbelievable. Just like the Cathedral in Cologne, it blew me away. Oh and the Mannequin Pis is there. A HUGE disappointment. It was probably smaller than my forearm. And I’m small.

We went to Paris three days ago. As much as a love Brussels, it doesn’t hold a candle to my feelings for Paris. It was a chaotic 3 days, as we crammed in Crepes, Macaroons, the Louve (Mona Lisa = huge disappointment. Oh and we’re now calling the Winged Victory the Original Butherface. Hahah. Clever. Get it? She doesn’t have a head?!), the Eiffel Tower (which Sparkles!!!!), The Arch de Triumph, Notre Dame, Versailles, the Champs Elysee, and so many other things. I think the pictures will better show all that we did.

Now, I’m sitting on the bus on our way back to Freiburg. Heartbreaking. I had such an amazing time in Paris. There was so much I wanted to do, but we just didn’t have time for. Like… the gardens

Meanwhile, I have become a serious tchochkey shopper. I have no idea how to spell that, but it’s like souvenirs. Caitlin is pretty serious about it so I look, but don’t buy very much.

So, I have so much to share and tell but I don’t want to bore anyone. So, I am open to requests…

The closest I will ever be to being a real Disney Princess

It was so nice having Mom here in

Freiburg, even though 5 days wasn't nearly enough. We had SO much fun playing around in Freiburg, and drove over to Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. Please note that we drove, it was intense. We started out with Garmin... who obviously mislead us. Well technically it died abut 3/4 of the way there and then I navigated us back by signs, a stellar map (Thank you SO much Jeff & Sue!!), and pre-mapquested directions. Mom did an amazing job driving. She said it was no big deal, but let me tell you. When it's almost ten, you've been driving for three hours, are on the autobahn, and cars are flying past at what MUST but 150+ km per hour.... IT IS AWESOME.

As for the Castles, they were amazing. You can see both in that picture, actually. The small one to the right is where King Ludwig II grew up, and then he started to build the big castle, but he was declared insane and mysteriously drowned so it wasn't quite finished. It was stunning. Everything a castle should be. Ridiculously magnificent and imposing... I loved it. It was fun being there with mom too. I think it was even better since we were together.

It was sad to see her go on saturday, but I am going to join her in Cologne on thursday. I cannot wait. It's going to be fun, but I know it's going to be harder to say goodbye after. I have two big exciting things to look forward to. On sunday I am hoping to finalize Thanksgiving break plans- I think I'll be in Malta. Which will be really fun. The second thing is monday morning we leave for Paris, Luxembourg and Brussels. I am PUMPED for Paris. I mean... Brussels and Luxembourg will be fun... but Paris? Oh my.

Meanwhile, my life in Frieburg is becoming more comfortable. I've decorated my room more, and so it feels a little less like a prison cell. Mom got me a pretty little plant that I hope not to kill. I may need a babysitter while we're gone next week! I have found a favorite bakery, located a super cheap grocery store, figured out the Munster Market hours, and found a new favorite authentic German Restaurant.

It's bedtime in Germany, so Gut Nacht meine Fruend!

Edit: Sorry! I said it's as close as I'll ever come to being a Disney princess cause this is supposedly the castle Walt Disney used as an inspiration for Cinderella's castle in Disneyland. Love.