Nancy & Metz, France & Frankfurt, Germany
I know not all stereotypes are true, but why did the protesting French and strict Germans have to be? An A&M girl and I made plans to go to Paris last weekend, and I was really looking forward to it. We were unable to get train tickets though because the French transportation system went on strike. We thought we could cheat the system and make use of our German neighbors. There is a train station in Kehl, Germany, which borders Strasbourg. We looked at tickets coming out from there but it was either not available for cities we wanted to go to, or super expensive.
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| Nancy with the Standard European Grey Sky |
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| Hear ye, hear ye |
France. Metz was a little better. There was a free museum we went to. It made mostly Greek and Roman artifacts, which I enjoyed. One room had several skeletons on the ground. I wanted a picture lying beside them, but there was a security guard in the room. We then walked around checking out different landmarks. There was this castle-gate-looking thing. It makes it hard to believe that dragons are not real when I see things like that. It was raining most of the time in Metz, but the rain here is different from Texas. We walked around in the rain for hours and left more dry than wet.
That night we were on a mission to get out of Strasbourg. After messing around with the train apps, we decided to get a 5:35am bus to Frankfurt, Germany. I woke up at 4:30 for it. I am only a morning person when it involves travel. The
thought of going somewhere, allows me to get out of bed. After sleeping most of the route, we arrived at 9:30. We went to the center and checked out a church. I don’t think I understood how German Strasbourg is. The buildings look identical. Around lunch time we stumbled upon a market area. All I wanted was bratwurst and a strudel and I got both ahhhhhhh! We ate our bratwurst, then I ate some of my apple strudel, and then we got another bratwurst. We checked out an art museum. It was mostly filled with Renaissance and modern art, with sadly no Impressionism (sigh). After a quick nap at our hostel, we searched for dinner. It took us a few restaurants because they were all crowded on a Saturday night, but we eventually found one. I ordered a schnitzel and it was delicious. I don’t know why I had this theory that the Germans did not eat well. Maybe all those World War movies where they’re eating stale bread got to me.
Our bus left at 10:30 the next morning so our plan was to grab a pastry and hop on. We grabbed a pastry but did not hop on. Discretion advised: If you are a responsible person who gets annoyed at people who are not- please stop reading (Mom, this pertains to you). So we did not bring our passports [insert gasp from Mom bc I know she kept reading]. We haven’t needed them in any of the places we’ve traveled because we’ve remained in the EU. This is the only trip where I did not bring it, and of course, they want it. We apparently needed it to get on the bus, yet somehow that did not pertain to the one we took there. They wouldn’t let us get on the bus without showing them our passports, so the best we could do was get a refund and find a train out. Thankfully, the bus was at the train station. We bought tickets and we were ready to get out of Germany. Frankfurt was amazing on Saturday, but Sunday morning was horrible. I saw pickpockets pickpocketing, someone passing out, and all sorts of shenanigans. I was so relieved to get on our train. It was a very pleasant 2 hours and then we got on our second train. We get on, and not only is it crowded with standing room only, but a baby is crying, and there's a homeless person next to us who smells horrible. Over the next few stops, a guy comes on with a bike and a lady comes on with a huge Disneyworld-size stroller with no kids inside. Oh wait, but it gets worse. I had been listening to music to drown out the crying baby, when my friend tapped me on the shoulder to tell me someone just threw up. Sure enough, there is vomit sliding down our side of the train. As if it wasn’t crowded enough, everyone is now moving to one side to avoid the spillage. Our stop was 10 minutes away, or else I think I would have cried. The two times we've gone to Germany we’ve had a horrible time getting out. I’m starting to think there’s a German curse.
As far as class goes (because that’s what I’m technically over here for) they’ve been good. The French education system doesn’t give out homework so I’m chilling till projects and tests come around. Finance has been pretty simple and I like the people I sit next to. My Luxury Brand Management class is super interesting. The luxury industry navigates its own way and I never understood the hype till now. My professor has worked in the industry forever so the fact that I can hear his perspective while in luxury capital France is amazing. I can’t say too much about my Strategic Brand Management class because out of the past four classes, she’s canceled three. I get done with classes a week after my original date because of it. My French Culture class is still my favorite. I love hearing about how the French think and live. The class also shares how their countries relate and differ so it’s basically a world culture class.
Off to shoot a One Direction music video in London.
Au revoir!
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| Bratwurst #1 |
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| Frankfurt Skyline |
Our bus left at 10:30 the next morning so our plan was to grab a pastry and hop on. We grabbed a pastry but did not hop on. Discretion advised: If you are a responsible person who gets annoyed at people who are not- please stop reading (Mom, this pertains to you). So we did not bring our passports [insert gasp from Mom bc I know she kept reading]. We haven’t needed them in any of the places we’ve traveled because we’ve remained in the EU. This is the only trip where I did not bring it, and of course, they want it. We apparently needed it to get on the bus, yet somehow that did not pertain to the one we took there. They wouldn’t let us get on the bus without showing them our passports, so the best we could do was get a refund and find a train out. Thankfully, the bus was at the train station. We bought tickets and we were ready to get out of Germany. Frankfurt was amazing on Saturday, but Sunday morning was horrible. I saw pickpockets pickpocketing, someone passing out, and all sorts of shenanigans. I was so relieved to get on our train. It was a very pleasant 2 hours and then we got on our second train. We get on, and not only is it crowded with standing room only, but a baby is crying, and there's a homeless person next to us who smells horrible. Over the next few stops, a guy comes on with a bike and a lady comes on with a huge Disneyworld-size stroller with no kids inside. Oh wait, but it gets worse. I had been listening to music to drown out the crying baby, when my friend tapped me on the shoulder to tell me someone just threw up. Sure enough, there is vomit sliding down our side of the train. As if it wasn’t crowded enough, everyone is now moving to one side to avoid the spillage. Our stop was 10 minutes away, or else I think I would have cried. The two times we've gone to Germany we’ve had a horrible time getting out. I’m starting to think there’s a German curse.
As far as class goes (because that’s what I’m technically over here for) they’ve been good. The French education system doesn’t give out homework so I’m chilling till projects and tests come around. Finance has been pretty simple and I like the people I sit next to. My Luxury Brand Management class is super interesting. The luxury industry navigates its own way and I never understood the hype till now. My professor has worked in the industry forever so the fact that I can hear his perspective while in luxury capital France is amazing. I can’t say too much about my Strategic Brand Management class because out of the past four classes, she’s canceled three. I get done with classes a week after my original date because of it. My French Culture class is still my favorite. I love hearing about how the French think and live. The class also shares how their countries relate and differ so it’s basically a world culture class.
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Me if I had Another Semester with Tons of Test and Homework |
Off to shoot a One Direction music video in London.
Au revoir!
Emelia Grace Gamez…bring your passport next time-Mom
ReplyDeleteHear ye, hear ye… Emelia did not come to play, she came to slay!! -MK
ReplyDelete