September Recollections

Not much to recollect but still. Although I had two practices in translation, this month was pretty relaxing in a way that I didn't have to go to uni every single day.
I started to read T.Dreiser "Sister Carrie" as a part of my thesis work and I'm getting pretty fascinated by each chapter.
My teaching practice has started today. This time I'll be teaching French to 2 grades. I am super anxious and eveything about it because I don't know French that well. The teacher is nice but I can see that weird strict face empression when students do something wrong. I always wonder 'what if I do something wrong?' But I'm trying not to concentrate on what other people think because it's useless. It takes your time, energy and hope. I'll do my best at overcoming my problems on my own. Maybe it's only an autumn depression thing but I'm drowning in my negative emotions which are quite overwhelming.
P.S. facebook makes me sick and it's better not to use it right now since I have lots of things to do.  
This post is literally about nothing haha.

Love Christina M.

Deutschland (Part IV)

One of the most romantic cities in Germany is Heidelberg. It is just a fifteen-minutes' ride from Mannheim on a train. In the city centre there is a  wide street where all the shops and cafes are located.
We started our trip in the evening and ended up rambling there till late evening. First of all stopped at one of the tasty smelling cafes where I ordered pizza with salami and a glass of fresh orange juice (not beer this time :D )
We decided to make our way to Philosophenweg from which one could easily enjoy the view opening on to the city. It is up the hills. The road itself was steep and slippery from the rain but it felt like a real adventure.

Love, Christina M.

Deutschland (Part III)

Cologne has always been my dream come true city mainly because of Cologne Cathedral. On Sunday my friends and I took a trip to Cologne early in the morning ( okay, 8 a.m. is quite early for me). We bought the schoenes -Wochenende-Ticket which provides 5 people to travel across the country during weekends for 44 Euro (46 Euro - if you buy a ticket in a Schalter). So, it was almost like 9 Euro for each of us. But the most important thing here is that you cannot use ICE trains only regional ones (you can find more information here ) which leads to switching trains that sometimes might create problems if you hardly understand announcements in German. If you don't know German that well then you can just ask people before getting on a train in case if there has been a change of the platforms.

I remember someone told me that Cologne Cathedral was situated really close to Hauptbahnhof but I could never imagine that it was actually THAT close! It is soooo huge and impressive. I am not lying saying that my mouth dropped when I first saw it in real!

The inside is as beautiful as the outside with its stained-glass windows, organ and long halls.

Cologne is also famous for its chocolate museum that is not far from Cologne Cathedral (if you have GPS).  Lindt is actually Swiss chocolate not German but it tastes so good! If you are a student the Eintritt costs 6,50 Euro.  Honestly, it is probably the best place if you want to know about the history of chocolate making but it would have been better if they didn't place too much information on the walls but the most important one. By the end of the excursion I got a bit tired and the proper place to overcome your tiredness was the chocolate cafe located inside the museum. 

Cologne is one of the biggest cities in Germany with its own unique architecture and crowds of people entertaining themselves, laughing and drinking beer ;)

Love, Christina M.

Deutschland (Part II)

Mannheim is a city in Baden-Wuertemberg (which is a 25-minutes drive from Frankfurt Airport).

So to say, Mannheim turned out to be the best place for me to live in. It has its own rhythm of life (like any other city duh I know) and it's not as big as Frankfurt or Cologne but still it's a charming one.   

Goethe Institut is not that far from the city centre which is Wasserturm and it looks like this. 

 There are loads of fountains in the centre with beautiful statues. Flowerbeds are all over the place and flower pots hanging on almost each window. 

The main reason why I like Mannheim is that I feel so calmed down when I'm walking down its streets. I've never had such an incredible feeling! It feels like home (although I don't feel like that when I'm in my hometown haha but I hope you understand what I mean). 

Near wasserturm there's a street which abounds in shops and fancy cafes and restaurants. I spent my last three days window-shopping (and actually shopping) for souvenirs for my friends and family. 

There is also a cinema there but unfortunately I didn't have a chance to go there (maybe next time). 

  

Uni of Mannheim is famous for its business faculty and it has a really nice Mensa (btw it is open only until 14.30! if I'm not mistaken).

 

The thing that one definitely shouldn't miss is Biergarten!  Once you try beer there you are hooked for life, I promise. I actually had no idea how to get there until someone showed the way.  So thanks a lot! We crossed the Neckar and here we were in front of the Biergarten. I honestly hated beer before I got there and it change my whole attitude towards drinking it. Now I know why Germans like it so much, cos' it's freaking tasty. 

The atmosphere there is amazing, it's like a proper german beer garden. Music, a good company and several glasses of beer will make your Abend there unforgettable! 

It was a chilled out evening that set the mood for all my Aufenthalt in Germany :) 

Love, Christina M.