These past few weeks have been pretty "uneventful". Don't get me wrong, I have had my fair share of fun and have still managed to see my friends a lot...but unfortunately, I've needed to start studying. In the past two weeks, I've made at least 7 trips to the library and have spent most weekend days studying all day! Luckily, I have been able to convince people that we should go to the Cologne Christmas markets, so we've been going to them at least 2-3 times a week. They are just wonderful!
The tradition is to get a mug of Gluhwein (hot, mulled wine) and a typical German snack (my favorite is Reibekuchen, which is essentially a deep-fried potato/onion pancake) On the bright side, I'm almost done...once Tuesday rolls around, I'll be able to take my 2 oral exams, and then I only have one paper left which isn't due until January! And once Tuesday is here, the fun begins again! This Wednesday my friends and I are planning a night for us all to get together for one last time before everyone leaves to go home for the holidays. Then my friend, Katie, and I are off to Berlin for the weekend to visit our friend, Alex. Which should be a great time, because another car-load of my friends are also going that weekend! Once I arrive home on Monday, Clayton flies over from Manchester, I will spend the next 3 days saying my good-byes and packing, then we're off on our 15-day European adventure! I'll back up a little bit to last weekend though. It was kind of a bummer because I wasn't able to do any overnight traveling due to my procrastination when it came to booking. But I went with a friend to Munster last Saturday. Its a town about 2 hours north of Cologne by train. It was nice to get out of Cologne for a little bit and see something new.
We walked through many Christmas Markets, went to the city museum, went inside a few cathedrals, got an Asian food lunch, and went to their palace. The "palace" was the coolest part, but it technically wasn't a palace. I'm still not sure what to actually call it, but I think royalty used to live in it, but now the University owns it so its not open for tours. The outside was beautiful and the landscape was pretty awesome.
So, once Tuesday rolls around, it is going to get pretty hectic for me. I will try my hardest to post after Berlin! But if I can't, I may as well tell you now about my post-semester travels. Clayton and I decided to use a 15-day Eurail pass to see Europe! Our first destination will be Strasbourg, France. One of my ERASMUS friends lives there, so it will be my final time to say goodbye to her. I've already been to this city, but it was so wonderful that I want to bring Clayton there! And I've heard that the Christmas markets are just wonderful! That night we will head to Karlsruhe and spend two nights with my relatives. On Christmas morning, we will head to Zurich for a night. Then in the next 10 days, we will visit Florence, Rome, Venice, Vienna, and Prague. It will be very stressful but so rewarding at the same time, I can't wait for it! I hope all is well at home, that everyone is surviving the snow storm okay, and have a wonderful holiday season!!
"the tradition is to get a mug of Gluhwein" - while it might be the tradition do you actually like it? I don't - I always take the german beer! Merry Christams and Happy New Year!
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