Hello everyone! So sorry for not writing for about a month, but I have lots to update on. In this past month I have spent a lot of time exploring the city, I now try to walk 10k steps a day, I normally just start walking with no destination and I have come across the most beautiful parks. Germany truly has gorgeous nature, and even though I live in the city the parks are AMAZING. I will include some photos down below 🙂 What is actually quite interesting is that even though it has been my dream to move to Germany for a long time, countless things have not gone the way I planned. And yes I know that’s how life goes, but it’s to the extent where sometimes I really sit and wonder like wow, I think nothing has gone the way I planned. I originally applied to two schools in Germany a little over a year ago, (I would have applied to more, but Germany has very specific application rules which made it so I could only apply to two, very German haha) and I didn’t get into either one of them. I was honestly quite crushed, because at that point I had already fully decided I wouldn’t be going to school in the states because I just couldn’t afford anywhere, and it was not the smartest choice for me. I never wanted to take a gap year and was really struggling with making peace with that, especially since the last school in Germany let me know that I was rejected in May, when everyone else already knew where they were going and this was my last option other than a gap year. But I came to terms with it, and planned on moving to Germany in September. As many of you know, I didn’t find an apartment until December, and signed the lease in January. Apartment hunting is NO JOKE. I think I grew a grey hair from searching for an apartment for 5 months. I do not regret my gap year at all, and actually technically I am taking two gap years, because the application period begins in March and the school year starts in October, so I will apply next March. But this is what life is, things not going at all how you planned and you just figuring it out. Anyways, onto the fun unexpected life updates!
Another one of my original plans for my life here in Germany was to start a job very quickly, and alas that is also not happening. About a month ago I actually went around to a bunch of cafes and handed out my resume, and a guy promised me a job at his second location of a cafe which he is opening soon. He told me he would email me in a month, and we had a very kind conversation more about us as people. Well, I haven’t received an email. But, I have realized, I suddenly have so many travel plans? My boyfriend and his family are planning on coming here and to Greece where we will meet at in around a month, my best friend just booked her ticket last night to come and see me from the middle of June until the very end of June where we will be going to Amsterdam, Luxembourg for a concert of our favorite band, and Paris! I also booked my ticket home to Colorado two nights ago!! I will be home from July 14th- August 20th! I will also be taking a roadtrip with my boyfriend to California the first week of August to celebrate our one year together. Don’t worry, you will see me at Frasier during that month, and I’m excited to see everyone again. Then, I get back to Germany on August 21st, and my roommate Izzy invited me to go with her home to the UK, so I will be flying to London on the 23rd of August and spending a few days there before we go together to her home in Manchester. So lots of travel! Another reason I didn’t update for a while was because I visited my cousin who is studying abroad in Sweden, and I came back last Thursday afternoon. We met in Copenhagen and spent a few days there, and then went to Sweden, where we explored Stockholm, Lund, Malmö, and Linköping (where she is studying). And boy do I have some stories.
Copenhagen was very very fun, it’s a beautiful city where we averaged about 27,000 steps a day and I don’t even want to know how much money. I knew Copenhagen was expensive, but wow. We stayed in an amazing hostel, where our roommates consisted of a really nice 27 year old guy from Texas who now actually lives in Cologne (not far from me) and a 50 year old local Danish man, who is living in the hostel because they are remodeling his home. We talked with so many cool people, I talked to this guy from Romania for 2 hours while I was waiting to check in to the hostel, and I just love having conversations with strangers so much. I will attach some pictures of the sights in Copenhagen at the bottom of this post.
Sweden was very fun as well, we made day trips to Lund, Stockholm, and Malmö, using the beautiful invention that is called a flixbus. If you don’t know what a flixbus is, it is the CHEAPEST way to travel and it is quite an experience. Spending time with my cousin was definitely the highlight of the trip, and the worst experiences include: #1 My train back to Germany. Oh my god. It was thankfully only two trains, I left Sweden at 8:30pm and was supposed to be on this train for 10 hours. I was on there for 15 and a half. Our train was standing still for 5 1/2 hours in the middle of the night, with no communication on what was going on until a few hours in, where I received a text from the Swedish train saying there is a electrical problem. That train ride was truly awful, I was attempting to sleep on essentially bus style seats (this experience had me yearning for a flixbus if that tells you anything) and the only thing I ate for over 24 hours was a jam sandwich I had packed myself from Sweden. So I was running on maybe 2 hours of sleep total, because I couldn’t really fall asleep for more than 30 minutes at a time for some reason, and no food. I then FINALLY arrived in Hamburg and got another train to Düsseldorf, which of course, was also delayed. Instead of 3 and a half hours on that train, it was 6. I had no time to get any food or water between the train from Sweden to the train to Düsseldorf, so I was feeling truly awesome. I FINALLY made it back to my apartment at around 4pm, so 20 hours spent on a train all together, and had 30 minutes to shower before my roommate and I had a viewing appointment for our potential third roommate. I then slept for 13 hours. This experience is one I will use as an example for myself, if I can make it through that I can handle a lot.
#2 My train to Sweden, which included 5 different trains. Because when you’re young and want to travel cheap, you do book the worst possible route for 50 euros. And I don’t regret it. My trains were actually all okay, until I reached my 5 and a half hour layover in Hamburg at midnight. The main train station in Hamburg is NOT somewhere you want to be alone at in the middle of the night, and I knew that so I had booked a hostel for the night. I walked from the train station to my hostel and made it there okay, although I am pretty sure a man was following me at some point. I checked into the hostel at around 1:30am, and opened the door to my room and was met with the worst stench I have ever smelled in my life. And I have two little brothers who play sports, I know what a bad smell is. I immediately thought to myself, there is 100% a man in this room. And I was correct. Unfortunately, there were three men in the room. Not only did it smell so bad I nearly threw up, but they were snoring and making noises in their sleep, so I slept for a solid 45 minutes. I left the hostel earlier than I planned because I simply could not stand the smell anymore, at around 4:15 am to make my 5:30 am train. After that, my experience went smoothly. But wow, I will never forget that.
#3 My cousin and I got stuck in Stockholm. We booked our flixbus leaving Stockholm at 11:20pm, getting to Linköping at 2:10am, and we went to scan our tickets with the driver, and he just said NOPE. Apparently, our tickets were for the bus the following day, which doesn’t make any sense because the date of our tickets was the date it currently was, but turns out they count it as the day you arrive to your destination. So, it’s midnight and we are two young girls alone. Perfect. The next train is at 5:30am, so naturally, all what there was to do at this time of night is to go to the bar. So that we did. We stayed in the bar until they closed at 3, then made a pit stop at Burger King, (the singular thing open at this time of night, oh how I missed the US in that moment, we have many more things open that late at night) so then we sat in the train station until it was time for our train. This was really not a negative experience we still had quite a bit of fun, but it was the fact that this was VERY unplanned. So we finally got back to my cousins dorm at around 8:30am, where we promptly fell asleep (because we hadn’t slept at all).
While all of those surprising, inconvenient, uncomfortable, and stinky experiences weren’t the most fun, they definitely built my endurance, and made me extra grateful for showers and beds. Now for my favorite moments of the trip, we had a DELICIOUS breakfast and coffee at a cafe in Copenhagen, saw so many beautiful landmarks, but of course, the best part was the quality time with my cousin.
As for life in Germany, it’s pretty calm. Obviously I am feeling a lot emotionally so that isn’t the calmest, but my lifestyle is quite peaceful. I cook every meal for myself, talk to my friends from home often, etc. Which I think is okay for right now, (well I kinda have to be okay with it because that is how the cookie is crumbling). But I am very excited for my travel plans, and am taking this as a sign from the world to take some time to explore. Don’t worry, I will update you next more frequently than last time. ❤️
The Swedes and their cheese…
The sights in Linköping
Stockholm
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