Christmas Cookies, Leipzig and Dresden

Monday consisted of another standard day in the school. I was however approached by a teacher and asked if I could do a spontaneous talk about Thanksgiving. I explained that I don't know much about it, as we don't celebrate it England and the teacher was really surprised at this news. She genuinely thought that it was just as big of a celebration in England, as it is in America. She then went on to describe us as 'boring', due to not celebrating it. A little hypocritical I would say, but we all know the Germans like to speak their mind. On Monday afternoon, I met once more with my tandem partner and we had a good chat. I look forward to it and I really appreciate the fact I get to practise German in an informal and friendly environment.

Tuesday was another normal day in school. However on Tuesday, I found myself amidst a heated discussion about the England VS Germany football friendly which was on that evening. As I've said before, the Germans LOVE Football. And although it was only a friendly, they were getting pretty serious about it. I'm not really sure what happened next. The teachers were speaking very fast German and I didn't understand much of what was being said. The Headmistress had come to join in the conversation too. They were talking with me, but 'with' is a word I use loosely, since I didn't know what was going on. They were laughing a lot (I'm pretty sure it was at my expense - The fact that I'm from England, and we're not exactly well known for having a good football team) Before I know it, the Headmistress offers an outstretched hand and explains that we're going to make a bet. If England win, she will buy me chocolate. If Germany win, I have to buy her chocolate. Everyone was watching and I felt I couldn't refuse so I shook her hand. I know it's only chocolate at stake, which is probably a good thing, since my hopes weren't too high. I almost thought of buying it that very afternoon, just to save an almost certain job later in the week. The other teachers loved the fact they could 'take advantage of the Engländer' and I started receiving other offers. With a strong suspicion that England would lose, I declined all the other offers.

On Tuesday evening, I decided to watch the football. As I'm sure you all know, I'm hardly a football fan, but with nothing better to do, a bar of chocolate on the line and just because it was England VS Germany, I made my way into town to the local 'Sport Theatre'. This is a former cinema, which is now a bar/café and it shows all the major sporting events. It's really cool because the old cinema screen is still used, so I was able to watch the game on a HUGE screen. The atmosphere was surprisingly calm and the place was far from full. But non the less, it was an enjoyable evening. I bought myself a beer and just watched the football - I felt like a proper German! The match was good to watch and I even caught myself fist pumping a few times as England got close to scoring. I decided to control my enthusiasm, as I was surrounded by Germans in a German bar in Germany after all - Did I mention it was England VS Germany? Unfortunately the result wasn't in England's favour (Although losing 1-0 against the super-talented Germans is practically a victory for England). I had better go and buy that chocolate bar!

On Wednesday, it was a national holiday here in Germany. 'Bus und Bettag' is a religious celebration, where protestants are meant to go to church and repent their sins. Not many people actually do this and the children are just happy for an extra day off school. That, of course, means no school for Lois and I either! Hooray! We received an invite from one of Lois' teachers for lunch at her house. I thought it was lovely that I was invited too, considering I'd never met her. The town in which Gisela lives, is located between both Regensburg and Eichstätt, so I met Lois there. Gisela picked me up from the station after already picking Lois up and we then went to her house. Her house was lovely and we were greeted by her husband and two children. They were all very friendly and welcoming and just genuinely lovely people. The house was nice, modern and totally spotless. Very neat and orderly, just as you might expect. I was even given a pair of slippers, from their special 'Slippers for Guests' collection. Wow. We were given refreshments and then proceeded to bake some Christmas cookies with her children. We must have made about 60 different 'Plätzchen' and then decorated them. After this we enjoyed some hearty German soup, followed by homemade Apple Strudel (what else?!). We left around 3pm, as we were pretty worn out from all the intense German being spoken, but not without our own little lunchbox full of cookies. It was a really nice experience and they're such a lovely family. I'm sure it wont be the last time I see them.

Thursday was another normal day and nothing particularly notable happened (apart from Lois arriving in afternoon - hooray!) On Friday morning we began the long journey to Leipzig, where we would stay for two nights. The journey is 5 hours from Regensburg, so armed with a breakfast of Pretzels and Lebküchen we made ourselves comfy. We arrived in Leipzig at lunch time and went to our apartment. The apartment was however closed. and only after knocking on the door several times, were we told that check in wasn't until 4pm. Great. We trudged back to the centre, suitcases in hand, pretty fed up and seriously cold. We strolled round the centre and tried to get a feel for the city. First impressions were actually a little disappointing - We had heard so much about 'the wonderful city of Leipzig' and that following the fall of the wall (Leipzig was in the east) lots of money had been invested to restore it to its original beauty. Yes, it was a nice city, but it really wasn't anything special. Maybe we were seeing it on a bad day or maybe we were in the wrong part of town, but it didn't make a huge impression on us. We warmed up with a coffee and then made our way back to the apartment. We made ourselves comfortable and then went to buy some food and made a delicious pizza for tea. Following this we went out again, back into the centre to meet some other Language assistants that we had met on the course and one of whom, Lois had gone to school with. Here we were shown the student area of Leipzig and enjoyed a really nice evening in one of the bars. It was great to compare stories and reassuring to discover that everyone is experiencing the same feelings as us. It was a really nice evening.

Saturday we decided to see a few places of interest in Leipzig. We visited the Stasi Museum - For those of who don't know, the Stasi were the East German Secret Police, who would spy on the citizens to make sure everybody was staying loyal to the Government and not doing anything untoward. The Museum is in the actual former offices of the Stasi and it was interesting to look round. There was far too much information for us to take it all in, but it was interesting to visit. On our way back, we very nearly got caught up in a huge protest. We had noticed hundreds of police, head to toe in Riot Gear earlier (It's not like English Riot Gear either. These policemen looked like Terminator) and the crowd had gathered just as we arrived in the square. The atmosphere was actually quite scary, but we were both curious so we watched a little bit. The crowd had been drinking and they seemed very aggressive. As the march started it soon became apparent that things were getting violent. We saw pyrotechnics being lit, explosions sounded and fireworks were thrown. Police began running in all directions and lots of police vans suddenly started arriving containing even more police. We decided to move on and stay away.

















We made our way to the Völkerschlachtdenkmal which is a huge monument (the picture really doesn't do it justice) which commemorates Napoleons defeat at Leipzig. It was just outside of town and pretty impressive. Unfortunately, due to the weather, which was grey and miserable for the entire weekend, we weren't able to appreciate it fully and weren't able to visit the observation deck at the top. But it was definitely worth the visit. Following this, and with a desire to make the most of our visit to the Eastern Bundesland of Saxony, we caught a 90minute train to Dresden. As I'm sure you're all aware, Dresden is known for being (controversially) completely destroyed during the bombing campaigns of the Second World War. Dad warned me before the visit "Don't let them hear you speaking English!", but from stepping off the train, it was clear that the city had moved on. From the train station, we wandered through a beautiful arcade area with modern shops and a really friendly atmosphere. Like everywhere in Germany right now, Christmas Market stalls are being set up, which never fails to fill us with excitement. From here we entered the old town district. The city has been rebuilt to look exactly how it was before it destroyed. And they've certainly done a good job. We saw the city as the sun was setting and it was a lovely time to see it. The buildings are beautiful and the little streets are really nice. There just seemed to be a very friendly and warming atmosphere and the city itself reminded us of Prague or Vienna. You honestly wouldn't be able to tell, the city is less than one hundred years old, as the buildings have the architecture and design of a much older era. We didn't stay for long but we felt we got a feel for the city. It really is spectacular and we sort of wished we had stayed there instead. But we made our way back to Leipzig and had a cosy night back at the apartment.

Leaving on Sunday morning, we both said that we had had a really good weekend. It was great to catch up with friends and although we were a little disappointed with the city of Leipzig, we're really glad to have visited it. Maybe the problem was, that it had just been 'bigged up' a little too much. Dresden was however lovely and we could definitely visit again. On the train back we had an exciting chat about Christmas, which ended up making us far too excited and consequently a little homesick. Because of the markets and the decorations that are appearing all around us, it feels like Christmas is actually here, but we need to keep our feet on the ground and hang in there for another four weeks. Hopefully they will go fast!

This week is my last week in my current flat. Unfortunately the flat has to be vacated next Saturday, meaning I need to find somewhere else. Now, I'm sure you remember the difficulty of finding a flat in the first place, so finding somewhere for three weeks in December is almost impossible. Despite the best efforts of my teachers and friends, it's looking unlikely. Therefore I may end up in a Hostel/Hotel. It's only for three weeks and I'm in the fortunate position of having Lois' flat in Eichstätt that I can share at weekends. I'm feeling nervous right now as I'm going into the unknown, but I'm sure it will work out ok. And as Lois' teacher said on Wednesday, there's plenty of bridges on the Donau. i.e You can sleep under a bridge for three weeks. Hopefully not!

So I'm really not sure where I will be writing my next post next week from. But until then...


Tschüß

From Yorkshire to Munich and a visit to Dachau

Another fairly normal week in school again. I have a (rough) weekly routine now which I quite like. In School on Monday I was doing the usual stuff, checking work and just being there for any English-related questions. Before leaving I was asked if I would mind helping one of the teachers out with some marking of students' work. I genuinely want to help out as much as possible, so I agreed. I took a selection of students homework and brought them home. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little excited (sad, I know) but it made me feel like a real teacher with responsibility. The red pen came out when I got back and I began correcting. This is the same red pen that I just to fear during my time at school, but now it was in my hand and I had the power -Muhahaha.

Back in on Tuesday and I was working with a particularly excited class. They are really friendly and I really enjoy working with them. I got high fives and handshakes from some of the pupils, which was really nice. According to one boy, I have lots of 'fans' in the class. They were revising for a test, which was going to be taken the following day (which was 'very nicht cool' according to one boy), so I didn't have much to do. A few pupils asked for my help with some questions, so naturally I helped them and gave them the answer. I was particularly embarrassed to find that that wasn't the same answer as the teacher had, so in fact they had got it wrong. But the answer I gave was still correct English - This is the difficult thing with Language; There is often several different ways of saying something and therefore several different possibilities as a correct answer. I hope the students appreciate this and my 'fans' don't turn on me!

On Wednesday I was at my second school. I had a particularly good day here. I began the morning with the year 5 class who are so sweet and are learning about time. As always I was impressed with their level of English and like I've said before, I enjoy working with the younger classes. My next lesson was a lesson where I was playing 'teacher' again. I had been asked to prepare a lesson about where I come from in England. I spent the previous few evening planning it. I began with giving some information about Yorkshire and comparing it with Bavaria (Although Yorkshire is the biggest county in England, Bavaria is still almost 7 times bigger than Yorkshire - That's right, Germany is huge!) Next I showed a video from the Yorkshire Tourist Board, showcasing the beauty of Yorkshire. I actually felt really proud as I showed them the video and when Halifax was shown, I felt a jolt of excitement and although it may sound silly, I felt a lump in my throat. They seemed impressed and I asked what they thought of it and they said how nice it looked. (Damn right!) One boy was convinced he saw the Golden Gate Bridge, but I assured him it wasn't and it was in fact the Humber bridge. (Not quite as spectacular). We talked a little bit about vocabulary and we listed some outdoor activities that you can do in the beautiful Yorkshire dales. My next task was one I was particularly looking forward to working through with them. I had spent quite a lot of time preparing this. It was a text that I had cut up, muddled up, put in envelopes and the students' task was to remove all the little strips from the envelope and put them in the right order so that the text made sense... The text was a recipe... The topic was Yorkshire... As Rolf would say "Can you guess what it is yet?" (OK. Maybe I shouldn't mention Rolf and school children in the same post).... But that's right. It was a recipe for Yorkshire Puddings! They worked through it and then I gave them the correct form. I was surprised when some the pupils asked me if they could take the recipe home as they wanted to try it! "Of course" I said. If I can introduce just one German to the splendour of the humble Yorkshire Pudding, then I consider my duty here in Germany complete. I can't wait for Grandma to hear about this - That's right Grandma, I taught Bavarian school children how to make Yorkshire Puddings.

All the schools here also have a 'tanoy' system - like the kind of the thing you would expect in America. It allows the secretary / headmaster to speak to the entire school at once, as there is a speaker in every room. They are used very frequently and students are always being called to different offices for whatever reason. On Wednesday I got my first 'shout-out' (That's not what they call it, but it is what I'm calling it) It was nothing exciting, it was just informing the students about the room of one my classes for the following day, but non the less, it made me feel good.

On Thursday, I taught three separate classes. I prepared well for all of them and I feel comfortable whilst teaching. However, I find myself worrying a lot beforehand. Worrying if my tasks will fill the lesson, whether the students will find it too hard, stressing whether the students will revolt and I will be injured by a barrage of flying stationary. I worry too much and I fear it takes the enjoyment out of the whole experience. I breath a sigh of relief after each lesson and then begin worrying about my next lesson. I need to work on this and just relax a little more.


On Thursday evening, Lois came to Regensburg. I suggested going out to a local Bavarian Restaurant for tea, as it had been recommended to me and I was feeling particularly German. The Restaurant was nice, but since it was a German restaurant the only tables available were big long tables, that seat around 10 people. No romantic, cosy little tables for two in the corner. Oh no. In German restaurants you often find yourself sharing tables and eating with complete strangers! It wasn't too busy, so we found a vacant table and enjoyed our meal in privacy. We both took the opportunity to try something new. I opted for Schweinshaxn und Kartoffelknödel mit Krautsalat (Pork knuckle with potato dumplings and a salad) whilst Lois had Käsespätzle mit Salat (Cheese covered egg noodle dumpling things with salad). We both really enjoyed our meals and would definitely choose them again.

 

On Friday we travelled to Munich to explore the city, which is actually very close to us. It was a little overcast, but we enjoyed looking around the city before going on a walking tour where we learned about the history and culture of the city. Its a lovely city with a real mix of old and new. Lots of old buildings and history but equally many modern shops. Signs that Christmas is fast approaching were everywhere, from huge shop window displays to Christmas market huts being set up. You can feel the German Christmas buzz in the air! It was however very cold, so we following the tour we made a quick dash back to the train station and returned to Regensburg.                                                                Getting in the Christmas Spirit












You can't go to Munich and not have a Riesenbreze (Giant Pretzel!)




                                           I made a new friend on the walking tour

                 This watch was spotted on Munich's wealthy Maximillian Straße - The price tag 227,900 Euros - Wow! And you're right - It doesn't even look that special!

Back in Regensburg, we went to the supermarket to get some food for tea. As I already said, signs of Christmas are everywhere - which definitely includes the supermarket. We spotted some Glühwein, and couldn't resist. The fact we were cold seemed the perfect excuse to buy it. The Glühwein came in a 1 litre bottle and cost a mighty 1.29Euros. I bet you have your suspicions about the taste and quality of such a cheap bottle of alcohol but let me tell you now, the Glühwein was delicious. So delicious in fact, that at the time of writing this blog, we have indeed gone through 2 bottles. When you look at what you would pay at a Christmas Market for a small mug of Glühwein, buying it by the bottle is a no brainer. We will certainly miss this next year when we're back in the UK.







The next part of my post may be a little depressing, I'm afraid. On Saturday, we decided to visit Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau is located just north of Munich and is just a 30min train journey from the main train station. Dachau was the very first Concentration Camp built by the Nazis. It was built just two months after Hitler came to power in 1933. Although first a camp which mainly housed political prisoners, it soon housed Jews from all over Europe. The camp was designed to hold 6,000 prisoners. By 1945, 32,000 people were imprisoned there. The name Dachau became infamous as a camp of brutality, cruelty and death. Over 40,000 people died here.

The day was once again overcast and foggy. It was also once again very cold. This created a very atmospheric feel to our experience. Entrance to the entire camp is free, which is a good thing, as it means there really is no excuse not to come and learn about such an important bit of history. Walking through the gates and past the sign 'Arbeit macht Frei' (Work brings freedom) which is synonymous with Nazi Concentration Camps, was, even now, a frightening feeling. The bleak openness of the grounds was depressing and you really got a feel for the horror that went on there. We explored the several parts of the camp. The Bunker, where acts of torture and punishment were regularly carried out was a really scary place to be in. The Crematorium and gas chambers (which were incidentally never actually used for mass extermination - People were either worked/starved to death, or killed by gunshot - Therefore Dachau is a Concentration Camp and not an Extermination Camp like Auschwitz) were equally as eerie and shocking. The Barracks were small and obviously basic and the thought of hundreds of people in these cramped conditions was not pleasant. The Museum on site is vast and has masses of information. We found it really interesting to read about all aspects of the camp and thought it was very well presented. A film was shown, which although at times difficult to watch, gave an informative insight into the camp during its time of operation. No one can say an experience like this is enjoyable, but it was interesting. And we feel that it is an important part of history that should be recognised and learnt about.

Barrack blocks













These are the foundations of the former barrack blocks













































The Crematorium
















The Gas chambers



I would hate to end my post on a sad, depressing note, so here is some more, positive news! Ahhem. I have finally found a flat for next year! Wahoo! It is a really lovely single apartment, in a quite area just south of Regensburg. Yes, the location isn't ideal, as it is a way out of the centre, but apart from that, it really is ideal for me. I cycled there to sign the contract and it's not too far at all. Besides, you all know how much I enjoy cycling, so I actually look forward to commuting into school. (I reserve the right to change my opinion on this matter. I figure that after a few early morning commutes in early January, with fingers frozen around the handlebars and icicles hanging off the end of my nose as I fight through bitter German snowstorms, the enjoyment factor may seriously diminish) But I'm really happy with it and relieved to have somewhere to come back to after Christmas. I've struggled for so long to find somewhere, so this really is big news! I propose making Tuesday 12 November (The date of the signing of the contract) a national holiday where everybody celebrates the fact that Marcus finally found a place to live. Not sure if it will catch on....

Anyway...another week ahead, so better plan some lessons!

Tschüß!

Back to school and a trip to the doctors (Don't worry it's not as bad as it sounds)

Going on back to school on Monday, after a lovely week off, was not a nice thought but as always, once I was there, it was all fine. Besides, I really can't complain considering how many hours I do during a whole week! In my first couple of classes, I did a short talk on Halloween and Bonfire Night in England, in the hope that the students would find a little bit of English culture interesting and a pleasant change from English language. They don't celebrate Bonfire Night in Germany (obviously - Guy Fawkes, Houses of Parliament, King James, duh!) but they know about Halloween. All the students laughed when I asked if anybody did anything for Halloween because, as I learnt, in Germany only the very young children go knocking on doors and asking for sweets. (They say "Süßes oder Saures" which literally translates as "Sweet or Sour" instead of "Trick or Treat") For anyone over the age of say 8, it's just a normal day/night. Whereas in England where Halloween had become another excuse for teenagers to go out and party and get drunk, in Germany, the older students don't really care. I guess it makes sense - I mean what does Halloween even celebrate anyway?! It's another American thing that we have stolen and just turned into one huge commercial event. My last lesson was with the year 10s and involves me taking around 15 students for 45mins and basically practising English for their oral exam. This week, I had prepared a lesson about the Internet which involved them reading some articles, giving opinions and then a little discussion at the end.

In the morning, I had a chat with one of the teachers. I speak German with most of the teachers and I was a little worried that my German may have 'disappeared' after a week of mostly English (Although Lois and I do make an effort to speak German with each other regularly) but I soon found I slipped back into it. Additionally, I was ecstatic when the teacher told me how much my German had improved since my arrival in September. Normally when people say "you can speak good German" I don't tend to believe them, but I genuinely felt she had seen an improvement. I can't say I've noticed an improvement and I'm still frustrated that I struggle to say exactly what I want. I still can't hold a 'normal' conversation, but it is really, really encouraging to know its going in. On Monday afternoon, I met with my tandem partner in a café in the town centre. We spoke German for 45 minutes and then English for 45 minutes (as she wants to improve her English.) It was good and we understood each other throughout. It does give you a good feeling when you can switch between languages, so I cant wait to continue improving my language skills!

On Tuesday, I did 2 more lessons on Bonfire Night and Halloween. This was a little more in depth and involved taking the lesson. I had worksheets for the students to fill out and a few other activities. I was working with the year 7s, who, despite being very good English speakers, are naturally still improving their English skills. They particularly enjoyed trying to say the Halloween themed tongue twister I had prepared for them - "If two witches were watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch" - which of course in German is - "If two vitches vere vatching two vatches, vich vitch vould vatch vich vatch." The fact that Spider is pronounced "Spider" in English and not "Sch-pider" also took a bit of getting used to, but I was impressed. Some of them even knew about Guy Fawkes!

Something else I thought was particularly interesting was the punishment for forgetting homework. If a student forgets their homework on three occasions, they must bake a cake for the whole class to enjoy. Cool, right?! I'm sure many students actually encourage one another to 'forget' to do homework, in the hope they will get some cake! One girl who received this punishment in Tuesdays class explained that she couldn't bake a cake this week for her English class, because she already had to bake two cakes for her Biology class! - I guess one positive we can take from this, is knowing that 'The Great German Bake Off" won't have a problem in finding future competitors and the standard will definitely be high! I'm not sure if it's a 'punishment' (I suspect Lois would forget a lot of homeworks just so she has an excuse to bake!) but I like the idea.

On Tuesday afternoon, I was again with a year 10 class, but this time just spending 10 minutes with small groups outside of the classroom and practising English. It was basically just small talk, but it was really good, because their English is so good it was just like having a proper English chat! We chatted about the weekend, about shopping and about parties and they seemed to enjoy it. I try to make them feel as at ease as possible, because I know that speaking a foreign language can be an embarrassing and nerve-wracking experience and I'd like them to see me as more of a friend than a teacher.

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty standard days at my other school. I enjoyed them non the less. On the Thursday I helped one of the teachers with the writing of an English assessment for the year 10 class. In order to check how challenging it was, I actually did the test. It certainly made me think, which just goes to show how good the students' level of English is over here. I also did a little German test just to challenge myself a little more. Safe to say, I really don't miss German exams.

On Thursday evening I made my way to Eichstaett on the train to see Lois. One thing I would like to mention is the ticket system on German trains. On German trains you HAVE to buy a ticket before you board and unsurprisingly everybody does this. In England you SHOULD buy a ticket before you board, and unsurprisingly not everyone does this. I have to admit, that that used to be me. There was always a chance that you wouldn't be asked for your ticket, so you might be able to have had a free journey. And if the ticket inspector were to come round, you can just buy a ticket from him anyway - so you have nothing to lose. Here in Germany, I can't remember ever not being asked for my ticket. And if you don't have one here, then you pay a hefty fine - no excuses. I've never seen anybody who doesn't have a ticket. I think this is such a good system. Everybody knows what they need to do and they just accept it and do it. So many people in England get away with not paying for journeys (myself in included) making it very unfair for those who do pay. Over here it just seems a lot fairer and I have no issue with a buying a ticket each time I travel.

Another German observation I wanted to share occurred when Lois visited the doctors. Lois hasn't been feeling too well this last week and we visited the doctors together on Friday. The Germans have this slightly odd 'tradition' whereby anyone who comes into the doctors, greets the entire waiting room before approaching the receptionist. Like I said, it's a little odd but really it's actually very friendly and polite. As to be expected, the system of seeing a doctor is fast, smooth and efficient - standard Germany. The doctor suggested Lois give a blood sample and have it tested to make sure everything was ok. I saw Lois' face drop at the thought of having a German nurse stick a needle in her arm and take some blood. This is an unpleasant experience in the UK, never mind a foreign country! Everyone knows this process in England - Following this recommendation, you would go down to the local hospitals Hemotology department, between specific hours and join the queue to have your blood taken. It is likely that this would be either a day or two later and that you would have to wait any length of time when you got there. Once you've given your blood, this would get sent off and tested. Again, this would likely be a few days later. These results would then be sent to your doctor. You would then ring your doctor and either receive the news over the phone or often, make another appointment, a week or two later, to see them and be told about your results. So all in all this process takes a matter of weeks - I know. I've been there.

Here in Germany, the process is again, as to be expected, fantastically simple. Lois went into a neighbouring room, where a nurse was already waiting. The nurse pricked her finger (which Lois described as completely painless) and took a few drops of blood. Lois then returned to the waiting room. Five minutes (and I'm not exaggerating here) later and the doctor called her in again. Her blood had been tested and the results were fine. The doctor gave her a few more tablets to take (straight over the counter of course. No faffing about with prescriptions) and that was done. I was startled at the simplicity of this process and again found myself asking why in Britain this has to be so different.

Due to Lois not feeling great, we had a fairly chilled weekend. But on Saturday, with a desire to do something, we made to a trip to a local city called Augsburg. It's about 90 minutes away on the train and there really is quite a bit there. I would describe it as more of a 'shopping city', with lots and lots of good shops. There is also the 'Fuggerei', the oldest social settlement in the world (it's basically an old medieval village) and the father of Mozart was born there in Augsburg. As we were there, we saw the stalls for the ever nearing Christmas markets being set up and Christmas decorations were even appearing in shops and shop windows. We are both absolutely buzzing for Christmas and can't wait to explore some 'real' German markets. That being said, it's also getting very cold, so it's not as if we need reminding that winter is almost here.

Lois has just treated herself to an iPad. It is so cool! We watched a film on the train to and from Augsburg and it makes the journey go so much faster. It's definitely going to make train travel, which we will be doing a lot more of, much more appealing.

Sunday was spent in typical German fashion - Doing very little. The weather was very miserable, so we stayed inside, practised some German using a cool app on Lois' iPad, and watched some 24 (we've got the new series, as we figured we would be spending quite a bit of time inside as the cold, dark evenings approach.)

Bis zum nächsten Mal!

3 days in Prague

We didn't have much chance to be sad about the departure of Lois' family, as on early Wednesday morning we set off to Prague. Prague, for us in Bavaria, is actually closer than Berlin and after a 4 hour train journey we found ourselves in the capital of the Czech Republic.

I'm not going to beat about the bush. As we travelled through the Czech countryside, we weren't exactly filled with excitement. The Czech Republic is largely a pretty bleak looking place. We passed through many poor, run-down villages and it clearly showed signs of a country that had spent almost half the last century under communist rule. However the sight of a Tesco supermarket (That's right, Tesco!) was refreshing. It was the first Tesco we'd seen for over 2 months and despite its shabby appearance, there was something sentimental about seeing a British company, as we travelled even further from home.

We had obviously heard about all the 'negative' aspects that we would expect to experience on a visit to Prague. As we got off the train, we ensured bags were tightly closed and wallets were secure. It wasn't long before we were approached by two men offering to change our Euros into Czech Koruna, at a rate that was considerably better than the official currency exchanges. The man wasn't stupid and first of all tried to strike up a friendship by asking about London and saying how much he likes it there (I bet he's never even been!) He was pushy but not 'forceful' and we made it clear that we weren't going to be exchanging any money with him. We had done our research and found the best place to exchange money before we went, so we promptly found the shop and exchanged our Euros. Czech currency is very odd. Despite being in the EU, and being surrounded by countries that use the Euro, they've decided to keep a national currency just to be awkward (saying that, it's just occurred to me that the UK is exactly the same - I take it back) We both exchanged 100 Euros which gave us 2,750 Czech Koruna. 2,750! We both felt rich as we stuffed our two 1000 Koruna and several 100 Koruna notes into our wallets. We soon found out it's not as much as it sounds, when we visited Marks and Spencer (they like their British brands do the Czechs), which was a very surreal experience and found bread costing 37 Koruna (it works out about 1.50 Euros, so not as expensive as you first think) As you can see, the money took a bit of getting used to.

Our first impressions of Prague were not good. We felt uncomfortable at the sight of many of the dodgy looking characters hanging around the old square, there were lots of beggars, there wasn't much to see apart from the odd nice building and the shops were all tacky, souvenir shops. We checked into our apartment, which was just ok, but in a great location and went for a little wander. Our impression of Prague didn't change that much throughout the afternoon and we were left feeling a little disappointed that it hadn't quite lived up to expectations. As we were in an apartment, we decided to make the most of having cooking facilities and we cooked Spaghetti Bolognese for tea. We bought breakfast for the following, plus all the necessary ingredients for our evening meal and it cost the equivalent of 4 Euros - now that's cheap! Seeing as though it wasn't too late after tea, we decided to see what Prague was like in the evening - You may think we're either very brave or very stupid, but we were only going to be in Prague once! I'm really glad that we decided to do this, as it totally changed our opinion about Prague. We literally fell in love with the city after seeing it in the evening. The atmosphere was just so much more friendly and the way the buildings were lit up was spectacular. We went to the famous Charles Bridge and it was a hive of activity, but since many were also tourists, we felt safe. The city had totally changed and the small little back alleys were buzzing with people and people sat out enjoying drinks. A lot of the shops were still open and we discovered a different, nicer area of the city which we had missed before. It was cold so we didn't stay out long, but we returned with a new excitement and were looking forward to spending the next full day in this beautiful city.











Prague by night is beautiful





The next day started with a free walking tour of the city. We had discovered this online and it sounded great. We met at about 11 in the old town square and set off in a group on a 3 hour tour which took us around the whole city and showed us lots of points of interest. It was really interesting learning about the country of the Czech Republic, it's early history and how Prague became such an important city in Europe during this time. I found the more recent 20th Century history very interesting, especially the Nazi occupation, the resistance and the communist take over. We saw some wonderful buildings and monuments and it ended with a view of the castle (which is the biggest castle complex in the world, I'll have you know! - So big you can fit 87 White Houses within the castle complex! - See. I was listening) After a quick return to the apartment to warm up, we set off to visit the castle. This involved a walk and a tram journey as its right on the top of a hill, but once we got there we had a great view of the city. It really was a massive area and we didn't get chance to see a lot of it, but we had time to appreciate the amazing view of the city down below. It was early evening and the city was beginning to light up as the sun went down and it was just a perfect time to be there. We descended from the castle and on our way back to the apartment, we climbed the clock tower in the old town square. This again gave us a great view of the city, but from a much closer angle. It was scary looking down, but seeing any city from above at night time is pretty special. As it was our last evening in Prague, we decided to go out for our evening meal, so we found a lovely little Mexican restaurant (obviously!) and enjoyed some really tasty food washed down with a Czech beer. Perfect.





































































The view from the Castle


























The famous Astronomical Clock. Installed in 1410 and it still tells the correct time!
This is also the clock tower we climbed to get a fantastic view of Prague at night





























On Friday before it was time to leave, we were able to visit some of the market stalls in Wenceslas Square that had been recommended to us by our tour guide. We sampled some Medivina (honey wine) which was lovely and warming on what was such a cold day. We then grabbed a quick lunch at Bohemia Bagel, which consisted of delicious home made bagels and some soup - again very warming. You can tell it was cold! After this we got our train back to Regensburg and another place can be ticked off our list of places to visit.

Lois with Medivina

On thing that must be said, is that because we don't understand the language, we both felt very rude when we spoke in English. I firmly believe that if you're in another country you should follow their customs and speak their language. This hasn't been an issue so far, since we can get by speaking German here, but in Prague, I did feel rude that I couldn't say anything in Czech. It wasn't an issue as most people can also speak English, but I wish I could have at least attempted to speak their language. It also made us appreciate just how cool it is to be able to speak another language. All in all, despite our initial doubts, we both came to love Prague by the end. It is a lovely city with some lovely sights and definitely worth a visit. We must also add, that contrary to it's reputation, we didn't come across any 'seediness'. I think it's one of those places that if you look, you can find whatever you want to find, but if not, then you wont come across it. It is very touristy and we heard lots of American accents. It's obviously a very popular destination for city breaks.

The weekend didn't really consist of much. We both have quite a bit to prepare for a busy first week back, so we helped each other with some lesson ideas. i.e. Lois helped me plan a lesson. We're both sad that half term is over already (it always goes so fast!) but we're already planning a few more trips away before the year is out. It is also now November and December is therefore only around the corner, which we're both super excited about. We're looking forward to experiencing some real German Christmas Markets but most of all, we cant wait to go home for Christmas.

Now it's back into German mode!

 

                                                      We had a great time in Prague