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Adventures in Deustchland

DEAREST READER,

In March, my friend German friend Sybilla and I were in talks about a visit to her hometown of Frankfurt, Germany. At the time, I thought that by April, I would be…

1. Tired of traveling for the moment (especially after the go-go-go pace of spring break)
2. Needing to stick to a stricter budget since the extra 6 weeks of traveling after the semester will be rather costly.
3. And most importantly, longing to see a familiar face in person.

I couldn’t have been more correct about all the above.

Although I’ve done a number of weekend rendezvouses to here and there in Europe, the visit to Frankfurt was remarkably different. Not only did I get welcomed in by a friend, but by a family who could not have been more gracious.

The adventures in Deustchland, better known as Germany, started on a rather cloudy afternoon in Cannes. After the usual airport business in Nice (to which I successfully used a mobile boarding pass for the first time!), one stereotype that I heard about Germans proved its validity when I landed at Frankfurt Airport 15 minutes earlier than our scheduled landing.

Apparently, Germans are very timely.

This is the first of many cultural revelations that were discovered to be true over the course of the weekend. I couldn’t help but laugh at each instance and neither could Sybilla when I would ask her if it was so.

Before we got to all those types of conversations, we simply enjoyed the fact that we were reunited so much earlier than expected. The last time I had seen her was in December which was when she finished her semester abroad at my school (Cal State University Long Beach). After introducing her to my family in San Diego around Christmas time, it appears that it was time to do a role reversal. I would be the tourist this weekend and she would be the guide.

We soon headed to the Fey house (her parents’ home) in central Frankfurt where I was introduced first to the neighborhood before the family. The city was finally different than something I’ve seen before. It wasn’t primarily gray with hints of color like London or Parisian suburbs. Instead, there seemed to be greens, maroons, pinks, and other colors that you wouldn’t necessarily think could work together, but the German’s pull them off quite nicely.

A street in Frankfurt. Colors, finally!

To my surprise, we entered a building similar to the ones above, where Sybilla and her family have lived in since before she was born. She even showed me her family’s crest which is cemented into the building itself!

The night was dedicated to introductions mainly. To her parents whose kindness was immediately given to me. To the city whose small-town feel I picked up on right away. To her grandmother who proceeded to take my hand and give me the warmest welcome I could of ever received from someone . It didn’t even matter that it was completely in German. I could get what she was saying even though I had no idea what she was saying exactly. The only phrase I knew in German was how to say “my name is…” and even then, I couldn’t say it correctly!

Oh and let’s not forget, my introduction to the food! German food turned out to be quite the cuisine. Hearty, rich, and delicious. See below!

Nom nom nom. 😉

Sybilla’s parents helped me navigate the many options and I settled on the above. Not a bad choice at all and apparently, it was a very traditional German plate. An absolute food coma had yet to hit until after dinner however when we were treated to some traditional Belgian waffles courtesy of Glen, the Belgian exchange student who currently lives with Sybilla’s parents.

Real Belgian waffles made by a Belgian. My kind of Friday night!

It is now clear to me that food is one of the gateways to getting to know a culture. And let me say, I certainly enjoyed German food right off the bat! It was a good precursor to what good times were to come.

Saturday morning started at 10am. Promptly at 10am, mind you. And it was then that I finally understood why Sybilla would talk to me about how much she missed German bread when she was in CA. It’s comparable to French bread in terms of variety and deliciousness. I already miss it myself!

The day of touristy things then began after a lovely walk from the suburb to the downtown. It took no less than 20 minutes and again, I then understood why Sybilla preferred to walk everywhere or take public transportation while in CA. Revelation number three now, is it?

Along with Stephanie, another German friend of Sybilla’s who had just moved to Frankfurt a couple months ago, we headed off on a girls day out to play tourists.

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We walked pretty much all over Frankfurt and I soon discovered that although the city is adorned with large modern buildings that give the impression of a “big metropolitan city”, it really did have small town charm. No need for a car. No need to take the metro everywhere. Frankfurt is completely walkable. Turn one corner and you’ll end up in a park. Turn another, and you’ll end up at some cute shop. This, in addition to all my other first impressions of Germany, made for some great table talk at dinner that night.

Sybilla and I avant le dîner samedi soir.

I must say, Germany seems like it is very hip with it and I’m told that Frankfurt is a pretty modern city for the country. There is no lederhosen to be found here! I’ll have to wait until Munich or Vienna to see that.

The final day in Frankfurt was complete with a morning of bike-riding/walking/deep conversation in the forest close to the Fey’s house. Our morning out in nature meant that I had a chance to see another side of Frankfurt. The greener side.

At the spring of life?

Water for immortality?

Happy that I now get to be young forever. Haha.

The beginning of our trek into the forest.

Wowzas. Aren’t the colors amazing?

C’est moi!

Upon leaving back to Cannes, I couldn’t have been more happy that I had the opportunity to see my jet-setting, adventure-seeking, direct as can be, and smiley friend Sybilla who helped me throughout all the stages of my application process to study abroad. I was even more delighted to me the her parents, Ute and Achim, who extended such kindness and generosity towards me. Thus far, Germany has been a joy.

I must say, if you’ve got friends in the right places, it’s best you take a trip to see them.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• I’ve got my internship for Le Festival de Cannes! I will be working alongside another AIFS student for filmfestivals.com as a blogger. Neat, eh? More news to come about that once I receive more news myself. 
• The last AIFS overnight trip is this weekend to Provence. We will be heading to Arles, Avignon, and some other small towns in the area.
• Summer plans are all laid out!
  

  London –> Paris –> Strasbourg –> Munich –> Vienna –> Prague –> Berlin
  –> Stockholm –> London –> Nice –> Los Angeles.

  It’s going to be a whirlwind in June! Full calendar to come in the next post and please pray for me as I’m in the midst of getting this all set up.

• Last, but not least, here is the line-up for who is coming to the festival. http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-04-18/ryan-gosling-and-emma-watson-movies-to-debut-at-cannes-film-festival

J’espere que tout va bien mes amis. Je vous manque beaucoup. 

LOVE,

ELISE