10 wonderful days throughout Germany

I am going to retell you of the most loaded, colourful, interesting 10 days I've spend since being here.

Those days wouldn't be so special without Falko being with me. 

I met him with my pre-organized list of all places I postponed to visit as I was expecting him to come and wanted to share the joy of seeing all of it for the first time with him.  

So here is all we did during this ten days:

1. we went to see Botanical Garden of Köln, which appeared to be lot bigger than we could expect. It is simply grand and with 2 hours wandering around we only saw the small part of it. It all gets understandable ones you google and get to know that its spread on 11,5 hectares. This botanical garden revealed my unconditional love to nature as it was full of all those beautiful, fascinating flowers one could stare and enjoy. Apart from the fact that this garden cultivates nearly 10,000 types of plants, including 2, 000 of very extinct types of alpine plants which grow in some very special conditions, this place is wonderful just to enjoy your evening bicycle rides, or walk hand in hand with your love and have a chilling evening rest on a bench with a glittering view green magic. 

Once I was done shooting each bush there and prepared myself to leave the territory,  (against Falko's continuous warning that it would close exactly on time which was displayed on the map in the entrance and that i had to hurry, which i obviously didn't) we found out that it really was closed even though we were 2 minutes late from actual visiting time. Having an expensive experience :D of being fined for not having a ticket for just one stop in Berlin U-Bahn (still then when i was first time in Germany), where the controller didn't pity my pardons of being foreigner and not understanding language or how system works here,  I fast calculated possible consequences of being illegally in the garden and decided to play my Notting Hill part of climbing the gate, (just despite the movie we were trying to get out of the trapped area). As my torture of climbing the huge gate ended up safely without anyone seeing me, we saw some man approaching gate with bicycle. He appeared to be the gardener who had keys. He talked to us gently and without any further complications let Falko out through the door. I was so mad I had to go through all this for nothing. but then we had lot fun as it was part of great experience too. 

2. Next destination was absolutely amazing Köln zoo, which is magnificent with its over 7,000 animals of more than 700 species. Even though it was quite an expensive attration (19€ for adult ticket and 12€ for student one) we never regretted any cent spend on it as it was viel viel Spaß. Only thing I was sad about is that we didn't manage to see giraffes, which I was looking forward to mostly. Ones we got to the spot where these tall and beautiful creatures were supposed to be standing, it appeared that the visit time was over and they were inside already.

Anyway anybody having chance to visit the Köln zoo- thumbs up, strongly recommended.
Here are just some pictures of them:  

3. Next day we started our long trip to Freiburg with the purpose of searching flat. It took us 5 long hours to get there as the city is located on extreme south-west part of Germany on the border of Swiss and France. 

City itself is lovely. Atmosphere is warm, people are nice and open ( I even talked to one waitress in bar and Falko was totally amazed about it, as according to him this woman had quite harsh accent and was difficult to understand). Innerpart is beautiful with this open water canals, lot green, mountain range around, tiny&full cafes ect. 

However, finding a flat in Freiburg didn't appear as entertaining as we imagined. In case it was nearly impossible to find something attractive that would interest us, especially before the start of studying term it seems. Even though the prices are unbelievably high (for Germany at least) and unaffordable as being a student, still the number of flats in the city which one could find was limited to 3. It has to be mentioned that we didn't search a flat on our own but tried to contact each broker in the city, but no one had anything to suggest. Luckily one of those three seems to be working out for us. so I can only keep fingers crossed. 

Meanwhile here are some pics of the city. 

4. we went to Frankfurt, where a very sweet friend of us hosted and made a very nice guided tour to us .. we enjoyed the city, witnessed protest against ongoing matters in Syria, walked on the shopping street where one skirt could easily cost 7,000€.. This is a street, where one could feel what money means in real life and how far we stand from it. 

Then we went to the Main Tower, which appears to be the highest buildings in Frankfurt. On the top of its 200 meters, a 360º view of the city opens to your eyes. One should not worry, people don't have to climb it on foot, the comfortable elevator leaves u at 190 meters and you only have to climb 1 floor of stairs to the top. The entrance costs just 4,60€, which is quite cheap for what excitement you can get up there. I didn't remember Falko had a phobia of height, but it was too fun to observe him standing up there and asking to take pictures of us from different angles. 

In the evening we went to Japanese restaurant and enjoyed absolutely delicious food, which was so huge that even Falko couldn't finish. Then we bought popcorn, prepared it home and watched The Great Gatsby altogether ( I loved it so much that I am reading it in German now. My first German book, yaay). 

5. Next Place we went on a day ride was Brussels. My brother was there on a job trip and he promised me to bring Georgian spices and super delicious Tkemali sauce which can last for one winter at least. And even without this, when I would knew he is on two hour drive away from me, I could never resist a temptation of paying money for train ticket and visiting him. 

Brussels looked a bit messy for me after Germany in the beginning. I could never imagine German language would be so much familiar that I already started feeling weird when seeing French signs on the highways and then all over in the city hearing people talking it. 

It seems sea-food is quite famous in there, prices are doubled of what man pays in German restaurants for eating lunch, thus we ended up eating our own sandwiches brought from home. 

Another drastic change  one can easily notice in the streets: bicycle doesnt seem to be that massively used in this city. 

The city itself is lovely, small (I mean in the inner-city part one can reach everything on foot when time-wise you can afford it), multicultural, busy.. 

everyone knows the Manneken-Pis, but I was so happy to find this girl statue while wondering around within narrow streets of the city. I find it too lovely. 

6. On our way to North we paid a visit to Falkos very good friend. The evening was lot fun. First we went to Mexican restaurant, then to some pub, where we ended up being on somebody's bachelor party. We talked lot, drank, enjoyed evening, took some shots of Hannover and here they are:

7. We made a surprise visit to Falkos parents and they were very happy about it. I was so much expecting this meeting again, as I missed them since very wonderful Christmas holidays, part of which I got as they  invited me and made me feel like home. 

It was double wonderful this time as 1) I wasn't any more that nervous as for the first time, 2) I understood  and could accordingly (with mistakes but still) answer on some key questions which didn't need such complexity. They organized very lovely grilling on a balcony with candle lights, absolutely amazing view on lake right in front of the house, which makes u feel just like wanting to jump in it (if there is good weather and u know swimming, which i don't know :D, so I can only sit and enjoy it) and  red wine, home-made salads, wonderful company of very intelligent, amusing people and spending nice evening. One can't ask for more. 

I got very interesting informations, that this night was ,,Langen Nacht des offenen Denkmals.'' This means each year, on  first Saturday of September a special mood can be felt in the streets of Stralsund's old town part as on this day City Hall, museums, churches, monasteries, private houses, old vaults, storage and courtyards open their doors and gates and invite you to an atmospheric journey through a Stralsund's arts and cultural scene. It should be very interesting and entertaining as well. I couldn't manage this time to see it but I can always get back and be part of this special event. 

Earlier that day we visit Falkos grandfather for coffee. We were lucky as Falkos uncle was there too. Grandpa organized a very lovely tea\coffee time in his wonderful garden which I got so much astonished with. Last time I was there, it was winter, thus i couldn't see what Falko meant when he previously retold me about it. One can easily see that this garden is part of his life and he puts lot effort and love in taking care of it (due to his age he gets support and help of loving an caring people around him). 

My stay in Stralsund was so amazing that I dropped couple tears on the way back to Köln. 

P.s. For those who don't know much about Stralsund, you should definitely plan your trip to this city. It is located in Northeast Germany in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommen. The two bridges and several ferry services connect Stralsund and amazingly beautiful island Rügen to each other. In the inner-city, one can enjoy with visiting huge Ozeaneum, where you can see various types of fishes and other sea-animals. Plus, since 2002, Stralsund's old town is honoured as a UNESCO World Heritage. . 

This is all for now, will get back with the updates next time ))

As it's quite late and I have to stand up tomorrow again at 7 o'clock (to which my bio-rhythm apparently doesn't want to get used to), I bet you can forgive me for my spelling mistakes. 

sincerely,  

S. 

It's been nearly a month that I am in Köln.

There are lot things one might love about this city, but first is the people. If you want to break a stereotype about Germans being not that open and warm, you should come to Köln. You will be totally surprised how eager they are to help you no matter of your level of German and wasting their precious time. :D

About time. Timing really matters in this country. You can see this in all aspects of living. I, being a sleepy-head Georgian, found it extremely difficult to manage everything on time.  It took me 3 weeks to set my life in routine and don't miss the only train over and over again that brings me to language centre. During our orientation days we were strongly asked not to bother ourselves entering the room after we are late more than 5 min (I mean this is sick isnt't is? ! :D) bearing in mind all this traffic lights at each corner on the street.

As I mentioned it, lets say couple words about traffic lights. Imagine you are standing on a very usual street (not main street or so), you look left, look right and there is not car coming from anywhere,.. simply no traffic on horizon and people standing at the red light for literally full 5 (minimum) minutes waiting that green comes.This makes me sick. That's what I call waste of time. :D Here its called being a part of civil society, fully respecting the rules of common behaviour. And if accidentally you happen to see somebody crossing the street in such cases,  you definitely know this one is not German.

Bicycles: bearing in mind my background and childhood experiences, I never got to know how to ride a bicycle (neither swimming, which surprises everyone who gets to know this :D). Actually since being a 3 year old, where I had a three-wheeled bicycle (one and only) I never got a real one. At some point, (ca. 1995-2000 :D) there was lot more important things to worry about than me having a byce. After civil war period building up the family finances, gathering money for private education (as school education was never well enough to pass university entrance exams), so on and so on, I didn't really complain a lot and was quite happy with my childhood. After that even my interests changed and I never tried to get one on my own. Maybe that's because the ''bicycle culture'' is not that developed in our country. Even today, one might see more students using public transportation, buses, mini-buses, private cars, big jeeps than a bicycle. Accordingly, my first time experience of coexistence with bicycles was quite fatal. I am not used to the fact that bicycles have their own way and there they ride quite fast. If you are on their way, you have to be aware that this might end up bad. If not a couple punch and clank of bells I would end up lying on the ground. :)) but now its fine. it's all about getting used to.
Moreover, I got so 'brave' that i want to learn riding it. Why not having one, when half of the city uses it as a major transport and not only for themselves but carying two kids at the same time with it. :D

Beer: Locals are so proud of their special type of beer, Kölsch, which is quite small and costs only 1 euro and 30 cent, that I can never justify myself for not grabbing one. Having awareness of my current state of liver, I should better not drink it at all. but if you listen to my German teacher, its even good for bone structure and protects against osteoporosis. (when we all laughed about it, she brought an article, proving a result of one research made by University of California, reiterating what she said the other day. I guess she took our laugh in wrong way, like we didn't trust her or so..:D). Anyway, 0,3l beer ist Gesund. 

Garbage: within our orientation days, we were explained how to split the garbage in right way. But in real life, I find myself standing in front of bin, not being able to decide where does this one belong, to green, yellow, black or whichever other color waste-bin. :))

Water: usually water from the tap costs quite lot. As I understood you pay double. for drinkable water and the water you make dirty. Nevertheless, at the end of the year, someone will come and over-check if you are using more than one person is supposed to be using and that's where you have to pay additional. I understand now very clearly, why Falko was so surprised seeing that we  leave tap half day open, not paying attention to it. :D (We live in student dormitories for this 2 month, thus, we don't pay water costs separately now, but that's a very important thing to know while living for next 2 years here).  

What I love about this country is that you can get money for the plastic bottles you have after drinking a water. This is simply amazing. 

Food:  Food is quite cheap in this country. Something like Georgia. But sometimes even lot cheaper. You can imagine my face when i saw that 1l milch can cost only appr. 50 cent (in Georgia u pay  1,5 Euro very easily for it). They say, where its possible French and Swiss people drive to Germany to make food shopping and go back. 

Fines:  when you don't have a ticket and take public transportation, in case you are checked u pay -40 Euro. 

crossing a street at red light - 40 euro. 

one driver showing another one a middle finger - 50 euro (if I remember it right  as our teacher told us this)

one driver simply signing at another, that he is driving like a dumb :D - 20 euro  (our teacher said this too). Thus, for showing this 

 :D incredible. I am in love with this country. 

That's all I know about Germany so far. I did all bureaucratic stuff like registration in the city hall (once you stay more than 14 days in Germany you have to sign yourself at some address. Otherwise you could have problems to find a flat to rent, being said: where were you and what u did before now?). I opened bank account at Deutsche Bank, as being told to be very friendly and easy with foreigner students. 

Now, I am fully relaxed being concentrated on my studies and upcoming events which CDC plans for us. I have lot more to explore, botanic garden, zoo. This all sounds quite fun for me.

S. 

And still, what am I doing here?! - a small note for those, who have not heard about the recent story of my life.

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,

let's be sincere from the very beginning and confess: If anyone would tell me around 2 years ago, that I would be kicking myself this hard to learn German, a language which I considered one of the ugliest in whole world (I have to apologise for that. Luckily my opinion about it appeared to be completely wrong, but let's talk about this some other time), I would laugh at that persons face and recommend to wake up from the dream. but as old and shabby proverb states: ''never say never'' as life has proved me it may all turn out unexpectedly different from what you may imagined from your life.

So here comes the stream of unbelievable developments within last year:

1. I fell in love with a German boy, who is the main line in my life now ( Again, I could believe anything happening to me, but not this. Whoever knows me can say I don't lie when I say that I love everything planned in life. This definitely was not included in my plans)

2. Once I fell from head to toe, I decided to try a bit of German just for entertainment. And that's where it began. I should take back all the crap I have talked about this language throughout my life. Honestly, it is detailed, beautiful, polite, warm, precise - all at the same time. It doesn't allow you even slight mistakes as it can change whole meaning. My conclusion about it is the following: you either speak correct Deutsch or you don't speak it at all. There is no middle way.  As everything in my life I took it as a challenge and here I am in Köln - Carl Duisberg Centren, learning it again.

3. Due to the 1st point of this post, the only country I applied for my master studies was Germany. (Even though I always thought my heart belonged to UK,) I even tried a year before and got admitted by Essex University, but that's where I say that fate played a big role and I happened to be in South Africa for Pictet competition and I missed my interview for scholarship. Thus, my dream of studying in the foggy island got naturally postponed.

4. Plan to study in Germany didn't appear so easy as through the tough competition on DAAD-OSI scholarship, I ended up in waiting list. I never gave up on my aim, and kept on studying German in Goethe Institute which is amazing centre for studying languages.

5. Then, Some winners of the DAAD-OSI scholarship over-thought their decision of coming to learn in Germany and that's how I got in. I never regretted of putting so much effort in my dream and simply pursuing it. Neither did now. I am not big fan of Paulo Coelho writings, but this one I find inspiring and fit to constant motivation: ''when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.''

4. The University I am going to do my master studies is called Albert Ludwigs University of Freiburg. It's enlisted among top 100 universities of world. But most of what I care is that I am gonna spend 2 beautiful years in a very lovely, very friendly, very green city on the border of Switzerland and France. 

Life couldn't have been more gifting to me . 

I am thankful for each opportunities I got in life and hopefully this blog will prove its readers ( I don't expect them to be lot :D) how fun life can be when u just enjoy it as it is!. 

So, auf wiederhören,
Tschöööö :))

S.