Also, this blog won`t be properly ending like I planned at the end of the month, as I have an internship in Nimes, France. I don`t know how much internet I`ll have though, so it will be a while before I know how regularly I can update this. I leave Germany on the 1st of June, go home, turn 21 on the 4th of June and head off to France on the 10th! Crazy.
We left the Roadtrip at my slightly disillusioned thoughts of Prague. The next day we headed to the main station, where we had booked ourselves onto a coach heading to Nuremburg. Shortly after a gleaming white coach with the red Deutsche Bahn stripe and logo pulled up, and we ashamedly admitted our relief at joining the German transport system so soon. It`s like a sort of cuddle blanket for the weary traveller.
Upon arriving in Nuremberg we changed onto a train heading to our Couchsurfing crib. Another thing I`d always wanted to try is Couchsurfing (link here), a worldwide organisation whereby if you`ve got a spare sofa or bed in our house and are open to meeting new people you can post it on this website, and people can apply to come stay with you. Basically its like Mitfahrgelegenheit in my last post only with sleeping not driving. I was a little nervous of doing this alone, so with Whitney and Tylor there it seemed like a good opportunity to meet new people and safely. Plus, its free!
I knew the place wasn`t directly in Nuremberg, but hadn`t quite realised it was a 40 min train ride away. Then again, that`s my commute, so that`s standard for me! Anyway, we were picked up by our Host, Michael, in Ansbach, Bavaria, and taken to his farmhouse. He lives in a house share in a cool farmhouse with 7 other people in literally the middle of nowhere. I can`t imagine students doing that in Britain but it was great! Everyone was great and it was really chill, they gave us home made apple juice, owned chickens and a cat and our Host played in an acoustic band, called Elena Jank & the Acoustics (our Host on the double bass), check out this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJwA9RsIxlQ
I read an article (click for article) yesterday about the downfall of Couchsurfing. I may be new, but experiences like this and the couple of times my flat hosted a Surfer make me glad that, if the original feeling of couchsurfing is indeed fading away, I`ve been lucky enough to experience some of it myself. It was such a positive experience.
The next day we headed back to Trier, it may have taken nearly 8 hours and 5 regional trains/trams but our spirits were high, and we were cheered by the prospect of our own beds. It was 10 days, 9 cities and a hell of a lot of fun.
Here`s a few photos I missed last time:
4 of some 10 odd cars in a row that had been clamped in Prague. Gutted.
The view of Prague from the castle, pretty nice eh?
As a final note: on the weekend before the fire, which is the subject of the next post by the way, we celebrated Whitney`s hen night/bachelorette party/Junggesellinnenabschiedsparty (spot the German term). In Germany the modern tradition is to have a Bauchlädchen, a sort of tray on a neck strap, from which you sell things like cupcakes, shots, sweets and condoms. We got Whitney dressed up and hit sunny, crowded Trier on a Saturday afternoon and wow it was so much fun! Not the most intelligent of pursuits admittedly but so entertaining.
It was also heartwarming how generous the public were, most people paid at least 3 euros for a cupcake, some 5 or 6, and before we knew it we`d earned 60 euros from 15 cupcakes. The Apprentice, here we come. Below is a picture of us before setting off. Guess which one is Whitney!
Bis gleich!
P.S The Porta Nigra and its surrounding area are covered in 500 mini red and orange statues of Karl-Marx, famous philosopher and born in Trier. It is in honour of his 195th birthday apparently. Amusingly, over 50 have already been stolen.
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