March was non-stop. I was totally kaputt by the time Spring Break rolled around, but it was totally worth it!
First, we celebrated Claire’s birthday by visiting the Mortiz Fiege Brewery in Bochum. It. Was. Fantastic. If you ever find yourself in Bochum, definitely check it out. The tour is entirely in German, but you get lots of samples on the tour, and it is pretty educational. Best part – at the end, you’re taken to the top of the Mortiz Fiege tower, where you are given FREE CURRYWURST and all the beer you can drink for an hour. We made some new friends and had a really good time.
Currywurst!
The next weekend we made a trip down the Rhine River to the Drachenfels castle. They were having a light festival of some sort, so the castle was all lit up and really cool to walk through. On the hike up the mountain to the castle, we stopped and grabbed the last gluhwein of the year (it was delicious) and were able to take in some breathtaking views. We also encountered a Nibelungenhalle that someone had built in honor of Richard Wagner. His famous Ring opera focuses on the Rhine, and I’d taken a class on it in college so it was a fun little thing to see.
Majestic Stag at Drachenfels
March’s main event, however, was the Berlin Seminar! We went to Berlin the weekend before to get some more sightseeing in. I love Berlin because no matter how often you go, there’s always something new to see. Our favorite was the Turkish market, where we ate THE ENTIRE TIME. We split a lot of plates of flavorful, unbelievable food. Seriously, it was a major highlight. When you can go to a Turkish market in Germany, GO!
At this point I’d been tutoring in Herne, and my tutoree’s mom made me some German cheesecake to take with me. Perfect pre-Berlin breakfast!
One of the many Turkish market plates. I had to pay 50 cents extra for all the forks.
We found a Mexican restaurant! Claire can’t believe it!
Y’all remember Angry Chicken in Kreuzberg? We sure did, and you bet we went back, this time for some SUPER ANGRY wings.
This is the best doner I’ve ever had in my whole life. I have 35 pictures of it on my phone. I’m not kidding. Pro tip: if you go at 3 on Thursday morning, you don’t have to wait in line.
The Seminar itself was really great – there were so many opportunities to see old friends – who I met way back in September before we were flung all over the country, at the Fulbright events in Hamburg and Munich – as well as meet new people (Fulbrighters from all over Europe were invited as well as Germans who would be going to America in the fall). In addition to educational things where we could exchange ideas about what we’d been researching/teaching, there were several receptions and parties for all of us to cut loose.
After Berlin, instead of coming back to Bochum, I flew to Paris, where I met up with Elise (college friend who came to Germany for Christmas markets). She had never been before, which meant I got to play tour guide and send her to some of my favorite places. Highlights: duck and potatoes around the corner from our hostel in Montmartre (still dream of it), Shakespeare and Company Bookstore, the Rodin Museum, and shopping for wine in Rue Cler (the shop owner gave us awesome wine suggestions, and we finally settled on one that was within our price range and described as “amicable”).
I always knew Elise was a thinker
We then took a very interesting car-sharing ride to Arles, where our friend Carissa was staying with her French students. They were on a Spring Break exchange, and the timing was too perfect. We spent the night playing Settlers of Catan (we are cool) and catching up. The next day, we went to Versailles with one of the French teachers and ate dinner (duck again – soooooo good y’all) at a host teacher’s house. It was so unbelievably lovely, and so great to see them in Europe! Our hosts in Arles were so welcoming and kind. Sunday I took the train through Belgium back to Bochum, and had one more week of work before my epic Spring Break adventure.
Laufen mit Liz 