Deutschland

May 1st, 2013 was the first day of the Canadian Summer School in Germany (CSSG), one of the greatest adventures I've had yet. This program is based out of the University of Alberta and consists of about 50 students going to Kassel, Germany. There, we live with a host family, we go to school every day in the morning, spend time exploring the city and learn a TON of German. During the 6.5 weeks of the program, we got to travel a little too; we went to Cologne and Berlin, and even a soccer game!

Of the things I miss the most, Kassel was definitely one of them. I miss the city, the hills, the trams and the general ambiance of this smaller city (only 200,000 people). Even though I had school every day, it was still quite relaxing. School ended at 12, then we had the whole day and night to roam with our friends, eat Spaghetti Eis, go to cafés or shop at the mall.

Yes, this is ice cream!

I loved going to a soccer game! It was exhilarating! I had never gone to a sporting event before, other than baseball, but this was a completely different ball game (see what I did there?). Germans are crazy! There were two "hooligan sections," where you were allowed to be drunk, have noise makers and scream. There was even a drum leader and everyone was perfectly in sync with their cheers! Plus, I had a good friend sitting beside me answering all my dumb soccer questions!

Cologne was interesting. We climbed all 550 steps inside the cathedral, shopped until I dropped, went out with part of the group to a wine festival, then off to drink delicious local beer and get lost in the city trying to find a club, then trying to sleep on the bus, covering in shopping bags.

Oh, Berlin. I fell in love with that city. All the monuments, the history, the pieces and scars of the wall, the things to see, the art, the culture, it was incredible! I wandered by myself and got lost for a couple of hours in the city (yes, we are allowed to wander alone-we have cellphones!) and everywhere I turned, there was something else to see. Then, going clubbing with the girls was another adventure! It's not a city like Paris or New York, with a romantic reputation; no, this is a city that you don't see coming. It grows on you and before you know it, you don't want to leave.

I miss Germany. I loved every part of my trip, even if it was hard to be so far away from home sometimes. It was such an amazing experience that I will always be grateful to have had.

Bis bald Deutschland!