Month in Germany, Rainy Field Trip, Tübingen
I can't believe that as of tomorrow, I have been living in Germany for one month! This past month has sure been filled with lots of things to do, see, and experience. I am so incredibly thankful for this opportunity to be in a country that I love, and grow not only personally, but also as an educator as well.
This week at camp, we ventured to Esslingen, a small town right outside of Stuttgart to take the kids to a small Burg (castle in German). Because we were headed outside the city limits, we had to catch a regional train or an RE/IRE/RB train, which required us to navigate through the main station or
Hauptbahnhof with 26 tiny humans, which was probably the hardest thing I've had to do as a teacher. We got on the train to Esslingen, and all seemed like it was going to be a great day! However, the weather had other plans for us. We arrived in Esslingen, and it was now raining, instead of the drizzling. The tiny humans were hungry for their snack, so we had to sit inside of the mall near by the main station, which we for sure got dirty looks for. But we had no choice! Then the myriad of children having to use the restroom started, and as an American, I forgot that we had to pay to use the restroom in public places, such as malls, shopping areas, etc. So, we paid for all the kids to use the restroom and then moved on to the bus we needed to take to get to the Burg. We arrived at the Burg, and nothing is open. We see an open air festival set up, but we couldn't access the covered part of the castle for the kids to eat their lunch. We then found out that the castle was closed, due to the festival occurring the next couple days. By then, most of the kids were soaked, tired, and cranky. So we jumped back on the bus with our 35 people (tiny humans included), got back on the train, and then took the U-Bahn (subway like train) back to school, where we had lunch and the kids were treated to a movie and popcorn in the Aula (auditorium)
Yesterday, the majority of the intern squad (Julia, Billy, Ian, Carly, Olivia) + Vicki ventured by train to Tübingen, a town about an hour via train from Stuttgart. Julia was our tour guide through the city, as she had studied there a couple years back for an extended period of time. We all so enjoyed getting to see the city through Julia's eyes. We got the chance to explore the castle on the hill, where some of the University of Tübingen classes are held for history. I thought how cool it would be to have classes in the castle. After exploring the castle, we headed to this yummy place on the river for beers and authentic Swabian food. After lunch, we ventured through the Altstadt (the old city), and then us girls decided to rent a row boat to explore the river. Surprisingly, we all did really well, despite the immense amount of people on the river. We finished our afternoon getaway enjoying Eis (ice cream) on the city wall, overlooking the river.
This week at camp, we ventured to Esslingen, a small town right outside of Stuttgart to take the kids to a small Burg (castle in German). Because we were headed outside the city limits, we had to catch a regional train or an RE/IRE/RB train, which required us to navigate through the main station or
Hauptbahnhof with 26 tiny humans, which was probably the hardest thing I've had to do as a teacher. We got on the train to Esslingen, and all seemed like it was going to be a great day! However, the weather had other plans for us. We arrived in Esslingen, and it was now raining, instead of the drizzling. The tiny humans were hungry for their snack, so we had to sit inside of the mall near by the main station, which we for sure got dirty looks for. But we had no choice! Then the myriad of children having to use the restroom started, and as an American, I forgot that we had to pay to use the restroom in public places, such as malls, shopping areas, etc. So, we paid for all the kids to use the restroom and then moved on to the bus we needed to take to get to the Burg. We arrived at the Burg, and nothing is open. We see an open air festival set up, but we couldn't access the covered part of the castle for the kids to eat their lunch. We then found out that the castle was closed, due to the festival occurring the next couple days. By then, most of the kids were soaked, tired, and cranky. So we jumped back on the bus with our 35 people (tiny humans included), got back on the train, and then took the U-Bahn (subway like train) back to school, where we had lunch and the kids were treated to a movie and popcorn in the Aula (auditorium)
Yesterday, the majority of the intern squad (Julia, Billy, Ian, Carly, Olivia) + Vicki ventured by train to Tübingen, a town about an hour via train from Stuttgart. Julia was our tour guide through the city, as she had studied there a couple years back for an extended period of time. We all so enjoyed getting to see the city through Julia's eyes. We got the chance to explore the castle on the hill, where some of the University of Tübingen classes are held for history. I thought how cool it would be to have classes in the castle. After exploring the castle, we headed to this yummy place on the river for beers and authentic Swabian food. After lunch, we ventured through the Altstadt (the old city), and then us girls decided to rent a row boat to explore the river. Surprisingly, we all did really well, despite the immense amount of people on the river. We finished our afternoon getaway enjoying Eis (ice cream) on the city wall, overlooking the river.
