The French Riviera: Nice, Cannes, Monaco

Friday April 4^th-Monday April 6^th 2009:

Imagine Megan and I in the style of crazy rich old ladies: “Alas darling, I believe we are running low on diamonds.” “Why yes, diamonds are necessary with our white hats and massive yachts.”

Sigh, the French Riviera. A land of Yachts, sun, beaches and cat calling men. After my day of volunteering for Obama’s town hall event, I went home, had a phone interview for a grant, ate dinner, and went to the train station. I was luckily able to take the tram and walk as normal to the station. The barricades from the “zone rouge” were not in my friends Jolin’s favor. We were supposed to meet at the train station and take a night train together to meet some of our friends in Nice. Jolin however cut the timing a bit too close, just missed a tram, and wasn’t able to catch another one or bike to the station in time.

The night train was an experience. Since I had booked my train a bit late, the couchettes were quite a bit pricier so I opted for the seats. The train was relatively empty so I was able to spread out between two chairs. I was reasonably comfortable except for the light, and loud snoring coming from an old man several seats behind me. However I had an ipod, and wrapped my black scarf like a bandana. I also used my sweatshirt as a pillow, and wrapped myself n my jacket and travel towel. Had I been anywhere but a train, I must have been quite a site, wrapped in random bits of clothing, curled up in a ball and randomly tossing and turning. I probably would have been suspected of being crazy, homeless, or a combination of the two. However being the night train, no one looked twice.

About 12 hours later, I arrived in Nice slightly disoriented but reasonably rested. I immediately ran into Megan, Kristin, Kayla and Amina. Megan took one look at me and said, “You are dressed way too darkly, and we will change that.” Seeing as if my normal French black and brown clothing didn’t entirely jibe with the sun, I then went and changed into my more “summery” clothing, locked my suitcase in a secured locker and headed out into the French Riviera. The plan was to go to Cannes, the land of film, fortune and sandy beaches. Megan and I decided to take a bus (less expensive and more scenic-) and the other girls took the train. I grabbed coffee, then feeling more human we walked a bit around Nice.

It was a beautiful day, bright sun, and about 60-70 degrees. We walked to the old part of the city to see the famous flower market. The old part of the city was quite charming, and beautiful. The locals were all out buying their local fresh produce, meat, and honey. There were stands of lavender and beautiful flowers. After being slightly overwhelmed with beauty, especially after just getting off of a train, we bought some fresh strawberries, peppers and olive to eat on our bus trip to Cannes.

The bus was only 1 Euro, but over an hour with at least 30-40 stops. However it was fun to see some of the countryside along the way. After we got off, we attempted to find our friends, however there was some miscommunication with directions. We eventually gave up trying to find them and ended up lying on a beach for a few hours. It was relaxing ad lovely. There is something really nice about being able to just talk (and Megan is fun to talk with), and soak up the sun. We eventually met up with the rest later, walked around a bit, and took the scenic bus back to Nice. The night was really low key; we ate dinner in the old part of the city and headed back to the hotel. Our hotel is normally pricier, but Kristin found a good deal on one of the third party websites. It was a lovely little place with a porch with vines and a tiny little pool. The only inconvenience was that we were set a bit far from the center of town, and the buses stopped at 8:30 pm. This meant it was difficult to even have dinner without having to take a taxi, but after some frustration, we managed to find one that would take 5 people. After skypeing Kevin, a glass of wine, I collapsed into a peaceful soft and fluffy sleep.

The next morning we slept in a little, and took it easy. I woke up, and then took a walk down the hill to a grocery store that I heard was open. I bought my food for the day and then seeing the sun only getting brighter, headed out to the beach. It was quite rocky, but the water was still. The water was still freezing, but it wasn’t hot enough yet to be sweating “bullets” in the sun. After awhile on the beach, we walked back up to the hotel to get our things together. We checked out at noon, went to the train station, put our stuff in secured lockers, and took another one-euro bus to Monaco.

Monaco is a tiny little “sovereignty” still under the rule of a King and Queen (I believe). It is known for its yacht’s, ritzyness and casinos. I can now see why my aunt (who finances large yachts) goes to the boat show every year. The marina’s look like “normal” sized marina’s on steroids. It was a beautiful day to walk around and take in this unique country. The old part of the city lies next to the castle, and has a beautiful view over the marinas, mountains and the hotels/casinos. We saw the changing of the guard, which was fun and walked around the old, but very well kept and rich buildings.

After that, we headed down and decided to check out the casino part of town (about a five minute walk). Man, that is a section of very concentrated wealth. There were beautiful ornate gardens and fountains, and a very ritzy casino. The “Casino Monte Carlo”. We walked in and immediately had to check our cameras “no photos or cell phones!” the guards instructed. The building was huge, ornately painted with a decorative gold colored molding. The building also had an opera house, and a small room of slots. Deciding that we would only live once, we all chipped in a euro and played a slot machine (the smallest bill you can put in is a 5). We of course didn’t win anything, but we can now say we have gambled in Monaco.

We took the bus back about 4 pm, and afterwards continued to walk around Nice for a bit. We took “jumping pictures” off of the fountains, and then walked to a “famous hotel” that is on all of the postcards. The rest of the group bought some “Doner kebabs” a sort of Turkish fast food that is popular all over Europe.) We then walked to the train station, got our luggage, and took another night train back to Strasbourg.

Concluding remarks: It was lovely to spend a few low key and relaxing days on the French Riviera. However, the cities we were in were a bit ritzy for my taste. Next tie I am back in the area of the “Cote d’Azure”, I would like to travel to some of the smaller, medieval villages. It was a fun and relaxing weekend, with some much needed sun. Next time I travel to Cannes, I hope it is in order to see Ali’s film in the infamous festival.

The NATO Summit

Friday April 4^th 2009:

I first heard about the G20 summit when the owner of “Les Fleurs des Champs” told Kevin and I that “Obama voyagera a Strasbourg le 3 et 4 de Avril”. I really didn’t know what this meant at the time, or really its historical or social significance. Towards the end of March, we started to hear rumors about how the city would be shut down, and only residents with special passes from the police would be able to pass into certain parts of the city, such as the downtown and “republique”. They had “zones rouges et oranges” (red and orange zones) We were initially advised to try and leave Strasbourg, since it would be difficult to get around, the security would be intense, and there were strong possibilities of strikes. Some of the youth are not pleased with NATO’s policies on the Afghanistan occupation, and like any good European and French citizens, they decide to pose demonstrations. Although most are quite harmless and calm, some anticipated these demonstrations to be more restless.

I had initially made plans to go to Nice (on the Riviera) that weekend. However, the night we returned from our trip to Nancy, Verdun and Reims, I got a call from professor Bach. He told me that the American consulate contacted him, and that they needed volunteers for President Obama’s Town Hall meeting. I had unfortunately just bought my train tickets, and professor Bach really didn’t have any information except that it would be on Friday. I decided to add my name to the list, and then talk it over with my friends involved.

It was much turmoil the rest of that week pondering the pros and con’s of every possible situation. Three members of our traveling group had bought their tickets on a special- (non-refundable) so they decided to depart as planned. I had an orchestra rehearsal during a required meeting for this event. However, once I was informed that I in fact could volunteer without having attended. I jumped on board and my friend Jolin and I changed our tickets, departing Friday night after the meeting.

I planned to wake up at 6 am on Friday morning, but didn’t hear my alarm and overslept. At 7 am I quickly threw on my clothes and hurriedly ate some cereal, soy yogurt and drank some coffee. As I was running around and getting ready my host father Claude appeared in his pajamas and looked at me quizzically saying “Deja?” (Already?) He then remembered the event and wished me good luck. I grabbed some food for later and madly pedaled towards “Cine Cite” a movie theatre, which the volunteers were supposed to meet at 7:30. Luckily my bike path was clear, except for the lines of police vehicles all along the river and in front of the conservatory. As the week progressed we noticed a drastic increase in the number of police officers and security personnel, and by the end there seemed to be more police cars than civilian vehicles. After I arrived and met some familiar faces from the group, we were divided up into groups. Some were already given task but we had to just continue to wait in the crowd. “Hurry up and wait” and not really knowing what was going on was a good part of our day. We received our “official” badges-a piece of paper saying “benevole” (volunteer), with our name typed or written underneath fastened to our shirts with a safety pin. Even more amusing was the fact that “benevole” was spelled with incorrect accents.

We eventually wandered inside and were promptly assigned a place to stand and direct people through the movie theater, where they would go out the other side, board a bus, and be taken to the Rhemus stadium to see Obama. The streams of people just seemed to keep coming, and I just smiled, said “bonjour” and pointed in the general direction. After awhile, several of us were given a piece of paper, and instructed to each board a different bus full of people headed to the Rhenus, and read the sheet of instructions to them, in English and French, and to “add to it” if we wished. I nervously boarded and sat in the front right behind the bus driver. After everyone boarded, I saw through the window that a college was making her announcements, so I followed suite. I then took the microphone and, like a tour guide, explained the procedure, where the bathrooms would be, and told them to eat their food before going through security. After my announcement in French, the bus clapped, and a nice lady in the front said “In English now, it would be a good exercise for everyone.” After the English version, I sat down and began to chat with the lady across from me. She was an English teacher, and very nice, talkative, and like most people I met, was very excited for this event.

Our bus was one of the first ten (of the 40 total) to circulate to the stadium. We were escorted by police officers of motorcycles, both in front and behind the line of buses. Since this stadium was in the middle of the red zone, and very tightly secured, everyone who had the proper tickets to attend had to be transported by these circulating busses to the event. All 4,000 of them. After the people on my bus got off I sat back as our empty bus headed back to the Cine Cite. We were stopped and checked by a police officer, at which that point I found out that our bus driver was German and didn’t speak French. We drove through the back parking lot, and stopped as a line of empty buses formed. At that point, the bus driver stopped the bus, said something to me in German, descended and began to smoke. He said something else, and I replied “Ich sprechke nicht deutsch” (I don’t speak German). He kept gesturing, speaking German and smoking, so I took this as my cue to get off the bus and walk towards the line of people and the other volunteers.

I stood outside for a while chatting with some other American volunteers from different programs, then headed back inside to see if I could figure out what to do next. I then ran into more people from the Syracuse program, and we were told to wait and direct the last few stragglers. We munched on a little bit of our food, and then all the volunteers and some of the “officials” took the last bus to the Stadium.

After we got off the bus it was phase 2: Crowd control. The Rhenus was a bit backed up, and very crazy. Crowds aren’t my forte, especially if they are in French. However, everyone was very cooperative and nice. Two of us stood at each of the eight lines leading to the metal detectors outside the main entrance of the stadium. From our spot we could see the parking lot, the buses, and the sea of people descending on us like a wave. Luckily, they only let fifty or so cross the street at one time, and we would help disperse them into lines, and reiterate the directions in French. (To take of their belts, show change, cell phones etc.) It was a little hard at first, but then once I got into a rhythm, it got easier to shuffle people through and explaining the procedure. By this time it was about 12:40, and we were being told that all of us had to be inside by 1 pm for the security sweep to be done. We looked at the seemingly daunting crowd of people, and wondered…however, miraculously everyone got through, with five minutes to spare.

The stadium itself was crowded, and a little confusing, but there was still a very friendly, cooperative feeling. They had forgotten to mark the volunteers seats as reserved, so they told us to sit anywhere. I ended up behind some people from Belgium, in the second tier of the Stadium, stage left. We waited for about an hour before anything started to happen. Then slowly, officials took their seats, the photographers took their place and the secret service entered. I don’t think some of the Europeans knew what to look for, because someone would start to clap, and everyone would join in, only to find out that it was a just someone placing the speech on the podium. The crowd at that point began to get pretty excited, as if were a bunch of little kids waiting for Santa to come through the door. Finally, the announcement was made, and Barack and Michelle Obama came through the door, shaking hands and greeting many excited fans along the way.

He first gave a small speech about NATO, America and how we need to join together. He was very humble, and although he was talking to 4,000 people, he made it seem as if it were an intimate conversation. He remarked that there was some blame to place on us, and other countries, but that we need to come together in common goals. It was cool to hear him talk specifically about Strasbourg and the Alsace, and how it was an area of such turmoil during the wars. He spoke about the economic crisis, Afghanistan, and fighting terrorism, but not entirely with just US, military, but also with foreign aid, and diplomatic practices. In addition, he also spoke about the importance of working towards sustainable living and environmental policies. I felt that his speech was very well timed, thoughtful, and was impressed by the overall presentation.

After the speech came the question and answer session. He asked for Europeans to ask questions, in order to specifically address their concerns. Although there were translators available (as Obama said, his French and German “are terrible”) all of the questions were asked in English. Both the questions and answers were very thoughtful. Most questions were about the economic situation, France’s involvement etc. Some were also humorous for example one student remarked that his name meant “peach” in Bulgarian before asking her question. One student from the international high school was called on, and when she said she was originally from Chicago, Obama sort of gave her a hard time (jokingly) and asking if the audience if he should let her ask the question. She then tried to defend herself saying “but I’m French too”, he then said “How can you be both?” she replied “Binationality”, and then she was allowed to ask the question.

Afterwards, groups were called out one by one. The first announcement was for a German group and the announcement said, “The first buses are for our German guests. If you leave now you WILL go to Germany.” It was a funny warning. Leaving was almost as hectic as entering, but it took much less time. As I was waiting for the bus out on the lawn in front of the Rhenus, I was suddenly “attacked” by a giant hug and a “Lindsay!” After I recovered from this initial surprise I noticed that it was Allison! Her group had also been able to attend this event. After a quick hello and introduction to some of my friends standing around, she ran back to her group so as not to get lost, or miss her bus to Germany. The “waiting” scene was rather hectic, but luckily (I had a phone interview to make), I was able to wiggle onto one of the busses in the first round of circulation.

Professor Bach was on the bus back, and it was fun to chat about the event. He asked a group of students on the bus what they thought, and how much they could understand. They said around 50-60%, but that they thought he was a great speaker and were very happy and impressed by him, and his willingness to address their concerns.

It was a memorable and exciting day in many ways. It is almost unreal that I could be in Strasbourg and have the opportunity to volunteer at such a historic event. I witnessed the first ever Town hall meeting on foreign soil, from the first black president. I was impressed also by his thoughtfulness, presence, and the content of his words. He seems willing to learn, grow and collaborate with others. He has great goals of a more sustainable and peaceful society, and the compassion and leadership to take important steps in that direction. Whatever way politically one personally leans, one must admit at the very least the historical significance of this event. Personally I found it very hopeful and inspiring, and was more than happy to have changed my plans in order to take part in a piece of history.

Nancy, Verdun, and Reims

Friday March 27^th-Sunday March 29^th:

Voila. As our semester continues, we continue to learn, travel and experience, but somewhat separately. This weekend was a fantastic opportunity to reunite with the rest of the group, relax and let someone else take care of the transportation.

We boarded the purple bus with butterflies, and greeted our bus driver “Pierre” (who is probably one of the only obese French people I have seen.) After a couple of hours we arrive in Nancy, a little village in the Loraine region. We then take a tour of the beautiful city in French. We stayed in a Hotel Ibis that evening, and had a group dinner. There was a slight mishap with my meal, they had made it Gluten Free but smothered it in cream and cheese. (But luckily Professor Bach and Marxer were there to help.) I eventually got something to eat, and fortunately some friends stayed until I was able to eat! Afterwards we walked back into the center of town, to see some of the sights at night. It was lovely to see some of the golden statues and light stone fountains lit up. We then meandered into a bar, and had a drink while chatting with each other, then retired for the night.

The next day we drove to Verdun-the famous WWI battle scene. This was a strange and moving monument to war and its destruction. The battle was fought by trench warfare, which is incredibly bloody. Besides wounds, many died of the diseases spread by the unsanitary conditions. The main memorial is a large stone hall with names of the soldiers killed in this battle. Underneath this building one can look through a screen and see the bones of the unknown soldiers recovered. On our way out we stopped by a village that was completely destroyed during the war. It is covered with grass craters, made by some of the millions of shells dropped during the battle. We walked through the woods, seeing signs for a street that no longer existed. It was strangely beautiful, a symbol of recovery, but still a warning to the destructive power of war.

We drove the rest of the way to Champagne, and stayed in a hostel that night. My friends and I decided to picnic in the room, enjoying crackers, spreads, apples, wine and each other’s company. The next day we headed to the famous Tattinger cellars in Reims, for a tour and champagne tasting at 10:30 that morning. Although it may seem like a strange time to taste champagne, a tour of this cellar is highly coveted so we took whatever timeslot we could get. This cellar is still a working cellar, with the machinery and bottles of the world famous champagne (in various stages of the aging process) all over this ancient cellar. This cellar, which used to be a monastery, was well kept up and quite far underground. At the end of the tour, we tasted the champagne-which was bubbly, dry and delicious. It was quite distinctive, with almost a sense of thyme. Slightly subdued, our group boarded the bus. We took the scenic route back to Strasbourg, enjoying the final hours of our group trip, and bonding time.

La Visite de Ma Famille

Friday March 20th-Thursday March 26th :

I write now from a “Voyage a la bus”, we are coming back from a weekend in Nancy Verdun and Reims with the entire Syracuse group. Until this weekend however, my family had been visiting. The week contained everything a week with the family should, the happy reunion, some chaos utter silliness, confusion, wine, dinners and walking.

I met them at the train station in Lausanne, (after a delay) and we then went and checked into our hotel. Our hotel was called the “Hotel des Voyageurs” and was a lovely, old style building with comfy “Swiss” Beds. My parents were upstairs and had an interesting view and wood ceiling, but our room downstairs was larger, so we ended up drinking our wine there J At this time, Ali presented me with a stuffed animal cat, wearing a t-shirt saying “Somebody at Lawrence Loves Me.” This cat then received the name “Larry”, and my mom and sister still being a little slap happy with jetlag, combined “ohh la la” with Larry to make “Oh la Larry.” It was decided that “Ohh la Larry” would be a traveling kitty, like the Travelocity gnome, and would appear in pictures all over the world. “Where in the world is oh-la-Larry?”

We headed out to find dinner, and after not being able to find a recommended restaurant, we found a small cafeteria due to immediate hunger and jetlag. They were a little confused about the Gluten, but we figured it out. We then made it back to the train station, picked up Andrew, and tried to find a place to have a drink. However a “Swiss wine bar” that was recommended was closed, and we got kicked out of the next two bars we tried, because there was no space. So we retreated to plan C, which was to drink the bottle of wine I had brought from Strasbourg.

It was really nice to chill in the hotel, catch up and enjoy an Alsatian Pinot Gris. I heard about school, more about Andrew’s German experiences, and the state of Opel (his employer) we then settled into a satisfying, much needed peaceful slumber.

The next morning we woke up to my mom at the door, then went downstairs to eat breakfast. It was a lovely little room with cute wooden tables. We had boiled eggs, fruit, ham and coffee. Twas lovely. During breakfast, I got a call from Nathalie who was planning to meet us. After deciding we would meet at our hotel, we continued to leisurely drink our coffee, chat and wait until she arrived.

It was the first time my family and Nathalie had seen each other since I was seven, so it was really nice to everyone to catch up. We walked around Lausanne; saw the open-air market, the cathedral and the old staircase. It was blustery but sunny, so it was great to actually see the mountains in the background. (Unlike the snowy “spring break” visit.) After walking we stopped to eat at a little café. It was cute, and quite busy. It also amazed me how Nathalie could breast feed Luce, while showing Ella the menu, asking the server questions about our allergies, all while being completely calm and serene. It is something I will definitely strive for considering the cafeteria situation really made me feel scattered. After some “Salmon Tar-tar” we walked back outside, and on to an “Art Brut” museum. The museum itself was very interesting, and often disturbing. Art brut is a concept, art more for therapy for the mentally ill. It was quite honest, and not always meant for the public. It ranged from print, sculpture, and even a decorated skeleton. My favorite was probably a fish tank made of shells that were painted to look like fish, plants and sea creatures. They were suspended and layered inside a real fish tank, and the colors were so beautiful and vibrant it was difficult to look away.

After the museum, my family and I walked back to our hotel, stopping to pick up some Swiss sausage at an open-air market. After a bit of rest, some more chatting, we took the metro to Nathalie’s apartment for dinner. The entire evening was so nice and relaxing. We started with appetizers of chestnuts, capers, nuts, and a meat platter, which included horsemeat (a bit too strong for me) and Lausanne sausage. During appetizers Ella excitedly decided to show me her tent set up in her bedroom. I asked her if she sleeps in it but she replied “C’est pour la petite sieste” (a nap) It was really fun to see Ella again, since she sort of remembered me, she was less shy and warmed up to me right away. She like to follow me when we took the stairs and her mom took the elevator with the stroller, and come from behind and attack me with a hug. It helped that I could speak French with her, since she spoke more simply and slowly. By the end of the day, she was also making overtures to Ali, and told her father she wanted to go somewhere to learn English. Luce was also very smiling and endearing, and spent much of the time being passed around by everyone. She even entranced Andrew, who I caught smiling at her over her stroller in the cathedral. Dinner was lovely and relaxing. After talking until almost midnight, we headed back to the hotel.

The next morning I woke up around 8:30, and then had to roust everyone multiple times, so we could eat breakfast before it closed. We had bought soymilk the day before so that we could have it steamed for our coffee and hot chocolate at breakfast. However I dropped it on the way down and the side split open. Carrying the container horizontally, I handed it to the lady at breakfast explaining the situation. She kindly steamed it for us and even duct-taped the side!

We checked out and walked down to the lake to meet Nathalie. It was a gorgeous day and it was wonderful to bask in the sun, take in the sights, and pose for a few photos. After Nathalie arrived, we went to grab lunch before our train. The first place we tried didn’t have space, but we found a little French place and sat down outside with a beautiful view of the water. We ate a potato/ham/egg/vegetable dish, thanks to Nathalie’s help and the helpful wait staff. We again passed around cute, smiling Luce and chatted. We said our goodbyes, then departed for Strasbourg and enjoyed a lovely, scenic ride. My parents and Ali stayed the, “Regent Petite France” which is located in the lovely heart of Petite France. We enjoyed a picnic dinner that night at the hotel, a perfectly relaxing evening.

The rest of the week my family explored on-their-own during the day, and met up with me in the evenings when I wasn’t in class. Monday they explored Strasbourg, clutching their coats so not to be blown away in the wind. That night, after finding that “Les Fleurs de Champs” was closed, ate at “L’Ami Shutz” in Petite France. The hotel was kind enough to call ahead for us and ask if we could be accommodated. We enjoyed a lovely dinner of authentic Alsatian food in an authentic, log-cabin like building. Tuesday they went to Baden-Baden while I had a long day of class, then “host family night” (more on that later.) Wednesday they stopped over at my host family’s house after my orchestra rehearsal, so that everyone could meet each other. I hadn’t though to tell my host mom that my entire family eats gluten and dairy free, not wanting to make it seem like I wanted her to feed us. Unfortunately this backfired and she had made a beautiful Alsatian cake, which we couldn’t eat. We did however drink some wine, as I translated the part of the conversations that they couldn’t convey to each other. After meeting the family, my parents, Ali and I headed back to the hotel. We had a relaxing evening first in the hotel sauna, then in the lovely bathtub, complete with essential oils and salts left. We drank some more wine, watched an English TV station and just enjoyed each other’s company.

I took the day off of class on Thursday and explored Strasbourg with them. We wandered the streets of Petite France and La Centre Ville, window shopping and taking in Strasbourg. We tried on artisan hats made by a local artist, they were truly works of art, and priced for it. I however got a beautiful scarf that was on sale, and priced for student friendly. I showed them Grand Rue, and we found a chocolatier “Jeff Bruges” where we were able to buy some dairy free chocolates. I then lead them to L’artichaut, one of my favorite cafes, where we drank “tea fume” (lapsang) and enjoyed our chocolates. While at L’artichaut, we ran into my friend Cheaven. It was nice to introduce someone from Syracuse to my family and we chatted for a bit. After L’artichaut, we headed back to the hotel, to relax before again meeting with my host family. Since she couldn’t feed us the other night, my host mom made a quick dinner for us. Although I told her no food was necessary, she insisted on cooking anyway. It was nice for everyone to chat, and I think they genuinely enjoyed each others company. After our surprise dinner, we walked to “Les Fleurs de Champs” and enjoyed some soup and crème de chocolate. After dinner, we walked back to their hotel, drank some more wine and watched some BBC. They were leaving on the first train to Paris in the morning, while I was traveling with the Syracuse group. After saying goodbye, my dad walked me back to my house, and I slept soundly.

My Freiburgian Reunion

Saturday March 14th-Sunday March 15th:

After Kevin left, it felt as if my world had once again collapsed, or at least was like a dog standing on 3 legs. It’s so strange how someone so important, or special can have such a significant impact. They seem to overflow your world with happiness, you can forget everything else-they are everything. However, when you have to part, your world is suddenly gone-empty, like a miniature loss. Then you are left to greave this strange loss, in a sort of panic and udder sadness.

They say the French are coconuts and Americans peaches-the French have hard exteriors, the Americans, softer exteriors. I don’t like to immediately open up to people, my friendships have always been intense and my relationships deep. I respect the French in this way, my (our) heart (s) may be covered by a shell, but once you break this shell, you will forever drink its sweet rewards.

So I after the explosion of the “loss”, I knew I would just have to wait until the fire and smoke cleared, and I would see what was behind it-and continue to grow as an individual. However, this is easier said than done, and the fire of love is both rewarding and particularly painful.

The next week was tough, instead of walking hand-in-hand through the streets of Italy, we were looking at each other through thousands of miles of cable and Internet. Life had begun again, homework; practice, biking through Strasbourg to school. It was good, but I was still a little nostalgic and homesick. A midsemester-post Kevin slump.

Serendipitously, my friend Allison (who was my next door neighbor at JHU) happened to be spending her second semester abroad in Freiberg Germany only an hour away by train! Also, she happened to be free that weekend, and would be willing to accept me as company! After many facebook messages, trouble with Allison’s cell phone, and almost missing each other-we finally connected on skype. She gave me directions and I gave her my train info, then I immediately went to the train station and departed. After a few sketchy characters on the regional train, I arrived in Freiburg at about 5 pm.

t was great to see Allison again and catch up on all our adventures. She spent her first semester in Paris and was now in Freiburg studying in a program specializing in the E.U. She walked me to her student apartment through the scenic German village. It is really quite conveniently located, only 10 minutes walk from the downtown. She lives with eight people, four people with the program and four Germans. It’s an eight bedroom, two bathrooms and a kitchen. She has two Dominican roommates, who are very sweet, talkative and have a lot of crazy stories.

As I walked into her room I was greeted with a “Bienvenue Lindsay” sign she had made. She pointed out that today’s phrase from her “phrase of the day” German calendar was “Ich magg ihz her”- I like it here. It became the catch phrase of the weekend. After settling in, Allison, some friends of hers and I went to the “1.80 Euro” spaghetti special. I ate a salad. It was fun to meet more people and eat a local place. After dinner we headed first to the grocery store to pick up breakfast items, then went back to the apartment and shared a bottle of wine. That night's entertainment was a special brewery of Freiburg that makes it's own beer, which is only sold on site. It was a two-story brewery with wooden tables and large windows. It is quite a popular place, and we ended up standing for the first thirty minutes or so, but with good company and literally a water glass full of wine. We finally got a table and enjoyed ourselves for a while chatting and laughing. The wind and later hour however, soon had caught up with Allison and I and we then stumbled back to her room.

We woke around 7:30 am the next morning, in order to do a walking tour of Freidburg before a tentative brunch with some of her roommates. We saw the cathedral, the old city, her center, the student area, and a “pretty street”. It was nice to see the city with out a lot of people (wince it was Sunday) and be able to take all the pictures we wanted. As it turned out, we ended up skipping brunch, so it wasn’t entirely necessary to have gotten up that early, but it was fun nonetheless. We got coffee at the train station on our way back to here apartment (since it was the only place open on Sunday.) The coffee was much needed, and the pleasant feeling of caffeine began to run through our bodies as we walked back to her apparent. After quick lunch we walked back into town, and up to the most scenic part of Friedberg. We walked up a small mountain (with a lot of stairs) stopping at spots along the way to take in the view. It had been a beautiful weekend, the first in quite a while which was a perfect way to view the city. Once we reached the top, we climbed a small tower and were able to see mountains in Switzerland, the German black forest and the Vosges. It was beautiful (and quite windy). We took some pictures and then began the beautiful descent downward. We chatted more on the way back to the Apartment. I then grabbed my stuff and walked to the train station. I departed and had a smooth voyage back to Strasbourg. A wonderful reunion in Freiburg!