On Wednesday (16.02.) I left Kristina and Saga Hotel and famous Copenhagen for little Gernsbach. I had to get up early. I had a 9 o'clock flight. K didn't even get up from bed to say goodbye to me!
The approach in to Zürich was pretty spectacular. Above the clouds, I saw and felt the sun genuinely for the first time since New Year's Day. The snowy peaks of the Alps were visible in the distance. The transit was brief - I literally walked straight onto the next flight. After flying over Gernsbach again, I touched down in Frankfurt to get the ICE train to Karlsruhe Hbf. Alex picked me up in her Dad's company car Mercedes 4WD that still smelled new. We stopped off at the bakery in Gernsbach which I remembered from my '06 exchange for having the best Berliners in the world (everyone thought it was really funny I remembered it like this haha). By the time we got into the next suburb in Obertsrot and to la casa del Fritz, it was about 4 o'clock and getting dark. The Fritz's, in true German hospitality, immediately set about making me feel more than at home to the point their questions and generosity were slightly awkward. I kept trying to tell them I didn't mind just chilling out on my laptop if they were all busy but they kept worrying about whether or not I was comfortable. Later, Bernd, Papa Herbert and I watched Barca vs. Arsenal. Many a bad English-language joke was told by Herbert.
Später am selben Tag ich und Alex gingen zu einer Vortrinksparty mit ihrem Freund und seinen Freunden. Es war ziemlich awkward... ich dachte dass es viele Leute da geben würde also Mädels und eine große Grupper Alexs Schulfreunden aber nicht so. Die waren nicht wirklich Freunde von Alex, nur ihrem Freund und sehr Klicke-isch und du weißt wie das sein kann - uns Newington Jungs reden fast nie mit anderen wenn wir bei Partys sind, oder? Oh well, it wasn't like I was relying on making a heap of friends in one night anyway.
Nach dem Vortrinken liefen wir zu der großen Carnivale Party bei der Halle. Wenn man hört, dass die Deutsche sich verkleiden... es bedeutet eigentlich das! Over there everyone dresses up for Carnivale and they party every Thursday for 3 Thursdays before the real day or something like that. The Fritz's lent me a Fred Flinstone costume which Bernd must've worn a few years ago. It was pretty sweet. Too bad I don't have any photos of it... The party was a lot of fun though I got pretty drunk. I saw Steeb and Markus and Manuel. I hung out with Steffen and Mela and Kristin. On the way home the free shot Steffen bartered for me when I didn't want to drink anymore hit me and I wasn't drunk enough to chuck but Alex's mum's driving was so jerky I spewed in their garden right after we stopped at home! It was so embarrassing haha.
The next day I slept in and was good when I got up. The Fritzs had a funeral to go to so I went to Baden-Baden with Steffen, Kristin and Mela. I got the feeling they don't really get to see each other much anymore because they seemed just as happy to see each other as see me. Well, they all go to Uni in different parts of the Germany and it was the start of their holidays... Guess you can't expect everyone to care that much about you just cuz you're the foreigner and the guest which is totally fine haha. We had really nice cakes at a bourgeois cafe old ladies like to frequent (Mela goes there often with her Oma) and chatted. Mela outlined her plan to marry an engineer who can earn all the money so she can just chill and raise kids the rest of her life.
That night I still needed to organise Scotland accommodation and wouldn't've minded staying at home and doing that but it didn't sound like much was going on for dinner... Deswegen I instead went to an 18th Birthday with Alex. The girls there were heaps stand-offish and Alex was a bit peeved at that. I was wondering if they thought I was just some random friend Alex brought with her because again it wasn't Alex's group of friends, they were actually from the year below her - they wouldn't've known that I'm from Australia. It turned out good though. They had heaps of good hot food for dinner and I just hung out with Julia and ogled all the girls and was tried to learn the names of all the songs we were listening to because it was my last chance to. Julia and Alex find it really funny when I say "Kracherle" because of my accent.
On the Friday I got up really early to start my long journey to Edinburgh. It was so sweet, Alex's mum packed a lunch for me, gave me a little book she wrote in with all the Badisch slang I had picked up in it like a dictionary, some homemade plum jam and a little card with a four leaved clover on it for good luck. Being the massive hoarder I am I'm sure I'll cherish at least the dictionary forever and ever. Herbert drove me to Karlsruhe from where I got a train to Frankfurt from where I got a plane to Amsterdam after which I got another to Edinburgh and a bus to Haymarket before walking to the hostel and waiting for Jess and Vicki.
It's kinda sad I didn't take any photos at all of these 3 days of my trip...
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