Don't Forget Your Rain Jacket, This is North Deutschland!

Shortly after getting home from our last trip, Ina, Hanna, Valarie, and I took a trip up to Northern Germany to visit Ina’s parents. And naturally, it seemed like we could be in a completely different country from where we live in Herne, or any other city I’ve visited so far. All the regions here have their own distinct culture, and their own distinct German. Here, you say “Moin,” as hello, where as you say “Hallo,” or “Guten Tag,” in other regions. In Bavaria, we said “Servus.”

Being next to the ocean, Northern Germany has a certain “sea vibe.” When you walk along the streets, the cobblestone usually has lots of puddles from the almost constant rain. Everywhere are bridges where you can see shrimp boats when you look out. The architecture also has a distinctive “sea vibe.” Perhaps I can just let the pictures speak for themselves. It can be crazy cold and rainy here, but it’s so beautiful that it’s worth 5 layers of clothing and enduring the wind.

Today we took a ferry out to an island where we walked along the beach for a few hours and then went into a cute and cozy restaurant to warm up from the cold while enjoying tea, cake, and coffee. The beach here definitely has a different feel than Mexico or Hawaii. The sand is spongy and the tide has a very large range. It’s almost always raining and it tends to be pretty windy too. Everyone walks along very bundled up in jackets and scarves. There were no cars on the island, just bikes, horses pulling carriages full of sight-seers, and a train going from the Harbor to downtown. I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie walking around the little island.

Yesterday we went to a pool with water from the North Sea, and following that, we had just about the best dinner ever. MEXICAN FOOD! And to my surprise, it was good, and almost completely Mexican! I could even understand virtually the entire menu between the use of German and Spanish. Score! ;)

North Sea :)

It’s been an amazing fall break; I’ve been able to see so much of Germany already in the short amount of time I’ve been here. Everyone we’ve stayed with has been so hospitable and happy to help me with my German. Right now I’m sitting in a cozy chair next to a warm fireplace, typing away and watching Grey’s Anatomy with my host sisters. On Monday I’ll have to get up, attempt to understand school in a language that I’ve been speaking for two months, and get back into the routine, but right now, in this moment, everything is just about perfect. 

Just a little bit too chilly for swimming...