Trip to Frankfurt, 16-18 September 2005

Last weekend, I traveled to Frankfurt, which is 4 hours by train, to visit my friend, Kelly. We checked out the nightlife in Frankfurt (notice the torso-size liter beer sitting in front of me), enjoyed some hearty German food, visited a town called Wurzburg located in the Bavarian region, and ate some Taco Bell (yes, Taco Bell--you can imagine how happy I was) on one of the American bases outside of Frankfurt. I have lots of photos to share!

In other news: classes are intense, but good, and I begin Dutch courses in a couple of weeks.

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Frankfurt
The prominent telecom tower in Frankfurt.






The others are a result of me not knowing how to use my camera, but I think they are pretty cool looking.









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Wurzburg
This Bavarian town is more or less an hour via the autobahn from Frankfurt. We were able to enjoy some of the Octoberfest festivities while there, obviously not on the same scale as that in Munich.


Stau (traffic, pronounced like "shtow" the 'au' as in owl) on the autobahn. Germans seem obsessed with stau. A news broadcast on traffic will sound similar to this: stau on the A3, stau on the A5, stau here, stau there....very funny to listen to. Also, despite what you may think, you cannot drive whatever speed you'd like the entire length of the autobahn. Various parts are monitored by cameras which electronically change the speed limits on these sections. Of course, for the sections without speed limits, you can drive as fast as your car can take you. We managed to hit 110 mph and were passed by people doing at least 130-140 mph, if not more.






A castle/fortress surrounded by vineyards and a mountain-side church

Some beautiful facades and buildings in Wurzburg

The best yogurt around...

I introduce to you the world's greatest yogurt!! The creamiest, most perfectly bittersweet, vanilla yogurt. I've never been much of a yogurt-eater, but this is a must-have for everyone who can get their hands on it. Every time I eat it, I am overwhelmed at how incredible it feels and tastes! :o)

Where has the time gone?

I arrived 31 July and it's now 6 September...where has the time gone? Devastation has overcome New Orleans and Rehnquist has died setting the stage for some more significant events to continue to develop in the U.S. over the next several weeks and months. Here in the Netherlands, however, life is progressing at a fairly normal pace. I've gone rowing on the Leiden canals, visited the beach resort town of Scheveningen (the proper pronunciation of which I am still practicing) in the Hague, attended orientation sessions, joined the Dutch United Nations Student Association, and met tons of students. Class began today and the range of nationalities in my program is quite diverse, inlcuding: Tanzanian, Japanese, Chinese, eastern European, Brazilian, Macedonian, Italian, Irish, some Dutch and 4 Americans. The diversity should lead to some interesting class discussions, to say the least.

Scheveningen

The Kurhaus on the boardwalk

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Marnix and I at Oude Harmonie bar/club

Nicholas (left) and Daniel (right) trying to dance ;-)

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I took photos of the beautiful surroundings while Marnix very capably rowed, rowed, rowed down the canal...