Saturday started our free weekend. We didn't have any plans set in stone yet for this weekend nor did very many us know what we wanted to do or how to do what we wanted to do. Of course top on our wish list was PARIS!! But I think we all slowly realized how rushed and how expensive that trip could get. So I sadly let go of my wish to go to Paris and traded it in for a much more sensible plan to travel to all the fun places closer to Esslingen. This worked out just as well because there is a lot to see.
A lot to see = Exhausted Stephanie!
Bettina set up a scavenger hunt for us for the day that led us around town to different cool places in Esslingen and Stuttgart. It was a lot of fun.
First we started at the market. In the center of Esslingen there is a county market that is open every Wednesday and Saturday morning. There was sooo much food. Fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, flowers and BREAD. Look at the size of this loaf of bread!
Oh and this is for Charlie:
I didn’t think the carrots would make the flight back and I don’t think they would appreciate a 16’2 horse munchin away at the carrots in the center of the market so a picture is all you get buddy sorry!
First on the scavenger hunt was the 313 steps up to the castle/fortress like I had mentioned earlier. Here are some pictures of our walk up this longgg staircase.
Second was finding the oldest street and house in Esslingen. The house was over 500 years old. It was kind of cool.
Next our scavenger took us into Stuttgart which is a major city that is about a 10 minute train ride away from Esslingen. We were in hunt of a palace. So we had to read the different U-bahn times (like the subway) to find this palace. First we failed. Go figure. But all is good, our transit pass lets us ride as much as want so we could of gotten on and off the wrong train all day if we wanted to. Thank god we didn’t though! We got a few stops out of the station and realized we were heading the wrong way. So we got off walked to the other side of the street and waited for the next train. But we made our mistake a productive one and Emily taught us how to count from 1-20 in German. Success!
So the next train came and we got on and then off at the right stop. As soon as we walked out of the station there it was, the residential palace. Another thing to check off our list. There were so many people chilling in the grass and lounging in the sun.
Looking up into the sky we see once again dark storm clouds rolling in. Again with the rain! Thankfully next on our list was the Porsche Museum. By now we have lost Tony. Okay we didn’t lose him but we went to venture off on his own. So off go 6 girls to the Porsche Museum. We stop by the Tourist information center to ask how to get there. Once we reach the street we hear a lot of commotion. There was a protest going on! Cool right? From what the lady at the tourist center told us was that they were protesting because the state wanted to take down part of the old historic train station and they wanted to keep the building.
So we get on the U-Bahn again and head to the Porsche museum. The museum was supposed to be free for students but when we got there we they told us it wasn’t. Sad day. Since we only went there really because it was something free to do while it was raining we decided just skip the museum and head back. But when you are in a different country even just taking public transportation is enough an adventure in and of its self. The rain once again brought cold weather, so between being cold and tired we were all ready to head back to the hotel. We got back on the train with less than minute to spare.
Once we got back to the hotel, we all passed out! We took almost a 3 hour nap, we were so tired! After our much needed rest, we 6 girls went to a café near the hotel. Normally we end up eating with Bettina and Olaf (our professor and her husband) so we have someone to help translate and decipher the menu. But tonight we were on our own. But we survived! Our waitress was so sweet. She taught us some German words and a little about German coins. And then we taught her some English and about American coins. It was a lot of fun and of course once again good food!
So we may not have been able to go to France but we still had a fun filled and exciting day!
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