Since being back in Austria I’ve taken 2 different day trips. Since it would take a really long time to write all the details about each one, I’ll just share photos from each of the days that will give you an accurate picture of what each day was all about!
Adventure #1 : Day in Hallstatt, Austria
Hallstatt is a small picturesque town about an hours drive from Tauernhof. I went there for a day with my friend Johann on one of our days off and it was super fun!
This is probably the most famous view of Hallstatt, it’s where all the tourist (us included) stop and take pictures and it’s the picture that’s on like every post cardThe lake that the town overlooks Something that I found was really cool in the town is that most of the houses are painted bright colours and they nearly all have really great flower gardens in the front or huge garden boxes on the sides of their balconies which makes everything look so beautiful Of course we have to goof off a bit so we tried on some funny hats and sunglasses at a little tourist shop off a side streetThis is the main square of the town. We were really fortunate to be there on a day where there were really minimal tourists so it was really nice and quiet on the streets, even right in the middle of the town. Being typical tourists at the popular viewpoint overlooking the town This picture shows really well how the town is really built into the side of the mountain. So there are actually very few streets where you can drive in this part of the town because it is built so narrowly into the side of the mountain
So we spent the first part of the day until about 2:00 in Hallstatt, just walking through the streets and enjoying the view. By the time the afternoon came we had pretty much been through the town, (it isn’t very big) so we decided that we would use the rest of the day to find a lake within driving distance where we could go swimming.
The picture below is a lake about 20 minutes away from Hallstatt and we literally just searched for lakes on google maps until we found the closest one. We decided not to swim in the lake in Hallstatt because there were a lot of boats there and though there weren’t a ton of tourists there were still some so we wanted to find somewhere a bit quieter and more chill.
This lake was near the town of Bad Aussee, I’m not sure exactly sure where but it was in such a beautiful place. The picture absolutely does not do it justice because the whole area surrounding the lake was really beautiful. We swam out to the little dock that you can see in the bottom right side of the picture. The water was really really cold but luckily it was a warm day so you warmed up pretty much as soon as you got out of the water.
After a few hours of hanging out at that little beach we drove back to the school which was also a really nice drive through the Austrian mountains which are so green at this time of the year.
A picture taken from the car window which is why you can kinda see my reflection. But just focus on the beautiful mountain behind it 🙂
Adventure #2: Day trip to Venice
So this was probably our craziest idea because we literally planned it the day before. Venice is about a 4 hour drive from where we live so it was a really long day but totally worth it I think. I’ve wanted to go to Venice for a really long time. If you’d asked me for the last few years “what’s one place you’ve always wanted to go?” My answer would have been Venice. Now I guess I have to find a new answer to that question. I drove there with 4 of my co-workers and though it was really hot in Italy we had a good time there!
My co-workers that I went with: Crystal, Simon , Johann, Me and HannaThis photo is from a little bit later in the day. The light got quite soft and pink and made for some really good pictures of the bigger, more open canals. Of course there are no cars in Venice which leads me to wonder if there is gas stations for filling up your boat? We passed this Canal on our way to find St. Marks square in the middle of the city. Hanna and I being typical touristsRight as I was taking this picture there was a boat passing under the bridge that had a wedding party in it so everyone on the bridge was yelling and cheering. Me, Crystal and Hanna right before we left the city in the eveningThe Sunset light was so beautiful and makes all the buildings just glow in the craziest way because of the reflection off the water. It’s the coolest thing.
We left the city around 8:00 because we still had a 40 minute walk back to our car and then a 4 hour drive home. It was so cool to finally get to see Venice even if it was only for a day, I definitely want to go back there sometime when I can spend a few days there and see more of the city at a more relaxed pace. It’s a really unique place.
So those are a few pictures from my most recent day trips. Some thing that I LOVE about living in Europe is how close you are to so many cool different places. It gives such a unique option so see a lot of places even if you don’t have so much time or like me are fitting it into days off around a specific schedule. I’m excited to see where the next few months will take me!
I hope you enjoyed these pictures and as always feel free to send me a text on Facebook or whatsapp or send me an email if you want to know more about my time here in Austria.
Once we returned from our Christmas break it was time to start getting into the rhythm of working here at Tauernhof. We got back on the 26th and guests came on the 27th so it was really just jumping right into a new schedule. The first few days of work were really just getting comfortable with new tasks and getting used to being in the kitchen for 6-8 hours a day. It was a lot of learning how to do things efficiently because you quickly realize how important that is and getting to know the other staff better and how to work together.
A giant snowman that we made in the snow this week.
My days are pretty similar from day to day in the tasks that I do, but of course some things are different depending on the meal being prepared, how many people there are and how much time we have. There are 7 other volunteers in the kitchen along with 2 cooks and so it gets very full at times, especially right after meals.
A typical work day looks a bit like this:
The morning starts with 2 people (and sometimes one cook) making breakfast. If I am on breakfast in the morning that means that I am in the kitchen by 6:45 to set everything out because breakfast is served buffet style and it starts at 7:45. I think I’ve probably almost got the hang of making breakfast though I have yet to try making it with only one of the new volunteers and without any of the old ones. So far I’ve really only been on breakfast with one of the two girls who’ve been here for awhile, but that will change as of this week with the way the schedule works.
Breakfast is pretty much the same every day though some days we will have fresh buns or croissants or sweet bread that gets put on each table instead of the buffet. Other than that there is always a variety of kinds of bread, a meat tray, a cheese tray, cottage cheese and a veggie tray. The cereal changes almost everyday and with that there is always also yogurt, nuts and cocoa powder. We cut butter and put jam in bowls for the tables and make about 3o liters of coffee to put on every table as well. Usually we try to prep the meat, cheese and veggie trays the day before to save time, but other than that it’s mostly just a bunch of those little jobs that take up that hour in the morning. If you aren’t prepping breakfast then you don’t have to be in the kitchen until dishes after breakfast so we usually only have to get up that early about twice a week.
After breakfast ends around 8:40, all of the volunteers clean up by putting away any extra leftover food and washing all the dishes, usually this takes about and hour, sometimes a bit less and sometimes a bit more. At 9:30 the kitchen staff and the housekeeping staff get together and do a short Bible study and have a prayer time. This is usually a good chance to have a bit of a break in the morning to just sit and have a coffee or tea while we talk and read. After this we spend the rest of the morning preparing for lunch and supper. Some jobs that are done almost every day are washing, cutting and drying salad, making salad dressings, cutting meat and cheese and making the meat and cheese trays, and cutting veggies for the veggie trays. Often we also have to prepare the desert for that evening which sometimes means doing some baking and sometimes means making pudding or mousse, it changes every day. Other than those kinda standard things that get done almost every day, there are also a lot of more specific jobs that we have depending on what food we are having that day.
Lunch is usually the big warm meal here so its usually the most stressful right before the meal because we can’t put out food until 5 minutes before and there are usually about 20 tables so we always have to rush a bit to get everything out on time. After that it’s usually pretty chill though. One person always stays in the kitchen to make sure the buffets get refilled if needed but everyone else can sit down and have a normal meal. When lunch ends we do all the clean up and then we have the afternoon off until 5:30.
First day of skiing we got to watch an amazing sunset on our last run down the hill!
In the afternoons we pretty much can do whatever we want. Lots of the other staff who have season passes go skiing or snowboarding for a few hours in afternoon. I’ve only been skiing twice and I’m pretty rusty because it’s been awhile, but they have equipment and passes that we can use if they’re available so I will probably start going a bit more often and I’m excited to improve a bit more in the next few months. Usually though, I just hang out in the staff lounge with some of the other staff members, sometimes playing games or doing baking for the staff. It’s really nice to have afternoons off because usually the evenings get pretty full so it’s nice to have some down time.
At 5:30 we are back in the kitchen to help set everything up for supper which is at 6:00. Usually supper is a lighter meal, salad and something small on the tables like hash browns or Hawaii toast and then there are almost always leftovers that we also warm up. Then when supper is done and we finish with the dishes and clean up then we are free for the evening. At 7:45 the guests have a lecture and worship time that they go to. All the staff are welcome to join but the lectures are in German so I usually don’t go unless there is someone doing a translation. This week there is one guest who doesn’t speak German at all so all the lectures are translated into English so we’ve been going to listen to them in the evening. After lectures are open we either hang out with the guests or just with the other staff and usually what I choose to do depends how tired I am or whether I am working for breakfast or not the next morning.
Sometimes it’s really exhausting to spend time with the guests because some don’t speak very good English and then I kinda just feel annoying because they want to talk in German. But some of the groups have younger people who speak really good English so then we are able to hang out and play games with them more easily. That can be really fun and even after only a few weeks I’ve gotten to meet some really cool people from all over the place. The language barrier is sometimes more apparent than others. Almost all of the staff speak pretty good English though I think that German is definitely spoken more often right now just because the camps are in German. It’s definitely hard sometimes when instructions are given in German and we just don’t understand but there is almost always someone to translate for those of us who don’t speak German and that makes it easier. I’ve already been able to pick up a lot of different words and phrases which make it easier to communicate especially with one of the permanent staff in the kitchen who doesn’t speak any English at all.
Celeste and I on New Years Eve:) Getting ready to go sledding!
New Years Eve was probably the most eventful night that we’ve had here and it was so crazy and so much fun. The day was really chill because I had the morning off and only had to work for dinner. I got to read a bit and call with some of my friends and family which was really nice. To celebrate the new year all of the staff and guests went up onto a nearby mountain with the Gondola to watch fireworks. We spent about an hour up there hanging out in one of the Chalets before midnight and then got to watch all the fireworks which was so crazy and cool because we were really above everything. Most people here put off their own fireworks so they are absolutely everywhere and it’s so amazing to watch. Once most of the fireworks were done, (about 12:30A.M ) was when the really crazy part of our evening started. That was when we sledded down the mountain. They had a whole track made just zigzagging down the hill which was 7km and took us about 25 minutes to get down. I partnered with one of the ski instructors and once we really got the hang of going around the tight corners then we got going really fast. It was so crazy fun, there were some huge bumps and I had some massive bruises on the backs of my legs after but it was so worth it. We screamed pretty much the whole way down but we only fell off twice while trying to turn corners too sharply so I’d say we were pretty successful. It was definitely one of the best ways that I’ve ever spent new years eve and it felt like a bit of home because we usually always go sledding there as well. We finished off the evening drinking punch, (which is really just like apple cider) and hanging out with the guests until like 2:30 in the morning. It was such a fun day.
My sledding partner and celebrating that we got to the bottom of the hill alive!
Sooo yah. That’s basically these first few weeks in a nutshell. It’s been mostly really positive though one thing that happened yesterday was that Celeste cut her hand really badly and is now in a cast to help it heal. You would think that she cut it in the kitchen on something sharp but in reality, she cut it while tying her shoes. How you may wonder? Well she bent over to put on her shoes, lost her balance and tried to brace herself against the wall by putting her hand out. Unfortunately she put her hand against the corner of the mirror which was chipped and got a huge cut. She actually cut through the nerve to her pinky and now has no feeling in her finger and can’t work for at least 2 weeks. You can definitely keep her in your prayers as we are hoping for everything to heal properly. Other than that though, we’ve had an awesome first few weeks and I’m really looking forward to the coming weeks!
Celeste and I spent the last few days in Düsseldorf staying with two friends of ours that we met at Holsby. On Monday we traveled most of the day starting in Schladming in the morning and had an interesting day.
Everything went fine at first, we changed trains in Salzburg with no problems and got on our second train to Munich. We knew this would be a tight change because we only had 10 minutes in between, but we both figure that if we just looked at the signs we would be fine. Well… that may have helped, except that we got off the train one station early and by the time we realized our mistake we had already missed our next train. Neither of us are really sure how it happened because we were both sure that we had heard the conductor say “Next stop Main Station,” but I guess that is the hazard of language barrier.
At the station in Schladming
To try and get another train to Düsseldorf, we jumped on one of the local trains to the main station. Once we got there though, there was the challenge of trying to find the long distance trains, because we were in the completely wrong part of the station. We wandered around for probably about 40 minutes looking for a DB office where we could talk to someone about whether we had to buy a completely new ticket or whether we could just get on a new train with the same tickets. Once we finally found the office we told the dude that we had missed our train and he just printed us a ticket for another train to Düsseldorf, no questions asked. As it turned out, our original train had actually gotten into Munich late and so we would have missed our connecting train regardless.
We got on the new train about 20 minutes later and luckily our arrival time was only about an hour later than we had originally planned. We were met there by our friends Lisa and Miriam, and we took the local train with them back to their apartment. It was so great to see them both again, Lisa was one of my roommates at Holsby so I really missed her! We had tacos with them for supper that night and had a good time just hanging out before we went to bed because both of them and their other roommate had to be up early for university in the morning.
We took this at a Christmas market, these are the girls we stayed with. Lisa, me, Celeste and Miri
Tuesday morning Celeste and I slept in late and hung out in the apartment until 11:00 which was when the metro tickets that we booked started to be valid. With a little help from Miri the night before we had figured out the stations that we needed to go to for some of the places that we decided to see. We took the metro to a station in the old town area and we pretty much just spent the whole afternoon walking around there.
We walked passed this building in the old town.
In pretty much every street that we walked down there was booths and vendors selling all sorts of food and Christmas stuff. Basically the entire old town was just a giant spread out Christmas market.
Every street either had these decorations or cool lights. In the day it’s less impressive but super beautiful at night.
We walked around for about 4 hours looking at different booths and monuments and looking into old churches and stuff. We also walked along the Rhein and were there at just the right time to see the skyline really outlined in a great way.
The big Ferris wheel in this picture is something that they only have up around Christmas time and is lit up at night. We tried to get into the building behind me which is the Basilica of Düsseldorf but unfortunately it was locked:(
We also visited some coffee shops during our afternoon and one of them was a little café that roasted all there own coffee and sold it in the shop. This is only interesting to you Dad so you’re welcome.
You can kinda see the roasted in the back but everything on the shelves was roasted in the shop.
When we knew that Lisa and Miri would be back at the apartment, we took the metro back and met them there to hang out for a bit before going back to the old town in the evening when everything would be lit up. There honestly isn’t much to tell about this part of our evening because we just walked around and chatted but I’ll put in some pictures to try and give an idea of what it looked like.
The giant Christmas tree in the main square Of course we had to drink some Glühwein while at a Christmas market.
The other main thing that we did that night was ride in the big Ferris wheel. It was actually pretty inexpensive and had some great views of the city from the top of it, unfortunately I don’t have a picture but I can confirm that it was really cool. To finish off our night we just took a walk beside the Rhein and looked at some of the cool buildings and architecture before heading back to the apartment for the night.
Wednesday was another day of adventure. Celeste and I slept late again and had planned to visit two more places that day: the aquarium and some old castle ruins.
We took the metro to a stop near the ruins and walked around that part of town for awhile first because it was really cute. There were some booths selling fresh fish and baking so it was definitely an interesting bunch of smells.
Eventually we made our way to the ruins that we’d been looking for. Unfortunately they were closed and so we couldn’t go inside but we still could see the outside of them so there was that at least.
Then came the interesting part of our day. We didn’t know what metro stop to take to the aquarium and since google maps said it was only about an hour walk, we decided that it would be no problem for us to just walk there. We might have been slightly wrong however. We started following a paved path beside the river which looked a lot like the other paths that we’d taken that morning and the day before. But this particular path was a little bit different. After about 15 minutes it was no longer paved and we were walking on a muddy dirt path. There were other people on it and we knew we were going in the right direction so we just kept walking, and walking, and walking. We were now in the middle of two fields and for a long time there wasn’t really any place to cut back across the field towards civilization again. The whole time we joked about getting lost in the wild Düsseldorf outback because we really had no idea where we were.
After about 40 minutes we just decided to cut across a field because we could see a path that was closer to houses that was going the right way. Once we reached it we turned onto it and kept walking. Lucky for us, after another hour of walking we finally reached a more industrial area and saw a sign for the aquarium! We made it! After all that walking we were pretty excited:)
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the aquarium and it was really neat. All the signs were in German so we couldn’t read anything but I mean, fish are fish so it’s pretty self explanatory. When we were done there we found a train back to the apartment where we spent the evening. We just had a really chill time that night; ordered pizza and watched a movie because we were all pretty tired, and then just chatted before going to bed.
A random picture of an old car we found because why not?
So that was our time in Düsseldorf. Yesterday we said goodbye to the girls and Celeste and I are now in Amsterdam. Neither of us have been before so we are super pumped! Definitely keep us in your prayers over the next days as we will be moving around a lot and staying in hostels and such. We always try to be safe but you can’t predict everything so we are hoping it all goes smoothly.
This last week I spent at the Bible School Tauernhof in Austria which will be my home for the next year. This week was mainly an introduction to some of the tasks that we will be doing as volunteers. We also helped a lot with some cleaning tasks to prepare the campus for the ski camp that is happening there over New Years.
When we arrived on Sunday afternoon we were met at the train station in Schladming (which is the town where the school is located) by two of the permanent staff. They showed us our rooms and we had time to get our stuff unpacked before meeting some of the other staff. Celeste and I aren’t roommates which is something we had wondered about, but we both really like our roommates so it’s all good. One of my roommates is from England and one from Germany and both are working in the kitchen as well. Before and at dinner we got to meet a lot of the other staff. Some of the other volunteers had been there for months already while some were also new like us. There are a lot more volunteers than I expected but I think that’s because in addition of housekeeping and kitchen (which we knew from Holsby) there are also ski and snowboard instructors who are volunteering for this season with the ski camps, so that does add to the numbers. In the evening we just spent time with the other staff, playing games, watching a movie together and talking to try and break the ice of the awkward “Hi, I’m still trying to remember your name” phase.
I took this picture on the first day that we arrived and there wasn’t really any snow. But there definitely is more snow now as it snowed most of the week! This is the main house of the campus.
On Monday morning and for the rest of the week our day started at 8:00 with breakfast. This was when we met more of the permanent staff and everyone introduced themselves. After breakfast most of the volunteers for kitchen and housekeeping went up to one of the buildings and got a rundown of how to properly clean the rooms and then we divided up into teams to start on that huge task. Because we arrived right after the fall bible school finished, none of the rooms had really been cleaned and so that was something that we spent the vast majority of the week doing. It wasn’t hard but definitely a bit slow so we just talked and blasted music for a lot of the time which made it considerably more fun!
I took this picture from the top floor of the main building. This ski hill is basically in the backyard of the school.
This first week we also learned how to prepare breakfast. All of the new volunteers in the kitchen got to spend two mornings helping with the prep in the kitchen so that we will be (mostly) ready to do that when we come back from break and the ski camps start. This included learning what food to put out when and how and also how to do cleanup and run the dishwashers. It was sometimes a lot of information to take in all at once but I’m sure that with more repetition it will be no problem at all. There was also always a main cook and the older volunteers in the kitchen with us to help if we had any questions so that was really useful.
So during the day that was mainly what all of the new volunteers did. We rotated between housekeeping and kitchen until everything was clean and ready to go for the camps. We always worked in teams so it was a really great way to get to know the other volunteers and permanent staff. We actually had a lot of fun working together and I enjoyed getting to work with others because I was never bored.
I’m the evenings we did a variety of things with the other staff because we always had evenings off. Monday evening was the Christmas party for the school staff so we went to a restaurant with all of the other staff and had a really nice meal and had more time to socialize. Some other evenings we spent watching movies together or playing bored games like extreme Uno or jungle speed. One night we went to the local Christmas market and walked around for awhile. It was super cute and small and it was funny because we happened to meet one of our friends from holsby there, Rahel, without even planning it! It was a crazy coincidence but Celeste and I had a really good talk with her while we walked around.
Not a great picture but these are some of the surrounding mountains.
Schladming has an interesting atmosphere because it’s hardcore a ski town in the winter. One of the staff told us that it’s way more quiet in the summer but right now there are lights up everywhere and tons of people staying in the town to ski. I’m really interested to see how that changes in the spring and summer with less people around because I think it will make a big difference in how busy it feels all the time. I think that it’s going to be an awesome year here. Even without having a set schedule for this week I’m starting to feel more comfortable every day that we spend here and I’m sure it won’t take much longer until it feels like home.
Much of the Christmas market was lit up with these kind of lights which was really cute!
This morning Celeste and I left for the 10 day break that the school requires you to take. Next week I’ll write about what we will be up to over the next days. I’ll also try to take more pictures than I did this week (oops). Feel free to text me on WhatsApp or email me at kelsikann@gmail.com during this time. I’d love to here from you!
This first week in Germany was a mix of exploring, relaxing and getting over jet lag. We had lots of time to focus on getting into a normal sleep schedule and recovering from the exhaustion brought on by the long travel days. To help get us into the routine we visited a variety of different places near Asperg, Germany which is where we’ve been staying for the week, and had the chance to visit a variety of friends from Holsby, the Bible School in Sweden that we attended last year.
Monday was basically just spent relaxing, sleeping in and hanging out with each other so Tuesday was the first day that we really did anything. In the afternoon we walked to a Christmas market that was in the next town over, Ludwigsburg.
The market was set up in a square closer to the middle of the town and was quite big compared to ones that I’ve been to in the past. People sell all kinds of stuff there, mainly traditional German foods, jewelry, Christmas ornaments and clothes. There is usually a wide variety of other things too but it can also depend on whether the market has a theme and how big it is. While we were there our little group shared a variety of foods that were sold at the market because though Celeste and I had both been to markets before, neither of us had really tried much of the food. I don’t remember the German names for many of the foods that we tried but there was a lot of them. We had one that was with Sauerkraut and a type of noodle, tried different kinds of sausages, spiced potato wedges, a kind of burger with veggies mixed in with the meat. Something sweet at the end that we tried was called Dampfnudel which is a big ball of dough, that has lots of yeast and is left to rise until it gets big. The one that we tried had a filling of some sort of plum jam and was covered on top with vanilla sauce. Neither Celeste nor I cared for it much but it was definitely worth trying it.
The square of the Ludwigsburg market
The other thing that you generally see a lot of when you go to the outdoor markets is called Glühwein which is a kind of mulled or spiced wine, served hot. I think it takes kinda weird but it’s been a bit different any time I’ve tried it so maybe it’s just an acquired taste.
Once we were done checking out the market we headed back to Joe’s for the evening. Our friend Stefan (also from Holsby) visited for supper and it was nice to catch up and get to see another friend. It was a pretty chill time and we finished the day by watching a movie before going to bed; both Celeste and I were pretty exhausted by that point.
Celeste and I on top of the Castle
Wednesday was another afternoon of exploring. After a relaxing morning we decided to walk up to the castle which is on top of a hill really close to Joe’s house. I’ve actually been up to this Castle before because it’s where we set off fireworks from when I was at Joe’s house on New Years Eve last year, but I’d never really been inside during the day. We walked around the outside walls which was neat because you can see all of the surrounding towns and stuff from that high up. You could also see a whole bunch of the vineyards that are on the hillside beside and near the castle so that was pretty cool even though they are mostly dead now in the winter.
Joe, Mari, Me and Celeste.
Once we’d walked around the Castle, we decided to go for a bit more of a walk through the dead vineyards and on the paths between them. This was super beautiful; the leaves are still falling and yellow here so it doesn’t quite feel like winter yet and the sun was nice and warm. As much as it’s cool to see the usual sightseeing things, I think that it’s also fun to sometimes just walk through the normal areas of places that we visit. It really gives you a sense of pace of the place the you’re visiting in a cool way so it’s something that Celeste and I have liked to do when we’ve traveled together before.
Mari, Me , Annabel, Celeste
In the evening we made an attempt at making homemade Mac and Cheese. We didn’t really use a recipe or anything and were kinda just winging it so all things considered we did pretty good. Our friend Annabel was also visiting for dinner so it was really great to get to catch up and see her because she was a really close friend of both Celeste and I while we were at Holsby. To finish off our evening we once again just watched a movie to relax before going to bed.
Thursday we had another really chill morning and did most of our activities in the afternoon. Around noon we had to drop Mari off at the airport but it actually worked out pretty well because it was kinda in the right direction to another Christmas market that we’d been thinking about visiting. This market was in the town of Esslingen and was medieval themed so there was a lot of different stuff for sale compared to the other market we’d visited. Esslingen was also a bit more of a stereotypical European town with the colourful buildings and stone streets so it was a super cute place to walk around. Because of the medieval theme there were people wearing costumes and also a few little shows going on around certain booths so it was an interesting place to just walk around and observe.
Once we were done at the market we wandered around the streets a bit more and looked into some of the old catholic churches that were around center of the city. This is something that Celeste and I have really liked to do when we are in older cities because often the big stone churches are some of the most beautiful buildings and they are usually always open.
On our way home from Esslingen we stopped and grabbed kebab for dinner. I guess that it’s originally a Turkish kind of food but you can get it all over the place in Germany and it’s actually really good. Every person that I’ve stayed with in Germany has always wanted to get kebab at some point because they think it’s crazy that we don’t really have it in Canada. Basically it just has meat that’s roasted throughout the day on a spit and they shave off meat as you order something. You get to pick what kind of vegetables and sauce are in it usually and it’s served in a kind of wrap or bread that kinda reminds me of a pita though that’s probably the best way I can describe it.
After grabbing food we went back to Joe’s and had a really chill evening. All 3 of us were pretty tired so we just had a quiet night watching a movie and then going to bed early.
In the town of Esslingen
Friday was one of my favorite days this week because we got to spend some time with a few other people from Holsby. Our friend Johnny came in the early afternoon to hang out with us at Joe’s and we had a good amount of time to talk and play some board games and catch up. Later in the afternoon we drove about an hour away to visit our friend Stefan’s house and see him and 2 of our other Holsby friends who were there too. We had such a good time hanging out with them. A lot of the time we were there was just spent talking and catching up with the last 6 months of each others lives because a lot of things have changed since we last saw each other. Many of our friends have now started university and so they have a lot to tell about with starting new classes and moving away from home and adjusting to College life.
Johnny, Stefan, Joe, Friedy, Me, Jan, Celeste
Later in the evening we decided to go out for a walk and it took us right past the Stuttgart airport. It was pretty neat to see so many different planes coming and going so close to where we were walking. We ended up staying at Stefan’s place till about midnight but we made it home a lot faster because there was hardly any traffic that late at night.
Saturday was our last day in Asperg with Joe and it was also a full day. In the morning we visited the house of one of the members of his small group and we did a whole bunch of Christmas baking which I guess is a bit of a tradition for them. Every person made a different kind of cookie so by the time we were done there was a huge variety and every person took some of each. I guess it’s an efficient way to do all your Christmas baking which is no surprise since Germans are all about efficiency.
In the afternoon we had our last 2 visitors, our friends Elena and Rebecca. As with our other friends we spent a whole bunch of time catching up and playing board games. It was great to see both of them and they both stayed really late into the evening despite the fact that they both came from over an hour away to visit.
So overall it was an awesome first week of our travels. We got to visit and spend precious time with so many of our friends from Holsby and also recover from our significant jet lag. Today (Sunday) begins the next part of our journey. We are currently on the train on our way to Schladming, Austria which is where we will be volunteering at the Torchbearers school. Both of us are excited to see what it will be like there; where we will be living, if we will be roommates and what our work schedule will look like. At this point we don’t have a clue about any of these things but we are really looking forward to finding out later this evening!
If you are at all interested in sending me mail my address in Austria is:
Kelsi's Travel Times 