Last weekend, I went on my last European excursion before returning aux états-unis, and I couldn’t be happier that it was to Germany. The main purpose of the trip was to visit two of my best friends from high school, Rebecca and Alberto, but getting to explore Germany was just an added bonus!
I took a train from Paris to Düsseldorf, which is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region. It’s also Alberto’s hometown, and only a 15 minute bus ride from Rebecca’s house! Rebecca picked me up from the train station there in her sporty little red car (which is a stick-shift…IMPRESSIVE, REB!), and we headed to her beautiful house in Haan. I was so happy to meet adorable little puppy ChaCha, her cute brother Leonard, and her sweet, gorgeous mom, Andrea. Rebecca and I did some shopping and exploring in Düsseldorf, tried eierpunch and bratwurst at the Christmas market, got on a ferris wheel where we could see the whole town, went to a fashion show (that started fashionably late) with her stylish friend André, and then to a delicious dinner with her mom at Meerbar.
As sad as I was to leave Rebecca, I was equally excited to train over to Mannheim, where Alberto is studying business management! I got to stay in Alberto’s apartment, meet one of his roommates, see his university, and go to an old palace/museum there. Then we met up with two of his friends in Heidelberg, which is considered the prettiest city in Germany and known for the Heidelberg Castle and the baroque style Old Town. In Heidelberg we went to the Christmas market, tried hot wine and a strange German creation called Dampfnudeln (which translates as “yeast dumpling” in English), and saw the Heidelberg Castle at night. I also found a really interesting spoon in a café there (yes, a spoon), which Alberto stole for me as a souvenir…talk about friendship.
Overall, it was a great visit and I can’t wait to go back one day SOON!
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