So I really did intend on being a little more consistent with my posting here, but then we went on vacation and I forgot.
First off, there is a ton more vacation time here than in America. Well technically not, but it is spread out a lot more. We in America overdose during the summer (for at least 12 weeks) and then work through the horrendous weather of February and March without a single day off (it's how it feels). But in Germany the breaks are more evenly divided. Summer Break is only 6 weeks long, Fall Break is two weeks, Christmas break is four, I think, and then Easter Break is another 2 weeks, and then there are other random holidays too. I hear its a lot more time off in Bavaria. When you're Catholic everything's a holiday! But really.
Anyhow, my host family and I headed east to Neubrandenburg. My host mom was born in the DDR and grew up there and everything, so we were going to visit some family and friends of hers, but also see Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Germany is a large country. I think Americans forget that because European countries look so small squished next to each other on a map. But believe me, it's big. Minden is pretty close to the middle of Germany and it took us four hours to drive within an hour of the Polish border.
Speaking of borders, the old border between East and West Germany is pretty much nonexistent nowadays. There was a guard tower next to the Autobahn, but if my family hadn't pointed it out, I would have missed it. There is a museum and rest stop there, but it looked like the rest stop was more important!
The day we got there was also the last day of Oktoberfest and we went to it, even though we were no where near Bavaria (remember what I said about them?). Oktoberfest has been spreading across Germany and becoming more and more common, Minden even had one for a day, but all the tickets were gone. Originally, however, Oktoberfest was solely the domain of Munich.
The one in Neubrandenburg didn't come anywhere close to Munich, the Virginia State Fair would have dwarfed it, but it was still a lot of fun. It was a whole lot like a carnival here in the US, just with a bunch more beer and colder.
I'll get into the more touristy details in a later post!
First off, there is a ton more vacation time here than in America. Well technically not, but it is spread out a lot more. We in America overdose during the summer (for at least 12 weeks) and then work through the horrendous weather of February and March without a single day off (it's how it feels). But in Germany the breaks are more evenly divided. Summer Break is only 6 weeks long, Fall Break is two weeks, Christmas break is four, I think, and then Easter Break is another 2 weeks, and then there are other random holidays too. I hear its a lot more time off in Bavaria. When you're Catholic everything's a holiday! But really.
Anyhow, my host family and I headed east to Neubrandenburg. My host mom was born in the DDR and grew up there and everything, so we were going to visit some family and friends of hers, but also see Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Germany is a large country. I think Americans forget that because European countries look so small squished next to each other on a map. But believe me, it's big. Minden is pretty close to the middle of Germany and it took us four hours to drive within an hour of the Polish border.
Speaking of borders, the old border between East and West Germany is pretty much nonexistent nowadays. There was a guard tower next to the Autobahn, but if my family hadn't pointed it out, I would have missed it. There is a museum and rest stop there, but it looked like the rest stop was more important!
The day we got there was also the last day of Oktoberfest and we went to it, even though we were no where near Bavaria (remember what I said about them?). Oktoberfest has been spreading across Germany and becoming more and more common, Minden even had one for a day, but all the tickets were gone. Originally, however, Oktoberfest was solely the domain of Munich.
The one in Neubrandenburg didn't come anywhere close to Munich, the Virginia State Fair would have dwarfed it, but it was still a lot of fun. It was a whole lot like a carnival here in the US, just with a bunch more beer and colder.
I'll get into the more touristy details in a later post!
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| Gandalf hanging out in the back! |
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