Since I've been here I haven't really had a typical work day. The day after I arrived Ev got a really bad flu and was in bed for most of the week, and then as soon as she was feeling better Rose got sick. I've been kind of on/off working mornings and afternoons since I got here. So today I woke up, realized both girls were healthy again and so back at school, and thought I had a nice typical work day ahead (mornings off, afternoons looking after the girls). That was until host-mom asked over breakfast, why don't take a bit of today off and go to Rosenheim? It was going to only be until 2, and then my host-dad said, why not take the whole day?
They told me how to buy a Bahncard for students (My student ID card expired in December, but it's entirely in English!) and off I went! Rosenheim is GORGEOUS. Pictures below! It's a great big town/little city with a gorgeous Altstadt. It's about 20 minutes from my town by direct train or by car, and it's the largest city in our area. Great German architecture and lots of cute little cafes. For lunch, I accidentally went into a really nice restaurant (I forgot to look at the prices outside), but the food was FANTASTIC (it wasn't, in fact, German, however...). So worth every penny. I was actually glad to eat alone so I could just enjoy my food!
On that note of great service, German trains are amazing. I look at the timetable for my train and right next to it are multiple times daily trains to Venice, Vienna, etc... Plus, they are so fancy! Getting on the train today I was a bit nervous (wrong train? Done that before). I hopped on and thought I was in first class. I actually got off again to ask where second class was just to have the train-guy laugh at me. It's so clean, so spacious! And actually the nicest spot is the little sealed compartment for smoking). One exception: There is no WiFi on the inter-city trains. So Via Rail has something on Deutsch Bahn, I guess!
P.S. One frustrating thing I've noticed is that I have a really hard time with accents. I've made friends here from France, Indonesia, and the Dominican Republic, and my host family are from the Netherlands. So all the German I hear on a regular basis is accented, and I seem to have no trouble with it. Until I meet a native German speaker, and suddenly I can't understand a word. Maybe it's the speed but it's incredibly embarrassing when someone who's native tongue is NOT German has to repeat something a German has said to me in order for me to understand!
They told me how to buy a Bahncard for students (My student ID card expired in December, but it's entirely in English!) and off I went! Rosenheim is GORGEOUS. Pictures below! It's a great big town/little city with a gorgeous Altstadt. It's about 20 minutes from my town by direct train or by car, and it's the largest city in our area. Great German architecture and lots of cute little cafes. For lunch, I accidentally went into a really nice restaurant (I forgot to look at the prices outside), but the food was FANTASTIC (it wasn't, in fact, German, however...). So worth every penny. I was actually glad to eat alone so I could just enjoy my food!
On that note of great service, German trains are amazing. I look at the timetable for my train and right next to it are multiple times daily trains to Venice, Vienna, etc... Plus, they are so fancy! Getting on the train today I was a bit nervous (wrong train? Done that before). I hopped on and thought I was in first class. I actually got off again to ask where second class was just to have the train-guy laugh at me. It's so clean, so spacious! And actually the nicest spot is the little sealed compartment for smoking). One exception: There is no WiFi on the inter-city trains. So Via Rail has something on Deutsch Bahn, I guess!
P.S. One frustrating thing I've noticed is that I have a really hard time with accents. I've made friends here from France, Indonesia, and the Dominican Republic, and my host family are from the Netherlands. So all the German I hear on a regular basis is accented, and I seem to have no trouble with it. Until I meet a native German speaker, and suddenly I can't understand a word. Maybe it's the speed but it's incredibly embarrassing when someone who's native tongue is NOT German has to repeat something a German has said to me in order for me to understand!