Back in Blighty!

To all you lovely people who have been reading this, my humble year abroad blog,

I hadn't really planned on posting another entry after returning to the UK, but seeing as my stats tell me that a good number of you are still looking at this, I'll treat you to another entry!

I got back to the UK on Wednesday afternoon, and have to say I much preferred the weather on the continent - getting rained on upon leaving East Midlands airport wasn't quite the welcome back I was hoping for! Leaving NCG already feels such a long time ago, despite it only being a couple of weeks since I officially stopped being a resident of Germany. I don't think I've really grasped the idea that this time I'm actually here to stay and not to shortly be jetting off again. That said, my brain does still feel the need to try and use German words in the middle of English sentences!

First stop after leaving Germany was a quick trip to Paris, where I met up with Isy for a long weekend. Thankfully her French is a lot better than mine, and definitely a lot better than the German that kept accidentally slipping out of my mouth - apparently my default language when abroad, regardless of which country I'm in, is now German. Needless to say we did all the touristy things (except actually climbing the Eiffel Tower - never have I ever seen such a mahoosive queue all day long) and the weather was gloriously hot and sunny. Well, by day at least. By night the heat of the day turned into impressively scary lightning / thunderstorms, and torrential rain.

Here's a couple of photos just to wet the appetite:
(I took literally hundreds.. an edited selection will no doubt appear on facebook in the not too distant future!)

Remember: click to enlarge

Next stop was Italy, Venice in fact, where we were meeting the parents who had flown out there one day earlier. It was only a short stop, but long enough to climb lots of bridges over the canals, take a few boat trips on the local 'buses', and admire the sights. One downside of Venice: too many tourists, even in early June!

After Venice it was time to move onto Peschiera del Garda, a small town on the south banks of Lake Garda and our base for the next week. In an attempt to keep this relatively short and sweet, or at least not too waffley, I'll just say that whilst there we visited various towns around the lake (including: Desenzano, Garda, Gardone, Bardolino and Sirmione) as well as making trips to both Verona and Milan.

Peschiera del Garda

Picture perfect sunset

Lake Garda

Sirmione

Verona

Milan

Once more we were treated to the occasional lightning storms and claps of thunder during late evening / night - needless to say I have heard more thunderstorms and seen more lightning bolts in the last two weeks than in the last few years put together!

North Italy also attracts a lot of German / Austrian tourists resulting in half of the products in the supermarket being either from Germany or labelled bilingually (German & Italian) and not to mention that half of the conversations you overheard were auf Deutsch. This was quite a nice way to still hear a little bit of German though and not have such an abrupt end to living my daily life in another language / culture.

Our flight back to the UK returned us safely and soundly, the only slight oddity being the little diversion we apparently took due to "military action over Switzerland" - of course. As you do. The rain I mentioned on our arrival back into East Midlands I guess proves the reason for the English department giving me an umbrella as part of my leaving present!

And now I'm back, meaning my year abroad is officially over and I can no longer pretend to drag it out any further - it feels somewhat odd to not already have another flight booked up! Still, I have a summer back home to be enjoyed before heading back up to Leeds for final year :)

Tschüss Germany

One of the things that I will definitely not miss about my year abroad is waging war against my suitcase multiple times per year. It doesn't seem to matter how much I throw away, how much I leave at home, or even how much I send by post, my suitcase will seemingly always be those few kilograms over the weight limit. Packing is not a fun game.

So, in the spirit of things I will / won't miss, here's a quick little list. Yes there are probably many things missing, but this is what came to mind now.


Things I will miss about my year in Germany

Those teachers / students who have put a smile on my face every, okay most, day this year

Bluffing my way through my LK class every week

The affordability of food shopping

Escalators that change direction

Their lack of health and safety

Hot days and summer coming early

Ice cream

Cologne


Things I definitely won't miss

Having to pack all your items at the supermarket into your re-usable bag in about 10 seconds flat

Dry hands from writing with chalk

The excess of H&Ms

TV programmes going to an ad break within the first five minutes

Long life milk

My landlord's garden


and a few other German Quirks

Schools still using chalk and a blackboard in almost every classroom

Bottle banks having opening hours

Shaking hands, a lot

Automatic shutters on the windows

Having to wait for the green man when crossing a road

Saying "na" to initiate a conversation

Flaschensammler


Well, that's all I can think of for now, and I really should go back to battling my suitcase before leaving Germany tomorrow morning.... That's all for now folks!

Auf wiedersehen Germany, it's been good knowing you.

Penultimate Tag

Once we got over the slight hitch of discovering that I had a surprise Vertretung* first thing this morning, today rapidly became one of those really good days :) It is gloriously sunny and about 32°+, and it was also my penultimate day at NCG (no it's not a bank holiday here, we get ours on Thursday and Friday, but perhaps that does explain why the weather is so nice!).

This is the hottest I've seen google say today...

Although I still have tomorrow to go, today was in some ways effectively my last day. Both the head teacher and her deputy, as well as my Betreuungslehrer* all aren't in school tomorrow, so I had my official farewell today. Luckily I knew this was going to happen, and had even cottoned on to when, so that when the whole staffroom's attention was called for in the second break, I didn't get too much of a shock. Thankfully, they kept this fairly short and sweet, and didn't expect me to say a few words (phew!). As part of this Verabscheidung I was given a selection of gifts from the school, and from the English department. One of these items (chosen as the useful for England gift) is a Kölnerin* umbrella - who says the Germans don't have a sense of humour?!

A day of goodbyes is never the cheeriest thing to do, but at the same time, everyone has been so lovely, it was hard not to leave with a smile on my face - especially after my Klasse 5b.

Because it was my last day with them, their teacher decided that they were allowed to play 'Simon says' with me. Who knew that game could last so long? After the first round, we let the kids take over being Simon which just added to the hilarity. Never have I seen such a stern, yet highly comical, 11 year old 'Simon'!

After we had eventually exhausted Simon says (I was beginning to wonder if the time would ever come!) their teacher gave them all a little bit of time to write me a goodbye / thank you note. Some of them are soo sweet, others will provide me with a smile for life! Here are my top 5:

"It was very funny with you. You're very cool"

"and don't forget it: call me"

"I will miss you very much because your very very nice"

"You are the best Miss Groves. You are a sun, too"

"I would like that you not goes to England"

So there you have it, only one more day to go...

* Cover lesson
* Mentor teacher
* Cologner / lady from Cologne

The end is nigh

What's happened since the last time I updated this?
Mostly my last day has got closer and closer :/

Yesterday was my last session with my lovely "speaking AG" group. Typically, this being the one thing that I least wanted to do, of course quickly became my favourite 'lesson' of the week. How can you go wrong with mini-eggs, haribo and a game of taboo? In their loveliness they also got me the following card and a present - I'll miss them.

Just as well it was speaking and not spelling!

So, that's both my favourite classes / groups now said goodbye to. According to the deputy head, my 'official' Verabschiedung will apparently be at some point on Monday - let's hope it's not too awkward an occasion...

Today was a 'study day' ie. no school for everyone except the Abitur students (and teachers) sitting their final oral exams. This means I actually finished for the weekend yesterday ... a 2 day working week followed be a 5 day weekend - have I got that the wrong way round? Still, this means I now only have 2 days left at this school before my year is officially over. This is definitely a case of 'gemischte Gefühle'.*

I've also packed up the first of belongings ready to send a parcel back to the UK - I decided a 20kg weight limit for 9 months of stuff was an unachievable target. And yet, still the reality of leaving doesn't seem to have hit...

6 sleeps until my last day,
9 sleeps until I leave Germany and travels begin!

* mixed feelings

Merci

Yesterday we had our last Beratungstreffung in Köln, including a tour through some of the studios of the WDR (local TV / radio). Second to the Gasometer back in Duisburg, this has to be one of the more interesting 'activities' laid on for us by Veronika / the PAD. However, a few opportunities to sit down throughout would have been good! Obviously we also had to have the obligatory evaluation discussions and yet another feedback form to fill in, but that's it now, all done and dusted as far as Veronika is concerned.

Today was my last Wednesday in school, ie. my last ever lesson with my year 12 LK class :( Fr Neumann decided that in the second half of the double lesson we could all go to the cafeteria for coffee and a chat, where they also presented me with a card and box of chocolates, ironically named 'merci'! Said card was passed around the class for them to sign, and it made it about half way before I clocked onto what was happening and had to start deliberately looking away / pretending not to see! I'll miss that group, they are a lovely bunch, but I won't miss having to pretend that I have the slightest clue about what they are studying - I mean, is anyone an expert on 'manifest destiny', current rates of American immigration, or the exact rules for when to use a comma?

Two Mondays and two Tuesdays to go - that is all that is left ...

Obligatory Eurovision times

Saturday meant it was time again for Eurovision, this time hosted in Düsseldorf (a mere 50km or so away from here). With it being so close, and the local newspaper predicting the UK, Ireland and Germany all finishing in the top ten, how could we not watch it? For one year, and one year only, Eurovision was to be embraced. Well, I say that, the line was drawn at actually going up to Düsseldorf to join in properly!

Needless to say we didn't win, perhaps "I can" should have been "I can't"... Still, we didn't do embarrassingly badly, and even momentarily graced first position early on in the voting. I also spied an advert on TV for the channel RTL II, which used Blue's song as their soundtrack - not that they thought to give us any points as a sort of thank you though!

Back tracking to Friday, my landlord has been promising / insisting for a long time that before I left he would take me to dinner at the Hyatt 'glass restaurant' alongside the Rhein in Cologne. Friday was the day. Thankfully he invited along another of his friends, a very friendly and down to earth lady, who made the whole thing a thousand times less awkward. Still, I don't think I made any major etiquette errors, and on our way back we even saw a TV/film crew in action.

Making final touches to the set of the next scene

Tomorrow is back to school Monday (just 3 more left to go now) for what will be just a two day week thanks to our last language assistants meeting being in Köln on Tuesday (the day where I work literally half my weekly hours!).

Tasks for this week? Have an argument with O2. There is no way they can really need my Abmeldebestätigung from Germany then an Anmeldebestaetigung* from my "neuen Wohnsitz im Ausland" just to cancel an unlimited, pay as you use, contract. I'm going home, I'm hardly going to have proof of my registration there am I?! Idiots. Another example of contracts in Germany being impossible to get out of / cancel.

Some words from a WDR programme all about Cologne:
Die Kölner haben den Kühlschrank voll, die Düsseldorfer den Kleiderschrank!

*Confirmation of registration / deregistration

It's the final countdown ♫

It's the final countdown, no not until the end of the latest Dfs / Scs sale, but until the end of my placement here. It's now just under 3 weeks until my last day, but for various reasons this means I actually only have six, just six, working days left! Add that to my week's achievements of one lesson missed, one lesson skipped, and reference forms completed, does that mean it's now time to wreak havoc? I wonder what nonsense I can teach these people in my last bit of time...

Also, following the the long weekend of temperatures consistently reaching 28/30°+, I realised that taking into account the cold, cold winter, over my year here the weather has treated us to a range of about 45-50 degrees!

Feeling hot hot hot!

This weekend has been gloriously sunny, and ridiculously hot. Who knew Germany could reach 30° in May?! Exactly the kind of weather long weekends were designed for. Hence, Saturday was a day for sitting on Heidi's roof, chilling in the park, and avoiding the hundreds of police / blocked roads. I managed 2 out of 3 successfully.

'Pro-Köln' right-extremists are apparently not taken lightly over here, so hundreds of armed police and their vans / army style trucks were stationed around the city blocking off certain roads etc. That in itself wasn't too much of a problem, we may have had to take the longer way round a couple of times but we were able to cross a number of roads without waiting for the green man and without incurring a fine for doing so (which, given there were so many police around, was even more satisfying). Anyway, as I approached Deutz station to catch the train back to Bergisch (in order to be back in time for dinner with the landlord) I noticed a lot of annoyed people standing outside, and some equally crotchety policemen standing behind a barrier stopping people from going in. Apparently "for our own safety" the station was temporarily closed.

This would have been more believable if people didn't seem to be getting in through other entrances. As they slowly reduced the closed area down to just 4 platforms some of us clocked that we could get in through the side door leaving Mr shouty policeman with his megaphone to keep barking at those looking for trouble. Getting inside was good progress. However, now we were met with 5 or so police officers stationed at the bottom of the platforms. We weren't going anywhere until they said so (all the while trains passing through on the platforms above our heads). Still, we were told it would only be another 15-20 minutes and in true 'German efficiency isn't always a myth' style that estimate was pretty much spot on. What a palava.

I made it back to the Bach just in time for dinner though, even without having to arrive all red-cheeked and flustered (my life is just too exciting right?). And when, at half eleven at night, you are still sat outside in a pleasantly refreshing 20°, you can hardly complain!

Today has also been just as warm, if not a little hotter than yesterday, and we definitely reached the 30 degree mark. So hot in fact that I don't have to worry about getting sunburnt, as sitting in the shade is plenty warm enough for me! A little bit of rain to clear the pollen and smog wouldn't go amiss though. Growing up into hay fever is not something I am enjoying!

Back to school tomorrow morning, bright and early, with only a maximum of 10 working days to go ...

The beginning of the end

After training it back across the continent via London, Brussels and Cologne (top tip: British trains on a bank holiday are reallyyyy slow) I am back in the land of the Deutsch for the home straight of my year abroad... How on earth has this year gone soo quickly?!

By 3 o'clock this afternoon I had already completed about 80% of my working week, and am the proud (?) owner of one of the most flicked through copies of Heat magazine's 'Wedding Souvenier Special'. They may not fully understand all the hype about the Royal Wedding over here, but a good few of them did tune in to watch it and even more are more than happy to look through pictures! Talk about easy lesson planning. I also introduced mini-eggs to my AG group, and judging by the empty packet, I'm going to say they went down well!

Successes aside, I have also managed to pay an extortionate amount just to send my postal vote back, and will now apparently be losing another €6 to the bank just for the priviledge of a new card seeing mine has decided to no longer be readable. Robbing so and so's.


Countdown:

This time in 4 weeks I will have finished my last day at NCG.

This time in one month I will be in Paris.

noch mal nach Deutschland!

Wills and Kate (or the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as we should probably now call them) have had their big day; the UK has partied and celebrated with them (the biggest display of British patriotism I have ever seen); and the sun has been shining for an amazing amount of the last 2 weeks - must be time to go back to Deutschland!

However, bank holiday Sunday + travelling by train = one very long journey... Damn flights over the weekend being so expensive. Also, someone forgot to memo Germany that bank holidays should be celebrated even if they happen to fall on a weekend - back to work Monday it is then!

Easter

I probably should have updated this sooner as I've already been back in the UK for about 10 days, but just for memories sake, here's a quick little Easter update.

I got back last week safe and sound, and on time. In fact, after catching 4 trains, I only had a total of about 10 minutes of delays - impressive. So much less stressful than at Christmas! I also had far too many kilos of luggage and consequently some slightly sore muscles the next day... Steps up onto the Eurostar are not friendly.

England has been sunny, and a lot sunnier than I expected. Yey for early summer spreading across from the continent! Just a shame that the one day it chose not to be sunny was yesterday (Easter Sunday) morning at around sunrise time. Being up at 4.30am would be a lot less painful if we actually got to see the sun one year, and not just a sky full of clouds gradually getting lighter! Still, there's always next year....

So, all that is left to say is a (belated) "Frohe Ostern"!

Marzipan chicks - a productive afternoon me thinks

Blue skies and sunshine ♫

And yet another day of glorious sunshine after a very sunny week. Who knew it could reach 24° in April? Perfect. Shame the sun is apparently taking some leave and letting spring return tomorrow. Still, can't complain!

Bergisch Gladbach (Hebborn) in the sunshine

So, school... Well after a (many) timetable hiccup(s) last Tuesday, I sat in on a Klasse 9 lesson and learned that the English language has 4 ways of forming the future tense depending on the context - who knew? (For the keen beans among you: 'going to' future, 'will' future, simple present, and present progressive).

This week is the Abi* students' last week in school, so apparently they are coming in 'verkleidet' / dressed up every day, each day a new theme ... today appeared to be something along the lines of awards ceremony / suit get up. They are also selling waffles in the break times raising money for, well I'm not quite sure what - probably some sort of leaving party, which, as they blasted out music through some big speakers, turned the corridors into more of a club than a school! Cue some of the older teachers returning to the staffroom mumbling and grumbling utterances of dissatisfaction about something they could do nothing about.

I also briefly met one of the teachers accompanying the English exchange this morning - apparently they were off to Fantasialand today. Took me right back to being about 11 years old...

This long weekend also involved a trip on the Seilbahn (cable cars across the Rhein), some sitting by the Rhein and Dora's birthday celebrations. Whilst sitting at the Rhein we watched an owner play fetch with his dog, using a bottle top ... and were also asked if we wanted to be part of the audience for a quiz show on WDR. I had to decline, although bonus points for the woman still approaching us auf Deutsch even though she had heard us speaking English. Dora's birthday meal, despite being at an Argentinean restaurant, proved to be very German - when the menu says steak, it means steak, just steak. Nice to see a whole collection of Leeds people though (plus others!).

One view from the Seilbahn, looking over the Rheinpark towards the Dom

Easter is now a coming, so trees like the one below (taken from the internet, I decided that stopping to take photos outside people's homes probably isn't a good idea!) and lots of painted boiled eggs are springing up all over. Plenty of Lindt / Milka chocolate bunnies have also appeared in shops, but no creme eggs or mini eggs - consuming as many of those as possible will have to wait until next week. Homeward bound on Friday!

Ostereier

You may remember me saying back when "Wills and Kate" first announced their engagement, and then the wedding date, that Germany didn't really get it. Well, they probably still don't but that hasn't stopped wedding fever reaching the media here. The local newspaper even has a countdown for the number of days left to go... Oh dear.

* Abi, short for Abitur - the German equivalent of A-levels

Is datt nit schön?

Or, translated from Kölsch to Hochdeutsch: ist das nicht schön?

And from German to English: isn't it lovely?

That, it certainly was. With highs of 24° and glorious sunshine all day long Germany delivered its promised 'super spring' weather. Beautiful. However, after an afternoon in the park, I now have the sunburn to prove it - doh!

Some photos for you, just to prove how sunny it was :)
(Click to enlarge)

Kölner Dom - Cologne Cathedral

The Rhein glistening in the sunlight

Our view whilst lazying the park

A pretty little daisy

Today, too, was a good day. I met three new classes, whose names I have already instantly forgotten, and discovered a whole new staffroom kitted out with a dishwasher and everything.

I'll choose just a couple of highlights...

I began the day with Klasse 7 who I'll be taking in small groups for conversation practise. Having been talking about topics such as favourite films and plans for the Easter holidays etc. I regretted encouraging them to also ask me questions when one lad, out of the blue but in all seriousness, came out with: "What do you think about Fukushima?" Well that brought the mood down!

After what has become a fairly standard introduction procedure to my new Klasse 5 (the first year of secondary school, aged 9/10) - their teacher pretending that I don't speak any German and getting them to try and find out who I am - I went to move to the side of the room to wait until it was time to take my part of the lesson. Unfortunately there was no free chair nearby - the only one I could see being on the exact opposite corner of the classroom - so I simply just moved and stood by the window.

Meanwhile, unbeknown to me or their teacher, some of the lads had spotted that I was chairless, so without saying anything, the lad next to the only spare chair got up and carried it up to the front for me. When he then received praise for being so kind, one of the other lads a little further away indignantly, and incessantly, exclaimed that in actual fact it had initially been his idea. As their teacher quizzed him as to why that was so important, he started to blush. So naturally she teased him a little further - turns out I've got myself a little admirer! In her words: "aww, how sweet"!

Mondays could easily become my favourite day of the week.

Der Superfrühling kommt

These are the wise words of yesterday's weatherman. Our summery weather may have temporarily taken a break (it rained a lot of yesterday and is definitely grey and drizzly today) but according to those 'in the know' the "super Spring" weather will be returning over the weekend, with temperatures reaching up to around 24° - ich kann kaum warten! What is even better, is the "Grill-Wetter" chart they've produced especially, ie. the weather forecast measured in barbecues!

Bergisch Gladbach is in the West, just underneath the edge of 3 sausages.

 Dear Germany,

if your weather forecasters are right and you pull this one off, I will officially forgive the 6 continuous weeks of snow and all those sub -5/10° days we endured back in Winter.

In other somewhat sad news, the semester ticket expired yesterday, meaning that once more we now have to pay for our travel again - shocking. €207 (or some such amount) for 6 months free travel was soo worth it. Thank you kindly Universität zu Köln.

My timetable for my last 6 and a half weeks at school :'( has now been sorted, and my 4-day weekends are set to stay! Plus I get to keep my friendly year 12 Leistungskurs class whose lessons always involve a bit of blagging as they know a hell of a lot more about the UK / America than I do.

Also, having done a little bit of tidying up etc, I have begun to realise just how much stuff I've managed to acquire out here ... thank goodness for travelling home by train at Easter - hello no weight limit!

Finally, word of the week: dämlich, meaning daft.

Monday morning fail

Only Monday mornings could begin like this: firstly I managed to paper cut (well, slice) my thumb on a pile of photocopies; next I was woken from my somewhat dazed walk across the school to a group of lads from my class calling "hallo, Frau Groves, hallo? wir haben 604" aka. we had a room change which somehow they knew about and I didn't; and lastly I had to then face this class, my least favourite class of all, most of whom were not up for cooperating with me today. Fun. So glad it was my last lesson with them!

Monday then carried on its slightly bizarre manner when my middle two lessons were cancelled as years 9-12 were all to go to the hall to watch the Oberstufe's theatre play. Faced with the alternative of another hour and a half sat in the staffroom feigning busyness, I went along with. However, despite trying my best, I can safely say that I did not understand what on earth 'Der nackte Wahnsinn' was about - and not just because it was auf Deutsch, though that didn't help. Most bizarre play ever.

Still, it's lovely and sunny again now, and yesterday's afternoon at the 'beach' (well, a stony 'beach' along the banks of the Rhein in picturesque Kaiserswerth anyhow) was lovely. Now just to face my new 'speaking AG' tomorrow... (and my one out of three cancelled lessons).

Kaiserswerth

Sunburnt in March

That's got to be a new record. Not badly burnt you must understand, just that slight level of pink that you don't notice until it stings a little in the shower - oops! Hello strap marks.

Still, that is a sign of just how amazing the weather has been this week :) Sitting in the sunshine alongside the Rhine eating ice cream is a way of spending my afternoon that I will never ever tire of. Summer weather in March, and afternoons free to enjoy it - who can complain?

Another win for Cologne is the cupcake cafe we ventured to today. Not only did we get to nom a delicious cupcake (I challenge anyone to eat two in one sitting), we also discovered a whole new Stadtteil, with a whole new selection of shops, of which miraculously only one was an H&M (compared to the 5 in the city centre!). Plus I still don't understand quite how our meandering brought us right back into the middle of the city, but it did, magic.

"Dornröschen" - Sleeping Beauty

Also noteworthy is that I actually worked all of my timetabled hours this week, not a single lesson was cancelled. Next week however, is my last one on this timetable before a quick change for my last 6 or so weeks of school left here :'( It also brings the (somewhat late) start of 'my' English speaking AG... ie. an after school conversation group, organised by another English teacher on my behalf (just as well she's friendly!) for able students in classes 8 and 9. Hence, on Tuesday afternoon, somewhere between 0 and 15 students should be turning up to voluntarily speak English....

Another semester ticket win

Today I fell in love with Münster and out of love with football fans! The latter first...

It's just a personal gripe, but football fans would definitely be consigned to my Room 101. They should run special trains, or at least designate them a particular carriage so that their shouting, singing and burping is inflicted on none other than those doing the same. I did not appreciate their BVB chants en route to Dortmund - a quiet nap would have been preferable.



On a more positive note, Münster is a truly lovely city, especially in the sunshine. Once you pass out of the not so nice station, and move a street or two towards the city centre, you reach an elegant, relaxed and contemporary city, with just the right mix of old historic buildings filled with modern shops. Plus it has parkland and trees to enjoy in the nice weather... you just need to keep your eye out for bikes! Münster, I approve.




Another win for the semester ticket. Its imminent expiration will be mourned.

A Scandinavian Weekend

This weekend I went to visit Sarah in Lund, Sweden. This meant flying to Copenhagen - home to the biggest and most confusing airport ever. But also the first airport that I have passed through this year without getting me or my bag searched! When arriving at Copenhagen airport you have to walk all the way through departures (a good 10-15 minute walk through what is effectively a shopping centre) just to get to the main terminal building. More worrying / impressive, is that I travelled all the way from Colgone to Copenhagen, and then onto Sweden (by train), without anyone even once checking my passport... Seemingly flying within the continent requires fewer checks than when the UK is involved!

Brushing over a few problems with trains that decided not to stop in Lund, and a lack of English translation as to why, Friday night I was treated to the true Swedish student lifestyle; dinner at a 'Nation' with fellow international students, followed by free entry to their club night. However, not before Sarah could whip out her idea of a joke - cycling there and back. After not having ridden a bike in about a decade (!), it was time to test the theory that it's a skill you never forget... Well, if you take out starting, stopping and turning corners, then yes I can still ride a bike. Albeit it not very speedily and some what wobbly. Still, I only nearly fell off twice...

Pretty street in Lund

As well as exploring Lund, and Malmö by night (both pretty Swedish towns) we also spent a day being tourists in Copenhagen: meandering round the city, climbing the Round Tower, eating cake, watching buskers play glass bottles, searching for the Little Mermaid, walking through the new harbour and visiting an ice bar...

Copenhagen

Bottle playing buskers

The Little Mermaid

Schön oder? Looking be-a-utiful in the ice bar!

Two countries in one weekend, not bad huh? Although having spent the weekend playing the ignorant British card and failing to understand any Swedish / Danish, listening to German again at the airport came as an odd relief to once more hear a language that I could actually understand.

After a busy few days back at school, (including a 2 hour earlier than necessary get-up this morning) and some gloriously summery weather - think 18° sat by the Rhine eating ice cream - my 3 day week means it is now already weekend again, albeit it probably a much quieter one - time to recoup and catch some sleep!

Karneval 2011 ... Köln hat was zu beaten!

♫ Kölle Alaaf, Alaaf. Kölle Alaaf! ♫

Just one of the typical Karneval songs that I can now successfully mumble along to - or at least join in with the key line of the chorus! Along with 'Viva Colonia' another of these songs whose lyrics raised a smile is: 'Alles hat ein Ende nur die Wurst hat zwei', meaning 'Everything has an end, only a sausage has two'!

How do you sum up Karneval in a simple blog entry? You can't.
Let's start by saying, going out dressed like this is ganz normal:

In fact, not only does nobody bat an eyelid, but once in Cologne you actually attract many more stares if you go out dressed in your normal clothes rather than in costume. And that applies to all generations. Still, setting out mid morning fully verkleidert did feel a little strange!

When Karneval hits Cologne, you know. Singing / music / marching bands can be heard almost everywhere, and catching a tram could compete with the London Underground at rush hour! Even the main station had music playing out of its speakers at midnight. It's all mad, but fun.

A bit part of Karneval is the Dreigestirn, and the many Funkenbiwaks who take part. Both of these we saw at Neumarkt as various groups paraded in and out (parting the crowd directly in front of us - result) and performed on stage leading us, the Jecken, in popular Karnevals Lieder.

The Dreigestirn: Jungfrau, Bauer & Prinz

One of the Funkenbiwak

I should also mention the drummers dressed as sailors who were performing outside the (uncharacteristically, but wisely, closed) Dom. Not only did they attract a crowd, but they had people dancing and limboing on the Cathedral forecourt.

Drummers

On Saturday night there was the Geisterzug - the alternative 'ghosts / ghouls / all things scary' procession, which originated as a form of protest parade against all things political. Anyone can join in and take part, especially if you are wearing a mask. It did, however, prove a little elusive to find, and in typical 'German efficiency is a myth' style, was late.

As for the big parade on Rosenmontag? Well after more than 4 hours of standing watching, 40 out of about 50-60 groups passing by, and many Kamelle scrambled for, we called it quits!

The parade had something over 12,100 participants, was 6.5-7km long, and apparently took around 5 hours to pass by. It's made up of marching bands, often also dressed up, many horses (we saw at least number 600!) and massive 'floats' that were often politically relevant. For example...

Musical clowns

The Blaue Funken throwing out Kamelle.
Yes we are that close to that big a float without a barrier.

Oh dear Guttenberg - in a photocopier

Kamelle are the chocolates / biscuits / sweets thrown into the crowd from the parade. People in the crowd call out "Kamelle, Kamelle" to attract the attention of those in the parade (one pensioner nearby even had a megaphone!) and apparently blowing a kiss is the way to be given a flower. However, we soon learnt that some people are very competitive when it comes to collecting as many of these Kamelle and flowers as possible, and I don't mean children. Parents and children alike come ready with hats to help catch the Kamelle in, and bags to stash all that they have collected. I only need to say 'Kinderwagen woman' and blood will start to boil! As for the woman though who was effectively exploiting her mentally handicapped son (or whatever the politically correct term is at the moment) - I have no words.

However, for Imis, I don't think we did too badly!

Apparently more than 300 tonnes of Kamelle were given out during the parade!

One down side of Kamelle being thrown down from the floats - you will take a few hits to the head! And don't think that just because it hit you it's yours. Oh no, finders keepers - first to snatch it from the air or pick it up from the floor gets to pocket it. Health and safety in the UK would have had a field day / nightmare.

What's more, I can even say that I saw somebody in the parade that I knew! One of the lads in my Klasse 6 from last term was taking part with some form of music group, who were singing out "We will rock you" loud and proud as they passed us by. Thankfully, I managed to escape with only seeing a handful of students who recognised me, despite unintentionally walking past the school as it emptied out on Thursday morning - phew.

All in all a good few days, and no-one can complain at a 5-day weekend. If only this country celebrated Shrove Tuesday ... could have been the icing on the cake!

Only 6 months late...

I know I only updated this yesterday, but today I have breaking news: Near enough 6 months after arriving at this school, and a lot of pestering later, I have finally acquired a Fach* (and little cupboard) in the staffroom - hooray!

I know this is more exciting than it should be, but having a Fach means I should now actually get given the staff notices and maybe even find out about things before they happen, rather than too late! More worrying though was when clearing out this Fach of abandoned out of date information, I found a letter adressed to me from the PAD buried in middle... How did this get to be there? Did I really have one all along, that neither I or my mentor teacher could find? Mystery.

I also appear to be befriending the guy from DHL who has called round twice in as many days now, to ask me to take deliveries (of boxes of wine) for my landlord!

Sun's still shining, and epically long weekend has begun :)

* Postfach = pigeon hole
   PAD = Pädagogische Austauschdienst aka. the people who employ / pay us