Edinburgh: The Arrival

I feel as though for the past few months I haven’t once stopped to appreciate the reality of the situation. Since applying to the University of Edinburgh at the end of April – being rather late already – I never truly envisioned myself here, in what is a positively spectacular city. And I have only yet seen the smallest portion of it. It has been a constant run around to get here. Reference letters, visas, packing, working, saving… I haven’t slept in a few months, and it certainly isn’t going to change just yet, as I start to adjust to the time difference here. Travelling is always exhausting and at this point, I just need some sleep. A nap. And a shower. I smell like airplane.

Air Canada Rouge leaves something to be desired. Flying since the start of July 2013, Rouge is supposed to be the hip, new moneymaker for the larger Air Canada monster company. Advertising renovated aircrafts, young, energetic staff, and a new entertainment system based off an on-board wi-fi set up, I had high expectations. They also offer direct flights to Edinburgh from Toronto at a fairly reasonable price. That in itself is hard to come by, with most flights requiring a layover and airport change in London. The first thing that I noticed when I boarded the plane was how little the interior had actually changed. It was filthy, too. Crumbs and debris littered up along the walls (I had a window seat; I got to stare at it all the entire time), the bathrooms stank horribly, the attendants were polite, but overdone, and there was still garbage in the seat pocket in front of me. I suppose the only positive physical change is the new paint job on the outside. And the new on-board wi-fi system? Terrible idea. I downloaded the app for this thing when it was free during their first month of flight, before it bumped up to 5$ starting August. Not only do you pay quite a bit for a ticket, but if you want in-flight entertainment you had better have your credit card on you and a PC or mac product with a full charge. With Rouge, all of the little entertainment systems in the seats are now gone. In the end, it didn’t matter that I had planned ahead and saved $5. Nothing was connecting well (or at all), save for the iPads that you can rent for $10. I didn’t really bother after I discovered that my laptop wouldn’t fully connect. I popped a melatonin instead, and by the time dinner was over, I was pretty out of it. Sleeping on a plane is hard, but when exhausted physically and emotionally you find a way. I really should have gotten one of those neck pillows though, for what was one of the worst flights I've ever been on.

Good morning, though my body registers this as 02.30. Now I'm just confused.

I don’t mind overnight flights. I’ve never done one, but I like landing at the start of a new day. I can’t really sleep much during the day, so as long as I rely on the daylight to trick my mind into adjusting to the time zone, I should be fine after tonight. We flew into the sunrise after about 5 hours in the air, so it was like I had had a full night’s sleep. After flying over icy water, which virtually glowed from the warm light of the sun and threw out brilliant rainbows,  we were suddenly looking over patchwork farm land. When I was younger, we had a play carpet that looked like a little city, with roads and a rail track. That is what I was reminded of as I watched the little cars drive up to their barns or along the freeway to the city; I wish that I knew where all of my little toy cars disappeared to.  The fields were impressively green and gold, and so perfectly shaped. I wish that I had taken some photos – which I would have, had they not asked us to put away all of our electronics.

I happened to be sitting next to another young Canadian girl on the way over. Having lived in Toronto for the past while, she is moving to Edinburgh for a one year Masters at the same Uni, though in a different program. I’ll see her around. We shared a cab into the city, which saved us each quite a bit, and we were able to act as allies in trying to understand our cabbie! I've had a taste of the accent long before I came here in my Skype dates with the Uni, but this was my first time having absolutely no idea what was going on. In my defence, I was pretty tired, but it was almost like an entirely different language. I do remember when he found out that we were from the Toronto area, that he pulled out this phrase that made me laugh, just mainly because I had no idea what he was trying to say. Something about Tonto and Toronto… something something something “Toronto Tonto”. Ha-ha. I can’t find it online, and I fear that if I ask anyone else here if they know the phrase, that they will think I'm insane.

I was happy to get to my digs in the city, but was feeling ferociously homesick; no doubt exacerbated by my extreme exhaustion. The pilot got us in by 08.00 (40 min earlier than intended), and I was settled in to my temporary living space by 10.00. But there is no rest for the wicked. I held on with the intention of getting over my jet-lag post haste. The castle can be seen just around the corner, so I found a bench and looked up at it for a while. I stared at a castle for a good hour, and it still didn't resonate with me that I am on the other side of the pond! A damn castle is outside my door, and I could have cared less. I've been meeting more internationals than locals, so that hasn't entirely helped either. Quite a few Canadians passing through, though. And A LOT of  Germans. I can’t remember the last time I spoke as much German. Finally laying down for a bit at 15.00, all I remember is starting to fall asleep, and then suddenly it was 17.00. Most know that I am a very light sleeper, and so staying out for 2 hours straight is a huge deal.

Not bad for the camera on my phone.

I sent out a lot of emails yesterday, and received just as many in return. A slew of wonderful comments all over Facebook and a Skype date with my beloved Jamie in the evening, too, all contributed to helping me feel a little better about this move. So much change can leave someone feeling lonesome, not for being without you love and support from overseas still, but from being so physically far removed. There is an overwhelming learning curve here. Mentally, you become convinced that it should be easy to handle the culture shock, because everyone speaks English. Not the case at all. I found the move to Germany easier because I knew very well just by the language difference that it would be challenging.

When all is said-and-done, I do miss home already. I may have started missing it before I had even left. Guelph has been a comfort and a constant, and being away from that is difficult. Because I never stopped to realize just what I was working up to – coming to the University of Edinburgh to take part in an amazing program – the emotions surrounding this move have been heavy. I was unprepared. Sleep offers great solace, and once school starts and I get into a proper sleep and feeding schedule, I’ll start to find what there is to love about this city. It is beautiful, I’ll give it that.

Kling, Glöckchen, klingelingeling!

I do not know how I came to the end of this trip. The rate at which time has passed by never fails to astonish me. I remember laying down to nap in early September, exhausted and thinking "Enjoy even the exhaustion; before I know it, I shall be home napping in my other bed." So correct was I in that moment; before I could say "whoa" the end just sped up to meet me. This blog though has helped me to slow down a few moments enough to keep a solid connection with what this adventure really means to me. It is a challenge designed to force me into an area so unfamiliar and uncomfortable that I have no choice but to build up the courage and try to overcome every set-back with grace and intelligence. I like to think that I did all of that. I am sure there were a few less than excellent moment, and I have made a lot of mistakes, but I am damn proud of everything I have done. Life at home, in Guelph and in University, are going to be much more "doable" now, I think. No more wasted time, not after learning of its extreme value over here.

I still need to catch up on the very busy events of November, but I think that that will have to wait in light of a more recent holiday, Christmas! My Oma sent me a letter in November commenting on how Christmas time in Germany was such a wonderful thing to experience, and that she was happy I would get the chance to experience it and that she wished she could be here also for it. How very right she was! Germany knows how to celebrate the holiday. It is not all about presents; there are solid, old traditions to adhere to. At the end of November opens all of the Weihnachtsmaerkte (Christmas Markets) throughout Germany. Each features similar stalls full of food, jewelry, ornaments, clothing, or wood carvings, but each town also has a different way of presenting these stalls. I have been to several: Wetzlar, Giessen, Oldenburg, Bremen, Mannheim, and Freiburg. I could not say which is my favourite, although I found the Gluhwein in Freiburg to be the best, and the worst in Bremen (complete opposite ends of Germany also, mind you). On the 6th of Dezember visits a very important man, St. Nikolaus, to fill our shoes with candy, nuts, and fruit. Before bed on the 5th, Mia excitedly and carefully laid out our shoes, two-by-two, so as to make his job easier, and when I came upstairs the next moring, Mia ran to show me gifts left from the revered old Saint. I received a hand warmer for my pockets and a ticket to the Handball game the next day.

Speaking of Handball, Caillin and I went to a home game featuring HSG Wetzlar gegen TuS N-Luebbecke. We were both told over and over again that we absolutely must experience a handball game, as it seems that the sport is very popular here aside from perhaps Fussball. One of the team member on the Wetzlar team used to also rent a room from Oma Marietta, the Oma of the children that lives just around the corner from us here on Hohe Str. The game was really interesting, although Wetzlar lost, and I definitely experienced a different side to sports by watching it. Throughout game play there is a lot of grabbing and pulling and shoving, but the moment someone gets too forceful or a player is pushed/pulled down, the whistle blows (sometimes a time out is given), and irrespective of team, the players will help the fallen up. Some apologize for getting to pushy, pating each other on the back and shaking hands. It is a very "gentlemanly" game, I guess you could say; except the uniforms are horridly unflatering.

Back to Christmas time, from a previous post I of course went to Visbek to see family from the 16th to the 20th, was home in time to celebrate Tom's 38th birthday on the 22nd, and then set up the Christmas tree on the 23rd. The tree is real this year; lush and classically decorated. One thing that is very different though is that Germans use candles (real or fake) to light there tree, whereas we tend to use twinkle-lights. It is a traditional thing aimed back to the first instance of the Christmas tree when there were of course no such thing as twinkle-lights (although I am still not sure if I would have REAL candles on my tree). The 24th is traditional Christmas in Germany. At around 18.00 the 4 of us (Tom, Astrid, Mia, and I) went to the church for a children's Christmas mass. We actually had quite a lot of snow, and owing to his young age, Tim stayed home with Oma Marietta, were it was cozy and prehaps not so boring. Church was really nice. It was Evangelical, so certainly a different experience from my traditional Roman Catholic, but nice and interactive. We sang a lot, and there was a childrens guitar group there to provide the music behind our voices. We also opened the last Chritsmas window. Throughout Dezember, to celebrate the advent and also resembling those chocolate advent calendars (another very popular thing in Germany), different families each night would host a window. These windows were decorated and numbered all throughout Muenchholzhausen, and we would gather at each to drink Kinderpunch, eat some Lebkuchen, and to sing. Of course St. Nikolaus would meet us there with a little something for the kids. He was not there at the church, since I think then we would be mixing too many traditions.

After church we walked back to the house, the other three throwing snowballs at each other, since snow is, again, such an anomally this early in the season. I continued to walk on, keeping in mind that while beautiful, there is still a lot waiting for me back in Kanada. And it has been beautiful; snow for Christmas was a wonderful gift. Oma Ingrid and Opa Hubert (Tom's parents) came a little later and it became all of our jobs to keep Mia occupied in the basement playroom so that the Christkind (baby jesus) could bring presents to our loving house. Yes, baby Jesus brings us present over here. Apparently Santa is too busy over in North America. He did come, none-the-less, and an unbelievably excited Mia was very careful to come up the stairs without scaring the baby Jesus away, lest he take present back with him in his fear. He rings a bell when he comes.

We opened presents right then. Mia jumped around looking for everything with her name on it. I remember that excitement well; tearing everything open, and then looking frantically around for what else might be left for you untouched. For me, I received Asbach filled chocolates from Oma Ingrid and Opa Hubert (finished one box, delicious!), a hand knit scarf from Oma Marietta (a beautiful purple colour), and from Tom and Astrid, "Die echte Deutsche Kueche" (an amazing cookbook!) and a calendar featuring pictures of the family. I do not know which present was the best. Every single piece has a meaning behind it; a strong memory. It was one of the most wonderful Christmases that I have ever experienced, although I know that it is not over yet. There is still Christmas in Kanada. The excitement for the day as a child is unequatable, but the meaning that forms behind the holiday as an adult is my favourite part.

Dinner followed (it was amusing to watch an antsy Mia, told to eat while her new toys awaited her), for which we had Raclette. I had tried the cheese before on bread down in Freiburg, and while it is a very smelly variation, it tastes fantastic heated up. In the middle of the table was set up a raclette grill. On the top part was the grill, more for meat, and underneath the grill was six individual pans. In these pans you would fill up with mushrooms, fruits, shrimp... you name it... and a slice of cheese (maily raclette, but we had others), let it melt together, and eat it while warm with a side of potatoes and salad. The concept is similar to fondu, actually, just perhaps heartier since you can make so much more food quickly. I really liked the concept, and Tom gave me a small, individual raclette cheese heater, so I can make the cheese and bread piece whenever I would like to now. Following dinner I did quite a few shots of potatoe schnapps (unbelievably good) with Tom, Astrid, and especially so with the two Omas. In fact, when Tom and Astrid stopped, the Omas continued, feeding me schnapps all along the way. I can not say that I minded; it was fun and I heard a lot of stories.

The 25th was my day off to celebrate Canadian christmas a little. I called family and friends back home.

And now here I am, waiting on Leslie to arrive and finishing up a bit of packing here and there. Yesterday was my last official work day, and today I get co-op paper work completed before celebrating with the family. We are going to have a small party here for my leaving, making Schnitzel, Pilzsauce, Kraut, Kloese, and Strudel; a very hearty German meal. Leslie will be here for it, the family, Oma Marietta, and my dear Au-Pair friend Caillin. Afterwards Caillin, Leslie, and I will go to a grill party hosted by Caillin's host family, and then maybe further after that we will go to the local bar at the Tennishalle for one last drink together. How bitter-sweet it all is.

-Candles

Wenn ich nur konnte...

Today I rode my last DeutscheBahn train of my entire time here. It was a bitter-sweet experience, since every train in Western Germany seems to be running a perpetual 30 minutes behind (if you are lucky, that is), but it is still a luxury to be able to travel so easily within Europe. I was visiting my dear friend and frequent travel partner, Leslie, as she prepares to pack up and leave Mannheim. She is flying back to Canada the same day that I am, just at a 10min difference on another plane with several stop overs. Have fun, Leslie. My flight is direct.
This visit had the added bonus of another friend from back home, Nicholas Wuestefeld. Such a German last name. He has only been here for a week, and if flying back to Canada tomorrow from Frankfurt. He decided to have a mini-vacation (and apparently his first) while the lot of us are over here completing a semester or year abroad. Together the three of us visited the main Mannheimer Weihnachtmarkt, which was beautiful, large, and really not all that packed with people, although it is a Tuesday. As we stuffed our faces with Flammkuchen and Pommes, I could not help but notice that it is significantly warmer in Mannheim. Is it only Hessen and all that is north that has been hit by Winter? I doubt it, but man, is that not fair. I am freezing my arsh off up here. That winter came so quickly is quite a surprise to every German here. Normally in Hessen there is not a lasting layer of snow until late January. Evidently I brought the snow over with me from Canada, or so I am told. I could have done with the delayed snow fall, but I guess a white Christmas is in order. Hopefully it stays until then, while over the next few days the temperature is set to get a little warmer and it will rain a lot. Snow leading up to Christmas, but then gone by that day?
I feel as though I have been doing a lot of travelling this past week. First there was Visbek from Thursday until Monday, and then today, Mannheim. I can not begin to count the number of trains that I have hopped to and from with connections. The final two days of Visbek were unbelievably wonderful. On the Saturday I went with my cousin Franzi and her new beau to Oldenburg for the Weihnachtmarkt. I have never seen Oldenburg before, and while it was very, very cold, it was so beautiful. The Markt was set up in the Aldstadt (old part of town), around the church, and stretched on in so many different directions. We looked around a bit, drank some Gluehwein, which tastes pretty good in Oldenburg - the worst that I have had yet was in Bremen during the time I was waiting for my connecting train - and ate by a little chain restaurant called "Hardy's." It may be fast food there, but the atmosphere is very classy. It is themed around the turn of the 20th century. I ate currywurst, which I knew that I had to try in Germany at least once before leaving since it seems to be pretty popular. Actually, the Germans cook often with curry.
The Sunday following I had forgotten to set my alarm, and so I slept until about 11.00, which is ridiculous considering that I went to bed at 22.00 the night prior. I have been sick for the past 5 days; just a regular cold, but I have not slept that long in ages! My cousins Franzi and Niklas slept in quite late also, and Louisa was not there that night. Sunday was a quiet day then, a much needed quiet day, and I think that the rest really did me well. That night I visited more family down the street (everyone seems to live so close together) and answered questions about how everyone back in Canada is, what I have been doing, and how I have found my time here in Germany. That last question is answered with a simple whine about how I am not ready to go back.
With school supposedly on Monday (it ended up "snowed out"), I said goodbye to my cousins and wished them well, encouraging them to come visit and stay by Monique and myself when they get the chance. It was my first real taste of the goodbyes I am going to have soon, and I did not like it at all. While I was anxious to get the travelling back to Wetzlar over with, I could have stayed there easily another day or two without question. It was really too short. Life started up again for my family on Monday though, with errands to run and the cousins having a day off of school. I spent the morning getting some fresh air around tiny Visbek, and taking pictures. I had almost forgotten how adorable the town is. The locals probably are sick of how small it is, on some level, but to my foreign eye, it was heaven brushed with snow.
Franzi, Uncle Werner, and Tante Afra drove me to my train that afternoon, and I hugged them tightly before hopping onto the train. It is a painful memory, thinking of their faces through the train window as it pulled away. Afra mentioned that she had wished they had done more with me while I was there, but in all honesty, the rest was what I needed. I am so fortunate to have such an amazing family, and one that only would speak German with me to boot! The practice did me wonders also.
The trip to Visbek I had been waiting for since I got here. I knew that it would be wonderful to see the family again, but I also knew the once the visit was over, I would only have a week and a half left in Germany. That is the point that I am at now. When I left Visbek, time sped up again. Six hours on trains to Wetzlar can eat up an afternoon in the blink of an eye. I was home by 20.00 Monday night. Mia was still awake, and she ran to welcome me home and tell me about her weekend. I am going to miss that little girl's tiny arms.

-Candles

Visbek

I realize that I have failed to write for the remainder of November, and while much has gone on since I last wrote, I am choosing to focus first on my current situation. I will have to recount the numerous events of November later.

Today I find myself in Visbek, the birth place and childhood home of my dearest Opa, and the small town in which much of the Wuebbolt family still lives. I have been here once before, two years ago when I was 20, and while there are small changes to the structures here, the feel has remained much the same. I do not know how or why it happened, but the moment I entered the small town I felt an immediate affinity with it. Perhaps it is because the memory of its streets runs through my blood. The Wuebbolts have been tied to this place for centuries (since the 1600s, if I do not stand corrected), and only recently, with a previous generation, has the Wuebbolt family not lived in the same house as always before. I can still see the house where my Opa and his 8 other brothers and sisters were born and raised. It is now covered in a dark red-brown brick and is divided into several apartments, but before it was part of a gloriously fruitful piece of land, with a large garden and also once a factory building from when the family tailoring business had expanded. They made beautiful clothing there, and my Oma and mother both have a few dresses that were made there. The factory building is no longer there either, having been replaced with two smaller apartment buildings (fortunately not high rises), and while they are very clean, presentable structures, they are just not the same as those buildings that held so much personal historical value. My Opa's childhood home is not as beautiful as I imagine it once was; it looks a little run down. I would love to take it back and give it life again, but it is not mine to have. The garden is gone also.
I am actually quite in the middle of nowhere, being far up in the flat, northern atmosphere of west Germany. Did you know that Germany is only divided in conversation into as West and East? I mentioned "central Germany" once and was informed that there is no such thing. It is likely a run off from the days when Germany actually was divided into an East and into a West, although perhaps they should start to adopt the idea of there being a central area, and in that process emphasize that it is a whole. As it were, I am actually in the West and very close to the Netherlands (close in Canadian terms; an hour drive seems close to me, and incredibly long to the Germans, but it is all a matter of personal opinion in the end), and am staying in my family's hotel, Hotel Wuebbolt. Interestingly enough, my cousins live in a hotel. It is beautiful; fresh, clean, with a comfortable feel and several gorgeous Christmas decorations throughout. It is really close to the centre of town, and from my window I have the most amazing view of the church tower. I count myself as one of the luckiest people right here, sitting at my little table in my cozy little room. Snow has coated everything. It is a complete and utter "winter wonderland," complete with shining Christmas lights.
And my favourite part, aside from my adoring family all close by: time has stopped. In Wetzlar time has been going by too fast. Always too fast, and picking up continually, but here is has stopped. The hours trickle by as if I were watching every grain fall through an hourglass. I have talked to many back home about my growing aversion for the return to Canada. While I miss my family and my friends so much, along with the comfortable familiarity of being within Guelph and on my gorgeous campus, I cannot help but fear the return of the mundane; I fear when things will become too familiar again. I have been bitten by the travelling bug, and there is still far too much to see. Certainly I am begining to loath the German's unfamiliarity with snow. A trip to Weimar was cancelled this past Tuesday because bus drivers did not know how to handle 5cm (if that) of snow. The Canadian bus driver balks at that much snow. And yet despite all of that, I want to stay so badly. It took me 8 hours to get here by train due to a major snow storm along the way, when it really should have taken under 6 hours, but I can truely say that I hardly cared. Being an hour late into Bremen for my connection to Rechterfeld Station (by Visbek) meant that I had an extra hour (waiting for the next train) to use in the tiny Christmas market runoff outside of the Bremen station. I had some Gluhwein and talked with some very drunk locals. People seem very eager to talk about life in Canada with me. They do not have stereotypical misconceptions, but they are very taken aback by the nature and space that we have. I, along with others, take it for granted I guess, and to the everyday German, starved for space in such a densely populated space, we Canadians are pretty darn lucky. Yes, I have been exceptionally fortunate as of late. A wonderful family in Canada, a wonderful family here, a fantastic group of friends worldwide, good health, the sensation of being alive again, and the opportunity to travel with neverending support and encouragement. Much in me has changed, and now I will need to determine how I can incorporate this greater, new view of life, into my old structure back in Canada. Nothing seems too big to handle though. Coming home will just take a little work.

Tomorrow is a day to visit Weihnachtsmarkts in Northern Germany. Combined with my friend Leslie (here also on her Fall semester abroad from Guelph Uni), I think we will have covered every Weihnachtsmarkt that there is to see in West Germany.

Candles

Tor!!

There is nothing like a German Fußball game.

A week ago today (Okt. 6. 2010) I found myself encircled by Frankfurters at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, Deutschland. To my left sat Tom and Mia, burrowed into their warm jackets, just as I was into mine, from the cool wind sweeping in over the sides of the benches. To my right sat the most devoted Frankfurt fans; there to cheer on their home team. Astrid had warned me that when Germans gather to watch Fußball, it is to truely watch Fußball. I was actually seated in the quiter area. The die-hard fans, I think, never sat down for the entire duration of the game. Singing, cheering, jumping, hailing, and hissing when the other team had the ball; the entire stadium was there for Frankfurt.

The game was against a little city from out of nowhere-Germany called Wolfsburg. Frankfurt has an excellent team, so there was little hope for their opponents, but they put up a good fight and had a few devoted fans there to support them. I mean literally a few though; perhaps 60 people against the thousands of Frankfurt devotees. The Wolfsburg fans were actually few enough to require a small army of security to surround them. My reasoning is that the security were there to protect them from the crazy Frankfurters; indeed upon entering the stadium grounds we were all pated down and our bags checked for anything that we might throw. Very amusing and a little concerning for a Canadian new to the experience. I could hardly believe the extensive protective measures taken.

The day was rainy, so the dome was covered over (little help to me, though, for I was already soaked from walking from the parking lot 2km away). Cozy inside, the first thing to do is get a beer and a pretzel or wurst. They trust us not to throw that at the ref (who would waste beer?). Then find yourself a good view and settle in. The players came on while fans sang a traditional game song:

Ohhhhhh, wie ist das schön!
Ohhhhhh, wie ist das schön!
Sowas hat man lange nicht gesehn, so schön, SO SCHÖN!
Zwo, Drei, Vier, Ohhhhhh, wie ist das schön!
Ohhhhhh, wie ist das schön!
Sowas hat man lange nicht gesehn, so schön, SO SCHÖN!

So ein Tag, so wunderschön wie heute!
So ein Tag, der dürfte nie vergehn!
So ein Tag, auf den ich mich so freute.
So ein Tag, der dürfte nie vergehn!

Ohhhhhh, wie ist das schön!
Ohhhhhh, wie ist das schön!
Sowas hat man lange nicht gesehn, so schön, SO SCHÖN! (JaJaJa!)
Ohhhhhh, wie ist das schön! (schön!)
Ohhhhhh, wie ist das schön! (so schön!)
Sowas hat man lange nicht gesehn, so schön, SO SCHÖN!

DANKE!
BITTE!
...

The game started slow, the ball passing from side-to-side with little threat. Then Frankfurt stepped it up. Wolfsburg scrammbled to gain control of the ball but Gekas (24), the team star made contact and got results. The first score (Tor!) came in at 24 minutes. Pumped up, the Eintracht Frankfurt pulled in their second goal at 38 minutes by player 27, Schwegler. Each Tor led to a frenzy in the crowd. The Frankfurter fans showed their approval. Minute 46 signaled half-time.

About 15 minutes later the next half began. Frankfurt took the field to loud cheers, while Wolfsburg snuck on during loud jeering. I do think that the responses of the fans have a major effect on the players, and the Wolfsburg fan cheers were continually overpowered by piercing whistling. Minute 54, Gekas (24) pulled in another Tor, no problem. It was not looking good for Wolfsburg, but then for a minute it turned around. A minute is all you need, and minute 66 saw a Tor finally coming in from Wolfsburg. The hissing and pierce whistles coming in after that one were more than a person can handle. The Germans are definitely intense about their game.

Wolfsburg had shown that they could score after all and so the pace continued to pick up after that. The lead was not as far ahead as before. No more scores were seen, but not for a lack of trying and a few close calls. The fans got louder, the players more aggressive. After one Wolfsburg player sent a Frankfurt player into a summer-sault, there was a close fight. The Frankfurter got up close into the other's face and threw a false punch. The Wolfsburg player actually fell to a huddled position, feigning as though he had been hit. From all around the stadium I could here "Schauchspieler" (which means "actor") as angered fans jumped to their feet. No penalty was given, since there had actually been no contact. Komisch.

Towards the end two Frankfurt players were traded out with new ones. One because of an injury, the other for I have no idea why, since there were only 2 minutes left. But it ended soon enough with a 3-1 win for Frankfurt. We hailed the players as they hailed the fans, and Mia, Tom, and I filed out of the stadium with all of the other fans - like ants from an anthill - and walked the 2 km back to the car. It had at least stopped raining.

Following the game Tom took us to see where he, Astrid, and a baby Mia had once  lived in Frankfurt. Having a house in the city costs millions, so what we actually saw were some very nice apartments. We then went to a VERY traditional German restaurant, one that had been in the family for generations. I tried for the first time Blutwurst, and had a main dish of  Ribbchen and sauerkraut. Pretty darn German of me.

The lessons from the day: (1) it costs millions to live in a house in the city but even in the city the old history still peeks through, (2) Fußball fans are intense (I dare say more so than hockey fans in Canada), and (3) if you are ever feeling lonely or out of place in Germany, then attend a Fußball game. You will instantly feel like part of the country (provided that you are there for the most popular team) - indeed I had to laugh at myself for how into the game I got myself, having never known the teams before that game.

-Candles