Blogs from Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, Europe - page 41

Today we drove out to the Japanese Gardens in Kaiserslautern with Matt and Maria. The Gardens looked quite impressive on their website, especially with the waterfall, Zen Gardens, lovely trees and pretty Tea House. It was, though, smaller than I had expected. It was certainly quite peaceful in some of the quaint corners, or when shrouded by trees and bushes, but we were plagued by almost constant views of the surrounding city. The Gardens were built on a hill and so most of the scenery that included a downhill view was framed with the buildings of Kaiserslautern. Even up the hill were many homes built right up to the fencing. It was a neat experience, but I would have enjoyed it more had more of the trees been alive (I mistakenly assumed it was already spring) ... read more

Like any great adventure, the idea for this blog started on my couch half drunk (at least that's what I'm gonna admit to) at 3 in the morning, watching Into the Wild. Magically, thoughts popped into my head, such as: "I like to camp" and "I own a backpack." Suddenly, inspiration hit. It's time for ME to go into the wild, or as much so as you can go in Western Europe. I could buy a tent, and trek off into the woods. Then, waking up the next morning, (really, only half drunk, I promise) I watched the end of the movie. The plan would have to be amended so that my Alexander Supertramp adventure could begin. You know, without the discomfort, or the starvation, or actually anything that made his adventure interesting to anybody else. ... read more

Today there is sun, which is a nice change from the usual fog, rain and overall dreariness. It is in the 30s but the sunlight makes it feel pleasant, so we head south to a little town called Speyer. Nestled on the banks of the Rhine River, this town once functioned as a Roman military camp, but there are archeological findings from the area that date back 5,000 years. Speyer is also famous because one of its residents, Konrad II, was elected the king of Germany in 1024. The first place we visit is the Dom. Work on the Kaiserdom Cathedral, or Imperial Cathedral of Speyer, began in 1030 and it was later consecrated in 1061. It is the largest Romanesque cathedral still in existence and its basement holds a crypt containing eight German kings. It’s ... read more

Okay, so some of you could say that I've been ignoring my blog lately and well I guess you would be right (hey atleast I'm honest!). So please forgive and I'll try to update you on some of the more exciting aspects of my life here right now. As well, seeing as how I'm also assuming you're all going to visit me at some point I think it's very important that I continue on with "Germafying" all of you with a lesson in the exquisite art that is the german language. And yes, I did just make up Germafying but I'm alone in a foreign so give me a break! Well let's start off with the basics (cause frankly that's all I know! ha) Ich bin Shannon und Ich komme aus Kanada. This is a phrase ... read more

I'm going to try to keep this short, because we are in the middle of mid-terms and I have tons of work to do, but I have alot to tell. So, this past weekend we went on a 3 day excursion through German wine country. I enjoyed it alot, because it was much more laid back and relaxing, and thw weather was much better. What was not better, however, was our transportation. Our bus driver was basically insane. He drove like a nutjob, and I was constantly fearing for my life. Also, to top it all off, our bus was not exactly the fines piece of machinery either. It broke dow twice, and some of the guys (including myself) had to push it to get it to start. I guess their standards are a little more ... read more