So, school holidays are almost finished now but as I mentioned in my previous update I was infact for a good deal of that time in Austria on a 'holiday' - I say 'holiday', as staggering up a mountain in over 30 degrees every second day or so is not exactly what I imagine when I hear the word holiday.
Julia and I caught a train to my host Mum's sister and her husband's house, as there isn't enough room in the car for all of us as a family, and Eutah and Alex were coming to Austria with us and we were staying in their holiday house there. After a 6 hour train ride we arrived in Kaiserslauten where Alex picked us up, and we stayed the night at their house before setting off on our 6 hour drive the next morning.
Alex and Eutah have no kids - they have Max. Max is a very spoilt Cocker Spaniel that eats raw steak, seasoned with carrot, zucchini, fresh herbs from the garden and all drizzled with light olive oil twice a day. He has his ears tied back with a hairtie while he eats so his ears don't get messy, and then when he is finished he has his face wiped with a warm cloth. Max adores me. IF any of you have seen Pepper with me, Max is exactly the same. He followed me everywhere, even waiting for me outside the toilet and always had to sit on me. He loves giving me kisses, and lucky for me he has the worst dog breath I have ever experienced.
Day One: Woke up at 6am to leave at 6.30. Eventually after 6 hours we arrived in Austria. We unpacked and settled in, and did some groceries before going out to dinner - I ordered what everyone told me was delicious, and described as 'thick pasta with cheese' - in conclusion, this turned out to be Macaroni. Typical Austrian dish, pah!
Day Two: Another luxurious sleep in - woke up at 3.30 to go and catch two gondolas to the top of a mountain to watch the sun rise. It was freezing cold but magical. When we got to the top, we had a while to wait before the sun decided to get out of bed - he could sleep in, unlike some of us. At the top of the mountain stood a group of old men dressed in traditional costume who played thrumpets as the sun rose. There was also a priest that gave a reading. Yet again, truly a magical experience. Eventually the sun decided to stop being a lazy sod and get up, and we went and had breakfast e restaurant at the top of the mountain. As we were eating, a woman came over and asked if we were interested in doing a short one hour hike - we thought about it, said why not and set off on our hike. Fourty five minutes into our one hour hike, I asked the woman how much longer we had to go as we only had 15 minutes to go and there were no buildings in sight. Her response? "Just an hour". An hour later, we were 'finished' with our tour, and were all standing in the middle of nowhere (still with no buildings in sight). The woman asked us where we wanted to go, and we told her the middle gondola station half way down the mountain - she then pointed us to a track that was promised to take us there. The amount of time it stated on the sign that it would take to reach the end? Just an hour.
Three hours after we began our one hour tour, we reached our destination. And it was only 9.30 in the morning. The adults all went back to bed, and us kids entertained ourselves for a while before we all drove to Kitzbuhel for icecream and a wander around.
Day Three: Finally, sleep in. After breakfast we went shopping for last minute hiking gear before doing a 3.5 hour tour along a river valley. After our hike the previous day, we were already under the impression that Austrians have no accurate sense of time. This was then confirmed on our river hike, when every hour or so along the track, the sign would state that we had just an hour and fifteen minutes left to walk - not helpful, and this did not help raise our spirits at all. I also came face to face with my new fear - Bremsen, or Horseflies. These little demons not only swarm around you and try anything to bite/sting you, but they can also bite/sting through clothing. For someone that stands on her bed every night hunting down mosquitos as she has a strong fear of them, this was not comforting news. After about two hours into our one hour fifteen minute hike, we came across a restaurant. In Austria, hiking involves walking along a track for a while before you come across the restaurant/hutt that the track is usually named after. Here, one can order a nice big meal (cut up pancakes with apple sauce, and goulash soup are always on the menu, as is schnitzel), a nice cold drink and a sit down before heading on your way again. Kiwis would laugh. In New Zealand, this is NOT what hiking in the wild involves. I kept thinking I was being healthy and sporty by going hiking, but thinking about it now, I think any exercise would be cancelled out by the amount of pancakes I ate along the way. Bother.
Day Four: In the morning we all went swimming at the local swimming pool. In the afternoon, we went canyoning. It was truly amazing. For starters. our tour guide, Tim, was from Canada and spoke even worse German than me. Then, when he asked me where I was from, his entire face lit up and he gave me a huge hug - turns out that he lived on Riccarton Road across the road from the McDonalds for over ten years. Unfortunately, this meant I was his new favourite and his new play toy, meaning that I was ducked, forced to go first when everyone was reluctant and generally picked on and teased for the whole afternoon. We absailed down a 20m waterfall in freezing water, and slid down rock faces on our backs as the water carried us - the whole experience was amazing and very, very cold! The whole time, Tim had a camera attached to his helmet, and we got a video and photos when we were finished. Then, when we returned to the base we had a cold drink to cool down, and a schnapps to warm up - personally, it tasted like nail polish remover to me! That night, we had a BBQ, and as I had mentioned that we always have heaps of meat at BBQs in NZ and that I miss lamb, Alex had bought lamb chops just for me! They were delicious and I was really touched that he thought off me like that.
Day Five: The problem with Summer is that is it ridiculously hot by about 10am. Unfortunately this means starting our hikes at about 8am. Today, we did a particularly steep hike that led us to an incredible view - a bright, deep blue crystal clear lake at the top of a mountain, with a mountain range behind it. The water was like glass, and reflected the mountain range like a mirror. The sky was bright blue, and the entire scene was magical. We then of course stopped at the restaurant at the peak of the walk, where I ordered something that resembled a bread roll filled with blended Prune marmalade, and swimming in a bowl of custard sauce and grounded poppy seeds - it didn't tickle my tastebuds to say the least. On our way back, we had our first man down. Max, Alex and my host Dad, Stefan, were way at the back and I was at the very front. I stopped to wait for them, and eventually they came around the corner, Alex carrying Max, looking very sorry for himself, in his arms. Apparently he started walking slower, slower and slower until he eventually just stopped. He refused to walk any further. This meant that Alex and Stefan had to take turns carrying the pitiful baby all the way down the mountain. To be honest, Max looked rather pleased with himself. That evening, we drove to the Schwarzsee, where we listened to a Horn concert. This consisted of a small group of men in traditional costume, sitting on a free floating pontoon in the middle of the lake playing their horns. They also had about three crates of beer to keep them going for the evening. The evening was beautiful - orange, blue and deep pink sky reflected once again on a glass lake. We all sat on a wharf, dangling our legs over the water and enjoying the view and the seemingly appropriate music and minus the mosquitoes, it was absolutely magical.
Day Six: We started off nice and quiet - I bought postcards in the village in the morning, and in the afternoon we all drove to a lake to go swimming. I found out I don't really like swimming of lakes - the water is brown and yucky and there were ducks and fish in the water and creepy plants that wrapped around your legs. Therefore, I spent most of the afternoon lying on the bank enjoying the sun and trying not to get stung by horseflies. We had a nice quiet evening too, staying home and having homemade pizza for tea.
Day Seven: Day seven was a big day.We started off by getting up early and driving to Salzburg, where we went to an animal sanctuary for abandoned, abused and disabled animals. The whole atmosphere was gorgeous, because most of the animals were free to wander around the farm by themselves. There was a cavalry of donkeys that marched in a long line around the farm the whole time, never stopping and always walking like they were on a mission (I don't know where they thought they were heading, they just ended up walking all over the place). We had lunch there, where our eating company was Shetland ponies and donkeys that were keeping the diners company, and I saw my first fox! Then the boring boy stuff came - we drove to the Red Bull exhibition, where on display were all of the race cars, aeroplanes and motorbikes that were ever sponsored by Red Bull - the boys were in Heaven. I was dying of heat in a giant glass sauna. In the evening, they boys must have felt like they had REALLY died and gone to heaven, as we drove to Kitzbuhel to a Harley Davidson meet up. This consisted of a very colourful mixture of bikers clad in leather and spikes, and older German couples (often with the men in traditional Lederhosen) all sitting around on massive demon motorbikes drinking beer, and revving their engines. It also then consisted of Emma going home early with a migraine due to the intense noise and rubber fumes.
Day Eight: Yet again, we had a slow beginning to the day. My host parents and brothers moved in with us as they had been staying in a rented house, meaning that the place was full with plenty going on. We went for a hike in the afternoon, our last hike to prepare us for our two day one on the Monday. I had Apple Struedel at the cheating hikers restaurant about half way through the walk. I also trod on Max's paws a lot, as he really took the word 'heel' to heart meaning that I had a doggy ear tickling my ankle the entire walk. In the evening I wrote postcards and let my body recover from a rather strenuous hike.
Day Nine: The calm before the storm. In the morning I biked with Christine to collect the breadrolls for breakfast. We then spent the day at the pool lying in the sun (and taking advantage of the pools free WiFi. We had frozen yoghurt for lunch, and all got dressed up and went to a fancy restaurant for dinner - I ordered a child portion of Schnitzel, and it was the size of both of my hands together with fingers splayed out. It didn't fit on the plate it was so big.
Day Ten, D-Day: I didn't have to worry about putting on weight from the monster I ate the previous day - I think I can safely say I burnt it off. Today we started our two day hike. When we arrived at the place where we parked the car, far in the distance was a mountain range. Alex pointed to it and said to look at the tiny white dot right at the very top - that was where we were having lunch apparently. If I had to choose one word to describe the first two hours of the hike it would be this: Bremsen. (Horseflies in German). Not only do they sting through clothing, but the mark you, as in it does not matter how many times you hit it away or run and dodge, it will continue coming back to you and only you - they say the only thing you can do with a Bremse is kill it straight away, and it is true. And there were swarms of the demons. For two hours I looked insane, hitting myself and spinning and slapping myself all over, and giving myself red welts from hitting myself so hard trying to kill the nightmares. It wasn't enjoyable. The word I would then use to describe the next hour and a half of the walk before we reached our lunch destination is Death. The restaurant sat directly on top of the mountain range, meaning that if we were going to get lunch, we had to get there first. It was scorching hot and the sun was blazing down on us, and the track was curved and twisted like a slithering snake. It was torture. Eventually I staggered up the death track to the restaurant, where I had something I have not had since New Zealand - a ham and cheese toasted sandwich. It was heaven. After we all drank about 2l water, we set off on our way again (bad idea, no bathrooms in the wild mountains) and two hours later we arrived at our stop overnight - a beautiful wooden 'hut' that was like a hut, cabin and a hotel all combined into one. We had a huge four course homemade meal for dinner of chicken and noodle soup, salad, pork and knodel (a ball of stuffing, YUM! and home made yoghurt with fresh grated apple at cinnamon added to it. Julia and I shared a room with our brothers, who made a barrier for me out of coat hangers as I was sleeping on the top bunk and they were worried I might fall of in the night (cute but rather inconvenient as I couldn't actually get onto my bed very easily!). In the evening two men pulled out a guitar and yodelled to the setting sun.
Day Eleven: We woke up early and had another delicious homemade breakfast of fresh baked bread with homemade cheese and jam, and made our own muesli (heaven for Emma!). We then set off for our three hour hike to a city where we were to catch a train home. We hiked through a very 'The Sound of Music' meadow, and climbed down over 500 steps until we finally reached the end. Today, if we were in New Zealand it was one of those days that we would then drive to a bakery and buy pies and slices and maybe a milkshake, but unfortunately those luxuries and slices of paradise don't exist here. Instead in the afternoon Julia and I wrote postcards, and we had a BBQ for dinner.
Day Twelve: We drove to Kitzbuhel, where Julia, Christine and I all tried on Durndls (traditional German dresses). They were truly beautiful and looked amazing on all of us. I fell in love with mine, but was very torn on whether I should buy it or not as I wasn't sure how often I would wear it in NZ and it was not cheap. We then spent the afternoon at the pool, and I kept thinking about my Durndl. We were left home alone for the evening as the adults went out for dinner, so we just relaxed and watched TV.
Day Thirteen: If I thought the hiking was over, I was wrong. Yet again, more hiking. This time though, the restaurant half way turned out to be burnt to the ground and we had no choice but to turn around and go back to the car without a refreshing drink. In the afternoon I wrote yet more postcards and read my book. That night we were also home alone, but my host dad Stefan was with us too. We ordered pizza (I ordered an Italian salad) for dinner and watched Indiana Jones.
Day Fourteen: My mind was made. I talked to mum, and I was to buy my Durndl. In the morning we first drove to another village where we wandered around a market for a while before buying my Durndl. Even now I am thrilled with it. I will never regret buying it, it is such a special reminder for me of my time in Germany. Then, we drove to a cheese factory where Stefan got a bit carried away with all the cheese and bought over 70 Euros worth of cheese - we STILL have cheese in the fridge to eat! In the evening we went again to the fancy restaurant for dinner, as Christine wanted to have their schnitzel for dinner. Once again my child portion was the size of an A4 sheet of paper.
The next morning, at 4.30 we got up and drove home. This holiday was purely incredible for me, and was such an extraordinary experience. I cannot believe how truly lucky I am with my new family. They truly are a family, and I am truly part of it. Not once did I feel like an outsider or a stranger, and I simply cannot believe how lucky I am. I experienced so much over these two weeks, and will never ever forget it.
Thank you, Klein Family.
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Life.
I moved to my new family, the Kleins, on the 9th January. And before I had even moved, I loved them.
I met the mother, Christine, in Choir. She asked me who I was, and I explained that I was an exchange student. She asked where I was living, and I explained that I needed to change families soon, and was going to go to my counsellor's (also in our choir) house for about three months while Rotary found me a host family for my last three months. To this, Christine exclaimed "That is totally not fair! Almut ALWAYS gets exchange students - I want you! I'm going to ring her tomorrow." She then told me that she had a daughter who was 16 and also in my school, and two boy aged 14 and 12. Well, it turns out that infact she didn't wait until the next day, and phoned Almut that night, with the first thing she said down the phone being "It's not fair! You always get exchange students, I want one and I want Emma!".
Then, the next day I was in German course and my friend from school, Julia texted me. And you know what she said? "Hey, did you know you met my Mum last night??" and that was it - it was settled. After school that day Julia and Christine drove to Almuts and continued to plea to have me, and within two days everything was settled - I was to live with the Kleins until I go home, and I was going on a hiking holiday in Austria with them. To be honest, my first thought was that I was going to be living with the German version of Aunt Liz - the way everything was so quickly organised and settled was incredible!
So, now I have been living with this family for a month. We had our hiking holiday in Austria, and it was amazing ( You will hear about it in the next update!) and we stayed in my host Mum's home town for a week. The family own a supermarket that I more than happily help out in. It is fantastic, as it means that not only do I NOT have to buy any food that I want, but that I can actually make myself feel helpful as well. Christine has also asked for a list of all of the Weekends I am busy with Rotary, as she wants to start booking me up and planning things in all of the free weekends we have. I can already see this next half year flying by!
Christine loves singing and painting and cooking/reading recipes like me, and she comes running with me as well. Stefan, the father is lovely, and we also get along really well. Julia and I sleep upstairs, and have our doors always open so its like we have an apartment to ourselves - we just wander into each others room and as they are right next to each other, we don't even need to speak up to chat to each other. We both also love chocolate, and Julia sings in the choir too. Also, we have our birthdays on the same day and are having a combined 'half birthday' party on the 20th August as we were both sick for our birthdays!Thankfully She will definitely inherit some clothes when I go home! Jakob is 14 and like a typical teenage boy, spends most of his time on the computer or texting, and being generally moody, however we actually get along really well and I am the only person that can talk him around to actually smiling when a photo is being taken. He loves flying model planes, and wants to be a pilot or a soldier. Lukas is the youngest, and is a very fussy eater - for a start he hates cheese. Always interesting when we order pizza - "Hello, erm.. the young man here would like a pizza without cheese, and without tomato." (Lukas knows at times his orders are a little ridiculous, so he always makes his dad order his meals!) Apparently the staff found it hilarious when they were in Italy and ordered this. He is also very fidgety and can't sit still for very long - great when we drive for hours in the car! We also have a black Labrador, called Anton, and he is well...lively. He eats everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.
Honestly cannot express how happy I am here, and hopefully it can only get better! On Monday we are going to Hamburg to go shopping as well - finally, a real Mall!
Oh, and it is incredible how quickly my German has improved in just a month - because there's always something happening, always someone to talk to and they're all so interested in me, I am talking non stop and my German is rather good if I may say so myself! I even managed to read the first two Harry potter books in German within a week!
Everything is different now for me - Michael and Dalton are now back in their home countries, and I am an 'Oldie', meaning I have new exchange students and as I have already been here six months, I am like their guide, or sensei as I like to think. I have not met them yet, but I am planning on making 'Surviving Germany' kits with things inside like Nutella, Milka Chocolate and a colouring book to keep them entertained in school - all very important things! Suddenly I don't have much time at all until I go home, only about 150 days which isn't an awful lot when you really think about it.
I start school again on Thursday, and am staying in the year level that I was 'last year' meaning that the students that were in 11 are now in 12, and I am staying in 11 so I am with new people. This is all part of Phil's plan, as it means that I am in her (and Julia's) level, and she has organised it that we have all of our classes together (hopefully she still gets her work done!) Julia and I also have some classes together, but I don't have as many classes as the other students as I hate maths, physics and PE, so the teachers said that it was absolutely fine with the amount of classes I have chosen!
Having an amazing time, and love you all,
Em
I met the mother, Christine, in Choir. She asked me who I was, and I explained that I was an exchange student. She asked where I was living, and I explained that I needed to change families soon, and was going to go to my counsellor's (also in our choir) house for about three months while Rotary found me a host family for my last three months. To this, Christine exclaimed "That is totally not fair! Almut ALWAYS gets exchange students - I want you! I'm going to ring her tomorrow." She then told me that she had a daughter who was 16 and also in my school, and two boy aged 14 and 12. Well, it turns out that infact she didn't wait until the next day, and phoned Almut that night, with the first thing she said down the phone being "It's not fair! You always get exchange students, I want one and I want Emma!".
Then, the next day I was in German course and my friend from school, Julia texted me. And you know what she said? "Hey, did you know you met my Mum last night??" and that was it - it was settled. After school that day Julia and Christine drove to Almuts and continued to plea to have me, and within two days everything was settled - I was to live with the Kleins until I go home, and I was going on a hiking holiday in Austria with them. To be honest, my first thought was that I was going to be living with the German version of Aunt Liz - the way everything was so quickly organised and settled was incredible!
So, now I have been living with this family for a month. We had our hiking holiday in Austria, and it was amazing ( You will hear about it in the next update!) and we stayed in my host Mum's home town for a week. The family own a supermarket that I more than happily help out in. It is fantastic, as it means that not only do I NOT have to buy any food that I want, but that I can actually make myself feel helpful as well. Christine has also asked for a list of all of the Weekends I am busy with Rotary, as she wants to start booking me up and planning things in all of the free weekends we have. I can already see this next half year flying by!
Christine loves singing and painting and cooking/reading recipes like me, and she comes running with me as well. Stefan, the father is lovely, and we also get along really well. Julia and I sleep upstairs, and have our doors always open so its like we have an apartment to ourselves - we just wander into each others room and as they are right next to each other, we don't even need to speak up to chat to each other. We both also love chocolate, and Julia sings in the choir too. Also, we have our birthdays on the same day and are having a combined 'half birthday' party on the 20th August as we were both sick for our birthdays!Thankfully She will definitely inherit some clothes when I go home! Jakob is 14 and like a typical teenage boy, spends most of his time on the computer or texting, and being generally moody, however we actually get along really well and I am the only person that can talk him around to actually smiling when a photo is being taken. He loves flying model planes, and wants to be a pilot or a soldier. Lukas is the youngest, and is a very fussy eater - for a start he hates cheese. Always interesting when we order pizza - "Hello, erm.. the young man here would like a pizza without cheese, and without tomato." (Lukas knows at times his orders are a little ridiculous, so he always makes his dad order his meals!) Apparently the staff found it hilarious when they were in Italy and ordered this. He is also very fidgety and can't sit still for very long - great when we drive for hours in the car! We also have a black Labrador, called Anton, and he is well...lively. He eats everything. And I mean EVERYTHING.
Honestly cannot express how happy I am here, and hopefully it can only get better! On Monday we are going to Hamburg to go shopping as well - finally, a real Mall!
Oh, and it is incredible how quickly my German has improved in just a month - because there's always something happening, always someone to talk to and they're all so interested in me, I am talking non stop and my German is rather good if I may say so myself! I even managed to read the first two Harry potter books in German within a week!
Everything is different now for me - Michael and Dalton are now back in their home countries, and I am an 'Oldie', meaning I have new exchange students and as I have already been here six months, I am like their guide, or sensei as I like to think. I have not met them yet, but I am planning on making 'Surviving Germany' kits with things inside like Nutella, Milka Chocolate and a colouring book to keep them entertained in school - all very important things! Suddenly I don't have much time at all until I go home, only about 150 days which isn't an awful lot when you really think about it.
I start school again on Thursday, and am staying in the year level that I was 'last year' meaning that the students that were in 11 are now in 12, and I am staying in 11 so I am with new people. This is all part of Phil's plan, as it means that I am in her (and Julia's) level, and she has organised it that we have all of our classes together (hopefully she still gets her work done!) Julia and I also have some classes together, but I don't have as many classes as the other students as I hate maths, physics and PE, so the teachers said that it was absolutely fine with the amount of classes I have chosen!
Having an amazing time, and love you all,
Em
Five of the Best Days of my Life: Cassidy.
Sorry that I have been so slack writing recently - as you will pick up soon, I have been a very busy wee kiwi. To begin with, from the 19th-23rd June, I was in Amsterdam and Belgium with my best friend from New Zealand, Miss Cassidy Sykes and her angel of a mum, Adrienne.
When I first received Adrienne's email inviting me to come and visit them, I instantly thought that there was no chance in hell of getting permission. Rotary in Germany made it very clear on our first weekend that we were not permitted to travel out of the district, let alone the COUNTRY without Rotary permission, and that we are only permitted to leave the country with host family. And here am I, wanting to travel by myself, out of the country and, might I add, missing out on school not to meet family, but a friend. When I asked, and received the daunting white form, I thought all hope was lost - not only did I require signed (in BLUE INK) permission from my Mum in NZ, I also needed signed permission from my Rotary Club in Christchurch, my District in New Zealand, my host family, my Club in Luneburg and my Germany district, and I have heard too many times to not even bother asking the district - they always say no. But for some unknown reason, everyone gave me the green thumbs up to go (I had to promise to not tell any exchange students I had gained permission, and keep the whole thing on the downlow...so of course, I am sharing this around the internet.)
I arrived in Amsterdam Airport at 4.30, and had to catch a taxi to the hotel where we were staying that night as Cass and Adrienne's Europatour didn't finish until later that evening. I showered, ate and watched telly until Adrienne came upstairs and exclaimed "What are you doing here in your pyjamas, hurry up, everyone's waiting to meet you!" and dragged me in pjs downstairs to meet the whole tour group. When I saw Cass, I burst into tears, as did she. Everyone else seemed rather relieved I was there, and it was a little "so YOU'RE Emma, we've heard SO MUCH about you, Cassidy has told us EVERYTHING!" - we had a hot chocolate at the café and went to bed (I say 'bed' - Cass and I had a little bit of catching up to do however!)
The next day we woke up at 6.15 to go and say goodbye to the rest of the tour bus, and have our breakfast buffet - muesli, bacon, croissants, cake, hash browns. Emma was more than content! We then left our bags at reception and caught a taxi into town. We walked through the famous flower market and Adrienne bought us each a Belgium Chocolate as well as a beautiful top for me and a dress for Cass. Then, we met up with Adrienne's friend Evelyn, who Adrienne and Cass had come to visit and stay with in Amsterdam in the first place. We had lunch - I ordered the pancake with apple pieces baked into it - yum! We then wandered around more shops, and Cass and I ate heaven - Reeces Peanut Butter Cups Ben and Jerry's icecream. Ughhh. We then met up with Ev's partner Joost, and did even MORE shopping, and they took us through the Red Light District - it was certainly...interesting!! We then went and had dinner - Cass and I ordered Ravioli and Fries (everyone said we had to try them!) and also shared a brownie. We then drove with Ev and Joost to our hotel to collect our bags, and then to another hotel near Ev's house where we stayed the night.
The hotel was not...fab, so we woke up early and left rather eagerly and briskly the next morning. Ev was not yet awake, and as we were to have breakfast at her house we had no choice but to wander around in search of a café that we could sit in to pass the time away - sadly, we couldn't find any, but we DID find a supermarket, so we had plenty of things to look at and keep ourselves occupied with. It is here I tried a new love of mine - Chocomel. It is a chocolate milk drink unlike no others, and my life is now empty without it, as it cannot be bought in Germany. Or Austria. Or France.
Eventually it became an acceptable enough hour to go over to Ev's, where Joost made mini pancakes for us (a Holland specialty) in a little muffin tray looking dish that sat over the element. They were delicious. We then walked around for a while and met up with some friends of Ev's. For lunch we found a rustic café that made fresh sandwiches on homemade dark brown bread - Cass and I had chicken and avocado and tomato sandwiches and hot chocolates. Then, it was time to drive to Belgium (just casually, as you do!). We arrived at the home that Adrienne and Ev's friend Els had organised for us - it was beautiful. The whole house was wooden and warm (important - considering it was supposedly summer, it was bloody freezing!), and Cass and I slept in the Attic. We then went to El's for dinner, where she had made cauliflower soup, meat kebabs, potato, cooked capsicum and a delicious dessert with meringue/marshmellow, berries and yoghurt. Needless to say we slept stuffed and happy that night (after Cass and I 'caught up' some more!)
Els bought breakfast to us the next morning - fresh bread, Chocomel (in Belgium called Cecemel), spreads for bread including an amazing chicken curry spread and boiled eggs. We drove to a village called Durby, and walked around the very typical French boutique shops. We had crepes for lunch, followed by the darkest chocolate icecream I have ever eaten. We walked around some more, before driving to two more other villages. We went out for dinner again that night, after driving around for hours in search of a restaurant that wasn't full. Eventually we found one, and I ate the first steak I've had in six months. We also had chocolate fondants for dessert, but they weren't as amazing as we thought they'd be, and Adrienne said she would make them for us when I get back home, the sweetheart. Cass and I were also shocked at the cows in Belgium - they were round and muscled like bulls, but with no hip bones and actually rounded buttocks - Adrienne told us that they were genetically made that way, and that they were so unnatural that all births must be caesareans as the mother cannot push the giant calf out, and normally doesn't survive.
I had been dreading the day that I was going to have to leave, and sadly, it came too fast.
Els supplied us generously with breakfast again - this time pancakes as well as the incredible array from the day before. We packed up and headed on our way back to Amsterdam. Evs bought us a Holland classic ' gherkin flavoured potato chips that were actually delicious. On the way we stopped at The Hague, where we walked around for a bit before heading to Amsterdam Airport. There, I cracked. The whole day I had been keeping my emotions under control, but as soon as Adrienne asked the dreaded question: "You alright, hun?" I cracked. Then, it turned out that my flight was booked for the 23rd JULY, not JUNE, and then I really lost it. Adrienne, the angel that she is paid for a ticket for me, and then the waterworks turned into a monsoon. Not only was I a blubbery mess, but so was Cass and we got everyone started. Reluctantly, I dragged myself away and headed to my terminal to fly home. Before I got on the plane I bought myself one last Chocomel, but sadly, just like my perfect trip away, it was finished too soon.
I will never forget these days with those two angels, and everything they did for me. I truly needed those few days away, back with very dear friends of mine. These perfects days spent with the Sykes was the start of the turnaround of my exchange - when I returned it was school holidays, and a new family. But that is for the next update, until then, (which is very soon), goodnight!
When I first received Adrienne's email inviting me to come and visit them, I instantly thought that there was no chance in hell of getting permission. Rotary in Germany made it very clear on our first weekend that we were not permitted to travel out of the district, let alone the COUNTRY without Rotary permission, and that we are only permitted to leave the country with host family. And here am I, wanting to travel by myself, out of the country and, might I add, missing out on school not to meet family, but a friend. When I asked, and received the daunting white form, I thought all hope was lost - not only did I require signed (in BLUE INK) permission from my Mum in NZ, I also needed signed permission from my Rotary Club in Christchurch, my District in New Zealand, my host family, my Club in Luneburg and my Germany district, and I have heard too many times to not even bother asking the district - they always say no. But for some unknown reason, everyone gave me the green thumbs up to go (I had to promise to not tell any exchange students I had gained permission, and keep the whole thing on the downlow...so of course, I am sharing this around the internet.)
I arrived in Amsterdam Airport at 4.30, and had to catch a taxi to the hotel where we were staying that night as Cass and Adrienne's Europatour didn't finish until later that evening. I showered, ate and watched telly until Adrienne came upstairs and exclaimed "What are you doing here in your pyjamas, hurry up, everyone's waiting to meet you!" and dragged me in pjs downstairs to meet the whole tour group. When I saw Cass, I burst into tears, as did she. Everyone else seemed rather relieved I was there, and it was a little "so YOU'RE Emma, we've heard SO MUCH about you, Cassidy has told us EVERYTHING!" - we had a hot chocolate at the café and went to bed (I say 'bed' - Cass and I had a little bit of catching up to do however!)
The next day we woke up at 6.15 to go and say goodbye to the rest of the tour bus, and have our breakfast buffet - muesli, bacon, croissants, cake, hash browns. Emma was more than content! We then left our bags at reception and caught a taxi into town. We walked through the famous flower market and Adrienne bought us each a Belgium Chocolate as well as a beautiful top for me and a dress for Cass. Then, we met up with Adrienne's friend Evelyn, who Adrienne and Cass had come to visit and stay with in Amsterdam in the first place. We had lunch - I ordered the pancake with apple pieces baked into it - yum! We then wandered around more shops, and Cass and I ate heaven - Reeces Peanut Butter Cups Ben and Jerry's icecream. Ughhh. We then met up with Ev's partner Joost, and did even MORE shopping, and they took us through the Red Light District - it was certainly...interesting!! We then went and had dinner - Cass and I ordered Ravioli and Fries (everyone said we had to try them!) and also shared a brownie. We then drove with Ev and Joost to our hotel to collect our bags, and then to another hotel near Ev's house where we stayed the night.
The hotel was not...fab, so we woke up early and left rather eagerly and briskly the next morning. Ev was not yet awake, and as we were to have breakfast at her house we had no choice but to wander around in search of a café that we could sit in to pass the time away - sadly, we couldn't find any, but we DID find a supermarket, so we had plenty of things to look at and keep ourselves occupied with. It is here I tried a new love of mine - Chocomel. It is a chocolate milk drink unlike no others, and my life is now empty without it, as it cannot be bought in Germany. Or Austria. Or France.
Eventually it became an acceptable enough hour to go over to Ev's, where Joost made mini pancakes for us (a Holland specialty) in a little muffin tray looking dish that sat over the element. They were delicious. We then walked around for a while and met up with some friends of Ev's. For lunch we found a rustic café that made fresh sandwiches on homemade dark brown bread - Cass and I had chicken and avocado and tomato sandwiches and hot chocolates. Then, it was time to drive to Belgium (just casually, as you do!). We arrived at the home that Adrienne and Ev's friend Els had organised for us - it was beautiful. The whole house was wooden and warm (important - considering it was supposedly summer, it was bloody freezing!), and Cass and I slept in the Attic. We then went to El's for dinner, where she had made cauliflower soup, meat kebabs, potato, cooked capsicum and a delicious dessert with meringue/marshmellow, berries and yoghurt. Needless to say we slept stuffed and happy that night (after Cass and I 'caught up' some more!)
Els bought breakfast to us the next morning - fresh bread, Chocomel (in Belgium called Cecemel), spreads for bread including an amazing chicken curry spread and boiled eggs. We drove to a village called Durby, and walked around the very typical French boutique shops. We had crepes for lunch, followed by the darkest chocolate icecream I have ever eaten. We walked around some more, before driving to two more other villages. We went out for dinner again that night, after driving around for hours in search of a restaurant that wasn't full. Eventually we found one, and I ate the first steak I've had in six months. We also had chocolate fondants for dessert, but they weren't as amazing as we thought they'd be, and Adrienne said she would make them for us when I get back home, the sweetheart. Cass and I were also shocked at the cows in Belgium - they were round and muscled like bulls, but with no hip bones and actually rounded buttocks - Adrienne told us that they were genetically made that way, and that they were so unnatural that all births must be caesareans as the mother cannot push the giant calf out, and normally doesn't survive.
I had been dreading the day that I was going to have to leave, and sadly, it came too fast.
Els supplied us generously with breakfast again - this time pancakes as well as the incredible array from the day before. We packed up and headed on our way back to Amsterdam. Evs bought us a Holland classic ' gherkin flavoured potato chips that were actually delicious. On the way we stopped at The Hague, where we walked around for a bit before heading to Amsterdam Airport. There, I cracked. The whole day I had been keeping my emotions under control, but as soon as Adrienne asked the dreaded question: "You alright, hun?" I cracked. Then, it turned out that my flight was booked for the 23rd JULY, not JUNE, and then I really lost it. Adrienne, the angel that she is paid for a ticket for me, and then the waterworks turned into a monsoon. Not only was I a blubbery mess, but so was Cass and we got everyone started. Reluctantly, I dragged myself away and headed to my terminal to fly home. Before I got on the plane I bought myself one last Chocomel, but sadly, just like my perfect trip away, it was finished too soon.
I will never forget these days with those two angels, and everything they did for me. I truly needed those few days away, back with very dear friends of mine. These perfects days spent with the Sykes was the start of the turnaround of my exchange - when I returned it was school holidays, and a new family. But that is for the next update, until then, (which is very soon), goodnight!
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