Road Trippin

I took a short trip to Germany over the weekend. And I hit up Switzerland while I was there, too.

Once I got to Germany, I walked around some Christmas markets--the ones in Stuttgart and Esslingen. They were awesome. It was great to see some Christmas things after not seeing anything holiday-related. The market in Esslingen is part medieval market. There were little kids shooting cannons at one another and trying to catch the cannon balls. There was knife throwing and some pretty old-school bowling. There was also a ferris wheel that was literally man-powered. And to buy something in the market, you had to trade in money for coins/tokens so you could really get the feel of a medieval time. I also walked up a ginormous hill to this old castle wall. I could see all of Esslingen from the top. It was a pretty amazing view. Later, I went to the Mercedes Benz Museum. I had no idea that Mr. Mercedes invented the first gasoline powered engine. I always thought the car was invented by Ford. Sometimes I feel like such an ignorant American.

Stuttgart Christmas Market

We have a small one of these in my living room at home

Old school Merceedes

 So Thursday was Thanksgiving...my first one away from the Wex. Even though I had fun touring around Stuttgart and Esslingen for the day, I was really sad to miss Thanksgiving. I got to video chat my family, which was really nice. While chatting, my great-aunt who has done a ton of geneology research told me that our ancestors came from a small town in Germany, Esslingen, which is outside of Stuttgart. Whaaaatttt??? That's exactly where I was staying. I had no idea that I had relatives from this town. How sweet--my randomly planned trip to Germany is now much more significant since my ancestors are from this town!

Me and all of Esslingen...the two mismatched steeples behind me belong to the church where my great-great-great grandfather was baptized

Friday we went to Switzerland to see the Rhine Falls. They're the largest waterfalls in Europe. It took a while to get there, which was good because I was really tired and got some extra sleep. But when we got there, I asked for a passport stamp, and the customs officer told me that since I wasn't at an official border, I couldn't get a stamp! I had to use their money but I couldn't get a passport stamp? Oh well. The falls were beautiful. It was a little dangerous walking down to the falls because it was icy and snowy, but that really just made it more beautiful. A lot of things were closed because it is a summer attraction, but it was still really cool being there. When we got back we went right to volleyball. My friend goes to a gym that has pick-up games of volleyball. And yes, I actually played. Hah.

Rhine Falls, Switzterland

 Saturday was time for more shopping at the Christmas markets! I got some pretty cool stuff, and some Christmas stuff for my roommate and I to hang around our dorm room. I also got to walk around inside the church where my great-great-great grandfather was baptized! I never ever thought that I would get such a fantastic opportunity. Even though it snowed most of the time I was there, I had a great time in Germany. I didn't mind the snow so much, knowing that I was coming back to some fantastic weather in Istanbul :)

Getting home today was tough. I decided to take some public transportation to get back to my university because a cab is really expensive. On the ferry, I noticed a burning building. And not just some flames--the biggest fire I have ever seen. There was a huge building, right on the water, that was covered in flames that were billowing huge clouds of black smoke. As we got closer, I noticed it was the Haydanpasa train station in Kadikoy. I was shocked. I had taken at least ten pictures of this beautiful, historic building. When I got off the ferry, there were crowds staring at the flaming building. Jaws dropped. Faces shocked. It was really significant to experience. I felt a part of history burning away.

This was after I got off of the ferry...the flames were easily 20 feet high

The road into Kadikoy was closed because of the fire. Which meant my plan of taking public transportation was slightly ruined because my bus could not get to the station. I had to walk to the other side and try and find a bus going to my general area. I got on one that seemed to be going towards my university. I was sitting next to a mom and little girl no more than two years old. She was speaking to me in Turkish, and the mom kept looking at me. I said that I only speak English, and though the mother understood, the little girl did not. She kept talking to me. Then I heard the mother say "abla" and point to me. At first I thought she was speaking Spanish, but then I learned that abla means sister in Turkish. As the little girl and I kept "communicating" she offered me a candy. I said thank you, and offered her some crackers I had in my purse from my flight. The little girl said it was very good (in Turkish) which I actually understood! She was so cute, and her mother and grandmother kept thanking me and calling me abla. When they left, they said thank you once more, and I responded in Turkish saying "good evening" and they were so excited. I love Turkish people. Also, I did eventually make it back to my university.