22 Hours

Who doesn't like 22 hours of travel?

Hello to anybody of the roughly 3.5 people I expect to read this! Congrats to myself for actually clicking the publish button this time, and congrats to you for finding it. As easy as this interface should be, I find it much more difficult than I thought it would be. If you don't know, I am Tad Kile, and this will be the blog that I update with my travel stories while I spend time in Leipzig, Germany for the Spring 2016 semester. This is an exciting adventure, and I thank you for sharing it with me.

We left Abilene around ten on a Wednesday morning on a coach bus for Dallas, and though there were smiles on everyone's faces, the smiles would not last forever. I was graced on our nine hour flight to Frankfurt with sleep, though when we arrived in Frankfurt, we had an hour long struggle with getting our boarding passes. I had to chug a liter of water for the second time that day (how does a person forget twice?), and the airport felt domineering. However, things began to turn around on the short flight to Berlin.

The view was remarkable. Cozy hamlets sprawled the countryside, mixed with dense trees, agricultural plots, and green energy. It was beautiful and eye-catching, and I couldn't help but wonder how many hundreds of years they spend building the spread out farming land into tight community based cities.

View from the plane

Masterful artistic rendering

                                            

The Trees between Berlin and Leipzig were beautiful and tall. When we arrived to our lofts, we were amazed at their loftiness. Two fully furnished floors with a spiral staircase. We walked through the town that night, though many of us were practically walking while asleep. Our neighborhood is cozy, and there is a bakery just down the street. We slept, easily having just traveled 22 hours, wondering what dreams jet-lag would bring us. 

The next day was spent traveling to the city center. We saw the St. Nicholas Church where the prayers for peace occurred when the Berlin wall was up. We visited Thomas Church where Bach is buried. We visited the University of Leipzig, and the new and old city halls. Finally we visited the HaputBahnhof (Main train station) and decided to have lunch, as it is just like a mall. I had a massive culture shock when I used the restroom and had to pay 1 Euro. The restroom was clean, but also not free. We then went to a coffee and cake party put on by the welcoming committee. The welcoming committee was amazing, kind, and we got to meet our German mentors.   

University of Leipzig

MDR tower

 

Bach's Grave

Today we walked around town with our mentors, and generally had a great time exploring the city. There was a bratwurst cooking festival that was occurring in the city center. There were around a hundred entrants in funny costumes, and each entrant got a free case of beer. The line to sign up was extensive.

Art in the city center.

This is getting extensive, so I'm going to finish and publish so I can go eat dinner. I'm having a fabulous time here, and we are expecting snow tonight! Thank all 3.5 of you reading for caring.

-Tad Kile