27. June - Rigi and Luzern

Nobody signed up for a blog for this beautiful day, so the great Michael Zimmermann stepped up and wrote a second one!

“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?” -Henry David Thoreau

God must have created Lake Lucerne and the rest of the Alps on Monday and left Glenview until Saturday evening. We don’t have any kind of natural structure in our area that can even compare to these mountains. I’m afraid I can’t really put it into words. I’ll just come back with my pictures. (Even they won’t do it justice). To reach the beginning of the hiking trails our group took a cable car to the main section mountain after taking a bus up the foothills. The cable car brought us about 1,200 meters up to the main section. At each pillar holding the cable the car swung like a pendulum. That may not sound like an important detail, but at 1,000 feet it becomes very important. After the cable car ride we reached the trail and hiked to the top from there. I didn’t really have any concept of time on the mountain so I can’t tell you how long it took. I believe it took around 90 minutes. The highlight of the day for me was when I was eating lunch and I actually realized where I was. It’s not everyday that a person can just casually sit at a nice clean table outside of a restaurant and eat lunch among the peaks and valleys of the Alps. After our hike we took a steamboat across Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee for short) into the city. The actual boat was originally built around the year 1900. The engine of the boat was constructed in 1901. The most interesting part was the exposed engine. Observers could  walk right up to the engine’s and watch them turn around and around. You have to bear in mind that it was made in 1901 so the engine was essentially a series of hinges. They had to oil it beforehand. This has definitely been one to remember! Overall, The food here is still amazing, the sunsets still pretty, and the mountains still majestic.
-Michael Zimmermann

“It is not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?” -Henry David Thoreau

June 20th - Strasbourg

June 20th, 2018 —

Today we took a 2 and a half hour bus ride away from our German villages to the beautiful city of Strasbourg. The bus ride consisted of fun games such as kamikaze and mind riddles that actually made everyone hate each other. Once we arrived in France, friendships were restored and we hopped off (the plane at LAX — “party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus) the bus and began our adventure. Our time in Strasbourg began with an extremely hot boat tour during which many of us had to stand in the back and create our own history of Strasbourg since the captains overbooked the boat and we were unable to have our own headsets. Though the boat tour was hot and seating was limited, we saw so many beautiful sites of Strasbourg that it was all worth it. After the tour, the big group split into many different small groups for our free time in the city. My group began our journey at McDonald’s ... what a surprise. I decided upon getting my regular order — 20 piece chicken nuggets with honey mustard sauce, fries, and a coke —to see if I could taste a difference, and boy did I. The nuggets actually tasted like real meat and every American eating them had their eyes wide in surprise as they took each bite. The German kids could not stop laughing at us. We began to tell the Germans about an American specialty where you dip your fries into ice cream. They were hesitant at first but ended up loving the taste. After our 5 star lunch, we walked to a shopping mall. Once we got to the 3rd floor, we had hit the jackpot — the Disney store. We all rushed inside and began to pick out items for each other to try on. Because I’m the shortest in the group, I was handed a Cinderella dress to try and squeeze into. My friend Emma joined me and we definitely rocked those dresses, if I do say so myself (see the images below if you are curious). After struggling in getting our dresses off we returned to our meeting point. Before leaving, my small group and I decided to go into an extremely old Cathedral that was built in both Roman and Gothic style due to how long it took to build it. It was beautiful inside and took every one’s breath away. After exiting the church we boarded the bus and made our way back to our villages. The bus ride home was full of card games and singing. I think the Germans think we are a little too rowdy because every song had the Americans, the Fraus included, belting at the top of their lungs. Our journey to Strasbourg may be over, but our German adventure is far from that. 

June 21 - every day's a school day

“I have not told half of what I saw.” -Marco Polo

Today, the group attended classes ranging from biology to latin. School here in Germany is slightly different than in America. There are three levels: Hauptschule, Realschule, or Gymnasium. We are partnered with the Gymnasium students. They are at the highest level of the German school system. However, the actual school building contains all levels of school from kindergarten through High School. Klettgau Tiengen is essentially Springman, Attea, Maple, Westbrook, Saint Catherine, and Glenbrook South combined. The student population probably around 1800 students. Today I sat in Biology and History. We talked about electrophoresis in biology and some sort of war in History. I think it was World War One. After classes, a group of us were recruited from 11:15 to 12:00 to answer some questions from a younger English class. They were about equivalent to a sixth or seventh grader in the US and I had a really fun time answering their questions. You should know that there is no air conditioning in the school, so the windows are constantly open and I feel like I am much closer to nature. We wrapped up the day with a trip to the pool. I really like the pool because it has an abundance of vivid green grass surrounding the actual swimming area. Every day my bike ride to the pool is a series of winding roads dotted with pretty roundabouts and graceful meadows. I pass a shimmering cornfield framed by amber rolling hills and lush, flowing, forest. The forest is occasionally interrupted by a stark white house against the bright blue sky. I really love the bike ride. Fortunately, I got to make it again today. We are having a great time here.
-Michael Zimmermann

“Not all those who wander are lost.” -J.R.R. Tolkien

June 16 - off to see the host families

Ulm Blog ~ Alison 

Saturday was a traveling day. It was our last day together before we would stay with our host families. We first took a 2 hour train ride from Salzburg to München. We then took another 2 hour train from München to Ulm. After a lot of napping and card games, we arrived in Ulm. 



We had a couple of hours of free time before we would take another train from Ulm to Tiengen (where our host families live). We broke off into groups. I went to McDonalds for lunch because we didn’t have a lot of time. Afterwards we walked to the Ulm cathedral and began the hike up 728 stairs to the top of the tallest church. The view was awesome.

We then took a train to go see our host families. When we were about 10 minutes away from the final train station, everyone began to freak out. After some frantic German greetings review, we stepped off the train to meet our new families.

12.Juni - munich day 1

The fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein, was all I could've imagined it to be. Nestled on a hill, its pristine towers and beautiful surrounding landscape was absolutely stunning. 
I thought I was looking at the Pixar castle as we approached, which made sense since I later came to learn the Pixar castle was modeled after it. We were all excited to get a better look but our tour with mikes bikes was first. Our lead guide, Hunter, sounded like he came straight from a frat house, but according to him he's been here in Germany for 8 years. His storry about leaving his government drone designing job with less than a week's notice to be with his German girlfriend was quite romantic, until we heard she left him 3 months later. No worries though, he's now getting married on October 12th. Hunter talked a lot about the history of Bavaria, the royal bloodline, and the mysterious death of King Ludwig ll, "the castle builder". 

The bike tour itself was fantastic, a very flat path with a great view. We made a stop at a lake along the way, which offered us a chance to cool down and get an amazing view from the water. Afterwards we ate at a restaurant outside under a canopy. At that point the torrential downpour of water came. I thought we'd need a boat eventually with all the rain we got. It let up a little bit but with no umbrella I had to use my towel the whole time as I did not come prepared for the weather. The hike up to the castle was steep, but enjoyable. When we reached the top we got on the bridge for the most gorgeous view I've ever seen. A waterfall behind us we had a view of the castle and the countryside behind it. When we reached the castle the tour showed us just how obsessed King Ludwig was with the composer Wilhelm Wagner. Most of the rooms were tributes to him and his works in plays. 

The trip back to the bus wasn't the highlight of the day, but it definitely was an "experience". We hiked down from the castle in the cold downpour of rain, and ran to the bus as soon as it was in sight. We were practically all drenched head to toe, but the bus ride back was just what we needed. When we arrived back in Munich we went to the famous Hofbrauhaus. The service and food wasn't great, it took me and John over an hour to get our single bratwurst that costed 9 euro. The large mugs of Fanta, traditional dancers whipping their lederhosen was the real attraction. 

Finally, we headed home for a much needed nights rest to end a very eventful day. 

15. Juni - Salzburg Day 2

Today we visited the Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden, which probably means Salt Mines. For those of you who are up to date with the blog, you know that we arrived in Salzburg on Wednesday. The Salt mine was actually located in Germany so we had to travel back across the Austria-Germany border. The Salt mines were actually really cool, too. First, we had to put on these blue jumpsuits which basically made us look like we were firefighters. We proceeded through the mines, riding handleless trains and sliding down large wooden death slides. A good time was had by all. We also got to try the brine, which is another word for salt water. To our utter surprise, it tasted salty. The morning was finished by lunch in a village outside the mines.

After lunch, we bused back to Salzburg and went to a sick Spielplatz (park). There was another death slide and we had a good time flying out of the end and crashing to the ground. Afterwards we hopped on another bus and headed to the Hellbrunn Palace and the trick fountains. We toured the trick fountains with a group of about 25 ten year olds. I’m not ashamed to say that our group screamed louder than the children did when we were unexpectedly sprayed with water. The Hellbrunn Palace was home to Marcus Sittikus, prince-archbishop of Salzburg, and we enjoyed walking through the exhibits. Highlights included a room with awesome acoustics, a rotating couch that we all crashed on, and a unicorn. However, we all agreed the best part of Hellbrunn was the Spielplatz (park) that we found afterwards.

Afterwards we headed back to downtown Saltzburg for dinner at the Stieglkeller. There were some really awesome views from the restaurant and we watched the sun set over the city. Tonight is actually our last night as a group as tomorrow we will finally meet our Austausch partners. Bis später! (Cya later!)

- Lindsäy

14 June - First day of Salzburg

Today was our first full day in Salzburg. The students were given some free time to explore the city with their Salzburg Card which gave them access to many museums and attractions within the city. The whole group started by going to the Catacombs which were carved into one of the many mountains in the area. This was a highlight for many of the students. Then, the kids broke up into groups and explored the towns in different groups. Many of them went on a 40 minute boat tour of the city and visited museums such as Mozart's birthplace and a toy museum. Other students made their way to the Mönchsberg Lift which provided a great panoramic view of the city skyline.

The group met back up at four and took a quick glance at the Cathedral before going to the Hohensalzburg Fortress together. We ascended and descended the fortress by a funicular which was first installed 125 years ago. The fortress had a great military museum which featured different weapons from various time periods. Many of us were also able to visit the fortress’ “torture chamber” which was actually just a jail. We spent about a hour and a half there touring the fortress before heading down and walking to dinner.

We got back to the hotel earlier than other days, so the group decided to go bowling at the alley across the street from the hotel. We all had fun bowling before going back to the hotel to prepare for the early morning ahead of us.

-Niki