On the 22nd of Jan it was my 18th birthday! I celebrated it German-style (only slightly different to NZ) with my host-family which was really nice! We did cake and presents in the morning and at school some of my friends gave me gifts and one made a huge cake! Then after school I went to lunch with some Chilean exchange students which was really nice. Then I went to dinner with Carolina, Marie, Anna, and a girl called Nicole from my class :) After that I met up with the Chileans again and we had some cocktails at a bar :)
The very next day (the Friday) I hopped on a train to see Chiara on Koblenz, the girl who did work and travel in New Zealand and lived with us for a bit. It was sooo amazing to see her again and I miss her already! I stayed at her flat with her and it was so much fun! I also got the chance to see Fe (another exchange student who came to New Zealand) while I was there which was really nice!
German corner in Koblenz where two big rivers meet
Reunited!
Chiara's party trick
Fe!
Then on the Monday I hopped on a train to Trier, an old Roman city in Germany to see Helen, who was an exchange student I went to school with in New Zealand. It was so good to see her again and we get along so well! While I was there we explored Trier and went to a Roman museum, and some Roman baths. We were also able to go to Luxembourg for the day on the Wednesday! It was so lovely seeing her again and meeting her friends! We have planned to do a trip together soon (hopefully), which will be great!
Helen and I!
Nice church in Trier
In the Roman Baths
Nice church in Luxembourg!
On the way home from Trier, I stopped in Cologne for a couple of hours! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find the Cathedral in that time but as soon as I walked out of the station it was the only thing I could see and it was soooo beautiful! It is probably the most overwhelming and breathtaking thing I have ever seen. I spent some time walking around the inside and admiring how amazing it was. Then I decided that it's not every day I'm at the Cologne Dome so why not walk up to the top. It was so bloody tiring and a little bit scary walking up this small circular staircase all the way up to the top (a few high-fives were shared when a few of us reached the top) but the view was definitely worth it! I could see the Rhine and look right over Cologne!
The cathedral!
Inside the Cathedral
Inside the Cathedral!
Cool mosaic floors in the Cathedral!
The bells were massive!
View from the top!
I arrived back in Hannover on the Thursday and then on Friday I went to Bremen with Carolina for her mother's birthday, but we were also able to have a look around which was nice! It's such a pretty town and her mum had such a big garden that was covered in pretty white snow! There was a part of Bremen called Schnoor which is from the middle-ages and it is all narrow streets with little crafty shops which was really cool!
Schnoor!
Then on Saturday morning Marie, Carolina, Anna, and I packed our bags and headed to PARIS! After eight hours of travelling, we finally got there! It was such an amazing trip and we saw so many things! We were living in a flat in Montmartre which used to be the artist's quarter of Paris where people like Picasso lived. In the two days we had to explore we were able to see the Eiffel Tower (of course), Notre-Dame, Sacre Coeur, an art museum with Monet's Waterlilies, some Picasso's and other paintings of the sort, Le Champs Elysée, Arc de Triumph and other little things! All in all it was such a great holiday and I feel so lucky to have been able to go!
Eiffel Tower!
Notre-Dame
Arc de Triumph
Scare Coeur
Today after-school I met up with one of my friends from New Zealand who lives in Foxton who has been travelling around Europe for the past two months and it was so great to see him! It was really good to talk to him cos he is in a similar situation to me so it was good cos he understood everything I was feeling about the trip and travel etc. It was also so nice to hear a New Zealand accent again!!
It's a really bittersweet feeling to know I'm going home in a week and a half because I love it here so much and have met so many people and I just don't want to stop travelling. I've also gotten so close to my host-family and love staying with them so much! But on the other hand I can't wait to see all of my family and friends again and be in the sun. I'm not looking forward to the stress of organising everything when I get home though!
