...running out of time

This weekend I went to visit Renata from Washington, who is living in a small town exactly halfway between Hamburg and Bremen. On my way I had to take the train through Bremen, which was swamped with german flags and people. Come to find out, everyone was gathered in the center square (like in pretty much every other city and town in Germany, but I had forgotten at the time) for a huge party to watch the games. We watched the quarter-finals World Soccor match, Germany vs. Argentinia (GERMANY WON!!!) at Renata's and talked and shared a lot of pictures, which included the Germany and Europe Tour, so there was a lot to share.

On Saturday, we took the train to Hamburg (it didn't snow this time!... rather it was 28 degrees celsius!). There, we visited the Art Museum and the Model Railroad museum (finally!, YAY) and walked around the city. I was really glad to get a chance to see more of Hamburg, especially since it is the 2nd largest German city, and one of the most important. It was really warm, but fun. In the Kunsthalle (Art museum) we saw several important pieces, including Munch's 3 girls on a bridge. Somehow we missed a few that I knew of, but we saw some Renoir's, Cezanne, Monet, and some intersteing pieces from the Baustill (originated in Wiemer and moved to Chicago during WWII). The museum had more quality works from the last 150 years, than those of the ''Old Masters''. For lunch we went german... wurst and the local drink specialties. At the Model Railroad Museum (das Modeleisenbahn Museum), is the largest model rail road in the world. I started to get a headache because it was a little bit overwhelming, but it was REALLY COOL! ... there really aren't words to describe it.

Then, on Sunday, we met up with Daniel (from Illinois, and one of my good exchange student friends) in Bremen. The 3 of us hung out in Bremen for the afternoon, taking in the sights, pretending to be tourists, and talking. Daniel flys home on Wednesday and I fly in 9 days, so it was really good to hang out again. We decided to get lots of photos, so I took quite a few (150 or so). It was a wonderful weekend, and one I will definately remember for a long time. To be able to blend into German society and to make lifelong friends, I believe, in the end, is one of the main points of being an exchange student. And that is what we did this weekend.