Cologne

Another small trip to a city during FSS which I have to write about mostly due to the number of photos I've taken compared with the rest of the program :P

While more than half of the summer school was away on a weekend trip to Berlin 4 of us decided to go to Cologne instead and it proved to have been an excellent idea :D

We arrived at the bus station situated in front of the Cologne Dom- their cathedral and their most famous landmark and so it was our first tourist attraction of the day. It's a gothic cathedral towering to 157,4m and what's cool about it is that you can climb to almost the top (yes, meaning a whole lot of stairs winding up where you can't see how much more you have left to go :P ) But all that struggle to get to the top is rewarded by fantastic views of the Cologne panorama, so definitely worth the climb :)

Just keep climbing

After the workout or possibly a bit of torture for 3.5 euros we proceeded to get a bite to eat agreeing that something traditional should be our choice. We sat down at a restaurant that caught our eye with traditional food specials only later finding out what an awesome place it was. The inside dining area was all decked out with antiques that we had to have a mini photo shoot after our meal, which was very yummy indeed.

om nom nom whole grain mustard 

For more entertainment and a possibility of dessert, we headed over to the chocolate museum built next to an old Lindt chocolate factory. There we enjoyed the exhibition although a bit unsatisfied with the amount of free chocolate (there was just not enough... but then again is there ever?). There was also some sort of African festival going on which was a pleasant surprise so we stayed a bit longer to check out the stalls selling crafts and food while munching on some chocolate from the factory shop which we couldn't pass by without making a purchase at (tempted us and then didn't provide enough samples, disgraceful :P ok, should really let this go...).

The last planned stop was a cable car ride over the river, which gave us another nice view and then we spent the next couple of hours just strolling around town finding more subtly beautiful sites of the city oh and playing around in the park - a must in most places we have been to it seems :P. 

Frankfurt Summer School

It all started on a Sunday. I arrived at Frankfurt airport- a place I had been to many times, but this time I was going to actually see the city, spend 4 weeks there with a whole lot of people from all over the world as part of the Frankfurt Summer School program. From the very first day I met a bunch of awesome people, even turned out to have mutual friends with some, yet again confirming the minuscule size of the planet we live on.

The theme of my program was Biodiversity in the context of global change and included lectures on subjects like invasive species (will never run away from this one again it seems), mycology, water contamination etc. and included some awesome practicals which involved looking at all sorts of fungi under a microscope, walking down a river collecting invertebrates in gum boots that were 5 sizes too big (yes, I managed to stay alive) and walking around the beautiful palm gardens looking at a variety of plants.

A German language course was also included in the program so now I have a very basic understanding of German which might one day help me out :P Hopefully, I don't forget all I've learned, it was definitely a time well spent either way. Our last lesson before the test was spent running around Frankfurt asking strangers questions as part of a scavenger hunt race, had a blast :) The winners could choose a prize which added that level of competitiveness to the whole experience.

Apart from all the studying we had an extensive cultural program planned, where basically every evening, or day off we had activities or trips organized. This gave us a better understanding of what life in Germany was like and let us try out area-specific things such as tasting apple wine (I wasn't really a fan, but I was told it was an acquired taste so maybe next time I will like it, who knows) and other traditional food, activities such as having a picnic by the river. We also took trips to nearby towns- Wiesbaden, Heidelberg (a pretty little city that reminded me of Vilnius with its river running through and castle on a hill), Strasbourg, took a river boat down the Rhine, visited Cologne, while others went to Berlin.

Any day we didn't have anything planned we organized our own fun, hung out in the hotel, shared experiences, made dinner together, went out. I made lazy cake twice! Gotta spread that LT spirit everywhere I go.

We had really good luck with bands performing live or rather one of my newly made friends did. At one concert, nobody was dancing so a friend and I decided to change that by braving the area in front of the stage occupied by only kids at the time. Gradually more friends joined in and then other people followed. The lucky friend got even invited on stage to dance and even sing with the band due to his dance moves and excitement for the song they had started playing. We got quite a few shout outs from the band and took a photo with them after the show. One of the best nights at FSS I'd say :) Similar things happened a couple more times, including another singer coming to perform at our closing ceremony. I somehow got the courage to perform a Lithuanian song for everyone (that's more than 70 people, the largest audience I had ever had, Yikes!) but everyone seemed to enjoy it, so I was really glad I did :) Was a nice way to end FSS 2014

Had such an amazing time, new friendships were made, new places were seen. Thank you to everyone who was part of it and hope to see so many of you again! :)

Wire Wrapping

So, summer is coming to an end, colder, rainy days are upon us. Time to take up another new indoor hobby (yeah, I know as if I don't already have a million...). I have decided to give wire wrapping a try after getting a taste of it while making tiny gifts for friends. It is a growing trend (meaning I can now get supplies in Lithuania) and there is so much potential. Gonna start off with easy projects, but who knows, maybe I'll get hooked and become a master :D

Strasbourg

This summer I attended a one-month summer school in Frankfurt, Germany and had such an amazing time! I will write about it in due time, but first I wanted to post about a weekend trip we made during the program. This was of course to Strasbourg :)

So beautiful, so breathtaking, so French! The canals with their wonderful bridges, flowers everywhere and the mix of German and French culture around every corner have left quite an impression. Thanks to a friend who was there during her Erasmus, I knew exactly where to go to make the most of my short time there.

We started out walking around Le Petite France, the old town area and tourist central with small cafes and restaurants stopping for some Flamkuchen- a traditional dish of the region. Then, after finally being able to check into our hotel we took a walk to the cathedral and hit the grocery store for some bread, cheese and wine for a very French picnic by the river. The night ended with a light show on the covered bridge, unfortunately I did not take so many photos this day, but made up for that the next morning.

With crowds of tourist swarming the old town I didn't feel like I was getting the full experience. So I decided that waking up early the next morning, walk around town and take photos would be an excellent thing to do. I was not mistaken. A friend and I woke up at 6 am and embarked on our undisturbed stroll around Strasbourg while everyone else was still asleep in their cozy beds. 

The town was very different to what had seen the day before. Closed shops, packed up tables and chairs in front of cafes, not a person in sight. Without the distraction of masses of people and the need to watch where you're stepping we could notice so much more. Cute window displays, tiny works of art, the small details that give character to the houses opened up in front of our eyes.

On our way back a bakery was opening up, so we decided to go buy a snack before returning to the hotel. We ordered in French as should be done and ended our morning walk on a delicious note.

Back at the hotel, we had a very French breakfast consisting of mini crepes, croissants, pan au chocolate, cheese and bread. Was so good to have a change from the breakfast at our Frankfurt hotel, everyone was quite excited and we could cross off a few more activities from our 'must do things while in France' list.

We continued our day with a river boat trip that took us around the old town area and all the way to the European parliament, which was nice since I was not intending on going there on foot and so still got to see it. After the tour, we climbed to the top of the cathedral for a panoramic view of the city. After climbing almost double the amount of stairs the week before in Cologne, these weren't so bad and the view was so worth the climb.  

We finished the day by going to a recommended restaurant for some more Flammkuchen. This time, we split a regular one and ordered a sweet one for dessert which they set on fire at the table. Had a relaxing afternoon with 'no plans' and finished the day with some delicious chocolate cake at the ''Beer academy". All in all awesome trip, has made me want to travel more in France, anyone keen for next summer? :)