Ein Schönes Wochenende in Kassel

I can't belive six weeks went by so quickly. My session in Marburg is over and I am now officially in Erfurt--my home for the next 10 months. The last few weeks of Marburg flew by with my trip home for Sara's wedding, our final test in the language course, and, naturlich (naturally), saying goodbye to all of my new friends. With only a few of us left the last weekend, we decided to take a trip to Kassel--where I was going to go a few weeks ago but was deterred by a sprained ankle. Kassel, a little over an hour from Marburg by train, is an interesting city to say the least. Our first stop was Wilhelmshöhe Palace which was built in in 1786 by landgrave Wilhelm IX of Hesse-Kassel. Wilhelm had sold Hessian soldiers to the British government to use in the fight against the rowdy Americans and then used that money to build himself a large Palace. So Wilhelm got his castle and we got our independence--too bad Britain! On the land surrounding Wilhelmshöhe Palace are a number of "Roman ruins." A previous landgrave had built fake Roman ruins throughout the park. Everything from an Acqueduct to a giant statue of Hercules can be found in the park. Although everything was "fake" it was still one of the most picturesque places I have ever been. Not content with one palace, Wilhelm went on to build another palace called Löwenburg or Lion's Castle. This castle was modeled after medieval castles complete with a hedge maze and sheep.

Wilhelmshöhe Palace
Löwenburg in the fog
Everything here was absolutely stunning--it looked like it could have been an impressionist painting.
Four of us on top of Devil's Bridge aka where my wedding photos will be taken :)
Hercules can be seen in the distance (under construction, but majestic nonetheless)

Löwenburg

In the city, there was another palace called Orangerie which was built built in 1710 as a summer residence for the landgraves.

After a long day of sight-seeing we head into to town where we found a festival complete with traditional German dancing--and Wurst! All in all, it was a Schönes Wochenende (beautiful weekend)!

Nach den U.S.A!

Well it has been a long time since I have last updated, but I think the delay is quite justified since I have been extremely busy with a trip to the U.S. for my friend Sara's wedding and the last weeks of my time in Marburg.

As you can see from our poses, we are incredibly excited for the Berchers! The wedding was absolutely amazing--a perfect late summer day in Northeast Wisconsin was the beautiful backdrop for a wedding filled with beautiful singing, touching words of wisdom from the parents, and, of course, an incredibly amazing couple--Sara and Ben. Here are a few more pictures!
Me with Mom and Dad Burg. Russ and Jana were a hit on the dance floor--outlasting many of the younger crowd. Dad and I polka'ed and mom got down to Brick House. It actually got a little embarassing for me when they started their version of 'dirty dancing.' Yikes!
Sara and her lovely ladies.

I will post again soon with pictures from my daytrip to Kassel as well as stories from my last few weeks in Marburg, as I am now in Erfurt. As always, feel free to email, and now that I have a permanent address--letters (and care packages!) are definitely welcome!

Love to all,

Rachel

Saalburg, Limes, and Burguine Frauenberg

It's been awihle since I last blogged, so I have a few trips to catch you up on, and obviously some photos to share! I am getting very settled into my routine here in Marburg, and I will definitely miss all of the great friends I have made. But, it will be awesome to visit them all over Germany.

One of my German teachers (we have two) has created the routine of taking us to a Cafe during our Tuesday afternoon class where we speak in German over coffee and cake. It has been quite lovely since Germans know how to do cake right. My favorite so far has been the Pflaumekuchen--or plum cake, which is a regional Hessen specialty. These trips have also resulted in us getting to see more of the city. On one of the trips we walked through a neighborhood with these adorable little German row houses. I want one :)




Last Saturday, the weather in Marburg was absolutely gorgeous--high of 78 both days. On Saturday, I spent the day in the city with my friends Ashlan and Chris. We watched some of our other friends take paddle and row boats out onto the Lahn River, which runs through Marburg. Below is a view of some of the houses on the Lahn.

Last Sunday, our Fulbright excursion was to the Saalburg and the Limes. The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the Taunus Ridge near Bad Homburg. It is part of the Limes Germaniscus, which was the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces. The Limes and the Saalburg are UNESCO World Heritage Site. Below is a picture of the walls around the Saalburg.
Our formal tour of the site was really interesting, but the highlight of the day were our mini-lessons in spear throwing and archery. As you can see from below, I was a pretty realistice Roman spear thrower. In reality, I was terrible at the distance throw, but I was the champion of the last contest--running and throwing the spear into a triangle of sand. Mine stuck every time. Mom and Dad, be proud of your little girl :) I think this means that if I were a Roman warrior, I would probably not have been very good at the actual taking down of an enemy, but I would have been great at "finishing off" anyone on the ground.
I was better at archery. A skill which I am sure will come in handy...
Today we went to a small fortress at Burguine Frauenberg. The fortress was erected in 1250 by Sophie of Brabant, daughter of Saint Elisabeth (who Elisabethkirche is named after). It's main purpose was to oversee the crossing below and to watch the enemies. As you can see from these pictures, it has a great view of the surrounding area.
That's all for now. I hope all is well for all of you...and maybe I will see you in a few weeks when I will be home for the wedding of the lovely Sara Henrickson (soon to be Bercher!)