Summer Vibes
Hey loves!
I am currently enjoying my last days in Germany and it is about time to start packing again. I feel like I am living out of a suitcase all year around - because even when I get home, I wear the clothes which I brought from another place that I call home. This is one of the weirdest aspects of boarding school: You get a second home, but that also makes you gain a second wardrobe - your suitcase.
On Thursday next week, I will be flying to the United States to attend the High School Summer College at Stanford University. I have never been to the United States so I am quite excited to go there. I will live on campus for eight weeks and then I have another plane to catch. This plane will take me to my second home: Hong Kong.
Although I only had very little time in my hometown in Germany, I am still very happy that I traveled there before going to the United States because the next time I will return to Germany will be around Christmas so I have five months until my friends and I will be celebrating our reunion.
Spending time with my friends in Germany was an immense pleasure and I am so grateful to have these amazing people in my life. We even went to the amusement park "Tripsdrill". It was so much fun to walk around the park, ride some roller coasters (although I am that friend that is always scared of them and the others have to convince that friend to try it anyway) and to just chat a little. It was also great to see my family again and to finally hug my rabbit again.
My father took me to a great museum which I would highly recommend: The "Museum Ritter". It is an art collection and their current theme is red. The works were well chosen, made you think and the amount of art pieces was just right - not too many to be overwhelming and not too little to not be worth the entrance fee. But if you are under 18, you get in for free! And after you have visited the museum, you can have something to eat in the café next to it. The café offers some of the most interesting dishes in Germany (for example noodles with chocolate sauce), but do not worry, you can also have a normal piece of cake or a sandwich. The café offers these extraordinary dishes because it is (as also is the museum) part of the Ritter Sport building. The chocolate factory of Ritter Sport is literally next to it. And after you have had your food, you can go through the (free) chocolate museum and get some souvenirs in the chocolate shop of Ritter Sport. The museum is about an hour away from Stuttgart (by car) and it is definitely worth the travel!
I also had to work a little bit for school while being here. I went to Nuremberg and Munich to do research for my history essay. My beloved aunts accompanied me and we had a great time together. It was also a pretty cool feeling to work in an archive (I had never been to one before) and to look at the original newspapers and notes of the time. It was super interesting and I loved diving into history.
During my time in Germany, I have also started to read "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton. So far, I have only gotten through a few chapters of the book, but as soon as I am done with it, I will let you guys know what I think about it. But for now, I can say that I love listening to the talks, manners, expectations and dreams of New York's high society in the late nineteenth century. But I would not recommend reading it before bed as you need to be fully focused for not losing your orientation in the story due to all the different names being thrown in at the start.
Enjoy your summer and if school has not ended for you yet, try to enjoy it!
Lots of Love,
Elena
