Herbstferien and Other Distractions

The German school system has vacation every six weeks, like clockwork. So from the 27. Ocotber to the 4. November,  I had no school. Thanks, Baden-Württemberg. I felt that my German really improved during this time as I was speaking so much with people my own age. I also learned a lot of language from listening to descriptions of history in Baden-Württemberg. Every castle, every doorway, every street has a little tidbit, and some things, like the palace of the Prince-Bishops of Würzburg, have so much history and culture it just made me want to jump up and down and hug the painted ceilings.

Tuesday was bright and cold, and I boarded a train with a few friends from school to see the Ulmer Münster--which is the highest church tower in the world, or something trivial like that, and has 768 steps. Due to the snow, it was not possible to climb all of them. The tourist in me was disappointed, but the rest of me was quite relieved. The Münster is quite large...

 ...and I look quite small next to it...

 ...but I felt on top of the world looking out onto the city, which is the birthplace of Albert Einstein...

 ... Maine is somewhere on the left...

 ...and as if that wasn't enough, the inside of the cathedral is simply breathtaking.

So, bright and early on Wednesday morning, we left for three days in Würzburg. We hadn't seen enough old buildings...

...beautiful views...

...stunning Baroque architecture and paintings...

I took this picture sneakily, but the tour guide frowned at me afterward.

...and picturesque towns.

Würzburg was so beautiful; I wish we could have stayed longer. But no. You see, on Saturday, I had an appointment with Stuttgart. 

Cue more beautiful buildings...

...history...

...a cafe full of cake...

 ...and a flea market full of books!

It was a pretty nice vacation.