My First Trip In Europe

It’s come to the point that I feel comfortable enough in Strasbourg that I’m ready to venture out. This past weekend, I traveled to Baden-Baden, Germany with six other students from the Syracuse program, and had a very good trip. We left Saturday morning, and returned early Sunday evening, costing only 17 Euro for round trip train tickets. :) Baden-Baden is known for its thermal baths, which is where we went as soon as we had checked into our hotel Saturday. We proceeded to spend a very relaxing 4 hours lounging around the various baths and pools of the Caracalla Baths, both inside and outside. (I was not adventurous enough to travel upstairs to the nude only area…) After the baths, we ate dinner at a cute German restaurant, and tried the casino and Beer Hall, two other Baden-Baden landmarks, but with no luck. The minimum age for the casino was 21, and the Beer Hall seemed to be closed, possibly only open for a private party as there were music and lights happening inside. Instead, we found a cute bar close to our hotel, and called it a night after that. Sunday morning, after a leisurely sleep and breakfast at our hotel, the seven us of just wandered around the city, hitting a few of the other main sights. Festspielhaus is the main concert venue (the Philharmonic, operas, ballets, etc) of Baden-Baden, and Neues Schlosse (New Castle) looked important as it was on the top of the tallest hill in the city, but I haven’t yet figured out its purpose. We wandered around the grounds of the castle some, but the castle itself was closed to the public. We ate lunch at another cute German restaurant, where our waiter seemed very pleased to serve 7 American girls. After a little desert of gelato, we went back to the hotel, picked up our bags, and headed over to the train station to take the half-hour train ride back to Strasbourg. And though it was a wonderful weekend (I’m still feeling relaxed after Saturday’s baths), I’m glad to be back “home” in Strasbourg.
And speaking of Strasbourg, there is much to tell, now that I’m (mostly) accustomed to the city. I’ve gotten used to seeing the cathedral as I walk around the city, and I am beginning to know the tram system pretty well (I much prefer the Strasbourg tram to most other forms of public transportation I’ve traveled on). I’ve only gotten lost twice in the city, though both times it was just a matter of discovering other parts of Strasbourg. My classes have started in full force now, and I’ve signed up for 4 – 20th Century Music Theory, 20th Century Music History, French 201, and a Communications class focused on European Media and the difficulties in broadcasting to the whole EU. I’m pretty excited for all my classes, and I have a feeling this semester will be easier than my usual Wellesley semester (especially as I only have class Monday – Thursday). I have also started figuring out the system at the Conservatoire. Unfortunately, the easiest time for me to find an open room to practice in is in the evening. Some days, my class schedule doesn’t have enough time in it for me to get down to the Conservatoire, so I’ll have to figure out how I can “practice” at home. I’ve met with three of my professors, though I haven’t had my first lessons with all of them yet. I think handdrumming is going to wait until I have sort of figured everything out. The other percussionists seem pretty nice, and I’m quite excited to study in a conservatoire, even if the scheduling is a little difficult.
My family is still wonderful, and Friday evening, my host father even commented that my French has improved some in just two weeks. Personally, I think I’ve just developed the courage to speak more, but I appreciated the compliment nevertheless. I was a little off on Cecile and Alix’s doings, though. Cecile is in law school, and returned from vacation yesterday evening after tests Monday and Tuesday last week. Alix is in medical school, and finished her tests last Thursday. For the next two weeks, she is on vacation, and Madame and Monsieur have gone with her. This means that it’s just me, Cecile (age 21) and Lionel (age 18, as of last Tuesday) for the next two weeks. Interesting…