MUNICH, GERMANY!!

Last Thursday Ana and I embarked on a trip that I previously mentioned, to Munich Germany!! I was so lucky that my Rotary Counselor organized this whole trip for the two of us, including finding a Rotary family to stay with for four days. It takes about six hours by trains to get there, so of course Ana and I had a fun day with great chats on the train ride there, I love that... sitting on the train with good friends and just talking away while enjoying all the gorgeous views you pass.

Once we arrived, Ana and I met the Heene family.. the family we were staying with. They are incredible!! They were all so friendly and welcoming.. Unfortunately I was really sick the whole time I was in Munich with either bad cold or a touch of bronchitis, so the host mom ended up feeling like an actual mom to me because she took such great care of me.

Our second day in Munich, Wolmuth (the host mother), Ana and I went to Dacchau Concentration Camp. We did a tour through Dacchau and it was extremely unsettling. It was so harsh and cruel, that it was impossible for me to wrap my head around. However, about 3/4ths through the tour there was a moment that hit me and showed me how real it really was.. There are pictures of the soldiers and doctors running tests on the people in that camp. They ran medical tests like air pressure tests, and there were pictures of the people dying and in extreme amounts of pain, it was disgusting. How can someone be so cruel? I will never forget that horrible feelings that I got there...

Afterwards we went out to a movie, The King's Speech. Okay, okay .. I can't say if it was good or not. I can tell you, I head it's very good!! Since I was so sick and on medications, anytime I sat down I would immediately fall asleep without even noticing. My head would tilt back, eyes would close and I was out like a light.. so unfortunately I missed the entire movie!! Also missed all the scenery in most car rides.. oops..

On the third day in Munich, my host father Andreas, host sister Karoline, Wolmuth, Ana and I went to a palace. A king once lived in this palace, it was a beautiful place. However, the inside of the place just scared me! It was COVERED in gold EVERYTHING, it was just too much! It was really interesting to be in there for a day though and tour through the house and see how it was set up in the olden days.

Throughout those 3 days it basically rained the whole time which made it nice there was also indoor activities to do.. However, on Sunday the day Ana and I had to leave it was a beautiful day!! Warm and sunny, it was perfect! Luckily our train didn't leave until 1:30 pm so we had the whole morning to go explore the city of Munich together. Wolmuth, Karoline, Ana and I walked around and explored the gorgeous, old city. It's incredible!! The buildings are gorgeous, so interestingly built. The people are friendly and the atmosphere is so calm and welcoming, everyone was sitting on the street outside of the cafes enjoying a nice Espresso in the sun. At 12:00 we heard the famous Glockenspiel play!! It was the best day there, I LOVED IT!! It's such an amazing city!!

Fasnacht !!

Ever since I arrived here in Switzerland, people have been telling me of the famous 3 days in Basel called "Fasnacht." aka, Carnival.

It's basically a big party in the streets for 3 days starting Monday morning at 4 a.m. and continued until the early hours of Thursday morning. However, in Liestal which is a neighboring town to Basel the traditional "kick-off" happened which I was really fortunate to have a good place to watch it from. Normally people stand on the tiny, narrow street while watching this parade of fire in Liestal but Rotary had a place in an apartment so I could enjoy it without the burning heat from the torches and huge wagons of fire. It was incredible !!!

After the fire evening in Liestal, I pushed my way through an extremely massive crowd of people and made my way to the train station. To go sleep? No way. I went to a concert with a group of Swiss friends that I have become really close with, these people here are awesome!! Since "Morgen Strike" happens in Basel at 4 a.m, lots of people stay up the whole night until that magical time! So I went to a concert and once it was time for Morgen Strike we left and found a good place to sit and enjoy it together.

Then it was time to go sleep, rest up and then enjoy the next few days normally. Fasnacht is basically instrumental bands everywhere playing their own songs in a parade, in which they choose their own way so there is just basically beautiful music everywhere for a full 3 days. Everyone participating in the bands or cliques, wear a costume with a mask. On Monday and Wednesday the masks and costumes match but Tuesday is more for fun and for the kids, so it's not so serious on Tuesday.  There are also parade wagons full of other stuff, like the famous "Waggi's." These are the Fasnacht bullies and go around throwing and stuffing you with confetti, then kindly giving you candy or a rose afterwards.

The atmosphere during these 3 days is unexplainable, the people are so happy and the streets are completely full with people, candy, and LOTS of confetti.  Here are some pictures to explain it !!

On Tuesday, I was invited by a member of Rotary to walk with him, his family and the band they are apart of. Out of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Tuesday is the day for kids and also costumes the don't have to match. I walked at the front of the band with a few others to help clear the path of people watching it, here is me in the costume they lent me, I'm on the left!

I encourage everyone to go to Switzerland for the traditional Fasnacht that happens once a year, the feeling and exciting you get is indescribable. 

Mom came to Switzerland!

On March 3rd, after an hour flight delay and many emotional moments during the waiting period in the airport, my mom finally walked through the Arrival Gate in the Zurich Airport. It has been seven months since I have last seen her so it was an emotional greeting since I have really missed her. Tomorrow she heads back home to Canada, it won't be long until I see her again since the months fly by and my exchange sadly ends in four months.

While she was here we went on many adventures in my attempt to show her Switzerland in 9 days. Here are the photos to show what we did:

Mom came to my school and met my best friend Ana. Ana and I showed my mom the entire school and had a lot of nice chats so Ana and my mom could get to know each other. 

My mom and I went to Basel (the big city that I am close to) and went to the Marktplatz (Market place). We bought some Swiss cheese, Swiss bread and took it to the river and ate it in the beautiful sunshine. 

Mom and I went flying in the Swiss Alps!! It was one of the most incredible things I have ever done in my life. I absolutely loved it and enjoyed this once in a lifetime opportunity, to the fullest. 

This is a view from the plane as we flew through the Swiss Alps. 

My mom and I took a 4 hour train ride trip to Southern Switzerland. We went to 2 cities, Bellinzona and Locarno. These two cities are on the border of Italy, so we got to experience what it is like in Italy. We had amazing pizza.

Mom and I in the Italian part of Switzerland.

At night we went to Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland. We walked around, shopped and went out for some really good dinner. The food here is incredible.

We went to France!!! After a nice lunch with Rotary, my Rotary counsellor Peter, took my mom and I to France to see another culture. 

In France, we went to a big Supermarket. France is famous for their fish so here is a picture of my mom and I standing with the Fish lady in front of the stand. 

We went to a hotel in Interlaken for 3 days. Interlaken is a little town in the Swiss Alps. From our balcony we had an amazing view of many mountains. This is me standing on our balcony.

We took a train ride to the top of the Alps. We were very fortunate with amazing weather and had an amazing day together as we drank coffee in the mountains.

View of the mountains!

It was an amazing time with my mom, and tomorrow she goes back home. It was really nice to spend a week with her and be with her again!!