Tiergarten

Last week one of J's friends (we will call him 'F') needed a ride home from kindergarten and we had some time to kill until F's mom was coming to pick him up at 6:30 so the kids asked to go to the animal park. It's like a mini-zoo. I was a little disappointed because none of my favorite animals were there, but the kids had fun, so I still consider it a success!!

so. many. trees.

J & F

seriously..am i in germany or ireland?

just kidding. i'm in germany. duh.

attention sisters: this totally looks like something out of criminal minds, right?

creepy..

talking to the animals :)

vögel

we fed this swan/duck/goose 

(i don't know exactly what it was because every time i asked J he answered 'bird'..haha) 

for a good 10 minutes. he ate so fast you would have thought he hadn't been fed in weeks.

kangaroos!

even though there weren't any lions or polar bears at the tiergarten, 

i got very excited that there were peacocks!

they thought the animals were thirsty, so they were trying to give them water

guinea pigs?! what kind of zoo is this??

i love peacocks!

these little guys were so cute. J & F fed only them and not the mean old goats. 

it was so sweet.

see??

totes presh.

this guy was scary. i really wanted to get a picture, but i didn't want to get too close because i was afraid..

working hard :)

this chicken followed us everywhere, even though J & F would chase him away, 

he would always come back. it was like he was playing a game with them.

so stinking cute! 

they were so amazed with this animal, 

and i literally laughed out loud when i saw what it was.

llama, llama.

It was a very fun day, and I really enjoyed spending time with J & F. (Even though the tiergarten wasn't too exciting..) While I'm in Berlin, I fully intend to go to their zoo, it's supposed to be one of the best in the world!

"Do you want me to take a picture of you on here too?"

"No thanks. I actually do this thing where I take pictures of benches but I don't sit on them."

Yeah...I think my friend thought I was crazy when I said that...hahaha.

walking trail in groß-gerau

have something to eat; on me.

groß-gerau tiergarten

groß-gerau tiergarten

groß-gerau tiergarten

my favorite bench so far

on a walking path in frankfurt

Mainz. Again.

So a couple weeks (I know, I'm really far behind) ago I went into Mainz for some shopping with my host family because L & J needed new winter coats. Shopping in Mainz was crazy! There were so many people I had flashbacks to last holiday season when I worked at the Gap. I vow to avoid shopping malls at all costs while in Germany; especially as it gets closer to Christmas. One funny thing about Germany is that people bring their dogs everywhere. Seriously. I couldn't even guess how many dogs I saw in the mall. It was pretty funny; plus, I was really surprised all those dogs were able to wander around (some without leashes) with out having any accidents or fights with other dogs. I tried to picture taking my dogs from home out into the shopping malls...scary thought!!

peace from germany

We ate lunch in a cafe in the marktplatz and enjoyed the lovely weather. After lunch we went into the Dom that I mentioned in my previous post about Mainz. It was so beautiful!! Apparently it was built in the 10th century!! It just so happened that the choir was putting on a concert for free, so I got to enjoy the beautiful architecture and atmosphere of the church while listening to beautiful music. That pretty much sums up the day, so now here are a bunch of pictures :)

all along the sides of the church there are smaller mini-chapels

beautiful stained glass and stations of the cross

the cutest choir ever

my finger. oh, and another picture of the church.

so much better without my finger, right?

ceiling

the alter at the back of the church.

kinda funny, considering some churches main altars aren't even this pretty.

honestly, i don't know what purpose this serves, but it is just so pretty!

one of the altars in the side chapels

another side chapel altar

view from a side chapel

why can't we have churches like this at home?!

michael's chapel

seriously beautiful.

stained glass!

statue of a former pope

i was going to try to edit this picture, but i think i actually like the gritty quality

i made an offering so i could light a candle to 

thank god for this wonderful opportunity.

Pretty awesome day :)

Hooters? Are you sure this isn't America?

Last Thursday I experienced many firsts! My first time in Frankfurt (not counting my time at the Frankfurt airport; it was dark and I couldn't see anything), my first time on the Autobahn, my first time eating schnitzel! It was a wonderful day :)

This whole adventure began when I got out of class early. One of the other students (and the only other English speaker in the class) and I wanted to get out of Groß-Gerau and since I have car, we naturally decided to go somewhere that required I drive on the Autobahn. I have been dying to do this since I got here! He wanted to show me the bar and club district in Frankfurt, so that's where we went!

Driving on the Autobahn was intimidating...for 2.5 seconds. Then it was just awesome! All I could think the whole time was; "Look at me, driving 185 kph, no big deal." Pretty. Stinkin. Cool. I only have one issue with highways in Germany. They are nothing like highways in America. They are like a maze. If you miss your exit, there is no u-turning at the next exit. So make sure you know where you want to go and exactly how to get there. Don't worry I only missed my exit once, and it was a pretty easy fix.

So we got to Frankfurt and started walking towards the bar district. You can imagine I was surprised when I saw this:

HOOTERS!

it's almost like being in america, except even more overpriced.

So we walked over the Rhine to get to the Marktplatz and all the cafes that are there. I tried schnitzel and spaetzle for the first time and they were both sooooo yummy! After our lunch we just walked around the Marktplatz and the city center. 

the rhine river

old churches are my favorite

so this is my favorite picture i have taken while in germany.

couples bring locks and lock them on the bridge as a sign that their love can't be broken. 

frankfurt!

the stadthaus

tourist picture :)

dark chocolate and coconut eis for dessert

i think this is my favorite combination so far :)

Frankfurt was so much fun and it was great to actually see the city during the day. I LOVED getting to drive on the Autobahn. German food is YUM-maz-ing. And I got to learn a bit about Frankfurt's history. I'm planning on going back tomorrow with a fellow au pair. Exciting :)