Rüdesheim am Rhein

Sunday was once again a crazy busy day. After an hour long bus ride we arrived at Rüdesheim am Rhein. In the morning I took the chairlift up to the Niederwald Monument, but to be totally honest, the statute wasn't the main attraction up there.  It was the view (pictured above). It was so amazing – not only could you see Rüdesheim and the Rhein river; you could see little villages scattered amongst the beautiful rolling hills, for hundreds of miles.

Blackforest Cake

I had two things I wanted to do whilst in Germany on my mini-bucket list – visit an Aldi store and eat Blackforest cake. The Aldi store was basically the same as the ones in Australia, so a little disappointing, but the Blackforest Cake was AMAZING. Quite possibly the best thing I have ever eaten in my whole life. SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good. My immediate reaction was "bring me the cake" and then "this alone was worth the 30+ hours' journey".

Saturday Night in Sachsenhausen

Okay, okay, so if I was not to have an entry dedicated to the nightlife in Frankfurt, not only would this blog not be a true account of my time here, but it would almost be 'un-German'. Germans love their beer. You can drink in any public place, on public transport and you can buy beer EVERYWHERE! But it gets better. You can buy a 500ml 5% beer for 0.50 Euros (around $AU0.70) in the supermarket, or around 2.50 Euros (around $AU3.00) in a pub. Not only is it readily available and cheap, but it actually tastes good. Yes, I, the person who has never been a beer drinker, love German beer. Sachsenhausen is a collection of bars and pubs that are about a 15 minute walk from my accommodation. I don't think that a photo is appropriate for this entry and this is all I am going to say :)

Walking tour of Heidelberg

I have come to the conclusion that the best way to see a European city is by foot. After lunch our wonderful hosts, Kathrin and Christina, had booked us all in for a walking tour of Heidelberg. Once again, our guide was amazing. She took us all around, from the University food court (which has been voted the best in Germany) to the student jail (where bad students who use to play pranks around town would be sent for 3 days and fed only bread and water) to the memorial site of a Synagogue that was burnt to the ground in 1939 in what was known as the Kristallnacht (EN: Crystal night). The highlight would have been walking along the River Neckar. From the Old Bridge, there was an amazing view of the Heidelberg Castle (pictured above).

Welcome to Heidelberg

After a long week, Saturday finally arrived and the wonderful people at Frankfurt School of Finance and Management organised a trip to Heidelberg. After a 90 minute train ride we arrived in the town that is home to Germany's oldest university, founded in the 14th century. It is filled with beautiful narrow streets that look like they're straight out of a movie set (pictured above). The main attraction is the 'Heidelberger Schloss' (EN: Heidelberg Castle), which after the steep walk up provides beautiful views of Heidelberg and the River Neckar. I really enjoyed Heidelberg – it is the quintessential European town.

A Typical Day

We mostly have four 90 minute classes a day, with a different speaker each day. From highly theoretical (e.g. at what point people in group's lending would default) to very practical (e.g. what steps would you take to implement consumer protection policy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo). It is all very interesting, but is a total brain drain and after class we always end up chilling with a German beer. It's a tough life, but someone has to live it!

Columbian Restaurant

My favourite Columbians, Andrea and Laura, have not stopped talking about how good Columbian food is. (Juliana if you are reading this, you are one of favourite Spaniards!). So after class they took us to this little Columbian Restaurant that is close to Kolpinghaus. The first floor was so small, literally one long table up against the wall with barstools and the counter. As there was a few of us, we were directed to go up this little staircase and there was literally the one table up stairs (pictured above). The food was delicious and the company was great!