Nights 7 & 8: Freiburg

I've liked everywhere I've visited so far, but Freiburg is the only place that's grabbed my attention and said, "Wouldn't you just love to live here?!" I think I would. It's one of those ancient beautiful German cities, this one founded in 1120, or so Wikipedia tells me. It's got beautiful medieval buildings, but is also a hoppin' university town. The landscape is lovely, situated amongst hilly mountains and mountainy hills in the Schwarzwald, and the climate is supposedly the kindest in the country. The public transportation system is very nicely organized and the city itself is wonderfully environmentally friendly. The close proximity to both France and Switzerland is also a big plus. Just putting that out there.


After my unpleasant journey to Freiburg, I didn't end up meet my next hosts until about 11.45pm. We'd been in phone contact so they were updated on my travel situation and assured me that I could still come even when late. They sounded quite friendly on the phone, but when I actually met them I got bad vibes for some reason. It was also a little awkward when I first called to see if I could come after several days of no email response because as it turns out, they'd never actually gotten my email. I was still welcomed in and shown to my room - a sleeper sofa in the kids' very nice basement playroom (twin 8-yr-olds, boy and girl) in their beautiful modern apartment. We talked a little about what I should do the next day and then went to bed.

I got up at 8ish the next morning to have some breakfast with the mother/wife segment of host before she went to work at 8.30, and was then surprised when I was still sitting at the table when the time came and went and she was still there, until she turned and said to me a little frustratedly, "So can we go?" I looked at her confusedly and she said, "Oh, you misunderstood. You wanted to stay longer. But I have to lock the house!" So grabbed all I needed for the day and rushed outside hurridly so as not to make her late. She pointed me towards town and said that the husband and kids would be home for lunch, but it would be best not to come back until they were all home again that evening. I was somewhat conflicted, because while I was so, so grateful for them taking me in so late and feeding me, I couldn't help but feel a little cold shouldered. It was just awkward. Really awkward.

So! I followed the path back to the tram as directed and went exploring. I headed to the Altstadt (old city) first and wandered around the pretty old buildings, though most everything was still closed that early. It was turning into a beautiful day.

Can you find the sad part about the picture below?

One thing I particularly liked about Freiburg was that there was a little stream channel running throughout all the roads downtown so you could always hear the sound of running water. (Not so great if you have to pee.) So cool!

My hosts had said something about a cable car to the top of a little mountain for a view of the city and then I saw posters for a cable car to the top of a big mountain (well, not so big) overlooking the whole region, which looked like juuuust my kind of deal. I followed directions to the cable car via tram and bus to a little mountain village. It was still early in the day, so there weren't many people in line. In fact, it was just me and one other guy who looked a little younger than myself. We casually started talking when we found ourselves alone in the small enclosed space during the 20-ish minute ascent and he turned out to be super nice and from Hamburg. We had a nice talk and enjoyed watching the snow pile up below us and landscape spread out before us as we went up and up and up.

Once at the beautiful snowy top, my new friend and I hiked up to the summit and then up into the lookout tower, where he pointed out what different places were in the distance and gave me tips about other cool things I should do while in Freiburg. His kindness made up for the awkwardness of my morning experience and made my day better. (Thanks for that!)



It was mighty cold up there, but mighty gorgeous as well. We could see for miiiles and miles (or rather, kiloooometers and kilometers), even as far as the Alps in France and Switzerland. Es war echt schön.



Once it got too chilly, we hiked back down and went our separate ways. I plowed through the snow further in another direction until I found this perfect picnic and napping spot on this nice warm wooden ski jump thing in the sun, which also had a lovely view.

After food time and nap time were over, I figured I should get back to Freiburg and see what else there was to see in my one-day visit. Thus I took the cable car back down alone and when I saw that the bus back to Freiburg didn't come for another half hour, I walked back. It was a great decision, partially because I got to admire Freiburg's love of solar power along the way and partially because I found a lovely footpath through the Schwarzwald that paralleled the road I'd been walking on. I even drank from a pure watered mountain spring along the way (and unlike with some people, had no nasty intestinal consequences).


I took the advice of my new friend and hosts and found the tower on another hill that gives you a beautiful city panorama (see above). The tower itself was a little ridiculous and definitely swayed at the top. I was also surprised to see that the long metal bars that were holding it straight were actually just huge logs. Hmmm. Even so, the evening light bathing the city was divine.

Walking back down the hill, I was completely tickled to see so many trees and other Pflanzen in bloom!

Next I visited the huuuuuuge ancient church in the middle of the old town. It's said to have one of the most beautiful towers/steeples in the world, though sadly it was under repair at the time. It is super beautiful, though. It looks like lace.

Upon closer investigation, I soon had a new favorite architectural feature of the huge Münster church.

Inside was gorgeous. It's solemn gothic architecture paired with its hugeness and oldness gave the space such an incredible feel, only enhanced by hundreds of flickering candles inside. I sat there for a long time just breathing it all in, though didn't take any pictures as it was a special time reserved for prayer. I wasn't about to be that stupid tourist.

Here are a couple shots from around the church square. You can see the lookout tower on the hill in the first one.


As evening fell I still had some time to kill before making my way back to my hosts' apartment. I was very tired of hiking and wandering around for the last many hours and found myself in a lovely Italian cafe drinking African tea and enjoying the wonders of a Parisian cream tarte. In Germany. Sometimes I really love the world.

A while later when I finally made it back, I met the twins and father for the first time and we shared a light supper. In contrast to the adorable but demonic children I'd encountered in one of my previous host families, these children were 100% adorable, or at least around strangers. The father made them practice their English with me and later, I was asked to help with bedtime stories. I read them a story in English about giant that helped keep animals warm with his new clothes and then the little girl read me Goodnight Moon, adorably pronouncing the words she didn't know as one would pronounce the letters in German. Adorable.

After the kids were in bed, I was surprised and pleased when the parents asked me if I'd like some wine with them. (Most of my hosts so far have let me try their favorite wine from their region - which is so grand! Getting into this project, I hadn't really thought about the possibility of a wine tour of Germany!) I'd felt better vibes with them since the kids had been there and decided to ask them to answer my German identity questions after having debated all day about whether or not to. They were very open to it and we had some good conversation on the matter.

I meant to write in my other entries about these conversations, but always forget until Mom reminds me. In Köln, my host had a much stronger regional sentiment than overall German national sentiment. She had been born and raised there and had lived there ever since, though she'd also traveled a fair amount. She also talked about how it felt to identify herself as German while traveling and how she felt most comfortable with her nationality when people made good comments about other experiences with other Germans. In Bad Neuenahr, the yelling children made it difficult to have any in-depth conversation, but both parents almost laughed at the idea of regional patriotism. They said they overall felt more European than German or Rheinlander, which is an aspect that was also brought up in several other families later and probably will be again. Wolfgang in Tübingen had a great love for his home region, while his wife said she didn't have a sense of home anywhere she lived after having been born in France and brought up all over the place. (That was a tough and touching subject for her, I think.) In Freiburg, my hosts talked a lot about the differences between different parts of Germany and said they thought their city was more easily inclusive of other cultures than in other parts of the country and made a big effort to work towards compromise rather than strife, unlike in other regions. They themselves weren't from Freiburg originally. The wife told me about the cold, withdrawn mentality of the region she was from and said that they had a saying there which said that a newcomer had to eat a whole bag of salt before they felt included, meaning it takes a long time. (Suddenly everything made sense.) It was a good talk and I felt like most of the awkward vibes had been remedied by the end of it.

I had to take a somewhat early train to Oberau the next morning. After packing up my things and eating breakfast alone while my hosts did things around me, I summoned up my guts one more time and asked to take their picture in front of the house, which I had almost given up on. I was again surprised when the wife refused and said she didn't want her name or photo used anywhere. Understandable, okay. The more easy-going husband agreed, however, so I scurried out in the rain to snap his photo. I liked him a lot, particularly after he gave me a book of local fables he'd written and illustrated the night before. Once that was done, I slugged Kassia's huge backpack on my back and made my way to the train station in the cold rain.

It was an interesting visit. Like I said before, I am so grateful for them having shared their home with me. I'm just sorry for causing them trouble or maybe making them feel uncomfortable in whatever way. Unlike all my other hosts so far, they didn't extend an open invitation to return.