Visting Ellen in Germany

german art.

it's normal to see tractors on the streets here.

Ellens beautiful house!

Three weeks ago I went and visited my friend Ellen in Germany! Ellen and I met in high school when she was an exchange student for a year. I love this girl to pieces and was SO excited to finally get the chance to see her again and have her get to show me her home! 

I few into Frankfurt because Ellens hometown is just about an hour outside of Frankfurt in a town called Sinsheim. 

I only stayed for a weekend, but it was nice to be away from Barcelona for a little while. I was getting slightly homesick and being able to see Ellen made me feel better! My thought process behind that was that Ellen was basically from home because she was a friend from high school so seeing her was like my little piece of Santa Clara in Europe! 

It was a pretty relaxed weekend. I stayed at her house in her hometown because she came home from school that weekend. Her mom was a sweetheart and made the best food.  I was missing my meat and potato dinners from my mom at home so it was nice to have a home cooked meal similar to my actual home cooked meals I get from my own mom! 

Being able to just hangout in Ellens house with her and her family, boyfriend and friends was just what I needed. Ellen and Daniel (Ellens boyfriend) took me all around their town. It was the cutest little town I had ever seen. The buildings were adorable and I felt like I was in Storybook! Their little town shopping area reminded me of Santana Row back at home, but a simpler one, with stores filled with things I could actually afford. I also got to see Ellens high school and then she brought me to the castle outside of Sinsheim! I thought the castle was really cool. It was on top of this giant hill that looked over multiple little towns and vineyards! 

My favorite part of the trip was being able to catch up with Ellen and also being able to meet all her family and friends! Traveling is really forcing me to become less shy and talk to people more and I am learning that I actually really enjoy meeting new people. It's so interesting to talk to people from different places and hear about their experiences and learn about their culture and ways of life. I met so many people within the two nights that I stayed in Germany. I cant exactly put into words how grateful I am that everyone I met was so open and willing to talk to me. It was so helpful that nearly everyone spoke English. Even though they all continuously apologized for their "bad English" or were nervous to talk to me, they all knew how to speak SO well and I was glad that they were all nice enough to switch and speak in English around me so I could be included in conversations. 

Overall it was a very relaxing and fun trip. I was so happy I got to spend time with Ellen again! I love Germany and want to go back and visit again. Perhaps do some more touristy traveling so I can see more of the country!