Fabian showed me around the area for a couple hours; we visited the river, frat row, the marketplace, and the castle called Hohentübingen. Then we enjoyed some local beer at a cafe, where I learned how to properly tip in Europe. Here it is considered rude to just leave money on the table as a tip; instead, when they tell you the price of your bill you tell them how much you are going to pay as you hand them the money, including the tip. They also don't tip as much here because service is generally included. 5-10% is usually considered generous (one can actually not tip at all unless the service seemed particularly good). Before leaving, we went to a restaurant on the river where I tried some absolutely delicious Swabian food.
Fabian in front of a river in the town.
Fabian and I
A view of the river lined with townhouses.
Here the boat drivers literally push along the river floor.
Inside the town.
The town square of Tübingen
A view of the town from up at the castle.
The courtyard of castle Hohentübingen
Fabian was bragging about having a cannon in his university's town.
A delicious meal!
Finally, it was back on the train in the evening and off to Offenburg to visit Fabian's brother, Marcel, and to meet the rest of their family!
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Offenburg
It was on my way to Offenburg that I had my first train issues. Having mixed up departure and arrival numbers, I found myself having taken a train 15 minutes in the wrong direction. However, after obtaining the help of many kind Germans, I was able to get myself 'back on track' to Offenburg, just two hours later than I intended.
Marcel picked me up from the train staion and showed me some of downtown Offenburg. He is 18 and just graduated the equivalent of our high school (Gymnasium).
We went to a local bar in Offenburg as well with some of Marcel's friends; Marcel is on the right. Remember, they can drink in Germany once they are 16.
I stayed with the Segers for three nights and days; they were absolutely wodnerful hosts. Herr und Frau Seger do not speak English, nor does Oma, so it was a real test of my German. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time consulting my English-German dictionary. That was a bit tiring, but it certainly improved my speaking abilities auf Deutsch. Speaking the local language while traveling is such a step-up.
Mr. and Mrs. Seger
The first day Marcel showed me a bit around the area. While he had band practice I wandered around downtown Offenburg. I asked an owner of a bar what the best beer from Offenburg is; as it turns out, it was the wrong question because they mainly make wine here. I soon understood why; after meeting up with Marcel again we drove to a nearby winery-castle on top of hills of vineyards.
An interesting snake statue in Offenburg.
View of the castle-winery on top of a vineyard.
I discovered the panorama option on my camera; here is a 180 degree panorama from the top of the winery.
We had a snack up top and I enjoyed a glass of the wine made there.
Another panorama from the top, this time 360 degrees.
Later Marcel took me to Gegenbach, a beautiful little town near Offenburg which is most tourists' ideal vision of a what a German town should look like. It was cool to walk around and see the buildings that are centuries old.
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Strasbourg
On my second day with the Segers I made a solo day-trip to Strasbourg, which is actually in France but quite close to Offenburg. But first, Herr Seger took me to a glass blowing facility that is also set up as a glass museum. I got to choose out colors and blow my first vase, which I had never done before.
After getting some work done in the area, Herr Seger came to pick me up from the museum before noon to take me to Strasbourg.
After that I spent my first afternoon in France. Upon crossing the border I felt already a little more rude (just kidding). Strasbourg is actually very interesting in that it is really both French and German. Over the past millenium it has gone back and forth between the two countries but has been controlled by France for the past two centuries. The language was predominantely French and this was the first time on my trip where I knew almost none of the language. What's worse, the French don't know or speak English nearly as much as people in Germany do.
The day was overcast but the city is quite wonderful. The city is surrounded by a river, so the first thing I did was take a boat tour. They showed us the main sites: some old churches, the covered bridges, the pillbox, the European Parliament, and so on. Apparently they like to call Strassbourg the capital of Europe becaues the parliament of the EU meets there for a few weeks out of the year. As I found out later, Brussels likes to say this too, perhaps more justifiably.
From the boat tour: the covered bridges.
European Parliament
International Institute of Human Rights
I spent the next few hours around the center checking out the street markets. I climbed up the cathedral and briefly walked through a history museum.
From the market square outside the cathedral:
Inside the cathedral:
From the top of the cathedral:
After that I had spent long enough in the city; it turns out that hanging around cities alone is not that fun after a few hours, especially when you can't converse with anyone in their language. So Herr Seger came out to pick me up, and it was back to Offenburg for a delicious meal that Frau Seger cooked up.
That evening Marcel and I biked to a beach bar to hang out with some of his friends; later, a little more of downtown Offenburg.
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Freiburg
On my last day with the Segers I got up early for another solo day trip to take a train to Freiburg. I met with a friend of Marcel's, Max, who showed me some of the city for an hour before he had to go to class. Nice guy; he told me I should come back so he could show me more of the city. Maybe some day!
Hey look, I found a Previa!
Freiburger Münster
There are these little streams called bacherei running throughout the city that are never more than six inches wide. Max was telling me that they were originally put in centuries ago to help people put fires out, or at least to keep fires from spreading since the buildings were so close together. A nice idea, at least, though I doubt it worked. The older ones are rounded on the bottom for the purpose of bailing water; the new ones are square shaped and just for decoration.
Max and I in front of the Dreisam river.
After Max split off I hiked up a hill in the forest behind the city and climbed up a tower to get a great panoramic view of the area. I also checked out the cathedral there and the market on the town square.
By early afternoon I was done getting a taste for Freiburg and hopped on a train back to Offenburg. That evening it was time to say farewell to the family and take a train to Paris. They really were great people to get to know and I hope one day to see the family again!
Me with Oma
Departing in Marcel's lady killer
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