Wilkommen in Konstanz

Hallo Dear Reader!

Ich bin jetzt im Deutschland :)

Konstanz is stunning, especially in the beautiful sunshine we are having at the moment. The lake, Bodensee (Lake Constance in English), reaches right out beyond sight until it meets the sky in the same wonderful blue. Parts of the town are very old, as the Allies would not risk bombing so close to Switzerland, and the centre is quite small. It is like living in a holiday resort, surrounded by tourists, and chirping of cicadas in the evening. I think I will be happy here and am starting to get over my nerves for speaking German to German people.

I arrived in Konstanz on Friday evening and have moved into my new home: one of the student halls, not far from the Universitaet Konstanz. Outside my front door, it is even possible to see all the way to university - 15minute walking in a straight line. My flatmates are all physics students and all seem very nice. They are also all German, so my language skills are already being tested. They are a bit stressed at the moment as they have exams coming up; our breakfast this morning turned into a science lesson, featuring the workings of a microwave!

Yesterday I began settling in properly. My family and I went to buy crockery, which was a slightly bizarre experience, as one shop sold knives but no forks, while another sold forks but no knives! We went for a drive outside the centre of Konstanz and found a nice park to walk in - we didn't realise such an innocent looking path would lead to a nudist beach...luckily I managed to avoid any frontal viewing, as my sister marched us away at full speed, wondering what sort of place I was coming to!

Last night I went on a Kneipentour (Pub Crawl) with some of the other international students. We started in a beer garden right on the habour called Hafenhalle, which was just stunning. They also seem to do food there, so I hope I'll get a chance to sample some of the local cuisine in the coming weeks while the weather is good. There were various stag nights out that evening as well, which seem much more tame than in the UK. One set had the groom strip down to his lederhosen, stand on his head, and have the young ladies of our group write upon his body. Another group had the groom in a large chicken hat come to our table and ask if he could cut the tag from one of our bras...One of the American girls in the group offered and the groom staggered off happily to his waiting group of stags.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the year brings now - I start language classes tomorrow. Wish me viel Glueck and lots of luck!