March 30 - April 1: Frankfurt, Germany

For the last three days (two nights), I was staying in Bad Nauheim, a community just outside of Frankfurt with my friend Judi, who was on exchange in Courtenay for the first half of the year. It was so fantastic to see her again and to spend some time with her amazing family! Mom dropped me off Saturday around 5:30 p.m. and Judi and I were very happy to see each other again. That evening we went to an Easter fire, a German tradition that is said to burn off the evils of winter and to welcome in spring. There was a crowd of people at the Easter fire and I met Judi's grandparents and uncle there. I even ate Bratwurst and a pretzel with all of them. After that we headed back to Judi's house where we played a few board games and then went to bed. We were able to talk after not seeing each other for a while, which was really fantastic. Their house is really nice - it looks like it could be in a magazine.

The next morning, Judi's little brother, Marian, who is 9 and is so sweet (and tried to speak some English with me) woke us up because it was time to look for what the Easter bunny brought us! The Easter bunny brought me a basket of my very own with a ton of German chocolate and candy, it was so sweet of them! For Easter here they get baskets filled with chocolate and they find these baskets all around the house, rather than finding eggs like we do in Canada. After that we had a wonderful breakfast (just like we did on Monday as well). They couldn't get over the fact that in Canada you can buy, and most people do buy, 4 L of milk. They thought it was ridiculous and amazing; they even told Judi's grandparents when we went over to their house because of how crazy they thought it was - her grandparents were shocked, too! 

Next we went to explore downtown Frankfurt. Because it was Easter Sunday, nothing, albeit a few cafes and restaurants, was open. Mostly we walked around and explored the city. We visited a bridge where people attach locks to it and throw away the key (we saw some "just married" as well as some "just divorced" locks attached to the bridge). I thought it was a really neat idea and looked really cool! We went to a restaurant for lunch - yum! Then we went to the opera house which is really beautiful. After that we visited the PalmenGarten, a tropical garden in greenhouses. It was fun to see because a few of the plants I saw there grow on Vancouver Island and in Frankfurt they are considered to be very special. After this we visited her grandparents apartment where even they had an Easter treat for me; her entire family is so wonderful! We had a nice dinner at their house and played some games again. 

This morning Judi and I explored her community of Bad Nauheim and met one of her friends, Clara, for an ice cream. We even went to visit her school, which while very similar to our schools, is different partly because they are separated by a sort of "good student"/ "bad student" system where one does 12 years of school and the other 10 years. Bad Nauheim has a beautiful park inside of it and a cool town centre with a large fountain where the water is orange. Then her parents picked us up and we went to the annual Easter lunch at a restaurant. I thought it was so sweet of them to include me in this special lunch, and I really enjoyed my time spent with them as well as my meal. 

My time spent in Frankfurt was amazing, to say the least. Judi and the rest of her kind family were so welcoming and very hospitable. I loved how much they included me and cared for me. Thank you so much to you and your parents, your brothers, your grandparents and your uncle, Judi. You're so amazing and I miss you and everyone else already! (Sending thanks here because I know you'll read this.) 

Now for some pictures of my fantastic Easter weekend...

 In one of the malls in Frankfurt! 

 These are real people, just dressed up to look like statues! 

 The Frankfurt Opera House 

 At the PalmenGarten 

 Judi's School 

 Judi's wonderful family! 

Hockey Update: Unfortunately, the Canadian Explorers lost their game today to the EHA Selects 5-1, which meant they finished in 4th place in the Igor Loro Cup in Bolzano, Italy. Tomorrow they will play in the Olympic Arena in Innsbruck, and we will go and watch them!