Five hours later, we arrived in Braunschweig. First order of business: Party! We walked into a small house party to celebrate the birthday of one of Johanna's new roommates. She was turning 23. We were introduced to the crowd and had some party food before nestling down in a cozy corner and chatting it up for the evening with one another. We met several of Johanna's close friends in Braunschweig and many other party guests who continued to pour in until all hours of the night. At midnight, we sang (in English!) Happy Birthday to the birthday girl, and the party slowly dissipated after that. Around 2 o'clock, we gave up partying for the evening and got ready for bed. Luckily, I was super tired and fell asleep right away, even though there were still many guests walking through the house and finishing up the party.
We awoke very late the next morning, refreshed from a good night's sleep. Everyone got out of bed and dressed, and the four of us headed down the street to the small grocery store and German bakery to get eggs and bread for breakfast. With a dozen eggs and a nice selection of rolls, we walked back to Johanna's flat and enjoyed a cozy breakfast with the nine of us that had stayed the night at the flat after the party!
After breakfast, we made our way into the city of Braunschweig to see the sights and explore. First, we stopped for a coffee. I was so excited to try out Starbucks in Germany! It had been such a long time since I had a Starbucks coffee. Mmm. I had a creme brulee machiatto. Yum! It was nice and warm and sweet. Delicious.
We continued our journey into the city and came to the shopping area. Four girls + shopping...Hooray! We went first into the huge shopping castle - an ancient castle commissioned by the Duke of Saxony. No longer a castle, the magnificent building hosts a large array of shops and restaurants and is basically like any regular mall in America....Heaven! We poked our heads in a few shops and bought a few things. My favorite shops were those featuring Christmas decorations - all kinds of ornaments and decor. So pretty!
After spending some time in the shopping castle, we met up with two of Johanna's friends and went to have a crepe with them at this adorable little creperie nearby. I love crepes, and thought you could only find quality ones in France, but this little hole in the wall changed my mind. This quaint, antique creperie had both the atmosphere and crepe-quality of France itself. I was very impressed with my breton crepe, filled with cheese, mushrooms and green onion. Yum!
After the creperie, we made our way back to the shopping center to buy a few more items. Jeanette stocked up on shampoo, makeup, etc., which is all much cheaper in Germany than in the Netherlands. We went to
the grocery and bought some things to make dinner later, and headed
back towards Johanna's place.
Along the way back, we stopped at a small Dutch stand selling
poffertjes. These are tiny Dutch pancakes that are a super fun treat for
breakfast or traveling. We bought two orders coated in butter and
powdered sugar and enjoyed them there together on the spot!Back at the warm, cozy flat, we began cooking dinner: apple, chicken, and brie quesadillas! We ate dinner along with Johanna's roommate and then all showered and put on our PJ's. To complete our girly day, we watched a movie before bed - Fried Green Tomatoes! How fun to watch this movie with my international group of friends. After the movie finished, we went to our respective beds and turned the lights out. After a few more giggles, we were all sound asleep!
Sunday morning, we woke up early (after three alarms sounding) and dressed and ate breakfast before venturing back into the city for our bilingual tour. We ended up running, as we were late, and caught the group just as the tour started. The short and stout German tour guide welcomed us and began rattling away in German about the nearby buildings. As the only non-German speaker in the group, I requested that the tour be spoken in English as well. The woman graciously said yes and after telling the whole group the stories in German, she came to me and filled me in about the city in English. I was so thankful for that, as it is always nice to understand! But it made me desire even more to learn another language.
The tour was great. It lasted about an hour and a half and we walked all over the city. It was quite cold while we walked, but it was really interesting to hear all of the stories behind the city. I will share a few here. Braunschweig and Hanover are the two largest cities in the province of Saxony - and the two best shopping cities! The two largest industries in Braunschweig were formally textiles and beer. Mumme beer was a special beer brewed in the region. There were two versions, one with 2,5% alcohol and one with 15%! They do not make the one with 15 % anymore. Henry, the Duke of Lions, commissioned many of the castles and cathedrals that were built in the city to display his wealth and status in the region. Legend has it that the scratches on the door on the side of his cathedral were made by a lion that followed him back to Braunschweig after he slayed a dragon (although truth has it that it was people who were terribly ill and wanted to drink the dust of his cathedral door for healing). The city was originally five distinct districts, each with its own large cathedral. The city was also surrounded by a double mote and city walls, which have since been knocked down and the city has grown into one large place with nearly 250,000 inhabitants. 
After the tour, we had a hot chocolate at a small coffee bar nearby. Then we walked through a few stores and bought individual pizzas to-go for lunch. We stopped by the Mumme beer festival that was going on in a small square near Johanna's place and bought a six-pack for our roommate Sofie, who could not join us on our trip, since she had to study for exams. We headed back to Johanna's place and packed our things. A few minutes later, we were heading across the street back to Fiep's car for the long drive home. With lots of long hugs from Johanna, we left Braunschweig and made our way back to Maastricht.
It was a really nice trip. Always great to see a place through the eyes of an inhabitant. I really liked the architecture in Braunschweig. The mix of the 15th Century framework buildings and the juxtaposing post-war facades across the street is so awesome. To see the history of a place like this is so cool. America is so young in comparison. I loved Braunschweig and taking a trip with my housemates. I think more trips to Germany are in store during the remainder of my time here. :)
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