Becoming Cosmopolitan: 04/01/2010

So, how do I begin to describe this situation I found myself in recently? Well, let me start by saying there is a small grocery store in Germany called Lidl. There is also a transportation system in Germany which consist of subways, above ground subways, trams, buses, and long distance trains which go all over the country. The fastest and most expensive long distance train is called an ICE (Intercity Express). This transportation system is run by something called Deutsche Bahn (DB). Anyway, every year in December for about a week this store Lidl offers something called a Lidl ticket for only 64 euros and you can go anywhere with any kind of train, round trip, but the ticket only last from January to March 31st. And the tickets are limited. Well, I bought one to use when I went to Köln for Karneval, but that was it. Then a little over two weeks my Area Representative in my program sent me an email asking if I would like a Lidl ticket. She had bought one too many and wasn't able to use it before it expired at the end of March. So, I took it.
I decided to go to Freiburg for 2 or 3 days to visit friends and see the area. Since I live in Berlin which is in the north-east of Germany and was traveling to Freiburg which is located in the south-west of Germany, I was definitely getting a deal. Normally, with an ICE that would have cost at least 200 euro and it's a 6 and a half our train ride with the fastest train in Germany.
I stayed with my friend (brother) Jake, who is in the same program. He lives in a little Village called Schuttern, about 50 minutes outside of Freiburg. I'd never really been to a village before and I thought some of the things Jake told me about it was a joke. Like there is no movie theatre or movie rental in the village. There is only one bakery/small grocery store in the village and one church that the village is centered around. It's a typical German village. From the village it's a 10 minute drive to France and you can see the mountains of France (and Germany, part of the Black Forest) from Jakes house. :)
We went into Freiburg for a whole day and i got to meet up with a couple of friends in my program as well as see some of the city. However, it was raining and grey the day we went didn't get to see everything in the city. My friends showed me around some and took me to eat Black Forest Cake (Schwarzwald Kirsch Torte). It was delicious, of course. Then they took me the the Münster and we climbed all the way to the top. All of these church like buildings are the same here. You go into these tiny stone stairwells and have to climb the never ending staircase. I always feel like Nancy Drew trying to uncover some mystery and it's always slightly creepy. But once you get to the top you get to see the entire city and that is beautiful.
To end my day in Freiburg my friend Mason took me a cafe to drink a glass of white wine made in the region. It was delicious. Definitely the best wine I've ever had. :)
The next day I started to head home but decided to stop in Mainz and spend the day with my hubby, Chris. We walked around a bit, had lunch together and had some wonderful ice cream (which I hadn't eaten since the summer) before I boarded my train and headed home to Berlin.

Schuttern with the Black Forest (mountains) in the background.