emily in the gö

The day before Halloween, I took a 3 hour train ride to Göttingen to visit Sarah, the 21-year-old daughter of my host mom whose bedroom I currently occupy.  I met Sarah in September, when she came to visit Lüneburg, and she invited me to come check out the college town where she's studying.  So I did.

Göttingen is a really cool little town in the southern-most part of Lower Saxony.  It had a fantastic vibe, mainly because it's definitely a college town.  According to Sarah, the students make up about a third of the population of the city.  (Moscow, anyone?)

I arrived at noon, and our first stop was lunch.  I had mentioned to Sarah when I met her in September that I missed Mexican food, something that rarely exists in Germany.  So she took me to the one Mexican place she knew, a little taco joint that wasn't really particularly Mexican.  But it was the closest thing I've had in a while, and I fully enjoyed it.

After taking a brief tour of the city (throughout which Sarah kept telling me that there wasn't much to see), we climbed 250 or so steps to the top of the tower of the St Johannis Kirche.  The view was absolutely incredible, of course.  Even Sarah said she saw the city in an entirely new light.

We then took an afternoon break for the German tradition of Kaffee und Kuchen at a really fantastic cafe.  Kaffee und Kuchen is basically the German version of the Brisith afternoon tea.  It's a old tradition, and it's dying out, but I've been taken out for Kaffee und Kuchen three times now, and altogether, I'm a fan.  It's a slower part of living, one that I think gets forgotten a bit too often.

My favorite part of Göttingen: the bikes.  Like most parts of Germany, Göttingen is a bike town, but I've never seen so many bikes altogether.  Everyone rides bikes, and to everywhere.  Outside the train station, there is a parking lot sized parking lot for bikes!  Clean air and exercise and whatnot, I was impressed.

Throughout the day, we spent a lot time walking through streets lined with shops and campus pathways lined with autumn trees, and we talked about our studies and our countries and our love lives.  I was only there for five hours, and I spent a total of six hours on the train, but I fully enjoyed the afternoon.  The train rides gave me a chance to catch up on homework and reading, and Göttingen gave me a chance to catch up on breathing.  Just a day away from Lüneburg, but a day well spent.