Vita Classica and Hinterzarten

Me and Annina wanted to go see the new Harry Potter movie in the cinema, but our (my) goal was to watch the six old ones first. I brought them with me on my external harddrive, but every time we tried to watch one of them we either fell asleep or got interrupted. We ended up with only watching the two first ones before going to the cinema. The cinema was really nice and had something called couple seats. Two seats next to each other with tables on each side. We watched the movie in English which is not that normal in Germany and the cinema was nearly empty. I think I counted less than 10 people. Not that it mattered, less is often better!

Vita Classica Thermal Bath

On Saturday we finally had the chance to go to the thermal bath. It is called Vita Classica and is located in a small town called Bad Krozingen just outside Freiburg. We borrowed Annina's mom's car and drove out of the city and through the snowy fields around Freiburg to get there. It was actually very cool to drive outside the city and see the region. There were small hills everywhere with winery's and fields scattered here and there. We drove through several small towns and villages before we arrived in Bad Krozingen and the thermal bath.

Vita Classica was a really nice place. It is a roman inspired thermal bath with many small pools with different temperatures and decorations. The water ranged from 33C to 36C. There were also two big outdoor pools. The pools started inside and you went through a "door" outside. It was really nice with the cold temperature in the air and the hot water. There was a waterfall you could stand under and small cubicles with massaging air pumping through the water. Because it was cold in the air there was a thick layer of mist just over the water giving the whole place a really enchanted look. There was also a room called the music room, with a pool where they played music underwater. If you put your ears under the surface you could hear calm and relaxing music. I have tried to take some pictures to show the different pools and the roman inspired rooms. If you ever go to Freiburg it's defiantly worth the short drive out to Vita Classica.

We stayed in Vita Classica for a few hours going between the different pools and relaxing. My favorite place was the outdoor pool with the waterfall and the hottest pool that was 36C. They also have a whole section with saunas from all over the world, but you have to pay extra to go in there, so we didn't do that this time. But I want to go back and try the sauna world as well. Sadly we couldn't stay the whole day because a friend of Annina had invited us out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant in the afternoon. On the way back we took some pictures of the landscape with the winery's and the fields in the hills. Everything was covered in snow which is pretty rare since it doesn't snow that often in Freiburg.

The restaurant was really nice. We went with a friend of Annina and her boyfriend that knows the place and recommended it. It was a buffet with all kind of different Chinese food. I personally love buffets because then I can choose what I like and don't like and especially with Chinese food I don't like everything. That being said, the food was really good and I think I ate 4 big plates + desert. Afterwards my stomach was hurting, but it was well worth it! It was also really cheap. Sadly I can't remember the name but it's definitely another place I recommend!

The Black Forest and Hinterzarten

Last time I visited Freiburg I didn't have the time to visit the Black Forest, but on Sunday we decided to go there and look around. It was raining as we walked to the train station and the river that flows right next to Annina's house was really full. It must have been from all the snow melting.

The train ran up and down the hills outside Freiburg and soon the rain changed into snow. We arrived in Hinterzarten and got out. Hinterzarten is a typical tourist village on the edge of the black forest with very traditional Germany style houses. It is also home to the Adleschanze ski jump hill. We walked through the village to the outskirts of the forest where kids where sledding down a hill and having fun. We then walked to the Adleschanze ski jump hill and looked around there before heading back to the train station. It was snowing the whole time and it was pretty cold, so we decided that a short visit was enough for this time and that we would come back in the spring or summer and go further into the forest. Annina's family rent a cabin there which is really nice.

When we got back it was already evening and Hartmut, Annina's father came over and we all ate sandwiches and played dices. Her family really loves to play games together (board games, cards or dices) and I think its a great way to have fun while socializing and getting to know them better. I also learned how to make a new type of sandwich! Bread, butter, bananas and chocolate! It's really good!

On Monday evening me, Annina and her father went to a pub called Der Goldene Stern for the weekly quiz night. The questions were pretty hard and a lot about Germany, but I knew at least some answers and our team didn't come last. The other people in our team where all really nice and welcoming! The quiz night was pretty similar to the one we have at home in Lillehammer with general questions and then listening to music. I also ate the quiz chicken schnitzel which was delicious and came in a big portion that I almost couldn't finish! It was all in all a great evening. Here is a cool picture from the pub. It's of the urinals in the men's restroom!

On Tuesday we didn't do anything worth writing about and on Wednesday morning I left with the train/airplane back to Norway. It was sad to go home to cold Norway with -18 degrees. The Wednesday I left it was +15 in Freiburg. It was also sad to leave my girlfriend again, but at least it's not that long until she comes and visits me in Norway! This is the last post on this blog for a while, the next time I go traveling is probably in March so stay tuned until then and happy Christmas and a great New Year!

Second visit in Freiburg

Finally after almost two months of working I am taking a holiday again and I am going back to Freiburg in Germany to visit my girlfriend. The trip down was supposed to take around 8 hours, including train and waiting at the airport. But what was supposed to be a routine trip turned out to be something very different. It all started of with my train from Lillehammer being 30 minutes late. Luckily that was not a problem since I had booked the train 1.5 hours ahead of my flight in case of delays just like this one. When I got to Gardermoen (the airport), delivered my backpack (which for some reason is special luggage now) and gone through the security I noticed that my flight was delayed as well. After a lot of waiting I got the information that there was snow in Frankfurt and that was the reason for the delay. After about 3 hours and a free meal voucher from SAS we where allowed to board the plain. Turned out I would be waiting another 2 hours before we even took off. At least they gave us free food and drinks on board as well (you normally have to pay for it).

When we finally landed and got off the plain and into the waiting buses I saw the snow that was causing all the troubles. All 3 centimeters of it... I guess the Frankfurt airport doesn't have the same experience as Gardermoen (where there is snow half the year anyways). The train from Frankfurt to Freiburg was at least on time or so I thought!. I got as far as Karlsruhe before the train had to wait 25 minutes on a passing train that was delayed. I ended up arriving 00:40 instead of 20:00. But I made it and that's all that matters!

The plan was to go to a thermal bath the next day, but the weather was not that good in Freiburg either. The car had frozen and didn't want to start so we had to change our plans. Instead we visited the local Freiburg Christmas market. The market is made up of many small booths selling various homemade goods and food/drinks. On of the famous things you can buy there is Gluehwein, a wine that's heated and served hot. It has a very Christmasy taste and comes in both red and white. I also tried something called Striebele which is a kind of sweet bread snack. It looks funny as you can see on the picture :)

In the evening I went with Annina to her Norwegian lessen. We did different exercises, played games, some grammar and reading. I had to help the teacher pronounce words and read (she was German and had a German Norwegian accent). It was nice to see how a Norwegian class in another country is. During my stay I also visited the kindergarten where Annina works every morning. Her father also works there full time. The kindergarten was located in a pretty boring looking building, but once inside it looked very cool. I loved the way the rooms were designed, some had extra levels and non looked the same. It's hard to describe and I wish I had some pictures to show you instead, but unfortunately I don't. 

Since it's advent we had to bake some Christmas cookies. We decided to make cinnamon stars, coconut macrons and "black and white" cookies. We had to improvise a little while baking because we forgot to buy some and had to little of other ingredients and it took us several days to get them all done with various levels of success, but in the end they all tasted good and that's what matters (to me at least).

The weather has not been that good with snow and cold the first few days and then rain, so we haven't had the time and interest to go and explore that much. However we did go to a Cafe with a friend of Annina called Carla and that was really nice. Other than that and the other things I already mentioned the first week has been lazy :P I will post a second post about my visit to Freiburg in a few days and it will have a bit more interesting reading I hope.