Biking and Eurovisioning

Soooo the big news around here is that I got a bike!!!!!! After yet another homework-filled but beautiful Sunday staring wistfully outside my window at the bikers zipping by below I decided that THIS WAS THE WEEK. I've been wanting a bike for a while now and it finally needed to happen.

Bikes are a way of life for Freiburgers. There are bike lanes and trails all throughout the city. In addition to eating at the Mensa and taking a Uni class a BIKE would bring me a step closer to the true German Universität life.....whatever.

Lo and behold there was a bike sale going on over the weekend. On Saturday morning I forced myself early out of bed and took the bus to the Messe. Within fifteen minutes I was in possession of a bike! For less than 100 euro I think I did pretty well. I got a decent used bike that came with a lock (tho I did end up purchasing a second one), a light, and a clamp behind the seat. I've taken it out on a few rides and it rides pretty well. The gears take a while to kick in after I shift, but I think it's just a matter of getting used to the bike. Sunday morning before attacking the massive pile of accumulating work I rode out to Wildtal, just beyond city limits, and later around Herdern, the neighborhood where I live.

Speaking of an accumulation pile...I guess it's safe to say the honeymoon is over? Gone are the weekends of total fun and relaxation...cause I've got WORK to do!

On Friday I went on an excursion with my Medieval class to see some ruins. We spent a good portion of the day in Alsace, France, as Freiburg sits close to the French and Swiss borders. We got to see some great castle or burg ruins and some Alsatian wine villages, which were seriously adorable.

On Saturday we all headed over to Berliner Allee for Rev's birthday dinner, which coincided with the Eurovision Finale. Eurovision is a kind of European Idol- 28 European countries each put on a performance to compete for the Eurovision title. Many of the songs were hilariously bad but still entertaining pop mishmashes. Now don't get me wrong, I listen to my fair share of top 40 - but we had a fun time judging these cheesy, laughable songs. The winner ended up being Azerbaijan....which I always thought was in Asia.

That pretty much sums up the last week, I've got some exciting plans over the next few weeks! Next weekend we are headed to Munich on our second IES guided trip. Neal will be here by Sunday, and then Claire comes! I'm super psyched to have visitors in Freiburg and to show them around this gorgeous and wonderful city. Because of all the goings-on posting will be light, but don't forget to check back for an occasional update!