A Quick Trip Before Finals

Hello from Germany, everyone!

This past week I officially finished all my classes at the University of Iceland 😀 However, I have two weeks before my first final exam. So, in the meantime, I am spending a week in Germany travelling around. One of my goals while being abroad was to visit another country I have never been to before (considering that in Europe, it is fairly easy). Additionally, I have not seen my godmother, Dagmar (who lives in Germany), in a very long time. So here I am!

On Thursday morning I flew from Reykjavik to Frankfurt where I met my Dagmar, and her husband, Thomas. I have been spending the first few days here, and tomorrow I will take the train from Frankfurt to Munich. Over the last three days, Dagmar and I have done a lot of hiking (without Thomas unfortunately since he broke his arm a few weeks ago) and some exploration of Frankfurt city (with Thomas). Here are some photos and explanations of the sites we’ve seen!

Friday (April, 20^th)

On Friday, Dagmar; her friend, Anke; and I hiked in the southern portion of the Rhein Valley. As many people know, the Rhein Valley is famous for its vineyards and its white wine in particular. Because of this, Dagmar chose a three-hour hike through one of the many vineyards in the area. Situated on rolling hills, the Rhein Valley hosts farmland and some forests. All together it is completely the opposite of Iceland - which has nearly no trees and definitely no grapes. This is the first time I have been without a winter jacket for the last four months (even in England it was fairly chilly and rainy while I was there). It has felt really nice to get some sun and wear some sleeveless shirts since the temperature has been about 80 degrees F! Of course, my internal thermometer has been a bit out of sync – I feel like I am a walking furnace after several extra months of winter.

A view of the village Stadecken-Elsheim from the vineyard of Weingut Beck.

Checking out the vineyard’s soil profile – sandy and chalky!

Weingut Beck, where we went for a tasting afterwards.

Saturday (April 21^st)

On Saturday, Dagmar and I continued our tour of the Rhein Valley further north by visiting several churches and monasteries (primarily from the Medieval era). Since Dagmar is religious and I am not, we had some interesting discussions about the role of religion in people’s lives. We also did another hike to the Middle Rhine Valley, which is UNESCO World Heritage Site. During this, we saw the statue of Germania which was built in the 1870s. The statue was erected to commemorate the unification of Germany following the Franco-Prussian War. We also saw several fake medieval ruins which were placed in the German countryside during the early 20^th century as romanticism swept the country. Following our hike, Dagmar and I went to a restaurant nearby which had a lovely orchard. Fun fact: It is white asparagus season here so I have been eating significant amounts of asparagus.

A photo of Kloster Eberbach, a medieval-era Catholic monastery. Historically, this monastery has produced and sold wine but now it is exclusively used as a tourist attraction and vineyard.

Abtei St. Hildegard, a Catholic nunnery built in the 20th century in honor of Saint Hildegard, a nun who was well-versed in the healing powers of spices. Today the nunnery is still in use and allows everyday people to retreat there for weeks at a time for spiritual healing.

View from our hike in the Middle Rhein Valley.

Sunday (April 22^nd)

Today, Dagmar, Thomas, and I toured the city of Frankfurt. We started by doing a guided boat-tour of the city, and continued by walking through the historic district. Over the course of the day, I learned several interesting facts. Frankfurt was originally established by Charlemagne in the 700s, and literally means “Fort of the Francs”. Later during the Holy Roman Empire, the kings of Germany were crowned in the Catholic cathedral which stands in the city’s historic-district. Traditionally, Frankfurt has been an important trade post and still is today. Home to the European Central Bank, the city has achieved one of the highest densities of job opportunities in the world. Currently, it is experiencing a large population influx due to the high number of jobs as well as a large influx of refugees.

Besides walking and boating around the city, Dagmar and I also visited the Museum of Applied Art where they were hosting an exhibition on Jil Sander, a famous German designer who revolutionized women’s fashion starting in the 1960s by focusing on the cut of clothing – making its more modern and sleek rather than feminine and frilly.

A view of Frankfurt city from the Main River.

The Frankfurt town hall with skyscrapers in the background.

The historic central plaza of Frankfurt. Much of the city was destroyed during World War II so these historic buildings are actually replicas of the originals.

As I said before, tomorrow I will be travelling to Munich. So, I will update you all about that next week. Thanks Dagmar and Thomas for hosting me for the last few days!

Until next time!
-Emily