Getting There

Neroberg Tram

So, I'm about a week late with the posts here. As you can imagine, it's been a hectic journey. My flight took me via Frankfurt, Germany where I had a 9 hour layover. Luckily for me though, I have a friend who lives near the airport and offered to show me around her city of Weisbaden instead! After dropping my bags at her flat and changing out of my plane clothes, she took me to Neroberg hill where there is a water powered tram that goes up to the top. We rode that up and got some amazing views of the city, including a vineyard where they grow grapes for Riesling.

View from the top

 

A church in town

We walked around the top a bit, then took the tram back down and drove into to town. Kaiser used to frequent, and some of the city's famous hot springs.
We got lunch in town at an Italian place that has home made pasta and sauces to order and let me tell you, their pesto was delicious! We walked a little more and then drove to see the US army base that is the headquarters of US Army Europe . I had heard a fair amount about these bases from my mom and aunts/uncles and it was neat to see one up close. We then drove back to Christine's flat relaxed for a bit, watching the Euro Cup, before heading back out to the airport.

Though flight was a bit long, I got lucky and had an empty seat next to me so I could stretch out a bit. I managed to get a decent sleep, and was ready when Abby met me at the airport early the following morning. For those who don't know, Abby was a WorldTeach volunteer with me who is now teaching on a Fullbright in South Africa. Because she is awesome, she drove to the airport to get me, and we then drove the three hours from Johannesburg to her house in Polokwane, in the Limpopo province. It was interesting to see her town, because in many ways it reminded me of the larger towns in Namibia. She lives in a house with two other American volunteers and has frequently commented how similar her out-of-school life is to living in America. She has hot water, a washer and dryer, wifi, and her roommate even has a dog! After a quick trip to the grocery store, we spent the remainder of the night hanging out with her roommates (after I took a very long nap haha).

Next up: Petting lions in Tzaneen!