“You are officially German!” A local told me after mentioning to him three of my newest experiences here in Freiburg. What qualifies me to be part of the Freiburg community you may wonder? The answer is: going to the Farmers Market, eating Rindswurst and taking my first hike in the Black Forest.
Freiburg’s Farmers Market takes place at the Münsterplatz every day and is especially good on a Saturday. There you can find anything from flowers to jam as well as get to be in the middle of the community and, in my case, attempt to ask for things in German. However, what indeed took me by surprise is how quickly the locals can tell that I am not from here and therefore switch to either English or Spanish when talking to me. Still, most of them will attempt to explain to me what they were saying in German and the translation to English/Spanish. As someone who is really trying to learn the language their patience and ability to hold back their laughter is truly appreciated.
The market also includes the famous Meier’s Wurststand, which is a food stand where you can buy the well-known Rindswurst.
For those of you who may not be as familiar with Germany, one of the most famous foods here are sausages. A Rindswurst, as shown on the picture to the right, is a sausage in a bun that taste rich, smooth and heaven like. Which will unfortunately, but fortunately, become more of a habit to eat.
Finally, the third experience that proved my worthiness to be a German was to go on a hike to the Black Forest.
IES, as part of our program, took us to the Black Forest guided by a staff member and a house tutor (a much chiller version of an RA). From what we had been told previous to the trip this was ranked a moderately easy hike, but fare warning… when the Germans say it’s easy that actually means it’s more on the medium to hard spectrum. Still, the group and I all prevailed to then feasted on the great Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, which means Black Forest Cake.
Stay tuned, as next week I will be headed to Berlin and Prague!
Bis bald.