Hannover, Germany

Weekend Adventure to Hannover, Germany!

            This past weekend Maekayla and I went on a weekend trip to Hannover, Germany.  Maekayla knew one of the daughters in the family because the girl (Jasmine) had studied for a year at her high school.  This trip was very difficult to plan because it is quite a journey to get there if you want to do it on any sort of budget, but after returning back to the dorms safe and sound, it was definitely worth the struggle to plan.

            The trip to Hannover was a great learning experience and we learned a lot about the German culture and how to travel more independently since we were not with a big group.  We left Olomouc by train at 5:30 on Friday and then hopped on a bus in Prague and finally arrived in Hannover the Saturday morning at 7:45. Needless to say we were pretty tired, especially since our bus was so cold overnight.  However, the two daughters of the family we visited (Jasmine and Lisa) greeted us with smiles at the bus station and it renewed our excitement to be in Hannover and we were ready to start our weekend. 

            We walked around Hannover while they showed us a few places and then we went with them to a café for breakfast.  Jasmine and Lisa taught us to order in German, immediately helping us integrate into their culture.  After breakfast, we stopped at a few shops and then went to a market!  I absolutely loved the markets we saw.  Everything is so fresh and healthy looking!  Their family owns a meat market, so of course we were spoiled with picking out different foods for a German BBQ later in the evening.

            At first, I was confused at how all of these family could survive on setting up a market just on Saturdays and make enough profit.  However, they quickly explained that they set up in different places throughout the week because most people only buy enough for a day or two since they rarely sell frozen food or food that comes as a “box meal.”  This really intrigued me because Maekayla and I have been struggling to grocery shop because we can’t find anything in bulk and really don’t want to take the time to walk to our grocery store every other day.  However, it is normal in Europe to go to the store several times a week and in most towns, there are hardly any stores open on Sundays, only restaurants.  Although this is frustrating in some aspects to us, I think it promotes a healthier eating style.  Also, Europe has more restrictions on preservatives and GMO’s.  For example, they only let you buy milk in small quantities, no gallons of milk, and it will go bad within a few days.

            After the market, we went to their house and met their mom and brother.  Maekayla and I were pretty tired at this point so we decided to take a half hour nap, which accidentally turned into a three-hour nap, apparently we were exhausted.  Then we ventured to another village that has a large lake and we walked by the lake and enjoyed the Sun and some ice cream!  It was nice to relax and enjoy the culture in a way that is not as “touristy.”  After a few hours of fresh air, we drove back to the house and we all helped chop vegetables and prepare meat for the barbecue.  This was another great experience because we all worked together to prepare a meal even with language barriers.  The meal was amazing and I think we all ate way too much food! Then we played a game and went to bed!

            The next morning, we had a traditional German breakfast and went with the family to Jasmine’s Hand Ball game.  I had never seen a Hand Ball game before but really enjoyed it.  It is a mix between basketball and soccer in my opinion.  We then went with Jasmine and her boyfriend for ice cream and walked around their village and school and caught some of another hand ball game.  After that we met his parents and spent a couple hours with them.  This was interesting because they did not speak English at all.  However, we seemed to still have conversations and fill the time enjoying the weather on the patio.  From there we went to a “fast food” restaurant and got some more traditional food to take back to the house and eat before our German dessert.  I think Maekayla and I ate enough for in two days for the whole week!  We were very spoiled.  After we ate we packed up and left for our overnight ride to Olomouc again.

            I am so incredibly happy that we were able to make the trip.  I loved getting to experience the true culture and meet different families, it made us feel more like we were at home.  It was nice to be out of a large city for a little as well and enjoy some countryside that reminded me of Nebraska.  Visiting all these cities and tourist sites is fun but it was good to have a break, since we will be on the road the next two weeks!  Hope you all enjoyed the recap of our weekend adventure to Hannover!