With a later start, earlier finish, and long weekends in between, this TAB placement has come with a lot more free time than I was anticipating, providing excellent opportunity for exploration and adventure. I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I’ve stayed home doing nothing over the past several weeks – a massive shift from my lifestyle at home! When I’m not at school, there is no shortage of things to do and see in and around Hamburg, and with so many other countries in close proximity, why not fit in a few of those as well?
Standard after school or weekend activities for me have generally included
- perusing through flea markets
- checking out new restaurants
- visiting nearby cities (Lübeck, Lüneburg, Berlin)
- walking along the harbour
- shopping on Mönckebergstraße, and
- visiting various tourist attractions (St. Michael’s church, the green bunker, miniatur wunderland, Beatlesplatz, Speicherstadt)
At times it’s easy to forget that you’re here as a student, especially with extended time off like the October long weekend! During the first weekend of October, Germany celebrates German Unity Day to commemorate the unification of east and west Germany. To make the most of this 4 day weekend, us TABers planned a trip to Salzburg, Austria, along with southern Germany including Munich and parts of the Bavarian countryside. Despite a few hiccups along the way (see previous posts for details), we enjoyed our time together by visiting several castles, dining at the Mozart cafe, completing learning tasks in our Airbnb (it’s not always fun and games!) and celebrating Oktoberfest with many, many litres of beer.
Our return to Hamburg after this trip felt quite sad as we said ours goodbyes at the Hauptbahnhof (central station), knowing our TAB experiences is quickly coming to and end and this would be one of the last times we do something as a large group. Come October 18th, German schools have an autumn holiday and us TABers are free to do as we like. Naturally we are all going our separate ways at this point to travel around Europe some more, visiting places like Spain, Poland, Italy, France, and even Luxembourg.