Getting Started

It was so cold this morning. I liked it but it was unexpected. It was in the 70s yesterday so when I checked the weather and it said 30F I was a bit surprised. So my trip to the bank was a very brisk one. I was able to get a Kaffee and a Gebäck from the Bäkerei across from my apartment. It was very very good. I was disappointed in the amount of coffee you get for your money. That is a Große Taße Kaffee (large) before I had even taken a sip. That's not even a small in America but it was a lot better than Starbucks haha.

 

 Frühstück

Today was the first day of new student orientation. After a very frustrating hour of trying to find where I was supposed to go (no one at the Uni even knew there was an orientation OR an international house...) I finally was able to get help and my paper work done. The girl who helped me was great and gave me a map of the Uni and told me the addresses and locations of where I needed to go as well as signed me up for the mentoring program. That was a much needed break from the usual lack of help I have been receiving thus far. I met a lot of very nice students while on my search so that was encouraging. I was going to get all my paperwork turned in today (living permit, health insurance, etc.) but right when the girl was done helping me it was 12 and everyone goes on lunch break around here for 2 hours. So I decided to just wander around for a while since I had brought my camera. I just wandered up and down streets (Tübingen is not as big as I initially thought) and tried to find places I had not seen yet. The area where I am living is not very pretty but I was able to find a lot of old buildings. Sadly a lot of them were under maintenance but what you can see is still very beautiful. By 1:30 I was starting to shake because of lack of food and water so I got a sandwich and bottled water and decided to head back home. I took the bus a little ways but then decided to walk so I could look at the area on the way to my apartment. On the way I met some kitties (of course :3) and they were all very friendly. People seem to just let their animals wander around here. I saw several cats in the neighborhood down from my place. I stopped to pet one and it came right up too me and was loving the attention. An adorable little girl got a huge smile on her face and came over too and asked me what my cat's name was (in German of course) I told her I didn't know because she wasn't mine. So I can converse in German with children, woo! Guess that's a start. People also walk their dogs a lot off leash and the dogs just stay right there next to them. Such a difference from in the US. Most dogs are not that well behaved. There's not as much traffic here either though. There's a lot of walking and biking so it is safer for cats and dogs to walk around.Well I was only going to put my pictures on here but I had way too many today so I posted more of them on my facebook so go look there for more. Tomorrow I will be turning in that paper work and maybe walking around a little bit more (although I walked from 9am till 3pm today so I might be too tired). I was able to find some interesting shops on my walk today as well as a cheaper grocery store so I might check those out. Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy the pictures! I really need someone to take one of me. I just don't trust anyone with my camera haha.

 Around the Uni

 Around town

 I love the plants and flowers planted everywhere!

One of the kitties I met