Celle

Today we visited Frau Legall's home. Some of us went to school  for a bit, then took the bus to the Hauptbahnhof (main train station in the city), while some of us were taken directly there by our hosts. Personally, I went to school first, and experienced a French lesson. In Germany. I understood absolutely nothing, but it was rather interesting to watch.

Frau Legall drove by car over to Celle, letting us find our own way as a sort of 'final exam'. She bought our train tickets, then left it up to us to get to the right track and read the departure lists. It was a bit chilly in the morning, on the train tracks. Some people forgot jackets and had to borrow from other people.

The first thing we did upon arriving in Celle and meeting Frau Legall was to walk to the castle there. On the way we passed a lovely federal prison!

It was odd to see people's homes pressed right up against the prison walls, with children's toys in the yard and the like, but apparently this is a really secure facility. No one has ever broken out.

Near the castle we saw this statue: 

Around and in Celle is a major breeding grounds for a fantastic horse breed, used often as war-horses when they were still used in warfare. Around the castle was a moat. Due to time and all that lovely flooding, it was clogged and filled with gunk, so it had been drained and was being cleaned out. We got to see a few odd things down there as we stood on a bridge. Such as a bike and an umbrella. 

At the bridge, we met up with a tour guide, who showed us around the city. 

She was actually rather adorable. When she started speaking I thought she might be mocking us with how she spoke her English, but then I realized it was just how she talked, sort of like cooing at a kid, but less annoying. She pointed out some really neat things on the buildings. Such as a Goldscheißer. I really do hope I spelled that correctly. Bluntly put, it translates to gold-shitter, and it was painted on a house to bring good fortune.

Towards the end of the tour, we were taken to a horseshoe set in the cobblestone streets, and told that it was thought that if you stepped on it, and made a wish, that wish would come true. Of course, we all had to give it a go.

Frau Legall looked right at home. Which, I guess, she was. It was rather fun to hear and see her point out everywhere she knew with a big smile.

On the way to her parents' house, she pointed out one of these book boxes. Apparently, it's an honor-system 'take a book, give a book'. You take a book from the box for free, and replace it with a different one. Some of these books were current popular hot-demand books, too.

Frau Legall's parents were adorable. They cooked little cakes and ham-and-cheese biscuit things, and cut up strawberries to have with icecream and gave us fizzy apple-juice... It was really sweet.

Her niece and brother and sister-in-law dropped by to visit about halfway through. The niece is in third grade, and is just now learning English. It was adorable to have a conversation with her. She knows about as much English as I know German. Except better. I felt a little silly, but I enjoyed talking to her, in both languages.

The trip home was the same deal as the trip to Celle. Frau Legall saw us off at the station, and we saw to layovers and such alone. In the Braunschweig Haptbahnhof, we saw a man dressed like this come through:

I was trying to figure out what religion he is of, since I think that may be why he is dressed oddly. He was being led about by another man and a woman. It really is fascinating to see all of the different people who come through the train stations.

--Erica