Bin wieder da!!

I`d always known Bregenz was small. Still, it came as a bit of a surprise that within such a short space of time (I`d literally dumped my stuff at my friend`s and gone for ice-cream) I saw students, a former colleague and boys from the Marianum.
How I've missed ice-cream by the Bodensee. Proper ice-cream. Mmm.
The day after I arrived was my birthday (I'm telling everyone that I'm 19 now that I'm back at uni) so Raffi and I went to Europa park. It`s probable that I am the worst person ever on a road trip because I pretty much slept  the whole way there and on the way back too. Raffi insisted on the biggest fastest rollercoasters (damn straight) and I forced him onto the water rides and the ridiculously awful things, that were possibly supposed to be scary.
In true birthday style it was rounded off by a few EMK friends coming round for drinks and then heading out to Paschanga for a legendary Long Island Iced Tea für Erwachsene. They ought to be legendary by now, I've blogged about them enough. There were a few other people we knew also there, including a few that I'd played touch rugby with that once. Out of sheer laziness, I hadn't been speaking any German which lead to some hilarious moments. Well hilarious for myself and anybody who knew that I understood everything being said about me. The priceless moment when I finally turned round and said "Ich KANN Deutsch..." Brilliant. Proof that some Brits really can communicate in other languages without repeating ourselves more slowly and louder, with more and more gesticulations.
Whilst being in the general kind of area, I took a trip to Stuttgart to visit my lovely friend Laura. What's a few hours on a train and €40 when I get to see one of my favourite people? It was a rather cold, grey day, on top of being a Sunday which severely limits possible activities. We had a traditional German lunch (more to this cuisine than sausages you know) although I must admit I have no idea what most of what I ate was...
We went for a wander. Cue the following display of superior intellect :
"ooh, that looks a bit Welsh!" In my defence, from the angle where I was standing, the writing was upside-down. We met up with some other people (not really clear on who they were. I did however enjoy their Scottish accents) and mooched round a flea market where we spotted a colossal electric Donald Duck. We debated over its possible purpose. Apparently it waved and the eyes lit up. I sent some things flying on one stall and decided it would be better to keep a safe distance and not end up paying for ivory carvings. We followed this root around with some lovely hot chocolate, a brief visit to Laura's flat before I headed back to Bregenz. My overwhelming impression of Stuttgart is now overshadowed by my own ineptitude.
I rounded off my time in Bregenz (before Oktoberfest - keep your eyes peeled for a post) with a list of errands. A not-so-quick to the bank gave me a nice shiny sum of money, rather than it being held hostage. To make sure they didn't keep it captive again, I closed the account. This was followed by a trip to the school, where I fortunately found all the staff getting ready for an afternoon meeting. I therefore greeted everybody nicely, said hi to all the teachers and picked up my from so that nobody tries to claim back that well-appreciated ERASMUS grant, which I no longer have. Being just round the corner, I nipped up to the Marianum. This wasn't very exciting. I didn't have any post and nobody was around. Boring. However, it was ever so nice to make a trip back, even if I spoke hardly any German.