#9 Sunday - Fun Day (Handball and Castles)



Sunday - a day of rest and relaxation... or something like that 😄. It is still cold in Leipzig, but that is not stopping anyone from getting outside to explore the city and beautiful places around us.  

Jayden and her partner and family went on an excursion to Potsdam and Schloss Sanssouci, the former summer residence of Frederic the Great, King of Prussia. Hallie and Sofia and their host families went to Schloss Moritzburg, near Dresden, Ashley decorated the traditional Osterbaum, and most of us met up in the afternoon to watch the Bundesliga Handball game between Leipzig and Hannover. The atmosphere was electric, the fans were loud and supportive, the game full of action, but unfortunately we once again were not the "Glücksbringer" the home team needed.

Below, Joey and Jayden are sharing their experiences today. 






Jayden writes:  

Today my host family, Thalia, and I went to Potsdam, but before we left, we had homemade Brötchen (bread rolls) with Zuckerrübensirup (sugar beet sirup) for breakfast. Super yummy. 

Once we arrived in Potsdam, after the hour and a half car ride (Potsdam is close to Berlin), we rode a bus for our three hour tour of Potsdam. The tour included three stops. First we stopped at Cecilienhof. 


and learned about the palace which looks more like a large country house and we walked around the garden there. Our next stop was at the Sanssouci palace. This was my favorite stop because the palace itself is so pretty, and the garden area in front of it is also stunningly beautiful. 



Our last stop was the Neues Palais which was the largest of the palaces we visited. Overall we learned all about the Prussian history of Potsdam, but the most interesting thing I learned was that the Brandenburger Tor in Potsdam is older than the one in Berlin! 


After the tour, Thalia and I tried some noodles from an Asian restaurant before we left again for our ride home. Now I’m excited for my first full day of school with Thalia tomorrow!

Joey writes: 

I started Sunday off by sleeping in pretty late and then had to get ready for the day. I was excited to go watch a handball game for the first time with most of the other GAPP students 😁. Before the handball game started, Ernst and his older brother Wilhelm showed us where the fencing matches were happening and taught us some basics of fencing. 

The score at the handball game was so close, but the Leipzig team unfortunately lost. It was practically neck and neck, but the opposing team was always ahead by a couple of goals. It was interesting to see how the ball moved much faster than in a game of soccer. Once handball was over, Erik and I rode the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof for some KFC (sorry Herr Strecker) and then went home for the evening to get ready for our first full day of school tomorrow. 






As our first full week in Germany comes to an end, I sit here reflecting on all the sights we have seen, stories we have shared, experiences we have had, and I am thankful for this wonderful opportunity to share our home country with our students and with you.  



Good Night from Leipzig! Getting ready for week 2 here. Happy Spring Break to everyone!

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