Return to Radolfzell

A return to Radolfzell was always in the works and I will probably still make one more trip there before I head back to the states. It is just so wonderful and it will always be my first German home. Me and Adam arrived late in Radolfzell Thursday night after our ill-fated Rothaus excursion. We woke up Friday morning and decided we would just wander around Radolfzell for the day. We didn't really have any plans besides making a visit to my old host family to say hello. So we walked around town and passed by all the old familiar places and saw how things were different or the same. I also took pictures of the inside of the Radolfzell church for the first time. I can't believe I didn't take pictures sooner. The church is beautiful. We also got to see that the local Volksbank had been turned into a giant Adventskalender for Advent. We were visiting after Christmas was over but the giant Adventskalender had not yet been taken down. All the windows at the front of this bank were decorated and each was a "door" on the Adventskalender. We, of course also visited the Bodensee to say hello to the water and the swans. After we were done wandering around the town we made our way to my old host family's house. Me, Adam, and the Bottlangs just talked over coffee and cake. My room there had been empty the entire time I was gone and was only going to be occupied with a student that Sunday. It was crazy to think that the best room in all of Radolfzell was unoccupied for so long. It is 2 minutes away from school (walking) and it had its own kitchenette and shower. I guess only very special people like me get to stay there. We, of course, went to the Kaufland where all the CBYXers went during almost every break and lunch we had at Carl-Duisberg Centren. I also visited the restaurant where I had my first Döner. We also went to the market on Saturday like we did almost every Wednesday and Saturday while we were in Radolfzell. We both bought flowers for our host families and dropped them off as a thank you for everything they did for us while we lived with them. Saturday afternoon we headed home. It was sad leaving Radolfzell but it was also a little sad being there without the other original 16 Radolfzellers. It just felt wrong being on the Bodensee without them so, although I am glad I visited, I don't think I could ever live there again because I would just think about all the people that I would be missing.

This is one of the things that I miss most about Radolfzell and southern Germany in general. The natural beauty. The fact that you could just be walking along and stumble across a little creek with a duck in it.

You may recognize this photo as the profile picture for my entire blog. I just couldn't resist taking a similar photo almost 3.5 months later.

Radolfzell church. 

The Radolfzell Volksbank Adventskalender. 

That used to be my front door!!!!   :( 

Friday was Epiphany so that meant the three kings were walking around greeting people. Lots of German cities do this.

My Bodensee with more ducks and swans than I ever saw in summer. 

The Saturday market.

Saturday afternoon me and Adam departed from Radolfzell and headed towards our respected homes. The trip was so loooooong because we were using a special discounted ticket that only allowed us to use regional trains that are slower. The trip was long but we did save a ton of money and I am all about saving those nickels and dimes.