Ikea, dirndls, friedhof. That sounds German to me

This past weekend was Easter weekend here, which meant that we had no class Friday or Monday. However, it also meant that EVERYTHING- except for stores at the main train station and public transportation- were closed Friday, Sunday and Monday. It was also a bummer since Orthodox Easter is not until May 5th, and therefore I had nothing to celebrate.

However, on Saturday I met Helly and went to IKEA. We had been planning to go sometime in the last 2 weeks, but I had class stuff to do, and then Hellys mom had a baby, so of course Helly was spending all her free time at home.
Anyway, we finally made it to IKEA on Saturday. My mission was to get a rug, a desk lamp, and a couple of bins to organize papers, a cookie sheet, a glass baking dish and a measuring cup.

I actually followed my list pretty closely. Unfortunately I discovered that apparently cookie sheets are a rarity in Germany. Helly had no idea what I was even talking about! So I settled for a metal cake pan- which I could use anyway, since the kitchen here is majorly unprepared for people who like to cook and bake to be living here. I also found a set of sheets for Euro 4. They aren't the softest cotton in the world nor my choice in pattern, but honestly you can't beat that price! Additionally I bought 2 little candles because they smelled really great: vanilla something or other, and tangerine/citrus. I'm pretty glad I did actually because I got all the way back to my dorm, and realized that the desk lamp didn't come with a lightbulb.

desk lamp with candles

 

rug!

Paper organizers and boxes

 

My room is coming together! Also my mittens are hanging in the window to dry- the heater is beneath my desk

 

And for the most part, that was my Saturday.

Oh, I did however find out that one of the department stores got a new shipment of dirndls in (I was looking at their selection online) and that they were open until 8pm, so at 5:30pm I caught a train to the Stadtmitte and rushed to the store to do some dirndl shopping. ...And what do ya know, I bought a dirndl! I was so happy: It originally cost Euro 100- which is about average for its quality, but I found a rip in the side seam when I was trying it on. I figured it would be easy to fix, but as always, I asked at the register if there was a policy for when an item is damaged. The cashier told me I could either take 10% off or they would send it to a tailor for free for me!  I opted for the 10% because I really didn't want to wait for it to get fixed- I was so excited to finally have my very own dirndl!

I liked this one

too christmasy

 

 

I'm sneezing I think

I really liked the color and fabric of this one, but they only had one size and it was a little tight.

So the next one I buy (oh yes I need a 2nd dirndl before I leave Germany) will be green

I liked the colors of this one, and it was on sale, but there was only one size left, and this one was too big.

AAAANNND here is the dirndl that I bought!!! I'd say it's very me!

 

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On Sunday, I tried a new Orthodox church. It was in an historic cemetery, and it was a very pretty old

building. I was so excited because everything was at least half in German this time instead of ALL Russian, and the priest even said a few things in English!



Afterwards, I wanted to go check out the "Seilbahn" in Stuttgart, which is the word for something like a cable car, so I went to the station (2 trains and about 5 stations away from where I live) and discovered that it's more of a "Berg Bahn" than a cable car. It's a short little wagon, with staggered levels like stairsteps so that it can go up very steep inclines without tilting too much. It was the same style as the one in Heidelberg, except that this one was super old and made completely out of wood! So there were some ominous creaking noises and I could feel the wood planks shifting a tiny bit as the train went to the next station.
 I wasn't sure what to expect at the top of the mountain, where the line ended, but I was surprised to find it led to 2 very old cemeteries.
It was another 20 minutes before the next train came to go back down, and so I decided to take a stroll through one of the cemetaries. It may seem odd, but it was in the middle of a forest, and there were some nice looking trails.

 

 

seil = rope. hence seilbahn

    

the other train car passed us on the way there

 

 I must say, I have never been happier that I went for a walk. I can't begin to describe how beautiful the "Waldfriedhof" = forest cemetery was. It was just incredible. I've never seen anything like it, not even in a professionally manicured public garden. First of all, the graves were decorated in such a way that they didn't even look like graves necessarily. I mean yes there were headstones- mind, of all sorts of shapes and and designs- but the plots all had at least 4 inches of rich, black fertile soil, pressed down into a very tidy, flat suface. Some had stepping stones on them for family members or visitors to walk right up to the head stone, and others were covered with planted flowers, and in some cases lit candles.
 Due to the cloudy gray sky, the various hues of the green grass, moss, leaves and plants were very vibrant, and I ended up walking around the place for over half an hour, just mesmerized by the beauty of it.
I finally understand why people would embrace the idea of being buried after death. It was such a peaceful, beautiful place, the Waldfriedhof. Believe it or not, I would even say it's a lovely place for a picnic.

so beautiful

 

It's hard to believe it is a cemetery. Everything was just so lovely looking and in a forest.

 

I don't know what this is, but it was cool