Germany

I took a crazy route home to Gelsenkirchen from Paris. I decided I wanted to see some mountains before I went back, so I went back via Geneva, Switzerland. I thought why not spend the whole day travelling and looking out the window since my Eurail pass allowed me that freedom. So I watched the landscape through France, the land is still brown this time of year, as it changed and quickly became more mountainous. I saw what I came to see, white swans glided over pristine lakes the color of gems. In Geneva I spent three hours walking along the lake and through the park. I stopped and ate the remains of the bread and red pesto I bought in Paris. I looked up at the mountains framing the lake. They were so pretty and snow covered, almost cheesy like the cover of a hot cocoa box. Then I took a train to Freiburg, Germany where I walked around in the dark quiet little city, feeling or imagining that I felt the black forest around me. The darkness was thick and seemed to crawl out enveloping the city in lively vines. I saw a pretty church. I saw more than I wanted of Freiburg that night, but that is a story you will have to ask me about another time. I felt silly and tired that night as I put my weary self on a smooth white overnight ice train to Gelsenkirchen with one stop in the morning.
Mark opened his door to me and we ate a delicious Mark style breakfast with coffee and I told him of all my adventures. I felt surprisingly good after sleeping upright in my seat on a train, my purse in my arms under the coat I was using as a blanket.
I am sorry that there are no pictures here of Gelsenkirchen. It isn't a city that is even listed in guidebooks, but because Mark, Mark, and Charley are there it felt like a home base for a while and I actually really started to like it. I always walked with excitement down the pedestrian cobblestone streets whenever I arrived back in town from auditions and adventures. I enjoyed walking Charley the Boston Terrier through the park and going to the little outdoor market to get fish or delicious cake to share over coffee. Mark and Mark were so kind to me that I don't know how I could ever repay them.