May Day is a holiday that is celebrated by much of Europe. In German, it is more of an International Worker’s Day. Everybody has off of work and school, and all of the stores are closed. It is similar to America’s Labor Day. A few other students and I decided to take this opportunity to explore the areas around our campus. We went for a walk through the woods in the area towards the lake. And we were not alone! There were many others going for a walk, riding bikes, roller blading, and just enjoying the beautiful day off. It was nice to see so many people outside. It’s unusual that so many people roller blade here, since it is not so common in the US. I haven’t skated since I was a child!
The area outside of campus is surprisingly beautiful! There is an Asian garden with a beautiful building that was a gift from China. There is a river, and a little waterfall, and is a very cute place to walk around. There is a lot of greenery here in general. The whole campus is surrounded by woods. There are even trees throughout the campus. It is much different than our campus back home.
A little farther out is a huge lake. The others and I decided to take a paddle boat around it. It was very pleasant. Many people had boats and were also taking a leisurely ride. Even small children were boating around and having a good time. Our German friend said that it was typical for so many people to be outside on holidays.
Another interesting thing is all of the pigeons around here! There are so many and they seem to be fearless! They fly very close to humans and they do not fly out of the way when you walk past them. It’s strange to be able to get so close to them!
