Was ist blau in Blaubeuren? (Part 1 of 2)

Last week, all the 50ish students of my intensive language course packed up and drove into the Swabian Alps (in German, die Schwäbische Alb).  It was pretty frightening driving up winding mountain roads in a giant mega-bus.  There were definitely moments when I looked out the window and saw a huge cliff beyond the railing.  After about an hour and a half, we arrived in Blaubeuren, a tiny little town nestled in the mountains.  We unpacked and then we had to do a scavenger hunt.  


I don't mind scavenger hunts in English, but I don't like having to ask strangers for information.  Let me tell you, it's even worse in German.  We were given a sheet full of ten questions and we were told to explore the city and get the answers from real Germans.  It was terrifying!  The first man we asked was a pleasant elderly man who spoke in fluent Swabian. So we couldn't understand a thing!  The next several people were also friendly, albeit difficult to understand.  Finally, we found a family who were more than willing to answer all our questions and look up (thank you iPhone!) the ones they didn't know.  Then they pointed us in the direction of the Blautopf, the pride and joy of Blaubeuren.

Blautopf this way!

Just don't go swimming, okay?

Die Schoene Lau - A statue commemorating the myth
 of a mermaid who learned how to laugh. 

Yep.  The water is really that blue.  It looks like anti-freeze.  And you can't tell from the pictures, but the Blautopf is about 60 feet deep and connects into a huge web of underground lake and tunnels.  The Blautopf was amazingly pretty and it did have a bit of magic about it with the forest mountains surrounding it.  It's no wonder that the monks decided to put a monastery right by it!

The cloister in Blaubeuren.
It's only about 1000 years old.
No biggie.

The monastery is now a boarding school! Like Hogwarts, but without the magic.
And more music.
And religion.
But you know, just like Hogwarts. 

Jake gives Rachel a piggyback in the courtyard.

3/5 of the Tuebinger 5 and our new International Friends!
Neils, Helena (both from Belgium), Rachel, Jake, and Emily