Rome

Yes, I went to Rome! Amazing, isn’t it? I had never been to Italy before, and then, in 2007, I went twice!

This time it was because of school. Since we were 13^th grade now and this would be our last year of school, the whole grade takes a trip, usually to a big city, where you are also supposed to learn something about the history and everything there.

There are always a couple trips you can chose from, and we did that while we were in 12^th grade. There was Rome, Venice, Barcelona, London, and a second London trip where they stayed for ten days and had to do an internship somewhere, and one group went to Israel.

I decided on Rome because I’d always wanted to go there, since there are so many interesting things to see concerning history and religion. And also my closest friends also planned on going to Rome.

We left on a Sunday, it was October 14. We left about 11am at the main train station to go to Dortmund. There we went to the airport, because we then had a flight from there to Rome.
After we waited there for a couple of hours, we then went on the plain and arrived at the airport in Rome at about 7pm. We took a metro from there and had to walk a little bit until we arrived at our hotel.
Everyone was shocked when we arrived at the hotel. It was in a part of the city which seemed really poor and dirty, we all started calling it “the ghetto”. No one could understand why people love Rome, because during this first night, we only saw that ugly part of Rome where our hotel was. We then went upstairs, because the hotel was on the 7^th floor of a normal apartment building. We then saw our rooms. Most of them had four beds in them. But the rooms were really tiny, smaller that a usual two bed room. And the beds were like right next to each other. We had one small cupboard for all of us, one small table and a chair. And one small bathroom. And besides that, everything seemed to be dirty, there were stains on the bed for example. So basically the hotel was just really disgusting. The only good thing was, that I was in a room with my two good friends Lena and Sophia, and another friend of Lena’s, called Rabea which I hadn’t been that close to before. And that week really let us all grow together and we are good friends now.
After seeing the rooms and unpacking the most important stuff (because we didn’t have room to really unpack, we always got our thing out of the suitcase) everyone went outside again to get something to eat. Most of us ended up in the same restaurant close to the hotel where we got one big table and everyone shared pizzas and stuff. We then went back to the hotel and tried to sleep. Eventually we did fall asleep…

On Monday we had the day off basically, so that meant, that we could look at things our own. That’s one of the other stupid ideas. Because I mean most of us never had been in Rome before. So why would they give you the first day off, where no on knows where to go, especially because we didn’t know which places we would go to the following days.
But before that crazy day started there was the breakfast: you’ve never seen anything like it. It came to our room, because there was no room for breakfast. It was one grosse drink for everything, and then a disgusting sandwich with something that was supposed to be ham or something. And one piece of zwieback for each of us.
After actually surviving this meal, the four of us first left together with our teachers because they offered everyone to follow them along first, because they had like two or three famous places they would go to and they said they were happy to show some people where they are.
So first we went on the metro and got out at a place where we could walk up a hill and through a park. We went by the Villa Borghese and ended up at the top where they had a lookout and you could see most of Rome from there. It was very beautiful and also amazing. Because you had never seen Rome before and then you can see it from the top and already see the Vatican and other famous places from up there.
When we went down that hill again we ended up on a square with a big church. We went inside and it was really beautiful, because there were paintings everywhere and it looked just amazing.
Then we separated from our teachers and split into small groups. My three roommates and I stayed together. After making our way through a street packed with expensive stores like Dolce&Gabbana or Gucci, we ended up on another square, right at the Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna). We looked at it for a while, took pictures, and then walked up and enjoyed the view from there.
From there it was not far to the Trevi fountain (Fontana di Trevi), so we walked there next. Of course each of us threw a coin in, and we also met some other people of our group there, and one other girl joined us there.
We then walked by the Pantheon and sat down there a little bit and then saw the Piazza Navona.
After that we did not know what to do anymore, because we thought we would see most of the other stuff the following day together with the other people.
So we looked at some churches where we walked by and went down to the river Tiber. It seemed very dirty there though, apparently we found a not so nice spot.
After deciding that we want to have water and some fruits for the next days we went to a little supermarket and bought that there. And then we looked for a restaurant that would not be too expensive and found one in a small street not so far from the pantheon. It was really cute and we could sit outside. It was beautiful because it was this cute little restaurant in this typical street with nice houses. And the food we ordered (we all had pasta) was also very good. We stayed there for a while after we were done eating and played cards, because we did not want to go back to our disgusting hotel. But eventually we went back and once again tried to fall asleep as soon as we could.
That was our first exciting day on our own in the big and in most parts beautiful city Rome.

On Tuesday the whole group left for the colosseum together. We wanted to be there by nine, which was almost impossible, because the metro was crowded since everyone starts work at nine. But we got there eventually. And it was really worth it. We went inside and one guy of the group told something about it, everyone had prepared a little text about some of the sights or something like that. And then we had time to walk around inside. And it was very exciting to be inside the colosseum and walk around in there and it was very interesting to see that.
Then we met again in front of it and walked across the street to the Forum Romanum, where we could walk around I little groups. I absolutely loved it there, because while walking around in there you did not see any part of the modern city. It felt like there were only those old buildings and like being back in the ancient Rome. All the old temple and churches, this ancient market place and the triumphal arch were beautiful. And it was very weird, but exciting to imagine that about 2000 years ago there were people there shopping on the market and visiting the temple.
In the afternoon we went to Ostia Antica. That is an ancient seaport a little bit outside of Rome. You could still see the foundations of all the houses that once were there, and other things like the amphitheater or the temple for example. After looking around there and spending some time there, we took the train back. At first only for one station though, because there was supposed to be a beach close to that station. But when we arrived at that beach, we noticed that it was really dirty and you had to pay money to go there. So we just sat down on a pier that was there and enjoyed the ocean and talked for a little bit. Then we took the train back to the city and looked for a restaurant where we could have dinner.

On Wednesday morning the whole group had tickets for the audience with the pope. And for those who were interested the teachers left early to go on the dome before the whole thing got started. Of course we went, we got up especially early to go there. But when we arrived at the Vatican City we found out that on days of the audience the dome is not open for the public. I wonder why everyone I told this too at home knows this, but not our teachers that were supposed to have everything planned out…
Well, there we were, in between thousands of people who were already there. So a couple of us decided to just leave the teachers waiting for the people that didn’t arrive yet, and already enter to get some good seats. And so we did. We went through all the security checks and got in. We took a couple pictures and then still found some pretty good seats. The whole thing was very nice. Seeing the pope, and he went by close to our seats, hear him talk, and then all the different languages he spoke, his German with an Bavarian accent. And hearing him pronounce all the people who were there from all over the world (a lot of Americans by the way, one couple sitting right behind us…). And in the end we received the blessing.
Later we heard from our teachers, who were pretty mad (we did not care), that the whole thing did not turn out as well for them. Boohoo.
Well, after the audience was over and we had found out that we wouldn’t visit the St. Peter’s Basilica and the Vatican Museums with the whole group, we tried to find out as quickly as possible how long they are opened.
We then decided to go to the Vatican Museum and see as much of it as possible. And we soon noticed what a good idea it was to just go there on our own. Because you just have to see it. It was so beautiful in there. We did not have much time, so we almost run through the museum. And that basically tore our heart apart. We could have spend days in there. You walked from one room to the next and each new one was more beautiful than the one before. In each room the walls and ceilings were covered with beautiful paintings. And there were wonderful statues and furnishing everywhere. It was amazingly beautiful. The paintings were incredibly good, and sometimes things like statues or other things looked so real, but when you got closer you saw that they were only painted, too. And then we finally got to the Sistine Chapel. There was always a group of people let in. And then you stood there inside and a voice out of some speakers told something about the paintings. And they asked the people to be quiet. We looked around and it was stunning. On the lower part of the walls it looked like there would be real curtains. But once again, it was just painted. And then on the upper part of the walls there were smaller, but beautiful paintings. And then the ceiling of course, with all the paintings, in the middle of it the famous one where God creates Adam. And then the painting up front of course which is also very beautiful with bright colors. And it is huge, it fills up the whole front of the chapel. This painting took him longer to complete than the ceiling. After seeing the chapel we rushed through the first floor of the museum. It wasn’t as interesting as the first part, because it was more modern art, but there were also some beautiful rooms and paintings there. When we got outside, we saw one friends of ours. She went to another school and we saw some of the people from her grade already inside and they said she would be outside. And there we found her, in the huge city of Rome we found one of our best friends. Of course we took a picture together, or else no one would have believed us.
Now comes the reason why we had to rush all the time: At 3pm we had to be at another museum, the Musei Capitolini. Well, to see museums is interesting most of the time, especially in a city like Rome. But those ones weren’t as exciting as the Vatican Museum, and the guide was a really boring one, too. It was good to see a little of it, but we just couldn’t understand why we had to see those with a guided tour instead of the Vatican Museums.
So when the tour was over and we were free to stay in the museum longer or go anyplace else, we rushed back on the bus and headed straight back to the Vatican to go to the Saint Peter’s Basilica. Because we really wanted to see it and thought it would be the most embarrassing thing to have been to Rome without seeing it. And fortunately we did not have to wait long ‘til we got in. And it was worth it. You won’t believe how amazing it was. It was huge, and it was so high. And all the paintings everywhere especially in the dome. And so many statues and everything. You just have to see it. It was unbelievable. We were so glad we got to see it. After seeing this we went in some stores close by, where you could by souvenirs from the Vatican. And also we found a nice restaurant there, where we had dinner again. Pasta, as most of the evenings there, because it was just so good.

Thursday was our last full day in Rome. In the morning we went to some thermae, the Caracalla Baths. It was interesting, because there wasn’t much of the actual pools or what you would call it left, but there were still a lot of the walls standing, and you could see parts of the floor, and it was really beautiful, because there were wonderful mosaic there.
Then we went on and got on a bus. Our next stop down the road was at a memorial for the victims of WWII. There were a couple of corridors inside of a cave, and once in a while there were a couple signs or stuff like that that told you what happened to some of the people. And at the end of it was a room full of stone coffins which had names of the victims on it, some with pictures and flowers also. And it was really sad, because there were so many, and you kind of felt guilty and sad seeing all that.
At the end of our tour down that road, which was a special one by the way, because it was old from way back of the Roman Empire and it was really long and on some places it still had the old cobbles, we arrived at the catacombs Sebastiano. I really liked that. We had a guided tour there, too, because people are not allowed to enter without a tour at all. But when we went down there, there was this system of corridors. And in the walls were little niches everywhere. And that’s where they had buried the dead people back in the time of the Roman Empire. And it was really weird to imagine that there actually had been people inside of it. And some of them still had pieces of the stone plates cover them up, and you could see words on them. And one of the most scary things was when the guide said, that the ones that weren’t open at all, if you would open them now, there would still be the bones inside of it, because they don’t decay inside of the stone. But there were also other interesting things inside there. For example there was one room where there was an altar so that the relatives of the dead could have a mass there. And then there was one room, which was now under the earth, because later they build a church on top of it all, but back then it was under the free sky, where there where whole vaults for a family which were really beautiful and you could actually look pretty far down in them. And after that we went up to the church that was built on top of the catacombs. The church wasn’t that special, because we had already seen a lot of churches, I mean there are thousands of them in Rome. But it was still beautiful. I like to see the insides of churches. They always have those beautiful windows and paintings and statues. And this one was white on the inside with pretty, brighter colors everywhere. I really liked it.
Then we took the bus back to the city, to find a restaurant there. We decided to go to the nice little one we had been on our second evening, because we really liked that one and wanted to go there for our last dinner. We really enjoyed it. We had a good meal, I had a dessert, and then we played some cards and enjoyed our last evening before going back to our disgusting hotel for one last night.

On Friday we left the hotel in the morning with all our luggage and went on the metro to go back to the airport. Since the metro was crowded we had to meet at the point where the bus would get us to the airport, because the people had split in little groups. But everything worked out. And basically the rest of the day we spend at airports, in planes, at train stations and in trains until we arrived back safely at Hannover’s main train station, where most of us got picked up by there parents to go home and get some rest.

Yes, that was my Rome-adventure. Except for the stupid teachers and all the stupid things they did that turned out very bad for us it was actually a nice trip. Because I got to see a very beautiful and interesting city which I had wanted to see for a pretty long time already.

And on the very next day after coming back my grandma celebrated her birthday. We drove to Hameln, where she lives. And it was actually really nice, because first of all we arrived pretty early, so no one was there except my aunt and uncle and cousins, so we had a nice time together. And then we had a nice dinner with everybody and a lot of fun. And we stayed the night and had a really nice breakfast together the next morning. I also liked the fact that I immediately got the chance to tell everyone about my trip, because they all wanted to know of course.

On our first morning when we went up to the lookout there was this house with a beautful fountain in front of it.

Another fountain on our way up the hill.

On our way through the park we could see the Villa Borghese from far away.

From the lookout, further back you can see Vatican city.

Another view from the lookout.

After we went down the hill this is inside the church we went into.

That was the beautfully painted dome in that church.

And another part of the ceiling.

That's the square we were on after coming down from the lookout. The towers you can see are "twins".

This is the teacher who was with us and in the back you can see the place where the lookout was at.

Just a street with pretty houses.

We were making fun of all those scooters standing there.

On our way to the Spanish steps: A Dolce&Gabbana store.

And here it is: The Piazza di Spagna.

In front of it was a fountain, and this is it with Sophia and Lena in front of it.

That's the overview after we went up the steps.

Fontana di Trevi.

Closer shot at it.

The Pantheon.

The side of it.

A fountain in the middle of the square in front of the pantheon, the place where we had our italian ice cream on our last day there also.

At the Piazza Navona.

Inside one of all the churches we looked at.

Another beautiful dome.

The restaurant we had dinner at on Monday night.

The colosseum.

Another view of it.

View across the street to the Forum Romanum.

Someone dressed as a Roman.

A triumphal arc right by the colosseum.

Inside.

They put up a cross there, I don't remember how though.

View across the inside.

The "basement" where they had dressing rooms and stuff like that. It used to be under the stage, but the stage is gone now, so you can see it.

Another overview of the inside.

View from the inside of the colosseum to the Forum Romanum.

Another view over there.

Me inseide the colosseum.

Overview of the Forum Romanum.

Another overview.

Leftovers of the bases of houses and temples and the leftover of an arcade.

That's from the saga of the beginning of Rome: The wolf who raised Romulus and Remus.

Overview from another location.

View of the colosseum from the Forum Romanum.

Bases of some of the old houses in Ostia Antica.

Mosaic on the floor of one house there.

The amphitheater in Ostia.

The ocean. Not worth paying for the beach, but good to have seen it and take a break there.

In Vatican city.

Overview of the square with the obelisk.

The back of the square.

Saint Peter's Basilica with a fountain.

Beautiful picture of Saint Peter's Basilica wit a really blue sky in the background.

From left to right: Lena, I, Sophia, Stéphanie, Monika and Luisa in front of St. Peter's.

Bad quality because it was so far away, but can see the pope.

That's already in the Vatican Museum.

A really beautiful cealing inside.

A mosaic on the floor.

Another pretty ceiling.

And again: Beautiful ceiling. When you entered a new room you never knew where you should turn your head first, because there were so many beautiful things in one room.

That was glas where the light from outside was shining through and it looked really amazing.

That was outside when Sophia and me met our friend Wiebke.

Inside the Musei Capitolini, the wolf again, which I had a picture of earlier at the outside of the museum.

And St. Peter's again, after we had went back there.

The Swiss guards. The qualitly is really bad because they were so far away and we weren't sure if you are allowed to take pictures of them. But you can still see the funny, colorful clothes they wear.

Inside of St. Peter's Basilica.

Beautiful altar.

A table with all the popes listed.

That was on the floor. It's from the last pope before the recent one.

The dome. Doesn't look so exciting on this picture, because it is so high above. But it was really amazing to see and you understand why it is so famous. It is really beautiful.

Inside the Caracalla Baths.

Leftover of the mosaic floor.

Another view of the inside.

Leftover of some tower that belonged to the baths.

Some parts of the mosaics they had in the baths.

Another church we went by that day.

The latar in the inside.

Another small altar on the side.

The church above the catacombs.

A sidealtar in that church.

The inside of the pantheon.

The last evening in the restaurant that we had dinner in Monday night.

At the table we had outside of the restaurant. From left to right: Lena, Rabea, Susann, Sophia and I.

Our breeakfast... Doesn't it look disgusting?

Lena and Sohia with our breakfast.

Our beds.

Rabea in her single bed.

Our door, our closet, and Sophia also taking pictures. If you see this closet you understand why we almost did not use it except maybe for coats, shoes and games: it is too small for four people.

Our prison-window.

The bathroom.

Sophia running around in our small room.