May 10-11, 2008 When I first moved to Germany I missed my friends, family, and my sorority sisters tremendous amounts. So, I decided that in addition to the friends I was making in the Abrams I wanted to continue my involvement in Alpha Phi. I contacted Alpha Phi Internationals to get a spreadsheet with contact information of all the Alpha Phis living in Europe. With a spreadsheet list of over 200 alumnae Alpha Phi's in Europe I was bound to meet someone who was interested in meeting up and hanging out. I emailed all of the Alpha Phis that had email addresses included on the contact list and began getting responses immediately. Sisters from all sorts of backgrounds. I noticed that there were several sisters living in Germany. One of those sisters, Margaret, responded to the mass email informing us all that she was an Opera singer in Darmstadt, about 4.5 hours away from Garmisch. Tara, another sister, living in Zurich, Switzerland and I began chatting on facebook and thought it would be fun to travel to Darmstadt to meet and watch Margaret perform in her dream role, Guilda in Rigoletto. The weekend of May 10, 2008 Tara took a train to Darmstadt and I drove to Darmstadt to meet and attend the Opera. We had a great time hanging out and getting to know one another. We laughed and shared our college Alpha Phi experiences and almost missed the Opera we were having so much fun. Margaret had given us a private tour of the Opera House earlier in the day and invited us backstage during intermission. After the show we went to dinner with Margaret and her friends and family. (Just so happens Margaret is very close with the manager at the Best Western and managed to get us the employee rate for the weekend -- amazing!!) We had a great time celebrating her wonderful performance over champagne :) The next day Tara and I explored Darmstadt before making our separate journeys home. Tara even gave me her senior Alpha Phi shirt, which I wear all the time :)
Tara, Margaret, and I at intermission
The Darmstadt Opera House - it is shaped like a boat
Odd bench in Darmstadt
The prince's garden
Playing in the park
The Waldspirale -- apartments with NO straight lines
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