Hello everyone,
Tonight is sadly my last night in Germany, and I just wanted to have one final post here. I still have not covered the events of the past 2 weeks, but I believe I will make that my in-flight project. I won't go into a long summation post just yet, but if you've been reading my blog, please stick around for just a few more entries, which I should have finished by the end of this weekend at the latest. I look forward to seeing everyone back at home, it isn't too much longer! I can only hope for smooth travels and that all my baggage gets home with me.
See you soon!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Wir reisen nach München
Guten Tag! As promised, in this entry I will give the full report on our weekend trip to Munich, oder München auf Deutsch.
Instead of the usual four or five of us traveling, this weekend it was more- another group of three students from our class also were traveling to Munich, and they stayed at our same hostel. Joey and Giselle were staying in Mannheim Friday night, and would travel to Munich the next morning, so Friday afternoon Cait, Erica, and Ashely, Richie, and Sam were all at the Hauptbahnhof. We took a three hour Zug and arrived in Mannheim around 4:30. At the exit of the Bahnhof there was an advertisement sign pointing us in the direction of our hostel, the Meininger Hostel, which is a chain of hostels throughout Europe, so we were able to just walk there in about 10 minutes. Munich seemed like a very nice city, but it had a different feel to it than Berlin- less cold and stone, and more inviting and modern, and we were already spotting beer gardens and tons of little restaurants. We all checked into the hostel- Erica, Cait, and I had booked one of the large dorms, so we were a bit anxious to see how it would be. We went up to the room and entered with our key card, and there were two doors. To the left was a large room of about 10 beds, and a bathroom, bunk style, and most of them were already taken, and of course there were people smoking (in a strictly non-smoking hostel) on the balcony (which was for emergency purposes only). Fortunately to the right there was a smaller little room with only four beds and another bathroom, and only one bed was taken, so we swooped in and took those three. We had each been given a little card which fit in a plastic holder next to the bed, claiming it as ours, and the beds and bathroom were also clean and fresh, and we even had lockers in the room to store our stuff. A few minutes later we met the other group downstairs, and we headed off first to the Hauptbahnhof to purchase public transport passes for that day and Saturday (although in Germany it's more like the honor system and passes are hardly ever checked, the only country I've been in like that so far). We had to buy a more expensive pass for Saturday since our plans included going out to Dachau, which was in the outer portions of the Munich transport system. After that, we headed off to find some dinner.
Using information from both Cait's and my travel books, we located one of the most famous beer gardens in all of Munich: Augustiner-Keller, which has been around since the 1800's, and the beer since 1328. There were over 5000 seats, although we still had to look around to find some suitable ones. At first we sat at one of the round tables, but was soon told that it was a reserved Stammtisch- even the names of the regulars had been put around it at each place. But soon enough we found somewhere under the many trees, and we ordered. We all got similar things: Wurst and Kartoffelsalat, or Spätzle, which is a sort of curly egg noodle that is popular here. I also drank beer, which I figured I may as well do since I wouldn't be back in Munich of all places for quite a while- it's still the only time I've drank a full glass of beer in Germany, since it's not really high on my list of favorite tastes. But it was enjoyable enough, especially with our most delicious Wurst and the best Kartoffelsalat I've had in Deutschland. Unfortunately, almost as soon as we finished eating it started to rain, so we high-tailed it inside to finish our drinks. It was a different atmosphere inside: there were huge long wooden tables and benches, and we just sat down where it was empty. It was fun just being with the group, and a couple people ordered dessert as we just waited out the rain. After a while though, we were finished and left the garden. We decided just to do some city exploring, so we went to Marienplatz, one of the biggest public areas, where we saw the famous Glockenspiel (the bells in the church clock tower, where little characters pop out like in a cuckoo clock). We didn't have anything in particular to do, so we just wandered around getting a feel for the city, and then eventually decided to head back. We took an S-Bahn to our hostel, but it had decided to start raining again, so we were quite wet when we got back. We had a good night's sleep, which was valuable since we were getting up early the next day.
In the morning we got up early to get to the Hauptbahnhof by about 7. We ate breakfast there and then boarded a regional train to Dachau, for which we could use our Munich transport tickets. The journey out took about 30 minutes, and then we were in the little town of Dachau, but from there we still had to take a short bus to get to the former concentration camp. It was weird to think about Dachau being an actual town with such a place right inside it, although it's possible that the town has changed greatly in the past 60 years. I will just give a little information about Dachau: it was the first concentration camp opened in Germany, and it was used as a model for ones that followed. Over 200,000 prisoners were housed there and many died, but it was not one of the so-called "death camps." Most of the deaths were due to disease and malnutrition, including a typhus epidemic which we learned about during our visit. We arrived at the camp and we got audio tours which allowed to get detailed information as we went around. It was a very solemn visit, and the first thing that we saw as we walked down the gravel road were the former train tracks that ran by the camp, followed by the recognizable iron gate with the phrase, "ARBEIT MACHT FREI," meaning "Work sets one free." We walked through the gate and then we could see the lay of the land. On the right was the museum, and then on the left behind the large expanse of gravel where roll call had taken place, the camp continued far back. I must note that the original buildings and barracks had all been torn down. There had been two long rows of barracks, but now there are only the two in very front, which are reconstructions. That's where we started, and inside one of those buildings you could see how the quarters had progressed throughout the Holocaust- in the first room the bunks were only double, in the second there were more people squeezed into three levels, and in the third room there were no more individual bunks, but rather one large bunk in two levels. Our audio guides told us that more and more people were put into these rooms as the war went on- often a room designed for 50 would hold 200 people. In the colorless building we also saw the room which housed the toilets as well as one with washing stations. It was all very grim, and with our audio guides we were also able to listen to prisoner testimonies that had been written in the years following the war. After going through that building, we headed down the Camp Road, which was the wide gravel road going down the two rows of barracks toward the back of the camp. In the back several religious memorials had been erected: a Protestant church/memorial, a Catholic memorial, and the Jewish memorial. They had all been built in different ways, but they all symbolized the horror of what had happened, as well as the sentiment that something like that would never happen again. At the back of the camp, we turned left to head into another area. We saw the perimeter ditch and fence, where many had died trying to escape, and then there were two buildings, both of which were crematoriums. Originally there had just been one, but it bleakly had not been sufficient, so another one had to have been built. Inside there were ovens where the dead were cremated, and there was also a sign indicating that prisoners had also been hung from the rafters. We also went into the former gas chamber, which was just a concrete room with false shower-head-looking grates on the ceiling, and which also had grates on the side for inserting gas pellets, and also a way for guards to look inside, however, the chamber was never used at Dachau. Stepping outside there was a monument of "The Unknown Prisoner," as well as many other stones memorializing all who had died. Around a corner into the woods was the "grave of thousands unknown," which lay in front of a now grown-over cement wall which had been used to shoot prisoners against. The gravel path eventually led back around to the entrance of that part of the camp. At that point, we had seen nearly all of the physical parts of the camp, except for another memorial erected in 1997. It was a huge metal sculpture, very jagged and twisted, in which one could make it portions of bodies intertwined with a kind of abstract barbed wire. I believe the design had won in an international contest, and had then been erected. There was also a wall with the message "never again" written in various languages, and another Jewish wall memorial. We went then into the museum, where there was hours' worth of information. We meandered through the displays, reading about the history of the camp, what had happened there, and all sort of other information over the atrocity. We were only able to do half of the museum before a film was starting, so we went to that (it ended up not being much more informative). We went through the other half of the museum, and then it was time to go. The camp had a very different sort of experience: on one hand, it had been an informative look into history, but at the same time it was an emotional story of human atrocity and horror. We left the camp having learned a lot, and we took the same train back to the city center.
After a brief stop at the hostel, we had a quick lunch at a restaurant across the street before we were meeting Joey and Giselle at the Hauptbahnhof. They had also visited Dachau on their own in the morning, although we had not crossed paths there. After some discussion with the rest of the group, we all decided to go to the Deutsches Museum, which according to my travel book is one of the best things to do in Munich. In the vicinity of the museum was some live music and tons of people, for we were there doing the 850th anniversary of Munich festival, so it was cool being there with an event going on. We all entered the museum and wandered at will. The museum was possibly the most confusing museum I've ever been in. There all are sorts of twists, turns, corridors, and very little signage. Nevertheless, I made it a point to find a hall of musical instruments, which was very interesting- there were tons of old pianos and harpsichords, and other related instruments. Also there was the trautonium, an electric instrument used to create the sounds for Hitchcock's The Birds. I also saw a reconstruction of Galileo's workshop, and the famous Enigma machine, used in World War II for encoding messages. The musem was huge, with 6 floors, so there's no way I could possibly have seen everything, but I got a good overview. After the museum, the group split: I went with Richie, Giselle, and Ashley to the BMW Museum, and Erica and Cait tried to go to the Residenz, a palace, which ended up being closed. The BMW Museum had not been mentioned in my travel book, so I didn't know about it, but I'm glad that Richie knew about it, because it was great. We saw pretty much every model of BMW from the beginning of time, and everything was housed in a super sleek modern building. You could also listen to motors as they progressed through time, and there was one particularly interesting exhibit: the model letter/numbers that one sees on the back of cars had been taken off, and they were hanging in a huge sort of mobile. The higher to the ceiling they were (as shown by huge numbered years going down the wall), the newer the model. There were tons of little plaques hanging. We also saw a lot of motorcycles, including the BMW K1200R, which happens to be David's favorite bike of all time. Before we entered the museum there was also an interactive showroom- we could see the new cars, including a new hydrogen-powered one, we could see the pressure exerted on the brakes while driving in a sort of game-looking thing, we could see all the interior and exterior colors ever offered, and all sort of interesting facts. I also got to sit in a brand new convertible (I think it suits me). I really enjoyed the museum, and I'm happy that I was able to see it.
After the museum, we all met up again in the Olympiapark, site of the 1972 Summer Olympics. It was a very interesting park with interesting architure: the buildings are almost tent-looking, very glassy and wavy. There was a huge soccer stadium and lake, and we just hung out there for a while as we waited for the rest of group. Soon we were all reunited, and we were all hungry so we headed to find some dinner. We went to a recommended brewery, although our experience wasn't as good as the previous night's. We didn't get much attention, and we were all squeezed into a tiny table. I ordered a supposedly local fish dish, which didn't turn out anything like I expected, but it was still good, and it was served with an apple-horseradish which turned out to be excellent. One of our friends from the MEMS program, Kristin, had joined us at dinner, since she had just arrived alone in Munich from a trip somewhere else, and after dinner we checked her into her hostel. A small group of us decided to go out once more to check out the festivities going on with the festival, so we headed back out to where we were earlier in the day. There was some kind of a concert and dancing going on, not with a live band but with a DJ, and I must say there was an interesting selection of music. We heard everything from "Hit the Road, Jack," to "I'm Walking on Sunshine" to "We Will Rock You," and a few songs I'm sure could only be from Eurovision. And let me tell you, the Germans loved all these songs, and we were all wondering how they knew them. It was a little bit weird, but very fun. We made our way to the second row, as well, and the crowd was energetic and fun as everyone danced to the 10+ years old music. The DJ stopped playing at 1 am, and that's when we headed back to our hostel to get as much sleep as we could before getting up yet again very early.
We all met downstairs in the hostel at 6:45, checked out, and headed to the Hauptbahnhof. We were able to leave the bulk of our belongings in a locker there, and then we got breakfast and got on a train. Destination: Füssen, about 2 hours away. I slept on the train and was well rested by the time we got there, around 9:30. What is so special about Füssen? It is the small town around Neuschwanstein Castle, otherwise known as the model for Disney's Cinderella Castle and entire Disney logo. From the Bahnhof we took a bus to the base of the mountain, where we collected our pre-reserved tickets for the guided tour of the castle, which is nestled on the side of a mountain. We had three options for going up: we could walk for free, pay for a bus, or pay for a horse-drawn carriage. We decided to walk. Now, supposedly you can get to the top in 40 minutes or 30 at a good pace. We got there in 20 minutes, so I just figure that we are expert walkers. It wasn't a bad walk, but of course it was just a fairly steep incline all the way up. We had an excellent view from the top, but we continued a bit past the castle to get to Mary's Bridge, which spans a waterfall and gives you an excellent view of the castle from behind, and also a great site for pictures. Just our luck that the back of castle was undergoing construction and covered with scaffolding, but we were able to frame our pictures in such a way that it was covered. But the castle and the scenery was just breathtaking, and definitely very Disney-esque. Our tour was scheduled for 11:45, so we headed back down to the castle to wait. The castle had been built over 15 years for a King Ludwig II, but we learned that he only lived there for 100 days before he died in mysterious circumstances. Our tour was very interesting, and the inside of the castle was very different- it was very colorful, and had been built as an homage to the composer Richard Wagner, so inside there were many references to his work. There were also many swans, which was the symbol of the king, and in fact the name Neuschwanstein really means "new swan stone." Interestingly, only certain parts of the castle were ever finished before Ludwig's death, so we skipped entire floors of the castle on the tour. Even the throne had never been installed. In the kings chamber, there were wood carvings that had taken 4 carpenters over a year to do, and there was even a secret door that led to a flushing toilet and running water, which was very rare for the time. Visting the castle was great, and I really learned a lot about it that I had never known. After the tour we hiked back down the mountain, had lunch, and then caught another 2-hour train back to Munich. We still had about an hour to kill before our reserved train back to Mannheim, so we just wandered around for a bit in nearby Marienplatz. We said goodbye to Kristin, who had to stay in Munich by herself for a few more hours, and then finally boarded our train back to Mannheim. In order to have fewer train changes we had booked an IC train, which was still fast but not quite as nice on the inside, but we still had a pleasant journey back home. We arrived back around 8:30, and then went to our dorms to recover from our incredibly busy weekend.
I hope you've enjoyed this book of an entry! I'm still behind, but I know that I will get caught up eventually. I expect in my next entry to cover the events of last week's school week, and then have another for the weekend we just had. I can't believe I'll be home in a few days, the time here has really flown by. I'll write again soon- tomorrow with any luck!
Ich denke, dass mein Deutsch viel besser ist, und ich habe viele neue Wörter gelernt. Ich finde, es ist jetzt für mich leichter, Deutsch zu sprechen und verstehen. Ich habe meine Reisen viel genossen, und ich hoffe, dass ihr mein Blog interessant gefunden habt!
Aufwiederschreiben!
Instead of the usual four or five of us traveling, this weekend it was more- another group of three students from our class also were traveling to Munich, and they stayed at our same hostel. Joey and Giselle were staying in Mannheim Friday night, and would travel to Munich the next morning, so Friday afternoon Cait, Erica, and Ashely, Richie, and Sam were all at the Hauptbahnhof. We took a three hour Zug and arrived in Mannheim around 4:30. At the exit of the Bahnhof there was an advertisement sign pointing us in the direction of our hostel, the Meininger Hostel, which is a chain of hostels throughout Europe, so we were able to just walk there in about 10 minutes. Munich seemed like a very nice city, but it had a different feel to it than Berlin- less cold and stone, and more inviting and modern, and we were already spotting beer gardens and tons of little restaurants. We all checked into the hostel- Erica, Cait, and I had booked one of the large dorms, so we were a bit anxious to see how it would be. We went up to the room and entered with our key card, and there were two doors. To the left was a large room of about 10 beds, and a bathroom, bunk style, and most of them were already taken, and of course there were people smoking (in a strictly non-smoking hostel) on the balcony (which was for emergency purposes only). Fortunately to the right there was a smaller little room with only four beds and another bathroom, and only one bed was taken, so we swooped in and took those three. We had each been given a little card which fit in a plastic holder next to the bed, claiming it as ours, and the beds and bathroom were also clean and fresh, and we even had lockers in the room to store our stuff. A few minutes later we met the other group downstairs, and we headed off first to the Hauptbahnhof to purchase public transport passes for that day and Saturday (although in Germany it's more like the honor system and passes are hardly ever checked, the only country I've been in like that so far). We had to buy a more expensive pass for Saturday since our plans included going out to Dachau, which was in the outer portions of the Munich transport system. After that, we headed off to find some dinner.
Using information from both Cait's and my travel books, we located one of the most famous beer gardens in all of Munich: Augustiner-Keller, which has been around since the 1800's, and the beer since 1328. There were over 5000 seats, although we still had to look around to find some suitable ones. At first we sat at one of the round tables, but was soon told that it was a reserved Stammtisch- even the names of the regulars had been put around it at each place. But soon enough we found somewhere under the many trees, and we ordered. We all got similar things: Wurst and Kartoffelsalat, or Spätzle, which is a sort of curly egg noodle that is popular here. I also drank beer, which I figured I may as well do since I wouldn't be back in Munich of all places for quite a while- it's still the only time I've drank a full glass of beer in Germany, since it's not really high on my list of favorite tastes. But it was enjoyable enough, especially with our most delicious Wurst and the best Kartoffelsalat I've had in Deutschland. Unfortunately, almost as soon as we finished eating it started to rain, so we high-tailed it inside to finish our drinks. It was a different atmosphere inside: there were huge long wooden tables and benches, and we just sat down where it was empty. It was fun just being with the group, and a couple people ordered dessert as we just waited out the rain. After a while though, we were finished and left the garden. We decided just to do some city exploring, so we went to Marienplatz, one of the biggest public areas, where we saw the famous Glockenspiel (the bells in the church clock tower, where little characters pop out like in a cuckoo clock). We didn't have anything in particular to do, so we just wandered around getting a feel for the city, and then eventually decided to head back. We took an S-Bahn to our hostel, but it had decided to start raining again, so we were quite wet when we got back. We had a good night's sleep, which was valuable since we were getting up early the next day.
In the morning we got up early to get to the Hauptbahnhof by about 7. We ate breakfast there and then boarded a regional train to Dachau, for which we could use our Munich transport tickets. The journey out took about 30 minutes, and then we were in the little town of Dachau, but from there we still had to take a short bus to get to the former concentration camp. It was weird to think about Dachau being an actual town with such a place right inside it, although it's possible that the town has changed greatly in the past 60 years. I will just give a little information about Dachau: it was the first concentration camp opened in Germany, and it was used as a model for ones that followed. Over 200,000 prisoners were housed there and many died, but it was not one of the so-called "death camps." Most of the deaths were due to disease and malnutrition, including a typhus epidemic which we learned about during our visit. We arrived at the camp and we got audio tours which allowed to get detailed information as we went around. It was a very solemn visit, and the first thing that we saw as we walked down the gravel road were the former train tracks that ran by the camp, followed by the recognizable iron gate with the phrase, "ARBEIT MACHT FREI," meaning "Work sets one free." We walked through the gate and then we could see the lay of the land. On the right was the museum, and then on the left behind the large expanse of gravel where roll call had taken place, the camp continued far back. I must note that the original buildings and barracks had all been torn down. There had been two long rows of barracks, but now there are only the two in very front, which are reconstructions. That's where we started, and inside one of those buildings you could see how the quarters had progressed throughout the Holocaust- in the first room the bunks were only double, in the second there were more people squeezed into three levels, and in the third room there were no more individual bunks, but rather one large bunk in two levels. Our audio guides told us that more and more people were put into these rooms as the war went on- often a room designed for 50 would hold 200 people. In the colorless building we also saw the room which housed the toilets as well as one with washing stations. It was all very grim, and with our audio guides we were also able to listen to prisoner testimonies that had been written in the years following the war. After going through that building, we headed down the Camp Road, which was the wide gravel road going down the two rows of barracks toward the back of the camp. In the back several religious memorials had been erected: a Protestant church/memorial, a Catholic memorial, and the Jewish memorial. They had all been built in different ways, but they all symbolized the horror of what had happened, as well as the sentiment that something like that would never happen again. At the back of the camp, we turned left to head into another area. We saw the perimeter ditch and fence, where many had died trying to escape, and then there were two buildings, both of which were crematoriums. Originally there had just been one, but it bleakly had not been sufficient, so another one had to have been built. Inside there were ovens where the dead were cremated, and there was also a sign indicating that prisoners had also been hung from the rafters. We also went into the former gas chamber, which was just a concrete room with false shower-head-looking grates on the ceiling, and which also had grates on the side for inserting gas pellets, and also a way for guards to look inside, however, the chamber was never used at Dachau. Stepping outside there was a monument of "The Unknown Prisoner," as well as many other stones memorializing all who had died. Around a corner into the woods was the "grave of thousands unknown," which lay in front of a now grown-over cement wall which had been used to shoot prisoners against. The gravel path eventually led back around to the entrance of that part of the camp. At that point, we had seen nearly all of the physical parts of the camp, except for another memorial erected in 1997. It was a huge metal sculpture, very jagged and twisted, in which one could make it portions of bodies intertwined with a kind of abstract barbed wire. I believe the design had won in an international contest, and had then been erected. There was also a wall with the message "never again" written in various languages, and another Jewish wall memorial. We went then into the museum, where there was hours' worth of information. We meandered through the displays, reading about the history of the camp, what had happened there, and all sort of other information over the atrocity. We were only able to do half of the museum before a film was starting, so we went to that (it ended up not being much more informative). We went through the other half of the museum, and then it was time to go. The camp had a very different sort of experience: on one hand, it had been an informative look into history, but at the same time it was an emotional story of human atrocity and horror. We left the camp having learned a lot, and we took the same train back to the city center.
After a brief stop at the hostel, we had a quick lunch at a restaurant across the street before we were meeting Joey and Giselle at the Hauptbahnhof. They had also visited Dachau on their own in the morning, although we had not crossed paths there. After some discussion with the rest of the group, we all decided to go to the Deutsches Museum, which according to my travel book is one of the best things to do in Munich. In the vicinity of the museum was some live music and tons of people, for we were there doing the 850th anniversary of Munich festival, so it was cool being there with an event going on. We all entered the museum and wandered at will. The museum was possibly the most confusing museum I've ever been in. There all are sorts of twists, turns, corridors, and very little signage. Nevertheless, I made it a point to find a hall of musical instruments, which was very interesting- there were tons of old pianos and harpsichords, and other related instruments. Also there was the trautonium, an electric instrument used to create the sounds for Hitchcock's The Birds. I also saw a reconstruction of Galileo's workshop, and the famous Enigma machine, used in World War II for encoding messages. The musem was huge, with 6 floors, so there's no way I could possibly have seen everything, but I got a good overview. After the museum, the group split: I went with Richie, Giselle, and Ashley to the BMW Museum, and Erica and Cait tried to go to the Residenz, a palace, which ended up being closed. The BMW Museum had not been mentioned in my travel book, so I didn't know about it, but I'm glad that Richie knew about it, because it was great. We saw pretty much every model of BMW from the beginning of time, and everything was housed in a super sleek modern building. You could also listen to motors as they progressed through time, and there was one particularly interesting exhibit: the model letter/numbers that one sees on the back of cars had been taken off, and they were hanging in a huge sort of mobile. The higher to the ceiling they were (as shown by huge numbered years going down the wall), the newer the model. There were tons of little plaques hanging. We also saw a lot of motorcycles, including the BMW K1200R, which happens to be David's favorite bike of all time. Before we entered the museum there was also an interactive showroom- we could see the new cars, including a new hydrogen-powered one, we could see the pressure exerted on the brakes while driving in a sort of game-looking thing, we could see all the interior and exterior colors ever offered, and all sort of interesting facts. I also got to sit in a brand new convertible (I think it suits me). I really enjoyed the museum, and I'm happy that I was able to see it.
After the museum, we all met up again in the Olympiapark, site of the 1972 Summer Olympics. It was a very interesting park with interesting architure: the buildings are almost tent-looking, very glassy and wavy. There was a huge soccer stadium and lake, and we just hung out there for a while as we waited for the rest of group. Soon we were all reunited, and we were all hungry so we headed to find some dinner. We went to a recommended brewery, although our experience wasn't as good as the previous night's. We didn't get much attention, and we were all squeezed into a tiny table. I ordered a supposedly local fish dish, which didn't turn out anything like I expected, but it was still good, and it was served with an apple-horseradish which turned out to be excellent. One of our friends from the MEMS program, Kristin, had joined us at dinner, since she had just arrived alone in Munich from a trip somewhere else, and after dinner we checked her into her hostel. A small group of us decided to go out once more to check out the festivities going on with the festival, so we headed back out to where we were earlier in the day. There was some kind of a concert and dancing going on, not with a live band but with a DJ, and I must say there was an interesting selection of music. We heard everything from "Hit the Road, Jack," to "I'm Walking on Sunshine" to "We Will Rock You," and a few songs I'm sure could only be from Eurovision. And let me tell you, the Germans loved all these songs, and we were all wondering how they knew them. It was a little bit weird, but very fun. We made our way to the second row, as well, and the crowd was energetic and fun as everyone danced to the 10+ years old music. The DJ stopped playing at 1 am, and that's when we headed back to our hostel to get as much sleep as we could before getting up yet again very early.
We all met downstairs in the hostel at 6:45, checked out, and headed to the Hauptbahnhof. We were able to leave the bulk of our belongings in a locker there, and then we got breakfast and got on a train. Destination: Füssen, about 2 hours away. I slept on the train and was well rested by the time we got there, around 9:30. What is so special about Füssen? It is the small town around Neuschwanstein Castle, otherwise known as the model for Disney's Cinderella Castle and entire Disney logo. From the Bahnhof we took a bus to the base of the mountain, where we collected our pre-reserved tickets for the guided tour of the castle, which is nestled on the side of a mountain. We had three options for going up: we could walk for free, pay for a bus, or pay for a horse-drawn carriage. We decided to walk. Now, supposedly you can get to the top in 40 minutes or 30 at a good pace. We got there in 20 minutes, so I just figure that we are expert walkers. It wasn't a bad walk, but of course it was just a fairly steep incline all the way up. We had an excellent view from the top, but we continued a bit past the castle to get to Mary's Bridge, which spans a waterfall and gives you an excellent view of the castle from behind, and also a great site for pictures. Just our luck that the back of castle was undergoing construction and covered with scaffolding, but we were able to frame our pictures in such a way that it was covered. But the castle and the scenery was just breathtaking, and definitely very Disney-esque. Our tour was scheduled for 11:45, so we headed back down to the castle to wait. The castle had been built over 15 years for a King Ludwig II, but we learned that he only lived there for 100 days before he died in mysterious circumstances. Our tour was very interesting, and the inside of the castle was very different- it was very colorful, and had been built as an homage to the composer Richard Wagner, so inside there were many references to his work. There were also many swans, which was the symbol of the king, and in fact the name Neuschwanstein really means "new swan stone." Interestingly, only certain parts of the castle were ever finished before Ludwig's death, so we skipped entire floors of the castle on the tour. Even the throne had never been installed. In the kings chamber, there were wood carvings that had taken 4 carpenters over a year to do, and there was even a secret door that led to a flushing toilet and running water, which was very rare for the time. Visting the castle was great, and I really learned a lot about it that I had never known. After the tour we hiked back down the mountain, had lunch, and then caught another 2-hour train back to Munich. We still had about an hour to kill before our reserved train back to Mannheim, so we just wandered around for a bit in nearby Marienplatz. We said goodbye to Kristin, who had to stay in Munich by herself for a few more hours, and then finally boarded our train back to Mannheim. In order to have fewer train changes we had booked an IC train, which was still fast but not quite as nice on the inside, but we still had a pleasant journey back home. We arrived back around 8:30, and then went to our dorms to recover from our incredibly busy weekend.
I hope you've enjoyed this book of an entry! I'm still behind, but I know that I will get caught up eventually. I expect in my next entry to cover the events of last week's school week, and then have another for the weekend we just had. I can't believe I'll be home in a few days, the time here has really flown by. I'll write again soon- tomorrow with any luck!
Ich denke, dass mein Deutsch viel besser ist, und ich habe viele neue Wörter gelernt. Ich finde, es ist jetzt für mich leichter, Deutsch zu sprechen und verstehen. Ich habe meine Reisen viel genossen, und ich hoffe, dass ihr mein Blog interessant gefunden habt!
Aufwiederschreiben!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
The Previous School Week
Hallo! In this entry I will update you on everything that happened last school week, which as usual was plenty.
On Monday, we had class at 9 as usual, so there's not much to report. During the break between class and Interaktive Praxis, we went to the campus shop in the Schloss for some Uni Mannheim merchandise. They had plenty to choose from, and I bought a navy-blue university shirt. Almost everyone from my class will have one by the end of the trip, and since most of us will be in Advanced German next semester, I believe we're planning on all wearing them on one day in the fall.
During Interaktive Praxis, we did more preparation for the film party the next day, and Frau Hamann also returned our tests from Thursday. I got an A, but she said she was generous with her grading. I did well on all the grammar and reading comprehension, and even the listening comprehension. My weakest area was the written section, because even during the test I wasn't quite sure of what we were supposed to do. I did manage a 10/10 on the speaking part, which I was especially please with. Overall, I was content with my performance and I could be more certain of what to expect on the next test. After class my friends and I went out to Kaufland for groceries, including supplies for the party, which everyone had contributed a couple euros for. The hardest part was lugging everything back on the Strassenbahn, but we made it somehow.
For Tuesday's Interaktive Praxis, we had our much-anticipated (not) film party. No one not from our class whom we invited came besides Dr. Futterknecht, so it was kind of a lost cause. I did a brief film introduction- the film was supposedly a story made for Mannheim's 400th birthday, which was in 2007. Here was my introduction:
Meine Damen und Herren,
Wilkommen zu unserer Filmvorstellung! Es freut mich sehr, einen passenden Film vorzustellen. Der Film heißt Traumhafte Zeiten- Erzählung einer Stadt. Der Film feiert Mannheims 400. Geburtstag, der 2007 war. Traumhafte Zeiten ist von Michael Kötz, Direktor des Internationalen Filmfestivals Mannheim-Heidelberg und des Festival des deutschen Films. Nach dem Film können wir essen, trinken, und Pantomime spielen. Vielen dank, dass Sie heute gekommen sind, und genießen Sie den Film!
Unfortunately, no one could understand the film and it was not very exciting or well-made. The more enjoyable part of the afternoon was playing charades auf Deutsch. It was quite funny, and some of the words were pretty difficult to act out, for example, "Das Klima," which means climate. "Das Wetter! Die Temperatur! Die Sonne! Der Regen!" were all guesses before someone finally got it right.
On Wednesday was our final organized group trip to Strasbourg. It was originally supposed to be to Strasbourg and Colmar, but a girl from MEMS ended up collapsing in Strasbourg and had to go to the hospital, so Colmar was taken out of the agenda. We arrived in Strasbourg after about 2 hours on the bus, and it was a very beautiful city, I would like to go back! First we went with Dr. Futterknecht to the famous cathedral there, where there is also an astronomical clock. We happened to get there during the lunch hour when the inside was closed, so he allowed us to disperse, to meet back up in a couple hours. Our group decided to find somewhere to eat, and we found a cute crêperie nearby. We ate down in a cellar/basement type area, where curiously the music consisted solely of Barry White, to such a high volume that I had to request for the group that it be turned down. I ate a Galette Niçoise- a galette is similar to a crêpe, but it is thicker and with buckwheat. On the inside there was a kind of cheese, tomato, anchovies, and tuna. It was delicious, as anyone who likes anchovies would have agreed. After the restaurant we had to meet back up with the group, and we went inside the church. One of the interesting things was that all the signs inside were in English, French, and German. It had all the usual church stuff- stained glass, beautiful wood, high ceilings, but the most interesting part was the astronomical clock. It had many dials and decorations that indicated astronomical and calendrical functions, including what is thought to the be the first mechanization of the computation of Easter. Since we were no longer going to Colmar, we had a few hours to kill before we headed back. Our group, having bought pastries from a bakery, ended up just walking around the city and sitting comfortably by the river. We also went to a historic wine cellar in the basement of the Strasbourg hospital, which was quite cool, and the men working there helped us pick out an inexpensive white wine from the region. That was our last event of the day before heading back to the bus for our trip back to Mannheim. I really enjoyed it, and it seemed like a very genuinely French town, even more so than Paris. Paris was so international and touristy that we heard English all the time, but Strasbourg was much more homey. I would almost say that it's like a Mannheim of France, except for being more like Heidelberg in terms of beauty. That night in Mannheim the four of us drank the wine that we had bought, while watching the storm of the century happen outside our windows. It was the hardest rain we had ever seen in Mannheim, and our Studentenwohnheim is such that we hear extremely loud wind gusts and whistling. Our windows were literally opening themselves, and when we got up the next morning there were rain drops everywhere.
Thursday's Interaktive Praxis was held during our Mittagessen, at one of the oldest restaurants in Mannheim. I have unfortunately forgotten the name, but it was a good experience. We all got soup, salad, and fries with our meals- mine was an onion schnitzel dish, which I didn't finish, but was able to take home. Thursday night our group watched a movie online. For some reason we had been talking about The Others, the scary movie with Nicole Kidman, and so after our homework we sat down around the computer and watched. Otherwise, Thursday was not a very busy day, although we had to study for another test on Friday.
So, on Friday was a second chapter test. This one at least in my mind went smoother than the first. All the sections were relatively easy, and it was similar to before- there was listening comprehension, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and a speaking section. Cait and I are almost always partners, and we have been so ever since German I, so we have grown quite accustomed to speaking which each other, which is good. For the Zertifikat Deutsch it is possible also that we will get to choose our speaking partners, and if so we will also be able to be together, which will make that part a little less unpredictable. Otherwise, class that day was uneventful, and in the afternoon we headed off to Munich, but I will save that adventure for my next entry. However, there are a few more miscellaneous things I will mention:
1. Google Analytics- I have installed Google Analytics on my blog, which is a javascript program that allows me to see tons of stuff about who's visiting my blog. I can see how many hits I get on a certain day, how many unique visitors I've had, how long they stayed, where my visitors are from, down to the city (Canada! Sweden! Hong Kong!), and all kinds of interesting stats. My maximum views on a single day was 12, and I've had 135 visits from 26 different visitors, although I only have data from July 14th on. So, if you visit my blog, I'll know!
2. The heat. It has been deathly hot here! It can get quite disgusting, and there is no air conditioning anywhere, including our dorms and classroom, which of course makes it hard to concentrate. Fortunately Cait's and my room was blessed with a fan from the getgo, so we've been using that to the greatest extent possible.
3. My knee- sometime in Paris, I think, I twisted it or something, because once I hit Versailles I had some sharp pains going down stairs- it's in my right leg, sort of the right of my knee and behind. Sometimes it gets stiff and hurts to walk for a few minutes, but I have noticed it especially going down large numbers of stairs. I'm hoping that it will just get better with time, and I already think it's improved since Paris.
4. A victorious Deutsch moment- we were at the Hauptbahnhof, standing by the map of Mannheim, and a couple Germans came by who had just gotten into town, and asked where to find the Jugendherberge. Unfortunately I didn't know, but we were able to carry on a quick conversation about it. They went of the ReiseZentrum to get some information, but meanwhile I found it on the map. They came back, and this time we were able to direct them, even giving them all the Strassenbahn information auf Deutsch. We were quite proud not only to be able to navigate the conversation, but also to give them information about the city we've lived in for this month.
5. The bear- sometime last week a mysterious small yellow-brown stuffed bear appeared on our bathroom shelf. It was quite the source of wonder- whose bear was it? Why was it creepily perched in the bathroom? Had some stranger lost it there? Mel and Yen? No one knew. The eventual conclusion was that the maid had left it in there as some sort of gift, because some MEMS kids had gotten one as well. Still, the bear continues to be a source of horror and humour, as people put it in unexpected places- notably when the boys left it in our bathroom with a huge knife in its hands. It also seems to change location on its own. It is as of now unnamed.
6. The buses. The bus system here has been very nice and predictable, except for only a couple instances of the bus coming early or late. There are various buses that come on our route on a regular basis. Each bus has a particular character and voice giving the stops, and we have given them their proper names:
Little and Big IKEA- These are the yellow and blue buses. They are the newest of all, with nice air conditioning and TV screens illuminating the next few stops (and interestingly, we have learned that Teufelsbrücke, the stop before ours, means of course, Devil's Bridge). Little IKEA is the bus with only one section, and Big IKEA has another half that is attached with an accordion-like bridge.
Red Danger- this bus is one of the oldest and grossest ones, with dark red seats. They're also known to go around the corners most violently, and it's extremely hot and stuffy on the inside. The display indicating the stops is almost always out of order.
Wonder Years- this is also an old bus, but the seats are a golden brown plaid pattern, reminiscent of the 70's. We've gotten this bus many times, especially in the morning on the way to school. No air conditioning, but not as hot as Red Danger.
The Rainbow Connection- we haven't seen this bus in a while, but we're sure it still exists. A middle-aged bus, this one has charter-bus-like seats, which are grey with a sort of rainbow pattern. We generally don't mind riding this bus.
That's about all I can report on for now- look forward to my next entry, in which I will detail our trip to Munich. Tschüss!
On Monday, we had class at 9 as usual, so there's not much to report. During the break between class and Interaktive Praxis, we went to the campus shop in the Schloss for some Uni Mannheim merchandise. They had plenty to choose from, and I bought a navy-blue university shirt. Almost everyone from my class will have one by the end of the trip, and since most of us will be in Advanced German next semester, I believe we're planning on all wearing them on one day in the fall.
During Interaktive Praxis, we did more preparation for the film party the next day, and Frau Hamann also returned our tests from Thursday. I got an A, but she said she was generous with her grading. I did well on all the grammar and reading comprehension, and even the listening comprehension. My weakest area was the written section, because even during the test I wasn't quite sure of what we were supposed to do. I did manage a 10/10 on the speaking part, which I was especially please with. Overall, I was content with my performance and I could be more certain of what to expect on the next test. After class my friends and I went out to Kaufland for groceries, including supplies for the party, which everyone had contributed a couple euros for. The hardest part was lugging everything back on the Strassenbahn, but we made it somehow.
For Tuesday's Interaktive Praxis, we had our much-anticipated (not) film party. No one not from our class whom we invited came besides Dr. Futterknecht, so it was kind of a lost cause. I did a brief film introduction- the film was supposedly a story made for Mannheim's 400th birthday, which was in 2007. Here was my introduction:
Meine Damen und Herren,
Wilkommen zu unserer Filmvorstellung! Es freut mich sehr, einen passenden Film vorzustellen. Der Film heißt Traumhafte Zeiten- Erzählung einer Stadt. Der Film feiert Mannheims 400. Geburtstag, der 2007 war. Traumhafte Zeiten ist von Michael Kötz, Direktor des Internationalen Filmfestivals Mannheim-Heidelberg und des Festival des deutschen Films. Nach dem Film können wir essen, trinken, und Pantomime spielen. Vielen dank, dass Sie heute gekommen sind, und genießen Sie den Film!
Unfortunately, no one could understand the film and it was not very exciting or well-made. The more enjoyable part of the afternoon was playing charades auf Deutsch. It was quite funny, and some of the words were pretty difficult to act out, for example, "Das Klima," which means climate. "Das Wetter! Die Temperatur! Die Sonne! Der Regen!" were all guesses before someone finally got it right.
On Wednesday was our final organized group trip to Strasbourg. It was originally supposed to be to Strasbourg and Colmar, but a girl from MEMS ended up collapsing in Strasbourg and had to go to the hospital, so Colmar was taken out of the agenda. We arrived in Strasbourg after about 2 hours on the bus, and it was a very beautiful city, I would like to go back! First we went with Dr. Futterknecht to the famous cathedral there, where there is also an astronomical clock. We happened to get there during the lunch hour when the inside was closed, so he allowed us to disperse, to meet back up in a couple hours. Our group decided to find somewhere to eat, and we found a cute crêperie nearby. We ate down in a cellar/basement type area, where curiously the music consisted solely of Barry White, to such a high volume that I had to request for the group that it be turned down. I ate a Galette Niçoise- a galette is similar to a crêpe, but it is thicker and with buckwheat. On the inside there was a kind of cheese, tomato, anchovies, and tuna. It was delicious, as anyone who likes anchovies would have agreed. After the restaurant we had to meet back up with the group, and we went inside the church. One of the interesting things was that all the signs inside were in English, French, and German. It had all the usual church stuff- stained glass, beautiful wood, high ceilings, but the most interesting part was the astronomical clock. It had many dials and decorations that indicated astronomical and calendrical functions, including what is thought to the be the first mechanization of the computation of Easter. Since we were no longer going to Colmar, we had a few hours to kill before we headed back. Our group, having bought pastries from a bakery, ended up just walking around the city and sitting comfortably by the river. We also went to a historic wine cellar in the basement of the Strasbourg hospital, which was quite cool, and the men working there helped us pick out an inexpensive white wine from the region. That was our last event of the day before heading back to the bus for our trip back to Mannheim. I really enjoyed it, and it seemed like a very genuinely French town, even more so than Paris. Paris was so international and touristy that we heard English all the time, but Strasbourg was much more homey. I would almost say that it's like a Mannheim of France, except for being more like Heidelberg in terms of beauty. That night in Mannheim the four of us drank the wine that we had bought, while watching the storm of the century happen outside our windows. It was the hardest rain we had ever seen in Mannheim, and our Studentenwohnheim is such that we hear extremely loud wind gusts and whistling. Our windows were literally opening themselves, and when we got up the next morning there were rain drops everywhere.
Thursday's Interaktive Praxis was held during our Mittagessen, at one of the oldest restaurants in Mannheim. I have unfortunately forgotten the name, but it was a good experience. We all got soup, salad, and fries with our meals- mine was an onion schnitzel dish, which I didn't finish, but was able to take home. Thursday night our group watched a movie online. For some reason we had been talking about The Others, the scary movie with Nicole Kidman, and so after our homework we sat down around the computer and watched. Otherwise, Thursday was not a very busy day, although we had to study for another test on Friday.
So, on Friday was a second chapter test. This one at least in my mind went smoother than the first. All the sections were relatively easy, and it was similar to before- there was listening comprehension, reading, writing, vocabulary, grammar, and a speaking section. Cait and I are almost always partners, and we have been so ever since German I, so we have grown quite accustomed to speaking which each other, which is good. For the Zertifikat Deutsch it is possible also that we will get to choose our speaking partners, and if so we will also be able to be together, which will make that part a little less unpredictable. Otherwise, class that day was uneventful, and in the afternoon we headed off to Munich, but I will save that adventure for my next entry. However, there are a few more miscellaneous things I will mention:
1. Google Analytics- I have installed Google Analytics on my blog, which is a javascript program that allows me to see tons of stuff about who's visiting my blog. I can see how many hits I get on a certain day, how many unique visitors I've had, how long they stayed, where my visitors are from, down to the city (Canada! Sweden! Hong Kong!), and all kinds of interesting stats. My maximum views on a single day was 12, and I've had 135 visits from 26 different visitors, although I only have data from July 14th on. So, if you visit my blog, I'll know!
2. The heat. It has been deathly hot here! It can get quite disgusting, and there is no air conditioning anywhere, including our dorms and classroom, which of course makes it hard to concentrate. Fortunately Cait's and my room was blessed with a fan from the getgo, so we've been using that to the greatest extent possible.
3. My knee- sometime in Paris, I think, I twisted it or something, because once I hit Versailles I had some sharp pains going down stairs- it's in my right leg, sort of the right of my knee and behind. Sometimes it gets stiff and hurts to walk for a few minutes, but I have noticed it especially going down large numbers of stairs. I'm hoping that it will just get better with time, and I already think it's improved since Paris.
4. A victorious Deutsch moment- we were at the Hauptbahnhof, standing by the map of Mannheim, and a couple Germans came by who had just gotten into town, and asked where to find the Jugendherberge. Unfortunately I didn't know, but we were able to carry on a quick conversation about it. They went of the ReiseZentrum to get some information, but meanwhile I found it on the map. They came back, and this time we were able to direct them, even giving them all the Strassenbahn information auf Deutsch. We were quite proud not only to be able to navigate the conversation, but also to give them information about the city we've lived in for this month.
5. The bear- sometime last week a mysterious small yellow-brown stuffed bear appeared on our bathroom shelf. It was quite the source of wonder- whose bear was it? Why was it creepily perched in the bathroom? Had some stranger lost it there? Mel and Yen? No one knew. The eventual conclusion was that the maid had left it in there as some sort of gift, because some MEMS kids had gotten one as well. Still, the bear continues to be a source of horror and humour, as people put it in unexpected places- notably when the boys left it in our bathroom with a huge knife in its hands. It also seems to change location on its own. It is as of now unnamed.
6. The buses. The bus system here has been very nice and predictable, except for only a couple instances of the bus coming early or late. There are various buses that come on our route on a regular basis. Each bus has a particular character and voice giving the stops, and we have given them their proper names:
Little and Big IKEA- These are the yellow and blue buses. They are the newest of all, with nice air conditioning and TV screens illuminating the next few stops (and interestingly, we have learned that Teufelsbrücke, the stop before ours, means of course, Devil's Bridge). Little IKEA is the bus with only one section, and Big IKEA has another half that is attached with an accordion-like bridge.
Red Danger- this bus is one of the oldest and grossest ones, with dark red seats. They're also known to go around the corners most violently, and it's extremely hot and stuffy on the inside. The display indicating the stops is almost always out of order.
Wonder Years- this is also an old bus, but the seats are a golden brown plaid pattern, reminiscent of the 70's. We've gotten this bus many times, especially in the morning on the way to school. No air conditioning, but not as hot as Red Danger.
The Rainbow Connection- we haven't seen this bus in a while, but we're sure it still exists. A middle-aged bus, this one has charter-bus-like seats, which are grey with a sort of rainbow pattern. We generally don't mind riding this bus.
That's about all I can report on for now- look forward to my next entry, in which I will detail our trip to Munich. Tschüss!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Le reste de Paris!
I just got back from an exciting weekend in Munich, and I know I have fallen far behind on my blog. In this entry, I will finish up the story of last weekend, our trip to Paris.
We woke up early Saturday morning to go to the Louvre. After some confusion over the breakfast in the hostel (Cait went down to check it out, but no one understood that she just wanted to look and not eat), we decided to just head out and get breakfast on the way. We got some croissants at one of the metro stops, and then we were at the museum. In the big lobby we saw the point where the two pyramids (one inverted) come together at a point (if you've seen the Da Vinci Code you know what I mean), along with many many tourists. Fortunately with our Museum Pass we got inside quickly.
We spent about an hour and half looking at the collections, seeing Italian and French paintings, notably "Liberty Leading the People" and of course the Mona Lisa (although with the swarms of people around I couldn't get a great look); Roman and Greek sculptures, including the Venus de Milo, and many other pieces, many of which were familiar. The museum itself was also beautiful, and there were so many items inside, it would take a month to see everything. It wasn't like most art museums, where the art is spaced out leisurely- here there was so much stuff, everything was very close together. I really enjoyed it, especially seeing all the art I had previously seen only in replication.
After the Louvre, we walked back over to Notre Dame, and this time we were able to go inside. It was really beautiful, although I must say with all the churches I have seen on this trip, they are getting harder and harder to distinguish, especially on the inside. They all have incredible stained glass, wooden ornaments, and similar architecture, but I suppose that is to be expected when so many were erected in the Gothic style. In any case, it was worth a visit, although unfortunately I didn't run into Quasimodo.
From there, we meandered down toward the Champs-Elysées. One of the girls in our program had bought a bag in Paris a couple weekends before, but apparently they had given her the wrong one, so she asked us to exchange it if we could. We went into the store, which was on a road not far from there, and I was able to navigate the exchange without too much difficulty. It was a designer store (Longchamp, which I had never heard of before the trip, but apparently it's the thing nowadays), and of course I fell in love with one of the bags, which was a different style than the one everyone is (apparently) carrying, but sadly it was 180 Euros, so I had to say goodbye. But of course, now I see Longchamp bags everywhere, but except for the one I really liked (purple!) I don't really see them as that interesting. From there we got some lunch at a stand on the Champs-Elysées and headed to the Arc de Triomphe, which lies at the end, in the middle of a huge roundabout. We actually took the metro since it was quite a distance away, and then we had to walk underground to reach the middle of the circle. Our Museum Pass covered a trip up the 200-some stairs to the top, so I convinced Cait to go along with me, and we got a great view of the whole city. It ended up being my only trip to the top of something in Paris, so it was definitely worth it. We made our way back down, and from there the group went to our next stop: the Musée d'Orsay.
The Musée d'Orsay ended up being my favorite museum in Paris. It mostly contains impressionist works, so we saw tons of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Cézanne. I really loved it, and I especially liked looking at the paintings up close, and then moving farther backward to see the subject emerge. A couple of the notable paintings were Whistler's Mother and "Jeunes filles au piano," a painting by Renoir. You might not have seen it, but interestingly, for a French grammar assignment two semesters ago, I had to pick a painting and describe it- and I picked that one after finding it online. Imagine my surprise to suddenly happen upon it at the museum! That was really something, and I must say that I can still stand by my description. I enjoyed this museum much more than the Louvre- I think overall the paintings were just more relevant. Instead of seeing two Roman men in battle, I could see a French woman dressed for the opera.
After that museum, we headed to another- the Rodin Museum. That was also very interesting. We could see many of Rodin's sculptures, which for the most part were humans in varying emotions and positions. Of course we saw "Le Penseur," the incredibly famous statue of a sitting man, resting his head on his hand, simply thinking. The museum was inside and out, at a former hotel that was also Rodin's residence, and there were also quite a bit of gardens to see. The museum was lovely, but we didn't spend too much time there. Next, we took a quick stop at the grand Hôtel des Invalides, which was right next door. We didn't go inside, where notably Napoleon's tomb is, but we took pictures from the front.
After that, we were all tired and hungry, so we decided a stop for dinner was for the best. We had traveled close to the Eiffel Tower, so we were in an expensive area, but even so we found a little restaurant with a special. To this day I still say the menu was confusing. The menu read, on one line, "Lasagne salade verte," which means "lasagne green salad." We all wondered, what is that? Some kind of weird lasagne salad? No one knew. We all felt foolish when I asked what it was and our waiter started describing a normal lasagne, with a salad on the side. We all ended up getting it, since it was the least expensive item, along with a carafe d'eau, and so now I can say that of the 3 dinners I've ever eaten in Paris, they all happened to be lasagne.
Our final attraction of the day was at the Eiffel Tower. We metroed over to the Champ de Mars, the expansive green space behind the tower, where there were many people just hanging out and taking pictures. We did also, and although the sun was in an awkward place, by using beach mode with flash on my camera our pictures weren't too dark or too bright. And the tower itself was really a sight- it was my first up close look at it. I didn't really realize the size of it until I was standing right there, and I could watch the elevators going up the legs, and then up the middle to the top. We decided not to go up, for the line would be close to 2 hours long, and it's pretty pricey- and it's even more money the higher up you go. We had a good time just hanging out on the grass for a while. Suddenly, Giselle had an idea. We had been scoping out other people also sitting around, and someone had pointed out a cute guy sitting alone, with no one in his vicinity. "Cait," she said, "I will give you 5 Euros to go sit within a foot of that guy for 5 minutes." Unexpectedly, Cait just replied, "Sure," and starting walking over, much to our amusement. She plopped right down, and began a conversation. We of course were already dying laughing, especially when we saw her point over to us to have him look. We couldn't hear them, but they seemed to be carrying on a conversation. I wondered aloud whether we should wave Cait over when the 5 minutes were up, but the immediate consensus was no, she can figure it out. As a result, the conversation went on for a full 12 minutes before we saw Cait get up and head back over. Apparently they had carried on a nice conversation, although she never found out his name. That was certainly a funny highlight of the trip.
At that point, we were all tired, so we decided to call it a day and head back to the hostel, where we went to sleep pretty much immediately. We woke up early the next morning, and this time ate breakfast in the hostel- we had hot chocolate and orange juice, some bread, and a croissant. The paying for the breakfast was a little confusing- the previous night I had inquired to its cost, and only after asking me which room I was in and how much we had paid for it did the man behind the desk tell me that it was 2 Euros. The previous morning the nice hotel owner had seemed surprised that we hadn't ate there, saying that it was up to us, but he just wanted to invite us to have breakfast at the hostel. In the end, we checked out of the room, and to a 3rd person I mentioned that we had eaten breakfast- he simply replied "c'est bon" and let us go. I'm not quite sure what the real deal was, but in any case we got a nice free breakfast Sunday morning.
The previous day we had purchased an extension to our metro pass to be able to take the Regional Express train, not covered by the Eurail. After some trouble with our needed metro line being down, we finally made it to the RER station and took a half-hour train out to Versailles. We walked a short way from the train station, and there was the palace, and it was quite the sight. It was of course enormous, and incredibly ornate. After waiting in line to get inside, we bought an audio tour and started along the path. The theme to every surface seemed to be an attempt to cram in as much ornament and intricate pomp as possible. It was visually stunning, with much gold and marble, and little details in every corner. The audio tour gave a lot of information about the history of the rooms and what they were used for- I got it en français, and I learned a lot about the décor and the paintings in each room. We saw a lot of notable rooms, including the king and queen's chambers, the famous Hall of Mirrors, and a hall full of busts and sculptures of famous French authors, kings, and other important people, including Descartes.
After walking through the castle, we went out back to the gardens, which were simply amazing. You looked out over huge fountains, tons of flowers, and further back there was a huge green rectangle lawn, and behind that a similarly shaped reflection pool. To either side there were very tall hedges in a kind of maze, and within those there were occasionally sculptures and other things to see. All the time there was classical music playing, as there was some kind of "Music from the Fountains" event going on, so it just added to the royal ambiance. We strolled along the gardens for quite a while until eventually deciding to head back. We got some lunch and headed back to the train, and made it back to Paris. We had still a couple hours before our train home, so we went to the Sacré-Coeur, one of the most famous churches in Paris. It sits at the top of Montmartre, the highest hill in the city, so you can really see out everywhere. We took many stairs to the top of the hill and went inside the church, which of course was beautiful. Cait and Erica also went to the top of the dome of the church (for a fee), but Joey, Giselle, and I stayed behind by the church. It was a good culminating event, since we could see so much and really remember all that we had done. But sadly, soon it was time to go, and we took a final metro back to the main train station, and had an easy and uneventful ride back to Mannheim.
I had such a good time in Paris, and we accomplished so much, but there's still so much more that we didn't get to do. I know that I'll return in the future, hopefully for a longer period of time, and I'll really get to use my French and see more of the city. I must say my friends were glad to have me along to translate, and I was glad to practice- I do know more words than I thought I did, and I could understand whatever people said to me. If only that were the case in German! But already I know I'm so much better than when I began.
I still have much catch-up blogging to do! I plan on doing another entry for last schoolweek, followed by an epic Munich post for our visit last weekend. I'll write it as soon as I can, and I really appreciate everyone who's been reading.
Herzliche Grüße!
Bisous!
We woke up early Saturday morning to go to the Louvre. After some confusion over the breakfast in the hostel (Cait went down to check it out, but no one understood that she just wanted to look and not eat), we decided to just head out and get breakfast on the way. We got some croissants at one of the metro stops, and then we were at the museum. In the big lobby we saw the point where the two pyramids (one inverted) come together at a point (if you've seen the Da Vinci Code you know what I mean), along with many many tourists. Fortunately with our Museum Pass we got inside quickly.
We spent about an hour and half looking at the collections, seeing Italian and French paintings, notably "Liberty Leading the People" and of course the Mona Lisa (although with the swarms of people around I couldn't get a great look); Roman and Greek sculptures, including the Venus de Milo, and many other pieces, many of which were familiar. The museum itself was also beautiful, and there were so many items inside, it would take a month to see everything. It wasn't like most art museums, where the art is spaced out leisurely- here there was so much stuff, everything was very close together. I really enjoyed it, especially seeing all the art I had previously seen only in replication.
After the Louvre, we walked back over to Notre Dame, and this time we were able to go inside. It was really beautiful, although I must say with all the churches I have seen on this trip, they are getting harder and harder to distinguish, especially on the inside. They all have incredible stained glass, wooden ornaments, and similar architecture, but I suppose that is to be expected when so many were erected in the Gothic style. In any case, it was worth a visit, although unfortunately I didn't run into Quasimodo.
From there, we meandered down toward the Champs-Elysées. One of the girls in our program had bought a bag in Paris a couple weekends before, but apparently they had given her the wrong one, so she asked us to exchange it if we could. We went into the store, which was on a road not far from there, and I was able to navigate the exchange without too much difficulty. It was a designer store (Longchamp, which I had never heard of before the trip, but apparently it's the thing nowadays), and of course I fell in love with one of the bags, which was a different style than the one everyone is (apparently) carrying, but sadly it was 180 Euros, so I had to say goodbye. But of course, now I see Longchamp bags everywhere, but except for the one I really liked (purple!) I don't really see them as that interesting. From there we got some lunch at a stand on the Champs-Elysées and headed to the Arc de Triomphe, which lies at the end, in the middle of a huge roundabout. We actually took the metro since it was quite a distance away, and then we had to walk underground to reach the middle of the circle. Our Museum Pass covered a trip up the 200-some stairs to the top, so I convinced Cait to go along with me, and we got a great view of the whole city. It ended up being my only trip to the top of something in Paris, so it was definitely worth it. We made our way back down, and from there the group went to our next stop: the Musée d'Orsay.
The Musée d'Orsay ended up being my favorite museum in Paris. It mostly contains impressionist works, so we saw tons of Monet, Degas, Renoir, Van Gogh, and Cézanne. I really loved it, and I especially liked looking at the paintings up close, and then moving farther backward to see the subject emerge. A couple of the notable paintings were Whistler's Mother and "Jeunes filles au piano," a painting by Renoir. You might not have seen it, but interestingly, for a French grammar assignment two semesters ago, I had to pick a painting and describe it- and I picked that one after finding it online. Imagine my surprise to suddenly happen upon it at the museum! That was really something, and I must say that I can still stand by my description. I enjoyed this museum much more than the Louvre- I think overall the paintings were just more relevant. Instead of seeing two Roman men in battle, I could see a French woman dressed for the opera.
After that museum, we headed to another- the Rodin Museum. That was also very interesting. We could see many of Rodin's sculptures, which for the most part were humans in varying emotions and positions. Of course we saw "Le Penseur," the incredibly famous statue of a sitting man, resting his head on his hand, simply thinking. The museum was inside and out, at a former hotel that was also Rodin's residence, and there were also quite a bit of gardens to see. The museum was lovely, but we didn't spend too much time there. Next, we took a quick stop at the grand Hôtel des Invalides, which was right next door. We didn't go inside, where notably Napoleon's tomb is, but we took pictures from the front.
After that, we were all tired and hungry, so we decided a stop for dinner was for the best. We had traveled close to the Eiffel Tower, so we were in an expensive area, but even so we found a little restaurant with a special. To this day I still say the menu was confusing. The menu read, on one line, "Lasagne salade verte," which means "lasagne green salad." We all wondered, what is that? Some kind of weird lasagne salad? No one knew. We all felt foolish when I asked what it was and our waiter started describing a normal lasagne, with a salad on the side. We all ended up getting it, since it was the least expensive item, along with a carafe d'eau, and so now I can say that of the 3 dinners I've ever eaten in Paris, they all happened to be lasagne.
Our final attraction of the day was at the Eiffel Tower. We metroed over to the Champ de Mars, the expansive green space behind the tower, where there were many people just hanging out and taking pictures. We did also, and although the sun was in an awkward place, by using beach mode with flash on my camera our pictures weren't too dark or too bright. And the tower itself was really a sight- it was my first up close look at it. I didn't really realize the size of it until I was standing right there, and I could watch the elevators going up the legs, and then up the middle to the top. We decided not to go up, for the line would be close to 2 hours long, and it's pretty pricey- and it's even more money the higher up you go. We had a good time just hanging out on the grass for a while. Suddenly, Giselle had an idea. We had been scoping out other people also sitting around, and someone had pointed out a cute guy sitting alone, with no one in his vicinity. "Cait," she said, "I will give you 5 Euros to go sit within a foot of that guy for 5 minutes." Unexpectedly, Cait just replied, "Sure," and starting walking over, much to our amusement. She plopped right down, and began a conversation. We of course were already dying laughing, especially when we saw her point over to us to have him look. We couldn't hear them, but they seemed to be carrying on a conversation. I wondered aloud whether we should wave Cait over when the 5 minutes were up, but the immediate consensus was no, she can figure it out. As a result, the conversation went on for a full 12 minutes before we saw Cait get up and head back over. Apparently they had carried on a nice conversation, although she never found out his name. That was certainly a funny highlight of the trip.
At that point, we were all tired, so we decided to call it a day and head back to the hostel, where we went to sleep pretty much immediately. We woke up early the next morning, and this time ate breakfast in the hostel- we had hot chocolate and orange juice, some bread, and a croissant. The paying for the breakfast was a little confusing- the previous night I had inquired to its cost, and only after asking me which room I was in and how much we had paid for it did the man behind the desk tell me that it was 2 Euros. The previous morning the nice hotel owner had seemed surprised that we hadn't ate there, saying that it was up to us, but he just wanted to invite us to have breakfast at the hostel. In the end, we checked out of the room, and to a 3rd person I mentioned that we had eaten breakfast- he simply replied "c'est bon" and let us go. I'm not quite sure what the real deal was, but in any case we got a nice free breakfast Sunday morning.
The previous day we had purchased an extension to our metro pass to be able to take the Regional Express train, not covered by the Eurail. After some trouble with our needed metro line being down, we finally made it to the RER station and took a half-hour train out to Versailles. We walked a short way from the train station, and there was the palace, and it was quite the sight. It was of course enormous, and incredibly ornate. After waiting in line to get inside, we bought an audio tour and started along the path. The theme to every surface seemed to be an attempt to cram in as much ornament and intricate pomp as possible. It was visually stunning, with much gold and marble, and little details in every corner. The audio tour gave a lot of information about the history of the rooms and what they were used for- I got it en français, and I learned a lot about the décor and the paintings in each room. We saw a lot of notable rooms, including the king and queen's chambers, the famous Hall of Mirrors, and a hall full of busts and sculptures of famous French authors, kings, and other important people, including Descartes.
After walking through the castle, we went out back to the gardens, which were simply amazing. You looked out over huge fountains, tons of flowers, and further back there was a huge green rectangle lawn, and behind that a similarly shaped reflection pool. To either side there were very tall hedges in a kind of maze, and within those there were occasionally sculptures and other things to see. All the time there was classical music playing, as there was some kind of "Music from the Fountains" event going on, so it just added to the royal ambiance. We strolled along the gardens for quite a while until eventually deciding to head back. We got some lunch and headed back to the train, and made it back to Paris. We had still a couple hours before our train home, so we went to the Sacré-Coeur, one of the most famous churches in Paris. It sits at the top of Montmartre, the highest hill in the city, so you can really see out everywhere. We took many stairs to the top of the hill and went inside the church, which of course was beautiful. Cait and Erica also went to the top of the dome of the church (for a fee), but Joey, Giselle, and I stayed behind by the church. It was a good culminating event, since we could see so much and really remember all that we had done. But sadly, soon it was time to go, and we took a final metro back to the main train station, and had an easy and uneventful ride back to Mannheim.
I had such a good time in Paris, and we accomplished so much, but there's still so much more that we didn't get to do. I know that I'll return in the future, hopefully for a longer period of time, and I'll really get to use my French and see more of the city. I must say my friends were glad to have me along to translate, and I was glad to practice- I do know more words than I thought I did, and I could understand whatever people said to me. If only that were the case in German! But already I know I'm so much better than when I began.
I still have much catch-up blogging to do! I plan on doing another entry for last schoolweek, followed by an epic Munich post for our visit last weekend. I'll write it as soon as I can, and I really appreciate everyone who's been reading.
Herzliche Grüße!
Bisous!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
A Post Long Overdue
Bonjour tout le monde!
I have been really busy recently, and it's not letting up anytime soon. I last left off on Wednesday, so here's what's been up from then on:
On Thursday we had a pretty intensive class in the morning. We had our first real graded test and we weren't sure what to expect. There were different sections- listening, reading, writing, and speaking. For the listening, we listened to a dialog and had to write down what instructions a certain character got; for reading we were given an invitation to an art gallery and and article about the same gallery, but there was conflicting information between the two, so we had to point out the 10 discrepancies; writing involved writing an invitation letter, and in the speaking we had a partner- one of us was an art gallery owner introducing a painter, and one parter was the painter introducing himself to the crowd. There were also a couple grammar and vocabulary sections, all using the words and structures we had studied that chapter, which had been about art. Overall the test went well, except for one mistake of my own. We had been given three sheets of paper face down- 2 regular sized and 1 half sheet. Foolishly, I assumed that the half sheet was the speaking portion, to be done later. With 2 minutes to go, I looked at the sheet and realized that it was another grammar page. I did what I could, but I couldn't really give it my best attention.
For Interaktive Praxis we went to the Marktplatz, an open area downtown where there is a food market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We had different activities such as finding the cheapest fruits and vegetables, finding out the names of new flowers, and discovering what all kinds of items of items are also sold. It was a fairly useful activity, although our group was already familiar with the market, even enough to have our own fruit man whom we always visit.
After that, we took part in the German custom of Kaffee and Kuchen- coffee and cake. With all of the MEMS kids, interaction leaders, and teachers, we recognized the half-way point of the program, as well as the switch-over between Dr. Hasty and Dr. Futterknecht. It was nice to have the whole group together, and we were able to get to know Dr. Futterknect a bit better, which was nice since pretty much all of the intermediate German kids will have him for Advanced German next semester. He is very nice, and very interested in his students, so I'm sure it will be a good class. After Kaffee and Kuchen we hung out a bit with Wolf and another interaction leader, and then we headed on home.
On Friday began our adventure to Paris. We had class in the morning, and then made our way over to the Hauptbahnhof for our train at around 1:30. We got into Paris at around 4:45, to the familiar Gare de l'Est. We navigated around and bought our metro passes- Cait and I still had some left over from the week before, so we just bought a 2-day unlimited pass for Saturday and Sunday (although we found out later there was a cheaper way to do it that would have cost us 9 Euros less, argh). We also bought our 30-Euro Museum Pass, good for two days from first use, which would let us into many museums and also avoid lines. Then we made our way to our hostel- it was in a cute little area. I did the administrative things since I was the only French speaker, and we went up to our room. It wasn't bad, and we had a private room with a bathroom. However, there were only 3 beds and we had booked a quadruple, so that had to be sorted out, but that was done easily enough. It was also blazing hot and there wasn't A/C, but that was to be expected. Our shower was the smallest one I've ever been in. It wasn't a tub, just a shower, but even standing fulling on one side I could not put an elbow all the way out. I also couldn't bend over to pick anything up, all of my movements had to be simply up and down. But it was fine and clean, and then we set off to explore. The first thing we did was see the Cathédrale Notre Dame. During the course of this blog entry it will get very boring reading about how beautiful everything we saw was, so I will not go into it for every place- but Notre Dame was just amazing. We were not able to go inside because it was too late (we went inside the next day, though), but it was stunning- the architecture, stained glass, and just the size.
After Notre Dame, we went for dinner at a place that Erica and her family had eaten at the week prior. It was little Italian restaurant not too far away- I had lasagne, and everyone else had some kind of pasta or pizza. It was good and refreshing, and not too expensive. From there, we walke d a little bit on our own, seeing the pyramid of the Louvre. There were tons of people hanging out and eating on one of the bridges to get there, and there were also several musicians playing. The whole city is just beautiful, and there are so many things to see. Afterwards, we did our final activity of the day- a sightseeing boat cruise on the river. We were in a little tour boat, and we went around in the twilight and saw some recognizable sights, listening to 4 different languages- French, English, Spanish, and Italian. The most magnificent thing we saw was the Eiffel Tower- at this particular time it was lit up completely in blue, with a circle of gold stars on the front, a symbol of the EU. It looked spectacular, and it was my first glimpse of the entire tower. The tour was interesting and a little informative, although it was hard to go into much detail when everything had to be repeated 3 times. We saw a lot of people hanging out by the river, dancing and eating, and there was also a little "beach" area set up. After the hour-long boat tour, we were all tired, so we went back to our hostel for some rest, since we planned to get up early the next morning.
It is getting late, so I am going to split this trip into more than one blog entry. Tomorrow I will hopefully get caught up to the present!
Bisous!
I have been really busy recently, and it's not letting up anytime soon. I last left off on Wednesday, so here's what's been up from then on:
On Thursday we had a pretty intensive class in the morning. We had our first real graded test and we weren't sure what to expect. There were different sections- listening, reading, writing, and speaking. For the listening, we listened to a dialog and had to write down what instructions a certain character got; for reading we were given an invitation to an art gallery and and article about the same gallery, but there was conflicting information between the two, so we had to point out the 10 discrepancies; writing involved writing an invitation letter, and in the speaking we had a partner- one of us was an art gallery owner introducing a painter, and one parter was the painter introducing himself to the crowd. There were also a couple grammar and vocabulary sections, all using the words and structures we had studied that chapter, which had been about art. Overall the test went well, except for one mistake of my own. We had been given three sheets of paper face down- 2 regular sized and 1 half sheet. Foolishly, I assumed that the half sheet was the speaking portion, to be done later. With 2 minutes to go, I looked at the sheet and realized that it was another grammar page. I did what I could, but I couldn't really give it my best attention.
For Interaktive Praxis we went to the Marktplatz, an open area downtown where there is a food market every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. We had different activities such as finding the cheapest fruits and vegetables, finding out the names of new flowers, and discovering what all kinds of items of items are also sold. It was a fairly useful activity, although our group was already familiar with the market, even enough to have our own fruit man whom we always visit.
After that, we took part in the German custom of Kaffee and Kuchen- coffee and cake. With all of the MEMS kids, interaction leaders, and teachers, we recognized the half-way point of the program, as well as the switch-over between Dr. Hasty and Dr. Futterknecht. It was nice to have the whole group together, and we were able to get to know Dr. Futterknect a bit better, which was nice since pretty much all of the intermediate German kids will have him for Advanced German next semester. He is very nice, and very interested in his students, so I'm sure it will be a good class. After Kaffee and Kuchen we hung out a bit with Wolf and another interaction leader, and then we headed on home.
On Friday began our adventure to Paris. We had class in the morning, and then made our way over to the Hauptbahnhof for our train at around 1:30. We got into Paris at around 4:45, to the familiar Gare de l'Est. We navigated around and bought our metro passes- Cait and I still had some left over from the week before, so we just bought a 2-day unlimited pass for Saturday and Sunday (although we found out later there was a cheaper way to do it that would have cost us 9 Euros less, argh). We also bought our 30-Euro Museum Pass, good for two days from first use, which would let us into many museums and also avoid lines. Then we made our way to our hostel- it was in a cute little area. I did the administrative things since I was the only French speaker, and we went up to our room. It wasn't bad, and we had a private room with a bathroom. However, there were only 3 beds and we had booked a quadruple, so that had to be sorted out, but that was done easily enough. It was also blazing hot and there wasn't A/C, but that was to be expected. Our shower was the smallest one I've ever been in. It wasn't a tub, just a shower, but even standing fulling on one side I could not put an elbow all the way out. I also couldn't bend over to pick anything up, all of my movements had to be simply up and down. But it was fine and clean, and then we set off to explore. The first thing we did was see the Cathédrale Notre Dame. During the course of this blog entry it will get very boring reading about how beautiful everything we saw was, so I will not go into it for every place- but Notre Dame was just amazing. We were not able to go inside because it was too late (we went inside the next day, though), but it was stunning- the architecture, stained glass, and just the size.
After Notre Dame, we went for dinner at a place that Erica and her family had eaten at the week prior. It was little Italian restaurant not too far away- I had lasagne, and everyone else had some kind of pasta or pizza. It was good and refreshing, and not too expensive. From there, we walke d a little bit on our own, seeing the pyramid of the Louvre. There were tons of people hanging out and eating on one of the bridges to get there, and there were also several musicians playing. The whole city is just beautiful, and there are so many things to see. Afterwards, we did our final activity of the day- a sightseeing boat cruise on the river. We were in a little tour boat, and we went around in the twilight and saw some recognizable sights, listening to 4 different languages- French, English, Spanish, and Italian. The most magnificent thing we saw was the Eiffel Tower- at this particular time it was lit up completely in blue, with a circle of gold stars on the front, a symbol of the EU. It looked spectacular, and it was my first glimpse of the entire tower. The tour was interesting and a little informative, although it was hard to go into much detail when everything had to be repeated 3 times. We saw a lot of people hanging out by the river, dancing and eating, and there was also a little "beach" area set up. After the hour-long boat tour, we were all tired, so we went back to our hostel for some rest, since we planned to get up early the next morning.
It is getting late, so I am going to split this trip into more than one blog entry. Tomorrow I will hopefully get caught up to the present!
Bisous!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Quick Update
Just a quick post to let you know I'm still alive- I've been really busy and have not yet had the time to write a long post. I'm about to be off to Strasbourg for today, so you can expect an all-inclusive post (from Thursday through today) either tonight or tomorrow.
Aufwiederschreiben!
Aufwiederschreiben!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Another few days in Mannheim
After our wonderful but exhausting weekend trip, it was right back to work and fun in Mannheim. After class on Monday, we went to grocery shopping for Interaktive Praxis. We took a Strassenbahn out to a much larger than normal store, called the Kaufland. It was a little bit like a Superwalmart back at home. They had a wide selection of inexpensive groceries, as well as some electronics and housewares. We were divided into pairs and had to find various items throughout the store (it happened to be just the items that Frau Hamann needed!). We also had to learn some new vocabulary and describe items that we didn't know the German words for. It was a successful trip, and then we were able to do our own grocery shopping after class. Our little group has been shopping together and planning meals like pasta, wurst, or schnitzel, and that has worked out quite well. For breakfast I usually eat cereal and yogurt or a slice of bread and Nutella, and we have also been packing sandwich lunches. I have also discovered some interesting drinks here. Fanta is big here, but it's different than that found in the US. Instead of being straight bright-orange soda, it's more with real oranges, a lighter yellow-orange color, and almost like a carbonated orange juice like Orangina. There are also Schorle drinks that are really good- they're lightly carbonated juices. Apfel Schorle is the most popular, but I've also seen cherry, passionfruit, and an apple-grapefruit blend.
On Tuesday we had class as usual, and then we went to the Mannheim Planetarium for Interaktive Praxis. The program was called Der Planet der Tausend Ringe, or the Planet of a Thousand Rings, so it all had to do with Saturn. It was like other planetariums- everyone sat in circular rows and had comfortable chairs that leaned way back so you could see everything on a huge dome screen. The program was interesting, and the narration was fairly slow so it wasn't completely incomprehensible. It talked a lot about the history and mythology behind Saturn, as well as more scientific facts from today. It was an interesting experience, and I'm glad that we were able to go.
Soon after that, we were set to meet with Wolf and Nina to go to a movie. We went to movie theater and saw Charlie Bartlett, and American movie dubbed over in German. The movie has to do with a teenager, Charlie, who essentially becomes the psychologist for kids at his high school, all the while faking symptoms with numerous psychiatrists of his own to get them prescription medication. The voices were well done. It was interesting though- whenever someone in the movie had to sing, it was not dubbed at all. It was a funny movie and I could follow along easily, although of course I didn't know all the words.
Today was Wednesday and was sort of catch-up day. We had class, and for Interaktive Praxis we worked on planning a movie party for next week. There is a film about Mannheim that we're going to watch, and we're inviting the MEMS kids, the Interaction Leaders, and pretty much everyone else we know in Mannheim. We were planning the logistics, such as where we would have it, how to do the invitations (Einladungen), and what kind of food we would have. It will also involve playing Charades. It wasn't the most fun Interaktive Praxis, but we did get to use a lot of German. We also went shopping again today, and I am working on my laundry. I still have to perfect what settings to use- the last time all of my clothes shrunk a few inches (and yes it was my clothes that shrunk and not I who grew)- my jacket sleeves are a bit shorter than they used to be.
Overall, I think our actual German class is going well, with a few minor concerns. I am definitely learning a lot of vocabulary, but I have not learned any more concrete grammar. However, the grammar I do know is becoming more natural and engrained. We are guinea pigs as far as the Zertifikat Deutsch is concerned, because they have never offered our program before, but I think we are strongly moving through our textbook, which is supposedly designed around the test. I know that we will definitely be thoroughly comfortable and knowledgable with our textbook material, and I hope that that will be what we need to pass the test. It is becoming easier for me to understand Frau Hamann and the instructions she gives us, as well. In any case, the experience here has been one of a kind, and any complaints I have are minor in comparison to everything fantastic that I have experienced.
I still have some studying to do tonight for our test tomorrow, so I will sign off until my next entry. I miss everyone at home, aufwiederschreiben!
On Tuesday we had class as usual, and then we went to the Mannheim Planetarium for Interaktive Praxis. The program was called Der Planet der Tausend Ringe, or the Planet of a Thousand Rings, so it all had to do with Saturn. It was like other planetariums- everyone sat in circular rows and had comfortable chairs that leaned way back so you could see everything on a huge dome screen. The program was interesting, and the narration was fairly slow so it wasn't completely incomprehensible. It talked a lot about the history and mythology behind Saturn, as well as more scientific facts from today. It was an interesting experience, and I'm glad that we were able to go.
Soon after that, we were set to meet with Wolf and Nina to go to a movie. We went to movie theater and saw Charlie Bartlett, and American movie dubbed over in German. The movie has to do with a teenager, Charlie, who essentially becomes the psychologist for kids at his high school, all the while faking symptoms with numerous psychiatrists of his own to get them prescription medication. The voices were well done. It was interesting though- whenever someone in the movie had to sing, it was not dubbed at all. It was a funny movie and I could follow along easily, although of course I didn't know all the words.
Today was Wednesday and was sort of catch-up day. We had class, and for Interaktive Praxis we worked on planning a movie party for next week. There is a film about Mannheim that we're going to watch, and we're inviting the MEMS kids, the Interaction Leaders, and pretty much everyone else we know in Mannheim. We were planning the logistics, such as where we would have it, how to do the invitations (Einladungen), and what kind of food we would have. It will also involve playing Charades. It wasn't the most fun Interaktive Praxis, but we did get to use a lot of German. We also went shopping again today, and I am working on my laundry. I still have to perfect what settings to use- the last time all of my clothes shrunk a few inches (and yes it was my clothes that shrunk and not I who grew)- my jacket sleeves are a bit shorter than they used to be.
Overall, I think our actual German class is going well, with a few minor concerns. I am definitely learning a lot of vocabulary, but I have not learned any more concrete grammar. However, the grammar I do know is becoming more natural and engrained. We are guinea pigs as far as the Zertifikat Deutsch is concerned, because they have never offered our program before, but I think we are strongly moving through our textbook, which is supposedly designed around the test. I know that we will definitely be thoroughly comfortable and knowledgable with our textbook material, and I hope that that will be what we need to pass the test. It is becoming easier for me to understand Frau Hamann and the instructions she gives us, as well. In any case, the experience here has been one of a kind, and any complaints I have are minor in comparison to everything fantastic that I have experienced.
I still have some studying to do tonight for our test tomorrow, so I will sign off until my next entry. I miss everyone at home, aufwiederschreiben!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Beaucoup de journées
Another few days has passed, and I have so much to report. Friday was sort of a lazy day for us. We didn't have Interactive Praxis, but we did some errands such as reserving train seats at the Hauptbahnhof and picking up some cake on the way home. There are little bakeries (oder Bäckereien) everywhere here. We just sort of hung out in the afternoon, and Erica was gone since she was meeting her family in Paris for the weekend. The rest of us made Wurst and green beans for dinner, and then almost everyone from our class went out into Mannheim. We went to Murphey's Law, an Irish Pub, where interestingly they only speak English. It seemed to be a very happening place- almost everything else in Mannheim was closed, but this place was packed inside and out. All the music was American, and there was a place to request music. We think there was someone there who really likes Michael Jackson, because that's what every other song was. It was fun being with the group, and by the time we were ready to go there were very few S-Bahns still running, so we had to walk back through Jungbusch to our Studentenwohnheim.
We had to get up early on Saturday, for it was our pre-planned group trip to the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest. We weren't all sure what to expect, but we had heard that we'd be exploring some of the towns in that area. We boarded our small bus at 8:30 in the morning- it was like a charter bus, but a small one with about 20 seats, like something a church or retirement community would have. We traveled for about an hour before arriving in Baden-Baden. It's a small town, but frequently visited by tourists, especially wealthy ones, for it's known for its hot springs, which have now been turned into expensive spas. Dr. Hasty told us that we could also see remains of Roman baths, so that was our mission. However, we roamed around and around, inside buildings, up and down flights of stairs, walking all around the town behind Dr. Hasty, without finding the supposed Badruinen. Finally, after about an hour without success, underneath a spa there were some ruins, behind some glass of course. All we could do was peer into the dark at some ruins a few feet away, ruins that were not really meant to be tourist attractions. But nonetheless it was interesting- we could see some ancient bricks in some kind of raised structure, although it was not complete by any means. I wish we could have gotten closer in some better light conditions. By that time, we couldn't afford any more time looking around, so we had to head back to the bus.
From there, we traveled quite a lot longer in the bus, up and up windy roads into the Black Forest. We ended up in a spot called the Mummelsee, where there's a large lake and an amazing view off a mountain. We took a picture with the Mummelsee "Monster," a very green and seaweeded man with a trident and a great beard. We also ate a lunch of bratwurst, and of course Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Black Forest Cake, for dessert. The cake is mainly chocolate, but with layers of cherry and whipped cream, and a fairly prominent alcohol taste. Eating this cake did satisfy one of our food goals in Europe- some of the others were crêpes in France, waffles in Belgium, and of course Bratwurst in Germany (that one has been met many times already). The cake was delicious, and after a stop in the gift shop (cuckoo clock, anyone?) we needed to head out again.
From there we went to another area called the Titisee. It was a pretty touristy area, with another body of water, and tons of souvenir shops and little food places in a long row. We were still surrounded by the trees of the forest. We were pretty much let loose to wander for about an hour, so we just explored. We went to one souvenir shop where Cait bought a cuckoo clock, and there I bought a cute little bowl. It's painted gray and pink with little elephant feet sticking out, and an elephant head peeking over the rim. It's not exactly German, but it was cute and cheap, so it became my first real souvenir of the trip. After a while, we headed back to the bus, where we hit the road once more.
Our final stop was a short one, in Freiburg. After driving around (and getting lost) for a little bit, we finally found the Münster Church, but it was worth it. It was absolutely gorgeous. There was tons of stained glass, which was mostly decorated with biblical scenes and saints, but there were also images of the different guilds. For example, there was a pretzel in one representing a baker, and scissors in another for a tailor. The church was fantastic, but we soon had to get on the bus. The ride back took a good two and a half hours, so we got back around 20:30.
We headed back to the dorms, where we ate dinner. Pretty much everyone else was free to do as they pleased, but Cait and I had other plans. Around 23:00 we headed out with our bodyguard Joey to the Hauptbahnhof, since we had a train to catch at 23:49. We arrived a few minutes early but soon boarded our train, which took us to Karlsruhe, where we arrived at 00:13. We had a brief layover there, but left at 00:54 on a sloooowww train to Paris. Normally an ICE train direct from Mannheim to Paris takes about 3 hours, but this was a CNL, City Night Line, train. I don't think the actual train speed was much slower, but we just took a very roundabout route. We were in a compartment with 4 other people, but fortunately we were against the windows so we could sleep. We pretty much slept all the way to Paris' Gare de l'Est, where we arrived around 6:45. Interestingly, we were not asked for our train ticket or passport ONCE while we were on that very long train.
In any case, we had finally arrived en France! C'était ma première fois. We knew we needed to get to another train station to catch our next train, so I bought our metro tickets (en français) and we grabbed a croissant and some hot chocolate at the train station (it was freezing!). I was a little bit anxious about my French skills, since they've been a little dormant since the end of the school year, and I've been speaking so much German. "Nein," "ja," and "Entschuldigung" have become engrained in my daily speech, so it was difficult to switch! Even when I was ordering my croissant, I was asked a question, and my answer was in fact "nein." I think of the language switch like the trains- "Thank you for traveling with the German train. Please allow the train to come to a complete stop before transfering to the French train." Anyway, I had to get into French mode before I could really be successful. But we navigated the metro easily and got to the Gare Saint-Lazare. From there we boarded a train to Vernon. It got a little hectic on the train- I heard an announcement saying that we had to validate our tickets, so we pretty much traveled the length of the entire train before finding someone in a uniform. And of course they told us that it wasn't actually necessary with our passes. Naturlich. But that was a short ride, and we got to Giverny at 8:50. From there we grabbed a shuttle bus to Giverny, which is about 5 kilometers away. Vernon and Giverny are such pretty little towns! We crossed over the Seine to get to Giverny, and we saw the cutest houses and gardens. It was exactly how you would imagine the French countryside to look. Once we arrived, we took the short walk to the main attraction- Monet's former house and still beautiful gardens, the inspiration of so many of his impressionist paintings, including the famous lily pond and bridge. We got there right around when it was opening, so it was not yet very crowded. I cannot even say how beautiful the gardens were. So many flowers and colors, so much green, beautiful water and lily pads. I have so many pictures, and it was easy to see why he painted there. His house was also interesting. They had a lot of his paintings on display, and he also seemed to be a collector of Japanese woodblock prints, for there many of those as well. I'm pretty sure also that nearly all of the furniture in the house was original. The rooms were very cheerful and colorful, and of course he had an amazing garden view. I loved our time there!
After walking down to see Monet's grave in the local Church, we decided it was time for lunch. Why not meet another one of our food goals? We had seen a sign for a crêperie, so we headed there. We both had the same crêpe- une crêpe framboisine- it had a sort of fresh raspberry fruit jam and fruit, as well as whipped cream. It was delicious, and we decided that any crêpes we ever have again will probably be a disappointment in comparison. It was a good refreshment, and we found out that the French actually drink tap water, since it was brought to our table for free (as it was again later for dinner).
That was about all we had time to do, since we had to catch our train back to Paris, so we took the shuttle bus back at 12:15, and left by train from Vernon at 12:42. We arrived back in Paris at around 1:30, and we had a few hoursl left before our final train back to Mannheim, so we had a little time to take in the city. It was actually very climactic- we decided to go to the Jardins de Tuileries, so we took the metro from the Gare Saint-Lazare. This was our first outside view of Paris, since everything else had been inside metro and train stations! It was underground, so we started going up the stairs, and all I could see was clear blue sky. Then all of a sudden we were in Paris. My first view was of enormous, beautiful old buildings, statues, and supreme fountains. I took it all in, and I immediately fell in love. We spent the next couple hours just exploring, although we did have some minor mishaps- going the wrong way down the street (but we could see all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe!), and trying to find a pay phone to call Erica, whom we were trying to meet later at the train station for our same train back. Apparently pay phones in France do not accept coins, but rather you have to buy a phone card to use them. But everything was all sorted out, and we got to see a bit of the city, which was just spectacular. We also had dinner in Paris. We checked out a nearby café that my travel book had recommended, however, even though it was in the lowest bracket price range, that range is still 30 Euros and under, which is still expensive to me. That particular restaurant was a bit on the high side, but we were able to find something moderately priced just a few cafés down. It was called la Partie de Campagne, everything had little bumblebees on it, it was just adorable. Cait had some kind of open-faced goat cheese sandwich, and I had lasagne, and everything was great. It came with some salad and bread, too. The only unforunately, but unavoidable thing about Paris is the cost- everything is expensive! Any kind of food establishment, other than street vendors, seemed to be at least 12 Euros and up, which is a big change from even Berlin. Mais, c'est la vie, and I just have to accept that que sera sera (Spanish this time) and have a good time.
By the time we had finished dinner, it was time to meet Erica at the train station/gare/bahnhof. We had all reserved seats, and had even ended up in the same car even though we booked at different times. Chancily, the people across from me ended up moving, so Erica and Cait and I were all able to sit around a table on the ICE train back to Mannheim. The fourth one at the table was a German man, but he also spoke French and English. We talked with him a bit on the way back, with him giving us advice about our next weekend's trip back to Paris. It was interesting, because his English was the worst of the three languages, so he would sometimes be able to say the word in French to me, and have me explain it in English to the others. He also peppered his speech with little German expressions, notably "genau" (exactly), saying that with the three languages it's easy to get mixed up, which I understood.
We arrived back in Mannheim safe and sound, and Joey and Giselle were there to meet us. Of course we were all beat, so we went to bed early. Today was another day of class and Interaktive Praxis, for which we went shopping at another supermarket. It was called Kaufland, and it almost seemed like the Super Walmart of Mannheim- there was a wide selection of cheap groceries, as well as some electronics, housewares, and other non-food items. Once we were done with our class time, we did our shopping for ourselves as well, which was very convenient. Tomorrow we're going to see a movie with Wolf and Nina, as well as going to the planetarium for Interactive Praxis.
This was quite a long blog entry, but I had such a great weekend, I needed to share it! This weekend should also be eventful, and of course Paris again this weekend will be another adventure. J'espère que tout le monde s'amuse comme moi!
Aufwiedershreiben!
We had to get up early on Saturday, for it was our pre-planned group trip to the Schwarzwald, or Black Forest. We weren't all sure what to expect, but we had heard that we'd be exploring some of the towns in that area. We boarded our small bus at 8:30 in the morning- it was like a charter bus, but a small one with about 20 seats, like something a church or retirement community would have. We traveled for about an hour before arriving in Baden-Baden. It's a small town, but frequently visited by tourists, especially wealthy ones, for it's known for its hot springs, which have now been turned into expensive spas. Dr. Hasty told us that we could also see remains of Roman baths, so that was our mission. However, we roamed around and around, inside buildings, up and down flights of stairs, walking all around the town behind Dr. Hasty, without finding the supposed Badruinen. Finally, after about an hour without success, underneath a spa there were some ruins, behind some glass of course. All we could do was peer into the dark at some ruins a few feet away, ruins that were not really meant to be tourist attractions. But nonetheless it was interesting- we could see some ancient bricks in some kind of raised structure, although it was not complete by any means. I wish we could have gotten closer in some better light conditions. By that time, we couldn't afford any more time looking around, so we had to head back to the bus.
From there, we traveled quite a lot longer in the bus, up and up windy roads into the Black Forest. We ended up in a spot called the Mummelsee, where there's a large lake and an amazing view off a mountain. We took a picture with the Mummelsee "Monster," a very green and seaweeded man with a trident and a great beard. We also ate a lunch of bratwurst, and of course Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Black Forest Cake, for dessert. The cake is mainly chocolate, but with layers of cherry and whipped cream, and a fairly prominent alcohol taste. Eating this cake did satisfy one of our food goals in Europe- some of the others were crêpes in France, waffles in Belgium, and of course Bratwurst in Germany (that one has been met many times already). The cake was delicious, and after a stop in the gift shop (cuckoo clock, anyone?) we needed to head out again.
From there we went to another area called the Titisee. It was a pretty touristy area, with another body of water, and tons of souvenir shops and little food places in a long row. We were still surrounded by the trees of the forest. We were pretty much let loose to wander for about an hour, so we just explored. We went to one souvenir shop where Cait bought a cuckoo clock, and there I bought a cute little bowl. It's painted gray and pink with little elephant feet sticking out, and an elephant head peeking over the rim. It's not exactly German, but it was cute and cheap, so it became my first real souvenir of the trip. After a while, we headed back to the bus, where we hit the road once more.
Our final stop was a short one, in Freiburg. After driving around (and getting lost) for a little bit, we finally found the Münster Church, but it was worth it. It was absolutely gorgeous. There was tons of stained glass, which was mostly decorated with biblical scenes and saints, but there were also images of the different guilds. For example, there was a pretzel in one representing a baker, and scissors in another for a tailor. The church was fantastic, but we soon had to get on the bus. The ride back took a good two and a half hours, so we got back around 20:30.
We headed back to the dorms, where we ate dinner. Pretty much everyone else was free to do as they pleased, but Cait and I had other plans. Around 23:00 we headed out with our bodyguard Joey to the Hauptbahnhof, since we had a train to catch at 23:49. We arrived a few minutes early but soon boarded our train, which took us to Karlsruhe, where we arrived at 00:13. We had a brief layover there, but left at 00:54 on a sloooowww train to Paris. Normally an ICE train direct from Mannheim to Paris takes about 3 hours, but this was a CNL, City Night Line, train. I don't think the actual train speed was much slower, but we just took a very roundabout route. We were in a compartment with 4 other people, but fortunately we were against the windows so we could sleep. We pretty much slept all the way to Paris' Gare de l'Est, where we arrived around 6:45. Interestingly, we were not asked for our train ticket or passport ONCE while we were on that very long train.
In any case, we had finally arrived en France! C'était ma première fois. We knew we needed to get to another train station to catch our next train, so I bought our metro tickets (en français) and we grabbed a croissant and some hot chocolate at the train station (it was freezing!). I was a little bit anxious about my French skills, since they've been a little dormant since the end of the school year, and I've been speaking so much German. "Nein," "ja," and "Entschuldigung" have become engrained in my daily speech, so it was difficult to switch! Even when I was ordering my croissant, I was asked a question, and my answer was in fact "nein." I think of the language switch like the trains- "Thank you for traveling with the German train. Please allow the train to come to a complete stop before transfering to the French train." Anyway, I had to get into French mode before I could really be successful. But we navigated the metro easily and got to the Gare Saint-Lazare. From there we boarded a train to Vernon. It got a little hectic on the train- I heard an announcement saying that we had to validate our tickets, so we pretty much traveled the length of the entire train before finding someone in a uniform. And of course they told us that it wasn't actually necessary with our passes. Naturlich. But that was a short ride, and we got to Giverny at 8:50. From there we grabbed a shuttle bus to Giverny, which is about 5 kilometers away. Vernon and Giverny are such pretty little towns! We crossed over the Seine to get to Giverny, and we saw the cutest houses and gardens. It was exactly how you would imagine the French countryside to look. Once we arrived, we took the short walk to the main attraction- Monet's former house and still beautiful gardens, the inspiration of so many of his impressionist paintings, including the famous lily pond and bridge. We got there right around when it was opening, so it was not yet very crowded. I cannot even say how beautiful the gardens were. So many flowers and colors, so much green, beautiful water and lily pads. I have so many pictures, and it was easy to see why he painted there. His house was also interesting. They had a lot of his paintings on display, and he also seemed to be a collector of Japanese woodblock prints, for there many of those as well. I'm pretty sure also that nearly all of the furniture in the house was original. The rooms were very cheerful and colorful, and of course he had an amazing garden view. I loved our time there!
After walking down to see Monet's grave in the local Church, we decided it was time for lunch. Why not meet another one of our food goals? We had seen a sign for a crêperie, so we headed there. We both had the same crêpe- une crêpe framboisine- it had a sort of fresh raspberry fruit jam and fruit, as well as whipped cream. It was delicious, and we decided that any crêpes we ever have again will probably be a disappointment in comparison. It was a good refreshment, and we found out that the French actually drink tap water, since it was brought to our table for free (as it was again later for dinner).
That was about all we had time to do, since we had to catch our train back to Paris, so we took the shuttle bus back at 12:15, and left by train from Vernon at 12:42. We arrived back in Paris at around 1:30, and we had a few hoursl left before our final train back to Mannheim, so we had a little time to take in the city. It was actually very climactic- we decided to go to the Jardins de Tuileries, so we took the metro from the Gare Saint-Lazare. This was our first outside view of Paris, since everything else had been inside metro and train stations! It was underground, so we started going up the stairs, and all I could see was clear blue sky. Then all of a sudden we were in Paris. My first view was of enormous, beautiful old buildings, statues, and supreme fountains. I took it all in, and I immediately fell in love. We spent the next couple hours just exploring, although we did have some minor mishaps- going the wrong way down the street (but we could see all the way down to the Arc de Triomphe!), and trying to find a pay phone to call Erica, whom we were trying to meet later at the train station for our same train back. Apparently pay phones in France do not accept coins, but rather you have to buy a phone card to use them. But everything was all sorted out, and we got to see a bit of the city, which was just spectacular. We also had dinner in Paris. We checked out a nearby café that my travel book had recommended, however, even though it was in the lowest bracket price range, that range is still 30 Euros and under, which is still expensive to me. That particular restaurant was a bit on the high side, but we were able to find something moderately priced just a few cafés down. It was called la Partie de Campagne, everything had little bumblebees on it, it was just adorable. Cait had some kind of open-faced goat cheese sandwich, and I had lasagne, and everything was great. It came with some salad and bread, too. The only unforunately, but unavoidable thing about Paris is the cost- everything is expensive! Any kind of food establishment, other than street vendors, seemed to be at least 12 Euros and up, which is a big change from even Berlin. Mais, c'est la vie, and I just have to accept that que sera sera (Spanish this time) and have a good time.
By the time we had finished dinner, it was time to meet Erica at the train station/gare/bahnhof. We had all reserved seats, and had even ended up in the same car even though we booked at different times. Chancily, the people across from me ended up moving, so Erica and Cait and I were all able to sit around a table on the ICE train back to Mannheim. The fourth one at the table was a German man, but he also spoke French and English. We talked with him a bit on the way back, with him giving us advice about our next weekend's trip back to Paris. It was interesting, because his English was the worst of the three languages, so he would sometimes be able to say the word in French to me, and have me explain it in English to the others. He also peppered his speech with little German expressions, notably "genau" (exactly), saying that with the three languages it's easy to get mixed up, which I understood.
We arrived back in Mannheim safe and sound, and Joey and Giselle were there to meet us. Of course we were all beat, so we went to bed early. Today was another day of class and Interaktive Praxis, for which we went shopping at another supermarket. It was called Kaufland, and it almost seemed like the Super Walmart of Mannheim- there was a wide selection of cheap groceries, as well as some electronics, housewares, and other non-food items. Once we were done with our class time, we did our shopping for ourselves as well, which was very convenient. Tomorrow we're going to see a movie with Wolf and Nina, as well as going to the planetarium for Interactive Praxis.
This was quite a long blog entry, but I had such a great weekend, I needed to share it! This weekend should also be eventful, and of course Paris again this weekend will be another adventure. J'espère que tout le monde s'amuse comme moi!
Aufwiedershreiben!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
2 Tage
Another two days have gone by here in Mannheim. I can't believe our second week of classes is almost over! Yesterday after class and interaktiv praxis, we had a schnitzel party with Wolf and Nina. They brought over the food, which included Kartoffelsalat and Schnitzel (and inadvertently some cordon bleu-style schnitzel), and then we cooked it in our kitchen. If you're not quite sure what schnitzel is, it's essentially a breaded piece of meat (usually pork or veal), that is then cooked/fried until it's golden brown and slightly crispy. It is also the custom to squirt it with some lemon juice for extra flavor. The kartoffelsalat (potato salad) was also good, and different from that of the States; it was not heavily mayonnaise-based, and the flavors and spices were a little different. I found it tastier than any American potato salad I've tried. We also attempted to go into town for some Kuchen (cake) after dinner, but alas, most things were closed, as it was after 8.
Today we had our normal class in the morning, aber kein Interaktiv Praxis, as we had a surprise treat from Susanne Hill, our program's liaison in the UF International Center. She is now in Mannheim, and she planned for us a visit to Scheffel's Brauhaus (brewery) in Heidelberg. We met as a group in front of the Heilig Geist Kirche (Holy Ghost Church), and then walked a few minutes to the brewery, which also has a hotel and restaurant. We were greeted by a man who gave us a private tour of how the beer is made (auf Deutsch und ein bisschen Englisch), and showed us around the facilities. The beer that they make is not sold in stores, rather only in the restaurant above. I must say I learned more than I ever knew about beer, but that's not saying much. He talked quite a bit about a Reinheitsgebot, or Purity Law, that is a standard for brewery's across Germany, and has been in effect for about 500 years. It essentially states what is and is not allowed in the content of German beer- originally only water, barley, and hops. It has had to be adjusted, though, for in the original law no mention was made of yeast- microorganisms were not a big concern back in that age! In the final part of the tour we were given samples of the three main types of beer that they make. The first was the lightest in color, and was a pilsner type of beer called Kräusen. The second was darker, apparently because there is caramel retained in the grain, and so it was sweeter- that was called Weizen. The final one was amber-colored, and was supposed to "smell like a fruit and taste like a spice." I suppose it did, and it was my preferred one out of the three, but even so I could only really stand the taste for a few sips before giving up the rest of my glass to anyone who wanted it. Susanne Hill, who accompanied us on the trip, told us that that type is her favorite, and in the States it costs over 5 dollars a bottle. We were also given pretzels to eat with our beer, and that came with another explanation. The alleged "beer belly" that allegedly comes from drinking too much beer, according to our tour guide, really comes from all the food people are inclined to eat along with it. After the tour, we were escorted outside for a Deutsches, großes Essen. All courtesy of the International Center, we ate crispy suckling-pig, roast knuckle of veal, grilled breast of guinea-fowl, fried potatoes, Spätzle (a kind of egg-y noodle dish), and vegetable. Dr. Hill explained that this restaurant was one of the most expensive in Heidelberg, and that is precisely why she chose it. However, although she disagreed in the name of culture (Dr. Hill is from Mannheim and studied in Heidelberg), the International Center is not willing to purchase alcohol for students, so anyone wishing to drink it had to buy it on their own. I took the opportunity to have a kostenlos soda, since I wasn't a fan of beer anyway. Our food was delicious, and we even had placements especially printed for our party- they listed all the food and drink we had, and had "Intensive Intermediate German in Heidelberg" printed grandly across the top. All in all, it was a very nice excursion, especially because it was just an added bonus free-of-charge, out of the thoughtfulness of Susanne Hill and the International Center. It was definitely something I would not have gotten to do otherwise!
After the brewery, my friends and I walked back to Bismarkplatz, took the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof, and then took a train back to Mannheim, where we took the bus back to our dorm. Having all that public transportation is so nice! It is so convenient to go pretty much anywhere, and it is cleaner and nicer than you could ever imagine.
Tomorrow is our final day of class for the week. The class is going well. I am not yet learning much new grammar, but I am becoming more fluid in my speech, and I have been picking up a lot of new vocabulary. There's a lot to learn just by being out in the city as well, negotiating with salespeople and listening to people on the street. I find that my worst area is actually listening comprehension, and that I need to remedy. I have the CDs from our textbook that I can practice listening to, but I find that a lot of words slip past me without me recognizing them. I am in the perfect environment to improve though, so I just have to work on it.
Ich freue mich auf dieses Wochenende!
Aufwiederschreiben!
Today we had our normal class in the morning, aber kein Interaktiv Praxis, as we had a surprise treat from Susanne Hill, our program's liaison in the UF International Center. She is now in Mannheim, and she planned for us a visit to Scheffel's Brauhaus (brewery) in Heidelberg. We met as a group in front of the Heilig Geist Kirche (Holy Ghost Church), and then walked a few minutes to the brewery, which also has a hotel and restaurant. We were greeted by a man who gave us a private tour of how the beer is made (auf Deutsch und ein bisschen Englisch), and showed us around the facilities. The beer that they make is not sold in stores, rather only in the restaurant above. I must say I learned more than I ever knew about beer, but that's not saying much. He talked quite a bit about a Reinheitsgebot, or Purity Law, that is a standard for brewery's across Germany, and has been in effect for about 500 years. It essentially states what is and is not allowed in the content of German beer- originally only water, barley, and hops. It has had to be adjusted, though, for in the original law no mention was made of yeast- microorganisms were not a big concern back in that age! In the final part of the tour we were given samples of the three main types of beer that they make. The first was the lightest in color, and was a pilsner type of beer called Kräusen. The second was darker, apparently because there is caramel retained in the grain, and so it was sweeter- that was called Weizen. The final one was amber-colored, and was supposed to "smell like a fruit and taste like a spice." I suppose it did, and it was my preferred one out of the three, but even so I could only really stand the taste for a few sips before giving up the rest of my glass to anyone who wanted it. Susanne Hill, who accompanied us on the trip, told us that that type is her favorite, and in the States it costs over 5 dollars a bottle. We were also given pretzels to eat with our beer, and that came with another explanation. The alleged "beer belly" that allegedly comes from drinking too much beer, according to our tour guide, really comes from all the food people are inclined to eat along with it. After the tour, we were escorted outside for a Deutsches, großes Essen. All courtesy of the International Center, we ate crispy suckling-pig, roast knuckle of veal, grilled breast of guinea-fowl, fried potatoes, Spätzle (a kind of egg-y noodle dish), and vegetable. Dr. Hill explained that this restaurant was one of the most expensive in Heidelberg, and that is precisely why she chose it. However, although she disagreed in the name of culture (Dr. Hill is from Mannheim and studied in Heidelberg), the International Center is not willing to purchase alcohol for students, so anyone wishing to drink it had to buy it on their own. I took the opportunity to have a kostenlos soda, since I wasn't a fan of beer anyway. Our food was delicious, and we even had placements especially printed for our party- they listed all the food and drink we had, and had "Intensive Intermediate German in Heidelberg" printed grandly across the top. All in all, it was a very nice excursion, especially because it was just an added bonus free-of-charge, out of the thoughtfulness of Susanne Hill and the International Center. It was definitely something I would not have gotten to do otherwise!
After the brewery, my friends and I walked back to Bismarkplatz, took the S-Bahn to the Hauptbahnhof, and then took a train back to Mannheim, where we took the bus back to our dorm. Having all that public transportation is so nice! It is so convenient to go pretty much anywhere, and it is cleaner and nicer than you could ever imagine.
Tomorrow is our final day of class for the week. The class is going well. I am not yet learning much new grammar, but I am becoming more fluid in my speech, and I have been picking up a lot of new vocabulary. There's a lot to learn just by being out in the city as well, negotiating with salespeople and listening to people on the street. I find that my worst area is actually listening comprehension, and that I need to remedy. I have the CDs from our textbook that I can practice listening to, but I find that a lot of words slip past me without me recognizing them. I am in the perfect environment to improve though, so I just have to work on it.
Ich freue mich auf dieses Wochenende!
Aufwiederschreiben!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Woche 2
This weeks marks the beginning of week 2. We have had two interesting days so far. On Monday during class, we found out that we were going to the Luisenpark, a gorgeous garden and park, for Interactiv Praxis. We were all going to meet at the Hauptbahnhof at 13:30 and then take the Strassenbahn from there. After getting out of class at 12, we headed to the EO for lunch (much tastier than the Mensa). We ate, but then Joey, Cait, and I realized that we didn't have money for the entrace to the Luisenpark, so we briskly headed back to the Studentenwohnheim. We were pressed for time, but we thought we could make it or be just slightly late. We got to our dorms at 13:09, and we saw our classmate Sam out front, waiting for the bus to the Hauptbahnhof. The bus would be there in just a minute, so we were out of luck in catching it. Joey told Sam to say that we would just meet everyone at the Luisenpark instead, since we would be late. We went inside, grabbed our money, and then headed off. The S-Bahns took a while, and we finally made it to the Luisenpark around 13:50. We figured we were only a few minutes behind of everyone else, so we headed inside. We saw no one, but we decided to walk and learn a few things, like a few flower names. Our Interactiv Praxis usually involves everyone meeting up close to the end of the time, so we headed back up to the entrance a bit before 15:00, waiting for the presumed meetup. We waited. And waited. And waited. And no one ever came. Having no idea what could have happened, we left. We finally found out that our message had not gotten through, the group had waited for us for 45 minutes at the Hauptbahnhof, and then not having enough time to have a decent trip to the gardens, had done a different activity. Le sigh. But all was ok, for we sent an email to Frau Hamann explaining the mixup, even sharing what we had learned at the Luisenpark, and she was not upset.
Today during our lunch break we went to the Marktplatz, where they have fruit and flower vendors set up every Tuesday and Thursday. Joey and I bought some delicious cherries for much cheaper than in the US. They were a nice lunch supplement, since we are starting to bring homemade sandwiches to eat instead of eating at the EO. From there we went to the Luisenpark for real this time, with the whole group for Interactiv Praxis. Even though we had to pay again, it was worth it because of how beautiful it was. They had the greenest grass you've ever seen; plenty of fountains and little streams; vibrant, colorful flowers; and some animals to see, too (even flamingos!).
We cooked some wurst for dinner, and tomorrow we're making our own Schnitzel with our interaction leaders. Saturday is the Black Forest, and then on Sunday, Cait and I are making a trip to Stuttgart.
Aufwiederschreiben!
Unser E-mail:
Frau Hamann,
Es tut uns leid, dass wir heute für Interactiv Praxis Sie verpasst haben. Wir hatten kein Geld, deswegen sind wir zum Studentenwohnheim gegangen. Dort haben wir uns Sam getroffen, weil er auf den Bus warten musste. Joey hat ihm gesagt, dass wir am Luisenpark gehen würden, weil wir wüssten, dass wir zu spät am Bahnhof werden. Danach haben wir unser Geld gefunden, aber wir waren zu spät für den Bus. Wir sind mit der S-Bahn zum Luisenpark gegangen, und wir haben niemand gesehen. Cait hat der Verkäuferin gefragt, ob sie eine Gruppe von Amerikanischen Studenten gesehen hat. Dann haben wir in Luisenpark um 13:50 eingeben, und wir haben die Gruppe gesucht. Wir haben im Park gewandert, um jemand zu finden. Wir haben die Blume, Bäume, und die Tiere besichtigt- und wir haben die Namen von viele gelernt, zum Beispiel: Studentenblume, Bergahorn Baum, Smucklilie, Peruanischer Pfefferbaum, Vanilleblume, und Tasmanischer Kerzenbusch. Danach haben wir am Ausgang auf die Gruppe um 14:45 gewartet. Wir haben für 50 Minuten gewartet, aber niemand ist gekommen.
Anshließend hat Chris uns gesagt, was Sie gemacht haben. Wir wollten Ihnen erklären, was passiert ist, und wir wollten uns Sie entshuldigen. Wir haben auch einige Fotos gemacht, und Sie können sie sehen.
Grüße,
Jenna, Joey, und Cait
Today during our lunch break we went to the Marktplatz, where they have fruit and flower vendors set up every Tuesday and Thursday. Joey and I bought some delicious cherries for much cheaper than in the US. They were a nice lunch supplement, since we are starting to bring homemade sandwiches to eat instead of eating at the EO. From there we went to the Luisenpark for real this time, with the whole group for Interactiv Praxis. Even though we had to pay again, it was worth it because of how beautiful it was. They had the greenest grass you've ever seen; plenty of fountains and little streams; vibrant, colorful flowers; and some animals to see, too (even flamingos!).
We cooked some wurst for dinner, and tomorrow we're making our own Schnitzel with our interaction leaders. Saturday is the Black Forest, and then on Sunday, Cait and I are making a trip to Stuttgart.
Aufwiederschreiben!
Unser E-mail:
Frau Hamann,
Es tut uns leid, dass wir heute für Interactiv Praxis Sie verpasst haben. Wir hatten kein Geld, deswegen sind wir zum Studentenwohnheim gegangen. Dort haben wir uns Sam getroffen, weil er auf den Bus warten musste. Joey hat ihm gesagt, dass wir am Luisenpark gehen würden, weil wir wüssten, dass wir zu spät am Bahnhof werden. Danach haben wir unser Geld gefunden, aber wir waren zu spät für den Bus. Wir sind mit der S-Bahn zum Luisenpark gegangen, und wir haben niemand gesehen. Cait hat der Verkäuferin gefragt, ob sie eine Gruppe von Amerikanischen Studenten gesehen hat. Dann haben wir in Luisenpark um 13:50 eingeben, und wir haben die Gruppe gesucht. Wir haben im Park gewandert, um jemand zu finden. Wir haben die Blume, Bäume, und die Tiere besichtigt- und wir haben die Namen von viele gelernt, zum Beispiel: Studentenblume, Bergahorn Baum, Smucklilie, Peruanischer Pfefferbaum, Vanilleblume, und Tasmanischer Kerzenbusch. Danach haben wir am Ausgang auf die Gruppe um 14:45 gewartet. Wir haben für 50 Minuten gewartet, aber niemand ist gekommen.
Anshließend hat Chris uns gesagt, was Sie gemacht haben. Wir wollten Ihnen erklären, was passiert ist, und wir wollten uns Sie entshuldigen. Wir haben auch einige Fotos gemacht, und Sie können sie sehen.
Grüße,
Jenna, Joey, und Cait
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Wochendende in Berlin
I am now back from our first weekend excursion-- we went to Berlin!
On Friday we have no interactive practice, so we are done with everything in Mannheim at noon. We were able to catch the 12:03 S-Bahn from the Schloß to the Hauptbahnhof, where we grabbed a quick lunch before our train leaving at about 12:30. We had reserved seats, so the five of us were in a nice compartment for the 5-hour trip to Berlin.
We amused ourselves on the train and finally found ourselves at the Berlin Hauptbahhof, a very big place. Our first order of business was to find our way to our youth hostel, the Amadeus Hostel. We bought our city transportation tickets first- we were able to get a group pass (for up to 5 people) for about 3.90 Euros a day per person. It is a bit interesting- it's almost like an honor system, because they don't actually check tickets when you get onto an S- or U-Bahn. Apparently tickets are checked ever so often, so you never know, but neither so far in Mannheim nor in Berlin were we ever checked. In any case, we navigated our way to Voltastrasse, and our hostel was right across the street.
I had never been to a hostel before, so I didn't know quite what to expect. All in all, it wasn't bad, but it was a bit dungeon or Alice in Wonderland-esque. After checking in and paying for both nights, we went to the room- we had to enter a code on a door (shh, don't tell anyone, but it was 654321) and go through about 5 different interior hallways (and smells) before we found our room. Although we had thought we were in a 14-room dorm, as we had booked, there were only 6 beds, none of them taken. The beds were simple wooden plank 2x4 beds, but the bedding was very clean. We claimed our beds with a couple non-essential items like flipflops or toothpaste, and then took all of our necessities and valuables along, leaving the rest, like clothes and toiletries, behind in our backpacks under our beds (our room didn't lock).
Joey was staying in a different hostel, so we headed with up to his, in a different part of the city, but not too far away. We asked someone there for a suggestion on where to eat, for it was around dinnertime. She suggested a little Italian place a couple streets down, and we set out. I must say it was one of our best overall restaurant experiences so far in Germany, but also one of the least expensive! The menu outside listed plates of spaghetti and other dishes for about 3 Euros, so we headed in. It was not busy, and our waitress was very nice as we explained that we were students in Mannheim and learning German. We all ordered spaghetti or something similar, along with soda for the most part (one of the things I will appreciate the most when we get back). Our first surprise was kostenlos (free) bruschetta, which was delicious, and very unheard of for free. When our meals came (and they were very good also), we also got an unexpected basket of bread. Finally, when we were all done, she took a picture of us and then asked whether we would like Schnapps on the house (auf der Haus?... I don't quite remember the phrase), so we all got a tiny glass of amaretto to drink. We really appreciated how kind our waitress was to us, and it was a great first impression of Berlin.
After dinner, we went and explored the Alexanderplatz, which is just a big block in Berlin with various shops and restaurants and things to see. It was fun to go at night, and we saw the Rathaus, which is like a town hall of Berlin. At that point, it was getting late, so we went back to our hostel and Joey went to his.
We met up the next morning with a full agenda. Joey brought us pastries from a bakery by his hostel for breakfast, and then we headed to the Reichstag, the German parliament building. On the way we saw the Brandenburger Tor, a huge gate that stands nearby. There was already a line to get into the Reichstag, so we had to wait a little bit, but then we were immediately taken up. The top of the building is like a big class dome, so there were some great views. An elevator takes you to the base of the dome, but from there you can walk up a spiral ramp to the very top. You could see a lot of Berlin, and we got some great pictures.
After that, we visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Denkmal). It was a large array of stone rectangular prism slabs of varying heights. They started off small, but then they grew taller as you went further into the monument. Fortunately the paths were straight, so you couldn't get lost, but it really felt like a corn field or something similar, since you can't see above anything in the higher sections. There are over 2000 slabs, so the size is very significant.
Then we headed over to Potsdamer Platz, one of the biggest public squares in Berlin. We explored there for a while, seeing the shops, buildings, the Theater am Potsdamer Platz, the Spielbank (casino), and other little areas in the vicinity. We went into the Arkaden, which was pretty similar to a mall, and had lunch there.
It was then on to Kaiser Wilhelm's Gedächtnis Kirche. The original church was built in the late 1800's, but it was mostly destroyed in a bombing raid in 1943. What remained was turned into the memorial (and still-used church) today. It was probably my favorite site in Berlin- the building is just so visually stimulating- it stands out completely from the new architechture surrounding it, and you can just see how it looks charred and very jagged and damaged. The reconstructed inside was also very interesting and beautiful.
Our next trip was to the Berlin Wall. We didn't go to Checkpoint Charlie, but we went to a section called the East Side Gallery, where there is art painted onto the wall for a stretch of over a kilometer. It was very interesting- and it's hard to imagine that the wall was destroyed only in my lifetime.
Our final event of the day was meeting up with a Berliner friend of mine, Svenja, who was an exchange student at my high school. We met in the Alexander Platz, which is apparently an expensive area, but we were able to find reasonably-priced German-style food. She mentioned that she had recently found Mac and Cheese at a grocery store, which she had never seen before in Germany. We went to the store nearby to check it out- it was the Galeria Kaufhof, which is a very nice department store that also has a wide selection of food (waaay more than the average Germany supermarket). Interestingly, we headed over to the "Internationale Spezialitäten." Then we saw a little American flag. Oh! Our food! Let's see what we eat on a regular basis. Among the selection: 10 different kinds of barbecue sauce, Cheese "Zip" (Whiz?), Peanut Butter brand Peanut Butter, Mac n' Cheese mix, 4 kinds of Swiss Miss, Regular and Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff, Hamburger Relish (?), Poptarts (6 Euros a box!), and Crisco. USA! That was definitely the funniest thing we saw in Berlin.
Finally we headed back to the hostel. To our unfortunate surprise, our room without a key had been locked, with us on the outside. We had no idea whether there were new roomies in there for the night. We knocked and pulled and twisted to no avail. We knocked on a door nearby and fortunately some English speakers emerged (they were British), and gave us the number of the hostel to call. Even though reception was closed, fortunately there was someone down there who was able to let us in. Our stuff was still in there safe, and we also had no roomates again for the second night, so the obstacle was (fairly) easily overcome.
After a restful night, we spent our final morning in the Pergamonmuseum. Although I'm not a huge museum person, the exhibits were interesting. Some of the notable ones: the huge Pergamon altar, the Ishtar Gate, and an extensive exhibit on Babylon, the myth and the truth. Most of the pieces were reconstructions, such a statue of Athena, but they were still very fascinating to see. We spent several hours at the museum and then headed to the Hauptbahnhof, where we ate lunch before our train.
We got back to Mannheim at around 7:30 pm. We definitely had a successful trip to Berlin, although there are still many things I wished I could have seen. Next time!
On Friday we have no interactive practice, so we are done with everything in Mannheim at noon. We were able to catch the 12:03 S-Bahn from the Schloß to the Hauptbahnhof, where we grabbed a quick lunch before our train leaving at about 12:30. We had reserved seats, so the five of us were in a nice compartment for the 5-hour trip to Berlin.
We amused ourselves on the train and finally found ourselves at the Berlin Hauptbahhof, a very big place. Our first order of business was to find our way to our youth hostel, the Amadeus Hostel. We bought our city transportation tickets first- we were able to get a group pass (for up to 5 people) for about 3.90 Euros a day per person. It is a bit interesting- it's almost like an honor system, because they don't actually check tickets when you get onto an S- or U-Bahn. Apparently tickets are checked ever so often, so you never know, but neither so far in Mannheim nor in Berlin were we ever checked. In any case, we navigated our way to Voltastrasse, and our hostel was right across the street.
I had never been to a hostel before, so I didn't know quite what to expect. All in all, it wasn't bad, but it was a bit dungeon or Alice in Wonderland-esque. After checking in and paying for both nights, we went to the room- we had to enter a code on a door (shh, don't tell anyone, but it was 654321) and go through about 5 different interior hallways (and smells) before we found our room. Although we had thought we were in a 14-room dorm, as we had booked, there were only 6 beds, none of them taken. The beds were simple wooden plank 2x4 beds, but the bedding was very clean. We claimed our beds with a couple non-essential items like flipflops or toothpaste, and then took all of our necessities and valuables along, leaving the rest, like clothes and toiletries, behind in our backpacks under our beds (our room didn't lock).
Joey was staying in a different hostel, so we headed with up to his, in a different part of the city, but not too far away. We asked someone there for a suggestion on where to eat, for it was around dinnertime. She suggested a little Italian place a couple streets down, and we set out. I must say it was one of our best overall restaurant experiences so far in Germany, but also one of the least expensive! The menu outside listed plates of spaghetti and other dishes for about 3 Euros, so we headed in. It was not busy, and our waitress was very nice as we explained that we were students in Mannheim and learning German. We all ordered spaghetti or something similar, along with soda for the most part (one of the things I will appreciate the most when we get back). Our first surprise was kostenlos (free) bruschetta, which was delicious, and very unheard of for free. When our meals came (and they were very good also), we also got an unexpected basket of bread. Finally, when we were all done, she took a picture of us and then asked whether we would like Schnapps on the house (auf der Haus?... I don't quite remember the phrase), so we all got a tiny glass of amaretto to drink. We really appreciated how kind our waitress was to us, and it was a great first impression of Berlin.
After dinner, we went and explored the Alexanderplatz, which is just a big block in Berlin with various shops and restaurants and things to see. It was fun to go at night, and we saw the Rathaus, which is like a town hall of Berlin. At that point, it was getting late, so we went back to our hostel and Joey went to his.
We met up the next morning with a full agenda. Joey brought us pastries from a bakery by his hostel for breakfast, and then we headed to the Reichstag, the German parliament building. On the way we saw the Brandenburger Tor, a huge gate that stands nearby. There was already a line to get into the Reichstag, so we had to wait a little bit, but then we were immediately taken up. The top of the building is like a big class dome, so there were some great views. An elevator takes you to the base of the dome, but from there you can walk up a spiral ramp to the very top. You could see a lot of Berlin, and we got some great pictures.
After that, we visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Denkmal). It was a large array of stone rectangular prism slabs of varying heights. They started off small, but then they grew taller as you went further into the monument. Fortunately the paths were straight, so you couldn't get lost, but it really felt like a corn field or something similar, since you can't see above anything in the higher sections. There are over 2000 slabs, so the size is very significant.
Then we headed over to Potsdamer Platz, one of the biggest public squares in Berlin. We explored there for a while, seeing the shops, buildings, the Theater am Potsdamer Platz, the Spielbank (casino), and other little areas in the vicinity. We went into the Arkaden, which was pretty similar to a mall, and had lunch there.
It was then on to Kaiser Wilhelm's Gedächtnis Kirche. The original church was built in the late 1800's, but it was mostly destroyed in a bombing raid in 1943. What remained was turned into the memorial (and still-used church) today. It was probably my favorite site in Berlin- the building is just so visually stimulating- it stands out completely from the new architechture surrounding it, and you can just see how it looks charred and very jagged and damaged. The reconstructed inside was also very interesting and beautiful.
Our next trip was to the Berlin Wall. We didn't go to Checkpoint Charlie, but we went to a section called the East Side Gallery, where there is art painted onto the wall for a stretch of over a kilometer. It was very interesting- and it's hard to imagine that the wall was destroyed only in my lifetime.
Our final event of the day was meeting up with a Berliner friend of mine, Svenja, who was an exchange student at my high school. We met in the Alexander Platz, which is apparently an expensive area, but we were able to find reasonably-priced German-style food. She mentioned that she had recently found Mac and Cheese at a grocery store, which she had never seen before in Germany. We went to the store nearby to check it out- it was the Galeria Kaufhof, which is a very nice department store that also has a wide selection of food (waaay more than the average Germany supermarket). Interestingly, we headed over to the "Internationale Spezialitäten." Then we saw a little American flag. Oh! Our food! Let's see what we eat on a regular basis. Among the selection: 10 different kinds of barbecue sauce, Cheese "Zip" (Whiz?), Peanut Butter brand Peanut Butter, Mac n' Cheese mix, 4 kinds of Swiss Miss, Regular and Strawberry Marshmallow Fluff, Hamburger Relish (?), Poptarts (6 Euros a box!), and Crisco. USA! That was definitely the funniest thing we saw in Berlin.
Finally we headed back to the hostel. To our unfortunate surprise, our room without a key had been locked, with us on the outside. We had no idea whether there were new roomies in there for the night. We knocked and pulled and twisted to no avail. We knocked on a door nearby and fortunately some English speakers emerged (they were British), and gave us the number of the hostel to call. Even though reception was closed, fortunately there was someone down there who was able to let us in. Our stuff was still in there safe, and we also had no roomates again for the second night, so the obstacle was (fairly) easily overcome.
After a restful night, we spent our final morning in the Pergamonmuseum. Although I'm not a huge museum person, the exhibits were interesting. Some of the notable ones: the huge Pergamon altar, the Ishtar Gate, and an extensive exhibit on Babylon, the myth and the truth. Most of the pieces were reconstructions, such a statue of Athena, but they were still very fascinating to see. We spent several hours at the museum and then headed to the Hauptbahnhof, where we ate lunch before our train.
We got back to Mannheim at around 7:30 pm. We definitely had a successful trip to Berlin, although there are still many things I wished I could have seen. Next time!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
End of Woche 1
Sorry I haven't blogged for a couple days, I've just been very busy!
I feel that our class time has gotten better every day. It seems like our teacher is more comfortable with us, and we have more interesting and engaging things to do and talk about in class. It is still a long class session, at 3 hours, but it is certainly manageable.
Tuesday for interactive practice it was raining, so we met at the Schloß (castle) in Mannheim, and we went around. It's actually part of the university, so there are several libraries there, and many many many rooms. It is quite easy to get lost inside it! We also saw the attached Kirche (church) and the Antikensaal-Galerie, which houses 20 (more on how I know the exact number later) copies of famous statues.
The more fun part of Tuesday was playing Monopoly with Wolf and Nina, our interaction leaders. The game was in Deutsch Marks, so it was a bit hard to gauge how much everything was actually worth- you got 4000 Marks just for passing "Los"! We were able to practice our German, and our interaction leaders are really cool.
On Wednesday after class, we had a scavenger hunt for interactive practice. We had to go all around the city finding answers to various questions, like what the Mensa was serving that day, how many fountains there are in the Paradeplatz, or how many statues there are in the Antikensaal-Galerie (20!). A few of the questions required talking to random people around Mannheim, so those were the most challenging. Did you know that Mannheim has an Eishockey team called the Mannheimer Adler?
Today our interactive practice involved going to stores in Mannheim on certain missions. We had to hijack an employee and ask things like whether the clothes came in another color, size, etc, whether we could try them on, and whether the color looked good on us! Fortunately we were able to find someone around our age to whom we explained our project, and she very nicely helped us. For the next part we had to go to a different store and ask a Verkäuferin (sales woman) what the words auf Deutsch were for items we didn't know the name of. We found some women's capris (Kurze Hose), boxer shorts (Ünterhosen), and suspenders (Hosenträger).
I find that talking to people in shops and other places has become easier, and we have also become more polite. Our new go-to phrase is now "Können Sie mir bitte sagen..." which means, "Could you please tell me..." It comes in handy for asking for directions, especially. We have also started eating lunch in the EO, which is a student café in the Schloß. You actually pay by the weight of the food, so you really only take what you know you'll eat. I still have to get used to paying for ketchup, though. The food there is really good, and it changes daily. I have been bringing my own water bottle to save money on drinks, for as in the words of another student, soda is like "black gold" here.
It feels like I have been here already for quite a while, and now we can get around the city easily by walking and taking buses and S-Bahns. I have done more walking here than I have ever before, and it's nice that everything is so accessible. Our Studentenwohnheim is in a little bit sketchy part of town, though, so we're sure to travel in groups wherever we go. Our dorm has been good overall, although there is a slew of minor things we've laughed about. We actually wrote out a list of our so-called "grievances," which are actually quite amusing, in a pretend letter to our "Lieber Hausmeister." I believe we came to 33 in all, and perhaps I will post it. But not to worry, everyone at home, because we're all safe and doing fine.
Tomorrow is our first weekend trip, and we're headed straight from school to Berlin! We have 5 people in all- the four girls plus Joey, who is part of our group. I won't have my computer then, but I'll let you know how it goes!
Tschüss!
I feel that our class time has gotten better every day. It seems like our teacher is more comfortable with us, and we have more interesting and engaging things to do and talk about in class. It is still a long class session, at 3 hours, but it is certainly manageable.
Tuesday for interactive practice it was raining, so we met at the Schloß (castle) in Mannheim, and we went around. It's actually part of the university, so there are several libraries there, and many many many rooms. It is quite easy to get lost inside it! We also saw the attached Kirche (church) and the Antikensaal-Galerie, which houses 20 (more on how I know the exact number later) copies of famous statues.
The more fun part of Tuesday was playing Monopoly with Wolf and Nina, our interaction leaders. The game was in Deutsch Marks, so it was a bit hard to gauge how much everything was actually worth- you got 4000 Marks just for passing "Los"! We were able to practice our German, and our interaction leaders are really cool.
On Wednesday after class, we had a scavenger hunt for interactive practice. We had to go all around the city finding answers to various questions, like what the Mensa was serving that day, how many fountains there are in the Paradeplatz, or how many statues there are in the Antikensaal-Galerie (20!). A few of the questions required talking to random people around Mannheim, so those were the most challenging. Did you know that Mannheim has an Eishockey team called the Mannheimer Adler?
Today our interactive practice involved going to stores in Mannheim on certain missions. We had to hijack an employee and ask things like whether the clothes came in another color, size, etc, whether we could try them on, and whether the color looked good on us! Fortunately we were able to find someone around our age to whom we explained our project, and she very nicely helped us. For the next part we had to go to a different store and ask a Verkäuferin (sales woman) what the words auf Deutsch were for items we didn't know the name of. We found some women's capris (Kurze Hose), boxer shorts (Ünterhosen), and suspenders (Hosenträger).
I find that talking to people in shops and other places has become easier, and we have also become more polite. Our new go-to phrase is now "Können Sie mir bitte sagen..." which means, "Could you please tell me..." It comes in handy for asking for directions, especially. We have also started eating lunch in the EO, which is a student café in the Schloß. You actually pay by the weight of the food, so you really only take what you know you'll eat. I still have to get used to paying for ketchup, though. The food there is really good, and it changes daily. I have been bringing my own water bottle to save money on drinks, for as in the words of another student, soda is like "black gold" here.
It feels like I have been here already for quite a while, and now we can get around the city easily by walking and taking buses and S-Bahns. I have done more walking here than I have ever before, and it's nice that everything is so accessible. Our Studentenwohnheim is in a little bit sketchy part of town, though, so we're sure to travel in groups wherever we go. Our dorm has been good overall, although there is a slew of minor things we've laughed about. We actually wrote out a list of our so-called "grievances," which are actually quite amusing, in a pretend letter to our "Lieber Hausmeister." I believe we came to 33 in all, and perhaps I will post it. But not to worry, everyone at home, because we're all safe and doing fine.
Tomorrow is our first weekend trip, and we're headed straight from school to Berlin! We have 5 people in all- the four girls plus Joey, who is part of our group. I won't have my computer then, but I'll let you know how it goes!
Tschüss!
Monday, July 7, 2008
Tag Vier
Today was our first day of class, and I would say that it went pretty well. Our teacher's name is Jessica Hamann, and we have not yet figured out whether to call her Jessica or Frau Hamann. She is pretty young, and seemingly a new teacher, although it is too soon to say for certain what our class will be like. We did various oral exercises in groups, as well as some work from our textbook. I imagine she was feeling out our skill levels and proficiency, and we'll soon dive in to our new curriculum. She did speak at a more normal speed, so occasionally I didn't quite understand what was going on, or some particular words she was using, but mostly I could hold my own and figure out what we were talking about. The class lasted from 9 to 12, and then we had a 1,5 hour break for lunch. We tried out the Mensa for the first time, using our student cards that we were given at orientation. We were able to purchase a standard meal for 2.30 Euros, plus an extra Euro for a drink. It wasn't too bad, but I think tomorrow we are investigating other options. After lunch we all met at the Hauptbahnhof for Interactive Practice, also led by Frau Hamann. She led us around explaining different things, and then we split into groups for mini assignments, like finding how to get from certain places to others. It was almost like a little scavenger hunt, and it was fun. After that, we all sat in a café and had drinks. I had hot chocolate, which was delicious, and we spoke more German.
After stopping at the grocery store, we went back to the dorms and did our homework, and then headed outside for the grillout being put on by the Interaction Leaders. They had some salad, cake, and bratwurst, and although it was a couple hours before we actually ate, everything was good. Later we all hung out in the dorms with Wolf and Nina, two of the Interaction Leaders, and we had fun getting to know them.
Wir sind zu Fuß zum Kurs gegangen. Ich habe Frau Hamman kennengelernt, und wir haben vielen Deutsch gesprochen. Danach sind wir zur Mensa gegangen. Wir haben nicht wie Anna vor der Mensa gesessen, und Ulrike hat uns nicht gewunken. :( Dann sind wir zum Hauptbahnhof gegangen. Wir haben uns mit Jessica getroffen. Wir haben die Linienpläne studiert. Man hat 6 Möglichkeiten um vom Hauptbahnhof bis zum Paradeplatz zu gehen. Morgen spielen wir Monopoly mit den Interaction Leaders. Ich freue mich darauf. Ich glaube, dass ich die beste Gruppe habe.
Bis später!
After stopping at the grocery store, we went back to the dorms and did our homework, and then headed outside for the grillout being put on by the Interaction Leaders. They had some salad, cake, and bratwurst, and although it was a couple hours before we actually ate, everything was good. Later we all hung out in the dorms with Wolf and Nina, two of the Interaction Leaders, and we had fun getting to know them.
Wir sind zu Fuß zum Kurs gegangen. Ich habe Frau Hamman kennengelernt, und wir haben vielen Deutsch gesprochen. Danach sind wir zur Mensa gegangen. Wir haben nicht wie Anna vor der Mensa gesessen, und Ulrike hat uns nicht gewunken. :( Dann sind wir zum Hauptbahnhof gegangen. Wir haben uns mit Jessica getroffen. Wir haben die Linienpläne studiert. Man hat 6 Möglichkeiten um vom Hauptbahnhof bis zum Paradeplatz zu gehen. Morgen spielen wir Monopoly mit den Interaction Leaders. Ich freue mich darauf. Ich glaube, dass ich die beste Gruppe habe.
Bis später!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Tag Drei
Today was a tour of the beautiful town of Heidelberg. We took a 15-minute train to Heidelberg, and it is an absolutely gorgeous place! We walked along the cobblestone streets up to the Heidelberg Schloß, a huge castle at the top of a hill. The ramp to get up was very steep, but we finally made it and had a great view of the land. Our little group paid a little extra to go even farther up in the castle, and it was definitely worth it to see some exhibits and some special views. After the trek, we were hungry so we stopped in a little restaurant for some bratwurst und pommes. Since it was Sunday, most of the regular shops were closed. It was also raining, but we had nowhere to be, so we took the streetcar back to Mannheim. It was about a 40-minute trip, but we were able to see some scenery and the area where we will be living! We didn't do too much else during the day, since we were all tired from the long weekend. Tomorrow we begin class and speaking German all the time, so it will definitely be becoming more intense. So far, I've been having a great time with my classmates and some new friends, and taking lots of pictures! I have also found out my interaction group- I will be with Giselle and one of my new friends Joey, in a group with our leader Wolf. I've met Wolf at our first dinner, and I'm know that we're going to have a great group, so I'm really excited. I'll keep you updated!
Morgen abends haben wir ein "Grillout" mit den Interaction Leaders. Wir müssen nur die Getränke bringen. Ich freue mich darauf! Unser Unterricht beginnt um 9 Uhr. Ich hoffe, dass ich mich meinen Deutsch erinnern.
Morgen abends haben wir ein "Grillout" mit den Interaction Leaders. Wir müssen nur die Getränke bringen. Ich freue mich darauf! Unser Unterricht beginnt um 9 Uhr. Ich hoffe, dass ich mich meinen Deutsch erinnern.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Zweiter Tag
Heute war unser zweiter Tag in Mannheim.
Today we woke up in the morning to go to our city of Mannheim tour, led by one of our faculty advisors, Dr. Hasty. We met in front of the most recognizable landmarks of the city, the Mannheim Palace, or Mannheimer Schloss. If you can imagine a palace several times larger than the entire Swamp, then you might get an idea about the size. With, in Dr. Hasty's words a "summary" of the history of the palace, we began our tour. We went around to hopefully soon-to-be familiar locales, such as the Mensa (cafeteria), our classrooms, and several places to shop, including the open market near the Paradeplatz. After the tour, we were eager for nourishment. We wanted to try Turkish döner, so we stopped in at a quick place called the Kebap House. Döner is a Turkish item- imagine a huge cylinder of meat (in this case, lamb or turkey) hanging from the ceiling. They shave away pieces of the meat and put it into pita-type bread, along with veggies, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. It was delicious and also not expensive! After that refreshment, we visited a grocery store for some essentials. While not nearly as expansive as an American grocery store, we were able to find what we needed. Paying was a little tricky- there are no baggers, so you are quickly forced to gather up your purchases and head to a counter to bag them yourself, using either newly purchased bags or ones brought from home. I'm sure the process will become much easier and swifter and time goes on, but today, what with figuring out the correct change and trying to handle everything, it was a little difficult.
We dropped off our purchases at the dorms, and then headed out for the most complex trip of the day- a trip to IKEA! We took one bus out from the dorm, transfered onto a streetcar, and then transfered again onto a different bus. This was not without some help of a couple locals, whom we asked for help and directions. But we finally made it, and I was surprised- IKEA was huge! Roughly the size of 3 Sam's Clubs put together, there were numerous levels, tons of furniture and rooms, and 2 restaurants. We had some fun looking around at all of the options. We took the same buses and streetcar back to the dorms, where we had some much needed rest before heading out for dinner. This time we went to the Paradeplatz and found an interesting pizza stand. It wasn't quite traditional pizza, but "Butterfly Pizza" on an oval-dough and put into a paper packet. It was also inexpensive and good, and the owner even split an entire individual pizza for us all to try for free. On the way home, we bought a loaf of bread to have for tomorrow, since nearly everything will be closed, which is one of the notes on food that I have made thusfar. In addition I have noticed:
1. Stilles Wasser gefällt mir lieber als Mineralwasser. I like still water more than carbonated water.
2. Alkoholfreie Getränke sind teuer. Soft drinks (like soda) are expensive!
3. Wasser ist nicht kostenfrei. Water is not free.
4. Man kann Plastikflaschen ans Geshäft zurückkehren. You can return plastic bottles to the store (for a 25 cent refund!)
5. Alles, dass ich gegessen habe, war gut. Everything that I've eaten was good!
That is all for now- I look forward to day three, which includes a tour of Heidelberg, a nearby town. Guten Nacht!
Today we woke up in the morning to go to our city of Mannheim tour, led by one of our faculty advisors, Dr. Hasty. We met in front of the most recognizable landmarks of the city, the Mannheim Palace, or Mannheimer Schloss. If you can imagine a palace several times larger than the entire Swamp, then you might get an idea about the size. With, in Dr. Hasty's words a "summary" of the history of the palace, we began our tour. We went around to hopefully soon-to-be familiar locales, such as the Mensa (cafeteria), our classrooms, and several places to shop, including the open market near the Paradeplatz. After the tour, we were eager for nourishment. We wanted to try Turkish döner, so we stopped in at a quick place called the Kebap House. Döner is a Turkish item- imagine a huge cylinder of meat (in this case, lamb or turkey) hanging from the ceiling. They shave away pieces of the meat and put it into pita-type bread, along with veggies, tzatziki sauce, and feta cheese. It was delicious and also not expensive! After that refreshment, we visited a grocery store for some essentials. While not nearly as expansive as an American grocery store, we were able to find what we needed. Paying was a little tricky- there are no baggers, so you are quickly forced to gather up your purchases and head to a counter to bag them yourself, using either newly purchased bags or ones brought from home. I'm sure the process will become much easier and swifter and time goes on, but today, what with figuring out the correct change and trying to handle everything, it was a little difficult.
We dropped off our purchases at the dorms, and then headed out for the most complex trip of the day- a trip to IKEA! We took one bus out from the dorm, transfered onto a streetcar, and then transfered again onto a different bus. This was not without some help of a couple locals, whom we asked for help and directions. But we finally made it, and I was surprised- IKEA was huge! Roughly the size of 3 Sam's Clubs put together, there were numerous levels, tons of furniture and rooms, and 2 restaurants. We had some fun looking around at all of the options. We took the same buses and streetcar back to the dorms, where we had some much needed rest before heading out for dinner. This time we went to the Paradeplatz and found an interesting pizza stand. It wasn't quite traditional pizza, but "Butterfly Pizza" on an oval-dough and put into a paper packet. It was also inexpensive and good, and the owner even split an entire individual pizza for us all to try for free. On the way home, we bought a loaf of bread to have for tomorrow, since nearly everything will be closed, which is one of the notes on food that I have made thusfar. In addition I have noticed:
1. Stilles Wasser gefällt mir lieber als Mineralwasser. I like still water more than carbonated water.
2. Alkoholfreie Getränke sind teuer. Soft drinks (like soda) are expensive!
3. Wasser ist nicht kostenfrei. Water is not free.
4. Man kann Plastikflaschen ans Geshäft zurückkehren. You can return plastic bottles to the store (for a 25 cent refund!)
5. Alles, dass ich gegessen habe, war gut. Everything that I've eaten was good!
That is all for now- I look forward to day three, which includes a tour of Heidelberg, a nearby town. Guten Nacht!
Willkommen in Mannheim
Hallo! I have been in Mannheim for two days now, and I have much to report, although I will split each day into separate entries.
After meeting Erica and Giselle, two of my classmates and friends from German class, in Orlando for our flight together, we headed off to the airport. We had fairly uneventful flights, but had a near scare in the baggage claim in Frankfurt. After 5 of our 6 bags made it out, we were the last ones standing and waiting for my giant red bag of all my clothes. A very official airport guy came up, asking (in English) if we were still waiting for something, for according to him, everything from our flight had made it. After a quick phone call with my bag number, he told us to just wait a few minutes and it would likely turn up. Sure enough, a few minutes later it came out on a different belt, and we went merrily along.
The next step was taking the train from Frankfurt to Mannheim- a 30 minute ride. We bought our tickets from a machine and set out to the platform to wait. Whoever said the German trains run on time was incorrect that day, for our train was announced to be 25 minutes late. After that delay, we were finally on the train. With all of our bags. Which probably weighed more than we. We clambered into a second-class car and began to look for seats. Although our car was probably three-quarters full at best, the remaining quarter was already taken by other passengers' bags and laptops. No one volunteered to move their stuff, so we awkwardly traveled the length of the car and managed to squeeze into the tight quarters in between our car and the next car, which happened to be first-class. So, we stood and rode the short ride to Mannheim without seats, as we imagined how the German passengers were laughing at our strife. Otherwise, the trip was fine, and we finally unloaded in Mannheim, only to drag, lug, and continually adjust (Erica!) our bags the mile or so to the International Center, where we had our orientation.
Orientation consisted of meeting our interaction leaders and teachers, some refreshing food and drink (including the only diet cola I have seen so far in Germany), and a general handing out of information regarding the dorms and other issues for our stay. Everyone was itching to get out to the dorms to refresh, so we gathered all our belongings and went out to the bus stop. About 24 of us and about 50 bags managed to squeeze onto the next bus, and we rode safely to our dorms.
Brief description: Several 6-story buildings side by side. From the outside, they look nice enough, except for a large amount of unbagged trash on our front stoop. We are on the sixth floor, which has two 3-room suites on each side, which each have a room with a toilet and sink, and another with a shower. The two suites are connected by a common kitchen. The rooms are pretty nondescript, although they do have a ton of storage space, which is a definite plus. I am rooming with Cait, another of my former classmates, and by a stroke of luck Erica and Giselle are in our suite. The other half holds four of the boys from our program.
After getting settled in, we met up with our interaction leaders at the Paradeplatz, a large public square surrounded by tons of shops and restaurants. Around 20 of us ate with them at a restaurant (I don't know the name!), still speaking English and getting to know each other. I had the "Schnitzel Wiener Arts," which consisted of wiener schnitzel, along with a potato dish and salad. It was quite delicious, although I was not able to finish it all. I was able to get by with my German as far as ordering was concerned, and it was great to be with the group. After dinner, we all went off in separate directions. Giselle, Erica, Cait, a boy, and I set off to find a grocery store that might still be open (at 9 o'clock). While it was never found, we did find a lot of interesting places in Mannheim. After a while, we went back to the Studentenwohnheim, and eventually went to bed. My initial impressions are that I'm going to have a great time in Mannheim, and I really look forward to getting better with my German.
Für Dr. O!
Wir sind mit unseren "Interaction Leaders" zum Restaurant gegangen. Ich habe Wiener Schnitzel gegessen, und ich habe viele Leute kennengelernt. Ich freue mich auf den Kurz!
After meeting Erica and Giselle, two of my classmates and friends from German class, in Orlando for our flight together, we headed off to the airport. We had fairly uneventful flights, but had a near scare in the baggage claim in Frankfurt. After 5 of our 6 bags made it out, we were the last ones standing and waiting for my giant red bag of all my clothes. A very official airport guy came up, asking (in English) if we were still waiting for something, for according to him, everything from our flight had made it. After a quick phone call with my bag number, he told us to just wait a few minutes and it would likely turn up. Sure enough, a few minutes later it came out on a different belt, and we went merrily along.
The next step was taking the train from Frankfurt to Mannheim- a 30 minute ride. We bought our tickets from a machine and set out to the platform to wait. Whoever said the German trains run on time was incorrect that day, for our train was announced to be 25 minutes late. After that delay, we were finally on the train. With all of our bags. Which probably weighed more than we. We clambered into a second-class car and began to look for seats. Although our car was probably three-quarters full at best, the remaining quarter was already taken by other passengers' bags and laptops. No one volunteered to move their stuff, so we awkwardly traveled the length of the car and managed to squeeze into the tight quarters in between our car and the next car, which happened to be first-class. So, we stood and rode the short ride to Mannheim without seats, as we imagined how the German passengers were laughing at our strife. Otherwise, the trip was fine, and we finally unloaded in Mannheim, only to drag, lug, and continually adjust (Erica!) our bags the mile or so to the International Center, where we had our orientation.
Orientation consisted of meeting our interaction leaders and teachers, some refreshing food and drink (including the only diet cola I have seen so far in Germany), and a general handing out of information regarding the dorms and other issues for our stay. Everyone was itching to get out to the dorms to refresh, so we gathered all our belongings and went out to the bus stop. About 24 of us and about 50 bags managed to squeeze onto the next bus, and we rode safely to our dorms.
Brief description: Several 6-story buildings side by side. From the outside, they look nice enough, except for a large amount of unbagged trash on our front stoop. We are on the sixth floor, which has two 3-room suites on each side, which each have a room with a toilet and sink, and another with a shower. The two suites are connected by a common kitchen. The rooms are pretty nondescript, although they do have a ton of storage space, which is a definite plus. I am rooming with Cait, another of my former classmates, and by a stroke of luck Erica and Giselle are in our suite. The other half holds four of the boys from our program.
After getting settled in, we met up with our interaction leaders at the Paradeplatz, a large public square surrounded by tons of shops and restaurants. Around 20 of us ate with them at a restaurant (I don't know the name!), still speaking English and getting to know each other. I had the "Schnitzel Wiener Arts," which consisted of wiener schnitzel, along with a potato dish and salad. It was quite delicious, although I was not able to finish it all. I was able to get by with my German as far as ordering was concerned, and it was great to be with the group. After dinner, we all went off in separate directions. Giselle, Erica, Cait, a boy, and I set off to find a grocery store that might still be open (at 9 o'clock). While it was never found, we did find a lot of interesting places in Mannheim. After a while, we went back to the Studentenwohnheim, and eventually went to bed. My initial impressions are that I'm going to have a great time in Mannheim, and I really look forward to getting better with my German.
Für Dr. O!
Wir sind mit unseren "Interaction Leaders" zum Restaurant gegangen. Ich habe Wiener Schnitzel gegessen, und ich habe viele Leute kennengelernt. Ich freue mich auf den Kurz!
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