Hello everyone! I just wanted to write a bit about my short time in Prague and then generally summarize what I learned on my summer 2011 study abroad trip.
Prague is a gorgeous city. It is completely different from Budapest. I thought the two might have a similar vibe since they are both in Eastern Europe, but the Czech Republic has a feel of its own. While Hungary is very supportive of the EU, the Czech Republic under the current leadership of Klaus is not so keen on the EU. The city is very clean, but feels more vibrant than Budapest. With a GDP of about $28,000 per person, you can definitely tell the people are more affluent in the Czech Republic. Also, Prague itself is a very wealthy city.
We stayed in a Best Western Hotel near the center of town. Our hotel was very modern and right next door to a famous Czech restaurant where we went on Thursday night for traditional food. I had goulash, dumplings with bacon inside, and apple strudel. There was also awesome accordion music and an um pah band! The little accordion playing man played "Home on the Range" for us when he found out we were from Texas.
When we first got to Prague on Wednesday, we checked in to our hotel and then went on a dinner cruise on the river. It was such a neat way to see the city all lit up at night from the top of our boat. Even with our delayed arrival, we still got to enjoy the food and each others' company on our private boat. The weather was nice and warm too- finally! It was about 70 degrees or warmer the whole time I was there.
On Thursday we had two appointments in Prague, one of which was at the renowned Charles University. We learned much about the political history of Prague, their reasons for joining the EU, and the EU's reaction to them joining.
Since I was leaving on Friday morning to go to the airport and fly home a little early, I wanted to do a bit of souvenir shopping. So after our meeting on Thursday afternoon, Linn, Marshall, and I decided to do a bit of shopping and see the city more. We made it for about ten minutes before it just poured down raining on us! We ended up finding a nice cafe to get some tea and relax in for a bit while we waited on the rain to stop. Though our sight-seeing was cut short, we still managed to have fun and get some nice postcards and things.
I was sad to leave Prague early- there was just so much to do and see there! Everything felt so relaxed and open. I also was a big fan of the tram system! But, coming back to Texas was fantastic! I was excited for the wedding I was going to on Saturday, and for Mexican food, normal water, sunshine, and tons of green vegetables! Thankfully, I got my connecting flight in London's Heathrow and flew out just in time Friday evening before the riots began on Saturday. What a blessing!
While in Europe though, I learned a lot. Not only did I gain so much knowledge on PoliSci and the EU, but on people, cultures, and life in general. I learned to appreciate America more after seeing how things are done (or not ever accomplished) in Europe. I also think I have a better understanding of people- regardless of views, politics, beliefs, or heritage.
I strongly encourage everyone to take the opportunity to study abroad at some point. It is the best thing to do not only for your resume, but with your time. You will grow so much and learn more about yourself along the way, (e.g. I learned I am definitely an introvert...though I love being with people, they drain me of energy. I need some "me time" to rejuvenate and regain energy I have spent). And don't let money stop you from studying abroad. There are plenty of scholarships available. Also, taking out small student loans isn't a terrible thing, especially if studying abroad will get you into the graduate school program you desire or the internship you really want.
So, I hope you have enjoyed reading about my happy moments and adventures in Europe! I am not sure what else I will write about, but I hope to blog some more this fall :)
Monday, August 15, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Budapest
When we boarded the boat for Budapest on Sunday morning, I had mixed thoughts of anticipation about the Hungarian city. I basically knew nothing about it other than that their currency, the Forint, is worth less than the dollar at $1 to 187 Ft, they speak Hungarian, a language in its own language family but for some reason grouped with Finnish, and that the city is rather Eastern due tot he Soviet influence and control until 20 years ago. Upon arriving, I had mixed feelings, but now I am a huge fan of this slowly westernizing city.
Our hotel is quite nice, but on the Buda side of the city and Danube where not as much seems to happen. On our first afternoon here, we took a tour of a Synagogue and Jewish heritage memorial and museum. Pre-WWII, Hungary had one of the world's largest Jewish populations with around 1.3 million. Now, the small country has only about 100,000 Jews with 80% of them living in Budapest. The Synagogue was beautifully reconstructed in the late 1990's after the end of Soviet occupation. Sadly, the Hungarian government made a deal with the Nazis during WWII that ended up turning against them and then with the Soviets after the war. Now this small country is working on rebuilding its economy and making up for 45 lost years of development. You can easily tell what parts of the city are Soviet era construction and what parts are more historic, but in need of attention and renovation. The country's GDP per capita is at about $20,000, but with the recent Hungarian Presidency of the EU Council, much progress towards further economic integration has been initiated and reiterated.
After the museum and checking in to our hotel on Sunday, we went to a four star group dinner across town. We had to take the underground to get there and quickly learned that Budapest doesn't mess around with their mass transit metros. They stop for much shorter time periods and the doors slam ten times faster than other underground systems in Munich and Vienna. At our scrumptious dinner, a few Passau and Hungarian students joined us. We got to know these students and found out they would be joining us for our lectures on Monday and Tuesday in a joint seminar program at Andrassy University here in Budapest organized through a Passau professor now here in Budapest.
On Monday morning, we walked through a sketchy part of town to get to the university building. Once we were there though, the area immediately surrounding it was ok, and the building ended up being a palace!! I think we had class in a former dining room or something. The lectures were very interesting and on the Eastern dimension of EU security and foreign policy, the Energy Community, and on the Franco-German relationship in Europe.
During our lunch break, us girls decided to walk the opposite way of the sketchy area we walked through earlier and came across a wonderful place for lunch called California Coffee Company. Though not true Hungarian food like dinner the night before, it was delicious, convenient, and clean. I had a heavenly strawberry muffin for dessert....so worth it! We also managed to change our Euros for Forint which is the so strange to do because you get 10,000 bills that look like Monopoly money. It is hard to truly grasp how much things cost and what exactly you are spending without a calculator.
After our break, we went on a field trip to the Botanical Gardens where we learned more about the Danube Strategy and the EU's "bottom-up" program development system as it applies to sustainability projects in Hungary. At these beautiful, once donated, gardens, we learned about the public administration side of the Eu and its influence at the local level. We got to see some development projects such as geothermal heating systems while admiring the gardens.
That evening, we had true Hungarian goulash at a delicious restaurant recommended to us by the hotel staff. Goulash is basically a savory beef soup with carrots and other small vegetables. I am a huge fan!
This morning we had another lecture here at the Hungarian Ministry of European Affairs where we learned much more about the Danube Strategy of macro-regional governance from Kata who was a student with the Danube Summer Institute a few years back when she was at Passau. The lecture was highly informative and well organized.
After a brief meeting about our essays with J-Rob, 8 of us went to the area of town known as "fashion street" close to the river where there are lots of shops and restaurants. We had yummy lunch and absolutely delicious ice cream at the Budapest Atrium Cafe outside. We even took the guys into H&M afterwards, haha. There were a few sketchy people around town like a gypsy in the street, but overall, it wasn't creepy at all. We did a little postcard/ tourist shopping before heading back to the hotel.
After chill time for napping and journal-writing at the hotel, we were supposed to have some sort of political organization meeting tonight at 8, but the meeting turned into another yummy outdoor dinner. We had some very intense conversations at dinner, but I loved getting to know the European students more.
Some parted ways with us after diner, but unfortunately for them, they missed out on seeing the most amazing castle at night on top of the hill. It is an old Habsburg palace on the Buda side of the city on a hilltop overlooking the Danube. From up top, you could see the whole city all lit up. I loved seeing the beautiful castle all lit up at night too.
Tomorrow will bring another new language and currency, but I cannot wait for Prague!!
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Vienna
On Thursday afternoon we had a wonderful tour guide show us around the historic areas of Vienna's "inner ring". Despite the continual rain, we managed to learn many things about the Habsburg family's dynasty and influence in Vienna as well as enjoy our guide's great sense of humor. I've noticed that you can tell if someone has really mastered a foreign language or not based on their ability to insert clever humor into the conversation. We walked past the opera house, through the St. Stephen Cathedral, Hofberg Palace, and through the city's shopping areas. After the tour, us students went to dinner at Centimeter, a restaurant not too far from our hotel where you can order food literally by the centimeter.
On Friday morning we had an appointment at the Diplomatic Academy here in Vienna. Though the appointment's schedule of speakers was a bit confusing, I still learned a whole lot about Austrian and European foreign policy. I especially enjoyed our lecture by the ambassador on the Danube Strategy. It was very interesting to hear about a strategy involving no direct funding or formation of supportive organizations and the ambitions for building infrastructure, furthering integration, and pursuing more trade. I'm curious to see how effective this strategy will be.
With some time available in the afternoon, our group split up for lunch in the city. I enjoyed scrumptious Italian food at restaurant that Jon Bon Jovi at at last week and Bill Cosby ate at....well at some point in time. Our group then proceeded to get things done by finding the post office, money changer, souvenir shops, and the crown jewel: Starbucks.
In the late afternoon, we all went to the Austrian federal Chancellery for a private tour. This could be equated to going to visit the White House. Because CIFE, our partner organization had a connection to the Chancellory here via an alumni, we got to walk through all of the main rooms of the building beginning with the oldest Renaissance and Baroque sections and ending in the most recent 1950's addition. Along the way, J-Rob interjected his American perspective and put things into historical context to help us realize the significance of what we are seeing. Though some people got irritated at him for "rambling", I really appreciate him taking the time to tell us things like where treaties were negotiated, where the Nazi's ended the first Austrian Republic in 1938, etc. Us girls had fun collecting free postcards with photos of each room on them along the way. Half way through the tour, we found out that the Chancellor was in the building in his office at the time. We were in the room adjoining his office, and I just kept hoping he would walk by. But, alas, he did not.
After the Chancellery, Linn (our CIFE intern who is guiding us through the field trip portion of the program) lead all of us students to a cheaper more student-friendly district of town for dinner. We had delicious Spanish cuisine that was a nice change of flavors. (Though I am still missing my Mexican food!)
Today was our free day in Austria. Once again, Randy, Clara, and I, teamed up to make the most of our time. We went to Schonbrunn first at 8:30 this morning. It is the famous summer palace of the Habsburg family built beginning in the 17th century, but finished by the famous Austria-Hungarian/ Holy Roman Empire Empress Maria Theresa. It was so ridiculously immaculate!! Our audio tour abounded with highly detailed room-by-room explanations. After that, we came back towards town and went to a Lipizzaner horse show at the Hofberg. We then went to see the Royal Treasury where the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire are housed. Though they are really the German "crown jewels", they were originally in Germany, then in Austria for several centuries, stolen by the Nazi's, then given back to Austria by the U.S. after the war where they have remained. We then decided it was time for a lunch break and found some Schnitzel (and some iced tea!!!!) at a restaurant in the inner ring of the city. After lunch and a bit of souvenir shopping, we went to the art museum where we saw all sorts of artwork. Namely, we saw German paintings from the 15th century development of portraiture onwards. We saw works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, van Dyck, and other various moderately well-known artists. As we were finishing up this museum, Randy and I began to suffer from museum fatigue, so we opted for a break. Luckily, Linn and I had planned on meeting for coffee at 4 o'clock anyways, so I knew a good place to go. Sadly, we didn't end up meeting Linn at Cafe Central, but it was a wonderful true Viennese coffee house experience. It is the oldest coffee house in Vienna and extremely beautiful inside. The waiters all wear suits and are not necessarily known for their hand and foot service. Nevertheless, they are cordial enough and serve wonderful desserts. I was quite pleased with my chocolate truffle cake thing and Viennese coffee :)
After a few quick stops in gift shops, we made it back to the hotel to get ready for the Mozart concert. At fist we thought some of the street ticket vendors were trying to scam us, so six of us reluctantly paid a deposit on student tickets for tonight. But, it turned out to be one of the best experiences on this trip so far. The concert was at the famous concert hall here in Vienna and was performed by the Mozart Orchestra of Vienna, a world-renowned orchestra here only in the summer because they are traveling in the winter. When we got there, we got our 21 Euro student tickets upgraded to second row 65 Euro tickets! I have no clue how, but it happened and it was awesome!!! All of the orchestra members dressed in traditional costume and wore Mozart wigs...I know it sounds kind of weird, but they looked so impressive and legit. The concert featured a variety of music including Symphony 40 and several pieces from his Italian operas. The conductor was really charismatic and got the audience involved and enthusiastic about the show.
We had a wonderful full, yet enjoyable and non-stressful day in the city. Thankfully Clara is a "U" expert and navigated the underground system like a pro. Randy is a superb map reader, and I am the woman with a plan. So, together we make a pretty grand team for these free days. We all like to make the most of our time in these wonderful places!!
Well, I am about to pack for the boat trip to Budapest in the morning. I'll have much more to share with you soon.
On Friday morning we had an appointment at the Diplomatic Academy here in Vienna. Though the appointment's schedule of speakers was a bit confusing, I still learned a whole lot about Austrian and European foreign policy. I especially enjoyed our lecture by the ambassador on the Danube Strategy. It was very interesting to hear about a strategy involving no direct funding or formation of supportive organizations and the ambitions for building infrastructure, furthering integration, and pursuing more trade. I'm curious to see how effective this strategy will be.
With some time available in the afternoon, our group split up for lunch in the city. I enjoyed scrumptious Italian food at restaurant that Jon Bon Jovi at at last week and Bill Cosby ate at....well at some point in time. Our group then proceeded to get things done by finding the post office, money changer, souvenir shops, and the crown jewel: Starbucks.
In the late afternoon, we all went to the Austrian federal Chancellery for a private tour. This could be equated to going to visit the White House. Because CIFE, our partner organization had a connection to the Chancellory here via an alumni, we got to walk through all of the main rooms of the building beginning with the oldest Renaissance and Baroque sections and ending in the most recent 1950's addition. Along the way, J-Rob interjected his American perspective and put things into historical context to help us realize the significance of what we are seeing. Though some people got irritated at him for "rambling", I really appreciate him taking the time to tell us things like where treaties were negotiated, where the Nazi's ended the first Austrian Republic in 1938, etc. Us girls had fun collecting free postcards with photos of each room on them along the way. Half way through the tour, we found out that the Chancellor was in the building in his office at the time. We were in the room adjoining his office, and I just kept hoping he would walk by. But, alas, he did not.
After the Chancellery, Linn (our CIFE intern who is guiding us through the field trip portion of the program) lead all of us students to a cheaper more student-friendly district of town for dinner. We had delicious Spanish cuisine that was a nice change of flavors. (Though I am still missing my Mexican food!)
Today was our free day in Austria. Once again, Randy, Clara, and I, teamed up to make the most of our time. We went to Schonbrunn first at 8:30 this morning. It is the famous summer palace of the Habsburg family built beginning in the 17th century, but finished by the famous Austria-Hungarian/ Holy Roman Empire Empress Maria Theresa. It was so ridiculously immaculate!! Our audio tour abounded with highly detailed room-by-room explanations. After that, we came back towards town and went to a Lipizzaner horse show at the Hofberg. We then went to see the Royal Treasury where the crown jewels of the Holy Roman Empire are housed. Though they are really the German "crown jewels", they were originally in Germany, then in Austria for several centuries, stolen by the Nazi's, then given back to Austria by the U.S. after the war where they have remained. We then decided it was time for a lunch break and found some Schnitzel (and some iced tea!!!!) at a restaurant in the inner ring of the city. After lunch and a bit of souvenir shopping, we went to the art museum where we saw all sorts of artwork. Namely, we saw German paintings from the 15th century development of portraiture onwards. We saw works by Raphael, Rembrandt, Rubens, van Dyck, and other various moderately well-known artists. As we were finishing up this museum, Randy and I began to suffer from museum fatigue, so we opted for a break. Luckily, Linn and I had planned on meeting for coffee at 4 o'clock anyways, so I knew a good place to go. Sadly, we didn't end up meeting Linn at Cafe Central, but it was a wonderful true Viennese coffee house experience. It is the oldest coffee house in Vienna and extremely beautiful inside. The waiters all wear suits and are not necessarily known for their hand and foot service. Nevertheless, they are cordial enough and serve wonderful desserts. I was quite pleased with my chocolate truffle cake thing and Viennese coffee :)
After a few quick stops in gift shops, we made it back to the hotel to get ready for the Mozart concert. At fist we thought some of the street ticket vendors were trying to scam us, so six of us reluctantly paid a deposit on student tickets for tonight. But, it turned out to be one of the best experiences on this trip so far. The concert was at the famous concert hall here in Vienna and was performed by the Mozart Orchestra of Vienna, a world-renowned orchestra here only in the summer because they are traveling in the winter. When we got there, we got our 21 Euro student tickets upgraded to second row 65 Euro tickets! I have no clue how, but it happened and it was awesome!!! All of the orchestra members dressed in traditional costume and wore Mozart wigs...I know it sounds kind of weird, but they looked so impressive and legit. The concert featured a variety of music including Symphony 40 and several pieces from his Italian operas. The conductor was really charismatic and got the audience involved and enthusiastic about the show.
We had a wonderful full, yet enjoyable and non-stressful day in the city. Thankfully Clara is a "U" expert and navigated the underground system like a pro. Randy is a superb map reader, and I am the woman with a plan. So, together we make a pretty grand team for these free days. We all like to make the most of our time in these wonderful places!!
Well, I am about to pack for the boat trip to Budapest in the morning. I'll have much more to share with you soon.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Munich: Part II
Hello everyone! Well, since I am now in the field trip portion of my study abroad program, Internet varies by location, so I am afraid I will not be able to blog as frequently or in as much detail, but I will do my best to share all of my fun adventures across South-Eastern Europe!
On Tuesday morning in Munich we had an appointment near the German Museum at the EU Commission office. I really enjoyed this appointment because we spoke with a media liaison from the EU to the Region of Bavaria. From a journalist's perspective, I enjoyed hearing about he PR side of dealing with educating people on European politics. This job is challenging because it involves delicately balancing the wishes of Bavaria with the supranational authority and politics.
After lunch we took a charter bus to Garmisch Partenkirchen in southern Bavaria which is an old U.S. military base retreat town with a gorgeous view of the lower Alps. We went to the George C. Marshall Center for European and Eurasian Security where we had a presentation on EU security and the role of foreign policies in the future. It was a high security location since it is where the current operations in Libya are being ran from. It is considered U.S. soil though, so we had to go through basically border security to get in, but our bus driver didn't comply with the requests to open the cargo areas... For other later incompetence, J-Rob demanded a new driver. But, the center was really awesome and provided a wonderful view of the landscape as well as insight into security and foreign affairs. General Patreaus sent through there too at some time.
After spending the night in Garmisch, we took our bus to Austria. On the way we stopped at the Obersalzberg and had a personal tour of the former Nazi headquarters and the documentation center there.
We arrived in Vienna last night and had a wonderful dinner at a tavern where we had a buffet style group dinner and met some other American students from Indiana. This morning we had two wonderful appointments at the Vienna EU Commission office with former Austrian Ambassador to the EU who negotiated Austria's entrance into the EU and with a professor who explained the founding of the EU and beginning of integration.
After a delicious lunch at Yamm!, an all natural organic restaurant where us girls had a Austrian grown lunch, we are about to leave for a city tour! Despite the rain, it should be super fun :) It thankfully isn't too cold here, and I really enjoy this city and it's friendliness. It is much more comfortable feeling than Munich!
I'll try to write more soon :)
On Tuesday morning in Munich we had an appointment near the German Museum at the EU Commission office. I really enjoyed this appointment because we spoke with a media liaison from the EU to the Region of Bavaria. From a journalist's perspective, I enjoyed hearing about he PR side of dealing with educating people on European politics. This job is challenging because it involves delicately balancing the wishes of Bavaria with the supranational authority and politics.
After lunch we took a charter bus to Garmisch Partenkirchen in southern Bavaria which is an old U.S. military base retreat town with a gorgeous view of the lower Alps. We went to the George C. Marshall Center for European and Eurasian Security where we had a presentation on EU security and the role of foreign policies in the future. It was a high security location since it is where the current operations in Libya are being ran from. It is considered U.S. soil though, so we had to go through basically border security to get in, but our bus driver didn't comply with the requests to open the cargo areas... For other later incompetence, J-Rob demanded a new driver. But, the center was really awesome and provided a wonderful view of the landscape as well as insight into security and foreign affairs. General Patreaus sent through there too at some time.
After spending the night in Garmisch, we took our bus to Austria. On the way we stopped at the Obersalzberg and had a personal tour of the former Nazi headquarters and the documentation center there.
We arrived in Vienna last night and had a wonderful dinner at a tavern where we had a buffet style group dinner and met some other American students from Indiana. This morning we had two wonderful appointments at the Vienna EU Commission office with former Austrian Ambassador to the EU who negotiated Austria's entrance into the EU and with a professor who explained the founding of the EU and beginning of integration.
After a delicious lunch at Yamm!, an all natural organic restaurant where us girls had a Austrian grown lunch, we are about to leave for a city tour! Despite the rain, it should be super fun :) It thankfully isn't too cold here, and I really enjoy this city and it's friendliness. It is much more comfortable feeling than Munich!
I'll try to write more soon :)
Monday, July 25, 2011
Munich: Part I
Upon arriving to Munich by bus on Saturday, we visited Schloss Nymphenburg which is the castle built by Ludwig I King of Bavaria made to look like Versailles. Though the weather wasn't too lovely, we enjoyed looking at the gardens and surrounding buildings. We then proceeded to the King's Hotel where we have been staying. The remainder of the day was spent on a walking tour of the city. We went all over the city's numerous centers and squares learning about its history from the Middle Ages through WWII and on to the present. Since much of the city was destroyed during WWII as it was the center for the development of the Third Reich and the Nazis, there is an odd mix of architecture. The city is a blend of modern steel and glass buildings alongside Medieval, Renaissance, and 19th century architecture.
After our city tour, we went to one of the oldest beer gardens in Germany, the Augustina Beer Garden here in Munich. It has been around since 1328. Ironically, the brewery was first established by the Augustina Monestary. We sat in a long stone hall down deep below the Beer Garden because of the rain. Where we sat was once the place where all of the beer was stored. It reminded me of scenes in Brave Heart for A Knight's Tale where everyone is gathered in big halls at long tables being loud, eating, and drinking. It was a really interesting cultural experience that shows the true social and community culture of Germany and Bavarians.
Sunday was a free day and Randy, Clara, and I decided to go visit Neuschwanstein Castle about two hours away by train. The castle was built in the 1860's by King Ludwig II. Its architecture mimics ancient Roman style with all of columns and arches, but has a lot of Bohemian flair. It was absolutely amazing and so elaborate, but it is easy to see why he was declared mentally unsound and the castle's 2nd floor was never completed.
We had a few complications with getting tickets for a tour, but finally got tickets for one in English at 5:20. Thus we had the whole afternoon to spend in the village at the base of the foothills of the Alps. We had delicious schnitzel sandwiches for lunch, enjoyed the quaint shops (and the tourist ones as well), and then leisurely made our way up the mountain above the castle to take pictures. It was super cold up at the top in the hills, but it was completely worth being a bit uncomfortable for the breath-taking views.
After our tour, we returned to Munich by train, enjoying the German countryside along the way.
We had official educational appointments this afternoon and learned much about the government of Bavaria, but I must share all of that later! Guten tag for now :)
After our city tour, we went to one of the oldest beer gardens in Germany, the Augustina Beer Garden here in Munich. It has been around since 1328. Ironically, the brewery was first established by the Augustina Monestary. We sat in a long stone hall down deep below the Beer Garden because of the rain. Where we sat was once the place where all of the beer was stored. It reminded me of scenes in Brave Heart for A Knight's Tale where everyone is gathered in big halls at long tables being loud, eating, and drinking. It was a really interesting cultural experience that shows the true social and community culture of Germany and Bavarians.
Sunday was a free day and Randy, Clara, and I decided to go visit Neuschwanstein Castle about two hours away by train. The castle was built in the 1860's by King Ludwig II. Its architecture mimics ancient Roman style with all of columns and arches, but has a lot of Bohemian flair. It was absolutely amazing and so elaborate, but it is easy to see why he was declared mentally unsound and the castle's 2nd floor was never completed.
We had a few complications with getting tickets for a tour, but finally got tickets for one in English at 5:20. Thus we had the whole afternoon to spend in the village at the base of the foothills of the Alps. We had delicious schnitzel sandwiches for lunch, enjoyed the quaint shops (and the tourist ones as well), and then leisurely made our way up the mountain above the castle to take pictures. It was super cold up at the top in the hills, but it was completely worth being a bit uncomfortable for the breath-taking views.
After our tour, we returned to Munich by train, enjoying the German countryside along the way.
We had official educational appointments this afternoon and learned much about the government of Bavaria, but I must share all of that later! Guten tag for now :)
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Farewell Passau
Well, I must first apologize for a long absence. I intended to wrap up Passau before moving on to Munich, but internet complications prevented this from happening. Oh well, I will now share the events of the last three days in Passau (Wednesday-Friday).
On Wednesday, we had three lectures and a lot of rain to fight as we walked across town to the university. The morning began with Dr. Robertson (now affectionately known as J-Rob) giving the group a lecture on Europe from an American perspective. His presentation used many charts and graphs that helped explain the U.S. to the German students as we discussed the importance of Europe to the U.S. and some issues of foreign policy. In the afternoon we had two presentations. One from Dr. Christian Dolle who is actually a very young professor at Passau. We actually had met him already on our pub crawl the week before. He lectured on the political cultures of Europe and the U.S. and the issues each culture is facing. The last lecture of Wednesday was a student presentation on developing or not developing a "European Identity". The presentation posed many challenging questions on how far to integrate the EU and in what ways. For the last half of the presentation all of us students and J-Rob participated in a mock EU Parliament/Commission meeting on the issue of integration. We were paired up and given different countries whose interests we were speaking for. Clara and I were the Netherlands and against further integration mostly, although we are seeking some unity on international affairs issues. The activity required us to lobby our fellow representatives to support our programs of integration or no further integration. It was a really fun way to apply the things we have been learning.
That night after class, we all went back to our hotel in the nasty weather. Unfortunately our trip to the Oberhaus (the castle above Passau) and the beer garden had to be cancelled. But, instead we went to a Bavarian restaurant close to our hotel and sat in a cave-like area that was really cool. Clara and I shared another delicious schnitzel and some kous-kous with zuchini.
On Thursday, we began another rainy morning with a lecture from Dr. Pfluger, an economist. Though I am personally not into economics, I found his presentation on Europe and the U.S. in the global economy quite eye-opening. After lunch in the mensa, Bianca, Isabell, Marshall, Zach, and four of us girls all went to the Post Bank and then up to Diwan again for some dessert and coffee! It was quite delicious :) In class that afternoon, we had a lecture from Dr. Stahl on U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration from a European perspective. I honestly was a little antsy about what this lecture would entail, but I really like how Dr. Stahl went about his presentation and learned a lot from it. He compared policies on major issues across the Bush Administration, Obama Administration, and the EU. In the end he concluded that Obama hadn't changed much if anything at all and also that Obama lacks direction in his foreign policy. There was a lively discussion afterwards, and J-Rob had several great points to interject. We finished off the afternoon with a lecture from European Studies professor Dr. Kamm who spoke to us on the special relationship between the U.S. and the UK. His lecture was very funny and informative from a historian and cultural studies perspective. I learned several things about the deep historical connection between the U.S. and Britain. I enjoyed his incorporation of movie clips and photos.
That evening, we went as a group out for some Doner (that Turkish sandwich thing) after class. Then some of us went to the organ concert at St. Stephen's cathedral. The concert was absolutely beautiful. It just gives me goose-bumps to hear the organ playing sometimes :) After the concert, most everyone went on a scavenger hunt around Passau, but in the interest of packing, I went back to our hotel with Rylea to get things taken care of. We ended up taking a break for some coffee and tieramissu though :)
Friday morning it was gross and raining again, but we still had "dress like a Passau law student day". The law students here in Passau have a unique, preppy, formal style of dressing that is highly identifiable. A lot of us joined the trend on the last day! Our last lecture in Passau was given by a highly intelligent but really goofy man who works with German foreign policy in Berlin named D.r. Braml. I really enjoyed his open presentation style and how he used the chalk board over a power-point. He told a few funny jokes as he went along and discussed the importance and issues surrounding NATO.
After our law student picture and lunch in the mensa, we split up for the afternoon before the farewell BBQ. Andi and I got to experience the joys of the German postal system to mail home extra warm weather clothes we aren't wearing. Then Marshall, Shazeb, Ben, and I went up to the OBerhaus while it stopped raining briefly. However, it was slightly disappointing since the inside had been converted to museum.
That evening, we had a fantastic "pot-luck"ish BBQ dinner at a pub called Blue Notes. Afterwards, we all hung out as a group enjoying our last few moments together. The food was absolutely delicious, and teaching the Germans how to do yells and the war hymn brought us all closer together as members of the Aggie family.
Saturday morning, we boarded our charter bus and headed to Munich!
That's all for now; I'll write about Munich soon!
On Wednesday, we had three lectures and a lot of rain to fight as we walked across town to the university. The morning began with Dr. Robertson (now affectionately known as J-Rob) giving the group a lecture on Europe from an American perspective. His presentation used many charts and graphs that helped explain the U.S. to the German students as we discussed the importance of Europe to the U.S. and some issues of foreign policy. In the afternoon we had two presentations. One from Dr. Christian Dolle who is actually a very young professor at Passau. We actually had met him already on our pub crawl the week before. He lectured on the political cultures of Europe and the U.S. and the issues each culture is facing. The last lecture of Wednesday was a student presentation on developing or not developing a "European Identity". The presentation posed many challenging questions on how far to integrate the EU and in what ways. For the last half of the presentation all of us students and J-Rob participated in a mock EU Parliament/Commission meeting on the issue of integration. We were paired up and given different countries whose interests we were speaking for. Clara and I were the Netherlands and against further integration mostly, although we are seeking some unity on international affairs issues. The activity required us to lobby our fellow representatives to support our programs of integration or no further integration. It was a really fun way to apply the things we have been learning.
That night after class, we all went back to our hotel in the nasty weather. Unfortunately our trip to the Oberhaus (the castle above Passau) and the beer garden had to be cancelled. But, instead we went to a Bavarian restaurant close to our hotel and sat in a cave-like area that was really cool. Clara and I shared another delicious schnitzel and some kous-kous with zuchini.
On Thursday, we began another rainy morning with a lecture from Dr. Pfluger, an economist. Though I am personally not into economics, I found his presentation on Europe and the U.S. in the global economy quite eye-opening. After lunch in the mensa, Bianca, Isabell, Marshall, Zach, and four of us girls all went to the Post Bank and then up to Diwan again for some dessert and coffee! It was quite delicious :) In class that afternoon, we had a lecture from Dr. Stahl on U.S. foreign policy under the Obama administration from a European perspective. I honestly was a little antsy about what this lecture would entail, but I really like how Dr. Stahl went about his presentation and learned a lot from it. He compared policies on major issues across the Bush Administration, Obama Administration, and the EU. In the end he concluded that Obama hadn't changed much if anything at all and also that Obama lacks direction in his foreign policy. There was a lively discussion afterwards, and J-Rob had several great points to interject. We finished off the afternoon with a lecture from European Studies professor Dr. Kamm who spoke to us on the special relationship between the U.S. and the UK. His lecture was very funny and informative from a historian and cultural studies perspective. I learned several things about the deep historical connection between the U.S. and Britain. I enjoyed his incorporation of movie clips and photos.
That evening, we went as a group out for some Doner (that Turkish sandwich thing) after class. Then some of us went to the organ concert at St. Stephen's cathedral. The concert was absolutely beautiful. It just gives me goose-bumps to hear the organ playing sometimes :) After the concert, most everyone went on a scavenger hunt around Passau, but in the interest of packing, I went back to our hotel with Rylea to get things taken care of. We ended up taking a break for some coffee and tieramissu though :)
Friday morning it was gross and raining again, but we still had "dress like a Passau law student day". The law students here in Passau have a unique, preppy, formal style of dressing that is highly identifiable. A lot of us joined the trend on the last day! Our last lecture in Passau was given by a highly intelligent but really goofy man who works with German foreign policy in Berlin named D.r. Braml. I really enjoyed his open presentation style and how he used the chalk board over a power-point. He told a few funny jokes as he went along and discussed the importance and issues surrounding NATO.
After our law student picture and lunch in the mensa, we split up for the afternoon before the farewell BBQ. Andi and I got to experience the joys of the German postal system to mail home extra warm weather clothes we aren't wearing. Then Marshall, Shazeb, Ben, and I went up to the OBerhaus while it stopped raining briefly. However, it was slightly disappointing since the inside had been converted to museum.
That evening, we had a fantastic "pot-luck"ish BBQ dinner at a pub called Blue Notes. Afterwards, we all hung out as a group enjoying our last few moments together. The food was absolutely delicious, and teaching the Germans how to do yells and the war hymn brought us all closer together as members of the Aggie family.
Saturday morning, we boarded our charter bus and headed to Munich!
That's all for now; I'll write about Munich soon!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Dining on the Danube, et al.
Well, it surely isn't Sunday, but I am definitely excited to share all of the wonderful events and moments of the weekend in Passau and of the beginning of my second week of class.
Friday night the whole group went to an Italian restaurant in a part of town called Innstadt, which is across the Inn river from the rest of Passau. It is a cute little part of town where many students live in flats and where there are several bars and places to eat. The food we had at Veinte Tre (sorry if I misspelled that ) was delicious, authentic Italian food. I ordered some tagliatelle pasta with chicken and mushrooms. Though the service was slow, (we were there for three hours), I enjoyed the experience immensely.
I am beginning to notice a trend in the European restaurant industry: efficiency matters not. Only the quality of the food. It definitely bothers me sometimes since in the U.S. I feel like we judge the quality of a restaurant on its efficiency and service.
After waking up just in time for the last of breakfast on Saturday morning, us girls got ready to go around town for the day. We spent the day taking pictures, shoe shopping for the dinner cruise that night (it seemed as though half of us had inadequate footwear), eating quiche outside, and going to the mall. I took a shower in the morning and was amazed at how flat my hair fell naturally after just blow-drying it! Although the weather here is unpredictable like in Texas, it definitely lacks the same type of humidity! We all got ready for the dinner cruise and gathered outside of the hotel on the terrace before boarding the boat which was across the street.
The dinner cruise was amazing!!!! Though our waitress was a bit grumpy, the food was quite scrumptious, the view from the upper decks was phenomenal, and the dancing was super fun and hilarious (despite the terrible Italian live singing). As we cruised approximately 26 kilometers up and then back down the Danube, we saw Bavarian and Austrian countryside, rolling hills, and little villages. Everyone in the group seemed to have a great time. I enjoyed my coffee and shared tieramissu with Riley while everyone else drank cocktails and wine to their satisfaction and beyond.
After exiting the boat, we changed shoes at our hotel then went out as a group. We dispersed amongst the bars, pubs, clubs, and flats of Passau for the remainder of the night. I went to Roxy's flat in the City Center which is super cute! We played some Nintendo 64 and she shared some her peppermint from her window box herb garden. After hanging out for a while and a failed attempt to find everyone else, Riley and I returned to our hotel.
While everyone was sleeping on Sunday morning, Clara, Randy, and I went to mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Passau. Even though Randy nor I are Catholic, Clara was happy for us to join her and gladly explained the mass and Catholic routine as best she could despite the service being in Latin and German. It was quite a cultural, historical, and religious experience. I can see now why the Protestant Reformation occurred, but I also can see how the Catholic church did so much for the community here in Passau and to preserve the gospel throughout the Middle Ages. The cathedral is unique in that it is a Baroque structure with one Gothic wall. The original Gothic structure burned down once in a large fire, but only the roof was gone. To praise God for saving the majority of the church, the townspeople held mass in the remaining structure, unaware of its instability. While playing the organ (the largest one in Europe), the walls unfortunately collapsed. One remained and an Italian architect was hired to rebuild the structure.
After mass, I spent some time on the hotel terrace writing while I waited on the other girls to get ready for our bicycle ride to Austria. I enjoyed getting to sit outside and soak in the view of the Danube amidst the city buzz.
The bike ride to Austria proved to be quite the adventure. After much plotting and searching, we finally found enough extra bicycles to get us across the border and through the hills/mountains, along the river, to the Mausbauer (sorry about spelling, again) where we were having farm fresh lunch. Since I am rather short in stature, I got to be dropped off in another part of town to borrow Janika's bike (thank goodness she is shorter too) for the trip. But, between leaving campus and getting my bicycle, Riley fell of her bike, Andi went back to the hotel, and Rey switched out bikes. Once at Janika's, Arne (who helped organize this trip) just said you ride down the street and under an arch to the right to find the rest of the group to follow to Austria. I was a little nervous for this solo cycling segment since I am not exactly acquainted with inner city biking or German streets. But, it was super simple and worked out wonderfully. Just as I found the archway, Zach rode up behind me to make sure I was good. (He had been riding in Arne's car, but they sent him on another of Janika's bikes after me, haha). The bike ride was absolutely a wonderful view of God's creativity and master craftsman creation. The hills and trees and villages were a nice reprieve from the busy life of Passau. I enjoyed chatting with Arne's girlfriend, Judith, along the way. Once there, we dodged the honeybees (literally they produce fresh honey there) to enjoy farm fresh meats, cheeses, breads, cakes, and juices. The view was spectacular and the atmosphere of the Austrian countryside was so peaceful. On the ride back, I was just pedaling away right behind the guys so I didn't get lost, but apparently ended up riding in their race and basically winning. (I would have really won, but I stopped to wait for them to make sure i turned the correct way).
After the bike ride, we got ready for Wine and Dine International night while a cold front blew in. It was kind of miserable walking to the university in the cold rain, but was most definitely worth it! We got to enjoy a buffet dinner prepared by our German student friends with dishes from all over Europe. Some students dressed in traditional clothes from the country the prepared food from. After the delicious dinner, we broke up into two mixed (Europeans and Americans) teams to do a trivia contest. We had to identify EU member states based on geographic outline and the country's flag as well as US states. German students were quizzed on the US, and us Aggies on the EU. Then we had to identify the location of famous landmarks based on the photo we were given. Then lastly, we had to identify famous persons (politicians, athletes, authors, singers, actors, etc.). It was super fun and my team won the awesome foil trophy full of candy! While other people stayed to watch the Women's World Cup, I went on back to the hotel to get ready for the week ahead.
Monday closed last week's discussions on the EU and opened the new week of lectures and discussions on transatlantic relations. We had a guest speaker on minorities in the EU in the morning, whom I was not a big fan of. She was difficult to follow and didn't really answer any student's questions. During our lengthy lunch we spent some time working on journals while drinking coffee which was some time very well spent being productive. In the afternoon, we had a wonderful presentation by an economist on Transatlantic Economic Relations. Though the speaker is highly educated, he took the time to draw things on the chalk board and explain in detail to the students how groups such as Lehman Brothers failed in the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008. I really enjoyed his explanation on how the financial crisis began that showed us how we got into today's position. I also enjoyed the student presentation on Transatlantic Economic Relations very much as it added to my knowledge of our global economy and the symbiotic importance of EU and US.
Last night we had a very nice chill evening (literally as well) at a quaint bar where we could play games and order food. It was also at the Innstadt. A group of us girls began what we intended to be a casual game of Phase 10 as we ordered. It ended up being a three hours long game that never truly finished. After one person reached Phase 8, we decided to call it quits. It was super fun though! I enjoyed my baguette and strawberry-schorle (strawberry juice and sparkling water) in the cozy game room area. I was quite surprised at how into the games everyone (even the guys) got. We had games of Monopoly, Sorry, and Uno going all night. Though I think some guys wanted to rename Sorry "Boom, Big Money", haha, since that is what they were shouting the entire time.
This morning brought warmer weather as we headed to the university for two student presentations today on Transatlantic security and Homeland Security. Both of the presentations were thought provoking and insightful. Good discussion was stimulated by both, especially the Homeland Security lecture. I was a little frustrated when my comment got misconstrued and became a point of contention, but I think it was a very good topic to discuss. It is interesting how being in another country, looking at the globe from a different angle can lead you to appreciate your country so much more. I am definitely glad to be an American and to have our national security (even though we may be in a debt canundrum at the moment).
During our lunch break, us girls went to the book store since we weren't too hungry yet. After looking around for 45 minutes or so, our hunger quickly found us and we went to lunch at a cafe called Diwan in the city center tower building on the top floor, looking out over all of Passau. It was super cute and classy inside and served delicious food. It definitely made my day when they played Michael Buble music :)
This evening, after class, Riley and I hung out and went around town some. I bought another spiral notebook for class and lectures since I have almost filled up the one we were given on the program. I also got my awesome red jacket from H&M! Not only is it my favorite and most wonderful color, but it will keep me warm as it gets cold and rainy again tomorrow.
After our chill time together, I left to join everyone else at the Summer Bash Olympic Games of Passau on the grassy knoll at the university. Meeting up with Rey and Marshall was perfectly and coincidentally timed so we could find everyone else together and join teams in the ridiculous game playing. We played all sorts of funny team games and did silly team challenges like playing song charades while gargling for a few hours until we completed all 12 of the challenges. Team Ireland won, but my team Sweden was tied in a close second with The Netherlands.
We all then went out for traditional Bavarian food afterwards. I ate almost an entire Schnitzel by myself along with salad and potatoes and apfelschorle. I must have been incredibly hungry!!!
Now I am ready for the rest of the week's lectures and exciting evening programs. If the weather permits, we are going to see Passau's castle tomorrow evening. I hope it works out! I'll have to let you know how the rest of the week and concluding lectures go :)
Friday night the whole group went to an Italian restaurant in a part of town called Innstadt, which is across the Inn river from the rest of Passau. It is a cute little part of town where many students live in flats and where there are several bars and places to eat. The food we had at Veinte Tre (sorry if I misspelled that ) was delicious, authentic Italian food. I ordered some tagliatelle pasta with chicken and mushrooms. Though the service was slow, (we were there for three hours), I enjoyed the experience immensely.
I am beginning to notice a trend in the European restaurant industry: efficiency matters not. Only the quality of the food. It definitely bothers me sometimes since in the U.S. I feel like we judge the quality of a restaurant on its efficiency and service.
After waking up just in time for the last of breakfast on Saturday morning, us girls got ready to go around town for the day. We spent the day taking pictures, shoe shopping for the dinner cruise that night (it seemed as though half of us had inadequate footwear), eating quiche outside, and going to the mall. I took a shower in the morning and was amazed at how flat my hair fell naturally after just blow-drying it! Although the weather here is unpredictable like in Texas, it definitely lacks the same type of humidity! We all got ready for the dinner cruise and gathered outside of the hotel on the terrace before boarding the boat which was across the street.
The dinner cruise was amazing!!!! Though our waitress was a bit grumpy, the food was quite scrumptious, the view from the upper decks was phenomenal, and the dancing was super fun and hilarious (despite the terrible Italian live singing). As we cruised approximately 26 kilometers up and then back down the Danube, we saw Bavarian and Austrian countryside, rolling hills, and little villages. Everyone in the group seemed to have a great time. I enjoyed my coffee and shared tieramissu with Riley while everyone else drank cocktails and wine to their satisfaction and beyond.
After exiting the boat, we changed shoes at our hotel then went out as a group. We dispersed amongst the bars, pubs, clubs, and flats of Passau for the remainder of the night. I went to Roxy's flat in the City Center which is super cute! We played some Nintendo 64 and she shared some her peppermint from her window box herb garden. After hanging out for a while and a failed attempt to find everyone else, Riley and I returned to our hotel.
While everyone was sleeping on Sunday morning, Clara, Randy, and I went to mass at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Passau. Even though Randy nor I are Catholic, Clara was happy for us to join her and gladly explained the mass and Catholic routine as best she could despite the service being in Latin and German. It was quite a cultural, historical, and religious experience. I can see now why the Protestant Reformation occurred, but I also can see how the Catholic church did so much for the community here in Passau and to preserve the gospel throughout the Middle Ages. The cathedral is unique in that it is a Baroque structure with one Gothic wall. The original Gothic structure burned down once in a large fire, but only the roof was gone. To praise God for saving the majority of the church, the townspeople held mass in the remaining structure, unaware of its instability. While playing the organ (the largest one in Europe), the walls unfortunately collapsed. One remained and an Italian architect was hired to rebuild the structure.
After mass, I spent some time on the hotel terrace writing while I waited on the other girls to get ready for our bicycle ride to Austria. I enjoyed getting to sit outside and soak in the view of the Danube amidst the city buzz.
The bike ride to Austria proved to be quite the adventure. After much plotting and searching, we finally found enough extra bicycles to get us across the border and through the hills/mountains, along the river, to the Mausbauer (sorry about spelling, again) where we were having farm fresh lunch. Since I am rather short in stature, I got to be dropped off in another part of town to borrow Janika's bike (thank goodness she is shorter too) for the trip. But, between leaving campus and getting my bicycle, Riley fell of her bike, Andi went back to the hotel, and Rey switched out bikes. Once at Janika's, Arne (who helped organize this trip) just said you ride down the street and under an arch to the right to find the rest of the group to follow to Austria. I was a little nervous for this solo cycling segment since I am not exactly acquainted with inner city biking or German streets. But, it was super simple and worked out wonderfully. Just as I found the archway, Zach rode up behind me to make sure I was good. (He had been riding in Arne's car, but they sent him on another of Janika's bikes after me, haha). The bike ride was absolutely a wonderful view of God's creativity and master craftsman creation. The hills and trees and villages were a nice reprieve from the busy life of Passau. I enjoyed chatting with Arne's girlfriend, Judith, along the way. Once there, we dodged the honeybees (literally they produce fresh honey there) to enjoy farm fresh meats, cheeses, breads, cakes, and juices. The view was spectacular and the atmosphere of the Austrian countryside was so peaceful. On the ride back, I was just pedaling away right behind the guys so I didn't get lost, but apparently ended up riding in their race and basically winning. (I would have really won, but I stopped to wait for them to make sure i turned the correct way).
After the bike ride, we got ready for Wine and Dine International night while a cold front blew in. It was kind of miserable walking to the university in the cold rain, but was most definitely worth it! We got to enjoy a buffet dinner prepared by our German student friends with dishes from all over Europe. Some students dressed in traditional clothes from the country the prepared food from. After the delicious dinner, we broke up into two mixed (Europeans and Americans) teams to do a trivia contest. We had to identify EU member states based on geographic outline and the country's flag as well as US states. German students were quizzed on the US, and us Aggies on the EU. Then we had to identify the location of famous landmarks based on the photo we were given. Then lastly, we had to identify famous persons (politicians, athletes, authors, singers, actors, etc.). It was super fun and my team won the awesome foil trophy full of candy! While other people stayed to watch the Women's World Cup, I went on back to the hotel to get ready for the week ahead.
Monday closed last week's discussions on the EU and opened the new week of lectures and discussions on transatlantic relations. We had a guest speaker on minorities in the EU in the morning, whom I was not a big fan of. She was difficult to follow and didn't really answer any student's questions. During our lengthy lunch we spent some time working on journals while drinking coffee which was some time very well spent being productive. In the afternoon, we had a wonderful presentation by an economist on Transatlantic Economic Relations. Though the speaker is highly educated, he took the time to draw things on the chalk board and explain in detail to the students how groups such as Lehman Brothers failed in the beginning of the financial crisis in 2008. I really enjoyed his explanation on how the financial crisis began that showed us how we got into today's position. I also enjoyed the student presentation on Transatlantic Economic Relations very much as it added to my knowledge of our global economy and the symbiotic importance of EU and US.
Last night we had a very nice chill evening (literally as well) at a quaint bar where we could play games and order food. It was also at the Innstadt. A group of us girls began what we intended to be a casual game of Phase 10 as we ordered. It ended up being a three hours long game that never truly finished. After one person reached Phase 8, we decided to call it quits. It was super fun though! I enjoyed my baguette and strawberry-schorle (strawberry juice and sparkling water) in the cozy game room area. I was quite surprised at how into the games everyone (even the guys) got. We had games of Monopoly, Sorry, and Uno going all night. Though I think some guys wanted to rename Sorry "Boom, Big Money", haha, since that is what they were shouting the entire time.
This morning brought warmer weather as we headed to the university for two student presentations today on Transatlantic security and Homeland Security. Both of the presentations were thought provoking and insightful. Good discussion was stimulated by both, especially the Homeland Security lecture. I was a little frustrated when my comment got misconstrued and became a point of contention, but I think it was a very good topic to discuss. It is interesting how being in another country, looking at the globe from a different angle can lead you to appreciate your country so much more. I am definitely glad to be an American and to have our national security (even though we may be in a debt canundrum at the moment).
During our lunch break, us girls went to the book store since we weren't too hungry yet. After looking around for 45 minutes or so, our hunger quickly found us and we went to lunch at a cafe called Diwan in the city center tower building on the top floor, looking out over all of Passau. It was super cute and classy inside and served delicious food. It definitely made my day when they played Michael Buble music :)
This evening, after class, Riley and I hung out and went around town some. I bought another spiral notebook for class and lectures since I have almost filled up the one we were given on the program. I also got my awesome red jacket from H&M! Not only is it my favorite and most wonderful color, but it will keep me warm as it gets cold and rainy again tomorrow.
After our chill time together, I left to join everyone else at the Summer Bash Olympic Games of Passau on the grassy knoll at the university. Meeting up with Rey and Marshall was perfectly and coincidentally timed so we could find everyone else together and join teams in the ridiculous game playing. We played all sorts of funny team games and did silly team challenges like playing song charades while gargling for a few hours until we completed all 12 of the challenges. Team Ireland won, but my team Sweden was tied in a close second with The Netherlands.
We all then went out for traditional Bavarian food afterwards. I ate almost an entire Schnitzel by myself along with salad and potatoes and apfelschorle. I must have been incredibly hungry!!!
Now I am ready for the rest of the week's lectures and exciting evening programs. If the weather permits, we are going to see Passau's castle tomorrow evening. I hope it works out! I'll have to let you know how the rest of the week and concluding lectures go :)
Friday, July 15, 2011
Finishing Off the First Week
I have now finished my first week of classes in Passau 
The lectures from yesterday and today were pretty good. We only had two each day. This morning's was a roundtable discussion with the two professors, Arnie, and a guest speaker. We discussed the role of Germany in transatlantic relations and talked about whether or not it is baneful. Then this afternoon, a member of the EU parliament came and spoke to us. He was super nice and the representative from lower Bavaria which is the part of Germany where Passau is. I even asked him a question :) Yesterday's lectures were good too. Arnie's was about European security and defense policy, specific to Germany of course. I agreed with a lot of what he said. The afternoon lecture though was given by an economist and lawyer guy, so it was hard to follow, but still full of riveting information. Sometimes I just think it is more challenging for American students than German students on the program because we have so much less knowledge of European current affairs and the EU. I really enjoy getting to ask questions after though! Sometimes though, I don't because I feel inadequately knowledgeable on the subject.
The lectures from yesterday and today were pretty good. We only had two each day. This morning's was a roundtable discussion with the two professors, Arnie, and a guest speaker. We discussed the role of Germany in transatlantic relations and talked about whether or not it is baneful. Then this afternoon, a member of the EU parliament came and spoke to us. He was super nice and the representative from lower Bavaria which is the part of Germany where Passau is. I even asked him a question :) Yesterday's lectures were good too. Arnie's was about European security and defense policy, specific to Germany of course. I agreed with a lot of what he said. The afternoon lecture though was given by an economist and lawyer guy, so it was hard to follow, but still full of riveting information. Sometimes I just think it is more challenging for American students than German students on the program because we have so much less knowledge of European current affairs and the EU. I really enjoy getting to ask questions after though! Sometimes though, I don't because I feel inadequately knowledgeable on the subject.Despite the weather yesterday, we still had our BBQ outside last night. It was fun and the Germans know how to cook! But, it was nothing like Texas BBQ though. I stuck with the chicken, though I tried some sausage. Anyone who walked by had no trouble telling we are all PoliSci students since we had all sorts of deep, intense discussions going on!
After class today us girls went shopping with Roxy at H&M, got ice cream, and then went to cute little old shops. I got some post cards and a pretty snow globe Tonight we're all going out to dinner with everyone. Since we got done with classes at 3 today, it has been nice to be outside enjoying the nice warmer weather. (Yesterday it was raining and only 66 degrees!)
I wanted to go to Austria for the weekend though, to Salzburg (the Sound of Music town!). It is only 2 hours away, but other people weren't as enthusiastic about going and even though this is our free weekend, we have a dinner boat cruise on the Danube tomorrow night, and we all would feel bad missing it because it is kind of a big deal. So, I'll just have to go to Salzburg some other time :) And because it was still cool earlier today and there is probably going to be evening rain, we have moved the bike ride to Austria to Sunday. I am so looking forward to it :)
After class today us girls went shopping with Roxy at H&M, got ice cream, and then went to cute little old shops. I got some post cards and a pretty snow globe
Tonight we're all going out to dinner with everyone. Since we got done with classes at 3 today, it has been nice to be outside enjoying the nice warmer weather. (Yesterday it was raining and only 66 degrees!)I wanted to go to Austria for the weekend though, to Salzburg (the Sound of Music town!). It is only 2 hours away, but other people weren't as enthusiastic about going and even though this is our free weekend, we have a dinner boat cruise on the Danube tomorrow night, and we all would feel bad missing it because it is kind of a big deal. So, I'll just have to go to Salzburg some other time :) And because it was still cool earlier today and there is probably going to be evening rain, we have moved the bike ride to Austria to Sunday. I am so looking forward to it :)
In addition to the bike ride and dinner cruise, I plan to spend this weekend enjoying the beautiful little city of Passau. Tomorrow afternoon Andi and I plan on walking around some more of the old shops and taking pictures all over town. She has an awesome Polaroid camera :) I also plan on getting all caught up on my academic journals from this week. I am more than half way done though!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Let the Lectures Begin!
I have successfully survived my first three days of lectures in Passau! Though, Monday wasn't really a day full of lectures, and they aren't too terribly unbearable!
Monday began the official scheduled program of events. We had a university tour in the morning with Janika and Felix, two other students helping with the program. The university campus is on the Inn River, on the other side of Passau, about a 25 minutes walk from our hotel. The campus is a unique combination of historical buildings and modern architecture. It has several little cafeteria places scattered about that would be similar to our little delis or lunch places in random buildings around A&M. Then there is also a mensa that we go to for lunch which is basically a really tasty German Sbisa. Modern art is abundant inside and outside. Though the university only has 9,000 students, it still seems like a pretty large campus. One nice thing I have noticed is that students don't walk around with headphones in all of the time like at A&M. It seems less hurried and more open. Though the long walk can be a bit of a bother, it is really lovely to walk alongside the river in the mornings on the way to class. A few other observations include: Germans are beastly bike riders (girls pedal along in skirts and dresses with no trouble at all!), Germans sometimes stand in the most inopportune places to carry on conversations (which includes the tops of stairways and doorways), and that all German girls dress cute every day. There are no such things as Nike shorts and over-sized t-shirts over here. Every day, the girls are always casually dressed to look like they belong in the store windows of Urban Outfitters and Forever 21. And the funny thing is, it doesn't even look like they are trying. They are just naturally awesome dressers.
After our campus tour, Andi and I walked around town to get some business taken care of. We found a camera store and got her a battery charger. Asked the camera boy where the post office is so I could mail my postcards (oops....you'll still be surprised though!). Found a hair product store to get some conditioner from. And successfully got some lunch. Oh, and the biggest accomplishment of all was finding drinking water! it is like gold to us over here. So far the only successful bottled waters have been those labeled "natural" or "still table water".
Such success could only be followed by meeting the Mayor of Passau that afternoon at city hall. The mayor is actually from the same town as Dirk Nowitski ironically enough! City hall is really pretty and has all of these ornate paintings on the walls telling of Passau's history.
The rest of the evening we spent with the Germans. We had an EU introductory lecture by one of the people in charge of the program, Arne. He is a PhD candidate here at Passau. We had a nice coffee break in between at a cute little bakery! After the lecture, we got time to change clothes before we played get-to-know-you games with the Germans. We also had a mini German course to learn basic phrases. After the activities, we hung out by the river for a while before going to a German culture festival outside. It was a lot like a first Friday in downtown Bryan. It was awesome! I got crepes and heard Bavarian folk music :)
Tuesday real school began. Every day we have three lectures. One from 10-12, then a two hour lunch break, then one from 2-3:45 and then 4-5:45. All of us Americans are there, plus about 15-20 German students. The first lecture Tuesday morning was crazy difficult. I have learned that in German political science, they learn a lot more theories than we do in the U.S., but we learn more quantitative applications of social, economic, and cultural, factors. The first lecture though hinged on many theories, so it was difficult to follow. According to Arne though, this speaker would have ideally come later in the program, but was at the beginning due to scheduling issues. Also, the fact that we walked in late didn't make it any easier. But, as I later discovered, there was a lack of communication on Dr. Robertson's fault, so we weren't in trouble for our not so punctual arrival.
The second lecture was about EU geopolitical issues, which I loved. The speaker was much better than the first because he clearly laid out all of his points. I also found the topic more applicable and interesting. The third lecture was a Passau student presentation on the EU and how it works. I really enjoy getting to have these student presentations because the information is presented in a much more clear manner.
It is so crazy here with our tight schedules! We have class every day from 10-6, then we get to eat dinner, and then participate in the evening activities planned by our German colleagues. Last night was the Pub Crawl. It actually was more like a pub crawl scavenger hunt. We were split into teams with both Germans and Americans and had a list of tasks to do while on a mission to save Passau. It was so fun because we all went to three different pubs together, but had to compete for the grand prize gummy bears the whole time. We started out at Margaritas, which was awesome because we got hamburgers (or wings, or ribs) and they played old country music! (I miss country music...they play American pop over here, but no country :( ). Then we went to two other Irish places as groups. The Germans were so awesome and planned out everything ahead for us. They even dressed up and wore fedoras! My team, The Team 2 Beat, got first place! We had an awesome band tattoo, the best pictures, the most unique coasters, and the most amazing and competitive team members ever! I was elected team captain because I don't drink, haha. But, I also won in the game to see who gets to be team captain as well. Rey, Suzie, Marshall, and Hendrick are awesome!
Tonight we went on a night tour of Passau with a hilarious tour guide dressed in Medieval attire. We learned all about the history of Passau and got to play historic character roles along the way.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
First Days in Passau
I have finally arrived in Passau and am now with the A&M study abroad group! Passau is a small town in southeastern Germany. It is actually right on the border of Austria (one hill separates us from Austria right now!). The town consists of 51,000 residents and 9,000 students. When we walked around the town today, you definitely could just feel how much smaller it is than Halle. There is not really a downtown market like area, but there are beautiful cathedrals, fun shops, old streets, and nice restaurants!
But, how exactly did I arrive here?? Well, I arrived by train. Not just a train, but three, which meant two train switches. Theresa was so sweet and wonderful on Saturday morning! She drove me to the main train station at 5:30 in the morning to catch my 5:58 train to Fulda. I got breakfast (which included cereal and a banana!), hot tea, and a lovely gift of chocolates before I set out on my solo trans Germany adventure. Theresa showed me how to figure out how to get into my correct wagon before I boarded my first train. When I got onto the train quickly (those suckers take off in quite a hurry) we thought I might be in the wrong wagon, but we didn't have time to change wagons. Turns out I was in the right wagon and easily found my seat. The first leg of my journey lasted for two hours, so I enjoyed looking at the German countryside and reading Vogue until around 8:20 or so. The first switch I had in Fulda went pretty well. I found my platform easily and what I thought was my wagon....apparently it wasn't. At this point, I am already sick of my luggage and am feeling awkward hauling it down the narrow train aisles. So of course, hauling it 5 train wagons/ cars up the train out of the first class wagon was not enjoyable! i knew I needed to be in wagon 4, but apparently there is a first class wagon and also a second class wagon. Of course, I was mistakenly in the second class one. A nice man helped me with my luggage through a few cars, but finally, the train people just said to sit anywhere since I was getting off in like 18 minutes anyways. The next stop was another adventure. I had to change platforms again, so I hauled my luggage down the stairs in search of platform 5. I easily found it, but there was a platform 5a and a platform 5b. I had no clue which one to go to, and only 5 minutes until my train was leaving. So, I did the logical thing and asked a train employee for help...what a mistake! All I needed to know was if I needed to go to platform a or b, but that was apparently too complicated. The train man spoke some English, but apparently not my English. I told him I needed to know which platform and for the 9:34 train to Worsburg. He then said, the 9:43? And i said no, the 9:34. Then he pointed me to a chart on the wall. I had not a clue as to what the German chart said, so I just stared awkwardly and showed him my ticket. He then said something like "Oh, the 9:34 is about to leave!" and then ran off up the stairs (the stairs for the 5a platform) to halt the train. He blew his little whistle and just shooed me onto the train. I had no clue what wagon I was even on! So, my luggage and I just made our way slowly up the train. Luckily, we were only 3 wagons away. Well then, once I found my seat some man was sitting in it. I just kind of stared at him and he pointed to three other open seats and said I could sit there, so i did. I sat by a nice looking old lady in a seat I hoped I wouldn't get in trouble for being in. When the ticket lady started coming around to check our tickets, I thought about pretending to be asleep, but I just couldn't do it. Luckily, as long as I was in the right wagon, my seat didn't matter. 3 hours and a little nap later, I was arriving in Passau!
It took all of my remaining strength to haul my luggage down and then up the stairs at the train station. At this point, I have already planned what all I will be mailing home after my two weeks in Passau before we go traveling around Europe. And I also have blisters forming on my hands from hauling the dumb suitcase with its lame two wheels. A note to all international travelers, a four wheeled suitcase is a must because it can easily slide through narrow walkways and aisles. Another train man asked me if I was ok as I tossed my duffel bag down the steps and across the gap from the train to the platform. Apparently I was a bit shaky. I said yes as I feebly pulled down my suitcase. Europeans are not near as quick to help a damsel in distress as Americans are. And based on history and myth, I expected Europeans to be much more accustomed to such chivalrous actions. I have decided to never again travel with so much stuff in a foreign country without someone else to help me! (Unless I become a power lifter between now and my next international trip).
Residenz and checked in to my room...or was it??
Dr. Robertson, my professor knew I would arrive in Passau about an hour before the rest of the group, so he told the hotel manager to expect me early. The staff of the Residenz is super nice and very accommodating for us. I was sent to room 101 and was so excited to chill, relax, and unpack before my roommates arrived. Just as I finished everything, I got a knock on the door and was told that I had been told the wrong room. I was really supposed to be in room 110 and the two guys that were supposed to be in room 101 were here and ready to move their stuff in. So, I hurriedly repacked my stuff and proceeded to my REAL room. But, it wasn't ready yet. So, I just hung out with people in the hallway for a bit until it was. I proceeded to unpack and finished just as Riley and Andrea (my roommates) walked up.
Once settled in, everything in Passau has been going so well! Last night we met our German friends who are also on the program. They are students at the university here in Passau all in political science and super eager to get to know us. They gave us welcome bags and then we had dinner together. One guy, Robert, is just so awesome. He is so considerate and eager to help us. He is one of the few Germans who hasn't been to the States before, but he is still fluent in English. I also met to really nice girls, Valerie and Jenny. Jenny doesn't drink either,, so it was especially nice meeting her :)
After dinner, we went to a German rave! Before you start to freak out, please throw away all American rave stigmas in your mind. It was actually up on top of a mountain in this giant field area in the woods. It is apparently the biggest party of the year annually organized by a student club on campus. The event was much like Island Party actually, just with alcohol. It started at 5 o'clock in the evening. People were just hanging out, talking and sitting around outside. Then the music started playing and people just danced in big groups. There wasn't any typical American dirty dancing with people grinding and being all disturbing. Apparently Germans only dance like that late at night if they are really drunk. I stayed until about 9:45 or so, but then went down back to our hotel with Clara and Riley. We made a good choice to leave early because after we got back, it started to pour down rain with a thunderstorm. It sprinkled a little on us earlier, but we enjoyed dancing in the rain. Everyone that left later had a terrible time making it back down the mountain in the storm, and the pitch darkness with stumbling drunk people. We temporarily lost some people, but they eventually made it back in one piece.
Today, after sleeping for 12 and a half hours (the trains really exhausted me), we got some authentic Italian pizza and then walked around Passau with Robert and the rest of our group. He took us all over! It was so much fun. We went to the St. Stephen Cathedral and the St. Paul cathedral which were both built in the medieval times around 1000 A.D. Since they are much more south and closer to Italy, they were some of the oldest built by the Catholic church and very elaborate. The St. Stephen cathedral has the worlds largest organ in it which has 2 to 3,000 pipes in it. Later on in our stay here, we may go to an organ concert there!
Our group is so great! Us girls all get along well and have fun taking pictures. There are no cliques or issues as of yet. We all enjoy each others' intellectual conversations and had fun getting Turkish sandwiches and gelatto together outside. One interesting thing we learned is that most all shops in Germany are closed on Sundays. It apparently is a national law or something.
Tonight we went to an Irish pub down the street from our hotel which is on the Danube River, to watch the USA in the world cup tonight. They won! We ended up staying there talking for like 5 hours! And i actually got a fairly regular Caesar salad!! It was quite fun and we had a myriad of good conversations about things from politics to work and dating.
It rained again this evening, but I kind of am enjoying the rain in the evenings. Though it makes it pretty humid all day long.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Leipzig and More Memories in Halle!
Hello everyone!
Today my post might not be as long, but I will try to share as many of my European adventures as possible!
On Wednesday I went with Henrike by train to the city of Leipzig which has about 500,000 people and is about 30 minutes away from the village. The main train station we rode into in Leipzig is HUGE!! There is basically a mall inside of it too full of high quality stores, specialty stores (there was a store just for tights and socks!), and food places. Also, there were typical train station amenities such as mail drop boxes, ATM"S, and ticket windows. After leaving the train station, we walked downtown where we met up with Henrike's boyfriend, Jonas, who is in college there studying physics. We spent the morning with him around the pedestrian area of the city. First we walked to the Nicolai Church which is a once Catholic but now Protestant church that is famous for being the place where the protests for a reunited Germany began in 1989. The church welcomed all people- Catholics, Protestants, and even atheists to come and protest. Inside was absolutely gorgeous! It looked like the cathedrals I studied in my art history class. After that, we walked to a museum of German history since 1945. It was a unique museum experience for me, since most everything was in German! Luckily, Henrike was wonderfully patient enough to translate for me. The museum began with the end of World War II, then showed the division of Germany into the different sections controlled by the Allies, the shrinking of German territory and the migration of Germans, the creation of new nations such as Poland, the establishment of the GDR (which is really what we in America call East Germany), and the influx of communism. The museum ended with the fall of Berlin Wall and reunification of Germany. What surprised me most was the fact that we learn so little of the plight of eastern Germany in our U.S. History classes. I knew about the Marshall Plan and the dividing up of Germany, but after that all I knew of was the split country, and then Russian control until the fall of the Berlin Wall. I learned that actually, Eastern Germany was not part of Russia, but it's own nation: The German Democratic Republic (GDR). Russia just exerted a heavy influence on the country and was supposedly helping protect the people from fascists. I think I learned more from Henrike's explanation then I could have from any English facts on the wall. Since her parents grew up in communist Germany, I gained real insight into the effects of dictatorship and socialism on the people of Germany. Germans were not allowed to have religion or church. To fill that void, Stalin worship was established as was a "youth group" and secular right-of-passage into adulthood form of confirmation.
I could talk about the museum and society for hours...So ask me about it when I get back! Anyways, after the museum, we had lunch outdoors at a lovely Italian restaurant. You ordered your food inside and got a buzzer for it to pick it up when it was ready. I ordered a pesto, spinach, tomato pizza that was delicious! It had Blue Baker style crust, but softer :) And Jonas paid for my lunch because he said, "You're invited, which means you're a guest." I was so excited to get in some green vegetables!!! I have missed vegetables, normal water, and my American breakfast so much!! Germans eat tons of bread, which is just empty calories....I don't understand it. You get no nutrients out of bread. And they drink carbonated water which basically tastes like club soda. You can get it "without bubbles", but even that doesn't taste like normal, American water. I have tried tap water too, but it has a weird after-taste. So, I stick with a drink that is a combination of German water and Apple Juice. It is delicious and somewhat nutritious.
Enough with food.... I am now at Theresa's (Henrike's friend I am staying with for the night until I get my train to Passau in the morning) and her family eats awesome food! I love it and I even will get cereal in the morning with a banana :)
For the rest of the day in Leipzig Henrike and I did some European shopping. I got a pair of shoes (mom, please don't be alarmed!) that were only 29 Euro. I also went to my first ever H&M which is like a giant Forever 21. It is a store from Sweden that has awesome deals! I got two skirts for only 3 Euro each. I was excited! We then went to another church, the St. Thomas church, which is where Bach played the organ and attended. It was also really old and beautiful. Bach is buried right in the front of it, which is kind of creepy, but very European. He apparently hasn't been there long though since he was moved after World War II. It was such perfect timing too, because as we were walking up, the Thomas Boys' Choir was singing outside. It is a world famous choir that once was directed by Bach.
After getting Starbucks (Yes, I finally found my home-away-from-home), we took the train back to Henrike's house. Later that evening, we went into Halle to meet up with some of Henrike's friends, Hanne and Judith. We went to a place that was basically a bar version of Sweet Eugene's. I don't know the exact name, but it had tons of tables and shelves of board games you could play. All of us each brought a food item (we brought strawberries and nectarines). After ordering cherry juice to drink, we played a board game called "Cafe International" and then "Settlers of Catan"! It was so much fun :) Both of the other girls spoke English pretty well, and are actually about to go take gap years in Argentina and Ecuador, so I got to use my Spanish a bit too.
After our late night of game playing, we slept in on Thursday morning. While Henrike spent the morning packing her bags for the U.S., I walked around the village and took some pictures. The buildings are so cute! They look like real gingerbread houses. Then I got some stuff for school done on the computer, had lunch, and got ready to head into town. We went into Halle again that afternoon to get things done and see Henrike's friends again. I got stamps, went to the ATM, bought the card game version of "Cafe International" and some more socks. I also went to my first bakery! We got some pastry called the Halleische which was delicious! For all of you culinary enthusiasts out there (Averie) it was a flaky muffin sized pastry with a swirl design on top that had a Halle star in the middle of it. Inside, it had a thick, almost cream cheese like, filling which tasted much like a marzipan or almond type of thing. After that, we stopped at Judith's flat (which is awesome, old, and right across the street from the Market Square Church) where we watched a movie some girls made for a class project. (Even though it was in French, I still thought it was awesome and hilarious!).
When we returned home, we had dinner with Henrike's family, finished packing, and spent some time just hanging out.
Today, we all woke up at 4:00 to say bye to Henrike. After sleeping for another hour, I got up, dressed, and finished packing. After breakfast, Annett (Henrike's stepmother) and I headed into Halle for the end of the school year church service. Even though it was raining, it was still a wonderful morning! I actually went to church in a 500 year old cathedral!!!! I took tons of pictures of the amazing art and architecture. Like most churches around here, this one also is now Protestant. Apparently it was built by a Catholic Bishop, but mass was never held there because the bishop was forced to flee during the Reformation. This morning's service though was a mixed service, meaning it was for Protestants and Catholics who attend the private school in Halle. But, the private school is partially supported by the Catholic church. Confusing, I know.. It was really almost sad though, how unlively and dead the service felt. Though the organ sounded pretty and everyone sang the hymns, it lacked the life, warmth, fellowship, and authenticity of a church service back home.
At the church, I met up with Theresa, who I am now staying with. I got to meet some of her friends and go to school with them to pick up their report cards. It was really weird being in a foreign school. It looked a lot the same as an American classroom, but it just lacked some of the technology we have. Their class teacher, who happened to be their English teacher, was super nice and asked me all sorts of questions about the U.S. And when a phone went off in class, he asked me what the cell phone rules in the U.S. are, haha. We also got to eat cake!
For the rest of the day, Theresa and I have been with her family. I enjoy them so much. We had a wonderful hot lunch outside on the patio. Her mom is hilarious- a planner, hostess, and chef extraordinaire. We had some chill time and then went to this really pretty park with a lake in it in the country side for the afternoon. We got ice cream and drinks at this little cafe looking over the lake. There were also all sorts of rocks from all over Germany there that we got to walk on and see! It was a lovely day :) The water was too chilly for swimming, but the sand felt good on my toes and I enjoyed getting to talk with Theresa for a while.
We have now eaten dinner, which in Germany is usually a cold meal. We had bread, tomatoes with mozzarella, herbs, olive oil, and spinach leaves, boiled eggs, ham, and fresh brewed peppermint leaf tea.
I am so glad Henrike connected me to Theresa to stay with for the night. I have really enjoyed my time here. Tomorrow I will board a train (which I have to change twice) to Passau to meet up with the A&M group. I am so excited about having other Americans to talk to now!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Arriving to Germany and Halle in a Day
My first international experience has begun! I have had quite the time in Germany for the last 24 hours.
First, there was the Frankfurt airport. It is quite the place. Thankfully, Henrike warned me about how crazy it is, but of course, I got to experience it first-hand. After getting through customs, I had to find my new gate, which was on the first floor....or the second...oh wait, really it was on the first. (Thank you small eight year-old little boy for helping me and my poor confused travel friends.) Then, I got to go through security again. Apparently, I look like a terrorist or some sort of criminal because my tote bag was searched through and I was asked to open my little jewelry bag inside. It made it through Houston security, but apparently Germany isn't familiar with Vera Bradley travel gear. The, I got to get patted down by a grumpy, non English speaking airport security guard. Though I took off my belt and jewelry, I must have beeped and looked threatening in my button up shirt and glasses. Anyways, after surviving being personally invaded by the air port, I proceeded to my gate, which I found with little struggle now.
As I was sitting, beginning my three hour wait, I decided I needed to do a few things. I needed to call Henrike, go to the bathroom, and take my medicine. Well, finding the bathroom was the only thing on the list that went alright. Instead of speaking with Henrike on the phone, I got to talk to an angry German telekom woman- 4 times! Apparently, you also need to add a + sign before a country code, or so Henrike and I found out later. Next I realized that in order to take my medicine, I needed a drink. But, in order to get a drink I needed Euros. In order to have Euros, though, I needed to find an ATM. (I now can easily relate to the mouse in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie). After wandering around for 15 minutes, I finally found someone who actually knew where an ATM was-- it was 11 gates away. Thankfully, I had no problems with the ATM and easily got my money and a drink. Then, thank goodness I realized my flight was boarding (there was no call to now board) because we got to walk to a tram in the airport then took us onto the tarmac to board our plane. I seriously doubt they would have noticed someone didn't make it onto the golden, only, far away tram....
Now for Germany!!!
Henrike and her family are marvelous hosts! They prepared me a genuine German dinner last night complete with sour kraut and bratwurst! I have my own little bed in Henrike's room and a lovely supply of German chocolates!
Today we went to Halle, a city of about 200,000 people that is about 1,200 years old and about 15 minutes from the village Henrike's family lives in. (yes, a village. Like in a fairy tale, say Hansel and Gretel, or Beauty and the Beast.) Halle is a modern but absolutely wonderfully quaint and charming town Today we road a bus into town...not the train. We tried to catch it, but it was kind of misty and we ran to the train station in Wallwitz, but we still missed it by like 45 seconds. So, we proceeded to walk to the bus stop, but missed that bus too, and ended up walking to the bus stop in the next village, thanks to Henrike's dad telling us the times. And by walking to the next village, I mean it was a 10 minute stroll along a country lane up a hill, haha. We finally got our bus into Halle! Though it may seem unfortunate, I thoroughly enjoyed our morning adventure.
Once in Halle, we went to the train station first, and got tickets for the day. Then we proceeded to the Chocolate Museum and Factory where they make the Halloren Kugeln chocolates. It is the oldest chocolate factory in Germany. They make little chocolates that are in the shape of buttons that were worn on the outfits of the old salt miners in Halle hundreds of years ago. It was an experience comparable to visiting the Blue Bell factory in Brenham, but with more of a museum to it.
Then we went to downtown Halle, which to Germans is just the city. We walked around to some shops, took pictures of historic building such as the Red Tower and Market Square Church. We then had lunch at a place with crazy music, but pretty delicious food. I finally got a glass of iced tea! It was even peach flavored, but the catch was, it wasn't served over ice, haha. I also discovered I do not enjoy bitter things such as the Rucola in my salad. It was a very bitter tasting leafy thing that appeared to be a tender spring green.
After lunch, we went to my first ever castle!!! It was awesome. Though, I must admit that castles are a lot more dark and kind of creepy than I was expecting. I still loved it though. It is called Moritzburg and was built in the 15th to 16th centuries. It was so different. It was built by a Catholic Archbishop named Albrecht because he want4ed a fancier place to live. He apparently was a kind of greedy man, haha. Anyways, what was so unique about this castle, is that it has a new, modern building built inside of it that houses an art museum. I got to see all sorts of German and other European art from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day.
After our castle, we went to the Sky Disc Museum which is a museum famous for having the Nebra Sky Disc which is an astronomically significant German archaeological artifact. The museum also contained all sorts of German artifacts that date back to the Stone Age.
Afterwards, we walked to Henrike's mom's house for dinner. Her boyfriend made us Indian food and I got to meet her sister.
Now, after a long full and fun day, I am reclining, eating chocolates, and watching the women's soccer championship...I think Germany just won! Yay!
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