Hello Blog Followers :)
Once again, it has been quite awhile since I‘ve written anything… I‘m a pretty lazy blogger. Anyway, I have been up to quite a lot since my last post! It‘s currently New Years Eve, and I‘m blogging from Ettingshausen, where I am visiting Jamina (a good friend from High School who studies Medicine in Frankfurt.) I have quite a long list of things to blog about, so I‘m going to start chronologically from where I last left off!
Here goes the run-down of everything in my life over the past few weeks:
Christmas packages / My experience with German Customs – Wednesday, December 14th
On Tuesday, December 13th I received a letter in my mailbox that a package sent to me had been intercepted by Deutsche Zoll (German Customs) and that I had two weeks to come and pick it up at the Customs office in Reutlingen. I had been waiting on a few boxes that my parents had sent a week-and-a-half before, so naturally I was curious as to why one of the three boxes was intercepted while the other two hand‘t been delivered yet. (It was also surprisingly fast considering that the last box took more than three weeks to be delivered. One would think that during the Christmas season that shipping times would be longer, but three, bigger, heavier boxes were delivered to me in ⅓ of the time it took in October.) Anyway, I found out later that our Hausmeister was on vacation, and my other two boxes were delivered to his office where they remained locked up until he returned a few days later, at which point they were delivered to my door. (In addition to my presents, my parents also sent a bunch of gifts for the Stübers – friends with whom I spent Christmas.)
By the time I had deciphered the harshly-worded letter from the German government (with the help of my helpful neighbors) the customs office was already closed. So on Wednesday in between my classes, I was on the train en route to Reutlingen (which is luckily only 10 minutes away.) The customs office was luckily right on the other side of the train tracks as the main station in Reutlingen (probably because these clever Europeans use the train to deliver mail), but the actual office itself was a trick to find. I had looked up the address on Google Maps, but to my surprise there were four *separate* buildings with the exact same number. After walking into the wrong customs building (there were two) I was directed to the correct one, where I was told my package could not be delivered because my parents tried to send me a stuffed teddy bear filled with cocaine. Just kidding. The real contraband items my package contained were Pepto Bismol and Ibu Profin. I knew that the German government was really strict about medication, which is why I went through the one month of stress to get a whole year of Asthma medication approved by my insurance company, but I had no idea that Pepto Bismol would be held to the same standards as prescription medication. Actually, in Germany, most medication is given out on a prescription-only basis, which means no over-the-counter Advil for sale at Gas Station checkout counters. I can‘t imagine what kind of a pain that would be to have to go to a doctor or pharmacist for Tylenol every time you had a headache… And even if you make the trip, there‘s always the chance that the Pharmacist could say no. I know of people in Tübingen who have experienced such situations in which they were not given medication because the pharmacist said they didn't necessarily need it. Although I will be the first to admit that Americans are way too over-medicated, I think the Germans are a little too strict… I think it‘s too bad that in America we have pills for absolutely everything that some doctors are willing to give out like candy, but on the other hand, there are plenty of responsible people who occasionally get headaches and would appreciate some relief.
I was then given the option of sending the entire package back to the United States, or, keeping everything except the illegally-sent medication. I obviously opted for the latter. Because my christmas present (a new Kindle Touch!) was inside, I had to pay importation taxes of 17% of the declared monetary value, which ended up being €13. Even though the Kindle isn‘t actually being imported in a sense that it will be staying in Germany, as I‘m taking it home in August…
Mackenzie was my present-opening audience. Very early in the morning in Minnesota...
I then proceeded to make my way back home with a big, heavy box, where I opened my presents. It was a little early, but I didn't want to bring wrapped gifts to the Stübers (see below!) for christmas and open them in front of everybody. I figured if I wasn't going to wait until Christmas, then there wasn't really a god day to wait until anyway. Plus, I kind of knew there was a Kindle inside, and I needed to bring materials from the internet to a class the next day. Printing things here is the world‘s biggest, most inconvenient hassle. (That could be a blog post in itself.) So, with the Skype audience of my sister in Minnesota who had just woken up, I opened Christmas presents on the 14th of December.
Nürnberg – Friday, December 16th
On the 16th, I went to Nürnberg with a few friends to see the city, and of course, Germany‘s most-famous Weihnachtsmarkt. A bus company in Reutlingen, Kocher-Lutz, offered a bunch of decently-priced day trips all around Germany in December so that people could see the Christmas markets, which we took advantage of. Unfortunately, our group (which was supposed to consist of Jake, Emily, Rachel, and myself) was for some mysterious reason reduced by one unfortunate member… I had made the reservation for the four of us online a week before and received the confirmation that all of us were given seats, and could pay the bus driver on the morning of the 16th. For whatever reason, Rachel‘s name didn't appear on the bus diver‘s list, and as soon as everybody on the list had arrived, we sped out of the parking lot (as Rachel ran alongside of the bus.) There was plenty of space, and Rachel would have definitely been able to come along. She was exactly on time too, but we ended up leaving a little early. I felt horribly all day, and questioned whether I had somehow forgotten to add her name to our reservation. (I didn't! As soon as we got back I checked my email and her name was most definitely on the confirmation. I kept it as proof.)
The bus ride was much longer than the one to Strasbourg the week before – almost four hours. It rained almost the whole way there, but once we arrived the weather was nice for the better part of the day. Early in the evening, however, it started to rain and the wind picked up. There were broken umbrellas in every trash can, and the indestructible, really cool umbrella that I found in my WG was soon added to the collection…
The christmas market itself was beautiful, and in addition to the Glühwein I make a point of purchasing at each and every christmas market, I also bought a nutcracker. How very German / Christmas markety! Walking through the market, it became really apparent that the Chicago Christkindlmarkt is modeled after the one in Nürnberg. I guess I had always known that, but they were surprisingly similar. Right down to the appearance of the carefully-selected ,,Christkind“ (literally, the „Christ Child,“ – the angel-like figure who visits Germans on Christmas Eve with presents).
In addition to the market, Jake, Emily, and I visited the ,,Nürnberger Prozess Museum“ where the Nürnberg trials took place following World War II. The museum was very interesting, and unlike many museums, it was not overpoweringly huge. We spent a few hours there, but we were able to take the time to read everything and get a good look at the courtroom as well as the other exhibits. What I found interesting, is that the courtroom used to try the Nazis and other WWI criminals is still in use today by the government of Bavaria. The museum was quite a walk from the city center and christmas market, but we got the chance to see a lot of the picturesque city of Nürnberg, especially along the Pegnitz river. Overall, I think Nürnberg is one of the most beautiful German cities I‘ve seen. Once we got back to Tübingen, the normally scenic, slow-flowing Neckar had risen tremendously due to all of the rain. The high volume of swiftly-flowing water changed the entire mood of the city, which took on much more spooky and mysterious atmosphere. I didn't get a chance to look down at the Neckarinsel (Neckar Island) on the other side of the bridge, but I‘m sure it must have been flooded. After a cold walk through the city, I was off to meet up with Hannah, Rachel, and some other friends at Hannah‘s WG Christmas party. They rented out a really cool room in a basement of a restaurant, and although it was jam-packed, the music, food, and atmosphere were all really great. Because I had to get up early the next morning to catch the bus to Zürich, I didn't stay too long, but I was glad to have been able to make a short appearance and get some dinner!
My broken umbrella. It was nice while it lasted... for three days.
Zürich - Saturday, December 17th
Day two of my busy travel-weekend was a day trip to Zürich, Switzerland, located about two-and-a-half hours south of Tübingen by car – or in our case, bus. If Nürnberg is in my opinion, one of the most beautiful German cities, Zürich is undoubtedly the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Nathan, my friend from France, and I spent the day wandering through the city and exploring all of the free admission tourist sites we could find (many very beautiful churches.)
SWITZERLAND
The weather was quite cold, and although we drove through some snow to get there, there was no snow in the city itself. Once the fog cleared up in the afternoon, we were left with stunning views of the snow-capped Swiss Alps in the distance beyond the Lake Zürich. Zürich, and all of Switzerland, for that matter, is extremely expensive. We brought lunch along to avoid 1) having to change our money into Francs (as Switzerland is not a member of the EU or the Eurozone) and 2) having to buy food in Switzerland. That didn't stop me from scouting out cheap places for lunch for curiosity‘s sake. My currywurst with fries that in Tübingen costs €3.50 was the equivalent of €8 (or roughly $10) in Switzerland. For fast food, without a drink, or a table to sit down and eat at.
I did make an exception and treat myself to a Glühwein at the christmas market which we briefly walked through for €5. Many places in Switzerland accept the Euro although it is not the official currency, but they only offer a one-to-one exchange rate, and since the Euro is worth more than the Franc, it can be a giant rip-off to pay in Euros. But, I figured that if a Glühwein is €4 in Germany after the mug deposit, I could pay an extra Euro for convenience‘s sake.
At the Tourist Information Center in the train station we picked up a map and a free guide of the city, which were both really helpful. There was an indoor christmas market going on inside of the train station, which made finding the information center a little difficult, but after we finally located it, we were off to explore the city. We accomplished surprisingly much over the seven hours we were there, and made our way by foot through much of the city.
The church tower in the background features the largest clock in Europe
Zürich is probably the cleanest, most perfectly-looking city in the world. Not a single building was unkept or in the slightest state of disrepair. Even walking through the narrow Gassen (Gasse = alley / a tiny, narrow European street) which seemed to be free of tourists, not a single house or building was in any other condition than perfect. I think the high prices must also keep out every last low or middle income person in all of Switzerland as well. Walking through the city it seemed as if every car was a Porsche, BMW, Mercedes, Bentley… After observing Swiss parking lots, I don‘t think I‘ve ever seen so many Porsches in one place. We didn't see one single homeless person all day long. I‘m sure, however, that many people in Zürich have lots of extra money to donate.
In addition to the beautiful churches, alleys, parks, walkways along the river and lake, we also saw a small Modern Art Museum, we also saw the „Paradeplatz“ the home of the notorious Swiss Banking Industry.
Christmas party/dinner/Secret Santa gift exchange! – Sunday, December 18th
On the 18th, we „Tübinger Fünf" from Valpo had a small get together and gift exchange at my WG before some more friends arrived for a potluck christmas dinner in my kitchen. We set our limit at €15, and I drew Hannah‘s name. In addition to the „Phantom of the Opera“ (Hannah‘s favorite book/opera?) I also made her a 2012 Calendar of photos – mostly from our Vienna trip. (Calendars are a very German christmas present. The Germans love to give/receive calendars. Me too ;) )
Then we all ate dinner with our friends from Belgium, Canada and a couple Germans for good measure :)
Christmas etc. cards on my closet doors
"Christmas" Dinner!
Hannah with my present!
Me with my present from Rachel
All of us in my room, and a lovely view of my bed in the foreground
All of our presents under "Der Weinachtsbaum" on my desk
Sushi in Stuttgart – Thursday, December 22nd
On the 22nd, I was invited by Merle, my Tandem Partner, to join her and some friends for Sushi in Stuttgart. Merle studies Japanese Studies, and we meet once a week to talk in English and German to improve our conversation skills as part of the Tandem Program. We usually speak one hour in English, and the second hour in German, which is actually very helpful. Anyway, I don‘t remember the name of the restaurant anymore, but it was a „Running Sushi“ restaurant, a type of all-you-can-eat place where every table is next to a conveyor belt upon which an endless supply of sushi and other foods comes around. It was a lot of fun, and for €15, you can eat as much sushi (my favorite food) as you want between 7 and 11 PM. I then came home around 10:30 and packed everything for my nearly two-weeks away with the Stübers and Georgs over christmas break.
Christmas with the Stübers / 6 days in Netra - December 23-28
Very ridiculously early on the morning of the 23rd, I began my trip to Eschwege via train to visit the Stübers. Because I procrastinated to pack my things and because my bus to the train station left at 5:15 AM, I had to wake up at 4:30 AM – only two hours after I finally made it to bed. Needless to say, it was a very, very long day.
My large suitcase was jammed full of Christmas presents from America that my parents sent for the Stübers and the Georgs, and it was therefore extremely, unfathomably heavy. I came to Germany in August with only two large suitcases (filled with everything I would need for nearly 12 months), and here I was at 5:00 AM waiting for the bus with one of those suitcases all packed and ready for only two weeks. And it was way, way heavier than it was in August.
So, anyone who has ever traveled by train can understand the misery of having only five minutes to make it from Track 5 to Track 12 carrying the world‘s heaviest suitcase. After struggling for my life to get it down the stairs from one platform and up the stairs to the next platform twice, I decided to change my train reservation. It was honestly so miserable I couldn't take it anymore. Both my arms hurt for the next three days afterwards. Originally, I had planned to travel only with regional trains, and avoid the high-speed lines to save money. This meant more transfers, but I didn't imagine at the time that my suitcase would be so heavy and saving €20 seemed like a good option (Normally with just a backpack, it isn‘t at all bad.) During a layover in Würzburg, I went to the Deutsche Bahn travel office, and paid the difference of €20 to take a more direct route with fewer transfers via the ICE (InterCity Express – the High Speed train, with a very German name.) Because I was late in buying the ticket during holiday travel season, the agent informed me that all of the reserved seats were taken, and that I could try my luck at finding a non-reserved seat – something I‘ve never had any luck in finding in the past.
So, a half hour later, I took my rightful place in the „People-With-No-Seats Club“ AKA: the floor. As soon as I got on the train and saw that people were already sitting in the entry way, I didn't even attempt to drag my gargantuan suitcase through the train in attempt to find a free seat. So, for the next 35 minutes, I sat with my suitcase and backpack on the floor of a train going 160 miles per hour. (There are screens that display all sorts of information, including how fast you‘re going. The Germans love to have all the details.) It was a short trip, I rode only to the next stop, but it cut two hours and two train transfers off of my original travel time. I think that was probably the best use of €20 yet to be discovered. I got to Eschwege early in the afternoon, at which point Jonas (my exchange partner from our high school trip to Germany in the 11th grade) picked me up and drove me to the Stüber house in nearby Netra. On the evening of the 23rd, according to the German tradition, I went with Jonas, Daisy, and Isi to their Grandma‘s house to decorate her Christmas tree before returning back home to decorate the Stübers‘ tree. The trees were much smaller than American christmas trees (at least the ones that I‘ve seen) but they took much less time to decorate. I always find decorating the Christmas tree at home to be such an eternally-long process. And the German Christmas Trees are in my opinion, much more classy – or maybe classic is the right word. They somehow don‘t seem to have the glitz and glam of commercialism, which I like.
Early in the afternoon on December 24th, Jonas and his dad, Christian, took me to the nearby Wartburg Castle, where Martin Luther lived and translated the Bible. Because they live right on the border to Thüringen, the city of Eisenach (where Wartburg is located) is only about a 15 minute drive away. The former „DDR“ (East Germany) has had more than 20 years now to rebound and catch up economically with the West, but one can still observe differences when entering the eastern part of the country. What struck me most was the architecture – in Eisenach there were so many giant, rectangular, cold-looking, communist-era apartment buildings that you really don‘t see in the former „BRD“ (West Germany.) The castle itself had closed about an hour before we arrived, but we still got to get a nice view (and some good pictures) of the castle from the outside before making our way back to Netra. We took a scenic route along the former militarized border, as Christian explained the experience of living most of his life in a divided Germany, a few kilometers away from the DDR. Until the very early 90‘s, there was a fence separating Hessen and Thüringen with streets for tanks and jeeps on either side which the American soldiers and the Russians used to patrol the border (Hessen was one part of Germany that America controlled after the war). There were patrol towers every so often (when I visited Germany for the first time in 2008 they took me to see an American tower and a Russian one) and very many land mines were buried underground along the fence that would explode if stepped on by anyone trying to cross the border. With everything that I‘ve experienced in Germany – for example, one of the world‘s strongest economies and most advanced infrastructures – it‘s hard for me to imagine what it must have been like shortly before I was born in 1990.
Jonas and me in front of the Wartburg
Panoramic of the Wartburg
After our excursion, it was time for the Christmas Eve Church Service (in which Isi, Jonas‘ six-year-old sister was an Angel in the Christmas Pageant.) All of the little German kids dressed up telling the christmas story were unbelievably adorable! It‘s just too bad that I didn't remember any of the christmas songs by memory that we had to learn in High School...
After church we hurried home to see if the Christkind had come. To the surprise of big-eyed, beaming Isi, the Christkind had indeed found her way to the Stüber home. And the gifts that I spent the better part of the morning wrapping had also made their way under the tree as well. Imagine that! (Actually, the second that Christian left with Isi for church to get dressed in her Angel costume it was a stressful rush to get everything under the tree before we had to leave as well!) Daisy passed out presents, and we proceeded to open what the generous Christkind had brought us. The whole time I was treated like a member of the family – it was unbelievable. Never did I expect to get so many things for christmas as a guest! I was given money, chocolate, a bottle of alcohol that Daisy made with berries they picked during the summer, and a really cool game called „Siedler“ that Jonas, Daisy, and I played together the night before. (It‘s the coolest game ever. After we played it, I actually searched Amazon to see how much it would be to buy it, so it was really the perfect present! It‘s so much fun!)
Christmas picture!
Isi the Angel!
After all the presents had been opened, it was time for dinner and gifts at Oma Gisela‘s house. Once again, the entire family was so nice and generous to me. They gave me money, chocolate, and an Amazon gift card. I was really so shocked – they've always been so kind to me, but I really wasn't expecting anymore than to join them as a guest for a few days to celebrate the holidays. The dinner was excellent, and it was the first of very many holiday meals to come that I walked away from wondering whether or not my jeans would still fit the next day.
On the 25th, the Stübers hosted Christmas with the paternal side of the family, which is quite large. Following lunch, we were visited by the Weihnachtsmann (Christian) who arrived with a bag of presents, a book with all of our names in it, and some sticks in case any naughty children needed a good beating. The Weihnachtsmann went around the room starting with the college students, then the high school students, and finally, to the youngest child, Isi. Everyone had to pick a christmas song that they had to lead the family in singing in order to receive their presents. (Luckily I was exempted.) When the Weihnachtsmann got to me, he announced that he had just gotten a text message from Santa Claus that they had a guest from Wisconsin for christmas. Isi was the only one who didn't know it was her dad, so as you can imagine, the entire family was just entertained as she was by making inside jokes with the Weihachtsmann. It was very funny.
Isi with the Weihnachtsmann
Another one of my presents was a day-trip to the nearby city of Kassel (about 45 minutes by car) where I had not yet been. On December 26th, we left mid-morning for Kassel, where we hiked through a really beautiful park built in the 1800‘s (I think) following the British example of building parks in the Medieval style as if they were authentic. During this time, people looked back on the Middle Ages as the highest point in history, and parks like the one in Kassel (featuring ruins of „medieval castles“) were built to give people the impression that they had stumbled upon the ruins of an ancient medieval settlement. The park is best known for the famous Hercules – a human-made waterfall of sorts, that flows down a mountain from its source at the top, marked by a giant statue of Hercules. The entire park, although not „authentic,“ is nonetheless beautiful, and really a sight to see. I took quite a lot of pictures. We finished the day in the „Altstadt,“ (Old City) where we ate lunch and walked around for a little bit. Before arriving they warned me that Kassel was a very ugly city because of how hastily it was rebuilt after the war. Honestly, I didn't find it that unattractive, and the Altstadt was actually very nice.
(Some photos of Kassel and the park where the Hercules is)
Hercules
Christmas vacation part two: Ettingshausen with the Georgs – December 28 - January 2
On the 28th, I was back on the train en route to Ettingshausen, where I am right now. After I arrived and we ate dinner, Jamina‘s family gave me a christmas present to open – a really cool travel guide book with information about every country in Europe. I was actually really excited to get it, and I‘ve already read a couple sections. Jamina studies Medicine in Frankfurt, and has a lot of studying and other work to do over the break in preparation for a couple big medical exams she has coming up. It‘s been really nice and relaxing here – I‘ve been sleeping in every day, and I‘ve also gotten a fair amount of Theology homework done. Yesterday (the 30th) her parents took me to nearby Marburg, a very nice small city about 45 minutes away with a well-known university. The castle and the church we visited were both closed to visitors, but we got a nice view from the outside before walking through the city, and having a Glühwein at the Marburg Christmas Market (which is still running. A few stay open into the New Year.)
Marburg
We‘re about to leave for a New Years party with some of Jamina‘s friends, so I‘m going to wrap up here! Finally – after eight pages in Word… On Tuesday I‘m going back to Tübingen for a couple short days to pack etc. before leaving to Budapest on the fourth. I‘m very excited to see Hungary (country # 14!) but I‘ve also really been missing Tübingen over the past few days. It will be nice to finally get back on the 9th of January and get back into my normal routine.
Frohes neues Jahr!
Happy 2012!
Please excuse the German quotation marks. I'm too lazy to go back and correct them all – my word processor is in German mode.
A mug of Glühwein in Stuttgart was €2.50, plus €2 Pfand (deposit.) So for €4.50, you can get some Glühwein and a souvenir mug for €2 cheaper than an empty souvenir mug from the Tourist Information Center in Tübingen. And, for someone like me who drinks coffee every day regardless of what country I‘m in, mugs serve a very useful purpose!
