Finally, finally back. I was starting to get used to living out of my backpack and hopping from place to place to sleep. Takes about 2 weeks to get used to it, but once I was, I could have kept that up for a few more, because I was comfortable with the fact that I had 4 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and enough underwear for about a week.
But now I'm back in Tuebingen, and I couldn't be happier. Of course, I'll only be here until Friday, but it's so nice to rest for a few days and wash some very dirty laundry. My aunt will be here Thursday, so just a few days before it all starts again.
As for the rest of my trip, it was delightful as can be. Jeff and I enjoyed the streets of London very much, and were impressed by the Tower of London. We flew back Wednesday, spent the night at Jeff's relative's house, and then the next day took off. Jeff was headed for Tuebingen, but not I... I had bought a ticket for the Jack Johnson concert in Munich, so I headed straight for the capital of Bavaria, locked up my backpack in a locker at the train station, and headed to the concert hall. Jack was amazing and I'm really glad I went to see him. Coincidentally, I ran into one of my dorm mates at the show. She invited me to hang out the next day with her and go to the Nockherbergfest, and then spend the night with her at her parent's house (they live in Munich and she goes home for the breaks). I spent the night at my friend Jess's dorm, and then the next day met up with Clara (my dorm mate) and went to the Nockherbergfest.
Now, if you've ever been to Oktoberfest or even Hofbrauhaus, you'll know have an idea of what Nockherbergfest is all about. It's basically the same: long wooden tables filled with Germans in lederhosen and dirndls, raising liters of beer to each other and dancing on the tables as the oom-pah band plays old traditional songs and waitresses in traditional dress bring up to 6 steins of beer to tables. The only differences at the Nockherbergfest is that it's a Starkbierfest, which means the beer served there has a higher alcohol content, and the celebration is smaller and way more authentic (aka less touristy). Basically, it was the Oktoberfest experience I had always wanted to have, because this time I was with actual Germans, one of which was wearing Lederhosen.
It was awesome.
The night went on for a while, as we had arrived at the Fest at 5:30, then later went to a house party, and then finally to a club. When we got home shortly after 2 AM, I realized with bewilderment that this was early for a Friday night. Personally, I felt like I had been out for a short eternity.
The next morning, I hopped a train to Hannover to visit my old host family, the Languths. It was as good as a time as ever - I got to relax, watch some TV, eat, and not really do anything but hang out with one of my favorite families for a few days, which was glorious. The most strenuous thing I did was go out and see "V is for Vendetta" with Jutta and Claus. I also hung out in the city on Sunday night with Albi, a guy I met in Stuttgart who's from Hannover. There are a lot of cool clubs in northern Hannover, which I didn't really know, and I was excited to go to one. We tried to find a club that was open, but nothing was going on that night, so I took the train back to the Languth's house.
And then yesterday, I came back to Tuebingen, which just delighted me to no end. To celebrate, Jeff and I went to Storchen.
So that's that story. There were many times that I wanted to blog because I had some inspriation for a great post, but didn't have the time or the means and so whatever genius I had stored up for y'all is lost, and you get a synopsis of what I did.
Added bonus: my Dad now has a blog. Want me to add you to the blogroll, Dad?
21.3.06
13.3.06
London!
So, what can I say about London? I guess there are two main points.
1. London is beautiful.
2. London is expensive.
Both are facts, and the first fact makes the second fact a lot easier to live with. For example, Jeff and I walked for two hours yesterday to get to the city center. Of course, we stopped along the way to look at things, and saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Parlament Buildings, and various parts of inner London such as Trafalger Square, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. So the £10 we saved by shunning public transportation was not saved in vain, for we saw a lot more than we would have if we had traveled on the Underground. (My opinion, anyway.)
Our hostel here is better than the one in Ireland. The kitchen here is smaller, but that's no big deal since here, everything works. (Only two out of the total of 15 stovetops could boil water in the Ireland hostel kitchen.) We're staying at the Queen Astor Hostel in Bayswater, a place my guidebook describes as a 'virtual tourist ghetto'. But it's right next to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, which is a nice consolation. And within a minute's walk, we can reach McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks!! (Sad that this is exciting to me...)
Tonight we will go back to a pub that we discovered yesterday in Soho called the Red Lion. Hopefully we'll do a little more discovering of London. Tomorrow will be the day for seeing the inside of Westminster Abbey, London Tower, and visiting the Tower Bridge. Wednesday will hopefully include a swing over to Camden Town before we have to leave to catch our flight back to Germany.
Time to go and spend some more quid...
So, what can I say about London? I guess there are two main points.
1. London is beautiful.
2. London is expensive.
Both are facts, and the first fact makes the second fact a lot easier to live with. For example, Jeff and I walked for two hours yesterday to get to the city center. Of course, we stopped along the way to look at things, and saw Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the Parlament Buildings, and various parts of inner London such as Trafalger Square, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. So the £10 we saved by shunning public transportation was not saved in vain, for we saw a lot more than we would have if we had traveled on the Underground. (My opinion, anyway.)
Our hostel here is better than the one in Ireland. The kitchen here is smaller, but that's no big deal since here, everything works. (Only two out of the total of 15 stovetops could boil water in the Ireland hostel kitchen.) We're staying at the Queen Astor Hostel in Bayswater, a place my guidebook describes as a 'virtual tourist ghetto'. But it's right next to Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, which is a nice consolation. And within a minute's walk, we can reach McDonald's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, and Starbucks!! (Sad that this is exciting to me...)
Tonight we will go back to a pub that we discovered yesterday in Soho called the Red Lion. Hopefully we'll do a little more discovering of London. Tomorrow will be the day for seeing the inside of Westminster Abbey, London Tower, and visiting the Tower Bridge. Wednesday will hopefully include a swing over to Camden Town before we have to leave to catch our flight back to Germany.
Time to go and spend some more quid...
11.3.06
Our Dublin days have come to a close. In the last 3 hours before the bus ride to the airport, Jeff and I chose to pass the time by making food, drinking coffee at a cafe and watching passers-by, and spending an hour in an internet shop.
Things were good here. My impression of Dublin is a gritty city in the middle of a lush land, a place that's trying hard to bloom but can't quite break through the surface. There were lots of young people at our hostel that had moved to Dublin in hopes of finding employment, but are stuck staying long-term at the hostel because apartments are very hard to attain. Jeff and I ate some good fish and chips, drank some good Guiness stout (missed touring the factory, but that's expensive!), and managed to fit in some culture at two different Irish museums, one history and one art. The trip to Howth last Thursday was a jaunt to the countryside that happened to be included on the 5-day bus passes we bought when we got here. And then last night, we stayed standing for hours in a crowded pub, listening to live Irish music and watching people dance around. Tonight is a big rugby game between Scotland and Ireland, so Dublin is teeming with Scots. They're easy to spot, since many of them are wearing kilts. Needless to say, last night in the pub was a ruckus, with kilted men dancing, and one guy even bringing in his bagpipes and playing a few songs, much to the crowd's delight.
Today we fly to England, and hopefully we'll survive the expenses of London. My guide book describes prices in London as "horrendous". Great. But we've stocked up on pasta, and hopefully we'll make it for 4 days. Til the next...
Things were good here. My impression of Dublin is a gritty city in the middle of a lush land, a place that's trying hard to bloom but can't quite break through the surface. There were lots of young people at our hostel that had moved to Dublin in hopes of finding employment, but are stuck staying long-term at the hostel because apartments are very hard to attain. Jeff and I ate some good fish and chips, drank some good Guiness stout (missed touring the factory, but that's expensive!), and managed to fit in some culture at two different Irish museums, one history and one art. The trip to Howth last Thursday was a jaunt to the countryside that happened to be included on the 5-day bus passes we bought when we got here. And then last night, we stayed standing for hours in a crowded pub, listening to live Irish music and watching people dance around. Tonight is a big rugby game between Scotland and Ireland, so Dublin is teeming with Scots. They're easy to spot, since many of them are wearing kilts. Needless to say, last night in the pub was a ruckus, with kilted men dancing, and one guy even bringing in his bagpipes and playing a few songs, much to the crowd's delight.
Today we fly to England, and hopefully we'll survive the expenses of London. My guide book describes prices in London as "horrendous". Great. But we've stocked up on pasta, and hopefully we'll make it for 4 days. Til the next...
9.3.06
Jeff and I took a trip outside of the city today. We went north to the coast to a small town called Howth, where the bus dropped us off in the middle of nowhere and we walked along the coast for a while. It was awesome to see the islands, the grass, and the water for a full day. There were church ruins to explore and local taverns to visit.
All in all, it was a great day of nothing and everything. I'm too tired to explain it much more than that.
Tomorrow it's looking like we will spend more time in Dublin, and then we fly out Saturday afternoon to London.
Cheers!
All in all, it was a great day of nothing and everything. I'm too tired to explain it much more than that.
Tomorrow it's looking like we will spend more time in Dublin, and then we fly out Saturday afternoon to London.
Cheers!
7.3.06
Today on the plane to Dublin via London:
British woman to me: "So what were you doing in Germany?"
Me: "Studying."
British woman: "So you're just going to London on holiday?"
Me: "Yes."
BW: "You ever been there?"
Me: "No. I'm really excited."
(silence)
Five minutes later:
BW: "So what do you think of England?"
This particular passenger also asked me if I was American, and after confirming that, she asked: "Do they use Euros over there, or is that just Europe?"
British accents help people sound more intelligent, but no amount of accent could help the IQ of this lady. I could blame it on the small bottle of sparkling wine she cracked open after take-off (at 10 AM!), but I don't think it was just that.
Side note to Ashley: I tried to print the following as a comment on your blog, but it wouldn't let me since the IP address is anonymous. So here you go:
The only vital cup measures are the 1/4 and the 1/3 cup... you can base all others off of those two.
Why are all the forks gone? Apparently the kitchen gnomes like ALL THE THINGS, just like we do.
In Dublin now! Irish accents are pretty hot! Love you!
British woman to me: "So what were you doing in Germany?"
Me: "Studying."
British woman: "So you're just going to London on holiday?"
Me: "Yes."
BW: "You ever been there?"
Me: "No. I'm really excited."
(silence)
Five minutes later:
BW: "So what do you think of England?"
This particular passenger also asked me if I was American, and after confirming that, she asked: "Do they use Euros over there, or is that just Europe?"
British accents help people sound more intelligent, but no amount of accent could help the IQ of this lady. I could blame it on the small bottle of sparkling wine she cracked open after take-off (at 10 AM!), but I don't think it was just that.
Side note to Ashley: I tried to print the following as a comment on your blog, but it wouldn't let me since the IP address is anonymous. So here you go:
The only vital cup measures are the 1/4 and the 1/3 cup... you can base all others off of those two.
Why are all the forks gone? Apparently the kitchen gnomes like ALL THE THINGS, just like we do.
In Dublin now! Irish accents are pretty hot! Love you!
28.2.06
Da simmer dabei! Dat is prima! VIVA COLONIA
Wir lieben das Leben,die Liebe und die Lust
Wir glauben an den lieben Gott und hab'n noch immer Durst.
Fasching is a cool time in Germany. One of these years, I'll make it to Cologne in February and have a six day bout of Fasching fun. If you can get your hands on it, listen to Viva Colonia (text to the refrain quoted above). This song is ubiquituous during Fasching. For example, after the Bloodhound Gang concert last night (which was amazing and super fun, by the way), we were on the subway trying to get back to the main station so we could catch a ride back to Tuebingen. Since the U-Bahn doesn't run very frequently after midnight in Stuttgart (to their credit, it was running every 12 minutes to the main station, but infrequent nonetheless), we were crammed with tons of other concert attendees into the subway car that was waiting on the track. Out of nowhere, a loud group at the other end of the car emits a huge "VIVA COLONIA!", which made me smile.
And the funny thing is, the song sings about the greatness of the city of Cologne ("long live Cologne"), but it's the official Fasching song. I can't think of any other example where people in Stuttgart (or any other major German city) would sing a song glorifying another major German city. But, there you go.
I promise pictures of Rottenburg soon...
Wir lieben das Leben,die Liebe und die Lust
Wir glauben an den lieben Gott und hab'n noch immer Durst.
Fasching is a cool time in Germany. One of these years, I'll make it to Cologne in February and have a six day bout of Fasching fun. If you can get your hands on it, listen to Viva Colonia (text to the refrain quoted above). This song is ubiquituous during Fasching. For example, after the Bloodhound Gang concert last night (which was amazing and super fun, by the way), we were on the subway trying to get back to the main station so we could catch a ride back to Tuebingen. Since the U-Bahn doesn't run very frequently after midnight in Stuttgart (to their credit, it was running every 12 minutes to the main station, but infrequent nonetheless), we were crammed with tons of other concert attendees into the subway car that was waiting on the track. Out of nowhere, a loud group at the other end of the car emits a huge "VIVA COLONIA!", which made me smile.
And the funny thing is, the song sings about the greatness of the city of Cologne ("long live Cologne"), but it's the official Fasching song. I can't think of any other example where people in Stuttgart (or any other major German city) would sing a song glorifying another major German city. But, there you go.
I promise pictures of Rottenburg soon...
26.2.06
25.2.06
Today was one of those days that make me extremely glad to be in Germany. In this post, you will learn why.
Guess I should change "today" to "the last 36 hours", because it really all started with the Faschings party in Kuckuck (our student bar), which I should rename to "the best party of all time". Seriously, it was one of the top three I've been to here in Germany. We threw a kitchen party for the people in our dorm who are moving out soon, which was low-key but a good time, since we got to say our final goodbyes to the 4 people leaving us for their home countries (2 of them) and for other living spaces (the other 2). We bought t-shirts and wrote messages on them:
T-Shirt signing and chatting prior to the Faschingsparty in Kuckuck
Since it was Fasching, most people played along and wore a costume. Early on, I had planned as dressing as Pippi Longstocking, but I wasn't sure if Germans would know the reference. But much to my surprise, Pippi is not only THE children's book in Germany, but also in most of Europe. Almost everybody who saw me sang the theme song to the TV show in their mother language. I think I heard that ditty in Turkish, Bulgarian, German, and Italian last night. Other notable costumes were Elif, Clara and Susanna dressed as snowflakes, and Julian as the bubble wrap guy from "Dude, Where's My Car" (haven't seen the film myself).
The three snowflakes: Susanna, Clara, Elif
Julian as the bubble wrap dude
Pippi after the party
We danced late into the night and had a generally wonderful time. Sometime around 3:30, I could be spotting running around the student village in my costume, wired braids bobbing, trying to outsmart the cold 0 degree weather. Didn't work so well - should have worn a coat.
Since I had a great time Friday, it was poetic justice that not only made me have to get up early this morning to visit Jeff's relatives (early? Okay, 9:30 AM), but also to just barely miss the train, causing us to wait another hour for the next. Actually, it turned out not to be a bad deal, because we got to eat breakfast and didn't really miss anything in Wernau. So the reason we were going to Wernau in the first place, besides to visit Jeff's relatives, was to watch the big Fasching parade. Apart from having to drag my butt out of bed, this sounded like a ton of fun, because I'd never seen a Fasching parade before, Wernau isn't very far away from Tuebingen, and I adore Jeff's relatives in Wernau and hadn't seen them for a year and a half. So, despite wanting to sleep in, I went.
And I'm so glad I did. There were a plethora of things that made me extremely happy today at the parade, a few of which I will list here:
1. The aggressiveness of the paraders. These people were relentless. Freed by the anonymity their masks provided, any of the creatures in the parade could grab you, the innocent bystander, and do whatever they wanted to you, the least of which was painting your face, cutting your shoelaces, dousing you in confetti, or bopping you on the head with a pillow-like object on a stick. Many people were dragged into the parade, messed with, and then tossed back into freedom:
PWNED!
The worst I think I saw was when Jeff's cousin Clarissa was kidnapped by a man who put her on his troop's float, and then they literally fed her body through a small tunnel with a spiderweb-like net on the other side. When the men on the other side caught her and set her down on the street, she was covered from head to toe in a net that they quickly tied off. Clarissa had to hop her way back to our group, covered in this net she couldn't escape. It was hilarious and reminded me of the trees they sell here at Christmastime:
Viennese Christmas tree lot. These were all over Germany during the holiday season as well.
2. Ladder escapades. A troop of witches broke the line of spectators and headed toward an open window that had two people looking out of it, watching the parade progress. The witches were carrying the shoddiest ladder I believe I have ever laid eyes on. To me, it looked like a giant Lincoln Log with small twigs serving as rungs, and I very well thought the contraption could lead to somebody's death, or at least a very serious injury. Undeterred by things like consideration for their personal safety, the witches laid the ladder up against the building, and three of them climbed up and into the window. The closest anybody got to injury was when the guy at the top thought they were done and let the ladder go as another witch was climbing, but he soon figured out what was up and took hold of the ladder once more.
3. Smurf Noob. This little guy was across the street from us the whole time, and he was one of the main reasons I stayed through the entire 2 1/2 hour parade. What genuine hilarity! I can't do anything but post the picture of him, because words just don't do it justice.
AHAHAHAHAHA. This is the Smurf Noob.
4. Anglicisms. Today's crowd of teenagers near us had some mighty fine misplaced English expressions to yell out. This happens a lot in Germany, because apparently English is cool, so I'm used to it now. However, you gotta make a point about it in your blog, when you hear the following all within a 2-hour time span:
(as a witch snuck around behind the line of spectators and pounced) "Attack from behind!"
(as a gremlin-thing was hitting one of the young female spectators on the butt with a wicker shovel-thing) "Spank the monkey!"
(as three of the guys line up back-to-front, as if in a spooning fashion): "We're making a sandwich!"
That last exclamation was made by, of course, the fat one, which makes it funnier, and then the words themselves lends evidence to the theory that European men are inherently gayer than American men.
Okay, well I'm getting tired, but I do want to finish my story. I ended up coming back to Tuebingen around 8:30 because my friend Peter from Hungary leaves Monday for home, and I wanted to meet him for a drink and say my goodbyes. (Jeff stayed in Wernau to get a little more time in with his relatives.) Turns out that he was invited to a birthday party at the dorm of Niko, a German guy that I met at the beginning of the year but never really hung out with, although we do have quite a few friends in common. So I met Peter at the train station and we took off for Niko's. Ended up being quite a good party, mostly because I got to spend some quality time with Peter and got to know Niko a lot better.
(Side note - Niko studied abroad at UMass all of last year, and we dicovered tonight we have a lot in common, from musical tastes, to a love of the Pacific Northwest, to missing the same things about America.)
It was also good because it was a party whose guests were mostly German. You probably wouldn't believe me unless you've studied/are studying abroad in Germany, but this doesn't happen as much as you might think- you usually end up hanging out with the international crowd or other English-speakers. I found another guy, Johannes*, who I could speak German to really easily. He didn't believe me when I said that I came from the US - said you couldn't hear it when I spoke - which for me is always a confidence booster. I think the ethanol helped, as well. For Peter's benefit, we took some pictures of the people he and I knew best at the party, which was him, me, Niko, and Gary from Switzerland.
Peter and Gary are hilarious.
From the left: Peter from Hungary, me, Niko from Germany, and Gary from Switzerland.
This is our best photo. We all look raging hot, in my humble opinion.
Okay, time to go to bed, for I am going to yet another Fasching Fest tomorrow. It's in Rottenburg, a small town near Tuebingen, and since I was allowed by the people who invited me to bring a guest, I'm bringing Peter with me. So I guess tonight wasn't goodbye, after all. But tomorrow will be.
Guess I should change "today" to "the last 36 hours", because it really all started with the Faschings party in Kuckuck (our student bar), which I should rename to "the best party of all time". Seriously, it was one of the top three I've been to here in Germany. We threw a kitchen party for the people in our dorm who are moving out soon, which was low-key but a good time, since we got to say our final goodbyes to the 4 people leaving us for their home countries (2 of them) and for other living spaces (the other 2). We bought t-shirts and wrote messages on them:
T-Shirt signing and chatting prior to the Faschingsparty in Kuckuck
Since it was Fasching, most people played along and wore a costume. Early on, I had planned as dressing as Pippi Longstocking, but I wasn't sure if Germans would know the reference. But much to my surprise, Pippi is not only THE children's book in Germany, but also in most of Europe. Almost everybody who saw me sang the theme song to the TV show in their mother language. I think I heard that ditty in Turkish, Bulgarian, German, and Italian last night. Other notable costumes were Elif, Clara and Susanna dressed as snowflakes, and Julian as the bubble wrap guy from "Dude, Where's My Car" (haven't seen the film myself).
The three snowflakes: Susanna, Clara, Elif
Julian as the bubble wrap dude
Pippi after the party
We danced late into the night and had a generally wonderful time. Sometime around 3:30, I could be spotting running around the student village in my costume, wired braids bobbing, trying to outsmart the cold 0 degree weather. Didn't work so well - should have worn a coat.
Since I had a great time Friday, it was poetic justice that not only made me have to get up early this morning to visit Jeff's relatives (early? Okay, 9:30 AM), but also to just barely miss the train, causing us to wait another hour for the next. Actually, it turned out not to be a bad deal, because we got to eat breakfast and didn't really miss anything in Wernau. So the reason we were going to Wernau in the first place, besides to visit Jeff's relatives, was to watch the big Fasching parade. Apart from having to drag my butt out of bed, this sounded like a ton of fun, because I'd never seen a Fasching parade before, Wernau isn't very far away from Tuebingen, and I adore Jeff's relatives in Wernau and hadn't seen them for a year and a half. So, despite wanting to sleep in, I went.
And I'm so glad I did. There were a plethora of things that made me extremely happy today at the parade, a few of which I will list here:
1. The aggressiveness of the paraders. These people were relentless. Freed by the anonymity their masks provided, any of the creatures in the parade could grab you, the innocent bystander, and do whatever they wanted to you, the least of which was painting your face, cutting your shoelaces, dousing you in confetti, or bopping you on the head with a pillow-like object on a stick. Many people were dragged into the parade, messed with, and then tossed back into freedom:
PWNED!
The worst I think I saw was when Jeff's cousin Clarissa was kidnapped by a man who put her on his troop's float, and then they literally fed her body through a small tunnel with a spiderweb-like net on the other side. When the men on the other side caught her and set her down on the street, she was covered from head to toe in a net that they quickly tied off. Clarissa had to hop her way back to our group, covered in this net she couldn't escape. It was hilarious and reminded me of the trees they sell here at Christmastime:
Viennese Christmas tree lot. These were all over Germany during the holiday season as well.
2. Ladder escapades. A troop of witches broke the line of spectators and headed toward an open window that had two people looking out of it, watching the parade progress. The witches were carrying the shoddiest ladder I believe I have ever laid eyes on. To me, it looked like a giant Lincoln Log with small twigs serving as rungs, and I very well thought the contraption could lead to somebody's death, or at least a very serious injury. Undeterred by things like consideration for their personal safety, the witches laid the ladder up against the building, and three of them climbed up and into the window. The closest anybody got to injury was when the guy at the top thought they were done and let the ladder go as another witch was climbing, but he soon figured out what was up and took hold of the ladder once more.
3. Smurf Noob. This little guy was across the street from us the whole time, and he was one of the main reasons I stayed through the entire 2 1/2 hour parade. What genuine hilarity! I can't do anything but post the picture of him, because words just don't do it justice.
AHAHAHAHAHA. This is the Smurf Noob.
4. Anglicisms. Today's crowd of teenagers near us had some mighty fine misplaced English expressions to yell out. This happens a lot in Germany, because apparently English is cool, so I'm used to it now. However, you gotta make a point about it in your blog, when you hear the following all within a 2-hour time span:
(as a witch snuck around behind the line of spectators and pounced) "Attack from behind!"
(as a gremlin-thing was hitting one of the young female spectators on the butt with a wicker shovel-thing) "Spank the monkey!"
(as three of the guys line up back-to-front, as if in a spooning fashion): "We're making a sandwich!"
That last exclamation was made by, of course, the fat one, which makes it funnier, and then the words themselves lends evidence to the theory that European men are inherently gayer than American men.
Okay, well I'm getting tired, but I do want to finish my story. I ended up coming back to Tuebingen around 8:30 because my friend Peter from Hungary leaves Monday for home, and I wanted to meet him for a drink and say my goodbyes. (Jeff stayed in Wernau to get a little more time in with his relatives.) Turns out that he was invited to a birthday party at the dorm of Niko, a German guy that I met at the beginning of the year but never really hung out with, although we do have quite a few friends in common. So I met Peter at the train station and we took off for Niko's. Ended up being quite a good party, mostly because I got to spend some quality time with Peter and got to know Niko a lot better.
(Side note - Niko studied abroad at UMass all of last year, and we dicovered tonight we have a lot in common, from musical tastes, to a love of the Pacific Northwest, to missing the same things about America.)
It was also good because it was a party whose guests were mostly German. You probably wouldn't believe me unless you've studied/are studying abroad in Germany, but this doesn't happen as much as you might think- you usually end up hanging out with the international crowd or other English-speakers. I found another guy, Johannes*, who I could speak German to really easily. He didn't believe me when I said that I came from the US - said you couldn't hear it when I spoke - which for me is always a confidence booster. I think the ethanol helped, as well. For Peter's benefit, we took some pictures of the people he and I knew best at the party, which was him, me, Niko, and Gary from Switzerland.
Peter and Gary are hilarious.
From the left: Peter from Hungary, me, Niko from Germany, and Gary from Switzerland.
This is our best photo. We all look raging hot, in my humble opinion.
Okay, time to go to bed, for I am going to yet another Fasching Fest tomorrow. It's in Rottenburg, a small town near Tuebingen, and since I was allowed by the people who invited me to bring a guest, I'm bringing Peter with me. So I guess tonight wasn't goodbye, after all. But tomorrow will be.
24.2.06
A list of things I found on the Internet today that I found hilarious.
1. There is a woman on eBay selling homemade knitted monstrosities that no other human being on earth could possibly want to wear. Proof for that statement is that she models the "garments" herself - she couldn't get any volunteers, or even PAY somebody to do it. You can judge for yourself by going to her eBay store. Your favorite is sure to be the mohair catsuit.
2. This guy has the greatest name ever. My firstborn shall have his last name.
3. Apparently I speak normal American English, for the most part:
1. There is a woman on eBay selling homemade knitted monstrosities that no other human being on earth could possibly want to wear. Proof for that statement is that she models the "garments" herself - she couldn't get any volunteers, or even PAY somebody to do it. You can judge for yourself by going to her eBay store. Your favorite is sure to be the mohair catsuit.
2. This guy has the greatest name ever. My firstborn shall have his last name.
3. Apparently I speak normal American English, for the most part:
Your Linguistic Profile: |
80% General American English |
10% Upper Midwestern |
5% Dixie |
5% Midwestern |
0% Yankee |
4. I finally did it.
I guess point #4 means that I have to go be productive now. I guess I will go clean my room and get ready for tonight's Fasching- und Abschiedsparty. Happy weekend, everyone!
20.2.06
OH MY GOODNESS.
First Ben Folds comes to play at the Paramount, and I'm missing it. Not a huge deal - I saw him on the same tour ("Landed") in Portland last summer with my dear Ashley, on a night which very well could have been the best night of my life (discounting the tire blow-out on I-5 on the way back at 12:30 AM). Plus, I saw Death Cab for Cutie in Munich last Saturday (great concert in a wonderful, intimate venue - I was front row, got the set list after the show, and Ben Gibbard heard me ask a question and ANSWERED IT), and I'll be seeing Bloodhound Gang on Tuesday in Stuttgart with Jeff and Scott. And we know that'll be the Chuck Norris of all concerts, no question.
And I miss a few other Seattle concerts, like Coldplay, and then of course EVERY SINGLE WONDERFUL SHOW that The Senate has put on. Okay. Coldplay's overrated. The Senate will still be melting faces with their acoutic rock when I get back to SeaTown.
But then, I see this.
I CANNOT BELIEVE I am going to miss a performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I just REFUSE to believe it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. And I'm not there for it.
You - yes, you, living in Seattle - NEED to go see this show for me. I'm not kidding. It's amazing. It had better tour back sometime after September 2006, or the cast will know me with all my fury and rage.*
Another thing I wanted to share real quick is the fact that Jeff and I are trying to sample every beer we can get our hands on before we go back to the States. We have learned that a lot of imported beers are actually more available at home, since Germany is a country of beer snobs and they drink mostly locally-made brew. (Which is fine; I could drink Fischer's for the rest of my life and I'd be happy.) So to get, say, an Austrian beer (we loved Schladminger's), you have to actually go to Austria to find any. But this morning, Kiel introduced me to the wonder of Marktkauf, a store that isn't great but they have a Drink Market that is out of this world - some Czech beer (Rick and Matt will remember Pilsner Urquell), and beers from other parts of Germany, not just Baden-Wuerttemberg. So I raided the store and took home whatever I could carry, plus a few cans of Red Bull. I'll post the picture in the next post, because obviously I haven't figured out Blogger after 2 years of using it.
Okay, back to studying. Just one more test to go, tomorrow at 12:40, an oral test with a professor who has already done 4 straight days of examinations with other students. And it's in German. This does not bode well.
*Don't have much of either of those.
First Ben Folds comes to play at the Paramount, and I'm missing it. Not a huge deal - I saw him on the same tour ("Landed") in Portland last summer with my dear Ashley, on a night which very well could have been the best night of my life (discounting the tire blow-out on I-5 on the way back at 12:30 AM). Plus, I saw Death Cab for Cutie in Munich last Saturday (great concert in a wonderful, intimate venue - I was front row, got the set list after the show, and Ben Gibbard heard me ask a question and ANSWERED IT), and I'll be seeing Bloodhound Gang on Tuesday in Stuttgart with Jeff and Scott. And we know that'll be the Chuck Norris of all concerts, no question.
And I miss a few other Seattle concerts, like Coldplay, and then of course EVERY SINGLE WONDERFUL SHOW that The Senate has put on. Okay. Coldplay's overrated. The Senate will still be melting faces with their acoutic rock when I get back to SeaTown.
But then, I see this.
I CANNOT BELIEVE I am going to miss a performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. I just REFUSE to believe it. This is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. And I'm not there for it.
You - yes, you, living in Seattle - NEED to go see this show for me. I'm not kidding. It's amazing. It had better tour back sometime after September 2006, or the cast will know me with all my fury and rage.*
Another thing I wanted to share real quick is the fact that Jeff and I are trying to sample every beer we can get our hands on before we go back to the States. We have learned that a lot of imported beers are actually more available at home, since Germany is a country of beer snobs and they drink mostly locally-made brew. (Which is fine; I could drink Fischer's for the rest of my life and I'd be happy.) So to get, say, an Austrian beer (we loved Schladminger's), you have to actually go to Austria to find any. But this morning, Kiel introduced me to the wonder of Marktkauf, a store that isn't great but they have a Drink Market that is out of this world - some Czech beer (Rick and Matt will remember Pilsner Urquell), and beers from other parts of Germany, not just Baden-Wuerttemberg. So I raided the store and took home whatever I could carry, plus a few cans of Red Bull. I'll post the picture in the next post, because obviously I haven't figured out Blogger after 2 years of using it.
Okay, back to studying. Just one more test to go, tomorrow at 12:40, an oral test with a professor who has already done 4 straight days of examinations with other students. And it's in German. This does not bode well.
*Don't have much of either of those.
16.2.06
How is there no Michael Cera website?
Wow. I love Arrested Development. I am going to buy all three seasons on DVD and show Fox what is up.
"Soon, George Michael went to Ann's to try to win her back. But her uncle Paul told him that Ann had moved in with her boyfriend. He also mentioned that we all only had three more weeks on Earth, and that fossils were just something that the Jews buried in 1924."
Apropos, I did horribly on my first oral German test today. I think the other GSL classes went well, though. At the very least I can just withhold my Schein from that class. Hopefully History goes better.
Wow. I love Arrested Development. I am going to buy all three seasons on DVD and show Fox what is up.
"Soon, George Michael went to Ann's to try to win her back. But her uncle Paul told him that Ann had moved in with her boyfriend. He also mentioned that we all only had three more weeks on Earth, and that fossils were just something that the Jews buried in 1924."
Apropos, I did horribly on my first oral German test today. I think the other GSL classes went well, though. At the very least I can just withhold my Schein from that class. Hopefully History goes better.
13.2.06
I know I said I wouldn't be back for a week and a half, but I felt inspired to post.
Tonight at 11 PM I went out jogging, and instead danced in a snowfield under the moonlight to "Army" by Ben Folds Five. The landscape of Tuebingen laid out before me, I swirled around in bliss, kicked out my feet and forgot the world for 3 minutes and 23 seconds.
Sometimes you think you are taking control of life and saying, "look, here's what I want to do now. It may sound irrational, but it's what I'm going to do." And then something picks you up, sets you down square on your butt, and says, "No. This is what you're doing now."
And it's wonderful.
Tonight at 11 PM I went out jogging, and instead danced in a snowfield under the moonlight to "Army" by Ben Folds Five. The landscape of Tuebingen laid out before me, I swirled around in bliss, kicked out my feet and forgot the world for 3 minutes and 23 seconds.
Sometimes you think you are taking control of life and saying, "look, here's what I want to do now. It may sound irrational, but it's what I'm going to do." And then something picks you up, sets you down square on your butt, and says, "No. This is what you're doing now."
And it's wonderful.
12.2.06
So I get home from Brussels, and this is the first headline I see when I open my browser:
Cheney Accidentally Shoots Man
Crazy. I thought this was hilarious. Bad for the poor victim, but he's in good condition, judging from the report.
Brussels was nice. It was my first time visiting the city (well, the country at all) and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. Jeff and I stayed at the Vincent van Gogh hostel, ate Belgian waffles with strawberries and chocolate, bought Belgian chocolates and blonde beers, saw the Grand Place and the Mannekin Pis, visited a few churches and a museum, and to top it all off, ate mussels at an authentic (expensive!) Belgian restaurant. The hostel had a bar and a pool table with (sometimes) free pool, which made the evenings quite pleasant - we didn't really go out because of upcoming tests this week and next. We did have to deal with one crazy guy sleeping in one of the beds in our room, who kept going in and out of the room in the night and then in the morning kept opening the window when it was freezing cold out (it snowed later that day). Furthermore, as we took an after-dinner nap on Saturday from 6 to 9, he came in and started playing guitar. Really, really considerate. He even kept the door to the room open - Jeff postulated that he was attempting to pick up chicks. In the hostel's modest kitchen, he'd turn up the TV to disastrous volumes and then leave without readjusting the set. We tactfully avoided confrontation by not uttering a word to him the entire weekend.
But all in all, the city was pretty and we had a good time wandering the gardens, seeing churches and taking pictures. Now it's time to get back to those books. I'll be back in about 10 days once my finals are over. :)
Cheney Accidentally Shoots Man
Crazy. I thought this was hilarious. Bad for the poor victim, but he's in good condition, judging from the report.
Brussels was nice. It was my first time visiting the city (well, the country at all) and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. Jeff and I stayed at the Vincent van Gogh hostel, ate Belgian waffles with strawberries and chocolate, bought Belgian chocolates and blonde beers, saw the Grand Place and the Mannekin Pis, visited a few churches and a museum, and to top it all off, ate mussels at an authentic (expensive!) Belgian restaurant. The hostel had a bar and a pool table with (sometimes) free pool, which made the evenings quite pleasant - we didn't really go out because of upcoming tests this week and next. We did have to deal with one crazy guy sleeping in one of the beds in our room, who kept going in and out of the room in the night and then in the morning kept opening the window when it was freezing cold out (it snowed later that day). Furthermore, as we took an after-dinner nap on Saturday from 6 to 9, he came in and started playing guitar. Really, really considerate. He even kept the door to the room open - Jeff postulated that he was attempting to pick up chicks. In the hostel's modest kitchen, he'd turn up the TV to disastrous volumes and then leave without readjusting the set. We tactfully avoided confrontation by not uttering a word to him the entire weekend.
But all in all, the city was pretty and we had a good time wandering the gardens, seeing churches and taking pictures. Now it's time to get back to those books. I'll be back in about 10 days once my finals are over. :)
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