I am so happy and thrilled! I am sitting in my room in die Fabrik and I am typing my blog on my own computer directly on the free wi-fi! This is most definately a hotel! And by far the best place I have stayed in while in Europe! Here I have a real wooden twin size bed! With a thick foam matress key word is thick! The lights are good the windows are nice the court yard is lovelly and the whole concept that they didn't spare many expences for me is perfect and I am still screaming Thank God! In a typical hostel: you pay for the sheets, put the sheets on the bed, take what ever crappy matress they give you, hope the bunk beds don't cave, pray the stairs don't give out, take your own soap, toilet paper, and towel to the bathroom, clean it after you're done, and yell at the guy before because they didn't. Here I only have one little draw back- I feel like I'm playing "the rat in the maze looking for the cheese (i.e. shower)". It doesn't help that the wall paper is the color of chedder cheese, and while I'm walking to the shower without my glasses the pattern makes in look like yellow swiss cheese! Also, the showers have water savers on them still.
So, Mom if you would do me one little favor- clean the tub and unclog the drain before I get home so that I can sit in the tub and soak in it for an hour and then take the longest continuously running shower of my life! If you do this for me it will be the first time in my life I have ever been so happy that I would cry tears of joy and you would be the best Mommy on the planet!!!! I could write more, but my room mate has already fallen asleep and I should too! Ich leibe ihr! Tschus!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Erfurt to Berlin 09-01-08
Please note- I am going to start including more German words into my blogs, they are so common to me now that to translate them is painful. I think Pat and Bernie are going to be everyone’s favorite people when it comes to reading my blogs with the ever more increasing Deutsch.
I am currently on the zug to Berlin. The thoughts going through my brain are repetitive and the same as so many other travelers that have been away from home for so long. One month. I have one full month behind me in Europe. I can’t help but sit here and wonder where my time has gone. I feel an excitement in me at the thought of going back to the US to go back to the world I knew before. It would seem that I have spent so much time here that my gestures are no longer American, and that I no longer have “I’m an American” stamped across my forehead. Everyone around me that speaks to me expects me to spricht Deutsch. They can tell I don’t belong to their city, but they don’t expect me to be foreign. It’s a rainy day and the train I’m on is going to stop in Weimar. I can already see the tower of Buchenwald. I do remember that day well. It is burned into my memory as the day that I honored the dead. I woke up in a mood to remember today. I don’t know why, but I woke up with an argument on my lips. It was one of the arguments I had about coming to Europe. I believe it was the one where I said “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” I have one month and all of that behind me now. It still seems odd to me. I walk around and everyone I meet in Erfurt, I ask “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” There’s nothing wrong with my Deutsch and I know that they don’t speak English. They were taught Russian in school, because this is East Deutschland. But I crave to hear them say “a little bit”. I crave those few words of my native tongue! I don’t need to hear it as desperately as I did 2 weeks ago while I was sick in Ilmenau. I find that the craving for my language dies a slow painfully heartfelt death. I want to cry- my yearning for English is that great! To me it is not the actual language or the music to it. I actually find it to be one of the less melodic and less pretty languages I have heard. To me it is a symbol of my world. A marker of all that is familiar and homely to me. For me to hear English spoken means I am one step closer to my world, my time, my family, my home. I still have a full week and a half to go before I go home, but tomorrow I will join the other half of my study abroad and it will all be in English.
Strangely, I have mixed feelings about this fact. I think and feel that in a foreign land the native language of that land should be the only language spoken, but it’s entangled with my ache for home. I guess the old saying is true: “You never know what you have until it’s gone from you”. Well, bless the powers that be! I have a luxury most people don’t. I have the luxury of being able to return to what I left behind, and I have that great luxury of being greeted home with open arms! Thank God for that fact! Now! Now, that I know what it is that I yearn and crave for from home I will cherish it all the more! One more thing is certain. When I return home, you will notice that I have left my loving obsession of trains behind with the Deutsche Bahn. It is a good way to travel and you do get to see so much of the country, plus you have the room to move, but I am so tired of trains and the DB.
I am most definitely on the Road to Shambala! (Needless to say I am a huge Three Dog Night fan!) I feel soo much better than I did! I sang, I danced, and it rained! People slipped and slid every where! It’s so funny to hear the Deutsch screaming and cussing about rain! Currently, the “essenzimmer” in the basement for fruhstuck und abendessen looks like a scene from Noah’s ark and all of the picnic tables can be seen through the windows acting as there own arks! It’s so funny! Let me start from the beginning.
I got off the train in the Berlin Hauptbahnhof. I was overwhelmed! I now know what Napoleon or Alexander the Great felt when they first began to understand what it would take to form an army and storm a city! I had a tremor in my bones that wouldn’t stop. When I saw the shear size of the train station I knew I had underestimated this city! It was five levels tall and on the first level was the train station for IC/ICE trains. Then 3 levels fur Kaufen and the top level had more trains. The top level is for the tram! Can you imagine my shock to know I had 4 ton trains above my head and beneath my feet! That station is an engineering marvel! I know! I watch it being built on a Nat. Geo. Special! You should see the roof! It’s pure glass! The special was from 2005. They were in a race against the clock because they wanted it to be done in time for the FIFA world cup. I don’t know if the y did finish it in time though. But it looks so good now! I figured out very quickly that it would take more balls to continue on than I thought it originally would! It took me 30 minutes just to get my head on straight enough to realize I forgot to plan my entrance into Berlin! Every where I have gone I knew what to expect, what I was in for and what streets I needed to get where, but I forgot to do that with Berlin! So, I put my head back on my shoulders and walked to Pizza Hut which was next to Burger King. I wanted American advice on how to make my entrance! So, that was the perfect place to get it! I just hung back for a bit waited to hear someone struggle to order, jump in line behind them and say “that sounds like English to me! Where ya from?” They said Florida. So, I got pizza hut sat down at a table near to them and waited for an opportunity to open up a conversation as to what method of transport they liked best. (I know- it sounds like stalking, but how else was I going to get American advice? Hold a sign over my head that said “Americans come here to help me!”?) They were leaving the stadt and going back to Florida. They gave me every map they had and no longer wanted/needed and maps are not free/cheap here! So, I began to plan my entrance. But the best thing they did for me was to remind me to find the tourist bureau! It was not easy to find either! After about 15 minutes of wondering about without hope of a reprieve I pulled my self into a corner and allowed my front heavy suitcase to fall over and tossed a map over it. I was Alexander the Great trying to fell the Walls of the Persian Empire! The station is so big they have two Deutsche Bahn Reise Buro on every floor! I went to 2 of them asking where the Tourist info counter was. Finally I found it! It was the very last store in the front corner on the street level shopping center! Once again I was Napoleon and I was seeking the advice of a trusted advisor! She just didn’t happen to speak very good English. But I found out both of my destinations were in Ost Berlin. Turns out my Hostel is further into Ost Berlin than my hotel for my 2nd study abroad! I needed to go to the Ostkruez S-bahnhof. I need to take the S-bahnhof and not the U-bahn! Can you imagine being such a big city you need to have 3 different types of train traffic! But I bought my karte for huete und am Morgen fahren. For each bahnhof I need to walk ein halb km to my hostel/hotel.
The S-bahn was the train traffic above my head. I had to go up to Gleis 15 and take either the #5, 7, or 75. She recommended the 75. I took the 7. It worked out fine. From what I saw of the city I am very impressed. Once again I am very taken by the graffiti! The shear amount of detail is very impressive! Also, the buildings are very nice in West Berlin. Here, in East Berlin, you’re better off not knowing. I know why we are staying in East Berlin though. It’s cheaper. The west is over run by 5 star Hiltons, Ritz Carlton’s, etc! No way U. C. can afford to stay there! I am glad I arrived alone though. According to the syllabi my group is arriving from the airport by taxis! That is going to cost a fortune! I can imagine it will be €10 per person compared to the €2.30 I paid and I only need to walk halb ein km. I find that to be a small price to pay. What they are doing is absurd! If they don’t take taxis we could see so much more! I hope Tod Herzog is financially smarter than Richard Schade! (Schade was originally leading the tour but had to drop out for health reasons. “Sehr schade!” A little play on words- Schade is his name but schade auf deutsch is “too bad”.)
So, now I’m at my hostel and in one piece. I wasn’t pleased when I arrived. My entrance wasn’t smooth. However, the real challenge is when I got the key card for my room telling me I’m on the top floor (4th) with no elevator, no bell hop, and a tight cork screw stair case! Also, for the building I’m currently in- the rooms are 15 feet tall by 7 feet wide. I’m in much better shape than I was before I left the US! When I first started climbing up the stairs in Ilmenau with my suit case I was exhausted after the first floor! Now I don’t get tired until the 3rd floor and that is with my 25 pound bag on my back and my 35 pound suit case in my hands! By the time I get to where I’m going my arms are jello! So much for my baby soft hands also. I now have calluses from hauling/pulling my suitcase and my hands haven’t seen an ounce of lotion in a month! So as I sat in the room and looked out the window at 4:30 PM, I thought I could have stayed the night in the Hauptbahnhof! It would have been easy. It’s open 24/7 and I would have enjoyed it more, it would have been cheaper too and my arms wouldn’t feel like jello! But I collected my self and I stopped being intimidated by such a simple thing as a few buildings! I walked out side.
This is where things change. Two buildings down is the local supermarket. I felt like I was walking into the Kroger in Coryville. (Needless to say this is not the perfect area. Let’s face it, it’s East Berlin. Go ahead Pat, tell Mom how bad the east still is after 18 years of re-unification.) So, I was in the “Lild” market and I find that a 1.5 liter of Pepsi is 25 cents cheaper than a 1.25 liter of Coke. I got the Pepsi. Also, I splurged and paid the €2.45 for the 320 grams of plain M&M’s. I think you can figure out very quickly that M&Ms sind teuer heir. They aren’t fresh either. They were shipped from France where Euro Mars Inc. is based. Coke is based in Berlin and it’s very fresh, aber auch teuer! By the time I got through line at 17:50 es regnet sehr viel!
This is where my day turned around! I waited for about 20 min. for the rain to stop or let up and it wouldn’t. So, I rolled up my pants, popped out my umbrella, and just began laughing! I was laughing at all of the people cowering in the windows and door ways all because of rain! As I walked I had fun dodging the rivers of water (all of the drains were clogged/backed up for some reason). As I walked into the parking lot of the hostel I see that it’s a complete and total washout! I saw a few points of high ground and picked my way through! The way I had to go reminded me so much of the dance from “Singin’ in the Rain”. So, I let the exuberance from the movie flow through me! I got to the ‘check in’ building with minimal water wear while everyone else in there looks like they just took a shower or got out of a swimming pool! Also, the floor of the building was covered in a half inch of water! The staff are doing all they can to battle the flood and the guests are just being obnoxious and soo needy! At first I walked into the bar and asked fur abendessen. Sie sagt auf deutsch it’s in the basement of the main building and some other stuff. I have time to kill. So, I sit down and watch the guests dart to and fro and slip and slide and curse and scream auf deutsch. I began busting a gut laughing! It felt so good. But I began to feel bad because the staff were battling the flood where I was sitting. I didn’t know if they thought I was laughing at them or not. So, I grabbed a broom from someone and began helping. They said it wasn’t needed. Again I played dumb and sagt auf schlecktes Deutsch “many hands make small work”. They didn’t understand and let me help. They told me I could have a free drink from the bar. I asked if I could stay free as a joke. They said no, and I said I don’t drink. (I left all alcohol behind me in Ilmenau. That little bender is over.) I told them nein danke, and kept working. We had 3 mops and what seemed to be an endless supply of bed sheets. But it was endless, because I don’t have sheets on my bed right now. It’s fine. It’s only for a night. I’ll be out of here by 7:00 AM and on to the next place any way. (Plus, sheets aren’t free.) When the rain stopped I walked out side and saw the basement version of Noah’s Ark through the windows. I laughed turned around went back through the building and went to the Pizza place at the corner of the parking lot. I’m still surprised! I got a calzone. It was very good and given the line they had and how full the dining room was I got my food so fast and very fresh! Es war nicht teuer! Es war nur €2.10, and given that I had my Pepsi (€0.85) with me dinner was cheap! I can’t believe even including my S-bahn tickets (not including Pizza Hut) the M&Ms were the most expensive thing I have bought heute!
Currently, ich bin in mein Zimmer mit 2 Deutscherin. Ich denke sie sind Mutter and daughter, aber ich weisst nicht. Either way they asked me about the up coming election. I told them I need my CNN fix to know. I can’t believe I am missing the coverage of the Republican National convention! We have a small 10 inch tv in the room. But it’s too high for us to reach, and we don’t have a remote or a chair tall enough to reach it! When I first got into the room and saw that, I figured out very quickly that if I wind up in hell- that tv would be apart of my hell! It’s sad isn’t it that I am that much of a news fanatic?!?! I think it’s time to call it quits don’t you? After 7 pages of very little importance, it’s time to say Good night! Gute Nacht! Ich leibe ihr! Tschus!
I am currently on the zug to Berlin. The thoughts going through my brain are repetitive and the same as so many other travelers that have been away from home for so long. One month. I have one full month behind me in Europe. I can’t help but sit here and wonder where my time has gone. I feel an excitement in me at the thought of going back to the US to go back to the world I knew before. It would seem that I have spent so much time here that my gestures are no longer American, and that I no longer have “I’m an American” stamped across my forehead. Everyone around me that speaks to me expects me to spricht Deutsch. They can tell I don’t belong to their city, but they don’t expect me to be foreign. It’s a rainy day and the train I’m on is going to stop in Weimar. I can already see the tower of Buchenwald. I do remember that day well. It is burned into my memory as the day that I honored the dead. I woke up in a mood to remember today. I don’t know why, but I woke up with an argument on my lips. It was one of the arguments I had about coming to Europe. I believe it was the one where I said “Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” I have one month and all of that behind me now. It still seems odd to me. I walk around and everyone I meet in Erfurt, I ask “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” There’s nothing wrong with my Deutsch and I know that they don’t speak English. They were taught Russian in school, because this is East Deutschland. But I crave to hear them say “a little bit”. I crave those few words of my native tongue! I don’t need to hear it as desperately as I did 2 weeks ago while I was sick in Ilmenau. I find that the craving for my language dies a slow painfully heartfelt death. I want to cry- my yearning for English is that great! To me it is not the actual language or the music to it. I actually find it to be one of the less melodic and less pretty languages I have heard. To me it is a symbol of my world. A marker of all that is familiar and homely to me. For me to hear English spoken means I am one step closer to my world, my time, my family, my home. I still have a full week and a half to go before I go home, but tomorrow I will join the other half of my study abroad and it will all be in English.
Strangely, I have mixed feelings about this fact. I think and feel that in a foreign land the native language of that land should be the only language spoken, but it’s entangled with my ache for home. I guess the old saying is true: “You never know what you have until it’s gone from you”. Well, bless the powers that be! I have a luxury most people don’t. I have the luxury of being able to return to what I left behind, and I have that great luxury of being greeted home with open arms! Thank God for that fact! Now! Now, that I know what it is that I yearn and crave for from home I will cherish it all the more! One more thing is certain. When I return home, you will notice that I have left my loving obsession of trains behind with the Deutsche Bahn. It is a good way to travel and you do get to see so much of the country, plus you have the room to move, but I am so tired of trains and the DB.
I am most definitely on the Road to Shambala! (Needless to say I am a huge Three Dog Night fan!) I feel soo much better than I did! I sang, I danced, and it rained! People slipped and slid every where! It’s so funny to hear the Deutsch screaming and cussing about rain! Currently, the “essenzimmer” in the basement for fruhstuck und abendessen looks like a scene from Noah’s ark and all of the picnic tables can be seen through the windows acting as there own arks! It’s so funny! Let me start from the beginning.
I got off the train in the Berlin Hauptbahnhof. I was overwhelmed! I now know what Napoleon or Alexander the Great felt when they first began to understand what it would take to form an army and storm a city! I had a tremor in my bones that wouldn’t stop. When I saw the shear size of the train station I knew I had underestimated this city! It was five levels tall and on the first level was the train station for IC/ICE trains. Then 3 levels fur Kaufen and the top level had more trains. The top level is for the tram! Can you imagine my shock to know I had 4 ton trains above my head and beneath my feet! That station is an engineering marvel! I know! I watch it being built on a Nat. Geo. Special! You should see the roof! It’s pure glass! The special was from 2005. They were in a race against the clock because they wanted it to be done in time for the FIFA world cup. I don’t know if the y did finish it in time though. But it looks so good now! I figured out very quickly that it would take more balls to continue on than I thought it originally would! It took me 30 minutes just to get my head on straight enough to realize I forgot to plan my entrance into Berlin! Every where I have gone I knew what to expect, what I was in for and what streets I needed to get where, but I forgot to do that with Berlin! So, I put my head back on my shoulders and walked to Pizza Hut which was next to Burger King. I wanted American advice on how to make my entrance! So, that was the perfect place to get it! I just hung back for a bit waited to hear someone struggle to order, jump in line behind them and say “that sounds like English to me! Where ya from?” They said Florida. So, I got pizza hut sat down at a table near to them and waited for an opportunity to open up a conversation as to what method of transport they liked best. (I know- it sounds like stalking, but how else was I going to get American advice? Hold a sign over my head that said “Americans come here to help me!”?) They were leaving the stadt and going back to Florida. They gave me every map they had and no longer wanted/needed and maps are not free/cheap here! So, I began to plan my entrance. But the best thing they did for me was to remind me to find the tourist bureau! It was not easy to find either! After about 15 minutes of wondering about without hope of a reprieve I pulled my self into a corner and allowed my front heavy suitcase to fall over and tossed a map over it. I was Alexander the Great trying to fell the Walls of the Persian Empire! The station is so big they have two Deutsche Bahn Reise Buro on every floor! I went to 2 of them asking where the Tourist info counter was. Finally I found it! It was the very last store in the front corner on the street level shopping center! Once again I was Napoleon and I was seeking the advice of a trusted advisor! She just didn’t happen to speak very good English. But I found out both of my destinations were in Ost Berlin. Turns out my Hostel is further into Ost Berlin than my hotel for my 2nd study abroad! I needed to go to the Ostkruez S-bahnhof. I need to take the S-bahnhof and not the U-bahn! Can you imagine being such a big city you need to have 3 different types of train traffic! But I bought my karte for huete und am Morgen fahren. For each bahnhof I need to walk ein halb km to my hostel/hotel.
The S-bahn was the train traffic above my head. I had to go up to Gleis 15 and take either the #5, 7, or 75. She recommended the 75. I took the 7. It worked out fine. From what I saw of the city I am very impressed. Once again I am very taken by the graffiti! The shear amount of detail is very impressive! Also, the buildings are very nice in West Berlin. Here, in East Berlin, you’re better off not knowing. I know why we are staying in East Berlin though. It’s cheaper. The west is over run by 5 star Hiltons, Ritz Carlton’s, etc! No way U. C. can afford to stay there! I am glad I arrived alone though. According to the syllabi my group is arriving from the airport by taxis! That is going to cost a fortune! I can imagine it will be €10 per person compared to the €2.30 I paid and I only need to walk halb ein km. I find that to be a small price to pay. What they are doing is absurd! If they don’t take taxis we could see so much more! I hope Tod Herzog is financially smarter than Richard Schade! (Schade was originally leading the tour but had to drop out for health reasons. “Sehr schade!” A little play on words- Schade is his name but schade auf deutsch is “too bad”.)
So, now I’m at my hostel and in one piece. I wasn’t pleased when I arrived. My entrance wasn’t smooth. However, the real challenge is when I got the key card for my room telling me I’m on the top floor (4th) with no elevator, no bell hop, and a tight cork screw stair case! Also, for the building I’m currently in- the rooms are 15 feet tall by 7 feet wide. I’m in much better shape than I was before I left the US! When I first started climbing up the stairs in Ilmenau with my suit case I was exhausted after the first floor! Now I don’t get tired until the 3rd floor and that is with my 25 pound bag on my back and my 35 pound suit case in my hands! By the time I get to where I’m going my arms are jello! So much for my baby soft hands also. I now have calluses from hauling/pulling my suitcase and my hands haven’t seen an ounce of lotion in a month! So as I sat in the room and looked out the window at 4:30 PM, I thought I could have stayed the night in the Hauptbahnhof! It would have been easy. It’s open 24/7 and I would have enjoyed it more, it would have been cheaper too and my arms wouldn’t feel like jello! But I collected my self and I stopped being intimidated by such a simple thing as a few buildings! I walked out side.
This is where things change. Two buildings down is the local supermarket. I felt like I was walking into the Kroger in Coryville. (Needless to say this is not the perfect area. Let’s face it, it’s East Berlin. Go ahead Pat, tell Mom how bad the east still is after 18 years of re-unification.) So, I was in the “Lild” market and I find that a 1.5 liter of Pepsi is 25 cents cheaper than a 1.25 liter of Coke. I got the Pepsi. Also, I splurged and paid the €2.45 for the 320 grams of plain M&M’s. I think you can figure out very quickly that M&Ms sind teuer heir. They aren’t fresh either. They were shipped from France where Euro Mars Inc. is based. Coke is based in Berlin and it’s very fresh, aber auch teuer! By the time I got through line at 17:50 es regnet sehr viel!
This is where my day turned around! I waited for about 20 min. for the rain to stop or let up and it wouldn’t. So, I rolled up my pants, popped out my umbrella, and just began laughing! I was laughing at all of the people cowering in the windows and door ways all because of rain! As I walked I had fun dodging the rivers of water (all of the drains were clogged/backed up for some reason). As I walked into the parking lot of the hostel I see that it’s a complete and total washout! I saw a few points of high ground and picked my way through! The way I had to go reminded me so much of the dance from “Singin’ in the Rain”. So, I let the exuberance from the movie flow through me! I got to the ‘check in’ building with minimal water wear while everyone else in there looks like they just took a shower or got out of a swimming pool! Also, the floor of the building was covered in a half inch of water! The staff are doing all they can to battle the flood and the guests are just being obnoxious and soo needy! At first I walked into the bar and asked fur abendessen. Sie sagt auf deutsch it’s in the basement of the main building and some other stuff. I have time to kill. So, I sit down and watch the guests dart to and fro and slip and slide and curse and scream auf deutsch. I began busting a gut laughing! It felt so good. But I began to feel bad because the staff were battling the flood where I was sitting. I didn’t know if they thought I was laughing at them or not. So, I grabbed a broom from someone and began helping. They said it wasn’t needed. Again I played dumb and sagt auf schlecktes Deutsch “many hands make small work”. They didn’t understand and let me help. They told me I could have a free drink from the bar. I asked if I could stay free as a joke. They said no, and I said I don’t drink. (I left all alcohol behind me in Ilmenau. That little bender is over.) I told them nein danke, and kept working. We had 3 mops and what seemed to be an endless supply of bed sheets. But it was endless, because I don’t have sheets on my bed right now. It’s fine. It’s only for a night. I’ll be out of here by 7:00 AM and on to the next place any way. (Plus, sheets aren’t free.) When the rain stopped I walked out side and saw the basement version of Noah’s Ark through the windows. I laughed turned around went back through the building and went to the Pizza place at the corner of the parking lot. I’m still surprised! I got a calzone. It was very good and given the line they had and how full the dining room was I got my food so fast and very fresh! Es war nicht teuer! Es war nur €2.10, and given that I had my Pepsi (€0.85) with me dinner was cheap! I can’t believe even including my S-bahn tickets (not including Pizza Hut) the M&Ms were the most expensive thing I have bought heute!
Currently, ich bin in mein Zimmer mit 2 Deutscherin. Ich denke sie sind Mutter and daughter, aber ich weisst nicht. Either way they asked me about the up coming election. I told them I need my CNN fix to know. I can’t believe I am missing the coverage of the Republican National convention! We have a small 10 inch tv in the room. But it’s too high for us to reach, and we don’t have a remote or a chair tall enough to reach it! When I first got into the room and saw that, I figured out very quickly that if I wind up in hell- that tv would be apart of my hell! It’s sad isn’t it that I am that much of a news fanatic?!?! I think it’s time to call it quits don’t you? After 7 pages of very little importance, it’s time to say Good night! Gute Nacht! Ich leibe ihr! Tschus!
Erfurt.08-30&31-08
I can’t believe how tired I have been these last couple of days! The bed isn’t even that comfy! It’s just a piece of foam on top of particle board. But I slept all day yesterday. I woke up in time for breakfast at 7:00 AM and then went straight back to sleep and didn’t wake up again until 6:00 PM! I hadn’t intended to sleep that long. It just sort of happened. I got breakfast so early that I figured another couple hours of sleep before the city opened would be good. Next thing I know its 6:00 the town closes down around five and the sun was setting on a flawless pale blue sky. I am sad to have missed yesterday. If I had gotten up I could have known about the fire works and been there for them. After dark and after I had started watching “Memoirs of a Geisha” I started hearing fireworks. I could see a few of them from my window, but I didn’t go out to see them. I didn’t think it wise to go out in the dark of night to look for fireworks in a strange city, in a foreign land, with a language I only half understand. Plus, it’s hard enough to find my way back during the day! I can’t imagine doing that at night. So, I just sat in bed and finished the movie and waited for the fireworks to stop. I did go to the front desk to ask what was going on. They did tell me, it was just in very fast German with words I couldn’t catch. Some sort of bureau festival. Finally, they ended after five hours and I called it a night after 12:30.
Today, I almost did the same thing. It would have been a shame to miss this day. It was a sleepy flawless pale blue Sunday and a perfect temperature, warm with a slight breeze! Thankfully, I didn’t. I was fully dressed and ready to go. I was sitting on my bed debating whether or not to go to church, and next thing I know- I’m lying down and it was noon. So, I yanked my self out of bed and got only a little lost, just because I had never taken that street before. I did find the city walking/biking path. I didn’t go too far though. I stayed with in my block of familiar territory. I wound up whittling away two hours just laying under a tree (I think it was a maple tree) with the path and a stream in a ditch (auf Deutsch ein Ilm) at my feet, and the Kindern playground to my left. To my right was a grove of trees and bushes. After about 30 min. of me laying there I started to hear a rustling in the bushes. I just thought it was the wind, but there wasn’t any wind. After about 20 minutes of this a woman with dyed hair and a very lined face comes out fixing/tugging on her shirt and right behind her is a guy using two walking sticks to get around. Now, I don’t know if they were the one’s making the noise and if it was them, I don’t know what they were doing, but I know what my brain is jumping straight to… I figure at roughly 70 years of age and they’re still that in love- more power to them! “Go granny! Go granny! It’s your birthday, it’s your birthday!!” I didn’t think anything of it at the time and I just stayed put for a good while longer, but I find it very funny now! I just hope the guy didn’t break a hip while… He was leaning on the walking sticks fairly hard… I wonder what jokes Mom is coming up with at this point? I can already picture her on the phone a few minutes after the shock has worn off chatting with everyone about this. That’s funnier to me than the actual event! Mom, save me some of your good jokes! I wonder what Moose has to say about this? You know when those two get together some good ones are going to fly! But on my end I can only think that for all of the people over 45 reading this- there is hope for you in the very, very near future! HAHAHAHAHA! Mom, avoid the Viva Viagra jokes! I know you! You were wanting to make a few of those! Ok, ok, enough (for now)… Somehow, I think when I get off the plane on the 11th that I am going to be greeted by a chorus of “Viva Viagra”. Don’t you dare Mom! If you do I will turn right around and get back on the plane for Europe! Justin you had better not either! (FYI- amazon.com has the Nike shocks I want on sale for $80.00 at the moment.(Red swoosh, white shoe, size 8)) What can I say? I had a few minutes to kill while I was in the Amsterdam library. Any who, I finally made it into the city; I knew everything would be closed which is why I went. I wouldn’t spend as much. Granted I did spend enough for two days. I figured my last day in my favorite city- I could splurge just a little.
But first I found an ATM and pulled out €20.00. I didn’t really have a choice. I only had €20.00 to get me through 10 days in Berlin. I know that the ticket machine on the tram doesn’t take €20 bills. So, I had to break it. (Now I have €30.00.) I figured the best way to do that would be to fill my stomach. And after 6 hours and a 4km walk I was just a little bit hungry. I went into a café and I didn’t know what I had ordered off the menu until it came to the table. Turns out it was iceberg lettuce, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and black olives with a yogurt dressing, and a German Keiser roll/baguette thing. I was smart enough to find the drink section and order a coke. I was so hungry I ate every bite. While eating, I learned a trick! If you hate the taste of something (in this case everything on the plate) don’t let it touch your tongue! You look like an idiot doing this, but you are able to clean your plate. Needless to say, after all of these years I am still allergic to diary products. I wasn’t sure, because I haven’t tested it in a few years. But today I found out the hard way. If I go into detail it would fall under the TMI category. I was 2 km into the walk back to the hostel and I couldn’t keep going. I just couldn’t.
Thank the Lord for that pizza place. They let me use the bathroom for free! I was in such a hurry to get back into the bathroom. Which normally its not for public use because you have to walk through the kitchen. They told me that in German, but I played dumb, said I speak English, and so they let me use it. I wasn’t paying attention when I ran back to it. I hit one of the oven doors that was left open to cool off. I didn’t feel it at the time, but now I have two nice parallel burn marks on my upper right arm. I was in there so long the woman knocked and asked if I was ok. I was fine by the time I got back to the hostel.
So, that is my lat day in this perfect city. Tomorrow morning I move on to Berlin! Yes, I can make through a city that size with so little money. The truth is that I only needed that extra bit in case the Subway system tickets cost that much. Or in case I need to take a cab. I have to wait and see for it.
Seriously, when I get off the plane I want to go to Mecklenburg Gardens, and not Hofbrauhaus. Hofbrau has become Americanized and Mecklenburg feels more like what I’ve gotten here. I want to go there for my welcome home dinner. Plus, it will be a Thursday when I get home. It’s UC German club night at Mecklenburg. I doubt any one from UC will be there but we have a standing reservation with them as far as I know. And they have such good food (it’s not cheap either). To get a pretzel with liquid beer cheese, a cheeseburger, waffle fries, and a coke with free refills, and a tip is about $16.00. It’s worth it though (left-overs are a guarantee in my case). Once you’ve had it and sat out in the garden, you will want to go back. It’s my kind of place. A hundred year old hole in the wall establishment, minimal man-made ambiance, and the best damn German food you can get stateside! It doesn’t get much better! (It’s most likely not going to be anyone else’s favorite, but it is mine!) Top it off with my family, and a home made rich chocolate cake that took hours of prep work to make (either a black forest, or a checkerboard). I want to get off the plane and go straight there. It will be the perfect way to come home. I can show off the few little things I have with me and I can pass my camera around. Yes, I know. money is the factor. I can dream. Oh, well after everyone goes to bed Mom and I can sneak out at midnight and get one of our steak ‘n’ shake car hop meals, and get caught up on all of the stuff we’ve missed with each other. But if everyone does want to get together and welcome me home, Mecklenburg is at the top of the list. How about this, on the 11th Mom and I can do our carhop thing and Saturday the family can welcome me home at Mecklenburg, or visa-versa. Sound good? I think it sounds perfect.
I wonder how pretty the night sky will be when I get home? I know that seems random to you, but when Mom and I sneak out, or when ever I go out at night, without fail I look up and try to find some stars or the moon, or just admire the shape of the clouds. It’s just one of my quirks. Call me old fashioned, but I like to use the stars to mark where I am on the Earth. Not that I know the stars, I know the distance and the clarity of them. In Gerry and Oren’s beach house the stars are so clear you think you can count them without fail. In the city they are very obscured, the sky might as well be blank in which case the moon stands out all the more. For the suburbs and for Cinci, a cloud is always blocking some, always. For here in the German mountains, I want to reach up and touch the stars and the moon and play with them like I played with the lightning bugs on the 4th of July when I was 3. I need to stop rambling. It’s 8:00 PM here and I have spent two hours digressing from what I did today. I need to get packed for my five hour train ride tomorrow. I’m on the slow train. Just the standard Inner City (IC), and not the Inner City Express (ICE). The IC trains are the ICE’s of the 1980’s. They still work they just aren’t as efficient, and they stop at every single town!!!! Ok, time to go! Bye!
Today, I almost did the same thing. It would have been a shame to miss this day. It was a sleepy flawless pale blue Sunday and a perfect temperature, warm with a slight breeze! Thankfully, I didn’t. I was fully dressed and ready to go. I was sitting on my bed debating whether or not to go to church, and next thing I know- I’m lying down and it was noon. So, I yanked my self out of bed and got only a little lost, just because I had never taken that street before. I did find the city walking/biking path. I didn’t go too far though. I stayed with in my block of familiar territory. I wound up whittling away two hours just laying under a tree (I think it was a maple tree) with the path and a stream in a ditch (auf Deutsch ein Ilm) at my feet, and the Kindern playground to my left. To my right was a grove of trees and bushes. After about 30 min. of me laying there I started to hear a rustling in the bushes. I just thought it was the wind, but there wasn’t any wind. After about 20 minutes of this a woman with dyed hair and a very lined face comes out fixing/tugging on her shirt and right behind her is a guy using two walking sticks to get around. Now, I don’t know if they were the one’s making the noise and if it was them, I don’t know what they were doing, but I know what my brain is jumping straight to… I figure at roughly 70 years of age and they’re still that in love- more power to them! “Go granny! Go granny! It’s your birthday, it’s your birthday!!” I didn’t think anything of it at the time and I just stayed put for a good while longer, but I find it very funny now! I just hope the guy didn’t break a hip while… He was leaning on the walking sticks fairly hard… I wonder what jokes Mom is coming up with at this point? I can already picture her on the phone a few minutes after the shock has worn off chatting with everyone about this. That’s funnier to me than the actual event! Mom, save me some of your good jokes! I wonder what Moose has to say about this? You know when those two get together some good ones are going to fly! But on my end I can only think that for all of the people over 45 reading this- there is hope for you in the very, very near future! HAHAHAHAHA! Mom, avoid the Viva Viagra jokes! I know you! You were wanting to make a few of those! Ok, ok, enough (for now)… Somehow, I think when I get off the plane on the 11th that I am going to be greeted by a chorus of “Viva Viagra”. Don’t you dare Mom! If you do I will turn right around and get back on the plane for Europe! Justin you had better not either! (FYI- amazon.com has the Nike shocks I want on sale for $80.00 at the moment.(Red swoosh, white shoe, size 8)) What can I say? I had a few minutes to kill while I was in the Amsterdam library. Any who, I finally made it into the city; I knew everything would be closed which is why I went. I wouldn’t spend as much. Granted I did spend enough for two days. I figured my last day in my favorite city- I could splurge just a little.
But first I found an ATM and pulled out €20.00. I didn’t really have a choice. I only had €20.00 to get me through 10 days in Berlin. I know that the ticket machine on the tram doesn’t take €20 bills. So, I had to break it. (Now I have €30.00.) I figured the best way to do that would be to fill my stomach. And after 6 hours and a 4km walk I was just a little bit hungry. I went into a café and I didn’t know what I had ordered off the menu until it came to the table. Turns out it was iceberg lettuce, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and black olives with a yogurt dressing, and a German Keiser roll/baguette thing. I was smart enough to find the drink section and order a coke. I was so hungry I ate every bite. While eating, I learned a trick! If you hate the taste of something (in this case everything on the plate) don’t let it touch your tongue! You look like an idiot doing this, but you are able to clean your plate. Needless to say, after all of these years I am still allergic to diary products. I wasn’t sure, because I haven’t tested it in a few years. But today I found out the hard way. If I go into detail it would fall under the TMI category. I was 2 km into the walk back to the hostel and I couldn’t keep going. I just couldn’t.
Thank the Lord for that pizza place. They let me use the bathroom for free! I was in such a hurry to get back into the bathroom. Which normally its not for public use because you have to walk through the kitchen. They told me that in German, but I played dumb, said I speak English, and so they let me use it. I wasn’t paying attention when I ran back to it. I hit one of the oven doors that was left open to cool off. I didn’t feel it at the time, but now I have two nice parallel burn marks on my upper right arm. I was in there so long the woman knocked and asked if I was ok. I was fine by the time I got back to the hostel.
So, that is my lat day in this perfect city. Tomorrow morning I move on to Berlin! Yes, I can make through a city that size with so little money. The truth is that I only needed that extra bit in case the Subway system tickets cost that much. Or in case I need to take a cab. I have to wait and see for it.
Seriously, when I get off the plane I want to go to Mecklenburg Gardens, and not Hofbrauhaus. Hofbrau has become Americanized and Mecklenburg feels more like what I’ve gotten here. I want to go there for my welcome home dinner. Plus, it will be a Thursday when I get home. It’s UC German club night at Mecklenburg. I doubt any one from UC will be there but we have a standing reservation with them as far as I know. And they have such good food (it’s not cheap either). To get a pretzel with liquid beer cheese, a cheeseburger, waffle fries, and a coke with free refills, and a tip is about $16.00. It’s worth it though (left-overs are a guarantee in my case). Once you’ve had it and sat out in the garden, you will want to go back. It’s my kind of place. A hundred year old hole in the wall establishment, minimal man-made ambiance, and the best damn German food you can get stateside! It doesn’t get much better! (It’s most likely not going to be anyone else’s favorite, but it is mine!) Top it off with my family, and a home made rich chocolate cake that took hours of prep work to make (either a black forest, or a checkerboard). I want to get off the plane and go straight there. It will be the perfect way to come home. I can show off the few little things I have with me and I can pass my camera around. Yes, I know. money is the factor. I can dream. Oh, well after everyone goes to bed Mom and I can sneak out at midnight and get one of our steak ‘n’ shake car hop meals, and get caught up on all of the stuff we’ve missed with each other. But if everyone does want to get together and welcome me home, Mecklenburg is at the top of the list. How about this, on the 11th Mom and I can do our carhop thing and Saturday the family can welcome me home at Mecklenburg, or visa-versa. Sound good? I think it sounds perfect.
I wonder how pretty the night sky will be when I get home? I know that seems random to you, but when Mom and I sneak out, or when ever I go out at night, without fail I look up and try to find some stars or the moon, or just admire the shape of the clouds. It’s just one of my quirks. Call me old fashioned, but I like to use the stars to mark where I am on the Earth. Not that I know the stars, I know the distance and the clarity of them. In Gerry and Oren’s beach house the stars are so clear you think you can count them without fail. In the city they are very obscured, the sky might as well be blank in which case the moon stands out all the more. For the suburbs and for Cinci, a cloud is always blocking some, always. For here in the German mountains, I want to reach up and touch the stars and the moon and play with them like I played with the lightning bugs on the 4th of July when I was 3. I need to stop rambling. It’s 8:00 PM here and I have spent two hours digressing from what I did today. I need to get packed for my five hour train ride tomorrow. I’m on the slow train. Just the standard Inner City (IC), and not the Inner City Express (ICE). The IC trains are the ICE’s of the 1980’s. They still work they just aren’t as efficient, and they stop at every single town!!!! Ok, time to go! Bye!
Erfurt 08-29-08
Thank you everyone for bailing me out with the cash situation. I miss placed my faith in Macy’s. I was under the impression that my vacation pay would enable me to avoid my current situation. But as it turns out I never got my vacation pay! I only got $87.00 of the couple hundred I was expecting. So, once again Thank You very much. Also, when I get home could some one tell me how much I owe whom for bailing my hide out of the fryer? Just be aware that the money will be slow coming. Current estimates are mid November. First, I need to get square with my banks. Then, I need to pay the school bill, buy the books- all that jazz. So, yeah mid November, should be about the time I have some money in hand for everyone.
You can guarantee when I get back I am going down to Macy’s bright and early on the 12th to see what’s what! But as I was standing in the post office trying to figure out which line to use or if I should use the machine, I started thinking how much it costs to send post cards. No wonder I’m hurting for cash! Granted I only had about €250.00 to begin with. I have spent €15.57 ($23.55) on postcards, internet, and a phone call all just to stay in touch with you guys! And I still intend to send two more from Berlin! Which is another €3.00 and that brings the total up to €18.57 ($28.05). I have spent €6.24 for batteries. Thank fully I found a “€ store” today so the batteries were cheap. I just hope they work. So far I have spent another €9.90 for city transportation. I still need to take this tram one more time for €1.70 and then the Berlin subway four times. I don’t know how much that will cost though. I guess that is where the other half of the American Express card is going. I only have €17.33 left on the card ($26.00). But again what’s the conversion fee going to be? I only hope that the Berlin Subway accepts it and that it’s enough for the 4 train tickets. I’ll just walk in to the tourist building at the main train station and see what they can do for me. Oh, well, “What ever will be, will be.”
You know I am really glad that Germany has such a push to recycle! That has helped me out so much! When you take the bottles back to the store you get money back! I think it’s 15 cents for every half liter of coke. This only works for the bottles sold in Germany though. I got €5.37 back for all of the bottles I’ve taken. When the Russians left the dorm in Ilmenau they had so many Vodka bottles that they didn’t have time to take back. So, they just let me have them and the cash.
Although, even with all of this counting and remembering, I don’t know where some of the money has gone… I have about €20 unaccounted for in my brain, but at the same time I don’t remember exactly how much I had to start with. So really, the amount could be more or less. I really do think its more. Because the amount I still have is including all of the refunds and that stuff. Oh, well, just call me Sunny or Cher. “Before our moneys been earned, it’s already been spent.”
On a different note, but still the same train of thought for me, I have walked soo much! I found out today that from the Hostel to the town square is 3 km one way. That isn’t including the getting lost bit either. Which I have done plenty of! Basically I’m in Hyde Park and I’m walking to Fountain Square. There are so many twists and turns and forks in the road I can only guess and ask for directions every other street. Then I did the whole getting lost in town. I did find the second hand shops I was looking for but they cost as much as new! When I finally got un-lost I was coming up the backside of the city mountain palace/ citadel. I got into town around 9 AM, walked around the Mall and the Post office until 10:30. I didn’t get to the citadel until 12:30! I did find the University though (well, just the one building). On that part of town was a shop that had the most beautiful Pakistani products in it! If I had had the money I would have bought that blue and gold comb/hair clip, and I don’t even wear combs! I loved the snake bracelet they had! But I can’t imagine showing off my arms like that! It would have pinched my fat little arms so bad! I knew I couldn’t afford it so I moved on. When I came down from the citadel I walked into the main market square and it was market day. I putzed around for a bit then I bought a bratwurst and a coke. It was fairly good given I still hate all sausages. Bratwurst is typically the cheapest thing on the menu. I shouldn’t buy the cokes, I know, they’re so expensive, but I have to have something good to wash down the bratwurst. Fact of the matter is that all meats in Germany are bigger than the bread roll by about 6 inches. At this point I found the local library, and posted a few blogs. I wasn’t impressed by the collection. Love the building and the staircase! From there I made my way back and ducked in and out of the shoe stores (mine are shot, not torn, just worn out). I also ducked into Claire’s for a bit on Anger square (No, not anger, it’s the German “Anger”). Same stuff as stateside just a bit more pricy. I have to walk past the train station to get to my part of town, so I walked in. I was looking for a New York Times. I am such a news fanatic that to be this cut off is not pleasant! (Online my home page is cnn.com/world.) Around 3 I walked out of the train station and walked into the park. Again very pretty, and again I let time slip away. I didn’t leave until 4:30 when 2 guys were trying to ask me something or other, the accents were so strong! I said “verstehen sie nicht, guten tag, und tschus!” I got so lost on the way back. On the way there I just followed the tram tracks. This time I had to deal with the way that the tracks split, etc. I walked for 7 hours today. I can only guess how many km or miles that is. Tomorrow, I have no intent of getting out of bed! Sunday I think I will go to church again. Thomas Church is the half way point into town. Services begin at 10.00 and breakfast here ends at 9 so I should get there in time. I’m very tired. I’ve been getting up at 7 each morning for breakfast. It’s 10:00 PM here. I think my day has been long enough. Good night.
You can guarantee when I get back I am going down to Macy’s bright and early on the 12th to see what’s what! But as I was standing in the post office trying to figure out which line to use or if I should use the machine, I started thinking how much it costs to send post cards. No wonder I’m hurting for cash! Granted I only had about €250.00 to begin with. I have spent €15.57 ($23.55) on postcards, internet, and a phone call all just to stay in touch with you guys! And I still intend to send two more from Berlin! Which is another €3.00 and that brings the total up to €18.57 ($28.05). I have spent €6.24 for batteries. Thank fully I found a “€ store” today so the batteries were cheap. I just hope they work. So far I have spent another €9.90 for city transportation. I still need to take this tram one more time for €1.70 and then the Berlin subway four times. I don’t know how much that will cost though. I guess that is where the other half of the American Express card is going. I only have €17.33 left on the card ($26.00). But again what’s the conversion fee going to be? I only hope that the Berlin Subway accepts it and that it’s enough for the 4 train tickets. I’ll just walk in to the tourist building at the main train station and see what they can do for me. Oh, well, “What ever will be, will be.”
You know I am really glad that Germany has such a push to recycle! That has helped me out so much! When you take the bottles back to the store you get money back! I think it’s 15 cents for every half liter of coke. This only works for the bottles sold in Germany though. I got €5.37 back for all of the bottles I’ve taken. When the Russians left the dorm in Ilmenau they had so many Vodka bottles that they didn’t have time to take back. So, they just let me have them and the cash.
Although, even with all of this counting and remembering, I don’t know where some of the money has gone… I have about €20 unaccounted for in my brain, but at the same time I don’t remember exactly how much I had to start with. So really, the amount could be more or less. I really do think its more. Because the amount I still have is including all of the refunds and that stuff. Oh, well, just call me Sunny or Cher. “Before our moneys been earned, it’s already been spent.”
On a different note, but still the same train of thought for me, I have walked soo much! I found out today that from the Hostel to the town square is 3 km one way. That isn’t including the getting lost bit either. Which I have done plenty of! Basically I’m in Hyde Park and I’m walking to Fountain Square. There are so many twists and turns and forks in the road I can only guess and ask for directions every other street. Then I did the whole getting lost in town. I did find the second hand shops I was looking for but they cost as much as new! When I finally got un-lost I was coming up the backside of the city mountain palace/ citadel. I got into town around 9 AM, walked around the Mall and the Post office until 10:30. I didn’t get to the citadel until 12:30! I did find the University though (well, just the one building). On that part of town was a shop that had the most beautiful Pakistani products in it! If I had had the money I would have bought that blue and gold comb/hair clip, and I don’t even wear combs! I loved the snake bracelet they had! But I can’t imagine showing off my arms like that! It would have pinched my fat little arms so bad! I knew I couldn’t afford it so I moved on. When I came down from the citadel I walked into the main market square and it was market day. I putzed around for a bit then I bought a bratwurst and a coke. It was fairly good given I still hate all sausages. Bratwurst is typically the cheapest thing on the menu. I shouldn’t buy the cokes, I know, they’re so expensive, but I have to have something good to wash down the bratwurst. Fact of the matter is that all meats in Germany are bigger than the bread roll by about 6 inches. At this point I found the local library, and posted a few blogs. I wasn’t impressed by the collection. Love the building and the staircase! From there I made my way back and ducked in and out of the shoe stores (mine are shot, not torn, just worn out). I also ducked into Claire’s for a bit on Anger square (No, not anger, it’s the German “Anger”). Same stuff as stateside just a bit more pricy. I have to walk past the train station to get to my part of town, so I walked in. I was looking for a New York Times. I am such a news fanatic that to be this cut off is not pleasant! (Online my home page is cnn.com/world.) Around 3 I walked out of the train station and walked into the park. Again very pretty, and again I let time slip away. I didn’t leave until 4:30 when 2 guys were trying to ask me something or other, the accents were so strong! I said “verstehen sie nicht, guten tag, und tschus!” I got so lost on the way back. On the way there I just followed the tram tracks. This time I had to deal with the way that the tracks split, etc. I walked for 7 hours today. I can only guess how many km or miles that is. Tomorrow, I have no intent of getting out of bed! Sunday I think I will go to church again. Thomas Church is the half way point into town. Services begin at 10.00 and breakfast here ends at 9 so I should get there in time. I’m very tired. I’ve been getting up at 7 each morning for breakfast. It’s 10:00 PM here. I think my day has been long enough. Good night.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Amsterdam.to.Erfurt.08-28-08
Today I left Amsterdam behind. I am not sad to see it go, but I am glad to have gone there, seen what it had to offer, and left it. I did like what I saw it was nice, but I couldn’t afford to go into the shops, I don’t have room in my suitcase to bring back some crap. Let’s face it a city is only half as much fun when you can’t shop. I would have enjoyed it more if the food had been cheaper. In any country, currency, or language I can’t justify paying 15 ($/€/what ever) for a hamburger that isn’t actually made out of beef but a cheaper meat. Even in America if I want a $15 hamburger there had better be something special done to it!!! Granted I did eat out, but cheaply and mostly Thai soup and Burger King. As for the drinks, I hate and I mean hate that I don’t get free refills, but I’m still paying €2.00 and up for a glass 0,2 liter bottle of coke! I am glad to be going back to the land that has stolen my heart. I am glad to be going back to the land that I have spent 4 years learning the language for! Dutch was nice and fun, but just so annoying to hear! It’s a mixture of German, English, French, etc. To me it sounded like every ounce of slang from every language. It sounds like they have bigger frogs in there throats than the Germans! When I was sitting in the train station and hearing it over the loud speaker I had shivers up and down my spine as though someone were taking their nails up and down a chalk board! Needless to say the city of Amsterdam and the Dutch language did not steal me heart. I hated the stench of the streets and I dislike the way there government is going. Maybe in 20 years I will like it better, but for today and for my visit this year I am not impressed.
I don’t want you to go away from my blog thinking I sit around with my thumb up my butt going I can’t afford this! I did plenty! And yes, I did get talked into trying a marijuana cigarette. I put it to my lips and I did inhale. The first time I just sucked it in and let it flow right back out. The second time I did it right. I sucked it in, held it for a minute and let it out. I felt a relaxation for about half a minute and then it went away. That was by far the most revolting thing I have ever done! Even beer tastes good compared to that! I spent the next half of an hour spitting and attempting to scrape the taste off of my tongue and demanding breath mints, or mouth wash from everyone that I passed on the street! I didn’t care what it was, but I had to get the taste off of my tongue! I ran straight into the first restaurant I crossed and that was Burger King. It wasn’t that great tasting either, but it got the taste of shit out of my mouth. So, I was happier. Yes, I also saw a mushroom shop, but there is no way in hell I was going into one of those! Yes, I also saw the red light district and it is true that they are closing it down. The right wing conservative government doesn’t like being known for prostitution, so they bought up about half the district and plan to do something with it. The other 40% will be bought up shortly and only 10% will remain for the tourists. As for the marijuana, it turns out that it is in fact illegal in Amsterdam, but it’s just been de-criminalized! But the old standby rule for the Dutch is that if it’s good for business it is allowed to happen. In Amsterdam you go into coffee shops, you will never find a marijuana shop there, because it’s illegal. But they all have names like “Tweedy Cafe”, or “Bob Marley’s been here”, or “The Highest Cloud Coffee shop”. It is legal to have a maximum of 5 grams and no more on hand, if you have more on hand- you are a dealer and can be fined. But that rule is clearly broken all the time. When you go into the shop you must ask for a menu, they can’t tell you what they have or else they are promoting it and that is illegal. For the “café” runners, it’s very shady. If the shop runs out, they need to go and get more and often they have 500 grams with them. So, if they run into a thief they have a bad day, if they run into a cop they have a worse day. As for the mushroom shops they are called “Smart Shops”. And the same rules apply for the red light district again prostitution is illegal, but (from the perspective of a cop) “they are just women in there own apartment windows looking at the streets, oh and they just happen to be scantily clad”. It is a very paradoxical concept, I hate to think it, but the cops do seem to be just a little bit corrupt when viewed from this perspective, and all of Amsterdam’s cops have been corrupt for 700 years. But because it is good for business, they let it happen. That is what I didn’t understand about Amsterdam before; the money almost always has the final say in what happens. Take the conversion to Protestantism and the illegality of Catholics, but they were allowed to stay and worship if they didn’t advertise it, because they had most of the cities money in hand. So, I am glad to have gone and learned all of this, but I have no intent of going back. If anyone has any notions of treating the city like a Mecca for the “night life” sorry to burst your bubble, but it isn’t worth the time or the money. Go for the history, go for the art, don’t go for Anne Frank and don’t go for the weed, or the girls. Danke mein Gott! I am going back to my Deutschland!
Well, it’s been about 6 hours since I last wrote and I am on the last leg of my trek to Erfurt. I am now passing the famous Thureningen Bridge that can be seen from the tower of Eisenach! I am back in the state I love with the mountains I crave. The problem is I haven’t seen the sun in a fair few weeks. Why do I always pick such rainy places to visit! I hope Berlin will be sunnier, but I don’t think it will be. Truly I don’t care. I am back in the mountains and very happy.
I walked into the hostel. It’s in the suburbs, but still very close. I’ve walked further on this trip. Very interesting to find the place though, if the tram operator hadn’t come out of the booth to help me I would have been lost for hours! He saw me get out with all of my stuff and watched as I look around 3 times. He told me to get back on, stopped at the exact street I needed and told me in words I didn’t understand ( but the gestures I got) that it was on the next corner. The tram was only €1.70 ($2.55) compared to the €10.00 for a cab I’m thrilled. I walked out of the train station and straight into the tourist info store and they told me what I needed to know and I bought my ticket there. I noticed they had Thurigen Monopoly for €40.00. That is why I love this state everyone is so helpful and not yet annoyed with the American tourists. As I walk out the door I hear them giggle and go about there business. In Amsterdam I heard “stupid Ami, just give us the money”. Granted I don’t speak Dutch, and I didn’t hear them say it, but the human body is just so expressive and easy to read!
As for the actual room- I nearly had a heart attack! It’s a room meant for 6 girls (only, no boys), and it was empty! A little bit of dust and a cob web in the bathroom. I stopped, dropped everything including my jaw and did a victory dance! I paid €81.00 ($122.00) for my own giant room! I paid $100.00 more in Amsterdam and I had to share that room and it was smaller! Plus, everything here is half the price of Amsterdam. Bread there was €3.50 and up, here its 1.50 to 3.50. Plus, there is just so much to see! Amsterdam was good, but this is most likely where I will move to later in life! The sheets are better too! I don’t know if they’re a higher quality, but they are definitely newer! They remind me so much of the sheets I have on my own bed!
Granted, after 4 weeks straight of having to share a room this is wearing a little bit on my nerves. Which is the reason why I have my music just blaring as loud as I can bear! Thank you Pops, I have Smoke on the Water playing at the moment! I think I will finally watch Memoirs of a Geisha (I brought it with me) and then fall asleep reading “Der Judasfluch” auf English the book is called “The Coins of Judas” (I like the German “the Judas Curse” better). Even with these grand plans I am a little bored. (I didn’t get here until 7:15; it was too late to walk out to the city.) I look forward to my vigorous walk into town and then around town in the morning! I think I’ll go around 9:00 AM and not start to come back until 7:30 PM. That sounds good to me! Just spend the day in the market square or on the hill meant for the city palace and watch the world go by. Oh, I can’t forget I do need to find free internet and post all of these. Maybe hit the supermarket; turn in some bottles, and by some cheap (but very good) bread. I will also spend another €2.00 and send a post card.
In case you were wondering, after all of this walking, and the lack of tasty food to be found, yes I have lost weight. I didn’t even notice until last night. I fell asleep in my jeans for two reasons. 1) I was packing and passed out. 2) I slept in them on purpose because I had to be up and out the door at 7:00 AM. I slept without my belt on and my pants kept sliding down past my hips! Then on the train I noticed that my shirt was down past my hips and flowing in the breeze. My hoody was fine. It was small to begin with. I also put my belt on the last/smallest hole! Another indicator was that my underwear… TMI! Never mind! So, yeah I’ve lost weight. By the time I get home I should be a big 10 and a small 12! I was a small 16 when I left home! I didn’t think I did that much walking! (I’m currently belting out “Chain of Fools”, I like having an empty room! And now it’s “You’re as Cold as Ice”!) Also, just for the fun of it, I undid the belt but not the button or zipper of my pants and they fell right off! Its amazing what 4 weeks of walking everywhere will do to a person! I wonder what the next two will do to my body? Hey maybe I’ll be an 8 when I get home! I guarantee that I will maintain this lower weight! Which means when I go back into the dorm, lets keep the junk food to a minimum! More health food please! Nutrigrain bars shouldn’t be too bad. Let’s just stick with the basic strawberry, blueberry for those though.
Also, Mom for the 8 days that I am home and you tell me it’s too far and too dangerous to walk to the bus stop- it’s safer and closer then where I’ve been walking! Especially in Amsterdam! They had five different types of traffic to watch out for all sharing the same road ways! So, it would seem that I need a car less than I did before! I can walk the distance just fine! (I wonder if I can find a cheap second hand shop here for a pair of jeans that fit. We’ll see.) Pity, I just checked to see if I had a tone ‘back side’ yet, and no. I guess I need to do that this weekend. I know the perfect hill and stairs for it too! Please note, when I get home and off the plane chances are I am going to look smaller, but swollen and bruised. You have no idea how physically demanding it is to have luggage that dense and to be lugging it everywhere, every five days! I think I’ve rambled long enough, don’t you? Time for me to say “Guten Nacht und gute schlafen”! Good night, sleep tight. (Granted for you it’s only 5 or 6PM.)
I don’t want you to go away from my blog thinking I sit around with my thumb up my butt going I can’t afford this! I did plenty! And yes, I did get talked into trying a marijuana cigarette. I put it to my lips and I did inhale. The first time I just sucked it in and let it flow right back out. The second time I did it right. I sucked it in, held it for a minute and let it out. I felt a relaxation for about half a minute and then it went away. That was by far the most revolting thing I have ever done! Even beer tastes good compared to that! I spent the next half of an hour spitting and attempting to scrape the taste off of my tongue and demanding breath mints, or mouth wash from everyone that I passed on the street! I didn’t care what it was, but I had to get the taste off of my tongue! I ran straight into the first restaurant I crossed and that was Burger King. It wasn’t that great tasting either, but it got the taste of shit out of my mouth. So, I was happier. Yes, I also saw a mushroom shop, but there is no way in hell I was going into one of those! Yes, I also saw the red light district and it is true that they are closing it down. The right wing conservative government doesn’t like being known for prostitution, so they bought up about half the district and plan to do something with it. The other 40% will be bought up shortly and only 10% will remain for the tourists. As for the marijuana, it turns out that it is in fact illegal in Amsterdam, but it’s just been de-criminalized! But the old standby rule for the Dutch is that if it’s good for business it is allowed to happen. In Amsterdam you go into coffee shops, you will never find a marijuana shop there, because it’s illegal. But they all have names like “Tweedy Cafe”, or “Bob Marley’s been here”, or “The Highest Cloud Coffee shop”. It is legal to have a maximum of 5 grams and no more on hand, if you have more on hand- you are a dealer and can be fined. But that rule is clearly broken all the time. When you go into the shop you must ask for a menu, they can’t tell you what they have or else they are promoting it and that is illegal. For the “café” runners, it’s very shady. If the shop runs out, they need to go and get more and often they have 500 grams with them. So, if they run into a thief they have a bad day, if they run into a cop they have a worse day. As for the mushroom shops they are called “Smart Shops”. And the same rules apply for the red light district again prostitution is illegal, but (from the perspective of a cop) “they are just women in there own apartment windows looking at the streets, oh and they just happen to be scantily clad”. It is a very paradoxical concept, I hate to think it, but the cops do seem to be just a little bit corrupt when viewed from this perspective, and all of Amsterdam’s cops have been corrupt for 700 years. But because it is good for business, they let it happen. That is what I didn’t understand about Amsterdam before; the money almost always has the final say in what happens. Take the conversion to Protestantism and the illegality of Catholics, but they were allowed to stay and worship if they didn’t advertise it, because they had most of the cities money in hand. So, I am glad to have gone and learned all of this, but I have no intent of going back. If anyone has any notions of treating the city like a Mecca for the “night life” sorry to burst your bubble, but it isn’t worth the time or the money. Go for the history, go for the art, don’t go for Anne Frank and don’t go for the weed, or the girls. Danke mein Gott! I am going back to my Deutschland!
Well, it’s been about 6 hours since I last wrote and I am on the last leg of my trek to Erfurt. I am now passing the famous Thureningen Bridge that can be seen from the tower of Eisenach! I am back in the state I love with the mountains I crave. The problem is I haven’t seen the sun in a fair few weeks. Why do I always pick such rainy places to visit! I hope Berlin will be sunnier, but I don’t think it will be. Truly I don’t care. I am back in the mountains and very happy.
I walked into the hostel. It’s in the suburbs, but still very close. I’ve walked further on this trip. Very interesting to find the place though, if the tram operator hadn’t come out of the booth to help me I would have been lost for hours! He saw me get out with all of my stuff and watched as I look around 3 times. He told me to get back on, stopped at the exact street I needed and told me in words I didn’t understand ( but the gestures I got) that it was on the next corner. The tram was only €1.70 ($2.55) compared to the €10.00 for a cab I’m thrilled. I walked out of the train station and straight into the tourist info store and they told me what I needed to know and I bought my ticket there. I noticed they had Thurigen Monopoly for €40.00. That is why I love this state everyone is so helpful and not yet annoyed with the American tourists. As I walk out the door I hear them giggle and go about there business. In Amsterdam I heard “stupid Ami, just give us the money”. Granted I don’t speak Dutch, and I didn’t hear them say it, but the human body is just so expressive and easy to read!
As for the actual room- I nearly had a heart attack! It’s a room meant for 6 girls (only, no boys), and it was empty! A little bit of dust and a cob web in the bathroom. I stopped, dropped everything including my jaw and did a victory dance! I paid €81.00 ($122.00) for my own giant room! I paid $100.00 more in Amsterdam and I had to share that room and it was smaller! Plus, everything here is half the price of Amsterdam. Bread there was €3.50 and up, here its 1.50 to 3.50. Plus, there is just so much to see! Amsterdam was good, but this is most likely where I will move to later in life! The sheets are better too! I don’t know if they’re a higher quality, but they are definitely newer! They remind me so much of the sheets I have on my own bed!
Granted, after 4 weeks straight of having to share a room this is wearing a little bit on my nerves. Which is the reason why I have my music just blaring as loud as I can bear! Thank you Pops, I have Smoke on the Water playing at the moment! I think I will finally watch Memoirs of a Geisha (I brought it with me) and then fall asleep reading “Der Judasfluch” auf English the book is called “The Coins of Judas” (I like the German “the Judas Curse” better). Even with these grand plans I am a little bored. (I didn’t get here until 7:15; it was too late to walk out to the city.) I look forward to my vigorous walk into town and then around town in the morning! I think I’ll go around 9:00 AM and not start to come back until 7:30 PM. That sounds good to me! Just spend the day in the market square or on the hill meant for the city palace and watch the world go by. Oh, I can’t forget I do need to find free internet and post all of these. Maybe hit the supermarket; turn in some bottles, and by some cheap (but very good) bread. I will also spend another €2.00 and send a post card.
In case you were wondering, after all of this walking, and the lack of tasty food to be found, yes I have lost weight. I didn’t even notice until last night. I fell asleep in my jeans for two reasons. 1) I was packing and passed out. 2) I slept in them on purpose because I had to be up and out the door at 7:00 AM. I slept without my belt on and my pants kept sliding down past my hips! Then on the train I noticed that my shirt was down past my hips and flowing in the breeze. My hoody was fine. It was small to begin with. I also put my belt on the last/smallest hole! Another indicator was that my underwear… TMI! Never mind! So, yeah I’ve lost weight. By the time I get home I should be a big 10 and a small 12! I was a small 16 when I left home! I didn’t think I did that much walking! (I’m currently belting out “Chain of Fools”, I like having an empty room! And now it’s “You’re as Cold as Ice”!) Also, just for the fun of it, I undid the belt but not the button or zipper of my pants and they fell right off! Its amazing what 4 weeks of walking everywhere will do to a person! I wonder what the next two will do to my body? Hey maybe I’ll be an 8 when I get home! I guarantee that I will maintain this lower weight! Which means when I go back into the dorm, lets keep the junk food to a minimum! More health food please! Nutrigrain bars shouldn’t be too bad. Let’s just stick with the basic strawberry, blueberry for those though.
Also, Mom for the 8 days that I am home and you tell me it’s too far and too dangerous to walk to the bus stop- it’s safer and closer then where I’ve been walking! Especially in Amsterdam! They had five different types of traffic to watch out for all sharing the same road ways! So, it would seem that I need a car less than I did before! I can walk the distance just fine! (I wonder if I can find a cheap second hand shop here for a pair of jeans that fit. We’ll see.) Pity, I just checked to see if I had a tone ‘back side’ yet, and no. I guess I need to do that this weekend. I know the perfect hill and stairs for it too! Please note, when I get home and off the plane chances are I am going to look smaller, but swollen and bruised. You have no idea how physically demanding it is to have luggage that dense and to be lugging it everywhere, every five days! I think I’ve rambled long enough, don’t you? Time for me to say “Guten Nacht und gute schlafen”! Good night, sleep tight. (Granted for you it’s only 5 or 6PM.)
Amsterdam.08-27-08
Today I feel that I haven’t been fare to this city. Today I woke up early and went down to breakfast at 8:30AM. I had plenty of time to do what I had planned on. I had taken my empty book bag with me, enough napkins to fill a holder, and an empty 1 ltr bottle. I walked into the line and grabbed 2 plates, on which I put: ten slices of bread, 20 slices of salami, and 10 slices of cheese. I slid down filled a bowl full of corn flakes and got 4 glasses of apple juice. If there is one thing that every broke college student learns during their first week away from home it is how to swipe enough food from the cafeteria for later and how to do it without being to obvious. The way I did it- everyone just thought I was grabbing for my friends that didn’t want to go through line. I took my tray into the furthest back corner and proceeded to rip the crust off of every single slice of bread. What can I say, I’m still a child at heart and I have always hated the texture of crust on sandwich bread. So, I made four sandwiches for later which I wrapped up in the napkins to keep them clean and moist. Then, I ate one and the cornflakes. As for the juice- THANK YOU POPS!!!! I spent soooo many years pouring your tea from a pitcher into 2 liter bottles that I could do that in my sleep!!!! Meaning that I took the 4 glasses of apple juice and proceeded to fill the 1 liter bottle, the problem is the glasses had that curve out all the way around. Even with that, though, I only spilt 2 ounces, and got a .5 liter full of juice. I stuffed each item in my bag as I finished with it.
I finally found a tv in this place!!! I was able to get my news fix today with CNN. I saw the report they did for the democratic national convention and the way they showed it here, Obama is the clear cut winner of the coming election. I have to hand it to Hillary, though; she knows how to make a speech! Also, why do I feel like we are going to get sucked into another police/peace keeping action with the Georgia-Russian Conflict? I don’t care what international law states- if (Russia) by recognizing the independent states has avoided a genocide, then he is a genius and we are the idiots for backing a country that would do that! Pat get ready chances are you are going to be sent over seas to Georgia if this isn’t resolved fast! The funny thing is when I heard that news originally about the war I had a Russian to my right and a Georgian to my left in Ilmenau!!! All of the Russians wanted to know what we thought about it and what the US would do. The problem is they got around to asking me after I had already done my second shot of Vodka with them. I can only imagine how funny that must have been- me tipsy/drunk and trying to discuss the news, current affairs, and politics. Oh Gerry and Oren, I hope you’re not at your Beach house! I’d hate to think you’re on the coast with the Hurricane coming so close!
Finally, 10:30 AM rolled around- it was time for me to go on that free walking tour (in English). It was good. I saw everything there is to see in this city: the red light district, the palace, museums, Anne Frank House, etc. I finally understand the architecture here! The houses have that extra beam up top and extra roof thing because they don’t have/use basements! If they do they flood way too much to bother with. So, they store everything up top and the beam is for the pulley system! Also, the reasons the houses lean forward is so that if something is being pulled up and it starts to sway the chances of the house being destroyed are less! So, I am much happier! Also, I was finally able to find the main public library for this city!!! That walk was my pilgrimage and that was my Mecca! The library is so hidden away to the right of the train station (if you’re facing it), that you must cut through the tracks of the tram station and the parking lot for the bus depot, then go over the floating sidewalk because the pier is still under construction! It was worth it! Even though I had to dart, dodge and accidentally play chicken the fast moving tons of metal- I would do it again in a heart beat if it meant I got to spend another day in that library!!!! When I walked in and saw it my jaw hit the floor!!!! I didn’t even bother to try and hide it. I figured it was a good compliment to the Dutch for creating something so spacious and splendid on water!!! Immediately, as you walk in the door to the right is a piano for any one to play. As I walked in some guy sat down and he must have been a professional, he was that good! The tune was so soothing and so perfect you would have thought it was a recording being piped in, but it was a real guy!!! I walked further in and to the left past the main counter and found the newspaper/magazine wing! Yeah, a whole wing! Every newspaper and magazine imaginable in every language from across the globe!!! Except for the New York Times!!! I found yesterdays journal, but not today’s. Someone must have been reading it. I stopped there and found the
“Frankfurter Allgemeiner”. Again the only section I can understand in German Newspapers is the Economic section. So, I checked stocks and currency. I saw that the dollar is getting stronger or the Euro is getting weaker. I saw that the US markets are up, but not by much. From there I put the papers away and found a very tight, but very modern and grand spiral staircase that led up into the DVD/CD wing. I found a few computers that weren’t in use and spent an hour in heaven doing what I pleased on line. The clean white, coziness of the library had me thinking I truly was in heaven. It was perfect. And the piano player was still working very hard at his craft. Yes, it was most definitely perfection. As my watch came to 6:00 PM I knew it was time to get back. So, I wound my way through the canal streets and got completely confused as to which was east and which was west. I needed east, but every choice I made took me further west. Which is fine, I hadn’t seen that part of the city before and I found some beautiful strange flowers to smell along the way. It took me the better part of the hour to get back into familiar territory. The best part is- I didn’t spend a cent all day! To me this proves that the best things in life are free!!! You just have to be willing to get lost in order to find them!
I finally found a tv in this place!!! I was able to get my news fix today with CNN. I saw the report they did for the democratic national convention and the way they showed it here, Obama is the clear cut winner of the coming election. I have to hand it to Hillary, though; she knows how to make a speech! Also, why do I feel like we are going to get sucked into another police/peace keeping action with the Georgia-Russian Conflict? I don’t care what international law states- if (Russia) by recognizing the independent states has avoided a genocide, then he is a genius and we are the idiots for backing a country that would do that! Pat get ready chances are you are going to be sent over seas to Georgia if this isn’t resolved fast! The funny thing is when I heard that news originally about the war I had a Russian to my right and a Georgian to my left in Ilmenau!!! All of the Russians wanted to know what we thought about it and what the US would do. The problem is they got around to asking me after I had already done my second shot of Vodka with them. I can only imagine how funny that must have been- me tipsy/drunk and trying to discuss the news, current affairs, and politics. Oh Gerry and Oren, I hope you’re not at your Beach house! I’d hate to think you’re on the coast with the Hurricane coming so close!
Finally, 10:30 AM rolled around- it was time for me to go on that free walking tour (in English). It was good. I saw everything there is to see in this city: the red light district, the palace, museums, Anne Frank House, etc. I finally understand the architecture here! The houses have that extra beam up top and extra roof thing because they don’t have/use basements! If they do they flood way too much to bother with. So, they store everything up top and the beam is for the pulley system! Also, the reasons the houses lean forward is so that if something is being pulled up and it starts to sway the chances of the house being destroyed are less! So, I am much happier! Also, I was finally able to find the main public library for this city!!! That walk was my pilgrimage and that was my Mecca! The library is so hidden away to the right of the train station (if you’re facing it), that you must cut through the tracks of the tram station and the parking lot for the bus depot, then go over the floating sidewalk because the pier is still under construction! It was worth it! Even though I had to dart, dodge and accidentally play chicken the fast moving tons of metal- I would do it again in a heart beat if it meant I got to spend another day in that library!!!! When I walked in and saw it my jaw hit the floor!!!! I didn’t even bother to try and hide it. I figured it was a good compliment to the Dutch for creating something so spacious and splendid on water!!! Immediately, as you walk in the door to the right is a piano for any one to play. As I walked in some guy sat down and he must have been a professional, he was that good! The tune was so soothing and so perfect you would have thought it was a recording being piped in, but it was a real guy!!! I walked further in and to the left past the main counter and found the newspaper/magazine wing! Yeah, a whole wing! Every newspaper and magazine imaginable in every language from across the globe!!! Except for the New York Times!!! I found yesterdays journal, but not today’s. Someone must have been reading it. I stopped there and found the
“Frankfurter Allgemeiner”. Again the only section I can understand in German Newspapers is the Economic section. So, I checked stocks and currency. I saw that the dollar is getting stronger or the Euro is getting weaker. I saw that the US markets are up, but not by much. From there I put the papers away and found a very tight, but very modern and grand spiral staircase that led up into the DVD/CD wing. I found a few computers that weren’t in use and spent an hour in heaven doing what I pleased on line. The clean white, coziness of the library had me thinking I truly was in heaven. It was perfect. And the piano player was still working very hard at his craft. Yes, it was most definitely perfection. As my watch came to 6:00 PM I knew it was time to get back. So, I wound my way through the canal streets and got completely confused as to which was east and which was west. I needed east, but every choice I made took me further west. Which is fine, I hadn’t seen that part of the city before and I found some beautiful strange flowers to smell along the way. It took me the better part of the hour to get back into familiar territory. The best part is- I didn’t spend a cent all day! To me this proves that the best things in life are free!!! You just have to be willing to get lost in order to find them!
Amsterdam.08-26-08
I didn’t do much today. It was a cold cloudy day. I slept in late until 9:30 and got to breakfast just as it was closing. All I ever get for breakfast in Europe is a couple of sandwiches. Well, today I was smarter and swiped two more for lunch later. I just wrapped them up in a couple of napkins to keep them moist and hid them in my bag. (To grab food for later is called “theft” here, go figure why.) So, yeah, I had to hide them. Tomorrow I will be smarter. In the morning I will jump out of bed with the other girls and run down to breakfast steal 3 sandwiches and a liter of apple juice over a period of 2 hours. Hopefully, I will have time to do the same on Thursday.
After breakfast I met up with Nick and he said he was doing laundry but didn’t have enough for a full load. I had planned on doing my few pieces by hand, but I wound up throwing mine in with his and he paid for it. As we sat there I wrote on the post cards and he was so bored he ran down and put them in the mail box!!! When I get home and get my first pay check I am going to give him a gas card as a thank you for how sweet he is being!!! I think I’m going to send it through the mail too, if I hand it to him he won’t accept it. He’s too sweet to accept such a gift. He’ll just say it’s not needed. But he’s being so good to me, I need to do something!!! (and no we are strictly friends!) After laundry we took another stroll through the park and came across a memorial to a victim of a racism/hate crime. The flags around the memorial told the story in a poem format in every major language on the planet!!! While I read the English version aloud and got goose-bumps up and down my body, a musician playing some wood-wind/ reed instrument walked up playing a tune that was happy and soothing. I like to thank the tune was called “Serenity”.
While Nick and I were walking I found a postcard on the ground. Its from a black pride shop in the main square. I kept it and have it in my back pocket. I also plopped down another €3.00 for postcards and postage. Mom, you are NOT TAKING THOSE POSTCARDS TO SCHOOL (unless they are wrapped in plastic)!!!!! I don’t want them any more ruined than they already are!!! I want those scrapbooked along with the one Pat sent of Heidelberg!!!! Speaking of Pat and Bernie- I wanted to say thank you for the Am Ex gift card. I finally used half of it. The way things worked out, I needed to get a hostel in Berlin for one night and the card paid for it nicely. I still have $26.00 left on it for an emergency. As for sending me money- DO NOT SEND ME MONEY!!! Save that money for my welcome home party!!!! The way I have this pictured in my brain it will cost ~$250.00. When I get off that plane I want to be greeted with some Leibniz Butterkeks, Buskins tea cookies, a can of Skyline chilli, Vodka and a “sex on the beach” cocktail mix, some new $140.00 Nike Shocks (that are a bright red and a clean white size 7) (my shoes are shot and have been shot for over a month!!), and a welcome home dinner at Mecklenberg Gardens with a $4.00 pretzel with cheese that I can’t afford here. Mom, you had better make a Black Forest cake from scratch!!! Better yet- get Charlie or aunt Brenda to do it!! I want it gigantic, rich and flawless!!!
Also, Mom could you talk to Macy’s for me and see if they’ll put me on the schedule starting the week of the 14th? Thanks. Tell them if I need to fill out some paper work to be rehired or something, I’ll be in on the 12th bright and early!! Don’t worry about transportation. I walk down to the bus stop and ride on down. Don’t give me that load of “its too far”!!! It’s no where near as far or as dangerous as what I walk here!! Plus, with my new shoes, it will feel like “I am walking on a cloud”!!! Sorry, just a little Amsterdam humor.
Let’s face it, right now I reek of weed!!! It can’t be helped!!! That’s just the sent of this city!! Every time the wind blows you get a whiff of it!! I haven’t stopped cough since we got here, because of the 2nd hand smoke!!! I hate to admit it, but I have gotten just a little bit buzzed just by walking down the street!!! Plus, the guys didn’t tell me where we were walking to after dinner and I wasn’t paying attention either. We walked straight into the Blue Dolphin Café. Yeah, guess why… But I figure they needed a nice “pick me up”. We walked to the main Heineken Brewery down the street to take the grand tour, only to find it’s closed for renovation/expansion until October. The guys were livid/ bummed!! They really did need something to mellow them out. Now it’s time for bed especially if I am going to be up early to put my plan into action!!!
After breakfast I met up with Nick and he said he was doing laundry but didn’t have enough for a full load. I had planned on doing my few pieces by hand, but I wound up throwing mine in with his and he paid for it. As we sat there I wrote on the post cards and he was so bored he ran down and put them in the mail box!!! When I get home and get my first pay check I am going to give him a gas card as a thank you for how sweet he is being!!! I think I’m going to send it through the mail too, if I hand it to him he won’t accept it. He’s too sweet to accept such a gift. He’ll just say it’s not needed. But he’s being so good to me, I need to do something!!! (and no we are strictly friends!) After laundry we took another stroll through the park and came across a memorial to a victim of a racism/hate crime. The flags around the memorial told the story in a poem format in every major language on the planet!!! While I read the English version aloud and got goose-bumps up and down my body, a musician playing some wood-wind/ reed instrument walked up playing a tune that was happy and soothing. I like to thank the tune was called “Serenity”.
While Nick and I were walking I found a postcard on the ground. Its from a black pride shop in the main square. I kept it and have it in my back pocket. I also plopped down another €3.00 for postcards and postage. Mom, you are NOT TAKING THOSE POSTCARDS TO SCHOOL (unless they are wrapped in plastic)!!!!! I don’t want them any more ruined than they already are!!! I want those scrapbooked along with the one Pat sent of Heidelberg!!!! Speaking of Pat and Bernie- I wanted to say thank you for the Am Ex gift card. I finally used half of it. The way things worked out, I needed to get a hostel in Berlin for one night and the card paid for it nicely. I still have $26.00 left on it for an emergency. As for sending me money- DO NOT SEND ME MONEY!!! Save that money for my welcome home party!!!! The way I have this pictured in my brain it will cost ~$250.00. When I get off that plane I want to be greeted with some Leibniz Butterkeks, Buskins tea cookies, a can of Skyline chilli, Vodka and a “sex on the beach” cocktail mix, some new $140.00 Nike Shocks (that are a bright red and a clean white size 7) (my shoes are shot and have been shot for over a month!!), and a welcome home dinner at Mecklenberg Gardens with a $4.00 pretzel with cheese that I can’t afford here. Mom, you had better make a Black Forest cake from scratch!!! Better yet- get Charlie or aunt Brenda to do it!! I want it gigantic, rich and flawless!!!
Also, Mom could you talk to Macy’s for me and see if they’ll put me on the schedule starting the week of the 14th? Thanks. Tell them if I need to fill out some paper work to be rehired or something, I’ll be in on the 12th bright and early!! Don’t worry about transportation. I walk down to the bus stop and ride on down. Don’t give me that load of “its too far”!!! It’s no where near as far or as dangerous as what I walk here!! Plus, with my new shoes, it will feel like “I am walking on a cloud”!!!
Let’s face it, right now I reek of weed!!! It can’t be helped!!! That’s just the sent of this city!! Every time the wind blows you get a whiff of it!! I haven’t stopped cough since we got here, because of the 2nd hand smoke!!! I hate to admit it, but I have gotten just a little bit buzzed just by walking down the street!!! Plus, the guys didn’t tell me where we were walking to after dinner and I wasn’t paying attention either. We walked straight into the Blue Dolphin Café. Yeah, guess why… But I figure they needed a nice “pick me up”. We walked to the main Heineken Brewery down the street to take the grand tour, only to find it’s closed for renovation/expansion until October. The guys were livid/ bummed!! They really did need something to mellow them out. Now it’s time for bed especially if I am going to be up early to put my plan into action!!!
Ilmenau Final
Well, Ilmenau is done. That leg of my time is over and I have another 3 weeks in Europe. I actually do feel like going home. After having looked at mountains and rain for 3 weeks straight I’m done. But it is my hope that Amsterdam will renew my thirst for this land and all it brings. Chuck, Jason, and Max insist that I meet a “woman” named “Mary Jane” in Amsterdam and whether I want to or not, I don’t know if I have a choice. They say I don’t have to dance with her just meet her in a couple of cafes. My time in Ilmenau was a lot of fun and I am very glad that I did it, but still my enthusiasm is low. I know I doubled my working vocabulary of the German language, but I didn’t improve as much as I had hoped in my trouble spots and that is partially my own fault. Everyone spoke such good English that I forgot to speak German. I’m finding very quickly that for an American to know another language is a good thing, but not needed when it comes to big cities. It helps, but it isn’t needed because so many other people speak English or at the very least they know enough to help get you to where you are going. I know that is not what I should think, but that is what I am seeing. But on the flip side I am currently walking around Amsterdam and the only reason I am not worried about the language barrier is because Dutch seems to be a nice mix of German and English. Of course there is some stuff that’s just is beyond me. But what ever, I am going to go back to Germany on Thursday and pick back up with improving my German. As for the Ilmenau leg of my time- I would like to do it again. It was fun, good, interesting, and if I get another chance to go I will.
On a different note- I am tired. I am so very tired. I look forward to going home. I will have fun along the way, but all this traveling is getting to me. I’m doing 8 hour stints on trains with all of this switching, and running, and a nine hour flight. I am very nearly done. I enjoy seeing all of this stuff, but its lost its novelty and I want it to be done. Plus, I don’t sleep well on trains. The beds I’ve come across are so old and bad that I crave a good bed more than anyone can know! (I am currently on the top bunk in my hostel and the mattress is nothing but a thin slab of foam held up by 2 metal bars.) When I get home my bed will feel like a Hilton. I think I need to make a change for when I get home. I had signed up to help people move into the dorm, but that means I only get 4 days in my own bed and I won’t be able to work. But if I work how will I get to Milford and back? But it means more time home and more time with Mom and Pops or rather more time trapped in the house while they’re at work. Yeah, I’m dropping out of the move in team. I need to work more. I need to have paychecks rollin’ in ASAP. So, Mom, be happy you now get to keep me until Sept. 20. It’s only 4 days more, but I guess you’ll have to take it. I also know you won’t be happy to hear this, but I miss Vodka. In the dorm the Vodka flowed as freely as water does for Americans. Before I went to Europe I had no tolerance for any alcohol! I used to get drunk off of Tylenol! In the dorm I did 4 shots of Vodka with a tequila sunrise cocktail for a chaser! It was an interesting night. With every shot we did a toast to something or other. I want to say I was fine, but I stopped after 11:30 and went to bed before the tequila hit me. The “year” book photo they have for me was taken that night and it was right after I did the 3rd shot. I look pretty “happy”. Please note if you have never had tequila- that stuff sneaks up on you!! It takes about 30 min. for it to kick in with me, by that time who knows how many more drinks you have had!! And don’t worry I never paid a cent for any of the hard alcohol!! I can’t justify spending that much money for something that hard when a beer is only 50 cents and tastes so much better! I hate that I have another 7 months to before I will see another drop of Vodka! I am going to loath paying the American price for it too!!!
On a different note- I am tired. I am so very tired. I look forward to going home. I will have fun along the way, but all this traveling is getting to me. I’m doing 8 hour stints on trains with all of this switching, and running, and a nine hour flight. I am very nearly done. I enjoy seeing all of this stuff, but its lost its novelty and I want it to be done. Plus, I don’t sleep well on trains. The beds I’ve come across are so old and bad that I crave a good bed more than anyone can know! (I am currently on the top bunk in my hostel and the mattress is nothing but a thin slab of foam held up by 2 metal bars.) When I get home my bed will feel like a Hilton. I think I need to make a change for when I get home. I had signed up to help people move into the dorm, but that means I only get 4 days in my own bed and I won’t be able to work. But if I work how will I get to Milford and back? But it means more time home and more time with Mom and Pops or rather more time trapped in the house while they’re at work. Yeah, I’m dropping out of the move in team. I need to work more. I need to have paychecks rollin’ in ASAP. So, Mom, be happy you now get to keep me until Sept. 20. It’s only 4 days more, but I guess you’ll have to take it. I also know you won’t be happy to hear this, but I miss Vodka. In the dorm the Vodka flowed as freely as water does for Americans. Before I went to Europe I had no tolerance for any alcohol! I used to get drunk off of Tylenol! In the dorm I did 4 shots of Vodka with a tequila sunrise cocktail for a chaser! It was an interesting night. With every shot we did a toast to something or other. I want to say I was fine, but I stopped after 11:30 and went to bed before the tequila hit me. The “year” book photo they have for me was taken that night and it was right after I did the 3rd shot. I look pretty “happy”. Please note if you have never had tequila- that stuff sneaks up on you!! It takes about 30 min. for it to kick in with me, by that time who knows how many more drinks you have had!! And don’t worry I never paid a cent for any of the hard alcohol!! I can’t justify spending that much money for something that hard when a beer is only 50 cents and tastes so much better! I hate that I have another 7 months to before I will see another drop of Vodka! I am going to loath paying the American price for it too!!!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Ilmenau Final
Ilmenau was great and I learned loads. I have a more detailed post, but I don't know if I wil get to a computer again before the posting deadline, so I figured I had better have something. Yes, it was good I learned loads I look foward to going home but I look foward to my next two weeks in Germany just as much!!!!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Amsterdam.08-25-08
I find myself in a strange position. I don’t like Amsterdam. It’s a nice city and parts of it our worming there way into my heart, but I don’t like the stench of the weed being smoked in the streets. I don’t like how this city is meant for the tourists. I hate how much every thing costs. I wanna go else where. I wanna go home. I spent a few hours in the park to day and it is worthy of being painted, but not worthy of my buying 4 batteries for €6.00 ($9.00) to put in my camera to take pictures with. I sat in the park next to the pond under a tree with some statue or other to my left. Nick and I wanted and did a picnic. He had the coca-cola and I had the crackers and sunflower seeds. I spent 2 or 3 hours there. I passed the time by smelling the weed being carried by the wind and listening to my own music or the sounds of the city. The mix of cultures here is nice. In the park I spoke with a French guy asking me if I “want smoke”. I lied and told him I had a boy friend and he left, ok so the culture mix is annoying. But I have yet to see Dutch culture! I would have been happier if I had stayed in the mountains of Germany! That is the country that just stole my heart! But at the same time I am glad I came. It is good to get a new experience. I am glad to be here, but I don’t think I’ll come back unless it’s for business or someone else’s choice (which it was this time). It is good to be with a group the first time you go running around a strange place in case something goes wrong, but I prefer my freedom and my own will when it comes to making decisions. In my mind as for the museums- jump on line, see the website catalog and hunt down the images on google. It’s free and you got to see it on your time! You could even print them and keep them if you wanted to all for free! I have been going into shops and seeing all of the pretty things, but there is nothing in any country that I would lay down a cent for, worry/stress about lugging it home in my cramped suitcase, and then spend the next few years fussing about needing to dust it and after about 5 years throwing it away. I know me! I know that I am not materialistic and I know that some of the best things in life are (close to being) free. I know that all of the stuff I look at is just going to get thrown out after a little bit of time has passed!! I can’t justify throwing money out like that!!! Everything here that is cute, is not cute back home, and will be just another hunk of crap! I did lay down €9 for some nik-naks just to prove I was here. But really I could have gotten them state side for 1/3 of the price. I just wanted Mom to have something to scrap book for this city since I won’t have any pictures. Maybe I will lay down another € for a post card to take home. I thought about doing a canal tour because I have never been in a city with canals, but I’m pretty sure I’ve already paid for the canal tour in Berlin. So, I can’t justify spending that €8.50 here.
As for Justin and a birthday present- again nothing I am willing to pay for. I thought about bringing home something to do with weed or drugs, or alcohol, but since he works with those inner city kids, he can’t be seen “endorsing” any of that! And all of the other tourist stuff will just be another hunk of crap. So, I think the best gift for Justin is a gas card when I get home. It’s practical, needed, useful, and highly appreciated. I figure I’ll give him a little extra on the card and he can hit Jungle Jims for the crackers I am now addicted to. Ok, Justin, remember they are called Leibniz Butterkeks! You might wanna stock up on them now just incase!
I’m laughing right now! I just got two new roomies and they’re German!!! Well, I guess the saying is true! “Ask and ye shall receive!”
As for Justin and a birthday present- again nothing I am willing to pay for. I thought about bringing home something to do with weed or drugs, or alcohol, but since he works with those inner city kids, he can’t be seen “endorsing” any of that! And all of the other tourist stuff will just be another hunk of crap. So, I think the best gift for Justin is a gas card when I get home. It’s practical, needed, useful, and highly appreciated. I figure I’ll give him a little extra on the card and he can hit Jungle Jims for the crackers I am now addicted to. Ok, Justin, remember they are called Leibniz Butterkeks! You might wanna stock up on them now just incase!
I’m laughing right now! I just got two new roomies and they’re German!!! Well, I guess the saying is true! “Ask and ye shall receive!”
Amsterdam.08-24-08
Well everyone I’m alive and I’m free to move about as I please. Who wouldn’t want to be me? I am in Amsterdam and the people of the Netherlands really love their bricks. Every building is made of a very harsh gray brick. I don’t understand the architecture either. The extra window up on the top of the buildings, I don’t know why that’s there. The roof “caves” or slopes down immediately behind the window. When it comes to transportation I find that walking is the best method. Even if I did know how to ride a bike and could afford to rent one, I wouldn’t. They get stolen so easily and there is no room to chain it up every single post/pole/etc. has bikes stacked 20 deep and I am not kidding either. The average person here has the option of taking the tram, driving, walking, biking, or using a scooter on the streets. The tram is the safest if you aren’t worried about the people you are sitting next to. Driving is too risky because you share the road with the trams and they have the right of way. When it comes to biking and using a scooter, in this city, no thanks, for so many more reasons than I am able to list. Walking is the cheapest most efficient method, because its free and you have the right of way. Plus, all of the good stuff is in walking distance. Well, European walking distance. Americans would take a car spend 5 minutes on the streets and spend an hour looking for a place to park and then they would have to park so far away that it would have been the same as walking in the first place. But as it stands I feel like I am playing the arcade game Frogger and I am the frog. The streets are so dangerous to cross that if I were to walk along price I would feel much safer, and it’s a shorter distance to Milford than it is to the cities’ squares that I walk to daily. So, Mom next time I say I’m walking to Kroger/ Buskins/etc. I fully intend to because it is safer and closer than what I do in all of these cities!!!
In the hostel the term “youth” merely means as long as you’re alive you are welcomed here. The British woman that was in bed five has a son and a daughter that are both full grown. The guy that was here this morning left and I didn’t get to chat with him. He came in after we were all asleep and he was most likely stoned (age roughly 27). Amanda (age 22) is in the room with me and has the bottom bunk. The Italian girl is in bed 4 (age 29), but she signed the lease on an apartment and will be moving into it tomorrow. The Japanese girl (age 26) in bed 6 is here for a contemporary dance workshop. I am the youngest person in the room. As for my meeting “Mary Jane”- it doesn’t interest me. I’ve smelled it in the streets and didn’t like it. I can’t imagine smoking it or going into a café to breath the air. Plus, I can’t afford to do stuff like that. As I’ve said the novelty of Europe has worn off and now all I want to do is see a little bit more and come home.
The funny thing is I didn’t even know how much I call Cinci home. The whole time I was there all I wanted to was leave and go else where, but now that I’m gone and have been gone for so long and am still going to be gone, the song “Homeward Bound” is going through my brain. But I actually don’t mind. I think that later in life after school and all of that stuff I just might come back to Europe to live. I won’t change my citizenship though. I like having American rights and American pride. From what I’ve seen of the Netherlands and Germany- Germany is more endearing to me. I have also discovered that I am a mountain dweller. I like altitude. I look at my current window and I know that I am 2 km beneath sea level and I don’t like it. Give me the lands of the ice and the snow covering the mountain tops!!
As for the Dutch language my group and I are of the opinion that it is the missing link between English and German. To hear it, you think you know what they are saying and that they just have really strong accents, but the meanings are different. Also, I’m the type that looks for the Latin words in all European languages and I have yet to hear them in Dutch. Believe me I have heard a lot of Dutch, granted I’ve heard more Cantonese (Chinese) than Dutch, but that’s a story to tell. (I’ll come to my morning later.) As for seeing Dutch written I have no hope of ever figuring it out. (I’ll post a sample later.) I was in a café/bar for lunch (no I didn’t breathe anything funny) and I saw in the local newspaper something is going on in D.C. It was in the economic section of the paper and I saw that Obama made the news for something. Could someone please fill me in? I can’t decipher the meaning or the message, plus I just did a quick scan. A New York Times in this country cost 17 euro (to convert all € to $ just multiply 1.50.) (That’s $25.50)!!! I don’t have that kind of money to spend. I am on such a tight budget that even €1.60 for the tram will break my day!
Pat and Gerry- neither of you could do what I am doing. You would have spent every penny I possessed on day one and starved for the next 6 weeks. One pair of shoes that I saw and wanted would have done that to me. All of the gift shops all of the restaurants- Pat you couldn’t do it. I order the cheapest thing on the menu and half the time do without a drink. I have splurged a couple of times. Believe me I’m feeling that splurge as far as my wallet is concerned. But I know I can go five days without spending a cent! I have some food left over from Germany and breakfast is free, but when I’m in such a big group in such an expensive town I get out ruled as to where we eat. We do try to eat cheap, but a base drink is €3 and a basic plate is 6. Also, no free refills here, I HATE THAT! I really hate that about this continent, but it is good portion control. As for when I do get a drink- it would seem I have “American” stamped across my forehead and they put ice in all of my drinks. And you know me I am the type to do without ice.
As for my morning today and this is a story to tell. Last night as we were coming into the area I saw some nice cathedrals, so I asked about going to church for a Dutch service at the front desk and they gave me a map and said “good luck”. The guy at the time was most likely Muslim. Today, I was woken up this morning by a British woman at 6 in the morning! The sun wasn’t even up yet!!! Granted the sun doesn’t visit Amsterdam, ever! But still it was very early. I tried to sleep a little more and couldn’t. So, at 7:30 I walked to house/wing A, and got breakfast. It was just a couple of sandwiches with a minute maid knock off orange juice. I assume the meat was chicken and salami with a wheat germ cheese. What it was in reality, I am not asking. From there I took out my map and started walking. I walked and walked and finally a steeple showed over the roof tops. I walked around the church only to find the main entrance had a concrete couch in front of it with chains making absolutely certain you couldn’t walk around the couch and go in. A similar scenario for the next three churches I found. After a while I came to a guy that was unloading keys from a safe deposit box of the rent-a-car. Right as he put a set of keys in his mouth I asked if he spoke English. He spit the key out said “yes” and I told him what I was looking for. He said that most services start at 10:00. So, I had 2 hours to find a church. He gave me a different map and told me to catch tram 1 about 30 or 300 meters down the street. When I got to the stop I saw a guy sitting there and he was an Asian guy about 22 dressed nice in a white button down and black pants with guitar next to him. I figured “hey, an Asian version of Justin”. I asked him if he knew of any churches I could go to and he said “Yeah, they’re kind of far though”. He mentioned that he was going to his church. The service wouldn’t start for another couple of hours; he was just going early to practice playing his semi-acoustic guitar. I asked if I could tag along. He said sure, but there would be a ketch- the service would be in Cantonese. It turns out that Michael is a Malaysian immigrant and he learned his English from TV. So, I paid the €1.60 for the tram and followed him to church in the poor/immigrant/suburb/non-touristy part of town. When we got there he introduced me to AJ. AJ is the director/teacher for the little kids and he is Persian/Iranian via North-western Canada. He came to Amsterdam with his Mom after 9-11. So, his English was perfect. We shot the breeze for an hour. After that when the people started arriving I helped look for the programs (that hadn’t been printed yet) and then I helped fold them while they were still hot off the press. I got lucky, I wasn’t the only white chick there, one of the regulars brought his girl friend. When it came time for the collection sack to be handed around I put a € in. The service today was a special one because it was led by the youth. The last Sunday of every month is led by the youth. So, the message was “honor thy father and thy mother”. With Corinthians and Ephesians, AJ lent me his English copy of the bible so I could fallow along. Also, they projected the phonetic pronunciation of the Cantonese words (using the Latin/western alphabet). So, I sang Hymns in Cantonese, Dutch and the chorus did have 2 songs to sing in English. The service lasted 2 hours. I sat in the back right hand corner with the sound guy. And someone named Li Ling (I think) spoke just enough English to tell me what the big bulks of Cantonese were about such as their summer camp and some other thing. He also helped me when the church gave me a welcome at the end of the service. He told me to stand and wave. So, I did and it was good. After that AJ and the people I had chatted with had a meeting so I stayed just long enough to eat a Dutch nutria-grain bar thing and say a good “nice to meet you and bye”. I walked back alone to the spot where the tram dropped us and paid another 1.60, but I didn’t get off in the right place or it didn’t go back to my spot. Either way I had a 30 min. walk back to my hostel. It wasn’t bad. I saw some good stuff. After about 15 min of walking I stopped to look for a street sign and a guy sitting by the door of a pub helped me out and said I should just keep going straight. He smelled of beer so badly. Granted Mom is most likely having a heart-attack, but she just needs her nightly dose of Prozac and she’ll be fine. It turns out that the street I was on connected with the church I had originally found with the cement couch. So, from there I passed the hostel and went to the “Max” café for lunch. I couldn’t help it. I splurged. It is one of those very hip/modern/trendy, but intimate places. They didn’t have chairs there though. They had those little box things you sit on or put your feet on, but it’s meant to be a chair. You know the thing I’m talking about. Also, the newspaper was from Friday and sitting out on the counter for free. I ordered a coke and I convinced the waitress to let me keep the bottle. I figure it will be Justin’s birthday present. Yeah, I go to Amsterdam and all I bring back is a glass bottle of coke in Dutch and Mandarin Chinese. Well, Justin it’s not like I can get you a date with “Mary Jane” and frankly she smells so bad!!! The funny thing is I made a mistake when I ordered my soup. I meant to get the Peprika soup, but I wound up with a Thai coconut chicken soup with spring onions and mushrooms, coriander leaves, and chili oil. As a lover of food I can appreciate how perfectly prepared it was, but it took a lot of force to shove it down my throat and yes, I did use the Chinese soup spoon. I hate the flavor of coconut, mushrooms, and onions. The bread that came as a side was small and the crust was hard. I now understand where the basis for our white sliced sandwich bread comes from. As I ate and the flavor got more unbearable I drank my coke, added some lemon juice, and some pepper just to break up the flavor and make it more bearable. I ate almost all of it. All that was left were some tiny remnants and the coconut milk. After that I grabbed the paper did a quick scan and ordered a blue berry muffin with dough that was a cross between a Starbucks muffin and corn bread.
So, my day ended at 2:00 PM which for East Stand. Time was 10:00 AM. I haven’t left my bed since and I don’t intend to for the rest of the night. It’s now 10:42 PM here, and Cinci is 4:42. It just hit me; the thing I really want today is either a very rich chocolate cake with chocolate icing or a chocolate chip cheese cake. I also wouldn’t mind watching Justin blow out his candles right about now. What’s the weather like there? Here its 23 C it feels like 55 F and cloudy and rainy with a slight breeze. I don’t know what I will do tomorrow. It depends upon what time I wake up. I know I will be up in time for breakfast. So, that’s sometime between 7:30 and 10:30 AM. From there I am going to see about a canal tour. I wonder how it will work out. I wonder if it’s free?
In the hostel the term “youth” merely means as long as you’re alive you are welcomed here. The British woman that was in bed five has a son and a daughter that are both full grown. The guy that was here this morning left and I didn’t get to chat with him. He came in after we were all asleep and he was most likely stoned (age roughly 27). Amanda (age 22) is in the room with me and has the bottom bunk. The Italian girl is in bed 4 (age 29), but she signed the lease on an apartment and will be moving into it tomorrow. The Japanese girl (age 26) in bed 6 is here for a contemporary dance workshop. I am the youngest person in the room. As for my meeting “Mary Jane”- it doesn’t interest me. I’ve smelled it in the streets and didn’t like it. I can’t imagine smoking it or going into a café to breath the air. Plus, I can’t afford to do stuff like that. As I’ve said the novelty of Europe has worn off and now all I want to do is see a little bit more and come home.
The funny thing is I didn’t even know how much I call Cinci home. The whole time I was there all I wanted to was leave and go else where, but now that I’m gone and have been gone for so long and am still going to be gone, the song “Homeward Bound” is going through my brain. But I actually don’t mind. I think that later in life after school and all of that stuff I just might come back to Europe to live. I won’t change my citizenship though. I like having American rights and American pride. From what I’ve seen of the Netherlands and Germany- Germany is more endearing to me. I have also discovered that I am a mountain dweller. I like altitude. I look at my current window and I know that I am 2 km beneath sea level and I don’t like it. Give me the lands of the ice and the snow covering the mountain tops!!
As for the Dutch language my group and I are of the opinion that it is the missing link between English and German. To hear it, you think you know what they are saying and that they just have really strong accents, but the meanings are different. Also, I’m the type that looks for the Latin words in all European languages and I have yet to hear them in Dutch. Believe me I have heard a lot of Dutch, granted I’ve heard more Cantonese (Chinese) than Dutch, but that’s a story to tell. (I’ll come to my morning later.) As for seeing Dutch written I have no hope of ever figuring it out. (I’ll post a sample later.) I was in a café/bar for lunch (no I didn’t breathe anything funny) and I saw in the local newspaper something is going on in D.C. It was in the economic section of the paper and I saw that Obama made the news for something. Could someone please fill me in? I can’t decipher the meaning or the message, plus I just did a quick scan. A New York Times in this country cost 17 euro (to convert all € to $ just multiply 1.50.) (That’s $25.50)!!! I don’t have that kind of money to spend. I am on such a tight budget that even €1.60 for the tram will break my day!
Pat and Gerry- neither of you could do what I am doing. You would have spent every penny I possessed on day one and starved for the next 6 weeks. One pair of shoes that I saw and wanted would have done that to me. All of the gift shops all of the restaurants- Pat you couldn’t do it. I order the cheapest thing on the menu and half the time do without a drink. I have splurged a couple of times. Believe me I’m feeling that splurge as far as my wallet is concerned. But I know I can go five days without spending a cent! I have some food left over from Germany and breakfast is free, but when I’m in such a big group in such an expensive town I get out ruled as to where we eat. We do try to eat cheap, but a base drink is €3 and a basic plate is 6. Also, no free refills here, I HATE THAT! I really hate that about this continent, but it is good portion control. As for when I do get a drink- it would seem I have “American” stamped across my forehead and they put ice in all of my drinks. And you know me I am the type to do without ice.
As for my morning today and this is a story to tell. Last night as we were coming into the area I saw some nice cathedrals, so I asked about going to church for a Dutch service at the front desk and they gave me a map and said “good luck”. The guy at the time was most likely Muslim. Today, I was woken up this morning by a British woman at 6 in the morning! The sun wasn’t even up yet!!! Granted the sun doesn’t visit Amsterdam, ever! But still it was very early. I tried to sleep a little more and couldn’t. So, at 7:30 I walked to house/wing A, and got breakfast. It was just a couple of sandwiches with a minute maid knock off orange juice. I assume the meat was chicken and salami with a wheat germ cheese. What it was in reality, I am not asking. From there I took out my map and started walking. I walked and walked and finally a steeple showed over the roof tops. I walked around the church only to find the main entrance had a concrete couch in front of it with chains making absolutely certain you couldn’t walk around the couch and go in. A similar scenario for the next three churches I found. After a while I came to a guy that was unloading keys from a safe deposit box of the rent-a-car. Right as he put a set of keys in his mouth I asked if he spoke English. He spit the key out said “yes” and I told him what I was looking for. He said that most services start at 10:00. So, I had 2 hours to find a church. He gave me a different map and told me to catch tram 1 about 30 or 300 meters down the street. When I got to the stop I saw a guy sitting there and he was an Asian guy about 22 dressed nice in a white button down and black pants with guitar next to him. I figured “hey, an Asian version of Justin”. I asked him if he knew of any churches I could go to and he said “Yeah, they’re kind of far though”. He mentioned that he was going to his church. The service wouldn’t start for another couple of hours; he was just going early to practice playing his semi-acoustic guitar. I asked if I could tag along. He said sure, but there would be a ketch- the service would be in Cantonese. It turns out that Michael is a Malaysian immigrant and he learned his English from TV. So, I paid the €1.60 for the tram and followed him to church in the poor/immigrant/suburb/non-touristy part of town. When we got there he introduced me to AJ. AJ is the director/teacher for the little kids and he is Persian/Iranian via North-western Canada. He came to Amsterdam with his Mom after 9-11. So, his English was perfect. We shot the breeze for an hour. After that when the people started arriving I helped look for the programs (that hadn’t been printed yet) and then I helped fold them while they were still hot off the press. I got lucky, I wasn’t the only white chick there, one of the regulars brought his girl friend. When it came time for the collection sack to be handed around I put a € in. The service today was a special one because it was led by the youth. The last Sunday of every month is led by the youth. So, the message was “honor thy father and thy mother”. With Corinthians and Ephesians, AJ lent me his English copy of the bible so I could fallow along. Also, they projected the phonetic pronunciation of the Cantonese words (using the Latin/western alphabet). So, I sang Hymns in Cantonese, Dutch and the chorus did have 2 songs to sing in English. The service lasted 2 hours. I sat in the back right hand corner with the sound guy. And someone named Li Ling (I think) spoke just enough English to tell me what the big bulks of Cantonese were about such as their summer camp and some other thing. He also helped me when the church gave me a welcome at the end of the service. He told me to stand and wave. So, I did and it was good. After that AJ and the people I had chatted with had a meeting so I stayed just long enough to eat a Dutch nutria-grain bar thing and say a good “nice to meet you and bye”. I walked back alone to the spot where the tram dropped us and paid another 1.60, but I didn’t get off in the right place or it didn’t go back to my spot. Either way I had a 30 min. walk back to my hostel. It wasn’t bad. I saw some good stuff. After about 15 min of walking I stopped to look for a street sign and a guy sitting by the door of a pub helped me out and said I should just keep going straight. He smelled of beer so badly. Granted Mom is most likely having a heart-attack, but she just needs her nightly dose of Prozac and she’ll be fine. It turns out that the street I was on connected with the church I had originally found with the cement couch. So, from there I passed the hostel and went to the “Max” café for lunch. I couldn’t help it. I splurged. It is one of those very hip/modern/trendy, but intimate places. They didn’t have chairs there though. They had those little box things you sit on or put your feet on, but it’s meant to be a chair. You know the thing I’m talking about. Also, the newspaper was from Friday and sitting out on the counter for free. I ordered a coke and I convinced the waitress to let me keep the bottle. I figure it will be Justin’s birthday present. Yeah, I go to Amsterdam and all I bring back is a glass bottle of coke in Dutch and Mandarin Chinese. Well, Justin it’s not like I can get you a date with “Mary Jane” and frankly she smells so bad!!! The funny thing is I made a mistake when I ordered my soup. I meant to get the Peprika soup, but I wound up with a Thai coconut chicken soup with spring onions and mushrooms, coriander leaves, and chili oil. As a lover of food I can appreciate how perfectly prepared it was, but it took a lot of force to shove it down my throat and yes, I did use the Chinese soup spoon. I hate the flavor of coconut, mushrooms, and onions. The bread that came as a side was small and the crust was hard. I now understand where the basis for our white sliced sandwich bread comes from. As I ate and the flavor got more unbearable I drank my coke, added some lemon juice, and some pepper just to break up the flavor and make it more bearable. I ate almost all of it. All that was left were some tiny remnants and the coconut milk. After that I grabbed the paper did a quick scan and ordered a blue berry muffin with dough that was a cross between a Starbucks muffin and corn bread.
So, my day ended at 2:00 PM which for East Stand. Time was 10:00 AM. I haven’t left my bed since and I don’t intend to for the rest of the night. It’s now 10:42 PM here, and Cinci is 4:42. It just hit me; the thing I really want today is either a very rich chocolate cake with chocolate icing or a chocolate chip cheese cake. I also wouldn’t mind watching Justin blow out his candles right about now. What’s the weather like there? Here its 23 C it feels like 55 F and cloudy and rainy with a slight breeze. I don’t know what I will do tomorrow. It depends upon what time I wake up. I know I will be up in time for breakfast. So, that’s sometime between 7:30 and 10:30 AM. From there I am going to see about a canal tour. I wonder how it will work out. I wonder if it’s free?
Eisenach-Germany 08-22-08
Last night we went to Eisenach and saw so much. Not as much as I would have liked though. We were aloud to roam free in the city for 2 hours. I would have preferred a guided tour though. Even if I don’t understand what is being said I can get the gist and the guides make sure I see what I should. With the free time I didn’t see a thing I the spent 2 hours going in and out of shops along the main market street and forgot to examine the historical importance. The worst/best part is I didn’t even buy anything. Every time I saw something cute I thought “claires”, “overstock.com”, “Macy’s”, etc. and made a note of what it was and where to find it in America for a fraction of the price. Although I did pay special attention to the shoe stores, mine are drawing in on a year old and after having walked an average of 6 miles a day for a year they are a little worn out and starting to show it. I think I got my $40.00 worth from them, don’t you? By the time I get home I will be in desperate need of new. From there we loaded back onto the bus and went to Wartburg castle. It’s the spot where Martin Luther translated the Bible. Ya, that big historically important event, and I saw the place! In this moment the memories are my own and if you want to know what I know you must go and see it for your self. The one thing that did make a very big impression upon me was the ball room. The level of detail was just jaw dropping. This was a room that 150 people could fit into comfortably, even with all of the hoop skirts and dancing. If it were used for modern times and modern dresses- 250 people would be just as comfortable. I was thrilled to hear that they had classical music playing in there. I was positively hypnotized. I didn’t take in a word that the tour guide said. If Kristen hadn’t smacked me on the back to make me move I wouldn’t have. I forgot all about taking pictures too. I didn’t remember to take them until the very last second and that was only to capture the view of the surrounding area from the mountain top castle. My I just say that even with the path made and the stair being nice and sturdy, to climb up that mountain required a lot of balls from me and I can’t imagine how much balls it took to climb up before the stairs were made!!! I can’t imagine what it was like for the inhabitants of the castle to go day in and day out, up and down that path when it was made of dirt. I don’t think I would have done it unless I had the devil at my back and driving me upward!!!
Winding Down Ilmenau
The closing program that we are doing is so “European” that I don’t understand the point of it, but the Russians are so happy and excited about it that I am not going to say a word. We are making a film slide show thing. Like I said I don’t understand, but I am going to go along with it and hope that it works out alright. Of course if it doesn’t they’ll already be on the train home when Frau Pollack, and I are presenting it. So if it sucks they won’t know and the 2 of us will get the blame for it even though our parts were minimal. I don’t know what my role in the film will be just yet, (they told me in Russian) but I will make the best of it. As for the program ending I have no idea where the 3 weeks went! It was so fast I feel like I blinked and missed it! I have so many good memories! They were just made too and fast one right after the other! I can barely comprehend them all! As for what’s next- only 3 of 10 are making the trek back the US on the 24. The rest of us are staying. Although I am staying the longest out of every one and the coming week is weighing upon me. What am I doing, where am I going, I know these answers, but I still give them as much thought as if they were unknown. I have so much more to look forward to and I wonder what fate will toss across my path while I am here. I wonder if it will be love… Somehow I doubt it, but ya never know!
Week 2 of Ilmenau
During the course of the second week I have had so much fun. I loved Bergfest! I enjoyed meeting new people and hearing everyone’s native language. Granted to puppet show on Monday was a little bit lame, but I’d go again if only just for the experience of moving around the towns and chatting with the people along the way. The most fun part was eating cherries off the tree outside the door of the theater. The show was Rumplestilskin (or however that story is spelled). It’s a German favorite and I should have expected that at some point it would pop up. I was sitting in the center of the front row and I kept getting straw and dust thrown on me. But I went and when we left we got caught in the rain and I shared an umbrella with Rosin. So it was a good night. And the town it took place in was just so cute!! It looked like a post card! Also, I took part in a phonetics class, that had absolutely nothing to do with German and everything to do with the study of baby babble and “goo-goo-gaga”. That was so much fun! And absolutely hysterical! For that I do have pictures of the other groups. But then the weekend came then I was sick of all of the languages, sick for home and just flat out sick!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
The German half of arrival with Kaufland 08-02-08
We landed in FRA well enough. I couldn’t wait to get off the plane. I bolted, I may have been just a little pushy about getting off the plane but after 9 hours of being on that plane I was just a little eager to get off. I didn’t even wait for my group. I just went straight to customs to get checked in and my passport stamped. The line was so long that the group caught up to me easily enough. At this point I was pumped. I had the adrenaline going and I didn’t even notice the exhaustion. It wasn’t until 2 hours later when we were on the train that would take us to
From the second we got into the dorm we had to throw our stuff down and run down to Kaufland. It’s the local grocery store and it would be closing in two hours time at 8:00 PM and we had to hurry. Nothing would be open on Sundays except the gas station. So we threw our suitcases on the ground grabbed our plastic/canvas bags and ran the half mile to Kaufland. When we got there we saw it was just a little bit different. The closest thing we have to it in the
And sorry Mom I know you don’t want to hear it, but when in
Getting Started 08-04-08
The very first day was nerve wracking. What would you be tested into? Where will go? Will you wake up in time for the test? All of that stuff was just such a weight on my shoulders. Also, how many Russians will be in my class? Goodness knows they have already over run the dorm. Not that it’s a bad thing. It is still very funny to hear a drunk Russian attempting to sing “Louie, Louie” or the “Macarena”. Ok it’s positively priceless! Pity they don’t know Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World”. I think I would die of laughter. Or perhaps “It’s the End of the World” from “Tommy Boy” with Chris Farley and David Spade. Can you just here it? I think it’s pretty funny. I mean lets face it a drunk English version is pretty funny, but about twenty drunk Russians (one with a guitar) that can’t pronounce English to begin with is positively priceless. Ok so I digress, when we get ushered into the auditorium on day one we are greeted by two classical guitar soloists for a half and hour with some very fast opening ceremony speeches in German. Followed by a couple of hours of written exams to test your level of German language skills, basically they were asking me to pull German knowledge out of a class that I hadn’t been in for two months and didn’t even remember a fraction of. Yeah, I did real well. Not! After the test we got shoved into another room with another really fast German welcome speech, this time we had a power point and a translator. It was better, but my brain was fried and I just wanted out. From there the Americans got shoved out into the hallway while everyone else learned the ins and outs of there scholarships. After that all we got shoved to one of two rooms in which we had our verbal language test. By some act of (mis)fortune I was the very first person called. Oh, of course the second blond examiner the one that I blew off and ignored is my teacher. Oh, of course, that’s how fate works with me. Finally, thank the good Lord, I was done for the day! I still waited around to see how everyone else did. Plus, I didn’t know the way around and I wasn’t in the mood to get lost. We ate dinner at the Mensa (cafeteria) on the patio and had some stuff that I don’t know the name of. That would not be the last time I ate something that I don’t know what its made out of, don’t know the name of, and don’t like the taste of, but I ate out of sheer hunger. It was a nice meet and greet kind of night. We met a group of the Polish students. This is when I met Anna (Chicken) her last name sounds like the polish word for chicken, so her boyfriend calls her chicken, I also met the boyfriend, but I have never heard his name. After a while, the list was posted which classes we would be in and dessert was served. I ducked out really early from the party to read a book. The Germans were shocked to find an American that read and made a couple of jokes. Really I just didn’t want to go to the club, and have alcohol shoved down my throat.
As it stands, in my class I have 6 Russians. I can’t pronounce the name of a single one and I hate being locked out of group discussions because I dont know what they are saying!!! As for the teacher- I’m still waiting on the figure paints to be brought out. It’s true we need that kindergarten level of teaching, but I’m still waiting on the figure paint to complete the remedial picture. As for the surprise of class- I still can’t get used to getting locked out of the discussions and jokes that fly around because they’re in Russian. As for the new words I must have doubled my vocab. in the time that I’ve been here.
Ilmenau 08-03-08
The first time I walked around the town I was surprised to find that Ilmenau has its own blood bank! It makes sense the nearest town is an hour by train, but I was still surprised by that. During the first week- and since then there is just one thing I can’t get accustomed to- the staring. I’ve actually stopped and stared back at the guy asking him if there was something wrong. He just kept on walkin’. As for the language barrier, it’s more felt for me and my Russian counter parts than the German towns’ people. As far as I can tell everyone here speaks enough basic English to comprehend my troubles and can help me through it just fine. As for the actual town its so cute It is very modern but at the same time it is nothing like American architecture. I look out my window and I know that this is a different country. I just love how it’s nestled in these mountains covered by pine trees. Ok so I don’t like the pine trees. Yes, I am sick currently, but it’s worth it. I’m told that they actually had a tornado here in the late winter early spring. It completely wiped this one little area of the mountain clean. On the mountain next to it is the lone tower supposedly Goethe lived up there for a little while. Every couple of buildings or so you’ll see a building with a plaque stating that “Goethe lived here, but he doesn’t live here anymore”. Ok, I could write a volume on how cute and perfect and how truly in love I am with this town, but I don’t have that kind of time it’s just one of those things you need to see for your self with your own eyes. Next time you are in
First Sunday/ Culture Shock 08-03-08
Ok here’s a story to tell. This is juicy. This is embarrassing. This is a lack of thought on my part. This is the type of story that normally you don’t tell. But since you are 5,000 km away and I’m not going to hear neither hide nor hair from any of you and I don’t have to put up with your ridicule for another 3 weeks- I am going to tell it. Oh, I can already here your “oh no what did she do now?” I can hear them as though I were sitting right next to you, and “yes” I deserve that reaction. Most regrettably, I do.
So, it was the very first Sunday we were here. It was a bright sun shiny August 3. I, surprisingly, woke up early, well early for me. I walked straight to a spot that I have staked out as mine. It’s a cute little raised garden in front of the main building that over looks the mountains. (If you’ll look at my pictures of that metal structure you’ll see what I was seeing at the time.) To begin with I was sitting by myself enjoying the way the mountains looked in the late morning air when two Russian girls walked up. They didn’t speak English and their German was poor. Clearly, I have no Russian and bad German so we used good old reliable hand gestures to communicate our hellos. It was then that the Russian, Anna walked up with perfect Russian, English, and German. After about a half an hour we decided to go for a walk around town, well they did, I didn’t know how to tell them ‘no’. I mean I didn’t know how to say it in a language they would understand. I couldn’t shake ‘em either. I was hoping they’d give up after I ducked into the main building and did something ‘important’ or other. But, no, they waited, and I went with them. I am glad I did, it was a good experience, and if not for the culture clash it would have been very good. So, it gets closer and closer to noon and I tell them I haven’t eaten yet that day. They were surprised and asked what I wanted for breakfast. In typical American college student style I say- chances are that you have most likely guessed it- pizza. I said I wanted pizza for breakfast. They gave me a couple of odd looks, but they were good sports about it and we walked into the campus pizza store across from the campus alcohol store. I ordered a small (medium by our standards) cheese pizza for (Euros) 4,50. As we wait and the woman makes it fresh in front of us with only the pizza dough premade, we get to know everyone that was already in there eating. We had to, there were only two tiny little tables and they were pretty much already taken up by people. As we were waiting on my food we find out that everyone in there was from somewhere other than
{Poor towns’ people, and poor me, it wouldn’t be the last time I shocked them that day. Yes, it gets worse because I didn’t think… I’m not sure I want to tell this. I can already here the ridicule. Out of all of the blogs I’ve written and no one has replied to I do think someone will leave a reply to this one just to ridicule me. Well, here it comes.}
The girls and I reached the end of town and walk back to the main building because a tour is to be given of Ilmenau and the surrounding forest around 1:00 PM. Ok, you know what, I changed my mind. I’m not going to tell it. All I am going to say is that I broke off from the tour and went swimming, and I got a tan with some blisters on my feet. That’s all ya get for that story. Sorry, but no more. Bye!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)