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.
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