27/28.7.10--Holzkirchen, Tegernsee
Not much has really been going on yesterday and today. Just rain, school, and more rain. We watched Das Leben der Anderen yesterday in the film class, and it was pretty good, though it started out a bit slow. It was about a Stasi officer that is ordered to watch an author, but after watching him for so long, he starts getting other ideas...I won't tell you so you can watch it yourself. Today after school the history class went to an art museum in Tegernsee that specializes in political cartoons and such...pretty cool, though they're kinda small and were having a special exhibition about French artists, so they didn't have that many cartoons. Great postcards in the gift shop though. Funny stuff. After walking around the small town, and lookin around by the lake a bit, we caught the train and went back to Holzkirchen.
New photos up! Hiking in the Alps: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050551&id=1135320260&l=634e82870a
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
Fairy Tale Castles; Endless, Timeless Plays; and Brave, Determined Students
25.7.10--Schloss Neuschwanstein und Oberamergau
Today was FABULOUS. Quite cold, but otherwise, pretty awesome. After a 1.5 hour bus ride, we arrived at the foot of the mountain on which Neuschwanstein stands. To reach the palace, we had our choice of paths: the paved, easier, plain path, or the "summer path"--gravel/dirt/etc, uneven, a bit harder, but beautiful. It should be obvious which one we took. It followed a river, with multiple rapids and waterfalls, as it wound up the mountain through the forest. It was a bit scary at one part, where you had to walk across a grate bridge over the river (and we already know how I fare with grates and heights from the Kölner Dom). Other than that, it was so pretty. Then we got up to the castle, where even more beauty was there to behold. I'm convinced that craziness inspires art, because he was batshit insane, but made such beautiful castles. (For more proof: Van Gogh, Beethoven, and probably at least a few others.) Sadly, he died while the castle was still being built, so only 1/3 of it was ever finished. We took a tour, and saw all of the finished rooms (maybe 30? tops?). Our tour guide had an interesting accent, and Emily asked where it was from, and she gave the ambiguous "Oh I guess its a mixture of a lot of things." Anyway, the castle is what inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle, and there is no wonder why. The funny part about it is, is that it is very much like Disney. To exit the castle, one must pass through not one, but two gift shops. (Not counting the one at the entrance, of course.) It's pretty insane. After walking back down the mountain, we got a quick bite to eat, and after some confusion as to where we were supposed to meet, we finally all piled back on the bus for another hour or so.
We arrived in Oberamergau, and it was clear we were in the right place. We were surrounded on all sides by gift shops full of hand-carved nativity scenes and ornaments, as well as various other tchotchkes and souvenirs. Not to mention the large amount of people everywhere (lots of them were really old too). The play itself was really long, but really good. The first act was from 2:30-5:15, and then a 3 hour intermission for dinner, and then the second act was from 8:00-11:00. The entirety of the second act, my legs were screaming to move. The rows were very close together, so everytime I moved I bumped the seat in front of me with my knees. So no chance for fighting the restless leg syndrome, except for trying to massage it out (didn't work). Other than that though, the paly was really good. In addition to the normal passion story, there was a greek chorus that came out between each scene to talk about what just happened and will happen next. They also drew lots of parallels to other Bible stories, and had "living pictures" (the little shadowbox stage-within-a-stage would open up, where a few actors are posed for about 10 minutes) depicting each one. Cool stuff. Dinner was good, I had Hungarian Goulasch...yummy.. =) Since there were so many people at the play, obviously the bathroom lines were long, and also obviously, only the women's bathroom had a really long wait. In America when this happens, the women just wait patiently or give up. However, here, half the women went to the men's room after they got tired of waiting. One German man, as he walked out, joked about how there were more women in the men's room than there were men (they still went in and did their business too). It was quite interesting/funny. After the play, we got back onto the bus, and went home. I ended up getting home about 1 am, and that bike ride from the Rathaus Parkplatz to home was so cold my teeth were chattering.
26.7.10--München
Today we went around to all the places relevant to the Weiße Rose (a student group against the Nazis). We started out by seeing where they lived (which was right by where we ate Mexican food and Indian food the other day!). We then moved on to the Universität München, where they had gone to school and where it all happened. There we went in an exhibit about the group, which was pretty interesting. We also went into the lecture hall, which was pretty awesome-looking. I totally wish ours looked like that. We saw the main hall where they had dropped all their anti-Nazi flyers from, and therefore got caught by the janitor. From there, we followed their plight to the Justizpalast, and went in the room where they were tried and found guilty of high treason. They were beheaded via guillotine, the favorite execution method of the time. After lunch, we went to see their graves in the cemetary. German cemetaries are so much more beautiful and well-kept than ours. For lunch, we ate at the Augustiner Biergarten, where I had Wurst und Kartoffelsalat. Pretty good food, though the Wurst was kinda weird, and made me sick later =( The good news is, I think I feel better now =)
Today was FABULOUS. Quite cold, but otherwise, pretty awesome. After a 1.5 hour bus ride, we arrived at the foot of the mountain on which Neuschwanstein stands. To reach the palace, we had our choice of paths: the paved, easier, plain path, or the "summer path"--gravel/dirt/etc, uneven, a bit harder, but beautiful. It should be obvious which one we took. It followed a river, with multiple rapids and waterfalls, as it wound up the mountain through the forest. It was a bit scary at one part, where you had to walk across a grate bridge over the river (and we already know how I fare with grates and heights from the Kölner Dom). Other than that, it was so pretty. Then we got up to the castle, where even more beauty was there to behold. I'm convinced that craziness inspires art, because he was batshit insane, but made such beautiful castles. (For more proof: Van Gogh, Beethoven, and probably at least a few others.) Sadly, he died while the castle was still being built, so only 1/3 of it was ever finished. We took a tour, and saw all of the finished rooms (maybe 30? tops?). Our tour guide had an interesting accent, and Emily asked where it was from, and she gave the ambiguous "Oh I guess its a mixture of a lot of things." Anyway, the castle is what inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle, and there is no wonder why. The funny part about it is, is that it is very much like Disney. To exit the castle, one must pass through not one, but two gift shops. (Not counting the one at the entrance, of course.) It's pretty insane. After walking back down the mountain, we got a quick bite to eat, and after some confusion as to where we were supposed to meet, we finally all piled back on the bus for another hour or so.
We arrived in Oberamergau, and it was clear we were in the right place. We were surrounded on all sides by gift shops full of hand-carved nativity scenes and ornaments, as well as various other tchotchkes and souvenirs. Not to mention the large amount of people everywhere (lots of them were really old too). The play itself was really long, but really good. The first act was from 2:30-5:15, and then a 3 hour intermission for dinner, and then the second act was from 8:00-11:00. The entirety of the second act, my legs were screaming to move. The rows were very close together, so everytime I moved I bumped the seat in front of me with my knees. So no chance for fighting the restless leg syndrome, except for trying to massage it out (didn't work). Other than that though, the paly was really good. In addition to the normal passion story, there was a greek chorus that came out between each scene to talk about what just happened and will happen next. They also drew lots of parallels to other Bible stories, and had "living pictures" (the little shadowbox stage-within-a-stage would open up, where a few actors are posed for about 10 minutes) depicting each one. Cool stuff. Dinner was good, I had Hungarian Goulasch...yummy.. =) Since there were so many people at the play, obviously the bathroom lines were long, and also obviously, only the women's bathroom had a really long wait. In America when this happens, the women just wait patiently or give up. However, here, half the women went to the men's room after they got tired of waiting. One German man, as he walked out, joked about how there were more women in the men's room than there were men (they still went in and did their business too). It was quite interesting/funny. After the play, we got back onto the bus, and went home. I ended up getting home about 1 am, and that bike ride from the Rathaus Parkplatz to home was so cold my teeth were chattering.
26.7.10--München
Today we went around to all the places relevant to the Weiße Rose (a student group against the Nazis). We started out by seeing where they lived (which was right by where we ate Mexican food and Indian food the other day!). We then moved on to the Universität München, where they had gone to school and where it all happened. There we went in an exhibit about the group, which was pretty interesting. We also went into the lecture hall, which was pretty awesome-looking. I totally wish ours looked like that. We saw the main hall where they had dropped all their anti-Nazi flyers from, and therefore got caught by the janitor. From there, we followed their plight to the Justizpalast, and went in the room where they were tried and found guilty of high treason. They were beheaded via guillotine, the favorite execution method of the time. After lunch, we went to see their graves in the cemetary. German cemetaries are so much more beautiful and well-kept than ours. For lunch, we ate at the Augustiner Biergarten, where I had Wurst und Kartoffelsalat. Pretty good food, though the Wurst was kinda weird, and made me sick later =( The good news is, I think I feel better now =)
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Chilling (Literally) in München
22/23.7.10--Holzkirchen, München
Not a whole lot happened on Thursday, just school and then chillin at home. We watched a movie about König Ludwig II, who brought Wagner to fame, loved his married cousin, was engaged to her sister, was assumed gay, built a few beautiful castles, and went insane in his later years. It was interesting, but had that 50s movie corniness.
Friday was a tad more interesting. After school, I went to the HEP (tiny new "mall" in town) with a few other students, and then chilled around til we met up again to go to München. After a bit of confusion with people being late and such, we finally ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant, which, contrary to what I had previously heard, wasn´t too bad. It´s a good thing we were there during happy hour though, because it would´ve been ridiculously expensive otherwise. With the reduced prices, my enchilada con carne and a drink was 13 Euro. Not too bad for a huge delicious dinner. We then met up with a few others and one of the other student´s host sister took us out on the town to show us the München nightlife. Despite a few speedbumps, a good time was had by all.
24.7.10--München
After sleeping in a bit (11:40...early for me by home standards, but late for my normal here), a couple of us went to München for the day. There was apparently a festival at the Olympic Stadium tonight, with fireworks and such, but it was really cold and rainy so we decided not to. It´s been awfully cold and rainy for the past few days, and it´s going to continue like this for the next week or so until it warms up. A few days ago it was like 90 out, and today it was 57. Crazy shit. Not exactly too excited for tomorrow, when we go up in the mountains to see Schloss Neuschwanstein (built by King Ludwig II) and then sit outside for 6 hours watching the Oberamergau Passion Play (2 of those 6 are intermission=dinner). Anyway, so after a bit of shopping, we went to an Indian restaurant, which was pretty tasty. Then the rest of them went to BMW-Welt, which I could really care less about, so I went off on my own, walked around the city, and got some souvenir shopping out of the way. When they were done, we met up again, walked around a bit more, and then decided to mosy on home. Got some dinner at the Hauptbahnhof, and got on the BOB (Bayerische Oberland Bahn). While on the train, we got surveyed--where were we coming from, how did we get there, where we were going, how we get home, how often we ride the BOB, do we like it, etc. And now I am here. And cold. I hope there is at least a semi-roof or blankets or something tomorrow.
And, yet another album up: München part 1-- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049782&id=1135320260&l=3e0b074062
Not a whole lot happened on Thursday, just school and then chillin at home. We watched a movie about König Ludwig II, who brought Wagner to fame, loved his married cousin, was engaged to her sister, was assumed gay, built a few beautiful castles, and went insane in his later years. It was interesting, but had that 50s movie corniness.
Friday was a tad more interesting. After school, I went to the HEP (tiny new "mall" in town) with a few other students, and then chilled around til we met up again to go to München. After a bit of confusion with people being late and such, we finally ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant, which, contrary to what I had previously heard, wasn´t too bad. It´s a good thing we were there during happy hour though, because it would´ve been ridiculously expensive otherwise. With the reduced prices, my enchilada con carne and a drink was 13 Euro. Not too bad for a huge delicious dinner. We then met up with a few others and one of the other student´s host sister took us out on the town to show us the München nightlife. Despite a few speedbumps, a good time was had by all.
24.7.10--München
After sleeping in a bit (11:40...early for me by home standards, but late for my normal here), a couple of us went to München for the day. There was apparently a festival at the Olympic Stadium tonight, with fireworks and such, but it was really cold and rainy so we decided not to. It´s been awfully cold and rainy for the past few days, and it´s going to continue like this for the next week or so until it warms up. A few days ago it was like 90 out, and today it was 57. Crazy shit. Not exactly too excited for tomorrow, when we go up in the mountains to see Schloss Neuschwanstein (built by King Ludwig II) and then sit outside for 6 hours watching the Oberamergau Passion Play (2 of those 6 are intermission=dinner). Anyway, so after a bit of shopping, we went to an Indian restaurant, which was pretty tasty. Then the rest of them went to BMW-Welt, which I could really care less about, so I went off on my own, walked around the city, and got some souvenir shopping out of the way. When they were done, we met up again, walked around a bit more, and then decided to mosy on home. Got some dinner at the Hauptbahnhof, and got on the BOB (Bayerische Oberland Bahn). While on the train, we got surveyed--where were we coming from, how did we get there, where we were going, how we get home, how often we ride the BOB, do we like it, etc. And now I am here. And cold. I hope there is at least a semi-roof or blankets or something tomorrow.
And, yet another album up: München part 1-- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049782&id=1135320260&l=3e0b074062
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Meisterschaftschießen beim Schützenverein Holzkirchen
20.7.10
Today at school we saw our very first happy-ending German movie--Das Wunder von Bern. It is about the '54 World Cup (which Germany won), and a father that comes home from the war after 12 years and must try to find his place in his family (with a young son he's never met). Quite a good movie. And it ended happily! It was so bizarre. German movies never have happy endings. Later that evening, we went to the Schützenverein Holzkirchen, for some Meisterschaftschießen. (We shot air rifles at a shooting gallery.) It was quite fun. Apparently it is a big thing to do in Bavaria (yet another reason to drink beer). We ate some Laberkäse sandwiches, with Senf und Käse, and drank some Holzkirchener Oberbräu. We then took turns (3 at a time) shooting. After some teaching and a practice round, we each got 10 shots, and the top three scores got trophies (Divesh, Spenser, and Wes). Everyone got a participation certificate that said how many points you got. I got 6th place (out of 13) with 38 points (out of 100). The highest was around 45. A fun time was had by all. After sitting around for a while, we went and got some ice cream, and sat around some more, before going to our respective houses.
21.7.10
Nothing particularly exciting happened today, just school. At lunch, Herr Keel spilled his cola all over my (canvas) purse and backpack, so I'm looking for suggestions on how to clean them. After lunch, the history class had to go back to school to make up for time when our teacher was not there (the other class went to Munich...gr.). We watched Shtonk!, which was a pretty good movie, I think, though I only understood about half of it. It's about the guy who forged Hitler's journals and made tons of money off it in the '80s. The rest of the day has just been sittin around doin homework and putting up pictures.
Speaking of which, new album (Berlin part 2): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049482&id=1135320260&l=c030bd344f
and, Return to Holzkirchen and Vicinity! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049631&id=1135320260&l=34c6ad1027
Today at school we saw our very first happy-ending German movie--Das Wunder von Bern. It is about the '54 World Cup (which Germany won), and a father that comes home from the war after 12 years and must try to find his place in his family (with a young son he's never met). Quite a good movie. And it ended happily! It was so bizarre. German movies never have happy endings. Later that evening, we went to the Schützenverein Holzkirchen, for some Meisterschaftschießen. (We shot air rifles at a shooting gallery.) It was quite fun. Apparently it is a big thing to do in Bavaria (yet another reason to drink beer). We ate some Laberkäse sandwiches, with Senf und Käse, and drank some Holzkirchener Oberbräu. We then took turns (3 at a time) shooting. After some teaching and a practice round, we each got 10 shots, and the top three scores got trophies (Divesh, Spenser, and Wes). Everyone got a participation certificate that said how many points you got. I got 6th place (out of 13) with 38 points (out of 100). The highest was around 45. A fun time was had by all. After sitting around for a while, we went and got some ice cream, and sat around some more, before going to our respective houses.
21.7.10
Nothing particularly exciting happened today, just school. At lunch, Herr Keel spilled his cola all over my (canvas) purse and backpack, so I'm looking for suggestions on how to clean them. After lunch, the history class had to go back to school to make up for time when our teacher was not there (the other class went to Munich...gr.). We watched Shtonk!, which was a pretty good movie, I think, though I only understood about half of it. It's about the guy who forged Hitler's journals and made tons of money off it in the '80s. The rest of the day has just been sittin around doin homework and putting up pictures.
Speaking of which, new album (Berlin part 2): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049482&id=1135320260&l=c030bd344f
and, Return to Holzkirchen and Vicinity! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2049631&id=1135320260&l=34c6ad1027
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Old Castles, People, and Traditions.
18.7.10--Crimmitschau
This morning I went to mass with Ulrike and Thomas. It was pretty interesting; basically everything was the same, but in German. I felt accomplished that I could figure out the Gospel story--Mary Magdalene washing the apostle's feet. Pretty small, quaint church, with a capacity of maybe 50 or 60, and 30 or so people there. After church, we had chicken noodle soup, schnitzel, potatoes, and some weird veggies that I'm really not sure what they were, but they were tasty. After a short nap/chill-time/siesta, Thomas took me to Schloss Blankenhain, which was a small castle owned by a knight, that has since then been converted into a large open-air museum (consisting of several other buildings in the dorf). The big main part is a farming museum, but it also showed the life of the people who lived in the castle (the nursery had a kick-ass castle dollhouse), as well as various other things. Some of the other buildings were a brewery, an old school (lots of DDR stuff; young pioneers etc), and a windmill/miller's house. It was interesting. Then we went back and had some dinner and just chilled.
19.7.10--Crimmitschau, Zug
Today Thomas and Ulrike had to work, so Thomas called up one of Laura's (one of his daughters...both of them were away this weekend so I didn't get to meet them) friends, Julia, to show me around Crimmitschau. We walked around the whole small city (took about 2.5 hours and she was running out of things to show me by the end). We saw the theatre, city hall, school, church, cemetary (saw my great-great-uncle's grave), and some villas. We also stopped for an ice cream, and I had nutella ice cream, which was FABULOUS. I returned to the house for lunch, which was chili and noodles. The noodles were interesting...they were really long skinny tubes...difficult to eat with chili. Tasty though. The rest of the day was just chillin around the house til I had to leave for my train (which was pretty late...I got back to Holzkirchen around 1:15 am).
Various things I noticed/found interesting this weekend:
-This was the first time I've met someone who never learned how to drive a car (my great great aunt, Maria). It was too expensive in the DDR, and by the time the wall fell, she was too old to bother with it.
-It was really interesting getting to know people who lived/grew up in the DDR--lots of different things...It's very different learning about it in a book/from news/movies and actually living through it.
-Thomas's car takes Gas. But not gas like we know it (gasoline). It is 60% butane, and 40% propane. It's cheaper than Benzine or Diesel (the two more common forms of fuel), and it is better for the environment, and you don't have to fill up as often. The only reason that everyone doesn't use it is because it costs 2-3000 Euros to make your car compatible.
-In Germany, when a kid is starting school, he/she receives a big cone-shaped bag filled with candy [Schultüten-- http://www.sights-and-culture.com/Germany/Customs/School-beginners.html ] (I learned this from Julia, as well as from my host family)
-All old people, wherever you are, are always trying to feed you.
Thats all for now, I gotta leave soon for a shooting range...more on that later!
This morning I went to mass with Ulrike and Thomas. It was pretty interesting; basically everything was the same, but in German. I felt accomplished that I could figure out the Gospel story--Mary Magdalene washing the apostle's feet. Pretty small, quaint church, with a capacity of maybe 50 or 60, and 30 or so people there. After church, we had chicken noodle soup, schnitzel, potatoes, and some weird veggies that I'm really not sure what they were, but they were tasty. After a short nap/chill-time/siesta, Thomas took me to Schloss Blankenhain, which was a small castle owned by a knight, that has since then been converted into a large open-air museum (consisting of several other buildings in the dorf). The big main part is a farming museum, but it also showed the life of the people who lived in the castle (the nursery had a kick-ass castle dollhouse), as well as various other things. Some of the other buildings were a brewery, an old school (lots of DDR stuff; young pioneers etc), and a windmill/miller's house. It was interesting. Then we went back and had some dinner and just chilled.
19.7.10--Crimmitschau, Zug
Today Thomas and Ulrike had to work, so Thomas called up one of Laura's (one of his daughters...both of them were away this weekend so I didn't get to meet them) friends, Julia, to show me around Crimmitschau. We walked around the whole small city (took about 2.5 hours and she was running out of things to show me by the end). We saw the theatre, city hall, school, church, cemetary (saw my great-great-uncle's grave), and some villas. We also stopped for an ice cream, and I had nutella ice cream, which was FABULOUS. I returned to the house for lunch, which was chili and noodles. The noodles were interesting...they were really long skinny tubes...difficult to eat with chili. Tasty though. The rest of the day was just chillin around the house til I had to leave for my train (which was pretty late...I got back to Holzkirchen around 1:15 am).
Various things I noticed/found interesting this weekend:
-This was the first time I've met someone who never learned how to drive a car (my great great aunt, Maria). It was too expensive in the DDR, and by the time the wall fell, she was too old to bother with it.
-It was really interesting getting to know people who lived/grew up in the DDR--lots of different things...It's very different learning about it in a book/from news/movies and actually living through it.
-Thomas's car takes Gas. But not gas like we know it (gasoline). It is 60% butane, and 40% propane. It's cheaper than Benzine or Diesel (the two more common forms of fuel), and it is better for the environment, and you don't have to fill up as often. The only reason that everyone doesn't use it is because it costs 2-3000 Euros to make your car compatible.
-In Germany, when a kid is starting school, he/she receives a big cone-shaped bag filled with candy [Schultüten-- http://www.sights-and-culture.com/Germany/Customs/School-beginners.html ] (I learned this from Julia, as well as from my host family)
-All old people, wherever you are, are always trying to feed you.
Thats all for now, I gotta leave soon for a shooting range...more on that later!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Hallo von Crimmitschau!
16.7.10--Holzkirchen, Zug, Crimmitschau
Not a whole lot happened in the first part of the day, just school and Italian food. Then I went to the train station, where I bought my ticket to Zwickau (a town near Crimmitschau, which is near Dresden) [only 117 Euro for both ways!]. I got on the train quickly, because it was leaving in 5 minutes, and had to walk through about 4 cars before I found a seat--next to Herr Keel and Werner, of all people. It was pretty ironic. It was really nice, because our ICE (inter-city express--really fast train) had working air conditioning (there´s a big fiasco on the news about that lately...the AC doesn´t work when it´s above a certain temperature outside...when you really need it). After an hour, I got off at Nürnberg, where I transferred to the RE (regional express) for the 3 hour ride. It was a bit warmer there, but still tolerable. After a fairly uneventful ride, I finally arrived in Zwickau, where Thomas (a cousin of some sort) met me and drove me to their house. We had Bratkartoffeln mit Quark, und auch sandwiches for dinner. Then we sat outside for a while and chilled. Before I went to sleep, I watched a bit of South Park auf Deutsch--Stan and Cartman have really weird voices...=/
17.7.10--Dresden, Crimmitschau
This morning I woke up, had some breakfast, and then we went to Dresden. It´s pretty cool there--a good blend of new and old. In 1945 the entire city was destroyed in an air raid, so it had to be completely rebuilt. After leaving it be for about 45 years, as a memory, in 1990 they rebuilt the Frauenkirche to look like it did. They used as many of the old stones they could (which isn´t much). It´s really interesting to see, because the new stones are all light, and the old ones are dark, so it´s easy to tell. We went up in the cupola, and saw a nice 360 panorama of the city. It was really nice, because for once, it had an elevator! But the elevator only went up partway, and then a long ramp for most of the part. It´s quite pretty inside. After the Frauenkirche, we went to the Catholic cathedral, where the bishop sits. The king of the time had it commissioned to look like a ship heading out to the Elbe, so its pretty cool. The king also had a special passageway from the castle to the church so he didn´t even have to go outside. Next, we walked through the courtyard of the Zwinger, and looked at all the pretty buildings and such...they had devils holding up the pillars, with very grotesque faces...pretty cool. After that, we went to the Residenzschloss, and went in the museum. There was some pretty cool stuff there. Various kings had stolen lots of stuff from around the world, or it was gifted, or conquered, etc, so there are many many things from around the world. Lots of porcelain sculptures, little pearl figurines, some ivory figures, etc. One room had tiny little sculptures from cherry pits. Another room had guestbooks from years past, and one for now that anyone can sign, so I did. Perhaps I´ll be part of the exhibit years from now. One of my favorite parts was the Turkish exhibit, with all the tents, weapons, and horse armor/decorations. Pretty cool stuff. Then we came back, and grilled up some dinner--some Wurst, Leberkase, usw. Lecker =)
Not a whole lot happened in the first part of the day, just school and Italian food. Then I went to the train station, where I bought my ticket to Zwickau (a town near Crimmitschau, which is near Dresden) [only 117 Euro for both ways!]. I got on the train quickly, because it was leaving in 5 minutes, and had to walk through about 4 cars before I found a seat--next to Herr Keel and Werner, of all people. It was pretty ironic. It was really nice, because our ICE (inter-city express--really fast train) had working air conditioning (there´s a big fiasco on the news about that lately...the AC doesn´t work when it´s above a certain temperature outside...when you really need it). After an hour, I got off at Nürnberg, where I transferred to the RE (regional express) for the 3 hour ride. It was a bit warmer there, but still tolerable. After a fairly uneventful ride, I finally arrived in Zwickau, where Thomas (a cousin of some sort) met me and drove me to their house. We had Bratkartoffeln mit Quark, und auch sandwiches for dinner. Then we sat outside for a while and chilled. Before I went to sleep, I watched a bit of South Park auf Deutsch--Stan and Cartman have really weird voices...=/
17.7.10--Dresden, Crimmitschau
This morning I woke up, had some breakfast, and then we went to Dresden. It´s pretty cool there--a good blend of new and old. In 1945 the entire city was destroyed in an air raid, so it had to be completely rebuilt. After leaving it be for about 45 years, as a memory, in 1990 they rebuilt the Frauenkirche to look like it did. They used as many of the old stones they could (which isn´t much). It´s really interesting to see, because the new stones are all light, and the old ones are dark, so it´s easy to tell. We went up in the cupola, and saw a nice 360 panorama of the city. It was really nice, because for once, it had an elevator! But the elevator only went up partway, and then a long ramp for most of the part. It´s quite pretty inside. After the Frauenkirche, we went to the Catholic cathedral, where the bishop sits. The king of the time had it commissioned to look like a ship heading out to the Elbe, so its pretty cool. The king also had a special passageway from the castle to the church so he didn´t even have to go outside. Next, we walked through the courtyard of the Zwinger, and looked at all the pretty buildings and such...they had devils holding up the pillars, with very grotesque faces...pretty cool. After that, we went to the Residenzschloss, and went in the museum. There was some pretty cool stuff there. Various kings had stolen lots of stuff from around the world, or it was gifted, or conquered, etc, so there are many many things from around the world. Lots of porcelain sculptures, little pearl figurines, some ivory figures, etc. One room had tiny little sculptures from cherry pits. Another room had guestbooks from years past, and one for now that anyone can sign, so I did. Perhaps I´ll be part of the exhibit years from now. One of my favorite parts was the Turkish exhibit, with all the tents, weapons, and horse armor/decorations. Pretty cool stuff. Then we came back, and grilled up some dinner--some Wurst, Leberkase, usw. Lecker =)
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Bavarian Dance Party!
14.7.10
Today we went to a dance hall, where we drank beer, ate butter pretzels, and watched lederhosen- and dirndl-clad people dance traditional Bavarian dances. We learned about the dances, as well as the costumes and their uses from an old Bavarian man with a very harsh Bayerisch dialect. After watching a few intense dances, some of which were performed by small children, they invited us to stand up and taught us a few, with beer breaks every so often. Some were fairly easy, especially if you had a German partner leading you, but others, especially the Schuhplattern, were quite complicated. For those Monty Python fans out there, the Schuhplattern is what the fish-slapping dance was based on. Basically, its a long string of hitting random parts of your body (mainly your legs) to the beat. Quite complicated, especially when you get into the long strings. The last dance was the most exciting looking, but sadly, I did not get to dance the whole thing, for I was not with a German partner, and my partner gave up because we were so lost =( I got quite a lot of the evening on video, but my battery ran out a few times, so I missed some parts. All in all, it was an amazing night; probably one of my favorites so far.
15.7.10
Today was pretty unexciting, basically just school, a movie (Rama Dama--pretty good and not as tragic film, until you get to the end, which is pretty nonexistant. No closure, whatsoever.), and a short trip to Munich to try and figure out my plans for this weekend. By the way, I am going to Crimmitschau to visit my dad's cousins, and they are going to show me around Dresden. Should be pretty fun. Right now, I am waiting for my clothes to dry so I can pack. All I really want to do is go to bed, because it is 1 am, but I must do this tonight, because I have to leave shortly after school tomorrow, so I can buy my train ticket and hop on said train. Haven't decided if I'm bringing my computer with, so I might not update until Monday night, at the earliest.
Today we went to a dance hall, where we drank beer, ate butter pretzels, and watched lederhosen- and dirndl-clad people dance traditional Bavarian dances. We learned about the dances, as well as the costumes and their uses from an old Bavarian man with a very harsh Bayerisch dialect. After watching a few intense dances, some of which were performed by small children, they invited us to stand up and taught us a few, with beer breaks every so often. Some were fairly easy, especially if you had a German partner leading you, but others, especially the Schuhplattern, were quite complicated. For those Monty Python fans out there, the Schuhplattern is what the fish-slapping dance was based on. Basically, its a long string of hitting random parts of your body (mainly your legs) to the beat. Quite complicated, especially when you get into the long strings. The last dance was the most exciting looking, but sadly, I did not get to dance the whole thing, for I was not with a German partner, and my partner gave up because we were so lost =( I got quite a lot of the evening on video, but my battery ran out a few times, so I missed some parts. All in all, it was an amazing night; probably one of my favorites so far.
15.7.10
Today was pretty unexciting, basically just school, a movie (Rama Dama--pretty good and not as tragic film, until you get to the end, which is pretty nonexistant. No closure, whatsoever.), and a short trip to Munich to try and figure out my plans for this weekend. By the way, I am going to Crimmitschau to visit my dad's cousins, and they are going to show me around Dresden. Should be pretty fun. Right now, I am waiting for my clothes to dry so I can pack. All I really want to do is go to bed, because it is 1 am, but I must do this tonight, because I have to leave shortly after school tomorrow, so I can buy my train ticket and hop on said train. Haven't decided if I'm bringing my computer with, so I might not update until Monday night, at the earliest.
Monday, July 12, 2010
Obersalzberg!!!--Bunker, Schnaps, and Salt!
11.7.10 (part 2)
So I didn't end up going to München yesterday, just chilled around, watched the game with my host dad. Netherlands lost, boo Spain! =( LOTS of yellow cards. It was pretty insane.
12.7.10--Obersalzberg
Today was soo fun! We took a 2 hour bus ride to Obersalzberg (not to be confused with Salzburg) [First experience on the autobahn!--this part was one of the first sections to be built and endorsed by Hitler, and he actually commissioned one of the parts just to get to his summer home]. First we went to Dokumentation Obersalzberg, which was a museum about Hitler´s summer home up in the alps and we also got to walk around an old bunker. We didn´t actuallz get to go up to the Eagle´s Nest, it was wayyy higher up the mountain than we were, and expensive, but the bunker was pretty cool. After that, we got back on the bus and drove on the Panorama Straße up the mountain, and then walked around a bit up on top. It was soooo pretty! We could see Salzburg, Austria, along with many other mountains and little towns and cows and sheep. So beautiful! We then got back on the bus and went to lunch, where I had Gebratene Laberkase mit Brotkartoffeln. Tasty. After lunch, we went to a schnaps distillery, which was pretty cool. We had a very short tour/description of how they make it, and then watched a short film about Enzian, which is the mountain flower that they ferment to make the schnaps. After the film, the tour ended in the gift shop (like Disneyworld!), where they brought out a big cart with 6 types of schnaps and many glasses full of each (enough for everyone) and told us to finish the cart. So everyone had at least 6 shots, plus you could try whatever else you wanted to taste. My favorites were the blood orange, peach, and HAZELNUT!! The hazelnut came in little wafer shotglasses coated with chocolate on the inside, so you could eat it. Yum. I also had half a shot of absinthe, cuz one of the girls didn´t want an entire one. Pretty interesting. After this tasty venture, we went down into a salt mine, which was SO FUN. We all had to wear these jumpsuits, which were so stylin. Then we took a little train down into the mine, until we reached a bigger cavern, where we exited, heard a little spiel about salt mines, and took an awesome slide down. We learned some more about salt mining, and all the little parts of the tour were very Disney-esque. Lots of led-light shows, magical-sounding chill music, etc. Very Epcot. We got to taste the wall, and I felt like I had eaten about 10 pretzels. We then rode across an underground salt lake on a boat, of course accompanied by another light show. At the end of that, we got to taste the water, which tasted like 25 more pretzels, on top of the previous 10. We then reached the "treasure room," where they had lots of interactive computery thingys so you can learn anything you ever wanted to know about salt. Next, we took a diagonal elevator thingy up a bit, learned some more, and took the train back to the entrance (they even had a fake cave-in! SO much like a Disney ride). The conductor gave us each a little canister of the salt they make there. The train ride, of course, ended up in the gift shop. We then went to dinner, where I had Currywurst mit Pommes. Such a great day =]
New photo album: Berlin, Part 1. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048894&id=1135320260&l=6e308f33d2
So I didn't end up going to München yesterday, just chilled around, watched the game with my host dad. Netherlands lost, boo Spain! =( LOTS of yellow cards. It was pretty insane.
12.7.10--Obersalzberg
Today was soo fun! We took a 2 hour bus ride to Obersalzberg (not to be confused with Salzburg) [First experience on the autobahn!--this part was one of the first sections to be built and endorsed by Hitler, and he actually commissioned one of the parts just to get to his summer home]. First we went to Dokumentation Obersalzberg, which was a museum about Hitler´s summer home up in the alps and we also got to walk around an old bunker. We didn´t actuallz get to go up to the Eagle´s Nest, it was wayyy higher up the mountain than we were, and expensive, but the bunker was pretty cool. After that, we got back on the bus and drove on the Panorama Straße up the mountain, and then walked around a bit up on top. It was soooo pretty! We could see Salzburg, Austria, along with many other mountains and little towns and cows and sheep. So beautiful! We then got back on the bus and went to lunch, where I had Gebratene Laberkase mit Brotkartoffeln. Tasty. After lunch, we went to a schnaps distillery, which was pretty cool. We had a very short tour/description of how they make it, and then watched a short film about Enzian, which is the mountain flower that they ferment to make the schnaps. After the film, the tour ended in the gift shop (like Disneyworld!), where they brought out a big cart with 6 types of schnaps and many glasses full of each (enough for everyone) and told us to finish the cart. So everyone had at least 6 shots, plus you could try whatever else you wanted to taste. My favorites were the blood orange, peach, and HAZELNUT!! The hazelnut came in little wafer shotglasses coated with chocolate on the inside, so you could eat it. Yum. I also had half a shot of absinthe, cuz one of the girls didn´t want an entire one. Pretty interesting. After this tasty venture, we went down into a salt mine, which was SO FUN. We all had to wear these jumpsuits, which were so stylin. Then we took a little train down into the mine, until we reached a bigger cavern, where we exited, heard a little spiel about salt mines, and took an awesome slide down. We learned some more about salt mining, and all the little parts of the tour were very Disney-esque. Lots of led-light shows, magical-sounding chill music, etc. Very Epcot. We got to taste the wall, and I felt like I had eaten about 10 pretzels. We then rode across an underground salt lake on a boat, of course accompanied by another light show. At the end of that, we got to taste the water, which tasted like 25 more pretzels, on top of the previous 10. We then reached the "treasure room," where they had lots of interactive computery thingys so you can learn anything you ever wanted to know about salt. Next, we took a diagonal elevator thingy up a bit, learned some more, and took the train back to the entrance (they even had a fake cave-in! SO much like a Disney ride). The conductor gave us each a little canister of the salt they make there. The train ride, of course, ended up in the gift shop. We then went to dinner, where I had Currywurst mit Pommes. Such a great day =]
New photo album: Berlin, Part 1. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048894&id=1135320260&l=6e308f33d2
Sunday, July 11, 2010
The Nürnburger and Paul der Krake
8/9.7.10
Not much happening recently...Thursday was just school and then chilling at home. Friday we ate at the delicious Italian place for lunch again; I had Salami (Pepperoni in America) pizza. Pepperoni here is peppers. Its interesting how the name changes. Later that night we went to a pub in town and just hung out and talked for a while. After that a few guys really wanted McDonald's, so we went there. I got chicken nuggets, and when they listed off the sauces that were available, instead of just your normal bbq or honey mustard, they also had curry!! So naturally that's what I got. It was better than the curry we had in the cafeteria one day, which is good. There's also a new sandwich in German McDonald's--the Nürnburger. We read an article about it in class. Basically, Nürnburg is famous for its little sausages--Rostbratwurst. They are about the size of breakfast sausage links. We actually had them the other day in the cafeteria, and they tasted exactly like breakfast sausages. But I wouldn´t trust the cafeteria to make things like how they actually taste. The Nürnburger consists of 3 of those little sausages on a ciabatta roll with mustard. According to the article, most Germans hate the regular burger bun because it´s too squishy, so the Nürnburger bun appeals to that. I personally haven´t tried it, but one of the other kids did and said it was pretty good.
10.7.10
So today I didn´t really do a lot, just kinda sat around. Later though, I went to Emily´s for the game, and we won!! 3rd place! What´s really awesome is that Paul the octopus (der Krake, auf deutsch) was right again. He´s correctly predicted all of Germany´s world cup games this year. Makes me want him to tell my future! (For those of you who have not heard of Paul, read this: http://g.sports.yahoo.com/
11.7.10
Today is another just sitting around day. The nice thing about these is that I get to sleep in (til 11:30! My sleeping-in skills are deteriorating....though it could be the constant yelling of the little kids who wake up at 6:30...). I might go to München later if I have time, but I have to do some homework first, so I don´t know if I´ll make it before the game [go Netherlands!!]. Not a whole lot going on really...tomorrow we are going to a salt mine, a schnapps distillery, and Hitler´s summer home. Should be a pretty fun, yet busy day.
Not much happening recently...Thursday was just school and then chilling at home. Friday we ate at the delicious Italian place for lunch again; I had Salami (Pepperoni in America) pizza. Pepperoni here is peppers. Its interesting how the name changes. Later that night we went to a pub in town and just hung out and talked for a while. After that a few guys really wanted McDonald's, so we went there. I got chicken nuggets, and when they listed off the sauces that were available, instead of just your normal bbq or honey mustard, they also had curry!! So naturally that's what I got. It was better than the curry we had in the cafeteria one day, which is good. There's also a new sandwich in German McDonald's--the Nürnburger. We read an article about it in class. Basically, Nürnburg is famous for its little sausages--Rostbratwurst. They are about the size of breakfast sausage links. We actually had them the other day in the cafeteria, and they tasted exactly like breakfast sausages. But I wouldn´t trust the cafeteria to make things like how they actually taste. The Nürnburger consists of 3 of those little sausages on a ciabatta roll with mustard. According to the article, most Germans hate the regular burger bun because it´s too squishy, so the Nürnburger bun appeals to that. I personally haven´t tried it, but one of the other kids did and said it was pretty good.
10.7.10
So today I didn´t really do a lot, just kinda sat around. Later though, I went to Emily´s for the game, and we won!! 3rd place! What´s really awesome is that Paul the octopus (der Krake, auf deutsch) was right again. He´s correctly predicted all of Germany´s world cup games this year. Makes me want him to tell my future! (For those of you who have not heard of Paul, read this: http://g.sports.yahoo.com/
11.7.10
Today is another just sitting around day. The nice thing about these is that I get to sleep in (til 11:30! My sleeping-in skills are deteriorating....though it could be the constant yelling of the little kids who wake up at 6:30...). I might go to München later if I have time, but I have to do some homework first, so I don´t know if I´ll make it before the game [go Netherlands!!]. Not a whole lot going on really...tomorrow we are going to a salt mine, a schnapps distillery, and Hitler´s summer home. Should be a pretty fun, yet busy day.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Vuvusadness
6.7.10--Holzkirchen
Today after school we went to the new mall in Holzkirchen--the HEP (I forget what it stands for). Well, I don't know if you can even really call it a mall....it's got about 10 stores, and 3 of them are grocery stores. They've got an electronics store, and you can scan a cd and sample most of them in the store, which is pretty cool. Bought 2 new cds--Lena and Juli. They're pretty good! Nothing else particularly exciting happened today. Watched Weiße Rose in film class, which was pretty depressing. Then again, all German movies/literature are depressing.
7.7.10--München
After school today we went to München for the public viewing of the semi-finals at the Olympic Stadium. A few of us went to an Irish pub and had cider, while the rest went to the English Garden to drink the beer they bought the other day. We ended up meeting up with them in the garden, which was really pretty. Fed some ducks, saw some naked people, and watched the river flow through the beautiful green scenery. Then we went to the Olympic Stadium, and this time we sat on the grass, maybe 10 feet from the screen. Pretty sweet. Not as exciting as the quarter finals, because Deutschland played like shit, but it was still fun. Next time we play is Saturday (vs Uruguay I think) for the 3rd place game. I'm really glad Herr Keel canceled first hour tomorrow on account of the game, I get to sleep some more =) Talk to you all later!
New photo album--Bonn und Mayschoß:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048518&id=1135320260&l=f44ab7efc2
Today after school we went to the new mall in Holzkirchen--the HEP (I forget what it stands for). Well, I don't know if you can even really call it a mall....it's got about 10 stores, and 3 of them are grocery stores. They've got an electronics store, and you can scan a cd and sample most of them in the store, which is pretty cool. Bought 2 new cds--Lena and Juli. They're pretty good! Nothing else particularly exciting happened today. Watched Weiße Rose in film class, which was pretty depressing. Then again, all German movies/literature are depressing.
7.7.10--München
After school today we went to München for the public viewing of the semi-finals at the Olympic Stadium. A few of us went to an Irish pub and had cider, while the rest went to the English Garden to drink the beer they bought the other day. We ended up meeting up with them in the garden, which was really pretty. Fed some ducks, saw some naked people, and watched the river flow through the beautiful green scenery. Then we went to the Olympic Stadium, and this time we sat on the grass, maybe 10 feet from the screen. Pretty sweet. Not as exciting as the quarter finals, because Deutschland played like shit, but it was still fun. Next time we play is Saturday (vs Uruguay I think) for the 3rd place game. I'm really glad Herr Keel canceled first hour tomorrow on account of the game, I get to sleep some more =) Talk to you all later!
New photo album--Bonn und Mayschoß:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048518&id=1135320260&l=f44ab7efc2
Monday, July 5, 2010
The Hills Are Alive with the Sound of Moosic...(and Bells)
4.7.10--Brauneck Berg
Happy 4th everyone! I celebrated the birth of our country by climbing a 1540 m mountain in Bavaria! It was pretty tough, but I'm really glad I did it and didn't wimp out and take the Seilbahn (lift--literally, cable train). It was quite an experience, and now I can put it on my list of accomplishments. =) It took about 3 1/2 hours, after we briefly went the wrong way and had to turn around. I was the last one there, but whatever, I enjoyed it. Slow and steady wins the race. There are lots of cows all over the mountains, and you can hear their bells from miles away. We stayed overnight in the Brauneck Gipfelhaus (Brauneck was the name of the mountain; Gipfel=peak, and Haus=house). It was fun; after a nap we explored a bit more, had dinner and a few drinks, and sat around a campfire and roasted marshmallows. The marshmallows here are werid...they roast differently/not as well. Perhaps its because it's less fake ingredients. Dunno. Also, apparently Germans don't normally roast marshmallows--usually only bread or sausage. Roasted marshmallows are definitely an American thing. It started raining, so we went inside, and after a bit of hanging out, we went to sleep. The girls were all sleeping in one room, and the boys in another. We had really really creaky bunk beds [and not just 2 beds per contraption, either--it was a mega bunk bed. The girls had 3 on the bottom, 3 on the top, with another regular (1 on top and bottom). The boys had 1 giant bed contraption with 14 or so on the bottom and top, respectively.] Anyways, the beds were really creaky, so everytime anyone moved even the slightest bit, it was super loud, so sleeping was difficult. It was alright though. Quite fun.
5.7.10--Brauneck Berg
Today after breakfast, we went on a short ~3 hour hike on some more mountains. We got up to 1712 m! Some of the views we got were so spectacular. I felt like spinning around and singing like Maria von Trapp, but then I would've fallen and plummeted to my death. It was awesome though, seeing the world from such a great height really puts a new perspective on things. It was really nice weather, quite foggy, but only on one side of the mountain, so the views weren't terribly ruined. It was only 60- or 70-something degrees, so although I was sweating, it was not from the heat. Much cooler than yesterday. Also slipperier, but whatever. I only fell twice. After a while, it started raining, but not too hard, so it was still bearable, if not pleasurable and refreshing. It wasn't until we took a break at an Alm (little cafe/restaurant/bar thing for hikers and hunters--lots of them all over the mountains) that I started to get cold because we were just sitting there in our cold sweat and cold rain. Then it cleared up and we resumed our hike, ending at the restaurant where we ate lunch. I had Kaiserschmarr'n, which literally means "emperor's mess." It was delicious--it consisted of cut up pancakes sprinkled with powdered sugar, with applesauce with lingonberries on top to dip it in. Tasty stuff. To drink, I had a Russ (Wiessbier-Cola) which was interesting, but also pretty tasty. When it first came, it looked like a coke float, because of the foam. After lunch, we took the Seilbahn back down the mountain, which only took 10-15 minutes, and we got to see our previous path from above. It was pretty crazy. On the drive back home, we went through Austria for a short bit, and then later I saw some more cows, along with some other animal, a yak or a buffalo or something. It was really hairy and had the big horns. Saw a few horses too, but mostly cows. Now I'm back home, and I've gotta finish up some homework for tomorrow. Bis später!
Also, I put up the next batch of photos: Köln!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048097&id=1135320260&l=9e06ecc617
Happy 4th everyone! I celebrated the birth of our country by climbing a 1540 m mountain in Bavaria! It was pretty tough, but I'm really glad I did it and didn't wimp out and take the Seilbahn (lift--literally, cable train). It was quite an experience, and now I can put it on my list of accomplishments. =) It took about 3 1/2 hours, after we briefly went the wrong way and had to turn around. I was the last one there, but whatever, I enjoyed it. Slow and steady wins the race. There are lots of cows all over the mountains, and you can hear their bells from miles away. We stayed overnight in the Brauneck Gipfelhaus (Brauneck was the name of the mountain; Gipfel=peak, and Haus=house). It was fun; after a nap we explored a bit more, had dinner and a few drinks, and sat around a campfire and roasted marshmallows. The marshmallows here are werid...they roast differently/not as well. Perhaps its because it's less fake ingredients. Dunno. Also, apparently Germans don't normally roast marshmallows--usually only bread or sausage. Roasted marshmallows are definitely an American thing. It started raining, so we went inside, and after a bit of hanging out, we went to sleep. The girls were all sleeping in one room, and the boys in another. We had really really creaky bunk beds [and not just 2 beds per contraption, either--it was a mega bunk bed. The girls had 3 on the bottom, 3 on the top, with another regular (1 on top and bottom). The boys had 1 giant bed contraption with 14 or so on the bottom and top, respectively.] Anyways, the beds were really creaky, so everytime anyone moved even the slightest bit, it was super loud, so sleeping was difficult. It was alright though. Quite fun.
5.7.10--Brauneck Berg
Today after breakfast, we went on a short ~3 hour hike on some more mountains. We got up to 1712 m! Some of the views we got were so spectacular. I felt like spinning around and singing like Maria von Trapp, but then I would've fallen and plummeted to my death. It was awesome though, seeing the world from such a great height really puts a new perspective on things. It was really nice weather, quite foggy, but only on one side of the mountain, so the views weren't terribly ruined. It was only 60- or 70-something degrees, so although I was sweating, it was not from the heat. Much cooler than yesterday. Also slipperier, but whatever. I only fell twice. After a while, it started raining, but not too hard, so it was still bearable, if not pleasurable and refreshing. It wasn't until we took a break at an Alm (little cafe/restaurant/bar thing for hikers and hunters--lots of them all over the mountains) that I started to get cold because we were just sitting there in our cold sweat and cold rain. Then it cleared up and we resumed our hike, ending at the restaurant where we ate lunch. I had Kaiserschmarr'n, which literally means "emperor's mess." It was delicious--it consisted of cut up pancakes sprinkled with powdered sugar, with applesauce with lingonberries on top to dip it in. Tasty stuff. To drink, I had a Russ (Wiessbier-Cola) which was interesting, but also pretty tasty. When it first came, it looked like a coke float, because of the foam. After lunch, we took the Seilbahn back down the mountain, which only took 10-15 minutes, and we got to see our previous path from above. It was pretty crazy. On the drive back home, we went through Austria for a short bit, and then later I saw some more cows, along with some other animal, a yak or a buffalo or something. It was really hairy and had the big horns. Saw a few horses too, but mostly cows. Now I'm back home, and I've gotta finish up some homework for tomorrow. Bis später!
Also, I put up the next batch of photos: Köln!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2048097&id=1135320260&l=9e06ecc617
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Weltmeisterschaft Public Viewing!!
3.7.10--München
Today a bunch of us went to the Olympic Stadium in München for Public Viewing of the quarterfinals game--Germany vs. Argentina. It was very exciting, and there were SO MANY people. So much energy and pride and craziness. I truly wish the US cared at least 1/4 as much as the Germans about the world cup. It's so cool to have the entire country united under one team, all cheering for the same people. The ticket to get in was 6 Euros, but then each ticket came with a free drink, so it was really only like 2 Euro to get in. Germany won 4-0, and totally owned the 2nd half. It was crazy. Then on the train ride home, all the people were screaming and singing and jumping around...ridiculously awesome. One kid had a megaphone and was leading the group. Crazy shit. After we got back, me, Divesh, and Ian went to the Italian place to eat, and we had Spaghetti Eis for dessert, which was yummy =)
Tomorrow is our overnight hiking trip, which should be awesome. What won't be awesome is that from Sunday afternoon all the way through the entirety of Monday, it's supposed to rain. Ick. I hope the forecast is incorrect.
Today a bunch of us went to the Olympic Stadium in München for Public Viewing of the quarterfinals game--Germany vs. Argentina. It was very exciting, and there were SO MANY people. So much energy and pride and craziness. I truly wish the US cared at least 1/4 as much as the Germans about the world cup. It's so cool to have the entire country united under one team, all cheering for the same people. The ticket to get in was 6 Euros, but then each ticket came with a free drink, so it was really only like 2 Euro to get in. Germany won 4-0, and totally owned the 2nd half. It was crazy. Then on the train ride home, all the people were screaming and singing and jumping around...ridiculously awesome. One kid had a megaphone and was leading the group. Crazy shit. After we got back, me, Divesh, and Ian went to the Italian place to eat, and we had Spaghetti Eis for dessert, which was yummy =)
Tomorrow is our overnight hiking trip, which should be awesome. What won't be awesome is that from Sunday afternoon all the way through the entirety of Monday, it's supposed to rain. Ick. I hope the forecast is incorrect.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Various Excursions; Having to do with Beer, Bikes, and Lakes.
1.7.10--Holzkirchen und München
So today we had school, ate some lunch, watched a movie, etc. Didn't understand this movie/like it as much as Tuesday's, but oh well. You win some, you lose some. After a short break, we all met up again to go to München. Herr Keel gave us a small guided tour of the Altstadt (old town), and then we went to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner--good, but huge, loud, and touristy. They serve beer only in the liter size (ein Mas), but its tasty. I had Bockwurst mit Kartoffelnsalat, and it was a pretty small meal. Didn't really matter though, cuz the size of the beer made up for it. Got apple streudel for dessert, and it was yummy. There was a live german band playing, and after a while, a few of the guys decided they were gonna ask some girls to dance, so they went up to them, and started dancing, and found out they were from Arkansas (where 2 of the guys are from) and go to U of Arkansas (where those 2 go to school). Small world.
2.7.10--Holzkirchen und Kirchsee
Today we had class, and then instead of eating in the cafeteria, we went to an Italian restaurant--Da Tosto. Delicious! Much much better than the sub-par cafeteria food. After lunch, a few of us took our bikes and rode ~45 minutes (10.5 km=6.5 miles) up and down a bunch of hills to get to the Kirchsee, which was really nice. Although it had mosquitos, it was pretty, and it was really nice to go swimming. It was also pretty shallow, by where we were, the deepest was probably 10 feet. We swam across the lake to the other dock, and then back, and then we just swam around, and had some fun. After a while, we rode back. Sadly, my host mom's bike was a bit too short for me, and I couldn't adjust the seat without a wrench, so it was really tiring. I ended up walking up all the hills and riding down (sooooo much fun!!!). And now, I am doing laundry for the first time. Yay clean clothes!
By the way, I put up the first round of pics... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2047766&id=1135320260&l=86fabbd0f6
So today we had school, ate some lunch, watched a movie, etc. Didn't understand this movie/like it as much as Tuesday's, but oh well. You win some, you lose some. After a short break, we all met up again to go to München. Herr Keel gave us a small guided tour of the Altstadt (old town), and then we went to the Hofbräuhaus for dinner--good, but huge, loud, and touristy. They serve beer only in the liter size (ein Mas), but its tasty. I had Bockwurst mit Kartoffelnsalat, and it was a pretty small meal. Didn't really matter though, cuz the size of the beer made up for it. Got apple streudel for dessert, and it was yummy. There was a live german band playing, and after a while, a few of the guys decided they were gonna ask some girls to dance, so they went up to them, and started dancing, and found out they were from Arkansas (where 2 of the guys are from) and go to U of Arkansas (where those 2 go to school). Small world.
2.7.10--Holzkirchen und Kirchsee
Today we had class, and then instead of eating in the cafeteria, we went to an Italian restaurant--Da Tosto. Delicious! Much much better than the sub-par cafeteria food. After lunch, a few of us took our bikes and rode ~45 minutes (10.5 km=6.5 miles) up and down a bunch of hills to get to the Kirchsee, which was really nice. Although it had mosquitos, it was pretty, and it was really nice to go swimming. It was also pretty shallow, by where we were, the deepest was probably 10 feet. We swam across the lake to the other dock, and then back, and then we just swam around, and had some fun. After a while, we rode back. Sadly, my host mom's bike was a bit too short for me, and I couldn't adjust the seat without a wrench, so it was really tiring. I ended up walking up all the hills and riding down (sooooo much fun!!!). And now, I am doing laundry for the first time. Yay clean clothes!
By the way, I put up the first round of pics... http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2047766&id=1135320260&l=86fabbd0f6
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