August 07, 2007
Sat & Sun 28-29. JulyWe headed out for a quick trip to Berlin. There were several groups from the program going together, so we made quite a few people. The first train we had seats, the 10 minute transfer train we definitely were squished to standing room, and the 3rd, longest train we were on the stairs and floor. The first pick is the first 1/2 of the stairs, there is another set going up to the second level. I sat on the floor next to the door and the group of cyclists drinking Champaigne at 10 am. And no they didn't share.
The second pic is our Hostel. It was pretty nice, and really cheap. Our group took up 6 of the 8 bunks, so we were quite the cozy family. Fortunately, the bathroom and shower is inside the big room, so you share it with roommates (possibly and most likely people you don't know, but in this case not), no need to go down the hall.
Pic 3 is our view out the window of the Hostel. Beautiful eh? Well it should be. It's a painting on the side of a building. We were only on the second floor, and looking out the window was like looking into the streets of New York. In fact Berlin was VERY similar to New York, only everyone prefered to speak German (most people could speak english better than I speak German).
#4 is the Brandenberg Gate....does it need more explaination? It's spectacular. We saw the piece of the remaining wall, it's a bit of a walk from the gates and rathaus. We also visited the new Holocaust Memorial and the University where Einstein attended. We actually had pretty good weather. We ate at the Hardrock Berlin, the only restaurant in Germany that Ice has been served in a drink without asking. And for all of you wondering.... most drinks are served COLD here! No warm soda. It's summer people! No one in their right mind wants a warm beverage. Even beer in Germany is served cold to cool (depending on the kind). I've been told be my new friends that beer was only served warm in the past because refrigeration was so expensive!
The fifth pic is a little bar across the street from two very popular clubs. We decided to pre party there. While we sat, we watched several policecars pull up to each of the clubs and decided that our little bar was perfect. from left to right: Jael, Azia, Felicity, Kathryn and Amanda. Felicity and Kathryn were the other two occupying the free bunks in our room. They are from England and N Ireland. Kick ass accents.
The last pic is me standing at Checkpoint Charlie. I had to Pay 1 EU to stand with the guards and get my pic taken, but that's ok. I also had my passport stamped with the old West and East Germany stamps and the Checkpoint charlie one!!!! wahoo!
Friday 27. July
We headed to the West Coast of Schleswig-Holstein, which is the North See. It was really really cold that day! I have on 3 jacket in the picture of me- i look slightly like a marhmallow. It was raining very very hard. We went through the Watts (muck/mud) earlier in the trip, but I didn't take my camera out, I was afraid to drop it. I was muddy to my ankles. The first pick it a coastal town. The pole is the measurements of the highest floods they have had in recorded history. The hightest one was only in the mid 70'a.
The second picture is the boardwalk that takes you out to the Watts. I'm on the final steps of the board walk in the next pic. It usually is mud- where they're naturally building new land (something that astonishes me and I will explain it if you want later)- however the wind was blowing so hard that low tide was still 2 ft deep.
The last pic is a fair in Friedrichstein. I'm not sure what festival. The music was hokey classic german, and we had a grand time eating crepes and diving in and out of the flee market tents whenever a flash storm hit!
Thursday, 26. July
We don't really go out so much on weeknights, but apparently this night was special! We went the a Beer Garden called the Forstbaumshule. It's the biggest one in Kiel, with some of the best Dunkel Weissen (dark Hefe). It was pretty cold outside and there was a live band singing really American songs with pretty thick German accents--classic!
How the name "Beer Garden" came about: once a long while ago, beer was stored in Kegs buried in the ground. Why? Breweries were only brewed during certain seasons...like when hops were available. They would make enough to have all year. Many placed didn't have basements big enough-or basements at all- so they buried their beer. It was easier to tap the beer underground than to dig it up, so people would go outside to drink their beer. The area would many times have some type of garden or vegetation. Thus Beer Garden! This isn't completely accurate, it's the story I was told- in german- on my second day here....there may be some myth and mistranslation!
July 26, 2007
Well we went on a mandatory outing Tuesday. Everywhere we went was totally interesting, but we had three tours in one day. By the time we got to the castle we were all completely exhausted. Which KC and the gang are demonstrating in the picture. We went to a town called Schlewig. The first stop was the Viking museum. The only tough thing about it is that everything is in German. It can be a little frustrating trying to read about a display when you don't have the vocabulary for it. The church above was sweet. The first picture is the view from the top of the bell tower (also shown). I have clips of me descending the spiral staircase. It was dark and a tight spiral. There were so many steps it took 4 separate shots all the way down. click here to see one of them: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=14127818. Not to mention that we all had to stop periodically to regain our balance. The staircase has a serious dizzying effect.
The picture of the watch is from the castle, dating about 1700. It only has one hand on it. My kind of watch. Apparently there was a time when the 'minute' didn't matter. As long as you made it within the hour you weren't considered late at all. Sweet eh?
We had our midterm party last night. Just a BBQ at the other dorm building. I didn't take any pictures there. I didn't think of it all. But so far so good!
We're going to the West coast tomorrow-hope it doesn't rain- and to Berlin Saturday!
July 23, 2007
Today was pretty average. Classes and more classes. My German Tutor cooked a german meal for me and two other students last night, so we decided to cook her an american meal. We chose french toast and hashbrowns. We made it pretty party like and invited everyone living in the dorms to come eat. Amazing how one of the most American meal I could think of was called "french" toast. For the most part she liked it, but thought it odd we would serve something so sweet with potatoes. **by the way, I'm kick ass at making hashbrowns and french toast now.
I didn't take any pictures of the party, but it was nice to have a real meal- even whith nearly 20 people squished into a 15X15 kitchen. It's a really good break from Döner Kabob-which is really popular, but is actually Turkish. They're amazing. I took a picture of the meat cooking at one of the shops, but I don't know where I saved it (this picture is much more appealing anyway!).
This was my view from the beach while waiting to go sailing the other day....jealous aren't you?
Well don't be. It rained hard the next day and today was only 71 for a high. It might be a good break for ya'll though, I hear it's still blazing in the big SLC!
July 22, 2007
Today has been a pretty chill day. It's Sunday and it's raining. Sunday's here are worse than at home. Absolutely everything is closed. There are a few restaurants and the gas stations. There isn't even a grocery store open on Sunday's. At least not in Kiel. They say that there are a few open in Hamburg-but it's a long ride for a loaf of bread! Not a big deal however, I have quite a bit of homework to do for tomorrow morning.
These are obviously pictures of my room. It's actually not bad at all. I have my own bathroom and the building provided a pillow and blanket (the matching ones). I have my own pillow though, the ones they provided were quite odd. The kitchen is down the hall. We all spend a lot of time there since the rooms are small. There isn't much airflow unless you open your door and your window, so we all spend a lot of time with our doors open. It seems to be an invitation for anyone passing to come on in. Most times it's OK, but sometimes all I want is a little circulation minus the company.
July 21, 2007
Thursday:
So sorry I haven't posted in a few days....i've been quite busy! The first to pictures are from Thursday. I went with my tutor and her friend to a club called the Max. Besides the fact that I was plastered and mostly likely made a fool of myself, I had a great time! The next picture is a view of the club from a stage area. The club was huge and it was packed. However, Germans don't rub up against each other like they do in america---it's really really nice to not have to fight off guys all night.
Friday:
I don't have a picture for Friday up, but a couple of us went to Hamburg. We went to a little borough called Veddel (it's an old holding town where emmigrants had to stay before their ship departed). One of the students needed to look up some family history to help her mom out. We spent most of the time on the Subway- mostly because we missed the stop and had to turn around! But we eventually made it into the main city. There are tons of designer shops all over! Too expensive for me, so I just looked. I did find a bag of killer Grapefruit Tea- it's delicious! We at dinner at a restaurant right on the water too. Besides the rain it wasn't too bad. We did see a group of site seers all riding 2-wheeled thingers. I have no idea what their called. They were on a tour- looked fun, but way too touristy for me.
Hamburg is only 1.5 hours by train from Kiel, so I'll probably go back. The Kiel Students go to Hamburg for the clubs pretty often.
Saturday:
We went on a sailing trip with the University of Kiel sailing team. Pretty much it was just a kick ass 2 hour boat ride. We tried to help a little, and I got to steer, but mostly we just relaxed and enjoyed a beautiful day on the water! The life vests we wore were super old school. They zipped up and clasped around the center- like most life jackets. But they also had 2 strings you had to put between your legs so the vest would go above your head if you fell in. I know why they were there, but the way they attached was hilarious----I guess you had to be there!
July 17, 2007
This is the bike I've been riding to and from classes. It's an awesome piece of early 90's technology. At the moment the seat is up as high as possible and my legs are still crunched when I pedal. Most of the people here walk, bus or ride a bike. There are a lot of cars, don't get me wrong... really nice BMW's and Mercedes and what not, but there is very little room to park. In lots of places the cars are on the sidewalk when the street is too narrow. Even the grocery store has only 10 spaces for parkinglot style parking.
The bike ride to school this morning was tough. It's all up hill (inland) to the university. With only 3 gears and a back pedal brake.... you get the idea. 90% of the people i've seen have been in amazing shape. I feel like a blob trying to ride my bike up a small incline. The ride is only about 12 minutes, by the end of the week I plan on being able to make it to class without panting.
Coming back the dorms is easy, all downhill. It's the perfect time to stop for errands. There isn't a gorcery store that carries everything. Nothing like a walmart or target here. Food is at the Aldi, it has a few other things like TP and papertowels. Maybe some dish soap, laundry detergent, and to my surprise, a few office supplie- but not much! There are stores similar to Walgreens, only without the pharmacie. There is another place for that. The pharmacies here are amazing! You walk in and talk to the Pharmacist about your ailments. Right there at the store they prescribe the medicine and sell it. You pay full price in most cases, but skip the price of a doctors visit. They say that pharmacists here know more than the doctors about cures- doctors are for plastic surgery and broken bones.
July 16, 2007
Monday:
Well, I'm an idiot and can't figure out how to post this pic right side up. Which could be a problem later on.
This is one of the many clock towers in the city. They are everywhere. There really isn't a need for a watch, the buses have clocks (the bus system is awesome by the way). This specific clock tower is significant however. It is right at the intersection of the buildings we use for classes and check-in at the University. It's the only pink one I've seen and the only landmark I knew for the first few days. When I saw this clock I knew to get of the bus, or I had finally stumbled in the right direction.
I can now get anywhere from this clock. Most of the buses run through this section of campus, so it's easy. I did rent a bike today instead. It's a little easier to get around. However the bike is probably older than me. I'll get a pic of that next for sure.
We were told to meet infront of our dorms Sunday morning at 9:30 for an orientation. The bus picked us up, but we were not really ready to spend the whole day touring the city. We saw some beautiful churches and landmarks. I didn't post the pics, I figured they may be good on a regular school day post. We did have a class orientation first thing and then a lunch. After which we headed on a foot tour of the city. About 3:30 -which makes several hours of walking, we got onto a ferry that took us up the ford (not sure how to spell it in english sounds: feeyord) to a beach called Shilksee. Happens to be the same beach we went to the day before- only it was getting cloudy and we weren't dressed for it. The timing was perfect for a nap. The boys: Michael, Tom and Vance dozed while Jennifer and I goofed off with my camera. I haven't been much of a sleeper so far. There's too much to see!
After a quick tour of the pier and the sailing yachts belonging to the school, we were freed for an hour or so to walk around or swim. Kiel hosts a huge sailing week every year. There are sailboats everywhere in the water, so many the ferry was dodging them.
After another quick bus ride, we were suprised by a grand feast at a rented mansion. This place was huge!!!!!! The picture doesn't even do it justice!!!!! At least we were fed with good german food all day long!! Go free food!
We had a free day Saturday. It was kind of odd to be left alone in a foreign country, however we managed just fine. We hit the grocery store first. Germany is super into recycling and renewable energy, which means you bring your own bags. We knew that part. The part we didn't know was that Germans are very fast people. While you are paying you are expected to bag it yourself while people are telling you to hurry and you don't really understand. It was surely stressful the first time!
However we found the beach! Kiel is right on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It's about a 20 minute bus ride from our dorms. It's a straight shot-or would have been if we were on the right bus. We road teh 91 line to the end. The driver turned around and said "schwimmen gehen?" and we said yes. He more or less told us we were on the wrong bus and told us 502 instead. That bus was a straight shot.
Everyone we spoke to said we were lucky. It has been raining her for the last month. However, we had 25-27 degree C weather. Which is hot. Not Utah hot, but about 85-90 F. Plus it's very humid here, so it feels sticky. The beach was nice. The water was really really cold. Like 42-45 F cold. There is also a lot of jellyfish. Moslty they're harmless. Ther plain ones are OK. The ones with red tenticles are not. The kids play with them on the beach. Mind you 1/3 of the children don't wear bathing suits and the adults change onthe beach no problem. But is was fun none-the-less. Only a few minutes after getting back to the dorms there was a downpoor. Happens here nearly every day about 5 pm. The germans say we are on the start of a heat wave and are glad. The rest of us liked it in the 60's and 70's.!!!!
It's been a few days since I arrived here in Germany, but I'm just getting the chance to post my first day pictures. Mostly because I lacked internet connection until today.
These are some pictures from the airport in Newark. We arrived at the airpot in SLC about 4 am...this was taken about 5 pm- and our first real meal for the day. Besides the fact the airport was huge, there were lots of places to eat thankfully. It was a super 50's looking restaraunt, not sure about its name- and the first place where I haven't been carded for alcohol in the state. Germany is another story.
The actual travel time was about 21 hours, including layovers and bus time. With three different flights, I can tell you having the longest one last was the hardest. Coming home will be a breeze. I sat almost 8 hours in the same place on the flight, thankfully sleeping most of the way.
Our plane landed in Hamburg at 7:14 am. It was pretty cloudy and only 14 degrees C- which is about 50-55... i'm still not sure on the conversion. We were planning on meeting a few of the other students at the Hamburg train station mid morning, but Amanda had food motion sickness so bad she threw up out by the bus pick up. We decided to head to the dorms. After 2 trips on the bus and 500 meter walk carrying 2 suitcases and a backpack, we finally found our dorms. I didn't stay at them for the day, one of the other kids had been in Kiel a few days and I asked him to go exploring with me....That we did----however the stories of the pirate ship and love center are for another day.
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