There's no specific point to this post, haven't been on any trips recently, just wanted to record some of my favorite memories that haven't found their way into other posts. For lack of a better alternative, I'll arrange them chronologically. Here goes:
-I mentioned this in my Karneval posts, but I just want to go back and reflect on the fact that for several weeks of my life I couldn't go out without seeing at least one person in costume (and usually an older person at that) or coming upon a random drumming/marching band, strolling through the park or streets practicing for Karneval. It really was an atmosphere unlike anything I have ever experienced, and certainly helped to do away with any lingering stereotypes I had of "uptight" Germans.
-Caroline and I went to the same Doener stand in Bad Godesberg so often (and always got the same thing), that when we walked in the guy would just start making the usual, and looked terribly confused the one time I stopped him and said I wanted falafel instead of chicken.
-While I was at the Goethe-Institute Ash Wednesday came around (which is, of course, the point of Karneval, but Karneval gets a heck of a lot more emphasis), so I went to church and got the standard cross of ashes on the forehead, which I wore for the rest of the day. Never before has this elicited so much confusion from the people around me. In America, I feel like the majority of the population, at least based on what I've experienced so far, knows what's up when they see the ashes, or at least once you say "It's Ash Wednesday" it'll click. But my friends at the Goethe-Institute, from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and elsewhere had no idea what was going on. One of my friends thought it was dirt and reached over to try to rub it off. When I told him it was Ash Wednesday I was met only with a blank stare. So I spent most of the rest of the day trying to explain, in German, what Ash Wednesday was and why we had to get ashes put on our forehead. I'm not sure everything was totally clear in the end, but it was actually a really cool experience to explain part of my religion to people who had never really been exposed to it before.
-During my last week in Bonn I decided to surprise visit Pascal just for one night, because when I went to Tuebingen we wouldn't be able to see each other for awhile. So I hopped on a train, finally got to his house (stupid train delays), stood outside on the street and called him to tell him to look out the window. I was worried that he might have suspected it, because I'm really bad at being sneaky and hiding things, but judging from the state of his room and his facial hair, I would say the surprise aspect was successful.
-On one of my last evenings in Bonn I went with my friend Anais to a cafe. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but the Germans are obsessed with eating outside. For them, this is not just a summer activity. Unless it's actively precipitating, the terrace is open for business, with heat lamps and blankets to stay warm with. Now, this just seems crazy to me. If it's less than 70 degrees out just eat inside already! But I suppose one reason might be that most restaurants and cafes are fairly small with limited indoor space, so they probably want to squeeze in as many tables and customers as possible. Anyways, since it was a balmy 37 degrees, Anais and I decided to try this whole sitting outside business, so we got a table and wrapped ourselves up in the provided blankets, and, I have to admit, it was surprisingly comfortable. As I, an American, sat with a girl from France, sipping hot chocolate and speaking in German, I thought "this is why I studied abroad."
-For some reason, nobody seems to be able to place my accent when I speak German. The kids at the elementary school I volunteered at thought I was either Russian or British, and my teacher for my language course in Tuebingen told me I had a slight French accent. I've also gotten Australian as a guess, but almost never American. A guy who recently moved into my dorm even thought I was German. Score!
-Along the same line as accents, I've heard some really funny English here. I occasionally speak english with some of my international friends because they want to practice their english, and of course they all have some degree of accent. But what's really amusing is when they mess up the vocabulary, such as when my (male) friend said "I need to douche myself" instead of "I need to take a shower." Or when my friend from Columbia told our other friend to quit cracking his knuckles, because it's "bad for your conjunctions." Not that I've ever said anything wrong in German...
-I mentioned before the soccer hooligans we encountered in the train, but I just want to emphasize how big a part of the culture soccer is here (as is true basically throughout Europe and most of the rest of the world). Multiple times I've been on the train and the conductor will announce the final or halftime scores of whatever games are going on at the time, even though these are just regular league games and not even part of the play-offs or anything.
-Some of my favorite memories have involved meeting old people at bars. At the Hofbrauhaus in Munich I met a 50-something-year-old lady who, along with her husband, are "regulars" there. I could barely understand her because of the Bavarian accent (she started off in full Bavarian and I asked her if she could speak "High German" because I didn't understand; it wasn't much of an improvement), but nonetheless we had about an hour-long conversation about traditional foods in different parts of the country, interrupted only by the "Prost-ing" (cheers) that is obligatory at the Hofbrauhaus and basically occurs every time somebody takes a drink. When I spent the week in Blaubeuren with my language course we went to a tiny bar and met some locals; this time the dialect of choice was Swabian (which is not much easier to understand than Bavarian). They were rather intoxicated and had a grand old time teaching us Swabian slang and asking us hilarious questions about American. For example: "Is Arnold Schwarzenegger going to be the next president?"
-And of course I meet the best people on trains. From the old lady with the very smelly wiener dog that kept running away to the 30-something guy who took advantage of a train delay to talk to me for an hour about urine disposal, tap water systems and how Germany could use "Bio-gas" from bathrooms and outhouses to solve the energy crisis, to the elderly gentleman who went to the counter and complained when we missed our connection due to a delay and ended up getting us new tickets plus some free coupons (and who then talked my ear off about his work in the Neurology Clinic, which I don't think I would have understood even in English), trains and train stations certainly allow you an interesting glimpse into a culture.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Dronningen længe leve!
For all of you who don't speak Danish (and I'm pretty sure that's everybody reading this blog), the title translates as "Long live the Queen!" Denmark, like the United Kingdom, is a constitutional monarchy, and the current queen, Margrethe, has been on the throne since 1972. She's also very popular with the Danes, as I found out when I accidentally stumbled into her birthday celebration. It was my first full day in Copenhagen and I was wandering around and sightseeing on my own, because my friend Marie was in class. I turned a corner onto the street that passes by the royal palace, Amalienborg (basically the equivalent of Buckingham), when I was suddenly confronted by marching guards in full dress uniform and tons of people carrying Danish flags. They all were headed into the square in front of the palace, so when I overheard some people next to me speaking English I asked them what was going on. They replied that it was the Queen's Birthday, so she was going to come out on the balcony in a few minutes and wave at the crowd. Figuring I couldn't pass up the chance to see some real live royals, I let myself be swept along by the crowd. At 12:00 she and the rest of the royal family came out, they waved, everybody cheered, the band played, and I took pictures. So I have officially seen the Queen of Denmark.
Besides this obvious highlight, the trip to Copenhagen was probably one of my favorite trips ever. I loved Copenhagen; the architecture, the culture, the museums were all fantastic. And it was really fun to have Marie show me around, because she actually lives there (she's Danish), so she was a great tour guide. Plus I got to do cool things like go in the bell tower of the church she works at, and have dinner with people from her dorm. And Marie is also probably the sweetest person I have ever met; she cooked me dinner and breakfast, made me tea, and was just so excited to show me around her home. I stayed with Marie the first two days and night, and then I went to meet my second cousin Ally, who goes to Kansas State but is doing a semester abroad in Copenhagen. We'd never met before, and it was actually thanks to this blog that we connected in this first place (my dad posted on the family website and her mom saw and told her). Luckily, we got along great and had a blast doing a little more sightseeing and going out with some of her exchange student friends.
Guards marching towards the Palace for the Queen's Birthday. This is what I ran into when I came around the corner.
Long live the Queen! This day also allowed an interesting cultural comparison to Germany: all over the city the Danish flag was flying on every building and as evidenced by these pictures many people were carrying small flags and banners as well. It was such a striking contrast to Germany, where you almost never see the flag (patriotism is a tricky topic in Germany due to that whole business with the Nazis).
And there's the lady herself! (in the pink scarf). Much huzzah-ing and cheering ensued.
Kastellet, an island with old army barracks; Windmills: they're not just for Holland.
Tivoli Gardens, a famous (and old, founded in 1843) amusement park in downtown Copenhagen.
Town Hall; House of Parliament
Underwater sculpture (I don't know if it was ended to be underwater, or just ended up that way at some point); inside the bell tower of Marie's church
The Round Tower (used to be a conservatory); views from the top of the tower
Marie and me
Middle picture: the palace where I saw the Queen
Church tower with cool outdoor staircase; view out of a church window; the Black Diamond, part of the National Library
Two views of Nyhavn, a promenade with lots of cafes and restaurants
cruising around the harbor on the ferry
the Marble Church, the Opera House and one of Copenhagen's many canals as seen from the ferry
Walking through the park with Marie; some palace; Marie's dorm
Christiania is basically this hippie commune right in the middle of Copenhagen. Squatters took over some old army buildings in the 70s and established their own community. The government decided to leave them alone as a "social experiment", though lately they've been cracking down more and have even conducted a few raids. What Christiania is most notorious for, though, is the open sale of marijuana. Until 2004 it was sold openly in stands on "Pusher Street", the main road in the commune (for pedestrians only though, no motorized vehicles are allowed in Christiania). The government finally put a stop to that and now sellers just walk around displaying their wares or sell them from tables outside the couple cafes on Pusher Street. It was certainly an interesting experience to walk through there.
Pretty little lake in Christiania; clandestine picture of some of the graffiti. You're not supposed to take pictures inside of Christiania, in order to protect the identities of the people who live there (because of their engagement in questionably legal activities, such as selling drugs).
The botanical gardens; inside the Palm House (very humid); at the club with Ally
Also thanks to Ally, I got to go to Legoland! For those not in the know, Legoland is a theme park in Billund, Denmark that's based around Legos (Lego is a Danish company, btw). There are now Legolands in Germany and California as well, but the original is of course the best. As a theme park, it's pretty much geared to the 10 and under crowd, so it doesn't have any amazing rides or anything, but the real attraction is the section of the park dedicated to Lego models. They have models of everything, from the Royal Palace in Copenhagen to Angkor Wat to the Statue of Liberty. A lot of the models are motorized too, such as the boats that move around "Amsterdam" or the space shuttle that goes through a countdown and spews steam as it "takes off." It's astonishing to see what can be done with Legos, and also makes one wonder how many man-hours went into building those things, how one gets a job like that. What was also cool about the Legoland trip was that we (me plus other mostly american students who are part of the same Study Abroad Institute as Ally) took the bus there and back, and since Legoland is about 2.5 hours away from Copenhagen, in the southwest of Denmark, we actually got to see a lot of the Danish countryside, which was beautiful. I completely fell in love with Denmark and pretty much the only thing preventing me from moving there is the insanely high taxes they have to pay (which can be as much as 65% of income). Nowhere's perfect, is it?
2.1 million Legos in this model! 2.1 MILLION!!!!!!!!!
Miniatures of Nyhavn and Amalienborg Palace; now I can say I've been to the Statue of Liberty!
Sarah was scared of the intense roller coaster
Possibly my favorite Lego creation ever: periodically water would emit from the model, looking like the dog was peeing. Those crazy Danes.
Besides this obvious highlight, the trip to Copenhagen was probably one of my favorite trips ever. I loved Copenhagen; the architecture, the culture, the museums were all fantastic. And it was really fun to have Marie show me around, because she actually lives there (she's Danish), so she was a great tour guide. Plus I got to do cool things like go in the bell tower of the church she works at, and have dinner with people from her dorm. And Marie is also probably the sweetest person I have ever met; she cooked me dinner and breakfast, made me tea, and was just so excited to show me around her home. I stayed with Marie the first two days and night, and then I went to meet my second cousin Ally, who goes to Kansas State but is doing a semester abroad in Copenhagen. We'd never met before, and it was actually thanks to this blog that we connected in this first place (my dad posted on the family website and her mom saw and told her). Luckily, we got along great and had a blast doing a little more sightseeing and going out with some of her exchange student friends.
Guards marching towards the Palace for the Queen's Birthday. This is what I ran into when I came around the corner.
Long live the Queen! This day also allowed an interesting cultural comparison to Germany: all over the city the Danish flag was flying on every building and as evidenced by these pictures many people were carrying small flags and banners as well. It was such a striking contrast to Germany, where you almost never see the flag (patriotism is a tricky topic in Germany due to that whole business with the Nazis).
And there's the lady herself! (in the pink scarf). Much huzzah-ing and cheering ensued.
Kastellet, an island with old army barracks; Windmills: they're not just for Holland.
Tivoli Gardens, a famous (and old, founded in 1843) amusement park in downtown Copenhagen.
Town Hall; House of Parliament
Underwater sculpture (I don't know if it was ended to be underwater, or just ended up that way at some point); inside the bell tower of Marie's church
The Round Tower (used to be a conservatory); views from the top of the tower
Marie and me
Middle picture: the palace where I saw the Queen
Church tower with cool outdoor staircase; view out of a church window; the Black Diamond, part of the National Library
Two views of Nyhavn, a promenade with lots of cafes and restaurants
cruising around the harbor on the ferry
the Marble Church, the Opera House and one of Copenhagen's many canals as seen from the ferry
Walking through the park with Marie; some palace; Marie's dorm
Christiania is basically this hippie commune right in the middle of Copenhagen. Squatters took over some old army buildings in the 70s and established their own community. The government decided to leave them alone as a "social experiment", though lately they've been cracking down more and have even conducted a few raids. What Christiania is most notorious for, though, is the open sale of marijuana. Until 2004 it was sold openly in stands on "Pusher Street", the main road in the commune (for pedestrians only though, no motorized vehicles are allowed in Christiania). The government finally put a stop to that and now sellers just walk around displaying their wares or sell them from tables outside the couple cafes on Pusher Street. It was certainly an interesting experience to walk through there.
Pretty little lake in Christiania; clandestine picture of some of the graffiti. You're not supposed to take pictures inside of Christiania, in order to protect the identities of the people who live there (because of their engagement in questionably legal activities, such as selling drugs).
The botanical gardens; inside the Palm House (very humid); at the club with Ally
Also thanks to Ally, I got to go to Legoland! For those not in the know, Legoland is a theme park in Billund, Denmark that's based around Legos (Lego is a Danish company, btw). There are now Legolands in Germany and California as well, but the original is of course the best. As a theme park, it's pretty much geared to the 10 and under crowd, so it doesn't have any amazing rides or anything, but the real attraction is the section of the park dedicated to Lego models. They have models of everything, from the Royal Palace in Copenhagen to Angkor Wat to the Statue of Liberty. A lot of the models are motorized too, such as the boats that move around "Amsterdam" or the space shuttle that goes through a countdown and spews steam as it "takes off." It's astonishing to see what can be done with Legos, and also makes one wonder how many man-hours went into building those things, how one gets a job like that. What was also cool about the Legoland trip was that we (me plus other mostly american students who are part of the same Study Abroad Institute as Ally) took the bus there and back, and since Legoland is about 2.5 hours away from Copenhagen, in the southwest of Denmark, we actually got to see a lot of the Danish countryside, which was beautiful. I completely fell in love with Denmark and pretty much the only thing preventing me from moving there is the insanely high taxes they have to pay (which can be as much as 65% of income). Nowhere's perfect, is it?
2.1 million Legos in this model! 2.1 MILLION!!!!!!!!!
Miniatures of Nyhavn and Amalienborg Palace; now I can say I've been to the Statue of Liberty!
Sarah was scared of the intense roller coaster
Possibly my favorite Lego creation ever: periodically water would emit from the model, looking like the dog was peeing. Those crazy Danes.
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