Life is Knackig

Author: Ian Olive

Program: Reutlingen, Germany – Study Center

I stepped out the door and immediately my body was immersed in the early morning magic.  The air was cool and slightly damp; a slight westward breeze blew the faint smell of fresh bread past my nostrils. The sun had just begun to peek its head over the low rolling hills of the university campus, casting a warm glow on the surrounding buildings. As I walked toward the bus all I could think of was the word crisp, which is knackig in Deutsch. It was a morning feeling that can’t be replicated by any other country on earth.

As my friends and family might point out, I’m not exactly what you’d call a morning person. Just last semester, I scheduled my earliest class to be at 1:30 p.m. so I could sleep in as long as I pleased. I’m not exactly sure what led me to being wide awake at 5 a.m., but here I was wide awake. After enjoying the crisp German morning, I hopped on the bus and made my way to downtown Reutlingen.

I ended up spending most of my day downtown. It was refreshing to be able to explore a new city without any of the burdens of responsibilities or schedules. I meandered my way up and down the narrow side streets and ordered a trio of fruity pastries from a street vendor while continuing to marvel at the architecture and colors of the streets. I kept my eye open for old-timer classic cars while smiling and attempting to converse with all the elderly German people doing their morning shopping.

The day continued with a trip to an open air market in the town’s central plaza. Swabia farmers sold a variety of goods from sausages and fresh bread to fruits and vegetables I had never seen before. The Germans tend to do most of their shopping on a daily basis and choose not to go to a large supermarket and stock up for a few weeks. This custom keeps the food fresh and helps out the local vendors.

After the market, I met up with the tidy group of eight students from the Valpo cohort and took a quick tour of the neighboring town, Tübingen, with one of our German professors, Herr Springer. The man is a legend among the Reutlingen Study Center and he knows every bit of interesting info about beautiful Tübingen. He invited us all to dinner at the charming Neckarmüller restaurant on the river. I ordered Braumeisterpfännle with Spätz and Zwiebel which was a delicious blend of three different steaks and creamy pasta with mushrooms.

As the temperature began to drop, and the sun began to fade behind the clouds, a band across the river was playing a Johnny Cash song. I took the last sip of my drink and all I could think was life is good, life is knackig.

-Ian