To end our Spain and Italy tour, we needed to stop in Barcelona! We spent two full days exploring the city. As agreed upon by the entire group, the bike tour of the city was our favorite part!
Barcelona – bike tour
Barcelona – bike tour
Barcelona – bike tour
Sarah and the Mediterranean
The Mediterranean
The Mediterranean
The Iberian Coast
So, a few days ago I went to Vienna to visit my friend Melissa and to see a new city.
On the first day we went to the Naschmarkt, an outdoor food market, for breakfast. I had ful a bean based dish with flatbread and hummus (which, it should be noted is definitely not an Austrian dish). I was especially excited because hummus is sometimes difficult to find in Europe. Then we went to the Ringstraße, which used to be the city wall of Vienna, but was torn down to make way for a new promenade in 1865. It was a great place to see a surprisingly large number of monuments and famous historical buildings.
A photo of the Wiener Rathaus (city hall) on the Ringstraße
On the way, we stopped by the Albertina museum and saw exhibitions from teh archives of the Mussee d’Orsay. Nearly every major artist from a variety of time periods was represented. From Degas to Picasso to Warhol to Roy Lichtenstein to Monet, it was a great collection and overview of art history.
The Kunsthaus Wien
On the next day, I went to the Friedensreich Hundertwasser musem at the Kunsthaus Wien. Friedensreich Hundertwasser is one of my favorite artists because his work combines art with everyday objects and promotes an understanding of the connection between person, living space and nature. The museum dedicated to him was full of colors, irregular shapes, plants and water elements. It was really as much of an experience as it was a work of architecture and a museum.
The Hundertwasserhaus, an apartment complex.
The trash processing center designed by Hundertwasser
I also went to see some of Hundertwassers practical installations in the form of an apartment complex and a trash processing center. I even found out that he designed a building right in Baden-Württemberg that i will definitely take the opportunity to visit.
Overall, it was lovely to get to see a new city and visit an old friend as well!
Bis bald!
On the way to my internship in a rural area of Costa Rica in Bribri, Limon, there are many picturesque views with tropical vegetation and fresh breeze from the Atlantic Ocean.
So, one of the events that I most looked forward to this year was Fasching. Fasching is a celebration that takes place before the beginning of Lent, much like Mardi Gras. In the different regions in Germany, it has different names and a slightly different character. Where I previously lived in the Rheinland, it was called Karneval. In Rottenburg am Neckar, a small village near Tübingen, it is called Fasnet and has a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, and because of this I choose to visit Rottenburg to learn a bit about Fasching in the area.
There was also Fasching right at home in Tübingen, but it is a somewhat new tradition, since Tübingen is historically Protestant and Fasching is historically Catholic. The history of Fasching is also a lot better documented in Rottenburg than in Tübingen. I was able to learn a lot from the website of the group that organizes Fasching in Rottenburg and the link is below, although the information is only in German.
Fasnet consists of a large group of activities mostly directly before the beginning of Lent. The parade (Umzug) is lead by Queen Mechthild in Rottenburg, who is temporarily in charge of the city during Fasching. Both historical figures as well as a whole cast of characters specific to Rottenburg are portrayed by people dressed in costumes and carved wooden masks.
The characters include:
Ahland: a medieval depiction of the devil it is the main character of the Rottenburger Fasnet.
An example of an Ahland, with an inflated bladder.
Pompele: a spirit that makes noise and carries a large noisemaker
A Poppele figure in the Rottenburger Narrenzunft.
Die Hexe (The Witch): the witches are the leaders of Rottenburgerfastnet and help to usher it in after Three King’s day
A witch at Fastnet
The final character is a jester/clown figure called Bogges, of which I unfortunately did not catch a photo.
During the parade the characters walk trough the city and play jokes on the bystanders. My friend Ingrid was standing at the front of our group and fell victim to the face-painting, hair-pulling, shoe-untying and inflated animal bladder-swinging antics of the various characters.
Ingrid after the parade
There is always something magical for me about Fasching because it is a time in which so many peope choose to come together to just have a good time regardless of social standing or (historically) station in life. It is a time of happiness and joy to celebrate the end of winter and the beginning of Lent as well. I hope you enjoyed reading a bit about my favorite time of year in Germany.
Bis bald!
Link to more information to Rottenburger Fasnet (in German):
http://www.narrenzunft-rottenburg.de/NZ/Zunft/Gruppen.html
Oxford Castle
Yesterday, six of us travelled by train to see Oxford. For those that are keeping tabs, Cambridge is the number one university in the world, with Harvard and Oxford taking up the next two positions. Those positions change quite frequently, but right now, we brag about the fact that we live in the same town as the number one university in the world. But we’d also heard good things about the town of Oxford, so we decided to see what another college town was like.
Christ Church
To start off, it was a perfect day to go to Oxford, because it was sunny and nearly 60 degrees outside, so walking around the town was pleasant. Most of our day was spent walking around and taking pictures of buildings and seeing the outside of colleges. We saw the outside of Christ Church, which is one of the largest churches in Cambridge. We also saw remnants of Oxford Castle and the Bridge of Sighs in Oxford.
For lunch, we went inside this little indoor village with all these little shops and cafes. I had THE BEST sandwich, with brie, onions in balsamic vinegar, and spinach on a baguette. It was DIVINE. And, even better, we got really good cookies at the end of lunch that were still warm from the oven and so good.
Balliol College
Our last stop of the day was to see Balliol College, which is arguably the oldest college in Oxford. It was established in 1263. We got to walk around the grounds for a little while, and see the inside of their dining hall. There was also a really small garden that looked like the Secret Garden. It was also late afternoon by this time, and we got some really good pictures of the college in the fading light.
Overall, it was a very relaxing day, and we enjoyed spending time walking around together on a leisurely day off. We had a great time visiting the second best university in the world, but I think it’s safe to say that we all love Cambridge, and wouldn’t trade living here for anything.
So, as the title of this post might suggest, my recent break in posting is due to the occurrence of finals. My exam period here in Germany has been quite a bit longer here in Germany than any that I have had at Valpo and are definitely of a bit of different format. So, here is a quick look into my experience with German exams.
The folders from this semester are different colors like the many different classes I had this semester.
I had a total of 6 courses this semester, each with a slightly different type of examination. The first type was the Klausur. This is a type of written exam, and in my opinion the most comparable to any of the exams that I have had in the U.S. It consists of extended response questions about various topics having to do with the course. This particular one consisted of a shorter and longer section, each with a variety of choices of question to choose from. I have to admit that this was probably mid-difficulty mostly because I chose to write in German (the language of the material in the course), which made the 90-minute time limit seem much shorter than usual. And overall, I think that I liked this format well enough.
The second type of exam that I had was a multiple choice exam. This sounds like it would be the easiest, but in Germany instead of giving multiple choice exams with one correct answer, there are multiple correct answers, and only if you answer with all of the correct answers do you get the points for each answer. I was not exactly expecting this going into the exam, which made it seem much more difficult than it probably was.
The third type of exam is an oral exam. Oral exams are, in my opinion, the heart of the German education system. I had a few when I was in Gymnasium and this semester I also had a 30-minute exam for my theology class. This was by far the most difficult exam because it consisted of the professor quizzing me for 30 minutes straight with no notes whatsoever. I also spent the most amount of time preparing for this exam, but overall I think it went okay.
Another type of exam isn’t really an exam at all, it is called a Hausarbeit, and is a type of research paper. I currently am finishing one for my anthropology class. Instead of having to turn it in for the end of the semester, you can write it over the semester break as well in order to have more time to research and rework the paper. The one that I am currently working on is about 15 pages and most range from 10-20 pages.
The final type of exam was the portfolio that I completed for my class on intercultural communication, which was both my favorite class and my favorite type of exam. It was something that I was able to work on throughout the entire semester and I really enjoyed being able to see the fruits of my labor for this course. I thought that it was a really great format, because it had such open parameters and is something that I can continually work on as I continue to learn about intercultural communications.
A look into my portfolio, happily a work in progress.
It was definitely a learning experience to work on so many different types of projects at once, but in the end, I am glad that I got to have a taste of a different academic experience.
Bis bald!
What a capital!! Two days were not nearly enough to explore this gigantic city. To name a few, we saw the Colosseum, the Royal Forum, and the Vatican.
The Colosseum – Roma
The Colosseum – Roma
(Matt) The Colosseum – Roma (photo credit: Brendan Johnson)
The Colosseum – Roma
Roman Forum – Roma
Roman Forum – Roma
(Left to Right: Emily M. Aislynn, Brendan)
Roma
Roma
The Pope at the Vatican – Vatican City
The next stop in C-95’s Italian and Spanish adventure was nestled in the mountains of Tuscany: FLORENCE!!! This city was built and supported by the Romans because it was a fertile area along the trade routes to the Alps. The basilica was gigantic and we loved strolling through the Roman plazas and seeing the impressive Classical architecture and sculptures.
Michelangelo’s Plazza: C-95 Left to Right: Brendan, Aislynn, Emily M., Sarah
Florence Hospital: Excellent Classical Architecture
Fiume Arno flowing through Firenza
Florence
Fiume Arno flowing through Firenza
Last remaining bridge after the Nazi bombings
Firenza
Florence
Hello everyone! I know, I know, I have been really lazy and haven’t posted anything in a while. Myself along with the rest of the group have been super busy with traveling and preping for our spring break in 3 weeks time. Our first stop a while back was the musical center of Leipzig in Saxony. Liepzig was incredible and rich with culture and history every where you looked. While in Leipzig our group visited the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig which not only has historical significance to Johann Sebastian Bach but also to the Monday Demonstrations in the late 1980’s demonstrating against communist rule.
Outside of the Nikolaikirche
This is the outside of the Nikolaikirche (they wouldn’t let me take photos inside) but the inside of it is very beautiful with large white vaulted cielings and greek columns lining the nave that look like they have coconut tree leaves sprouting to the top of the cieling. We also got to see the Thomaskirche which is the final resting place of Johann Sebastian Bach. Also we were privaledged to listen to a concert on Bach’s works at the Thomaskirche. The concert was absolutely beautiful simply put. The music in general in Leipzig was fabulous. Everywhere you looked their were street performers either playing violins, guitars, accordions, or all three! (Not really because people don’t have enough hands but that would be pretty cool though).
The Resting Place of J. S. Bach
Thomaskirche
While in Leipzig, the group also visited the Johann Sebastian Bach Museum located directly across the street from the Thomaskirche. The museum was very fun and informative because of how interactive it was. Also the museum housed a belt buckle and thimble that are supposedly from the original coffins of Bach and his wife Maria Barbara at their original burial places. Also while in Leipzig I visited the Battle of Nations Monument on the northern side of Leipzig. The Battle of Nations Monument is a monument commemorating the combined defeat of the Napoleon in 1813 by the nations of Prussia, Austria, Russia, and Sweden.
Battle of Nations Monument
Battle of Nations Monument
Personally the size of the monument took me completely by surprise. From pictures I saw before going I thought that it was going to a lot smaller but it is truly massive. Where the monument stands is supposedly were Napoleon stood himself during the battle (so the story goes). Overall, Leipzig was a college city with fantastic music everywhere you listened.
Our group also visited the massive (joking) city of Wittenberg for a day trip to see Martin Luther’s home as well as the castle church where Luther (supposedly) posted his 95 theses on the castle church door. The doors are unfortunately not original because the original doors burned down in a fire. These doors happen to be bronze and inscribed on them are the 95 theses. This also means that these doors have 95 doctorates in theology (sorry, bad joke).
Luther’s Casa (House in Spanish)
Castle Church Door
After Leipzig and Wittenberg our group had another fun day excursion to Eisenach where we visited the Wartburg castle. At the Wartburg castle, Martin Luther was ‘kidnapped’ and taken there by Frederick the Wise’s men for Luthers own protection after the Diet of Worms. The Warburg castle also happens to be the spot of the Wartburg Festival in 1817.
Inside the Castle
Wartburg Cast
Eisenach also was home to the first Bach museum, that was for a while believed to be Bach’s own home. However this was disproven recently, but never the less it is still a great museum. One exhibit was Benjamin Franklin’s own glass harmonica.
The last stop on our Luther and Bach trip was Erfurt. Erfurt was amazing, not only because of St. Mary’s Cathedral, but also because they had amazing Thuringian sausages at a local stand for only 1 Euro! That is a deal that even Vince from Sham Wow could sell me on.
Inside the St Mary’s Cathedral
We also saw the St Severus Cathedral that happens to lie directly adjacent to St. Mary’s.
St Severus Cathedral
Left-St Mary’s. Right-St Severus.
After our group trip. Myself along with Raechel, Morgan, and Jared went to Munich. Let me tell you folks. Think of all of the possible German stereotypes possible, then close your eyes. Congratulations you are in Munich! Munich was by far my favorite place I have been. The people, the scenery, the history, the lederhosen. It is ALL there! Our hostel we stayed at offered a free 3 hour walking tour of the city that included the glockenspiel, which in iteslf was amazing. The glockenspiel is Munich’s biggest attraction, and not only was it cool to see that, but to look behind me and see a group of no less than 500 people all staring up at it. We also saw the famous and original Hofbrauhaus which had a very cool atmosphere to it. On a more depressing side of history, the top of the Hofbrauhaus is a larg banquet hall, and in this banquet hall is where Adof Hitler gave one of his first speeches to a large group of people.
Glockenspiel
Marienplatz
R-95 Takes the Englischer Garten
We also were able to visit the beautiful Englischer Garten.
This past weekend, our group was able to visit the amazingly picturesque city of Heidelberg where we received a tour of the only college of Jewish studies in all of Germany. After we also received a small tour of Heidelberg itself. Honestly, everything looked like it could be on a post card.
Just Beautiful
Shelby with the Heidelberg castle in the background
The day after Heidelberg Shelby, Morgan, and myself traveled to Frankfurt for the day to get the one. The only. Chipotle. Yes that is right there is a Chipotle in Frankfurt and it was worth every minute of that train ride. We also walked around and saw the old Rathaus and were outside of the election room where the electors met to decide who would become the next Holy Roman Emperor. Unfortunately it was raining during our exploration of Frankfurt so I couldn’t take my camera out. But Frankfurt so far was the first city to remind me of the U.S. Frankfurt is also home to the European Central Bank and is home to the Euro Tower. Frankfurt was a nice city that looked the least like the Germany people tend to imagine, but nevertheless it was a lot of fun (and Chipotle was so worth it).
A couple of us will be traveling to Vienna this weekend so check in next Tuesday at the latest for another blog post about what was once the seat of the Habsburg Empire! Thanks for being patient and keep on keepin on! For everyone on spring break at Valpo, be safe and have fun! Until next time ladies and germs, this is ya boy Austin P signin off from the land of sausage and bread, peace!
“I think it’s my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may”
~R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy
Ten Things I’m Learning
1. Sunset runs are so refreshing and a good way to let out the day’s stress. It’s also a good way to explore this beautiful city and enjoy the mountains and the day’s sunset.
2. Time alone and away from technology is so good and so necessary. It’s very important to live in the moment not just for a little, but for a while and let yourself enjoy it.
3. Let people miss you. Sometimes it’s very necessary and while it is hard to be away from people you care about, sometimes it makes them miss you more.
4. Spending money is not a bad thing. If the money you spend allows you and other people enjoy their life a little more, then stop feeling so darn guilty.
5. Dairy products — like ice cream and Don Pedros, while tempting, are not worth feeling horrible and laying curled in fetal position from a tummy ache for hours after. However, sometimes they are worth it.
6. Being on the road is fun and it’s exciting to meet new people but coming home is also nice. It’s good to lay your head somewhere solid for a little while.
7. It’s ok to read the same book over and over. If you like it, keep reading it again and again. Underline your favorite parts and circle your favorite words. Make it yours.
8. I was born in the wrong era, I like letters way way way to much. But they make me very happy.
9. Be better at managing my time. Let myself have work time and play time.
10. Enjoy every second left here. Don’t put things off. If you have a chance to do something here — DO IT. The only time is now.
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