Germany

Tag: Germany (page 4 of 6)

Germany!

I have been looking forward to going to Germany for a very long time, basically ever since I started taking German as a freshman in high school. Well, now that I have the opportunity to be here, it is basically a dream come true. However, there are some things that one notices as an American that either take a while to get used to, or to acknowledge as normal for Europeans. I expected this before my airplane even landed in Europe, though, because I know that most of what Europe has in common with the United States can be counted on one hand (maybe two). The differences can be put into general categories, such as culture, architecture, and language. These differences are probably what will make up the most exciting parts of my time here. For example, most Europeans speak three languages (including their native language, and probably English) if not more. But it’s ok if they don’t speak English, because why else would I take German for six years and study abroad in Germany for a year if I didn’t want to speak a lot of German while I am here?! Of course I do not plan on spending the whole year in Germany, so culture and architecture will have more of a prominent role during my travels through countries like Italy, Spain, France, England, et cetera.

From country to country, cultures may not differ so much, but compared to the United States there is a pretty big difference. Americans are primarily all about Thanksgiving, Christmas, and (for some) St. Patrick’s Day. Europeans, however, have a lot of different festivals, traditions, and important seasonal times like Spargelzeit (asparagus season) in Germany, and the running of the bulls, which is most famously held in Spain. Differences in architectural style are quite apparent from country to country, though, especially when traveling from North to South.

In cities like Florence, one sees Renaissance architecture literally towering over the city with buildings like the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (commonly referred to as “the Duomo”), one of my favorite buildings in Europe. However, if one goes to London, then Neo-Gothic architecture is seen in buildings like the Palace of Westminster. Different architectural styles can convey completely different feelings and time periods. For example, if one looks at Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, even though it was built in the late nineteenth century, one typically associates a fairytale with its appearance, so it is very much fantastical creation. The Duomo causes me to think about Leonardo da Vinci and humanism coming into existence in art. However, when one sees the Palace at Westminster one is almost overwhelmed with the amount of detail, and is almost forced to think of a monarchy and ornate crowns.

Even with giving just a few examples, one can see how there is so much to experience by traveling just a couple hundred miles in any direction. In Europe, having a building that is three-hundred years old is completely ordinary, and citizens care a lot about their traditions and culture. Experiencing all of these things might be overwhelming for most Americans, but even if it is a lot to handle it will still be worth the while to be submerged up to my neck in a new environment that “spoiled” Americans can’t really experience anywhere in the United States. I guess what I am really looking forward to is having a new experience every day, while being placed in the middle of a real-life history book. The best part is that I don’t have to read hundreds of pages to know different time periods, because I can simply travel to different locations to experience them.

By John Ertel, more blogs to come soon!

Final thoughts

May 15, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

So as I start to pack up all my belongings in my dorm room. It has given me time to ponder about my time in Germany and study abroad. If you are reading this and thinking that this is going to be the cliché blog about how much studying abroad has change my life, then you are right. When it boils down to it, how could spending four months in a foreign country not change you at least a little bit.

I think studying abroad really offers you a chance for you to grow more confident in yourself. When you are placed in a completely different environment and are struggling to communicate with the language, you really need to be out going and try to show that you are making an effort. For example when you are at a train station and wondering why your train is late or not at the right platform, you have to assert yourself and go find someone to help explain yourself. Or when you find yourself lost in the middle of nowhere, you have to be either a) confident in your map abilities or b) confident that you can ask someone where the heck you are.

Studying abroad also really opens up your mind to the world. Another cheesy saying but it is true. I thought since I had traveled before I wouldn’t be changed in this aspect as much as it did. I have a new appreciation for the international students that come to Valpo because at least in Germany we are surrounded by other international students but when they come to Valpo, they are on their own surrounded by a lot of loud Americas. Overall I am really going to miss Germany and all the friends I have made here but I am excited to go back to the us.

Check out more of my photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/113496106333285759017

One Last Regional Excursion

May 13, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

For our last weekend in Germany we decided to stay close to the Reutlingen area. We decided that we would do one last regional travel on Saturday. We also happened to recruit a few of the other English speakers that we have met throughout the semester to come along. We decided to take a trip to Bebenhausen which involves hiking. Only this time the weather was perfect however we managed to find a fluke in our plans.

To start the trip we had to take the train to Tubingen. However due to safety rules, the trains running to Tubingen were not functioning. We all wandered around until we found the Train station bus station (it only took us four months to realize that there was a bus station at the train station) where we were told there would be a bus to take us to Tubingen. So we had to pile in and out of the crowded bus. Once we got to Tubingen, the directions said to head north on a street that we could not find. So we just started to wander north. After about an hour of wandering and a bus ride leaving us in the middle of Nowhere, Germany, we finally found the path to Bebenhausen.

Bebenhausen is an old monastery that has turned into both a tourist attraction as well as a cute timbered house neighborhood. We decided not to take a tour of the monastery but we wandered around the courtyards and just soaked up the sunshine. There was a wedding so we were once again able to see lederhosen one last time before our departure. Overall it was the perfect afternoon excursion even with the wandering lost in the middle of fields. It is one of the random but perfect memories I will remember from studying abroad.

Check out more of my photos at https://picasaweb.google.com/113496106333285759017

Easy A or not?

May 11, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

One of the differences that is very apparent while studying abroad is the way classes are setup. Everyone jokes that study abroad is the easy 4.0 GPA semester. This is not necessarily the case. It is more that the classes are completely different than what we experience at Valpo. From professor relationships, classes, and trips this semester has to have been one of the best one’s I’ve experience.

Professor and student relationships are different than just going to a professor’s class for 3 hours a week. Here our professors are technically like our guardians which create more of a relationship than just listening to a lecture. We get to know their families and they get to know more than just our grade and where we sit in the class. They have invited us over to their homes and have made meals together and they taught their classes in the comfort of their own homes. We also are taught classes by German professors as well (in English). Both are well known in their fields like an art curator and the head of the international programs on campus (which deals with the government). They have shown us how relaxed German classes are. In most German classes, attendance is optional.

Another difference is that we get to travel for our classes. We have had about three and four weeks of just class trips that have ranged from going to Berlin and Northern Germany to day trips around the area. We were able to take a tour of the Audi factory last week to understand one of the main corporations that affect the German Economy. We saw the entire process of the making of a gorgeous and expensive car. The week before that we went to Paris in order to present our final presentations for our Art History class in front of the actual paintings in the Louvre and the Museum d’ Orsay, followed by a delicious French meal and a tour of Paris.

Overall the classes were not necessarily the easy A courses that we all expect when studying abroad but they were some of the most interesting and memorable classes I have taken. We had our farewell dinner with all of our professors and their families and it really made me realize just how close I have become to these professors. It is a weird feeling realizing that it was the last time I would be seeing our two German professors.

Schloss Lichtenstein

May 8, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 1 Comment

Over this past weekend we went on yet another excursion in the Reutlingen area. We hiked to Lichtenstein Castle. We invited a few of the other international students that live in our dorm to come with too. The castle is only about fifteen kilometers away from the University so we took a bus to the bottom of trail and began our journey up yet another hill to yet another amazing castle.

To get the full effect of this adventure, you should know what the weather was like. The trip adviser said that one should do this on a sunny day because you have to hike for about four kilometers through forest and meadows on narrow paths. So naturally, we would choose the day that it decided to have eighty percent chance of rain the entire day. So as we were slipping and sliding hoping not to fall of the cliffs, all while the weather kept changing from sunshine and warm to rain and wind (we thought we were back at Valpo).

We finally made it to Schloss Liechtenstein and took a tour of the interior of the castle. Our tour guide was very animated and made a lot of jokes in German which I have learned just to nod and smile to. Afterwards the sun decided to shine and we ate a late lunch on the castle grounds. Later we hiked back to the town of Lichtenstein in explored the city, even though it was a Sunday and everything was closed. Overall it was a great day just touring around the area and a nice relaxing day before finals began.

Check out more of my photos at https://plus.google.com/photos /113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

Spring Awakening

May 7, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

One of the famous events that Germany is known for is Oktoberfest. Seeing how it is not yet October we have not been able to experience the festival. So what is the next best thing? Why its Frühlingsfest, which is basically a Spring festival that happens the first couple of weeks of Spring. It just so happens that the second largest spring fest was only a short train ride away from Reutlingen University.

We took the train in to Stuttgart in the morning and we met up with a few of the German students that will be studying at Valpo next year. They first showed us the amusement park that is a huge strip of different rides complete with roller coaster and a Ferris wheel. For the most part it was similar to the rides we have at our amusement parks back home, minus all the safety requirements. So after having witness all these ride and wandered through the different shopping stands, we headed over to the beer tents.

Though most of the stereotypes of Germans I haven’t found true during this semester, Frühlingsfest definitely explained where those stereotypes came from. The tent which was probably the size of football field was packed filled with lederhosen and dirndls. They served liters of beer that servers would bring five in one hand. There was traditional German songs playing and people standing on the benches dancing, hugging and singing with the liters of beers. Other people were eating traditional German food and talking about “football” or how we Americans say it, “soccer.” This whole excursion was definitely one of my favorite cultural events since being in Germany because it was just fun to watch and see that some of the stereotypes are true about Germans which definitely is not a bad thing!

Lost in Translation

May 4, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

One of the major differences about living in Germany has been the fact that English is not the first language here. One reason why I chose to do the Reutlingen Program was because I wanted experience what it was like living in a country that I had no clue how to speak the language. However after reality set in and a month before coming here, I kept on asking myself “Why the heck did I decide it would be fun to live in a country for four months where no one will be able to understand me?”

Once I finally arrived in Germany. There was the first initial language overload, especially at grocery store when we had to resort to pictures of different foods to actually understand what we were buying. However as the semester has gone on, we have learned quickly everyday words and phrases that we need to know. It also helps that we are in a language course. Another helpful thing about being in Europe is that most people know at least a little English here as well. So if there is ever a problem or if we have a question we can always find someone who can at least help point us in the right direction.

Overall, coming to a country where you don’t know the language isn’t as scary as I initially thought. As long as we show people that we are trying, they are very friendly and encouraging. It is fun looking back on how frazzled we were the first few weeks. Now we have seem to be able to get by and actually understand what our waiter is asking us or what the students are asking us in the dorms. Although we still make mistakes sometimes like getting whipping cream instead of sour cream for the most part we have been getting the hang of this language.

Check out more of my photos at https://plus.google.com/photos /113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

Unexpected Twists part two

May 1, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

After our unexpected detour in our plans in Marseille, two days later in Milan, Italy, another hiccup happened in our plan. In some hotels in Europe, they charge by the amount of people staying in the room rather than just the room itself. We thought we could sneak around this system and have three people stay in a room instead of the two people we had told them were going to stay. We came up with the idea that two of us would check in and bring in all the luggage and then the third person would just be visiting us later. But like any good mischievous plan, karma set in.

The first night went according to our plan so we woke up and toured around Milan. We visited the famous cathedral and were able to walk on top of the roof. We also walked around their “central park” and of course window shopped at the designer stores. After a long day of touring around the city and geeking out because I was able to see DaVinci’s “Last Supper,” we were ready for some delicious Italian food. So we attempted to beat the system again and went to a bar where they serve free appetizers when you order a drink. We ended up eating enough to make a dinner out of it, we headed back to the hotel. While we were relaxing around our room, we suddenly got a phone call and as we slowly answered it, we were asked how many people were staying in our room. And our cover was blown. A few seconds later we had a knock on our door and one of the workers started talking to us in rapid Italian implying that only two people are allowed in the room and visitors were not welcomed. So as our trio soon became a duet, we frantically searched for any hostel that was open and was available. When we finally found one, we ever so discretely took down a third of our luggage all while being watched by the workers.

In the end everyone had a bed to sleep in (whether it was extremely sketchy or not) and we were happy to check out of our hotel that morning. Though at the time it was quite stressful trying to figure out whether or not one of us had to sleep on a park bench, we know look back on the whole story and just laugh still trying to figure out just what the worker was telling us. All I can really say is, don’t try and outsmart the system because the system will win.

Check out more of my photos at https://plus.google.com/photos/113496106333285759017/albums?banner=pwa

Germany and Easter

April 29, 2012 / Jordan Harner / 0 Comments

Parents’ Visit

Two weeks before Easter, my parents, brother, and grandpa came to Zaragoza to visit me and go on vacation. This turned out to be a unique experience because my host mother invited them all over for lunch twice and as they don’t speak Spanish and my host mom and sister don’t speak English, I translated everything.

Sure, I’d translated things on the spot before but this was completely different because it was constant for about 2 hours each time. My headaches returned during those few days because I was being forced to think in two languages at the same time. I’m glad I got to do something like that, though, because it forced me to think more quickly in Spanish even though I spoke to the wrong person in the wrong language a few times. I guess that’s one of the perils that come with translating.

The week of Easter, I traveled with my family from Zaragoza to southwestern Germany to visit some family friends. My senior year of high school, we hosted an exchange student from Germany and we went to visit him and his family. The region we went to is known for its wine and that’s the primary industry there. The whole area is filled with small towns that are so close to each other that many times you can’t tell where one begins and the other ends.

Even though the area isn’t touristy, it has a really nice country atmosphere that’d be good to visit just to relax. I’m so glad I finally got to visit my “other family” as well as have my family visit me in Spain. It was sad to leave everyone in Germany but knowing that I’ll see them soon was comforting. While we were there, we also went to a larger city called Freiburg. It’s a little more touristy than out in the country but not much. It’s an interesting city with lots of typical German architecture and there are also little streams that run along the sides of all the streets that are often associated with Freiburg. I was told there are streams because they have a lot of springs under the ground and the water needs to go somewhere.

After returning to Zaragoza after speaking only English for a week and translating between the two the week before, my Spanish was much worse, needless to say. My host mom even told me that she noticed it was worse than before I left and understandably so. If I had forgotten that much after just 2 weeks, I shudder to think what my Spanish will be like after this next semester as I’m not taking another Spanish class until spring semester 2013.

If you’d like to follow more of my daily musings, I have a Twitter account and if you’d like to check up on my photos I also have a Picasa account.

Wine Tasting Excursion

April 24, 2012 / sarahtiemann / 0 Comments

Wine Tasting

One little fact about Baden-Württemberg (the region Reutlingen in located in) that I quickly took note of was that the region is known for their wine. Since the drinking age is lower here, we took a class field trip to a winery. This has been a long Valpo tradition to take a tour of the winery and then experience a wine tasting afterwards. The winery has a longstanding relationship with the Reutlingen program and it was all complimentary and we were given a tour by one of the CEO’s of the company. Now I didn’t really know that much about the process and the sophistication behind wine tasting, but after spending an afternoon of thoroughly being shown and taught the art of wine, I can definitely say that my palate has gone from saying, “That tastes good” to actually understanding what I’m tasting.

After toasting to a wonderful tour with a glass of sparkling wine, we began our tour. Here I was thinking that the winery would be a small local winery, instead it is one of the major wine manufacturer for the region. We noticed this when we walked into the first room of our tour and it turned out to be the storage room for their shipments which held literally thousands of crates of wine. We walked into one of the main processing rooms where you just get hit with the smell of wine when you walk in. The containers hold liters beyond liters of wine. Seeing how Germany recycles just about everything, our guide proudly showed us how the recycled bottles where cleaned and sorted. We ended the tour by being showed the more expensive wine process in which the wine is stored in actual wood barrels and learned about the different flavoring that comes from being in different types of wood barrels.

Massive Wine Containers

The expensive wines in wooden barrels

The next half of our tour consisted of actually tasting our wine. Picture a bunch of college students put into a sophisticated wine tasting setting, and that is pretty much how if first started off. However, as we were told about the different techniques of how to “slurp” wine (yes slurping allows for more flavors to come out of the wine) and as we recited the few facts about different types of wine we learned on the bus ride to the winery, we actually were able to hold a conversation about the wine we were trying. Overall, we all enjoyed our day of wine tasting with a few of our professors, experiencing yet another part of our region, and becoming wine connoisseurs.