Tübingen – Valpo Voyager

Tag: Tübingen (page 1 of 2)

Gearing Up for Berlin and Travel Season

Waiting for the bus.

This last week was a little on the quiet side. Went to class, ate more chocolate croissants, attempted to say more than “Ein. Brelzen.” to the very nice bakery ladies, and polished off my third jar of Nutella. (It actually is better in Europe. The chocolate to hazelnut ratio is perfection, and the smoothness is reminiscent of Wynton Marsalis’ patter at the BBC proms. I feel for you who have never experienced the wonderfulness of European Nutella.) But a nice, calm week is probably the best kind of week to have right now, as Friday begins our whirlwind of class traveling on a train headed for Berlin.

Yes, I color-code my travel maps. Although not entirely consistently.

In honor of our season of traveling, Brittany and I began our travel map, pinned with places we’re going and hope to go. The list is long, but between the map and the realization that Italy is a lot closer that we thought, our plans are coming along quite nicely. In addition to Berlin, we’re headed to Hamburg and Köln (Cologne) in the next couple of weeks. Don’t worry, I will post pictures of it all. I will also figure out how the post works again so I can send all the people I said I would send stuff a postcard. I promise.

We found this walking to the train in Reutlingen. I think it’s a coffee table. I also think it’s for sale.

Oh, I forgot something for my summary of the week’s events… Tübingen! This university town is 10 minutes west of Reutlingen, is home to one of Germany’s oldest museums, and sits on the Neckar River. It’s a very pretty and very vertical town. We briefly toured the downtown and the castle with our Art History professor, who’s lived in Tübingen for at least thirty years. We also got to go on a boat ride on the Neckar. It’s not that big, as rivers go- compared to the Mississippi, Illinois, or Mackanac, it’s a mild-mannered stream- but that made it an even better choice for punting, in which the boat is moved by digging a long stick into the bed of the river and pushing the boat forward. Our punter (the guy that makes the boat move) was also a member of one of the university teams for the annual punting race up and down the Neckar. According to our professor, the winners throw a huge party, and the losers have to drink castor oil. Our boatman’s team got 5th out of 30-ish last year.

The beautiful Neckar, and the punter.

While we were there, we enjoyed a dinner at the Neckarmüller, a microbrewery right on the river. We ate with everybody associated with the Valpo program in Germany, even including the retired language professor from the start of the Valpo program here, almost 50 years ago.

Kaitlyn and Katie, two non-Reutlingen Valpo students in Germany, enjoying the sunshine on the Neckar

That was Sunday, and it was delightful. But what will Berlin bring? You have to check back next week to see…

Introduction: Katherine Ackerman in Tübingen, Germany!

August 18, 2014 / studyabroad / 0 Comments

“Man sieht sich immer zweimal im Leben”

Man sieht sich immer zweimal im Leben roughly translates to “you always meet twice in life.” When I last heard this phrase, I was 18 years old and had just spent my senior year of high school studying abroad in Germany. After 2 years studying here at Valpo, I’m going back for another year, this time at a German university. I’ll be spending my time reconnecting with a culture that I have grown to love, increasing my fluency and learning even more about the people and places in Germany.

Things will be a lot different this time around. Instead of living with a family I’ll be on my own, living in a German dormitory, cooking for myself and navigating everything on my own. This is my first experience living in a true apartment and I’m excited to learn the best ways to cook vegetarian food in a largely meat-based culture and shop for veggies at the weekly outdoor market. I’m also going to live in a city more populous than anywhere I’ve ever lived before. When I studied in Germany in high school, I lived in a town of 500, which is a radically different experience than living in a bubbling student metropolis. I’m going to take advantage of this by exploring and travelling as much as I can in the area right outside my own door.

My first semester will actually start a bit early with the Deutschkompakt (Compact German) course offered by the university. The course will give me the opportunity to fine-tune my German and get to know Tübingen before classes start. I will also get to know the other foreign students at the university as well as my flatmates. In Germany, dorms are replaced by 6-8 person flats where each person has an individual room, but all share a bathroom, kitchen and common living area. Although there are cafeterias throughout the city, there is no central/formal meal plan so most of the cooking will be up to me.

The picture I included above is important, because it’s from the last time that I was in Tübingen, a few weeks before I came to Valpo. I studied abroad during my senior year of high school, meaning that I did not have the opportunity to go on college visits before applying to college. I had been to a few schools when my sister was looking at colleges, but I had not really had the opportunity to go on my own search. Looking at the university of Tübingen was really the only true college visit that I made. It was a trip that allowed me to codify my college search experience and help me transition into the idea of going to college despite being far away from home and all oft he colleges that I was considering while preparing for it.

And so, in many ways, returning to Tübingen is an experience of coming full circle, of reconnecting with my past and bringing together two different parts of my life. I will get to experience living in Germany again while maintaining my connection to Valpo. I fully look forward to diving into this new experience and finding out what more Germany has to offer. Deutschland, wir sehen uns endlich zum zweiten Mal!

Small Victories and a Little More Sightseeing

January 29, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

As of today, I have been in Reutlingen for exactly three weeks, and finally, I feel settled into a routine. The first two weeks were jam packed with orientation tours and events. I really appreciated this fun-filled welcome, but now it’s time to start conquering the challenges of daily life in a foreign country. That seemed to be the theme of the week.
On Monday, I was quite proud that I figured out how to do laundry here. Back at school, I secretly made fun of the people who had never learned this important life skill before coming to college. However, now I can sympathize with them. Using the German washer went well, up until I couldn’t figure out how to open the door at the end and stood there for 5 minutes panicking that I’d never get my clothes out. Luckily, I figured that one out, and soon moved on to my next challenge: using the dryer. Now, I had already decided that I was going to be a typical American and use the dryer, even though most Germans let their clothes air dry on racks. No, I didn’t have all day to wait, and the liberal German environmentalism was not going to stand in my way! Or so I thought. After paying 1 euro for an hour of drying time and ending up with still-sopping wet clothes, I learned my lesson. Turns out that drying rack will actually come in handy.
On Wednesday, I had another small victory, this time at the grocery store. My all-time favorite recipe to make at home is German cheesecake, made out of a soft cheese called quark. In America, quark is ridiculously expensive and hard to find. In fact, this recipe would normally cost $16 to make. However, quark is everywhere in Germany, and it’s about 8 times cheaper. For this reason, I have always wanted to make this cheesecake in Germany. Today I not only found cheap quark, but every other baking ingredient I needed, plus a springform pan for 6 euros! On Thursday, I successfully baked my cheesecake and must have guessed right on all the conversions because it came out perfectly. I brought some to class, and my German professor gave me her seal of approval! For the recipe, click here.
Over the weekend, the whole group went to Bebenhausen, a tiny town outside Tübingen with a cloister founded in 1183. It’s a gorgeous building with obviously, a long, rich history. Just the thought that something can exist for almost a thousand years is still mind-boggling to me.

After Bebenhausen, we had some free time to explore Tübingen a little more. Speaking of old buildings, this house was built in 1491!

And of course, I couldn’t resist taking the most classic typical tourist photo of Tübingen. (But I’ll need to come back on a sunny day.)

So that was my week. This Friday, we’re leaving for 5 days in Berlin and 2 in Cologne, so stay tuned for the next post all about it!

My First Week in Reutlingen: Part 2

January 21, 2014 / kaitlyncarzoli / 0 Comments

For some reason, I mistakenly thought that I’d have a ton of downtime here to not only to blog, but to also keep a paper journal, to read for fun, and to catch up on missed TV shows. I was seriously concerned that I would get bored in my free time. Nope. That definitely won’t be a problem. Every day is filled with classes, homework, planned events, and unplanned adventures. So now I’ll do my best to sum up all the excitement of seven days into one post.

Sunday: On Sunday, we made our first of what will probably be many trips to the neighboring town of Tübingen. Unlike Reutlingen, Tübingen was not bombed during WWII, and therefore remains a perfectly preserved medieval town. It’s stereotypical Germany, where everything is at least 600 years old. Unfortunately, it was too foggy to get many good pictures of the town, but there was something creepily majestic about waking through a medieval castle in dense fog at twilight. Here’s the view from the top:

After our brief tour, we ate at the famous Neckermüller restaurant along with our professors and some other Valpo friends studying in Reutlingen and Tübingen.

Monday: Monday was the first day of classes. First, we had German, which for me, is a review, but also a welcome break from the advanced literature classes I’m used to at Valpo. Then, we had art history, which may sound less than thrilling to some, but the “living art” activity in which we act out paintings for Herr Springer to guess makes this class actually really fun. Last, we had economics with the man, the myth, the legend: Baldur Veit. The guy knows everyone in the state, has connections to numerous companies in the area, and apparently hangs out with the king of Malaysia. Fascinating.

Tuesdsay: Tuesdsay wasn’t terribly exciting, but I did get to experience the alleged “biggest schnitzel in the world,”that previous generations of Reutlingen students have recommended. The restaurant offers XXL and XL-sized schnitzel, and although I only got the XL, it was still bigger than the plate.

Wednesday: Wednesday was Mutscheltag, a Reutlingen-specific holiday where everybody gets together to play various dice games, in hopes of winning a Mutschel. Mutschel are star-shaped, handmade breads that come in several sizes, ranging from individual, to about 3 feet across. Herr Veit had organized a game night for all the international students, and there, I was surprisingly lucky enough to win 2 Mutschel. Sadly, I didn’t win this grand prize:

Thursday: On Thursday, we had the Luther and Bach class and Modern Germany, along with more German. The two history classes will definitely be the most challenging of the five, but they sound very interesting. That evening, we all ventured out to one of the pubs for karaoke. I didn’t participate this time around, but I think I’ll be ready next week!

Friday: Have I mentioned that we never have class on fridays? Sometimes we have events planned, and sometimes it’s just free time to travel. This week, we first had a historical tour of Reutlingen. This was interesting, and also another great opportunity for pictures.

The highlight of the tour was the narrowest street in the world, which is about a foot wide:

Later, we headed back to Tübingen, to visit our German professor and learn how to make Mutschel! I love that it’s totally normal here for professors to invite us to their homes…and provide baked goods. Soon, I’ll do a Spoonful of Zucker post for the Mutschel recipe.

Saturday: Finally, on Saturday, we made our first trip to Stuttgart to go to the Baden-Württemberg state museum. After a big dose of regional history, we had lunch at Vapiano, the greatest pasta restaurant in the world. (There’s one in Chicago too!) That evening, we explored downtown Reutlingen a little more, to bring a relaxing end to the week.

And that’s it in a nutshell! Check again next week for my latest adventures!

I Understand More than I Thought I Would!

September 7, 2013 / hannahheagy / 0 Comments

First day in Tuebingen..finally seeing this beautiful view in person!

Guten Abend alle! Ich bin letzte Woche in Tübingen angekommen und ich habe schon viel gelernt! Translation: I arrived in Tubingen last week and I’ve already learned a lot! I’m really loving it here so far, and I can’t wait until I meet more people and get to know the city better! A run-down of what’s happened since I’ve arrived:

The professor who oversees VU’s programs in Germany met me at the Stuttgart airport when I landed on Friday and we took a bus to Tubingen. His help getting to Tübingen was such a blessing since I was exhausted after three flights and wouldn’t have been able to find my dorm alone on my very first day. After I got my dorm I met the Wohnheimtutorin (similar to an RA except without as much discipline power) for my building, and she is awesome! She speaks English very well, and therefore is really patient with my learning German and helps with some vocab and tips for living in Tübingen. Not many of my floor mates have moved in yet since classes in Germany normally don’t start until October. Until then, more kitchen and bathroom space for me!

I spent most of my first week in Tübingen exploring and getting to know the city. This past Saturday I met up with the students from Valpo’s program in Reutlingen for a soccer game, which I enjoyed a lot! I loved mingling with “real Germans” in the stands and reconnecting with people from Valpo studying in Reutlingen. After a day of being mostly by myself figuring out where to find/buy necessary things in Germany, relaxing and socializing at the game was a fun time (although I can’t say the same about learning the train system to Reutlingen and back).

On Sunday I attended a service at the Stiftskirche St. Georg, one of the more recognizable churches in the city. The inside of the church was gorgeous (see for yourself). I mentioned earlier that last summer I had an internship in Chile. I remember the first church service I attended in Chile as well, and I know that I didn’t understand nearly as much of that service as the service in the Stiftskirche. I didn’t have a lot of confidence with my German when I came to Germany, but each day I’m learning to look for opportunities to speak and to learn, and I know that I’m getting better each day! Sounds cliché, but it’s completely true!

In my next blog post I’ll talk more about Deutsch-Kompakt, the intensive German language course that I’m enrolled in. Class started on Monday, but I’m waiting to post about it until after the “arrival in Germany” post because I don’t want to minimize how much fun I’m having so far in the course and with the people I’ve met in it. Since everyone is in the same situation (living in Germany for a semester/year, feeling a little iffy about German language skills), we’ve created a community of internationals that adds and extra, wonderful spark to life in Tübingen. We’re taking a trip next week to Blaubeuren, a town near Ulm, so follow my future posts for more detail about the class and our Abenteuer (adventures)!

View from the window in my room! Love looking at this and drinking tea every morning!

Honestly, I still can hardly believe that I’ve really arrived in Germany to stay for a year. After so much planning and worrying over the past year, being here feels like both a breath of fresh air and something intimidating that I’ve never experienced before. Anyway, it’s been a fantastic past few days, and I’m excited to see what the rest of this year will bring! Check back for more updates!

Peace.

After packing! Well, give or take a few things left to throw in :)

A Year in One Suitcase…Here I Go

August 28, 2013 / hannahheagy / 0 Comments

Before packing...

Hallo alle! I’m Hannah, a Valpo junior from Pittsburgh, PA double majoring in German and Spanish. I’ll be spending the 2013-2014 school year studying in Tübingen, Germany, a small city in the province of Baden-Württemberg about an hour away from Stuttgart. I’m an incurable language nerd with a passion for travel, and I feel so blessed to study at a place like Valparaiso University. At Valpo, I’ve been able to have unforgettable international experiences that have improved my language skills and allowed me to see places that, before college, I could only dream about and write on my bucket list. Last summer, I spent two months serving as an intern at the YMCA in Valparaiso, Chile. In Chile I made great friends, improved my Spanish, and really learned how to live in and experience another culture firsthand (Want specific details? Read my blog!). This past winter, I also had the opportunity to tour China performing with VU’s orchestra (I play cello :)). Seeing places like the Great Wall and Hangzhou’s West Lake were once-in-a-lifetime experiences that I know I wouldn’t have gotten at any other school.

Now that I’ve told you a little about myself and how much I love Valpo, it’s time to get to the reason you’re reading this blog which is…THAT I LEAVE TO GO TO GERMANY FOR A YEAR TOMORROW. Yes, it’s now 12:14am on August 28th, and after a summer of working 40 hour fast food weeks and wondering how I am even going to begin to prepare for so long a trip, the countdown to the 29th is almost over and I am excited, stressed, and in little bit of denial that I will be gone for a whole year, which is pretty terrifying. But I’m not terrified in a bad way at all; I have the typical scared/anxious feeling that comes from knowing that you are entering an experience from which you will come out a changed person with a new perspective. I will miss my family and friends at home and on campus so much, but I know that I’ll gain and experience more from going to Germany than I can even comprehend right now. Amidst all the changes and confusion that come from living in a new country and learning a new language, God never changes. No matter where I am in the world, I know that I have a home in Christ and that He will care for me wherever I go and lead me to where I can best serve Him.

So now to the real hard part of studying abroad for a year…PACKING. Two days ago I couldn’t have told you how I planned on fitting a year of my belongings in one suitcase, but it’s finally been done! I figured that no matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to bring enough clothes or American toiletries, etc. to last me a year. If I forget or need something, I’ll easily be able to get it in Germany (as if I needed another excuse to go shopping).

After packing! Well, give or take a few things left to throw in 🙂

The next time you hear from me through this blog, I’ll be on my adventure, which is a scary and exciting thought! I’m planning on making this blog more than just writing. Maybe some video blogging to come soon? Check back soon for another post and follow me on Twitter @HannahinGermany. I’ll be tweeting my study abroad happenings throughout each day as well as announcing new blog posts! Bis bald!

Peace,

Hannah

Germany!

September 20, 2012 / studyabroad / 0 Comments

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!

Tübingen

Germany Excursion

May 7, 2012 / John McCutchan / 0 Comments

Munich

Within minutes of arriving in Germany it is incredibly easy to tell that the German people are remarkably efficient and self-sufficient. Although many Germans do speak English, they have little need of doing so. Even waiters in popular restaurants don’t willingly speak much English. The language barrier in Germany was the most pronounced of any country I’ve been to. While one can certainly get housing, food, and transportation, there is an entirely different sense of interaction between those who speak German and those who don’t. Lucky, most of my time was spent with other students from Valparaiso University who are studying abroad in Germany and can speak the language fluently.

The next thing worth noting is the food. It seems an average lunch consists of a sausage (normally with mustard), some sort of roll or pretzel, and a drink. The majority of main meal courses are similar. Meat with some sort of flavoring like gravy or horseradish and a vegetable (often sauerkraut or potato) go with bread to create a hearty meal. Also, beer is so important it is almost considered food. In Germany I was introduced to many drinks I hadn’t had before. Beer is relatively often mixed with cola or lemonade. A popular drink is bubble tea, which is iced tea with tapioca. Nearly everything in Germany is carbonated, including juice and water. While I didn’t like the water, carbonated apple juice was surprisingly good.

During the day in Munich I took a train to the village of Dachau – the name of the village being synonymous with the concentration camp I then visited on the city’s edge. It is difficult to describe, but something about the place actually feels different. This sixth sense is rather difficult to explain, but if you’ve ever been there perhaps you know what I mean. And if you haven’t been, you should try to go at some point.

Dachau Concentration Camp

After a train ride south through the iconic German countryside of towns hidden among thickly forested valleys we arrived in Tübingen. While much of our time here was spent catching up with friends from Valpo, we still did several of the touristy things the area has to offer. We climbed up to the city’s castle, visited the nearby city of Reutlingen, visited a monastery/king’s hunting lodge, and took the iconic Tübingen photo from the bridge across the Neckar River. Then, all too soon our Easter Break was over and it was time to fly back to London.

There are a few observations worth noting from my travels (and remember these are generalizations). Europeans (especially the British) love their dogs. It is fine to make a joke about someone’s children behaving badly, but don’t dare critique their dog. And not small dogs either – I’ve seen more huskies and german shepherds here than in America. Smoking is far more common in Europe. Several places have relatively strict anti-smoking laws, but many other European countries are far more lax. On Italian trains it seems half the railcar piles out at every stop for a cigarette. Last, Europe is far less restricted than the US (perhaps due to a lack of lawsuits at every turn). For example, I visited the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. Eventually the guardrails stopped and there were signs warning visitors against continuing. In America, if you did walk through the crack in the fence you’d almost be considered suicidal. Not to mention that a group of park rangers would immediately attempt to get you back behind the railing. Here, absolutely everyone continued – and walked right along the sheer drop into the Atlantic. All the sign meant was that beyond that point the park was no longer responsible for your actions. This was an expected part of the experience, if you stayed behind the wall your trip would have been far less memorable because the railings only enclose a very small section of the cliffs.

Tübingen

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

December 8, 2011 / Stephanie Volz / 0 Comments

The time after fall break has basically been filled with festivals (and a couple class trips). Thanksgiving, many Christmas markets, a chocolate festival.. It’s crazy. The first one was Thanksgiving. The international program at Hochschule Reutlingen (the university) puts on a Thanksgiving dinner every year for all the American students and other international students who are interested. They asked everyone to bring a dessert, but provided turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, and corn. All the staples of a Thanksgiving dinner except the green beans. Because for some reason they think that corn is this American thing that we always eat. Since they only eat corn on top of salads or pizza, which I think is weird, but whatever. (And I don’t have any pictures of the night since my camera was apparently dead without me realizing.. Oh well.)

Reutlingen Christmas market

Advent calendar on a house

It was so nice to have that little taste of home, since obviously Germany doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving. The downside: the rediscovery that a bunch of Americans in one room is super loud and annoying. Yay America. It’s going to be interesting just how much my perception of Americans has changed when I get back. I can only imagine that I’ll be a little annoyed at times..

So that was Thanksgiving. And then that weekend all the Christmas markets started going up! I had never been to one before, even though there are a few in some of the big cities in the U.S., like Chicago. Of course, being at those would be nothing like actually being in Germany at a market, because it is an experience I think everyone should have. It’s just rows and rows of wooden stalls selling scarves and hats, ornaments, candies, brats, miniature houses, nutcrackers, and anything else related to Christmas. And of course all decorated with lights and garlands. It really is beautiful.

I already wrote about the one in Vienna at the end of fall break, and since then I’ve been to several. The one in Reutlingen of course, which is surprisingly large for such a small city. It even has an ice rink. And my favorite part was the advent calendar they projected onto one of the houses downtown. So creative. And just awesome.

Part of the Nuremberg Christmas market

Next event of this time was a trip I took with a bunch of international students to Nuremberg. The home of the original Christmas market. Nuremberg itself is a really cool city, and I wish I had had more time to look around, since I was only there for a few hours. It’s one of the few towns left in Germany with the city wall still remaining and in good shape, and is really just beautiful. The Christmas market though, that was amazing even though it was super crowded. Anything you wanted to find, you could find there. And the bands and choirs playing on the stage added even more to the atmosphere of Christmas. I had thought that being one of the original Christmas markets would have made it bigger, but that was the only disappointment. And we were still able to make use of the few hours there wandering the stalls and drinking Gluehwein, the spiced hot wine that’s a specialty in the winter.

Part of the group in front of Schloss Ludwigsburg

Next stop: Ludwigsburg! There’s a somewhat famous palace here, and it’s only just over an hour train ride from Reutlingen, so we decided to make a class day out of it for our German culture/literature/history class. The interior was gorgeous, especially the two chapels and the theater. As a nature lover, though, I was drawn to the gardens more. They were beautiful, they even had a fairy tale part that was closed, but had figurines scattered throughout a wooded part to be sort of a fairy tale world. Ludwigsburg also had a Christmas market that we had some time to visit. And I finally found a cheap winter hat! So of course I picked the one with the most colors. I’m now the proud owner of a purple, blue, and lime green hat from Germany!

The weekend after this class trip I went to Stuttgart with Sarah for some Christmas market browsing and Christmas shopping (since we’re running out of time pretty quickly). Neither of us had actually been anywhere in Stuttgart besides the airport and the train station, so it was good just to walk around the city itself. It reminded both of us of Christmastime in Chicago- tons of people walking around in coats, scarves, and hats, and crowding all the stores and malls doing their shopping, and eating at brat places along the main pedestrian area. It could’ve only been more beautiful if it had been snowing. The Christmas market was completely packed with people. Which was frustrating, but on the other hand gave us plenty of time to look at everything in the stalls while in stand-stills in the vast crowds. And it was gigantic, so we had plenty of stalls for stall-browsing while we stood in the crowds.

Stuttgart Christmas

The final festival I’ve been to is the Tuebingen Chocolate festival, also last weekend. Apparently it’s really popular, because there were chocolate stalls from all over the world and people in throngs trying to get to the stalls to buy some bars or hot chocolate (or even chocolate beer or chocolate noodles). I decided not to go too crazy, so I stuck with hot chocolate with chili, although chocolate beer sounded really intriguing.

After a day of fighting crowds in Stuttgart and then a day fighting them in Tuebingen, we decided to be done with crowds for a while. Which was fine, because it was our second to last weekend in Germany.. So really, our last weekend to go anywhere except for maybe a few hours to a nearby town.

We leave on Tuesday already, and there are finals to finish up, stuff to pack, rooms to clean, and plenty of people to say good-bye to before we head off. I’m kind of sad. It’s been an incredible semester, and I’m sure I won’t realize just how much I’ve grown and learned and changed until I get back to the States. Living here is so normal now. The language is so normal, the public transportation so normal, the hills so normal, the colorful money, the ability to buy alcohol, pedestrian areas downtown, sorting trash into four bins, living with people from all corners of the world, even the showers that only spray for 30 seconds before you have to press the button again, all of it is so normal, it’s just a day in the life. Coming back home is going to be a culture shock–it will seem like everything has changed a little bit, when really it’s mostly my perceptions that have changed.

With hot chocolate at the festival

This semester has been absolutely amazing. I wouldn’t have traded it for the world. I’ve learned so much about myself and about the world, and I only hope I can take my experiences back with me and that they will have changed me for the better, and for good. So likely this is my last post until I get back, and then maybe I’ll do one about the transition back to American ways of life. Aus Deutschland zum letzten Mal, tschüß!

Burg Hollenzollern (out the bus window)

University Life + Weekend Excursions

November 12, 2011 / Zach Nelson / 0 Comments

Greetings from Tübingen! Sorry it’s been a while – I haven’t actually fallen off the face of the earth, regardless of how it may seem. In this blog, I’ll be writing about two recent weekend day trips right after a short summary of my life over the past few weeks!

Everything here has definitely been starting to settle down a little bit, with the start of the winter semester. It’s been a little difficult getting used to the German university system in that I have so much extra time. Or so it seems… At home, there is absolutely ALWAYS something to do when I’m at Valpo. Always a paper to write, a book to read, a presentation to practice, a quiz to study for, an assignment to complete, a meeting to attend etc. Here, my classes meet once a week (with the exception of Theology, which meets twice a week) as opposed to courses at Valpo, which usually require 3 or 4 class periods per week. While American universities practice “Continuous Assessment” throughout the course of the semester, German universities typically place most, if not all of the emphasis, on a final presentation and/or exam. In some of my classes here, the only grade I will receive all semester long is the final exam grade.

What does that mean? No homework! Or so I originally thought. What it really means is that I’ve got to get a move on, and get myself on track to learning tons of material. (I know, I sound like a giant slacker, but many of the German students I’ve talked to also haven’t done much yet this semester either… Which makes me feel better. I’ve just been allowing myself to experience the life of a typical German student by living a comfortable life of social events while getting to know people and places. Just for a few short weeks 🙂

There’s really nothing assigned that I have to do, but there are online articles, books, and other supplementary materials that may very well be required knowledge for the tests in February. Which means that over the past few days, I’ve been scrambling a little to get organized with my course materials and start the learning process of preparing for the final exams. Almost every course here has PDF files online containing all the necessary course information, which I spent a painstaking 1.5 hours as well as €15 printing out in the library last week. (You’d think that printing something would be as easy as clicking print, confirming the print job by clicking “OK,” walking to the nearest printer, and collecting your double-sided document. Not here. Such as simple, everyday task would be too easy for the Germans, who like to complicate things just a little too much sometimes. But I’m not complaining! Just a cultural difference, and me poking a little fun!)

Anyway, during a conversation with a German friend here who studied for one semester in Missouri, I was told that universities in America are “easier” than in Germany. I found that opinion to be interesting, but I simply could not agree. It is a wonder that I survived the courseload I had last semester at home – it was in no way easy! There is, however, some truth to his comment, in regards to how American students are expected to learn. In my opinion, the American university system has much more structure than that of Germany. Students are expected to keep up with the pace of the course, but they are also told what they need to learn by the given deadlines (more or less.) Such a system leaves no room for the “guessing game” of, “what will be important on the test, what does the professor find most valuable, and what do I need to learn?” that I feel I’m currently struggling to play. In many of my courses at home, the semester is broken up into thirds, with three large exams at the end of every section rather than one single exam at the end. The content isn’t easier, but it is helpful actually knowing what you have to learn and be responsible for. At the end of the day you’re still learning, you just don’t have to take a lucky stab in the dark at a semester’s worth of content. Just my opinion…

Anyway, on Tuesday of last week, I decided to join another class, after already missing the first two. I figured that I had the extra time in my weekly schedule to pick up another marketing class, so after a few emails back and forth with the professor, I was officially registered for “Industriegütermarketing” (Industrial Goods Marketing.) The only catch was that I have to give a presentation with two other people next Wednesday, during our first “Übung” period. (An übung is similar to a “lab” course at Valpo – the material covered coincides with what is being taught in the lectures, and during this period you are given the chance to work through and apply the content learned in class.)

For the presentation, I’ll be talking about a case study about an electric company in New York, and explaining why they did not get a bid to build electric motor components for a company in Ohio. At home, this would be an extremely interesting topic to me, as a business major. Here, although interesting, it’s pretty complex. The case study has quite a few characters and a complex sequence of events that’s not exactly easy to understand, much less present. I’ve already had to give a few presentations in my language courses but it’s much easier presenting to other international students who, much like myself, are still in the process of learning German and don’t yet speak it perfectly!

So, other than a little slap in the face by reality and some homework etc. I really haven’t been up to too many exciting ventures besides the two small trips I’m about to write about! Next weekend, I’m off to Frankfurt to visit one of my best friends who was an exchange student in my High School, and I may be going to Sweden at the end of next month, but that remains to be determined! I have a couple different options for how I’ll be spending Christmas, but I haven’t been able to decide yet between them!

And, we're off! Our group before hiking to the Würmlinger Kapelle (Chapel of Würmlingen)

On Saturday, October 29 a group of us hiked to a chapel (the Würmlinger Kapelle) right outside of nearby Würmlingen. (You may remember my post a few weeks back about our first failed attempt to hike there, but this time we knew the way!) Among our group were Rachel, Jake, and I from Valpo, a friend of Jake who was visiting from Spain, two friends from Deutsch Kompakt, and a couple French friends that I’ve met over the past few weeks. We started at 11:00 AM on the Neckarbrücke (the Neckar Bridge) and made our way through the castle, and down the path to the chapel.

The Würmlinger Kapelle, and the beautiful Fall colors

The hike took about two hours to finally reach the chapel, where we proceeded to look around for awhile, and visit the grave of a former supporter and financial contributor to Valpo’s German program who lived in Würmlingen. The chapel is 961 years old, and somewhat of a well-known landmark for this region. It has been honored over the years by many poets, including Ludwig Uhland of Tübingen.

Picnic, and nap in the grass!

See this link for the text of Uhland’s poem (in German): http://www.historisches-wuerttemberg.de/kultur/dichter/uhland/kapelle.htm

There were a couple steep ascents, but overall it wasn’t a bad hike. The chapel is on top of a large hill covered in small vineyards, and the view from the top was beautiful. We all brought picnics along, which we enjoyed at the bottom of the hill before taking a nap on the grass. For the end of October, the weather was nothing like what I would have expected at this time of year after having lived 20 years in the brutally-cold Midwest. It really felt like it could have been a month-and-a-half earlier. After another two-hour hike back, we were back in Tübingen. I can only speak for myself, but the 10k trek tired me out more than I expected it to. All in all, it was a great day, and a must-do day trip for everyone who studies in Tübingen or Reutlingen!

Weekend excursion number 2 was a trip to nearby Burg Hollenzollern, (Hollenzollern Castle), home of the royal family of Prussia. Although the country of Prussia was effectively dissolved by the Nazis in 1932 and officially ceased to exist in 1947, the castle remains one of several official residences of Georg Friedrich, the current prince of Prussia. I find it strange that there is still a royal, extremely-wealthy Prussian family. They have their own website: http://www.preussen.de/en/today.html. In a way, it must be pretty nice to be the prince of a non-existent country. You’re royal, loaded, and you have absolutely zero political power or work to do! You could finance your whole life with the interest of all the investments and bank accounts started by your historically-royal and powerful family. And you get to carry the title, “Prince of Prussia.” Sounds great to me!

Burg Hollenzollern (out the bus window)

The castle is the third to have stood atop the mountain in the Swabian Alb range (not to be confused with the Alps, which has a very similar sound in German). It was completed in 1867, which means that it is both relatively new and in very good condition in comparison to most castles in Germany. Burg Hollenzolern has a very fairy-tale-like appearance to it, and although it fits the image that comes to mind when most Americans hear the word, “Castle,” it’s really quite unique. Most castles in Germany are multiple hundreds of years old. They’re cold, impersonal, and in many cases, nothing more than archaeological ruins.

Jake, Hannah, and Rachel make the climb up to the castle from the bus stop

We had originally planned on taking the tour in English, as Jake’s friend visiting from Spain was still with us. After buying the ticket and standing in the extremely long line, we were nearly an hour late for the English tour. It was a very beautiful October day, and Burg Hollenzollern simply couldn’t accommodate all the tourists that wanted in on the 1:00 tour. So, 45 minutes later, our tour began in German. It was no problem for us, and translating everything into English was good practice.

Inside the castle courtyard

Photography was prohibited inside of the castle, so I unfortunately don’t have any pictures to post from inside. The tour was excellent, and it is also a must-see for any tourists to the area / students studying in Reutlingen or Tübingen.

Another view of the Burg Hollenzollern

The castle also has a Biergarten and an excellent restaurant, where we elected to have dinner. There were a few hardy people enjoying the food and beer in the biergarten, but by the time evening rolled around it was too cold for us outside! The restaurant featured all sorts of traditional Swabian foods, including my favorite variety of Potato Salad typical of Southwest Germany.

Check out this website for more information about Burg Hollenzollern: http://www.burg-hohenzollern.com/startpage.html.

That’s all for now!

Next blog post to come sometime next week about my upcoming trip to Frankfurt! Wish me luck this week in classes as I attempt to understand everything! The philosophy “Fake it until you make it,” has never had so much relevance in my life as it does right now 😉

Check out my album October 2011 in Tübingen + Vienna! to see all my pictures from the two day-trips described above! (They’re at the end of the album.)

https://picasaweb.google.com/117445044945979223598/October2011InTubingenVienna?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Bis dann!

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