*Nick in Vienna
Well, we're almost there. Jane is flying to Vienna tonight, then we are flying to Paris with Mason on the 28th, and then back to Columbus on the 30th. It has been quite an experience, and I'm not sure how I feel about leaving Europe, but I am very excited to live with Jane again (we've seen each other 5 days of the past 3 months).
I am also very excited to see all of you again, be you family or friend (or both?). We'll probably post some sort of wrap-up thoughts at some point. But for now, I need to clean my apartment...
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Summer night in Vienna
*Nick in Vienna
Earlier tonight I went to a free outdoor concert given by the Wiener Philharmoniker at Schoenbrunn. I met up with a couple friends from the English church who had also brought a few people from their school programs. We had a great seat up on the hill behind and above the stage. The view was amazing. The sound, not so much. We could barely hear anything up there. The music was all planet themed, so they played some Star Wars, Holst's Planets, and that sort of thing. I'm sure it was great. It didn't really matter, though. The view was great, the wine was flowing, and the conversation delightful. Here are a few pictures.
Earlier tonight I went to a free outdoor concert given by the Wiener Philharmoniker at Schoenbrunn. I met up with a couple friends from the English church who had also brought a few people from their school programs. We had a great seat up on the hill behind and above the stage. The view was amazing. The sound, not so much. We could barely hear anything up there. The music was all planet themed, so they played some Star Wars, Holst's Planets, and that sort of thing. I'm sure it was great. It didn't really matter, though. The view was great, the wine was flowing, and the conversation delightful. Here are a few pictures.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
We were Germans, if only for a day
*Nick in Vienna
As Jane mentioned in the post below this one, we went on a very nice hike while we were in Munich in the Alps. We pretty much just hiked to the summit of a mountain and back down. I think the mountain was called Wendenberg, which roughly means 'turning mountain,' but I can't quite remember.
Our friend Andreas brought a few other friends, two of whom had cars, so it meant that we could get right to the base of the hill. We would still have been able to go by train had we needed to, but it would have been less convenient and more expensive with six of us. We did the hike of Pfingsten (Pentecost), which is a holiday here so there were lots of people hiking. The parking lot was almost totally full when we arrived from people already on the hike. I felt a little out of place in the parking lot seeing all the equipment people had. Jane and I had one school-sized backpack that we traded off with water and apples, and we were both wearing sunscreen. The Germans in contrast all had a pair of hiking sticks, hiking boots, large backpacks filled with lots of food, maps, extra clothes, and cushions for sitting. The Germans take their hiking seriously, you see. At first Jane and I were kind of making fun of them to ourselves, but it turned out I really needed those hiking sticks. More on that later.
The views on the hike were stunning, as the pictures hopefully show. We actually stopped taking pictures at some point because there was just too much and a camera couldn't possibly capture it. Jane and I were both pretty upset at the pace as we were heading up the mountain.
Maybe because we weren't carrying very much, or maybe because we are Americans that like to walk fast, but we really wanted to move much quicker than everybody else. Presumably our company was just saving their strength as we turned out to really need it. We stopped about half way up for some food and we took this picture of the peak we were headed to.
Once we finally reached the peak, after about 3 1/2 hours of hiking uphill, some of it quite steep, it was really breathtaking. What was also really great, though, is that there is a beer garden on the top! Ahh Bavarians and their beer gardens. It was really quite nice after a long hike to enjoy a cold beer and a hot schnitzel. There were a ton of people up there, pretty much all German. This particular peak is very popular and there is actually a train that goes to almost the top (the reason for the Beer Garden). There is also a cute little church which can be seen in the last picture.
After hanging around at the top for a couple hours enjoying drinks, conversation, and the few, we headed down the other side. It was the more northerly side so there was still a fair amount of snow, especially on one stretch of the trail. Someone kindly let me borrow their hiking sticks but I still fell on my butt three or four times into the snow. Then my knee really starting acting up (actually, it was my IT band, or I think that is what Jane said). Someone let me use their hiking sticks for the whole descent, which was very kind of them because that is when you really want them, especially if your knee is hurting.
We finally made it to the bottom and then we went out for huge pieces of cake. Like, seriously, you have never seen pieces of cake this big. Jane had sachertorte that was probably the size of four normal pieces. Germans often have their cake/dessert in the late afternoon rather than after dinner like Americans, so it was pretty crowded at the cafe, but we sat outside in a beautiful cafe surrounded by flowers. We figured we earned our huge cake, though, because on that day we were Germans.
As Jane mentioned in the post below this one, we went on a very nice hike while we were in Munich in the Alps. We pretty much just hiked to the summit of a mountain and back down. I think the mountain was called Wendenberg, which roughly means 'turning mountain,' but I can't quite remember.
Our friend Andreas brought a few other friends, two of whom had cars, so it meant that we could get right to the base of the hill. We would still have been able to go by train had we needed to, but it would have been less convenient and more expensive with six of us. We did the hike of Pfingsten (Pentecost), which is a holiday here so there were lots of people hiking. The parking lot was almost totally full when we arrived from people already on the hike. I felt a little out of place in the parking lot seeing all the equipment people had. Jane and I had one school-sized backpack that we traded off with water and apples, and we were both wearing sunscreen. The Germans in contrast all had a pair of hiking sticks, hiking boots, large backpacks filled with lots of food, maps, extra clothes, and cushions for sitting. The Germans take their hiking seriously, you see. At first Jane and I were kind of making fun of them to ourselves, but it turned out I really needed those hiking sticks. More on that later.
The views on the hike were stunning, as the pictures hopefully show. We actually stopped taking pictures at some point because there was just too much and a camera couldn't possibly capture it. Jane and I were both pretty upset at the pace as we were heading up the mountain.
Maybe because we weren't carrying very much, or maybe because we are Americans that like to walk fast, but we really wanted to move much quicker than everybody else. Presumably our company was just saving their strength as we turned out to really need it. We stopped about half way up for some food and we took this picture of the peak we were headed to. Once we finally reached the peak, after about 3 1/2 hours of hiking uphill, some of it quite steep, it was really breathtaking. What was also really great, though, is that there is a beer garden on the top! Ahh Bavarians and their beer gardens. It was really quite nice after a long hike to enjoy a cold beer and a hot schnitzel. There were a ton of people up there, pretty much all German. This particular peak is very popular and there is actually a train that goes to almost the top (the reason for the Beer Garden). There is also a cute little church which can be seen in the last picture.
After hanging around at the top for a couple hours enjoying drinks, conversation, and the few, we headed down the other side. It was the more northerly side so there was still a fair amount of snow, especially on one stretch of the trail. Someone kindly let me borrow their hiking sticks but I still fell on my butt three or four times into the snow. Then my knee really starting acting up (actually, it was my IT band, or I think that is what Jane said). Someone let me use their hiking sticks for the whole descent, which was very kind of them because that is when you really want them, especially if your knee is hurting.
We finally made it to the bottom and then we went out for huge pieces of cake. Like, seriously, you have never seen pieces of cake this big. Jane had sachertorte that was probably the size of four normal pieces. Germans often have their cake/dessert in the late afternoon rather than after dinner like Americans, so it was pretty crowded at the cafe, but we sat outside in a beautiful cafe surrounded by flowers. We figured we earned our huge cake, though, because on that day we were Germans.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Spending time with German people in Germany
*Jane in Paris*
Recently Nick and I went to Munich to visit the family that I lived with when I studied in Germany in 2003. More precisely we went to Holzkirchen, a little town with a view of the Alps 35 km south of Munich, and stayed with the Orlando family. My host father, Stefan, is Italian-born, but he has lived in the Holzkirchen area for almost all of his life.
My host mother, Annemarie, has always lived there. This was the third time that I had stayed with the Orlandos, the second time for Nick, and as always their hospitality was amazing. We felt at home from the first minute - they gave us a set of keys, invited us to rummage in the refrigerator, let us watch TV with them, and patiently spoke with us in German. I've always loved being at their home - it's not too large but clean, bright, and comfortable, and the view of the Alps from the backyard is something I never tired of. They had built a new pond for the pet ducks since the last time I had been there, and while the cat had recently passed away, they had acquired a turtle that likes to make laps around the backyard. The area where I live in Paris is extremely urban, and the startling effect a more natural surrounding had on me during the retreat I wrote about in the last post hit me once again in Holzkirchen.
On the first day the weather was incredibly cold - I think the high was 50 F. After taking a few trains from the airport and splitting our ticket with a nice German couple that we met, Annemarie picked us up from the Holzkirchen train station. Immediately speaking German was strange to me, and although I was surprised at how quickly a lot of it came back to me, throughout that first night French words would frequently slip out of my mouth. We ate a classic German dinner of sausage, large pretzels, and beer.
The next day we spent some time walking through Holzkirchen, and I realized that although I lived there for 6 weeks during my time of study, I didn't know the town well at all. While I was there I only utilized a few of the streets and never ventured away from them. I knew the walk from the train station to the Orlando home, and that was about it. We walked to a park and played on the equipment, looked at the many Bavarian-style homes that we passed, and stopped in a used clothing store where I bought a dress inspired by traditional Bavarian fashion (referred to as Tracht). On the way to the store we stopped for ice cream at Crema Gelato, and it was even better than I remembered it.
On the third day we went into Munich, our first trip into the city. We stumbled upon a huge clothing store that devoted an entire floor to Tracht. Despite a sale we still couldn't afford anything, but we enjoyed trying things on anyway.
We also visited our friend Andreas, who just spent six months in Paris, causing our paths to cross. If we hadn't missed our connecting train on the way to move me into my Paris apartment we probably would have never met him. Andreas welcomed us with coffee and rubarb cake, and I finally agreed with Nick that I do like rubarb. That night the Bayern Muenchen soccer team played International Milan in the Champions' League final. Throughout the day we saw more and more Bayern jerseys in the city, and at the Indian restaurant where we ate lunch we watched the waiters adorning the entry with Bayern scarves. Down the street workers at a different restaurant were installing a flat screen tv above the outdoor seating. Nick and I watched the game back in Holzkirchen with the family, and Bayern sadly lost. Annemarie was sad; Stefan had no opinion.
On Sunday Annemarie and Stefan lead us on a bike tour through a forest near their house. The ride was at least as stressful as it was enjoyable, because the path was littered with large rocks and it had rained on it the night before.
We ended the ride with a late lunch in a beer garden, joined by my host sister, Verena, and her boyfriend. Yes, the Bavarians certainly know their way around pork! The ride back, after such a nice meal and the tiring ride there, was not as enjoyable. We got home and basically had to just lie around for the rest of the day, because we had planned a big hike for Monday.
Nick is going to pick up with the day of the hike, which as far as views and excitement goes was the high point of the trip.
Recently Nick and I went to Munich to visit the family that I lived with when I studied in Germany in 2003. More precisely we went to Holzkirchen, a little town with a view of the Alps 35 km south of Munich, and stayed with the Orlando family. My host father, Stefan, is Italian-born, but he has lived in the Holzkirchen area for almost all of his life.
My host mother, Annemarie, has always lived there. This was the third time that I had stayed with the Orlandos, the second time for Nick, and as always their hospitality was amazing. We felt at home from the first minute - they gave us a set of keys, invited us to rummage in the refrigerator, let us watch TV with them, and patiently spoke with us in German. I've always loved being at their home - it's not too large but clean, bright, and comfortable, and the view of the Alps from the backyard is something I never tired of. They had built a new pond for the pet ducks since the last time I had been there, and while the cat had recently passed away, they had acquired a turtle that likes to make laps around the backyard. The area where I live in Paris is extremely urban, and the startling effect a more natural surrounding had on me during the retreat I wrote about in the last post hit me once again in Holzkirchen. On the first day the weather was incredibly cold - I think the high was 50 F. After taking a few trains from the airport and splitting our ticket with a nice German couple that we met, Annemarie picked us up from the Holzkirchen train station. Immediately speaking German was strange to me, and although I was surprised at how quickly a lot of it came back to me, throughout that first night French words would frequently slip out of my mouth. We ate a classic German dinner of sausage, large pretzels, and beer.
The next day we spent some time walking through Holzkirchen, and I realized that although I lived there for 6 weeks during my time of study, I didn't know the town well at all. While I was there I only utilized a few of the streets and never ventured away from them. I knew the walk from the train station to the Orlando home, and that was about it. We walked to a park and played on the equipment, looked at the many Bavarian-style homes that we passed, and stopped in a used clothing store where I bought a dress inspired by traditional Bavarian fashion (referred to as Tracht). On the way to the store we stopped for ice cream at Crema Gelato, and it was even better than I remembered it.
On the third day we went into Munich, our first trip into the city. We stumbled upon a huge clothing store that devoted an entire floor to Tracht. Despite a sale we still couldn't afford anything, but we enjoyed trying things on anyway.
We also visited our friend Andreas, who just spent six months in Paris, causing our paths to cross. If we hadn't missed our connecting train on the way to move me into my Paris apartment we probably would have never met him. Andreas welcomed us with coffee and rubarb cake, and I finally agreed with Nick that I do like rubarb. That night the Bayern Muenchen soccer team played International Milan in the Champions' League final. Throughout the day we saw more and more Bayern jerseys in the city, and at the Indian restaurant where we ate lunch we watched the waiters adorning the entry with Bayern scarves. Down the street workers at a different restaurant were installing a flat screen tv above the outdoor seating. Nick and I watched the game back in Holzkirchen with the family, and Bayern sadly lost. Annemarie was sad; Stefan had no opinion.
On Sunday Annemarie and Stefan lead us on a bike tour through a forest near their house. The ride was at least as stressful as it was enjoyable, because the path was littered with large rocks and it had rained on it the night before.
We ended the ride with a late lunch in a beer garden, joined by my host sister, Verena, and her boyfriend. Yes, the Bavarians certainly know their way around pork! The ride back, after such a nice meal and the tiring ride there, was not as enjoyable. We got home and basically had to just lie around for the rest of the day, because we had planned a big hike for Monday.
Nick is going to pick up with the day of the hike, which as far as views and excitement goes was the high point of the trip.
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