Neuschwanstein Ausflüge

The Carl Duisberg Centrum in Radolfzell has almost daily after school activities for students to go on. Notably, last week, they offered a fully organized tour of the Schloß Neuschwanstein near Füssen, Germany. If you’re not familiar, you should be since it’s the castle that Disney used to build the magic kingdom. Perched atop a mountain, Neuschwanstein is one of Germany’s most iconic places. Built only in the 19^th century by King Ludwig of Bavaria, it was King Ludwig’s project and commemoration to Richard Wagner, King Ludwig’s favorite composer. The castle was designed to be as modern as possible for its time, and it included central heating and running water. The castle on the exterior looks much larger than it actually is. This accounts for the fact that the castle was never finished as King Ludwig died in 1886. Since the cost was too prohibitive, the castle was never finished and immediately turned into a museum.

Füssen, where the castle is located, is a small town at the base of the Alps. Only kilometers away from Austria, it basically lies on the border and is the last place of inhabitation before Austria. The peaks of the mountains to the south create a clear-cut demarcation line dividing Germany from Austria. The area is very pretty, with some snow-covered peaks, lakes, streams and forest. The castle lies on top of a small mountain with views of a waterfall and Marienbrücke, and bridge that is made of wood that connects Neuschwanstein to the forests and mountains leading towards Austria.

The CDC organized the whole trip, and the 28 of us rode in a mini tour bus 4 hours to Füssen. Our driver was definitely German and quite frustrated with the high traffic load on the roads. In Bavaria, a predominantly Catholic Bundesland, it was Ascension Day so everyone was on holiday. The neighboring state of Baden-Württemberg was also on holiday, and so the autobahn was a parking lot with tourist from all over the country trying to get to Füssen, Italy or Austria. Luckily, I was seated in the back of the bus where there was a small table and I along with some other Russian CDC students taught the others how to play Durak, a Russian card game with no winner only a loser.

Finally, we had arrived at Neuschwanstein only to be surrounded by throngs of other tourist from neighboring European countries. Luckily, since we had reserved our tickets beforehand, we were able to go grab lunch. As one would expect, Neuschwanstein is touristy, with many restaurants and inns overdoing the Bavaria theme. Of course, we ate a typical or perhaps untypical (depending on the way you want to look at it) restaurant. Surprisingly the meal was not overpriced, but it was not very tasty. I had pfefferlinge knödel, which is chanterelle mushrooms in a sauce with a bread ball (similar to a matzo ball). Luckily for desert, my vanilla ice cream finally came with natural warm raspberry sauce. Something I had been wanting and not being able to find.

Our tour through the castle was naturally conducted in German. The castle has only a couple of completed rooms. We saw the bedroom of King Ludwig. The rooms, like in traditionally castles were all interconnected. There was a fairly large chapel, as well as a theatre for Wagner performances. In fact, the castle still hosts concerts in the months of September. We saw the modern kitchens as well as Ludwig’s personal cave room. It was all quite impressive, but much smaller on the inside than it seemed on the exterior.  The most fantastic part of the castle, however, were the views. The tour lasted only a half hour, and the rest of the time we spent hiking through the trails behind the castle. We went to the Marienbrücke, where one has the best view of the castle. Also, I went down to the base of the waterfall with Anna, and actually filled up a bottle with pure alpine water. In fact, it tasted better than the bottled Evian water that was in the bottle beforehand.

 With so much time wasted on the trip getting to Neuschwanstein, we were unable to stop in Lindau for a cup of coffee. We again slept and played Durak on the trip back from Neuschwanstein. Despite fewer cars on the autobahn and roads, the trip home still took a solid 3 hours. 

Zürich, Switzerland and the SR Technic Tour

Today, I went to Zürich, Switzerland for a special organized tour of SR Technic at the Zürich International Airport. I found out about this tour and the possibility to spot aircraft from the observation deck from my airliners.net forum, which I’m an active participant. I was hesitant to commit to an event that would be taking place miles away from home back in June, but I believed it would be a good way for me to network and perhaps make new connections in the European aviation industry. The day our tour was set to take place also happened to be the Zürich Street Parade, which if you don’t know, is a huge techno fest that takes place around the harbor in Zürich. People go to this festival in unique dress from skintight leather pants and shirts to weird self-made clothes.

The day began in Radolfzell where I met my friend Anna, a fellow U of M student that just also happened to have applied to this program, and who had also been placed in Radolfzell. Anna is of Polish decent, and thus has an interest in Germanic and Eastern European history and policy. Patrick, another PPPler, also had decided to join us on our excursion. At the train station, we met yet another fellow PPPler, Meredith, who had planned to go on a different excursion but was ditched by her friends who failed to show up because of too much partying the night before. So at 9am we were on the train headed for Zürich.

The train ride from Radolfzell to Zürich lasts all of 1:10. We had to make one connection in Singen (Hohentwiel) 5 minutes away from Radolfzell where there is a large junction. Since Switzerland is now part of Schengen, it is no longer necessary for people travelling between Germany and Switzerland to pass through border control. However, boarder guards did come on the train, and despite us asking for them to stamp our passport, they told us it was not possible as they were now members of Schengen.

Upon arrival at the train station in Zürich, it was clear that the Street Parade was in full swing. Since the train station is enclosed, there was a huge stage set up (mind you, it’s still early morning) with people dancing to the music. It was loud and crowded. Not very pleasant when you’re trying to find the tourist information so that you can get a map and navigate the city. However, we finally did get a map of the city and we were off. The city was filled with techno fans though, and it was quite difficult to walk around immediately from the Bahnhof (Train Station), as there were so many people. We decided to go to a section of the city called Lindenhof, where there was a viewing platform of the whole city. Also located in the old section of the city, we where able to roam the small streets, shops, and also grab some lunch. Unfortunately, the weather was turning gloomy, and it began to rain. Fortunately, we were able to walk around the old town, and I was able to see Marc Chagall’s stained glass window in the cities most prominent protestant church, the Fraumünster.

Following, we ended up on the city’s most chic shopping boulevard lined with stores like Bally, Louis Vuitton and others. We did some window-shopping, and I came across Burger where I actually found a great deal on some great tailored shirts. I bought two shirts, and that will probably be the culmination of my shopping in Europe at least until the next year. As it was already nearing 1pm, I decided to get a move on to the airport, where I was supposed to meet for my tour. I have to say I’m pretty impressed with the train system in Switzerland. The train from Zürich to the Flughafen (airport) was direct and simple. Any ticket for any train was valid on the route, and I got to the airport in 20 minutes. Additionally, there were trains every 15-20 minutes. At the airport, which I think was one of the nicest that I have ever been too (so you know that’s impressive) I met the other anetters (members of the airliners.net forum) for the start of our tour.

 SR Technic was a daughter company of the Swiss Air Group. However, the Swiss Air Group was dissolved a couple years back, and the airline component was bought out by Lufthansa GmbH. The other parts were sold to other investors. SR was the former airline IATA code for Swiss Air. SR Technic however still does all the maintenance for Swiss Air and many other airlines around the world, as well as engine manufacturers. Once we passed security, we were transferred by bus from the airport terminal to the SR Technic main building. There, on foot, we went from hanger to hanger touring the facility and how the company repairs aircraft engines.

When engines need overhauling, repairs, or maintenance checks, Airlines don’t ground the plane, but rather have spare engines available to swap in for an engine that needs a check up. Thus, the plane never actually sits on the ground, but rather has its engine swapped every 2-3 years. SR Technic does not repair and service all engines, but they do service GE and Pratt Whitney engines, and they have one time, repeat, and contractual customers. Some of their customers include Swiss Air, Cathay Pacific, Vietnamese Airlines and 100’s of others. SR Technic will dismantle the entire engine into every part, clean the parts, analyze the wear on the each part, and assess what needs to be replaced. Such a service usually costs an airline between 1-2 million dollars. Additionally, SR Technic will need a minimum of 40 days to turnaround the engine, but usually requires much more time as the supply of parts is tight considering the extravagant cost of each spare part. Additionally, there is no place to store so many parts. Some engines have over 100,000 parts.

During the tour, we saw many engines on carts getting prepped for repair. We also saw airliners being converted from passenger variants to cargo, as well as a complete refurbishment of other airliners (including new seats, carpeting, window panels, overhead bins, crew rest cabins, and exterior repainting. In all, I cannot fathom how one opens such a business as the start up cost are extremely exorbitant, the know-how of personnel much be extremely technical, and the work done must be of the highest quality. Basically, in our globalized economy, many airlines are finding that it is much cheaper to outsource such work rather than opening their own shops. Additionally, manufactures use such repair facilities to send their engines when they are overburdened with work. However, our tour guide did acknowledge that the amount of work has diminished due to the global economic crisis, as airlines are favoring grounding airplanes that require upcoming checks due to the slack in demand.

Next post, Trip to Neuschwanstein Castle and Bavaria. 

My Host Family and my New Home - Kasernenstr.

My House

Once I had arrived in Radolfzell, my host mom, Birgit Wotjas picked me up from the CDC. I was nervous to meet my new family as I wasn't sure what to expect. Since I had arrived in Germany that day, several things had changed. First, I was to move in immediately with my host family, which was different from what I was initially told. Instead of moving into the school's dormitory, I moved right into with my family... I was happy about this. The other thing that I learned that I was to get my full stipend as opposed to a reduced stipend, because my family was not providing me with breakfast. This worried me a little bit too, as our host families for the first part could range from just boarding housings to full fledged accepting families. 

My host mom picked me up in her black Fiat Punto, (another bad sign at least I thought). Fact is, Germans spend a high proportion of their income on their cars. They're very proud, and since my host mom drove a Fiat, an Italian car, I was not sure really what to expect. I was also pretty embarrassed in the fact that I had 3 bags, 1 box, and a backpack, way more than the average. I rationalized by telling everyone that I planned on buying nothing but a pair of jeans in Germany. Anyways, everything fit into the back seat and the trunk, and we drove the 5 minutes home.

However, in many ways, when I arrived home, I realized how lucky I actually was with my family placement. First, my home is situated in Radolfzell proper, not a outlying village. This meant that I am able to walk to school in only 20 minutes, as opposed to taking a bus or buying a bike. Second, my home is only 6 years old, meaning that most everything is up to date and modern. I have a big large bathroom, a large vaulted ceiling room with balcony, and downstairs we have a kitchen with a washing machine and every other convenience. Third, my host mom and host brother are really nice. I'm welcome into their home, but I also have my privacy. The second floor where my room is, has its own kitchen and bathroom. There are also two other renters that live there. However, since I'm a guest from the US, I'm welcome to use the living room, downstairs kitchen and the whole basement. We have a small backyard with patio and we even have an above ground swimming pool. So in many ways, I have one of the best living situations. Also important to note is that I was given a key immediately to the house. Some of the others are not as fortunate as I am. 

My Bedroom

So in the time that I have been living on Kasernenstrasse, my host mom and I has repaired an old bike of theirs for me to use, taken me grocery shopping, gone running in the woods, prepared dinners together and taught me how to play several board games like backgammon, nobody's perfect auf Deutsch, and Battleship auf Deutsch. I in return have helped them with their computers, cell phones, and shown them how to make pesto. Last night we prepared a huge dinner for Birgit, me, Quentin (Birgit's son) and our other host student who just moved in Ashley. (Ashley is also on my program with me, but she's from Atlanta). Since I made the pesto which they absolutely couldn't get enough of, Birgit has decided that I should be the head chef. Since I suggested we have chicken for dinner, I was put in control for cooking it. I decided to take a page out of Maria's cookbook (from Italy) and make Lemon Chicken. It was pretty good, but definitely could use improvement.

Birgit making Quiche Lorraine for Dinner

In the 2 and 1/2 weeks that I've been here, I've done my laundry 2 times (using a European front loading washing machine and a 20 year old dryer, although most things are air-dried). The only thing that's really bad about living in Radolfzell is the amount of bugs and mosquitos. It's really really bad, and I'm always worried. I've been bitten all over, and as I'm writing this, there is a mosquito flying around me taunting me. 

I will be keeping you updated as well with my host family throughout my posts. Unfortunately, when I move to Frankfurt in September, I will have a new family, but perhaps I will be equally as fortunate. 

Carl Duisberg Centrum - Radolfzell

The Bodensee - Us PPPler often eat lunch here

This post is dedicated to my school in Radolfzell, Germany. The Carl Duisberg Centrum is a network of German Language schools located throughout Germany. When we (the 20 students bound for the Radolfzell language school) arrived here at the CDC, we were treated to German pretzels, cinnamon cake and juice. It was a very nice arrival after being flying for 14 hours and then taking a 4 hour bus ride. Needless to say, we were hungry and tired. We had a short introduction, met our tutor Silkee, and met the director of the CDC Radolfzell, Frau Heinz. It was very interesting. We immediately received our stipends for the month, received our welcome packets, and waited only for our hosts to come pick us up. Around 5pm, our hosts arrived, and we were driven home. 

Me in front of the CDC-Radolfzell

The following Monday (we arrived Saturday), was my first day at the CDC. We took a placement exam, and had some bureaucratic affairs to deal with. We had to register with the local city hall, and had to fill out several forms regarding our stay in Germany. 

The second day, we found out our placements. I was placed into level B1.2, which is intermediate. I was quite pleased with my placement, as I would be doing some review, but would actually go into the level I finished off with last summer in Berlin. (Today I took another exam, the marked the end of level B1.2, and so tomorrow we get our results, and we will see if I will move ahead into B.2 or whether I will have to redo B1.2. I believe I will move ahead). 

The CDC - Radolfzell

My teacher's name is Frau Angelika H. She is quite nice, but I've noticed that the German education system is pretty different from ours. First, they really encourage exercises and they don't cover the grammatical rules. So you're supposed to figure out the rules yourself or through examples. I don't really like this way of learning, but I realize that I'm in a different country and things are done differently here. In fact, I'm sort of surprised that things are taught this way, I would have expected the Germans to teach with tables and rules, not exercises. Anyways, we play games and sing songs. Interestingly, on Wednesdays we have a substitute, and yesterday he played his guitar for us. 

So I'll keep you updated on my events here at the CDC, next post my host mom and my new home. 

Washington DC Part 2 and Flight to Frankfurt

On our last and final day in the United States for one full year, we awoke early because we had to check-out of our dorm rooms at 7:00am. All 75 of us then proceeded to put our luggage in one of the two luggage rooms that the program had secured for us. We then went to eat breakfast, our last American one, at the cafeteria that overlooked the Potomac. 

I felt sombre, as the weather wasn't ideal. Humid, rainy, and overcast. Looking out the window onto the Potomac and into Alexandria, it began to dawn that this was it. I was leaving, my world, my home, my family for an entire year. Well anyways, we had our last seminar that day before our trip to the airport. The people at CDS wishes us farewell, and at 1pm we were off for Dulles Airport. Right after we loaded our luggage and boarded the bus, it began to downpour. 

The trip to the airport was uneventful. America passed before my eyes as the bus got closer to the airport. Cousin Joe came to the rescue though, as I left the greater portion of my stuff at his house. Joe delivered my stuff to me at the terminal before my flight. At the airport, I checked in at Lufthansa, but I skipped the line because of my wonderful Uncle and his US Airways Platinum Star Alliance membership card. With this card, I was able to check-in in the first class line, but as Lufthansa is a German airline, they required to see the card in order for me to get the perks of using such a card. Just giving them the number wasn't enough. I argued, told them that I didn't need the card for the year. In the end, the man allowed me to check in 3 bags, which was great as I really didn't want to take the bag onto the plane, as I already had so many, and I sure didn't want to pay the $150 fee for an additional bag. 

In the airport, Terminal B at Dulles is fairly nice, but not as nice as DTW's McNamara terminal. This was my first time flying Lufthansa, and as we arrived to the airport 3 hours early, our plane had not arrived from Frankfurt yet. When it did arrive, the weather was already better, and the sun had come out. The plane was late though, very un-German, and even worse, we left late. The plane in question was a Lufthansa 747-400. Most of the CBYX'ers now known as PPPler in Germany (Parlimentarisches Patenschafts Programm). We domineered the whole rear of the aircraft. After pushing back from the gate and heading on our way to Frankfurt, finally bidding farewell to the US, we got the word from the control tower, that we needed to wait for bad weather to pass before we were to depart. We were also 11th in line for takeoff. After waiting 40 minutes to take off, we were given word by our disappointed pilot that we would have to wait at least another hour. As we waited on the tarmac, away from gates, we were instructed to stay in our seats, but as more news became imminent, we were allowed to move about and use our cell phones. In all, our flight left Dulles 3 hours late, making all the ordeal of getting to Radolfzell, Germany much harder as everything had to be pushed back.

 

Frankfurt was not what I expected. The airport was crowded, cramped and hard to follow. Additionally, the lines at passport control were long, and it took nearly an hour to receive our luggage. One of my bags was damaged, and therefore I had the distinct pleasure of unwrapping lufthansa tape from one bags. 

However, we were greeted by the inWEnt staff at the airport, and we loaded our stuff, once again, onto the bus for our 4 hour bus ride to Radolfzell. For those of you, who aren't familiar with where Radolfzell is, it lies on Lake Constance on the boarder with Switzerland. The closest major city to it is actually Zürich Switzerland. 

Washington DC Part 1

The first part of my orientation program began in Washington DC. The Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Program takes place on the campus of Georgetown University in Northwest Washington DC. On Monday, June 27^th, I was invited to attend the final seminar for the 2008-2009 CBYX program year at the German Embassy in Washington. Arriving at the embassy was really the first signal to me that I was about to embark on this full year program abroad in Germany. I arrived along with other guests, and we had to first pass clearance at the gate just to get in. Once inside the compound, I followed the signs to our seminar and luncheon. I immediately located the other American participants that were part of the 2009-2010 CBYX program year. We mingled as were supposed to, spoke about our fears, especially concerning our host families and what we expected to get out of the program. In total there are 75 participants taking part in the program this year. At the embassy, we discussed the year the Germans just had finished and what their experiences were like. They also discussed how their experiences in the US can prepare them for their return to Germany. Also, the program organizers spoke about the reverse culture shock that were about to encounter upon return to Germany. During the luncheon, I decided to meet some of the Germans. After speaking with them, I realized that we, the Americans, were in many ways more fortunate then the Germans. Once of the kids that I met told me that he was placed in the outskirts of Louisville, Kentucky and live with what seemed to me a redneck family. Most of the Germans were placed in small-town America, and as we all know there is a significant difference between suburbia, urban living and rural America. I felt bad for the students placed in Kansas and Nebraska.

We CBYXers were scheduled to arrive between 4-5pm at Copley Hall. Upon arrival, we were instructed to check-in and receive our room keys.  The university campus is actually quite small. The buildings are pushed up together, and there are not very many open spaces. The weather was hot and humid, with temperatures reaching above 90°F daily. The first evening we had a barbecue, which really wasn’t a barbeque, but a poorly catered college dinning services meal. However, at the reception, we were able to fully meet all 75 participants. Michigan was extremely well represented with 7 participants, and 5 of those being students or graduates of the University of Michigan. There were also participants from Alaska, Hawaii, Nebraska, Arizona and many other states. I would definitely say the selected group represented all aspects of the United States. It was amazing to see how well we all got along. Of course there were the icebreaker activities, but we all seemed to have similar interests (and not just Germany). The following day was filled with guest speakers about culture shock, people from the department of state and one guest from inWEnt gGmbH (our program’s partner organization in Germany). Later that day, we went to the Capitol to take a picture of the entire group, and I was fortunate enough to be able to schedule an interview with my local congressman, Gary Peters, from Michigan’s 9^th District. 

His staff was very nice, and gave us a tour through the Capitol building after I met briefly with my congressman. It was very interesting to see how the congressmen and senators vote. Afterwards, I decided to walk back to Georgetown (that was a mistake, as it was 4,8 miles and extremely hot and humid). After finally making it back, I rested on my bed and gave myself a break. Later that evening, I went out to this restaurant for dinner called Tombs. It was our last night in the US, and I ate a salad. Something I think I will really miss in Germany.

 

Washigton DC and Flight to Germany Part II – coming soon.

Departure for DC

Today was my last day in Michigan. I left for DC with my dad around 10:30am and it took us 10 hours to drive from Bloomfield Hills to Herndon, VA where my cousin Joe lives. The drive was mostly boring, and I tried to stay clear from cops. Ohio was surprisingly easy and cop free. I packed 3 bags and have a ton of stuff. I'll have to consolidate while I'm here in DC though. Tomorrow I'm off to the German Embassy for "The Cultural Impact of Change" Event. There will be free food and I hope to meet a couple of the people on my program. 

Here are some pictures of my bags, and how full the car was. 

Saying good bye to my mom and the dogs. 
The back seat was pretty much full. It definitely couldn't be used as a seat. 
The remaining space is all that my dad got for his luggage. I felt a little guilty, but at least we're saving money since we're driving and there are no overages for overweight and 3 pieces of luggage. 

The Final Stages

So this will be my first post for my upcoming year in Germany. It's hard to believe that almost a year has gone by since I was last really in Germany, and now that I have decided to go back, I'm realizing that I'm not just going back, but I'm starting a new era to my life. Never had I expected that going on the Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX) would mark such a dramatic end to one period of my life, my college years, and set the beginning of new era, early years after college. Now, I have to say, I've had already experienced living and working for myself. You all remember that last year I lived and worked in Berlin Germany, but somehow I see this upcoming year as more of test. Spending a full year in another country (even if it's Germany... and you all know how much I obsess) is challenging. Being away from family, friends, pets and home is far harder when gone for a year. Speaking another language, communicating with people of different nationalities, filtering through the bureaucracy, understanding the humor, navigating the cities, understanding the work culture, adjusting to the inconveniences, learning to appreciate time, making new friends, budgeting finances, the list goes on... is all very challenging, but even more so when out of one's element. 

As I pack my last bags, I want everyone who reads this blog to know, that I am the person that I am because each one of you in one way or another has enabled me to reach thus far, and that I am only capable of achieving what I have because each person has left their personal touch on me. 

On Sunday, my father and I will drive to Washington DC where I will be until Friday, July 31st, when I will board my flight for Germany. I will first go off to Radolfzell am Bodensee, a small village on Lake Constance near the Swiss border, and then later onto Hessen. Where I will exactly be you'll have to read and find out. Please contact me throughout the year with questions and comments. I hope to communicate to all of you through this blog, and share my experiences of living in Deutschland via this means of communication. This blog will serve as a way of communication back to all my family and friends in the states, but also be a way for me to remember my experiences abroad. 

-Henry

-Henry

Wustrow and the Baltic Sea

This past weekend, I went to the Baltic Sea with Eileen, Sasha (our intern from Moscow, and her parents, who are business partners of ours) and there we met Guenter and his wife, Inna. This part of Germany, that I went to is very famous for its beautiful shores. Because it's from the East, it is also newer and less built up. It is also only 20miles from the Danish shores and 60miles from Sweden.

The land there is really nice, and very similar to Michigan. There are lots of little lakes, and many trees that cover the streets. Als0, there is the Baltic on the otherside. To begin, we left Berlin early in the morning to drive the 2 and a half hours to Wustrow, but that's with Eileen driving her FD Seat Leon, which is quite fast. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for Sasha's parents) there was a lot of traffic, and we couldn't drive any faster than 100km/h. There were pockets of fast driving, but in the end it took us about 3.5 hours to drive there. When we got off the autobahn, the landscape was filled with meadows and cows and pockets of forest. It is amazing how Germany is the most populous country in Western Europe and yet is smaller than France and Italy, and yet retains so much natural land. Well finally we arrived in Wustrow to this small harbor where there were parked only sailboats, no yachts or motorboats. Here is a picture of the sailboat. Its about 8 meters long (about 2 feet). To begin, I helped Eileen and Guenter change the mast to the storm sail so that we wouldn't go so quickly, and that the ride would be quite a bit smoother. We departed the marina using a little honda engine, and then we put up the sail and we were off. I should note that around this village Wustrow their is an large inlet of water, which is basically surround on three sides by land, so the water is much calmer, warmer and shallower than the open Baltic. However, this didn't matter, as we sailed at about 20 knots into the center. I learned that the boat can sail the fastest when the wind is coming from directly behind, but actually from a quarter angle, as the wind is forced between the two sails, and thus basically creates pressure pushing the boat faster. In fact, when the wind blows from behind, the boat can only sail as fast as the wind, but when the wind is from a quarter angle, the boat can travel up to two times faster.
As we turned around the bouey markers, I was resting above getting some sun. We were luckly, because in Berlin it was actually raining, but here, it was sunny and warm. I even got a light tan. When the sail was up, I wouldn't have been able to lie like this, as the boat would be sailing at such an angle that it would be hard to hold one's balance.
After watching Eileen get in the water, I decided to swim (drag) behind the boat as we were sailing at the quick pace. It was a lot of fun I have to say, and not so scary unless you let go of the rope. The problem was though that my swim trunks wouldn't stay on. At least it wasn't only me. It was a really good work out though, because pulling yourself out of the water at such speeds requires a lot of upper body strenght.
Here we are with Inna at the Baltic getting ready to go swimming. The water here was much colder, and it was filled with non-stinging Jellyfish. However, the water was not so salty, not like the Atlantic or Mediterranean. So in all, the baltic is really similar to Michigan's great lakes, and it was a great feeling to be there as it reminded me of home. The one thing you have to be aware of in Germany (especially in the East) is that people are not ashamed of being naked (fully stark naked) on the beach with their families. Most people just sit and play completely naked and go swimming with nothing on. I was a bit put off by this, and found it sort of funny.
In all, I hope to go back to the Baltic as it is really nice and pleasant here. Not so far from Berlin as well. It also means that there is only Northwest Germany that I have still to see, because otherwise I've travelled through the whole country.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands

For a break of Berlin, my roommate Robin and I went to Amsterdam for the weekend, and there I met up with some of my friends from Moscow. There's not much to say to this post, but I have to say Holland is a very impressive country for its size, and that Amsterdam is a very unique city. Peter the Great was also very impressed with Dutch culture, and implemented many reforms to Russia. Amsterdam is known for many different things, but the canals, bikes, and stroop waffles makes it uniquely dutch. We spent three days in Amsterdam, and during that time, we went to the Van Gogh Museum, walked around the Rijksmuseum, rode our bikes through Amsterdam, went clubbing, went out of the city to see some windmills and real dutch people, and lastly saw where Sergei and Pavel studied when they were here 2 years ago.

We walked so much, and also rode our bikes that I was really tired. Amsterdam is tiny in size, but huge in things to see. There are so many canals too that it's really easy to get lost. All the streets look more or less similar.
Here Nastya and I are walked through the Flower Market. There are a lot of tulips in holland, but they also have a many other type of plants, and of course, Nastya being the typical Russian tourist had to bring souvenirs home. The flower market, however, is separate from the other market, which we also went to, and is located more or less in the center of Amsterdam. The regular market, open on Saturdays is located near the Heineken Brewery, and sells everything, (including live lobster and octopuses). Also the weather in Amsterdam is hard to predict, because from minute to minute it changes, so it can change from sunny to rain several times over the course of the day.
Here we are in some village 30km outside of Amsterdam, and yes it's not a suburb, and not even a outlier, but really a village that is not part of Amsterdam. It was really windy here, and unfortunately these old relic windmills don't spin anymore (the blades were chained down), but you could see lots of livestock and cheese farms (really what Holland is known for other than wooden shoes). This village was also on the inlet that goes to the Atlantic so it was pretty windy and chilly. Not the nicest climates to say the least.
Standing at the harbor with Sergei. It was good to see my old friend from Moscow, and spend the weekend with him and Nastya. Actually we all drove back to Berlin, so they got to see the city where I live too.

Not much else to describe about Amsterdam unfortunately.

EU Semi Finals, Russia vs. Spain Berlin Fan Mile.

Sorry everyone that it has taken me this long to put up more posts. These pictures are from about a month ago, but they are definitely worth putting up here. Also, there will be be more posts this week, I promise, as I have Amsterdam and Munich pictures to put up.

So, here I am at the Berlin Fanmile for the Russia vs Spain EUFA cup semi-finals match. This whole championship was crazy for me, as I was rooting for Germany and Russia, and hoping teams like Italy and Turkey would be eliminated. Anyways, I had lost my voice several times, and I had gone to Kurfurstemdamm (the main street in West Berlin) to celebrate the victories.

Here is just a little bit of background information about Berlin. Berlin is the 3rd largest Turkish city after Istanbul and Ankara, and Turks in Berlin are not much liked because of some negative press and habits. Berlin is also the largest German city. Furthermore, there lives almost 300,000 people in Russia, making it bigger than some Russian cities. So everytime the German, Turkish, or Russian teams one, Berlin would come to a crawl, and cars would be honking their horns for hours, people would be waving their flags sitting on the windowsills of their cars as they all tried to make it down to the Kufurstendamm.

I happen to live on the periphery of normal Berlin, but in Altmoabit, which is a prevalently Turkish area. Let me clarify that not all Turkish people are bad, but many uphold current stereotypes. There are very similar to the situation with Mexicans in the US.

On this night, Russia was to play Spain in the semi-finals. The winner of this game would play Germany. For me, this was a huge game, as I really wanted to have Germany play against Russia. Andreas, my roommate, was really excited for Russia, and was impressed with how Russia played against Holland, the favorite of the championships. We walked together through Tiergarten, right in our backyard, to the Brandenburg Gate/Tor. It's only about 2 km from where I live, and took about 15 minutes to walk there. When we got there, there were already a lot of Russians shouting "Davai Rossija" or "Let's go Russia." Everyone was dressed in their tricot jerseys, and most had facepaint and a Russian flag (like me to be more exact). So, we entered the fan mile, and lined up like many others.




In front, you can see the huge screen that was placed up in front of the Brandenburg Tor. In the background you can also see the Alexanderplatz TV tower. Here, although not as full as the Germany games, are thousands of fans lining up to stand. The game lasted only about 2 hours, and Russia played poorly (you probably know this already). However, it was a great experience and something that I will always remember. Maybe next year, Russia will play Germany.


Here is my roommate Andreas converting to a Russian. You might even think that he is Russian, but he was just supporting it as he favored her more than Spain. He's also wearing a Karlruhe Jersey, which is the same colors as the Russian Flag.


The crowd at the fan mile. Dusk. Dissapointed Russian fans, and happy Spaniards (there were quite a few actually). Also, in the background towards the right, the building to the right of the Brandenburg Gate is the new US Embassy that opened July 4th. It now stands where the Berlin wall once stood, as in the same spot as the original embassy before WWII.

The best part of this game were the new friends that I made. Here in the picture is a motley of different Europeans, from Germans, Russians and Frenchman, but all living in Berlin. Laura on the right is a techtronic dancer and was in the Dortmund Love Parade. Quentin to Laura's left is from Marseille, as was visiting, then me, then some other people, and finally Andreas. Robbin also with us, is not pictured.

Working for TCH Europe

Sorry everyone for not posting in so long, the last three weeks have been really busy for me. To say the least, I really love my new job here in Berlin, and that is the subject of this post. I work for a company called TCH Europe, which stands for Transport Clearing House. We work with several business partners, but most notably Air Berlin, Domodedovo Airport Moscow, Berlin Brandenburg Airports, and several smaller Russian airlines. TCH Europe is a startup, and so there is always a lot of work to do, and we have so many ambitions, that it's difficult to decide which ones to pursue. I have three main colleagues, Eileen, Igor and Guenther. We 4 make up the marketing and management team of the office. We also have Jens in finance; Kristina, Helena, Anna and Svitlana in sales, working the call center; Bernd, Martin, Andreas, and Evgeny in IT support and programming, and finally Guenther, who I already mentioned as CEO.

The office is located in the Steglitz part of Berlin, which is in West Berlin. We have a great office, and it's nice that nobody has a cubicle to work in, it's verboten under German working law. Everyone is entitled to at least 9 sq. meters of personal work space.

So, for the past three weeks, I have been working on several projects. My first big project was collaborating in writing a business plan for our investors, and of course it was in English. But my job was not to translate or correct the texts, but it was to give my opinion as an outsider about the content and my understanding. Now that I'm a part of the company, they really like to hear my point of view and opinions about the project, and they take some of my suggestions and implement them. It's a great team of people I get to work with, and I couldn't be happier. Yes, there have been late nights in the office (once until 3am) but it's laid back and people are very understanding.

We have a website for our company, which is currently being upgraded and relaunched. Of course you can all visit www.geruxx.de/en but I assure you that by September it will be much more aesthetically pleasing.

Here is the secretary/call center office. This is the center of the office, and here we look up flights and reservations and answer calls. Some of my other projects that I am working on include correcting the English on the new soon to be launched website, managing our google ad words campaign, marketing our product to tourism websites in and around Russia and the CIS, and also leaning about the Sabre distribution data system which is what all US airlines and many international airlines use to host their tariffs and fare information. We will be connected to Sabre by December.

Other than that, there's not much else that I get to do at work. We all go and eat mittagsessen at around 2pm. We have our friend Vasco at Bar 55 across the street. We usually go there a couple times a week to have lunch.

(above) This is my own office. As you can see, I look at the window all day and have a large open workspace.
These are all our marketing materials, and there are a lot of them. We usually needs these pamphlets, fliers, calendars and what not to give to our clients or end customers during trade fairs.
Here I am standing with two of my colleagues from work, Kristina (Left) and Angelina (Right). They are sisters, and we were working all weekend at the Deutsche Russiche Fest (or German Russian Festival), but in reality it was a 99% Russian Festival and 1% East German Festival. It was located in Karlshorst, which is where many Russians live, but also in the East. Here the conditions are much different than in West Germany, and you can see the difference in living standards as well as ideology of the people. At the DRF, there were famous GDR bands as well as Ivanuski International, (a Russian Pop group that I listen to when I was very young) Lots of Russian food too, like Shaschlik, Blini, Cherbureki, Caviar, and then Bratwurst, Schnitzel, Potato Salad. Supposedly over 100,000 people attended this three day fair. All weekend we spent passing out fliers to visitors. The fair was a lot of fun, and we got to meet some new friends (below). We are wearing our specialized Geruxx t-shirts, and we passed out fliers and totes with our brand on them.
Here, Andrei and Kolya are wearing Russian tradition shirts. They had the same job as us, giving out fliers, but they had a much cooler event to advertise (but we had our banner and URL on their flier, so we got VIP access to the club). They worked for a Russian disco club in Berlin, and there were having a club night right on the fair grounds. We of course went to this disco, and listened and danced to 'poppy' Russian music, but only Russian youth can really like it. It's hard to explain why Russian music is so culture specific. It was a lot of fun, and great to make new friends in a foreign city.

Coming next: My WG (shared apartment) in Berlin and my roommates.

Frankfurt Area with Richie

So where do you think this picture was taken ? Russia right? No, guess again. Actually while meeting Max's friends at his birthday (See Baden-Baden), I made some new friends. So during my orientation program in Frankfurt, I spent a lot of time with Richard, who goes to University in Darmstadt (only outside of Frankfurt). It was really nice to have someone show me Frankfurt and the region of Hessen. Pictured is a church that was built some 100 years ago in Darmstadt, because Tsar Nicholas married a german princess (I'm not quite sure about this history? Dad can you confirm this?) who was from Darmstadt, and so this church was built. But the soil on which it is built is actually from Russia.

So to begin my story... Friday May 21st, I get ready to leave Tübingen and Jutta, and go to Frankfurt. At first I was going to take the train the whole way to Berlin, but after I calculated the costs of travelling the Deutsche Bahn almost 200 euro, which is very expensive despite my discount card of 50% with them, I decided to rent a car instead, which was the best money I have ever spent. It made taking my three large suitcases and all the little bags that i had, so much easier, and it was cool to be able to listen to German music in the car, and travel at my own leisure. Also I saved time, and I didn't have to make any connections with all my bags.

I got into Frankfurt about 20 minutes before my orientation was supposed to begin. I checked into the Tryp Hotel Frankfurt, the hotel that my program had selected for us, and we started our formalities with how to get acquainted with Germany, and what we need to do once we begin our internship... all bureaucratic procedures to say the least. However, in our conference room, we were each given a folder, a canvas bag, and on top of each table stood a bucket thing like dish with bottles of beverages for us to drink (like at the G8 summits or something important like that), so that was really cool, and I felt important.

After 6:00pm, our meeting was finished and I went to visit Richie at his home in Darmstadt, but I thought he lived alone or with some friends near campus. Actually, I went to his parents home (he didn't tell me) and once i arrived, I was asked to have dinner with them. I totally didn't expect this, but none the less, it was great to eat some real german food, and then later on we went into Frankfurt to walk through the city. We went to one of the skyscrappers which had an observation deck on the roof, and then had a cocktail and the bar below it. (look further down).
The following day, after my orientation part II, I checked out of the hotel and said goodbye to my fellow american particapatns, and I went back to Darmstadt where I would spend the night with Richie and his family. But since I was finished so early with the program, around noon, Richie and his dad took me to Ruedesheim, a place famous or its Riesling wines. There, the Rhein River flows between two valleys, and it separates the state Hessen from Rheinland-Pfalz. Unfortunately, that day in Ruedesheim, (a very touristy city), there was some sort of Harley-Davidson convention, and all the roads were full of bikers. In the picture above, I'm with Richie walking down into Ruedesheim from the top, where there is this huge statue of the a woman. I really didn't understand what it was about though. You might be able to see it in the background.
This of course is Frankfurt, the only city in Europe to have tall skyscrapers. Frankfurt isn't so big though, so it's amazing how much it has for a city only the size of Nashville (600,000 inhabitants). But it is the financial hub of mainland europe, so it plays a huge role. Here I went with Richie into Frankfurt again on Saturday night, and we went to this club called the Cocoon club, which was really cool, but not as crowded as one would expect for a Saturday night. Needless to say, we got home late, and of course, we stopped at McDonalds, because Germans eat there more than I do... so no more jokes at Americans only eating McDonalds you Germans, because you eat there more than I. :).
So can you guess what type of car I have? I was really lucky to get this car, as I, like always, ordered the lowest class car (a VW Golf or Mercedes A-class), but when I went to pick up my car, I was given a Skoda Roomster, which is okay, but I told them that I wanted a German car since I was in Germany (this always works), and they gladly changed it to this.... an Mercedes-Benz E 200 CDI in black. CDI stands for diesel, so it was great, because the fuel economy on this car was probably 42miles/gallon. Boy did I feel funny driving this car though. It was awesome, yet strange at the same time. Everyone gives you looks, and then when they see me a 22 year old, they just look bewildered. Especially in Berlin, where there aren't so many fancy cars, but you'll have to wait until this weekend to read that blog entry.
Here is a picture of the vineyards on the side of the hill coming down to Ruedesheim. Below you can see the Rhein, and the village.

Yes, and sorry to say, these were my last days in the West, or what is formally referred to Germany. The next morning, I had breakfast with Richie, and then got in the car and set of for Berlin. Approximately 540km, so it took me around 5 hours to make the trip.

Max's Birthday in Baden Baden

Baden-Baden, one of the most famous and more glamourous places in Europe, and defenitely one of the nicest places in Germany, is famous for its casino, horseraces, and natural mineral baths and spas.

Max, my friend from middle school in the US, lives in Baden Baden, and he invited many of his friends including his long lost American friend to his home to celebrate his 22nd birthday. I of course agreed to visit, giving me a chance to try out the Deutsche Bahn system again, and to my belief, not everything ran on-time. In fact, my late train out of Tubingen got me to my next connection 10 minutes late causing me to miss every following connection that I had, (a total of 3). I ended up spending 3:30minutes traveling to Baden-Baden when in reality the distance is only 60km the way the crow flies. However, the wonderful black forest is really what separates Baden from Wurtemburg in Baden-Wurtemburg, thus making the journey so much more picturesque, yet longer.

Baden Baden can best be compared to Aspen, Colorado, or some other elite town nestled inside a valley of mountains. Aspen is probably more pretentious and more picturesque, and definitely more isolated, but Baden-Baden offers its visitors enough to look at.

Once I arrived in Baden-Baden, we head straight for Max's house, but Max sort of made a car tour through the town on our way home passing famous places like his old gymnasium, or the Brenner Hotel, or the Lichentaller Allee. Once at home, we started to get accommodated, and our first task with Max's other friends (Richard, Ricky, Ruben and Johannes) was to make a couple salads, since we wouldn't have time on Saturday (the day when everyone was supposed to come). So we peeled 50 potatoes for a gargantuan typical German potatoe salad, and I peeled carrots for another salad with a genuine carrot peeler that must of been from the middle of the last century, but made in Germany, so therefore still useful and German engineered to work and withstand time.

Later on, we all went for a walk around the city, and marveled in the wonderful weather. Stopping at an Italian Gelato Cafe, we got some ice cream, and most people watched as we walked over the tourist filled streets. Baden-Baden is quite a small city, but with the amount of tourism the city gets, the number of shops is numerous. Baden-Baden is also famous with the Russians, and they are plentiful here. Somewhat discouraging to see old Russian women wear clothes the really shouldn't, or to have stores closed because some wealthy Russian wants the store to himself, but it supports their local economy, and so it is welcomed.

Describing what Baden-Baden looks like is quite difficult. It has a very French European feel to it, and that is not surprising given that the town is only 10 km from the Rhein and so has much French influence. After our excursion through the city, we prepared ourselves for dinner, which was in FRANCE at a Flammkueche specialty restaurant, yet since we going to pick up Till (remember from Dusseldorf last weekend) at the train station on our way back into town, and then head straight for the casino, we had to dress up according to the rules for entry. (See pictures below) Doesn't it look like we are ready to go to prom or something?

Going to France was great for me, as i could much better understand everything that was being said, but as always, when along the border, especially in Alsace which once belonged to Germany, inevitably, German is still widely spoken by everyone. I have a flammkueche with mushrooms, onions and bacon. The service was typical french, and we sat outside for the evening. I kept think it was going to rain because of how ominous the sky looked, but to my luck it didn't. We also ordered a dessert flammkueche (sort of like how there are dinner crepes and dessert crepes) with apples, cinnamon, and carmelized sugar which was very good, and I drank french lemonade.

Later on after picking up Till, we all headed to the casino in Baden Baden. Inside the luxurious building, we all gathered at the entrance and paid our way in (4 euro just so that visitors don't walk it to look around). However, my driver's license was not enough ID or actually wasn't considered valid government ID so I wasn't allowed in, as well as Till who didn't bring his ID card, only his furherschein or Driver's License. So luckily, I avoided spending my Euros and thus everyone went with us to to the Trinkhalle. However, since the casino is such a landmark and many of Max's friend had come down from Darmstadt to go, Till and I were left to sit at the bar whilst the others went to gamble. When they came back later, undoubtedly, they had lost their money (20 euros each), and I heard the same story, that they had won a bit, but then lost it all later.

At about 1:30am we all decided to head back to Max's house where to our surprise we found Max's parents up who wanted to have drinks with us. So we all sat down in the living room, and proceeded to have a very intense conversation, but as you may imagine, I was so tired already and my brain just couldn't take anymore German, so I decided to go to bed.

(BY THE WAY, I'M SORRY THAT THIS POST IS SO LONG... SOMETIMES I HAVE TROUBLE TELLING STORIES SUCCINCTLY, IRINA WILL PROBABLY ATTEST TO THIS).

The next morning, I of course, was the first to wake up at 10am. However, I wasn't really the first, as Max and his Dad went to the bakery to pick up 50 rolls for breakfast for all of us. As I was sitting in the living room watching CNN with Richard who joined me slightly later, we heard the doorbell ring. Odd I though, but I figured it was Max or someone who was locked out of the house, however to my surprise it was a bunch of Max's friends saying we are here for the party. Naturally I was shocked as it was 10:15am and I didn't think people were coming until later, and secondly, Max was no where to be found, and so what was I to do? Luckily Richard recognized his classmates, and everything was straightened out.

That day, the whole group of us (12) went around Baden-Baden once again. We went up to the old schloss and looked at the vast panorama that spread in front of us. Much of the voges in France were visible. Later on, we walked through the town again, going to many of the same places, but we also walked by the Caracalla Spa. I really wanted to go there, but since its 13Euro for two hours, many people dissuaded me, so instead we walked around and went into several stores. At 5pm, we were all back at Max's house for the party. He had bought a lot of meet for grilling on the WEBER grill (an American product which is preferred by German's .... that's a miracle or the apocalypse). There was a lot of food from pork chops, to wurst, to steak, add on top the salads and the beer, you have yourself a very typical German meal.

The night went on, and Max wanted to play his favorite drinking game from America, flip cup, except he really didn't know the rules completely, and I ended up having to explain them since I was the only true American. We played a couple of rounds, and it was quite funny to see the girls try to flip the cup. They really didn't understand how to do it, and it was so frustrating to see the lead that one team had lost all because one person took the whole game to flip their cup correctly.
Later on we played musical cheers (this i found really odd, as I haven't played this since I was a little kid, and I don't know whether it is a typical game to play in college or university), maybe it was suggested by a really drunk person.

The night ended with a discussion about the changes in Russia, and the differences between socialist democracies and capitalistic democracies. I was very tired, yet Max's mom was very interested in what we had to say. She went to bed before us, but it was 5:05am and the birds started chirping, and I knew that this was my segue to go to bed.

I do have to say that all of Max's friends were really nice and understanding. Most of them did speak English with me, or were considerate to speak on a dumbed down level for me.

(ASIDE: AS I'M WRITING THIS RIGHT NOW, THE CHURCH BELLS ARE RINGING AT IT'S 2AM. DOES THIS HAPPEN ANYWHERE ELSE. WHO STAYS UP ALL NIGHT JUST TO RING THE BELLS EVERY 15 MINUTES?)

The next day, many of us woke up very late, and others had to leave in the morning. Hence it was just Max, me, Richard, Ricky, and Johannes. It was the last day of the horse races in Iffezheim, one of the most famous horse races in Europe. We went all together there, and watched the races. It was quite spectacular, and the people there just as entertaining to watch as the horses. Women walking around in the clothing from the 19 century with huge hats and brouhaha. Max with his friends, again, wagered their bets on horses, but as none of us had any clue on which ones to pick, other than the information provided there, I decided to keep my money (which turned out to be very sensible). In all we stayed for three races, until it began to rain too hard to continue watching. It was very enjoyable, and interesting to see the horses. In reality, the horses aren't as big as I had expected them to be, and it's amazing how much personality the horses have. If you zoom in on the picture of the them dashing towards the finish, you'll see their mouths and their struggles to push themselves to the limit.

Afterwards, I sat on the train and headed back for Tuebingen. It was a most enjoyable weekend. Thank you Max for your hospitality.