Amidst the Vineyards

Being one who wants to do as much traveling as possible, I thought it would be more economical to purchase a one month regional train pass, which allows me to ride all the public transportation for free within the vicinity. It has proved to be much more economical and easier than purchasing separate tickets for each trip, and also allows for the freedom to just hop on the train, whenever. With the regiokarte I am able to easily catch a train to the swimming pool across town, or pick a random city to explore. While I had done a bit of research, I had decided to do just that on Sunday afternoon, with Auggen being the destination of choice. After finishing my homework for the weekend I caught the next train heading South. I was a bit surprised to be let off in the middle of a cornfield and wondered what exactly I had gotten myself into.

The destination proved to be perfect as I quickly found myself wandering through the vineyards. It was gorgeous! There are paths everywhere throughout the vineyards so I just went down whichever road seemed fit at the time.An apple tree

Fallen nature surrounded by an abundance of grace

Looking out across the vineyards

I have no idea what this building is, and if it has any significance to the harvesting of the grapes. It's probably just a bathroom.

There was an incredible variety of grapes to be found

One more view of the vineyards in Auggen

Schwarzwald

I finally made it into the heart of the Schwarzwald! Myself and others traveled to the town of Triberg for the day. It was absolutely gorgeous. Hopefully the pictures will give it some justice.

Triberg, while quite a small town, is largely boastful about those things which they take pride in. They are home to schwarzwald museum, which gives the history and traditions of the area. If you're less of a museum goer and more of an outdoor doer, then the town of Triberg will proudly tell you that they are also home to the tallest German waterfall. Interestingly enough, it's actually the 2nd tallest. It was still beautiful and made for a nice excursion through the forest.

Taken from above the waterfall. In this picture you can see sunlight coming through the top of the trees; however, there is a reason that it is the black forest. Most often the sun is kept at a distance as the forest is so dense.

Looking out over the hills.

Lunch! I finally got some Schwarzwald Kirchetorte. It was everything I had hoped for! Sadly, there is none left to share.

Once again the architecture was very unique to the area. Unfortunately, most of the time we saw the houses we were on a bus so I wasn't able to get any good pictures. Every house had a beautiful arrangement of flowers from their windows. I've been inspired to try and find my green thumb when I get back stateside (ha!).

Triberg is perhaps most popularly known for its Cuckoo clocks, so of course we had to visit the first world's largest Cuckoo clock. A new clock has recently been built to claim the fame of the world's largest, but this one has more charm. I must admit that I felt like a true tourist as it's an attraction that is out of the way and after arriving I felt much more like I had stopped at one the popular roadside attractions that plague the US Interstates: world's largest ball of yarn, the three legged cow, largest statue of a prairie dog, etc. I can say that I stopped by and paid to see the world's largest Cuckoo clock. It took all of 15 minutes to walk from the bus, pay, get an explanation as to how it worked and to see it in action. The next bus didn't arrive for another hour.

The wooden gears were quite impressive.

Environmentally Friendly

There are many things that I love about Freiburg. It has a rich history, is quaint, is known to be the city with the nicest weather in Germany, and has been influential in its concern for our environment.

Much of the environmental friendliness that is seen throughout Germany was started here in Freiburg. Above the city are the constantly turning Windturms (as they are called here), and any drive through the Schwarzwald will guarantee more sightings.

Freiburg has been influential in beginning recycling programs. Throughout the city it is common to find trash cans with three sides, one for paper, one for plastics and metals, and one for "rubbish". We were given three trashcans in our rooms for the same purpose, and were told that if didn't separate the recycling the housemeister would and were kindly asked to be sure to recycle so as to spare the housemeister the hassle.

I already blogged about the fantastic bicycle paths that are found throughout the entire city. We have been told that many Freiburgers don't even own a car, but rather resort to walking, cycling, or taking public transportation.

Freiburg is also one of the first cities to seriously take solar energy into consideration. You can see solar paneling on the entire side of the farmhouse below. I have been told that most houses in Freiburg have solar power and produce more than is needed each year. Impressive!

In my time here I have met people who are very sensitive about the care of creation and it has been good to be in dialogue. For them, being environmentally friendly is a way of life and is influences their daily decisions. I have found myself challenged by their concerns and lifestyle.

My hope is that I will continue to become a better steward of this earth, caring for the creation that I live with, recognizing that I am not only a cherished part of it but have also been given responsibility for it. It is indeed good.

"Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord" Ps. 96:11-13

Around Town

Just some more pictures of around town that I've taken during my excursions around town the past few days.

Martinstor

A remnant of the old city wall.

The University of Freiburg

They are celebrating their 500th birthday this year. Their claim to fame is that the mind of Heidegger taught here.

Seepark

The Seepark is about 1.5 miles from the Gaestehaus and makes for a nice afternoon excursion. Many will swim in the lake, but I have not yet dared to do so. I find it more suitable for studying by or running around. I have not yet, however, become used to the public display of nudity. Many sun bath and swim in the nude.

Cyclerama

I had hopes of being a regular biker when living in Atlanta, but when the winter months came I knew that my health would be in grave danger if I should choose to ride my bike on the Atlanta streets during the darker hours. Bikers are not welcome on either streets or sidewalks, so I resorted to taking the shuttle instead.

Here, bikes rule the city. Every free tree trunk, guard rail, signpost, or other creative mechanism has a bike attached to it. In my daily walk to the institute, it is not cars that I am afraid of, but rather bikers. I have learned that cars will always stop for you, even when you have no intentions of crossing the street. Bikers, however, will not.

The city has an impressive structure for bikers. The sidewalks are often divided in half, one side for pedestrians and the other for bikers. There are bridges and paths throughout the city dedicated just for bikers. Every staircase has an inbuilt gutter of sorts, made for the ease of rolling bikes down, or pushing bikes up so that one does not have to carry them up and down.

It's easy to spot the bikers in the city as they always have one pant leg rolled up. At least those who wear pants do. It's not uncommon to see ladies in skirts and heels riding their bike to work or the grocery store. I have also been impressed at the amount of multi-tasking that can be done with a bike. I have seen people smoking, drinking, talking on cell phones and even hauling furniture.

Good luck to F who is courageously borrowing my bike for the year!

Simplicity No More

The weather has once again turned to rain, and not wanting to be defeated by weather, I figured that today would be a good day to multi-task. The mound of clothes in the corner of my room has been accumulating, so it was time to get them washed and back on my shelves. I could wash, tidy, study, read and at the end of the day get much accomplished. The task of washing clothes has turned out not to be so simple.

In order to wash our clothes we must first acquire a washcard, which means that you have to go to the office during the two hours that they are open and buy one for the low price of 15 Euro ($20.00). One wash card will buy you 5 loads of laundry. Having acquired the necessary card, I made my way to the laundry room. Drawing upon past experience I assumed that I would use the card I purchased in whichever machine I decided to use, but this was not the case. I also assumed that one load meant that I had bought one washing cycle, but I would later discover that what I purchased was electricity time to operate the machines. In the laundry room were several other confused souls as we each tried to figure out how to operate the machines, how to open them, start them, where the laundry detergent is supposed to go, what temperature would be ideal (which for me meant that I had to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit). We all came to the conclusion, that in each of our home countries that machines are much more simpler.

At the end of the day I accomplished much less than anticipated, but can say that I now have clean clothes- which are decorating my room as they are hung in any available spot to dry.

The Weekend

I am finally back online. Over the past week, I have come to realize just how much I rely on the Internet as well as how much closer to friends and family it has made me. Being offline has certainly made me feel further away from home than before. I have been eager to share of the past week's outings. I am getting quite used to the leisurely life, and have enjoyed trips to the local lake, swimming pool, running along the river, reading from on top of the Schlossberg, learning German, and being in conversation with new friends.

Saturday a group of us went to Schauinsland, a local mountain which is home to Germany's longest continuous running cable car. It's at the edge of the black forest, so I suppose I can now say I've experienced the black forest; although, I certainly plan to find my way further into its depths. We took the 20 minute cable car up to the top and then hiked down, which took about 2.5 hours. My legs have not yet recovered! My Scandinavian friends introduced me to the wild fruits of the forest, and we enjoyed eating wild raspberries, blackberries, and clover looking type things. Some fellow hikers took interest in our musings over these forest delicacies and told us the German name, but I have since forgotten. They were quite tasty!

The largest ant hill I have ever seen! You can't see them in the picture, but black ants are covering the mound.

A nice view along our hike

On Sunday I traveled to the nearby city of Colmar, France. Not having had Internet I was not able to get much information about the city, so didn't know really what to expect. I loved just walking around. The architecture was once again unique and beautiful. It's in some ways similar to Strasbourg, but on a much smaller scale. Unfortunately we had a lot of unsuccess during out day finding cafe's with open kitchens and catching buses on time. If time allows, I would love to venture back and make a better day of the city.

I really love these buildings!

Enjoying the city.

Petit Venice

Strasbourg, France

On Sunday, myself and two others ventured to Strasbourg, France. We watched traditional dancers in the Gutenberg square, which appropriately hosts a book market during the week. Thank you Herr Gutenberg for the printing press! The Muensterplatz was alive with tourist, despite the fact that it was Sunday. There we were entertained by accordionists and opera singers while perusing the platz.

The architecture was very unique, with wooden beams for support. I felt as if I was walking through the illustrated pages of a story book.

A tributary of the Rhine river flows around the downtown of Strasbourg, creating a sort of island. We had lunch at a French cafe sitting across from these houses, eating Spaztle and drinking French wine. Oo La La!

A view of the city of Strasbourg. The tower to the right is a remnant of the old city wall. Behind us was the museum of modern art, and as we walked towards it, it was an interesting contrast of historical and contemporary. You can see the Muenster in the background, which is incredibly impressive. While it was built at the highest point in the city, the elevation change is not even noticeable while on foot. Standing by it was a quite intimidating, not only because it was massive, but also because of its Gothic style. Gargoyles were always looking down on us.

Views of the Muenster

Who do you need to know to get access to climb up the rest of the spire?

It's a massive cathedral, there has to be so much more than what the public is allowed to see!

For now, it's back to class...

FYI: We were warned during our orientation that the Internet connection at the Gaestehaus can be quite slow, and I have begun to experience long periods of time without any connections at all. If you don't see posts for a day or two, it's most likely because I can't get on the Internet or the connection is too slow.

Huh?

Characters

An Australian with decent German
An Italian, with a little English and good German
An American with decent German
A Norwegian with 4 days of German, perfect English
A Swede with decent German, perfect English

Setting

A quaint cafe. Everyone is a bit wet from just having come in out of the rain on their tour to Meersburg. A variety of warm drinks sit on the table: hot chocolate, a few cups of tea, and a cappuccino. They are enjoying conversation about the weather in German. In the midst of conversation the Swede cannot think of the necessary word, in either German or English and turns to the Norwegian, who is unsure about what the conversation is about, since only having had 4 days of German. After a few moments of discussion in Norwegian/Swedish the Norwegian shares the word in English and the Australian comes up with the word in German. Laughter is had and conversation resumes.

And I thought the fact that I could be on a Cleveland based cell phone number, in Chicago, talking to my brother in Denver, getting point by point directions back to the highway off of mapquest was amazing.

On Saturday I spent the day at the Bodensee, in both Meersburg and Konstanz. Unfortunately the morning was rainy, but the sun finally made an appearance by the afternoon. Each town has its own charm, and I was struck mostly by the picturesqueness of it.

A pretty looking watermill on the hillside of Meersburg

An old Schloss on the hillside of Meersburg

A quaint Cafe

The Bodensee is out there!

Inside the Muenster in Konstanz

Pistazi Eis!

Kling Glöcken Kling

Every Friday at 11:00 the Hosanna Bell, which sits in the bell tower of the Munster and was cast in the 13th century, can be heard around the town. It rings in commemoration of the Passion of Christ.

In fact, all over town, bells can be heard ringing. Every large church in town puts on its own show of bell ringing- at least a few times a day. There is no mistake when noontime comes, as the bells seem to engulf the city.

Bells are also heard at the Goethe institute, signaling the start of class, the beginning and endings of breaks, and the end of class. It has a nice sound and reminds me of being in grade school. The Goethe institute itself, reminds me of the German kindergarten I attended. The classes are in German. There are no hallways, but rather a common area where all of the classes open up in to. Each classroom has its own set of hooks for coats and umbrellas. The only thing missing are cubbys for house shoes and having my best friend in the classroom next door.

My first full week here has gone well. My class consists of 15 people from 13 different countries. I cannot say that I've ever been in such a diverse setting and I'm hopeful that I will learn much about other cultures during my time here. I'm getting used to having everything in German. While I can understand 95% of things that are said in class, I find it difficult to not be able to ask a clarification question in English, and I often want to speak in sentences that are half English, half German when having conversations with my classmates.

I'm also settling into a routine. The morning consists of class and the afternoon consists of lunch at the local University cafeteria, a run, a nap, and homework. It has been raining for the past three days, so this has limited my excursions, enabling me to pace myself. Throughout the week there have been several organized events that I have also participated in: a tour of the town, Stammtisch social, and tonight is the anticipated pizzabuffet.

There is much traveling to be had over the weekend. More to come soon...

Accomplishments

Being in a different culture you are bound to do things, or not do things, that would seem like common sense in everyday life, at least to the locals. These include things such as weighing your fruit and getting a nice tag with a bar code so the cashier doesn't have to wander back to the fruit isle and get it for you.

There are also those things that would normally be a common, think nothing of it, sort of task in your own everyday life, but somehow when it needs to be done in a foreign country it becomes something that one feels as if they must conquer. When I arrived, I found an email with a tip from my predecessor, recommending a relatively cheap electronic store here in Germany along with the suggestion of signing up with SKYPE to keep in touch with friends and family. With the simple purchase of a headset, I can talk via the Internet for free or for 2 cents a minute, depending on who I call. In my wanderings around town, I passed by a Saturn store and decided to see if I could find an inexpensive headset. Not only did I find a headset, but I discovered that Gilmore Girls has made the German market, as has Flipper, Friends, and all John Wayne and Clint Eastwood films. Unfortunately the headset I purchased was defective, and I realized that I would need to make my way back to Saturn for an exchange. After a few trips to the cash register, I was successful, at both explaining the problem and finding the right person who could remedy the situation.

I also managed to get all that needed to be done to register for the Goethe Institute, and was able to do so mostly in German. Tomorrow the class really begins, and it will be good to start making more sense of the German language.

The Goethe Institute- Freiburg

Wandern

My residence for the next two months, Freiburg, is situated at the base of the black forest. While the view is very hazy, you can make out the surrounding hills, and there are more rolling hills on either side of the city. As I hiked around the Schlossberg, feeling very proud of my new Chacos, I observed the shoe of choice for my hiking companions. I was impressed at the variety: Tevas, flip flops, heels, hiking boots, sneakers, birkenstocks, sandles, and even jelly shoes. The dress of people ranged anywhere from what one might expect to see on a hiking trail, to Sunday dress. I guess with hiking here, anything goes.

So far my favorite part of the city is the water canal that runs throughout the city. I'm unsure if it has a purpose or is just a remnant of a time past. I find it very unusual, but welcome and the children can't seem to keep themselves out of it, which brings with it instant entertainment.

Tomorrow I start my German class. Bring it on!

I climbed 251 steps to get to this point and then another 200 more- the view was wonderful.

Thank you to the kind German who took this picture for me, and invested in my learning of the German language, answering me back in a full sentence supplying the correct verb. Apparently you make a picture, not take.

Most of the streets in the Altstadt (lit. old city) look like this and most often children are found cooling off in the water.

Around the Town

Here are pictures from my explorations around Freiburg. It was a beautiful day to wander!

It seems as if on Saturdays the Munsterplatz is occupied with a market. Vegetables, Fruit, Pottery, Flowers, and Trinkets abounded.

A view of Schlossberg from the Munster (cathedral). The top of Schlossberg is the tallest point in the area.

The graffiti is in English?

Freiburg is known as being the city that produces the most amount of wine within their city limits. They have a whole park dedicated to it, with different grapevines throughout. Each one has a plaque explaining its distinct characteristics.