Final Thoughts and Bremen

When I came to Germany, I came with the goal to make the strange familiar and the familiar strange. I left Atlanta with high anticipation and curiosity of what the year would hold; what things would be like, what I would learn, see, and do. It's different going back to the States. In packing my bags to come back States the anticipation is no longer there. The last few days held nothing unusual. In fact the days were normal and routine and felt a bit anti-climatic. I take that to mean that the strange has indeed become familiar. There are several things that I have become used to and things that I have grown to love. I've loved the half timbered houses and the the connection and closeness to European history. I've enjoyed the accessibility of a pretty punctual train system. I've gotten used to separating my trash and making use of the bio trash. I don't leave the house without a cloth bag to hold my purchases. I make sure to make it to the grocery store before Sunday, otherwise it's the local döner imbiss for lunch. I've enjoyed the luxury of more leisure time than the average year holds. I've loved running around the lake not far from where I lived. German has made it's way into my thoughts and dreams on occasion. I've gained an appreciation for what it means to live as a foreigner. I've grown fond of the German breakfast and Abendbrot (supper) which consists of a spread of delicious breads, cheeses, meats, yogurt, muesli, and nutella. Above all, I've loved walking everywhere.

I started preparing this post during a packing break and have now finished sitting in my parent's home in Colorado. I can say with confidence that this past year has been great and I am left to discover which of the familiar things that I left behind have indeed become strange. I have also been left to wonder what to do with the blog. I started it with the intention of keeping an account of the happenings abroad and now that I'm back it seems a bit strange to keep it up. At the same time, just because I'm back, that in no way means my wanderlust has subsided and that there won't be travels in the upcoming year. I think for the time being, I'm going to give it a go to try and continue to keep it up.

Here's a few last pictures from my time in Germany. As an end of the semester celebration, I managed to fit one last trip in, traveling up to Bremen. It was cold and rainy, so we didn't stay long, but managed to get a few photos out of the trip.

Medieval Böttcher Street

Town Square

Inside the church

Loccum

A couple of weeks ago I participated in a class, which was held over an intensive weekend. The class was in Loccum, a site of an old monastery. Today, it is an educational institute owned by the church in Hanover. The evenings afforded time for exploring and since the sun stays out until almost 11:00pm we could do so in daylight. The property was gorgeous with a forest of trails running throughout. After the sunset the fireflies (which are called "glow worms" in German, and might be my favorite German word) came out in hords, and when walking through the forest with little green lights flashing around, one would have thought fairies really existed.

The monastery from across the pasture.

A closer view

Loccum is along a pilgram's route and there is an entire building on the premises set aside for those on their journey to sleep in. This monument symbolizes this significance, being made of three pillers to represent the trinity and an upward spiral pointing towards heaven.

In the evening we attended "hora", which is essentially latin for a daily prayer service. Since we were such a small group we sat in the choir. I always feel so priveledged and like I'm some place I'm not supposed to be allowed when I get the opportunity to go into the choir area of the church.

An old barn soaking up the evening sun

Weekend Bike Rides

Germans love their bikes! I'm pretty convinced that one can ride their bike to pretty much any place they desire within the country and the route will be well marked and almost entirely without need of riding along a main street. I have an acquaintance who’s riding her bike home from Bonn, Germany to somewhere in Norway. Sounds fun to me. Although not quite as ambitious, I have however, been able to get in a few weekend bike trips of my own.

I and a few fellow Stifties rode our bikes to nearby Besenhausen, town of 5 (seriously, look it up on Google Earth), and had lunch at the Farm restaurant. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

Through the fields

Through the towns

Our destination was along the old border between West and East Germany. Passing through the city of Friedland (which interestingly Friede means peace) we came across one of the last border integration camps still in operation. It serves to provide housing for Russians, help them find jobs, and integrate into the country.

These signs are seen on streets indicating that bikes are allowed to be ridden, and are particularly helpful when there are several pedestrian only zones around. Fines can be quite hefty when caught riding your bike in such a zone. My companions speculated that with the former border being so close, it would have been helpful to have a sign indicating that this path was safe to ride on.

Looks like a nice place to have a bratwurst before heading back to Göttingen!

Dishes in the window- somehow oddly attractive

I found humor in this chicken placed in the widow outside of the bathrooms.

Sheep!

The scenery

More scenery

Prague

Well, Germany was unsuccessful in claiming the title of European Masterchampions on Sunday night. It was still a fun time, and from the sounds of horn honking and fireworks from my bedroom window, I'd say that most people decided to celebrate despite the loss.

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Today marks three weeks exactly until I will be boarding the plane back to the States, and I still have pictures from several weeks ago that I haven't posted. With the impending countdown, I have vowed to get all the pictures up that I have not yet posted and to make the most of my time left. I still have two weeks of classes left, but I've pretty much wrapped them up- no more assignments due and the last week is mostly scheduled for those who need to take tests (not me!).

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There have been more great things about this year than I can count, one of them being an all expense paid trip to Prague. As part of the program, we are required to take part in an ecumenical seminar, which happened to be in Prague this year. What a drag to have to go to Prague (if you missed the sarcastic tone, that was intended to be sarcastic).

For one week, I met up with other students who are also in the program and we toured Prague and engaged in seminars highlighting the history of different church traditions in relation to their Prague location. Several students who were apart of the program a few years ago had helped in putting the program together and we were really able to get to know the city well with personalized tours and the local favorites, helping to avoid the crowded tourist locations. In the evenings we had dinner in a local restaurant, which was always followed by a walk through the city. Above is the Charles Bridge and Prague Fortress by night.

The buildings in Prague were almost always supported by the statues of people.

The famous astronomical clock

The deteriorating effect of communism

The buildings in Prague were stunning. The one pictured above is near the town square and housed Franz Kafka for a while.

Another painted building

We spent several hours touring the Jewish quarter, once ghetto, in Prague. I really liked the clock. Being that Hebrew is read right to left, the clocks run what would be for us counter clockwise. Starting from the 11:00 position and going counter clockwise are the first 12 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

Apparently Prague is well known for their Jazz music. I had no idea. Among the folks I spent the trip with was a musician who enlightened us to the fact and did a great job in picking out a jazz club to spend our evening.

At the market

Town Square by Night