I just returned this evening from attending the Formula 1 German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. It was amazing! I have never had my ears assaulted so intensely for an entire weekend. I'm surprised I can even hear anything right now.
I have enjoyed watching Formula 1 car racing on TV for the past several years, but now have a much greater respect for the sport and the athletes involved -- except when the competition is sacrificed for the outcome, but I digress.
I really will attempt to get some pictures up of my recent adventures, but I usually don't fulfill these promises so I can only say that I will try.
I only have 3 more weeks in Germany and only 4 more days of paid work. It is weird to be so close to being finished with the summer plans I had been looking forward to for several months. I will, however, enjoy being back in the states in a few weeks, although not particularly for the hot August weather of DC, but with air conditioning I might just survive.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Friday, July 09, 2010
Bruges is...
...spectacular!
...postcard beautiful -- pictures look amazing, especially in the evening with reflections on the canals.
...charmingly medieval.
...delicious -- Belgians know how to make fries, chocolate, beer and ice cream. I could spend a lot of time here. Tomorrow I shall try the waffles!
...going to be discovered even more tomorrow.
...postcard beautiful -- pictures look amazing, especially in the evening with reflections on the canals.
...charmingly medieval.
...delicious -- Belgians know how to make fries, chocolate, beer and ice cream. I could spend a lot of time here. Tomorrow I shall try the waffles!
...going to be discovered even more tomorrow.
Thursday, July 08, 2010
In Bruges...
Awesome movie, and my plans for this weekend. I am taking tomorrow off work to meet my parents at the Frankfurt airport and hop on a train to Bruges in Belgium.
I'm super excited to go back to Belgium and to see a beautiful city featured in the film, "In Bruges." Back to Belgium, you say? Why yes, in fact, I was in Belgium (Brussels and Waterloo) over the June 19th-20th weekend. I went to enjoy the fries, chocolate, meat fondue and beer. But mostly to see the 195th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's defeat (June 18th, 1815).
It was one of the most amazing spectacles I have ever seen. There were some 3,000 re-enacters dressed up as Napoleon and his French army along with the Allied forces lead by the Duke of Wellington. The Allies were a mixture of British, Dutch and Prussian soldiers. Gebhard von Bluecher (Young Frankenstein fans, anyone?), the 73-year old Marshal, headed up the Prussian forces and joined Wellington a few hours into the battle, proving a decisive turn for the Allies. There were also at least 200 horses, many cannons, some rockets and an overwhelming number of awesome explosions.
I am officially a big fan of battle re-enactments. It was like being in an epic war movie. I can't imagine what it is going to be like in Waterloo in 5 years at the 200th anniversary.
Anyways, so back to Belgium I go, this time heading for the coast. That is all my update for now. I will try to get something up soon about work and life in Frankfurt/Germany during World Cup fever (all I can say is Germans become a whole new people when soccer is involved.) Too bad it ended so poorly for Germany last night. Stupid octopus!
I'm super excited to go back to Belgium and to see a beautiful city featured in the film, "In Bruges." Back to Belgium, you say? Why yes, in fact, I was in Belgium (Brussels and Waterloo) over the June 19th-20th weekend. I went to enjoy the fries, chocolate, meat fondue and beer. But mostly to see the 195th anniversary re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo and Napoleon's defeat (June 18th, 1815).
It was one of the most amazing spectacles I have ever seen. There were some 3,000 re-enacters dressed up as Napoleon and his French army along with the Allied forces lead by the Duke of Wellington. The Allies were a mixture of British, Dutch and Prussian soldiers. Gebhard von Bluecher (Young Frankenstein fans, anyone?), the 73-year old Marshal, headed up the Prussian forces and joined Wellington a few hours into the battle, proving a decisive turn for the Allies. There were also at least 200 horses, many cannons, some rockets and an overwhelming number of awesome explosions.
I am officially a big fan of battle re-enactments. It was like being in an epic war movie. I can't imagine what it is going to be like in Waterloo in 5 years at the 200th anniversary.
Anyways, so back to Belgium I go, this time heading for the coast. That is all my update for now. I will try to get something up soon about work and life in Frankfurt/Germany during World Cup fever (all I can say is Germans become a whole new people when soccer is involved.) Too bad it ended so poorly for Germany last night. Stupid octopus!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Pictures, finally!
Ok here are a few pictures from Germany so far. I have taken a ridiculous number of pictures thus far, but I've chosen a few representative ones to give you an idea what it's like here in Frankfurt this summer.
My apartment:
My room in the 2-bedroom apartment. I now, finally, have a roommate. When I came home from work on Tuesday there was another person in the apartment.
Beautiful evening sky outside my apartment on Becher Strasse:
The King of Bratwurst. Hehe. Such a goofy sign that I randomly found when walking home from the city center.
Giant strawberry near a strawberry cake fest that I attended. Strawberry season is serious business in Germany.
Hessen's largest Erdbeerkuchen (Strawberry shortcake) they sold pieces with coffee for 2 euro and it was delicious. It was a fundraiser for a local kindergarten (genius idea!).
As is Spargel season (white asparagus). The Germans go crazy for Spargel.
The Ginnheimer Spargel. This is the TV tower near my apartment. It is affectionately known as the Ginnheimer Spargel (Ginnheim's asparagus) because it's in the Ginnheim part of Frankfurt and looks a lot like an asparagus. It likes up bright pink at night. It's a great landmark because I can always find my way home.
Elevator at Fleming's Hotel.
It's essentially a human dumbwaiter and super awesome!
Infamous bunnies of the Siedlung. Rumor has it they are diseased and at some point in the year they all go blind and die. I don't know if that is true, but they have sure overrun the place (they are everywhere! One night I was walking back to my apartment and saw at least 30 different bunnies and there were probably a ton I couldn't see.) I also found a hedgehog the other day and even touched it. They feel like hairbrushes. :-)
How many bunnies can you find in this picture?
My apartment:
My room in the 2-bedroom apartment. I now, finally, have a roommate. When I came home from work on Tuesday there was another person in the apartment.
Beautiful evening sky outside my apartment on Becher Strasse:
The King of Bratwurst. Hehe. Such a goofy sign that I randomly found when walking home from the city center.
Giant strawberry near a strawberry cake fest that I attended. Strawberry season is serious business in Germany.
Hessen's largest Erdbeerkuchen (Strawberry shortcake) they sold pieces with coffee for 2 euro and it was delicious. It was a fundraiser for a local kindergarten (genius idea!).
As is Spargel season (white asparagus). The Germans go crazy for Spargel.
The Ginnheimer Spargel. This is the TV tower near my apartment. It is affectionately known as the Ginnheimer Spargel (Ginnheim's asparagus) because it's in the Ginnheim part of Frankfurt and looks a lot like an asparagus. It likes up bright pink at night. It's a great landmark because I can always find my way home.
Elevator at Fleming's Hotel.
It's essentially a human dumbwaiter and super awesome!
Infamous bunnies of the Siedlung. Rumor has it they are diseased and at some point in the year they all go blind and die. I don't know if that is true, but they have sure overrun the place (they are everywhere! One night I was walking back to my apartment and saw at least 30 different bunnies and there were probably a ton I couldn't see.) I also found a hedgehog the other day and even touched it. They feel like hairbrushes. :-)
How many bunnies can you find in this picture?
Monday, June 14, 2010
So Sore!
I participated in a Run/Walk-a-thon (Sponsorenlauf) yesterday and in 2 hours and 40 minutes of continuous movement, running/jogging/walking, I managed to circle the 400m track 40 times. That comes out to about 10 miles. This was an enormous accomplishment because I am not a regular runner and certainly don't exert myself nearly that much in one go. But it turned out to be super fun and we raised a ton of money for GospelTribe, the organization that I went to Egypt with in the spring of 2007.
I am sorry that I haven't gotten my pictures up yet. I really will try to get on that this week. I have gotten them uploaded to my computer at least, but now I need to sort through and find the best ones. However, I will use my incredibly sore limbs and aching muscles as my excuse for now. Every time I get up from a chair I can feel all 10 miles over again!
After the event a bunch of the other runners and I went to watch the Germany-Australia World Cup game at one of the local churches in Karlsruhe. They had a big screen set up and there were a ton of excited German soccer fans. Every German goal was a celebration which meant it was nearly a continuous party as Germany defeated Australia 4-0. I'm not usually much of a soccer fan, but watching it with so many excited people around you, it's hard not to get caught up in the fever a little. Although I did feel bad for Australia, so I'm clearly not a true German fan.
Those are pretty much the most exciting things I have done recently. I'll try to post again soon once I remember what I've been doing for the past couple of days. Right now I am exhausted. I didn't get back to Frankfurt until about 1:30am this morning, which didn't leave a lot of time for sleep before work. I will definitely be going to bed early tonight!
I am sorry that I haven't gotten my pictures up yet. I really will try to get on that this week. I have gotten them uploaded to my computer at least, but now I need to sort through and find the best ones. However, I will use my incredibly sore limbs and aching muscles as my excuse for now. Every time I get up from a chair I can feel all 10 miles over again!
After the event a bunch of the other runners and I went to watch the Germany-Australia World Cup game at one of the local churches in Karlsruhe. They had a big screen set up and there were a ton of excited German soccer fans. Every German goal was a celebration which meant it was nearly a continuous party as Germany defeated Australia 4-0. I'm not usually much of a soccer fan, but watching it with so many excited people around you, it's hard not to get caught up in the fever a little. Although I did feel bad for Australia, so I'm clearly not a true German fan.
Those are pretty much the most exciting things I have done recently. I'll try to post again soon once I remember what I've been doing for the past couple of days. Right now I am exhausted. I didn't get back to Frankfurt until about 1:30am this morning, which didn't leave a lot of time for sleep before work. I will definitely be going to bed early tonight!
Thursday, June 03, 2010
Another German holiday means another day off work
So my work week this week will be a grand total of 3 days. Monday was Memorial Day and today was Fronleichnam (Corpus Christi), a Catholic holiday celebrating the body of Christ in the Eucharist. Not all German states take a day off for this religious observance, but luckily Hessen (Frankfurt's state) does. So last week was 4 days of work and this week is going to be 3, does that mean I only work 2 days next week?
Well, work is going well. I got travel orders yesterday, so now if they take me on any outreach trips for work then I can get per diem and be reimbursed and what not. I also got my badge on Tuesday, which means I no longer have to rely on the kindness of strangers to swipe me in to my hallway in the morning. I can move freely about the building.
I am dog-sitting again and yesterday Fenway(the dog) and I explored a really neat park across the road from the American ghetto. I found a Greek Orthodox Church, a Hundenwiese (literally "dog meadow" but obviously translates to dog park), and the site of a former palace-type house built by the Rothschilds, which was called Grueneburg. It, however, was taken over during the Nazi-period and then destroyed by bombs during WWII so there isn't anything left except the plaque that tells you what used to be there, along with a mysterious black column. But given the vast size of the park area, you can imagine it must have been a pretty amazing house and place to live. Today Fenway and I went back to the park and I took my camera so that I could get some good pictures. Weather was gorgeous today, so I think we've gotten through the cold, rainy stretch and should be moving into a warm, sunny summer. Since it was a holiday and beautiful weather, there were a ton of people at the park (some not fully clothed -- sadly, to be expected on a warm day in Europe).
Not a lot else to report, except that I intend to upload pictures on to my computer this weekend and post some on the blog/facebook. To get your imaginations going I will leave you with these two keywords: bunnies and asparagus.
Well, work is going well. I got travel orders yesterday, so now if they take me on any outreach trips for work then I can get per diem and be reimbursed and what not. I also got my badge on Tuesday, which means I no longer have to rely on the kindness of strangers to swipe me in to my hallway in the morning. I can move freely about the building.
I am dog-sitting again and yesterday Fenway(the dog) and I explored a really neat park across the road from the American ghetto. I found a Greek Orthodox Church, a Hundenwiese (literally "dog meadow" but obviously translates to dog park), and the site of a former palace-type house built by the Rothschilds, which was called Grueneburg. It, however, was taken over during the Nazi-period and then destroyed by bombs during WWII so there isn't anything left except the plaque that tells you what used to be there, along with a mysterious black column. But given the vast size of the park area, you can imagine it must have been a pretty amazing house and place to live. Today Fenway and I went back to the park and I took my camera so that I could get some good pictures. Weather was gorgeous today, so I think we've gotten through the cold, rainy stretch and should be moving into a warm, sunny summer. Since it was a holiday and beautiful weather, there were a ton of people at the park (some not fully clothed -- sadly, to be expected on a warm day in Europe).
Not a lot else to report, except that I intend to upload pictures on to my computer this weekend and post some on the blog/facebook. To get your imaginations going I will leave you with these two keywords: bunnies and asparagus.
Friday, May 28, 2010
I'm a full-time worker
I have now experienced four days of full-time work. (8-4:30pm) Learning how to go to bed early and get up early has been a tough lesson. It certainly doesn't mesh with a student schedule, but I think it is something I could get used to if necessary. I like work, often when I am sitting at work I wish I had more to do. Since I'm new and have to learn all the ins and outs of the office, I only know how to do a few basic tasks (which apparently will come in very handy as the guy who usually does them goes on vacation on Tuesday and I am expected to fill in for him--luckily I think I can handle it.) However, because my knowledge at this point is limited, I often find myself with nothing I can do and thus end up sitting around in my office waiting for some menial task. Part of this was also due to me waiting for my account login information and still waiting on my badge so that I can swipe myself into various parts of the building.
I think in the next few weeks the work will pick up and I will be busy. I will also have to the opportunity to shadow and observe various parts of the job so that I can get a better idea of what I might be getting myself into in the future. Weather has been crazy. It was nice and warm like summer last weekend and then cold and rainy all week. Now that it's Friday it has started to warm up again, just in time for another three day weekend (gotta love celebrating German and American holidays). I am dog-sitting for a couple this weekend and am super excited that I will have access to internet within the apartment, rather than having to walk over to the fieldhouse to use internet.
Anyways, life is good, I enjoy work and am looking forward to more challenging tasks and hopefully I will be an asset to the office. I think next weekend I will travel outside of Frankfurt, maybe to Karlsruhe or somewhere and visit friends!
I think in the next few weeks the work will pick up and I will be busy. I will also have to the opportunity to shadow and observe various parts of the job so that I can get a better idea of what I might be getting myself into in the future. Weather has been crazy. It was nice and warm like summer last weekend and then cold and rainy all week. Now that it's Friday it has started to warm up again, just in time for another three day weekend (gotta love celebrating German and American holidays). I am dog-sitting for a couple this weekend and am super excited that I will have access to internet within the apartment, rather than having to walk over to the fieldhouse to use internet.
Anyways, life is good, I enjoy work and am looking forward to more challenging tasks and hopefully I will be an asset to the office. I think next weekend I will travel outside of Frankfurt, maybe to Karlsruhe or somewhere and visit friends!
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