Sooo have been a bit lazy and will start off where i finished.
Tuesday -
We went to a lecture in the morning about management fashions. This was a lecture about how different management trends come about, and the rhetoric consultants use to sell their ideas. It was not exciting or as interesting as yesterday but it was still ok. After that it was casestudy time. So we sat and worked on ours for a few hours. Then the five lovely ladies in my group all walked downtown to find lunch. Ended up with ham and salad rolls (what a surprise). And i also bought some fresh strawberries from the market. I found out also that you get paid 15-25c when you recycle your plastic bottles here. So i kept mine (and Diannes). I still have them (wednesday night now...) but i am determined to get my 30c. We met up with the rest of the group and my left over strawberries got shared around, and ended up being taken by a complete stranger.
In the afternoon we went to BASF. A huge chemical company (employing 30000 people in mannheim!). The first part was a museum of the different things they make (foods flavours, colours, plastics, scents etc.) which was fairly interesting. I wish it had stopped there. Then they took us on a tour of the plant. It is massive. We were in the bus for 40 minutes. It was boring after 3 minutes. I didnt really know what the guide was talking about. And we werent allowed to take photos so i was bored. One interesting thing was to prevent oil spills in the river they have lines from bank to bank which blow air into the water, raising a strip of water about 3cms. This is enough to stop the oil spreading in case of a spill. Clever huh. I managed not to fall asleep (unlike others!). Then it was time to go and visit the learning centre (even though we wanted to go home). The BASF learning centre is for employees to partake in self-directed learning. Its like a library for staff which is trying to use lots of different methods to help people learn in different ways (a room with no corners apparently helps...). Our guide told us that when you study you shouldnt eat a treat when you take a break, you should have the break then eat a treat when you begin work again. Interesting. But i feel my method of eating treats the whole time whilst studying is also effective.
Finally we got to go back to the hotel. But i was soo tired. But we had case study work to do. sigh. We met in A & D's room. I forgot their room number (and was meant to tell the other girls) so i just stood outside a few doors trying to work out which one their voices were coming from. It worked. We "worked" on the case, but also spent time talking about different holidays here, and how they celebrate christmas and easter differently. It was fun.
We had to finish at 8pm because the soccer was starting and everyone was going for dinner at a nearby pub. Sarah and i got there late and then left because they said our food was going to be one hour (we didnt even want the food, and we didnt want to watch football). Aparently we were being called the grandmas. I dont mind, because i get this at home too. So we wandered the streets of mannheim and eventually settled on the pizza shop a block from the hotel. The pizza men didnt speak english. It was fun ordering (we were the only customers). Sarah wanted pineapple. We tried to ask, but they said anana - i thought this was banana. So i said no. And then asked for paper and a pen and drew a pineapple. Turns out they were right...very funny! And very good pizza and nice company too! so nice to meet someone so like minded! Still finding the hot hot weather and long sunny days a strange adjustment. We ate dinner after 9pm but it didnt feel weird. Back to the hotel and i got to chat to mitch for the first time which was pretty exciting.
TODAY:
Soooo today. We began our morning with a tour of John Deere factory. We were given a small presentation about the company's history. They spend $4.5 million on R&D every day! WOW! Then we went on a tour of the factory. It was hot. It was smelly. It was BORING. Waaaaaaaay to much technical information. I had no idea what he was talking about and wasnt sure what everyone was doing even when he told us. Im sure the machinery was impressive. And the quality assurance systems were very detailed. But i couldnt concentrate after 20 minutes passed. The tour was 1.5hours. Lucky H. was bored to. So we started making up games. You had to walk on lines, you had to stand on one foot when waiting, you had to bend up and down waiting, practice ballet moves etc. It was like being in primary school. It was fun to have a silly friend to save me from boredom. Im sure i was trying to remember interesting facts from the tour to add here...i cant remember any of them. After the tour we did a quick look in the museum, then had a quick drink/food break, then we had to sit through another 20mins of a sustainable resources. Looking around the room i think 25% of people were listening. There were lots of facts. Some were interesting. But i didnt really listen either as i was writing palm cards for tonights presentation.
We got back to the hotel at around 1.30. Our group met again, and then we all had to leave at 3pm to go to the winery. YAY. We were catching a tram. We were all waiting at the stop. The tram arrived. Five of us were waiting for two ladies to get off the tram with prams. The doors closed. We pressed the open button. They stayed closed. Five of us missed the tram. Oh no. I ran after it because H. was standing in the back signalling for us to run. But no one else did. So the guy from Belgium rang Michael. They all caught another tram back to meet us. Apparently they had tried to keep the doors open for us at the next stop but the driver said he would call the police...WHOOPS. This all meant that we now had to run to the train station and catch a train instead. Then change trains twice. And we ran 20 minutes late. It was an adventure!
The town the winery was in is beautiful. Very picturesque, very much reminding me of a little village in France. The winery was amazing. Its now 225 years old. 9 generations of one family have kept it going. We started with our case studies. Our group presented last, after a very long and detailed presentation by another group. We kept it short, sadly not very snappy, but it didnt really matter. Then we went on a tour of the grounds. They are spectacular.
1. They have a ginko tree which are rare in the area. The leaves grow as two separate sections, then these form together as one. Goethe wrote a poem about them being like old married couples.
2. a long time ago an American bug was introduced that burries under the ground and eats the vine roots, killing the plant. The only roots that survive are american wild vine roots, so all the vines here are grafted on to those roots. Amazing.
3. They plant rose bushes at the end of the vine rows. This is because fungi diseases will attack the rose bushes first - then they know to spray.
4. Lots of wine makers die because of CO2 poisoning in cellars. I did not know this. Always take a candle down with you so you know if you need to make a fast escape.
We also did wine tasting. 6 different wines. Some were amazing, some were not. I liked the one they made with a red grape, but the wine looks white (they must be extra gentle when transporting the grapes becaus if the skin gets broken the colour gets into the wine). Had some iced wine too. SOOOOO sweet. I also enjoyed the sparkling passionfruit wine. All very tasty. I didnt finish any of my samples but others around me enjoyed them. needless to say the mood of everyone was very relaxed upon leaving. I spent time talking to H again. We drew pictures to learn new words in english/german. She knows german, english, swiss and Finnish. WOW. I wish i was multilingual. I also drew german guy (whos name i forget) a kangaroo.
We all made purchases then walked through town. This time everyone stopped for gelati. I learned that in germany the phrase for getting your "good side" in a photo is make sure you get my "chocolate side". I like this.
Caught a tram back to Mannheim. Sarah and i very much enjoyed a sing-a-long to some Sister Act 2 and other great hits. Then we walked (forever) back to the hotel. my feet are soooo tired!
Time for bed now because tomorrow we leave at 7.15am to FRANCE!!! Thats in 7.5 hours.
Ahhh good night all!
Ill keep you posted.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
Another quick run down
Sooo shouldnt really have stayed up so late last night, as the sun still broke through the window and jumped onto my face at 5am. Silly sun. At breakfast i did find out the rooms have real metal blinds that block out all the light. If only i'd known three days ago...
TODAY. Wow. So long. First we breakfasted. Got to know some of the other group members. Just talked about what we study and where. One girl was from Canada and studying in finland (she married a guy there), the other from Portugal. So cool to meet such a mix of people! We had to meet in the lobby at 8.30am (half an hour before 9am michael tells us...). So we did. From there we walked to the uni together. Then had a welcome session - with info about the uni, and about the state of Baddn-Wurttemberg (we were are). Then we got info on the case study. Where they basically said it wasnt really about all the info in the case (exporting) but it was about event management. Sooooo vague. But in a group. And i got a nice group! YAY. So i feel less stressed, because i feel they cant really expect too much in 3 days, and Michael told us it shouldnt take more than 5 hours of work. Having said that, i still wasnt really sure what we were meant to do a 15 minute presentation about on wednesday.
Then we were taken on a tour of mannheim by an older lady,..i forget her name... Basically it seemed everything was invented here, and all famous people came from here (or at least stayed here for a night in an inn...i exagerate...). But Mozart stayed here for 162 days, and played the organ in the Jesuit, Baroque styled church we went to. Very impressive. The first bike, car and tructor were all invited here. The guy who made the first car (three-wheeled), got laws made especially for him because people were scared of the new transportation mean. he could only ride at 5km an hour...seems a bit pointless really. The tour was long, and really really hot. So sunny here and no shade. But she did point out the nice cafes. And one place rents out deck chairs so you can go and sit on the grassy lawn - cool idea! We also walked up to the famous water tower. It is cool and old. Its famous for preventing diahorea and other illnesses. It was funny how our german guide pronounced that word.
Headed back to the uni for lunch. Their cafeteria is amazing. This lunch was included in the course. We all helped ourselves. Then found out you pay by weight (they weighed each plate). I tried to go healthy, so halved the chocolate berry tart with S (im not really sure if people would want me putting there names here...). Had interesting conversation with the couple from Belgium about Australia and Australian animals. And the guy from Germany (who is also half arabic) - he lived in israel for a while, didnt have to do army service in germany (which he was pretty pleased about) and he wanted us to send him some kangaroos. He thinks they're awesome. It makes me laugh.
After lunch we had our first lectures - both 90 mins long. One about the germany economy (they;re BIG exporters - i didnt know hoow powerful Germany was, and how labour used to cost so much becaus of additional labour costs - social security payments - so unemployment was high) and then about the European Union (Parliment, Council, Commission) and the problems with the euro at the moment (because everyone went into high debt). I thought we Aussies and American were at a little disadvantage, but all the Europeans said they had forgotten it all. The lecturer kept saying it was way too much to cover in 3 hours. And it was. We hardly got through any of it. But what we talked about was interesting. I also had my first Haribo gummy bear. How exciting.
Next, we spent an hour and a bit in our group to work on the case study. How should a winery use a function room, garden and outside area (in a vineyard) to make money through events??? Well we thought of seasonal holiday events (mothers day brunch, valentines day etc.). Everyone was getting pretty sick of it, so we called it quits and decided we would ask Michael tonight at dinner (he, by the way, is the guy who is leading our program). Its hard not to overthink the questions, and not to get into minute details of what events would be like. But at least everyone was friendly, and wants to work. Plus, i hardly think they will fail us...
Now its time for me to go meet the group for dinner at an italian restaurant. I'd rather have the night in, and im not even hungry from lunch still (and that was nearly 8 hours ago!). But im sure it will be fun when i get there.
I'll keep you posted.
TODAY. Wow. So long. First we breakfasted. Got to know some of the other group members. Just talked about what we study and where. One girl was from Canada and studying in finland (she married a guy there), the other from Portugal. So cool to meet such a mix of people! We had to meet in the lobby at 8.30am (half an hour before 9am michael tells us...). So we did. From there we walked to the uni together. Then had a welcome session - with info about the uni, and about the state of Baddn-Wurttemberg (we were are). Then we got info on the case study. Where they basically said it wasnt really about all the info in the case (exporting) but it was about event management. Sooooo vague. But in a group. And i got a nice group! YAY. So i feel less stressed, because i feel they cant really expect too much in 3 days, and Michael told us it shouldnt take more than 5 hours of work. Having said that, i still wasnt really sure what we were meant to do a 15 minute presentation about on wednesday.
Then we were taken on a tour of mannheim by an older lady,..i forget her name... Basically it seemed everything was invented here, and all famous people came from here (or at least stayed here for a night in an inn...i exagerate...). But Mozart stayed here for 162 days, and played the organ in the Jesuit, Baroque styled church we went to. Very impressive. The first bike, car and tructor were all invited here. The guy who made the first car (three-wheeled), got laws made especially for him because people were scared of the new transportation mean. he could only ride at 5km an hour...seems a bit pointless really. The tour was long, and really really hot. So sunny here and no shade. But she did point out the nice cafes. And one place rents out deck chairs so you can go and sit on the grassy lawn - cool idea! We also walked up to the famous water tower. It is cool and old. Its famous for preventing diahorea and other illnesses. It was funny how our german guide pronounced that word.
Headed back to the uni for lunch. Their cafeteria is amazing. This lunch was included in the course. We all helped ourselves. Then found out you pay by weight (they weighed each plate). I tried to go healthy, so halved the chocolate berry tart with S (im not really sure if people would want me putting there names here...). Had interesting conversation with the couple from Belgium about Australia and Australian animals. And the guy from Germany (who is also half arabic) - he lived in israel for a while, didnt have to do army service in germany (which he was pretty pleased about) and he wanted us to send him some kangaroos. He thinks they're awesome. It makes me laugh.
After lunch we had our first lectures - both 90 mins long. One about the germany economy (they;re BIG exporters - i didnt know hoow powerful Germany was, and how labour used to cost so much becaus of additional labour costs - social security payments - so unemployment was high) and then about the European Union (Parliment, Council, Commission) and the problems with the euro at the moment (because everyone went into high debt). I thought we Aussies and American were at a little disadvantage, but all the Europeans said they had forgotten it all. The lecturer kept saying it was way too much to cover in 3 hours. And it was. We hardly got through any of it. But what we talked about was interesting. I also had my first Haribo gummy bear. How exciting.
Next, we spent an hour and a bit in our group to work on the case study. How should a winery use a function room, garden and outside area (in a vineyard) to make money through events??? Well we thought of seasonal holiday events (mothers day brunch, valentines day etc.). Everyone was getting pretty sick of it, so we called it quits and decided we would ask Michael tonight at dinner (he, by the way, is the guy who is leading our program). Its hard not to overthink the questions, and not to get into minute details of what events would be like. But at least everyone was friendly, and wants to work. Plus, i hardly think they will fail us...
Now its time for me to go meet the group for dinner at an italian restaurant. I'd rather have the night in, and im not even hungry from lunch still (and that was nearly 8 hours ago!). But im sure it will be fun when i get there.
I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Its getting close to midnight. But i had sooo much to write about today. sigh. here it is in dotpoints (please ignore spelling errors..i am writing by the light of the screen - room mates...)
- Caught the tram to heidelberg at 8.30AM. only weird people are up at 8.30am on Sundays in Germnay.
-met Vitali at the station. Then he took me on an awesome tour of heidelberg for 8 hoursl it was amazing. A city in a valley, with a river, and lots of old buildings. What more coould one want? We went to the Philosphers path, saw a house where the person is in a secret society (how exciting!), crosed the aptly named "old bridge". wandered the cobblestoned paths. went up to the castle (took the stairs), looked in a church (whilst the service was on), had a coffee at Witali's fav cafe, walked passed shops (all closed on sunday) and Witali gave me some great info on the area and german history. He also has a good sense of humour (which is clever when you can make jokes in another language). So many of the facts about black birds and metal pipes i know to be false. Had mexican for lunch (traditional german...). Everyone here has german flags hanging up. I found out this is only during the soccer, because when th soccer isnt on, handing up flags has bad conentations linking to WWII. I thought that was interesting. Thy are obviously trying to get their moneys worth from the few weeks world cup is on! Then after walking for 4 hours i said good bye and headed back to mannheim.
- it seemded i had boarded the tram-spotters dream tram on the way home. There were men in fields taking photos of it, and some getting off to take pics then jumping back on...very funny. I got a pic to in case i ever want to take up the noble hobby that is locomotive watching.
-got back to my hotel room and met my roommate. Nice to have company, sad to lose my space. I was meant to do washing, but we went to watch the world cup instead. So glad we did. The clerk (Alex - he will be my friend on the friendly clerks list) told us to go to the old ice hockey stadum. Cost = 3.5 euro and my beloved pump drink bottle. oh well. The experience was worth it. The noise was amazing. They all knew chants, and different hand clapping routines clapclapclapclapclapclapARMSINTHEAIR. That was my favourite. Then every goal - the roar was amazing. Beer splashed in the air. electric vibe! Even the replays of the goals got cheers. Beckham got boos. I laughed. Even more funny was when we left. the celebrations continued. I joined in to try and get some people going - it didnt take much. Then the cars started appearing, a constant stream past our hotel of pople honking their horns and shouting and waving flags. They were driving to the centre of town where everyone celebrates. This went on for 40 mins at least before we had to leave again for our welcome dinner. Im sure it went much longer than that (some cars will still driving around when we arrived back at 11pm..)
- Before we left i put on a load of wash - 5euro. ouch.
- dinner was aweesome. The company, and the buuffet. I finally at sourkrout - welcome to germany.I was a little (well maybe a lot) hyperactive. Everything was funny. I met another girl from uni who is hilarious and has very similar sense of humour (and tastes - eg. gelati - so i took a group of them to a gelati shop afterwards). Also met a guy from india, and a girl from germany, and two guys from norway who i think thought i was crazy. Especially when sarah and i started talking about seeing hannah montanta the movie...hehehehe. Michael the guy leading the program is also very funny. Im glad people have a sense of humour. Also, anothr bonus, the casee study is a group project - WOOHOO. Awesome.
- got home (after gelati). Then had to put my wash in teh dryer. Took me ages to get the machine open, funny since i had told Alex in the afternoon that i knew how to use a machine!
- now its waaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime.
I really havent been able to do today justice. Hopefully some of the pics on facebook help.
I'll keep you posted!
- Caught the tram to heidelberg at 8.30AM. only weird people are up at 8.30am on Sundays in Germnay.
-met Vitali at the station. Then he took me on an awesome tour of heidelberg for 8 hoursl it was amazing. A city in a valley, with a river, and lots of old buildings. What more coould one want? We went to the Philosphers path, saw a house where the person is in a secret society (how exciting!), crosed the aptly named "old bridge". wandered the cobblestoned paths. went up to the castle (took the stairs), looked in a church (whilst the service was on), had a coffee at Witali's fav cafe, walked passed shops (all closed on sunday) and Witali gave me some great info on the area and german history. He also has a good sense of humour (which is clever when you can make jokes in another language). So many of the facts about black birds and metal pipes i know to be false. Had mexican for lunch (traditional german...). Everyone here has german flags hanging up. I found out this is only during the soccer, because when th soccer isnt on, handing up flags has bad conentations linking to WWII. I thought that was interesting. Thy are obviously trying to get their moneys worth from the few weeks world cup is on! Then after walking for 4 hours i said good bye and headed back to mannheim.
- it seemded i had boarded the tram-spotters dream tram on the way home. There were men in fields taking photos of it, and some getting off to take pics then jumping back on...very funny. I got a pic to in case i ever want to take up the noble hobby that is locomotive watching.
-got back to my hotel room and met my roommate. Nice to have company, sad to lose my space. I was meant to do washing, but we went to watch the world cup instead. So glad we did. The clerk (Alex - he will be my friend on the friendly clerks list) told us to go to the old ice hockey stadum. Cost = 3.5 euro and my beloved pump drink bottle. oh well. The experience was worth it. The noise was amazing. They all knew chants, and different hand clapping routines clapclapclapclapclapclapARMSINTHEAIR. That was my favourite. Then every goal - the roar was amazing. Beer splashed in the air. electric vibe! Even the replays of the goals got cheers. Beckham got boos. I laughed. Even more funny was when we left. the celebrations continued. I joined in to try and get some people going - it didnt take much. Then the cars started appearing, a constant stream past our hotel of pople honking their horns and shouting and waving flags. They were driving to the centre of town where everyone celebrates. This went on for 40 mins at least before we had to leave again for our welcome dinner. Im sure it went much longer than that (some cars will still driving around when we arrived back at 11pm..)
- Before we left i put on a load of wash - 5euro. ouch.
- dinner was aweesome. The company, and the buuffet. I finally at sourkrout - welcome to germany.I was a little (well maybe a lot) hyperactive. Everything was funny. I met another girl from uni who is hilarious and has very similar sense of humour (and tastes - eg. gelati - so i took a group of them to a gelati shop afterwards). Also met a guy from india, and a girl from germany, and two guys from norway who i think thought i was crazy. Especially when sarah and i started talking about seeing hannah montanta the movie...hehehehe. Michael the guy leading the program is also very funny. Im glad people have a sense of humour. Also, anothr bonus, the casee study is a group project - WOOHOO. Awesome.
- got home (after gelati). Then had to put my wash in teh dryer. Took me ages to get the machine open, funny since i had told Alex in the afternoon that i knew how to use a machine!
- now its waaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime.
I really havent been able to do today justice. Hopefully some of the pics on facebook help.
I'll keep you posted!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
...to buy a fat pig...
Well. This morning i woke a little early. So i turned the tv on. Then i turned it off. It was time to tackle the case study. I set a goal to read 10 pages. It took me 30 mins but i got there in the end. Then i was off to breakfast. WOW. I was very impressed. I thought life was good getting the free breakfast at the hostel and choosing between toast, ham, cheese, cucumber and cornflakes. BUT now i was presented with the true buffett breakfast. Lovely selection of fruits, jams, breads, two cakes (?!), cereals, yoghurts, eggs, bacon, and then hams/salamis/cheese/camenbert cheese (i dont get it. Surely eating salami and creamy cheeses for breakfast is not good for ones heart?). I opted for ye'oldee museli. Unfortunately they only have plate-like bowls. I hate those. But i survived. I also managed to smuggle two packets of butter back to my room so i could use them to grease my one and only saucepan if the need should arise at dinner time. I know. Genius. If i took my bag to breakfast everyday i wouldnt have to purchase food here again...i dont think im that desperate though.
After breakfast i ventured off to the Mannheim Flea Markets. I caught the tram. I still have no idea how to get a ticket to a station that isnt listed on the machine. Im sure there are different zones, Im just not sure what these zones are. I also dont know if im meant to get the ticket stamped by the machine once i get on the tram. I watched everyone else and only saw one man do this. Im not sure if thats because locals all have specially monthly tickets or something, or if that one man didnt know what he was doing...I havent got booked so i will leave it for now.
For once i didnt get lost. I made it to the flea markets (which are only held once a month - so i scored there). They were MASSIVE. Like a big big area of lots of little little stalls. hmmm...i spose thats a flea market...So i spent 2 hours wandering around trying to take in everything. It seems flea markets are the same world wide. Just a lot of people selling a lot of junk. It was hot, and there was no shade. But i was determined to look at everything because i thought i might find something. Im getting pretty good at faking I know german. When people talked to me i just smiled and nodded, said "danka" then left. They probably thought something was wrong with me. Especially if they were actually asking me questions...Anyway after lots of walking I decided the only thing i wanted to buy was at one of the first stalls I went to. 3 little copper cake moulds. I walked back but couldnt find the stall, or the lady had sold them. Bummer. But it was ok because I saw some others for sale elsewhere. I went to that stall instead. They only had a set of two. I think i got ripped off. As soon as you have to ask 'do you speak english?' followed by 'what are these used for?' and finally 'how much?' they know they can charge you what ever you like. The ladies were very friendly. I paid 10euro. Maybe thats why they were friendly, because at the next stall i went to to buy one more smaller tin the lady asked for 1euro. I think i got ripped off. The second lady then offloaded 3 more on me for 2euro. I didnt really need 6 little tins...oh well.
After 2 hours of browsing peoples junk (old nintendos, old crockery, cuttlery, lots of kids clothes and toys, plants, miscellaneous tools, old clocks, old cameras etc. etc.) it was time to leave. I kept wanting to look at old books, then remembered there wasn't much point buying books in german (although i could easily fake reading one on a tram). Once i was back in the centre market square of Mannheim I had a walk around the produce market there. It was awesome. Lots of fresh flowers (roses, peonies, lilies etc.) and lots of fresh fruit and vege stalls. I was taking a photo of some fresh blueberries and strawberries then this old man who was the stall owner put four cherries in my hand - so cute! Again i feigned my german and said thanks and smiled and nodded yes to whatever he asked. I think he said "they are good arent they?". And they were. Sweet and juicy. Best smells = fresh strawberries, and the herb stalls. Worst smell: the cheese stall - ewwww. But i still bought a fresh wedge of camenbert to go with my fresh grainy bread for lunch - at 1euro who could resist!
From there it was back to the hotel via a craft supply shop/cafe (best combination ever) i had seen advertising a sale. They had some awesome bits and pieces. I bought some nice weighted/patterned gift wrap, and coveted the selection of pens, coloured pencils, oil pastels and papers. Lucky my suitcase has a weight restriction - it saved my bank balance a lot of pain.
Home for lunch which was fresh bread, cheese and salad. Dat ist gut! Skyped home (again!). Then i watched some tv via youtube (gold old Gruen transfer). I love the internet. Its magic. Its also the best way to procrastinate. But, finally, i forced myself to sit and read the dreaded case study. It actually turned out to be quite intesting. Did you know it takes a grape vine 3-4 years to start producing grapes, and then it doesnt produced its best grapes until 35 years of age? No I didnt think you did know that. It took me forever to read. I only put down my highlighter at 5pm. I needed a reward. I needed a gelati (need is a strong word to use. strong, but appropriate). So i headed back down the street. I love the stores open hours here - so convenient. Lots of people were out and about shopping of a saturday evening. It doesnt really feel like evening because its so bright. I chose my gelati store (1 of 4 in 2 blocks). It was FANTASTIC (hazlenut and cookies). I can see why they are so popular (so popular in fact that a shoe shop a few stores down had a 'no icecream' sign on the door). Wandered around the shops for a while. They have a lot of shoe shops with a lot of nice leather shoes. Its lucky my feet are so long because that too saved my bank balance much pain!
Back home by 7.30pm. I purchased some postcards in the front lobby. This afternoons clerktress (female clerk) gets the award for the most helpful and friendly. Turned on the tv. I dont know why i bother. All i get in English is BBC News. Although as I write this I am watching Run Fatboy Run. Its amazing how their dubbed voices almost fit with the mouths. Dylan Moran in german is still funny. Now its 9.15. I need some dinner and then some sleep as tomorrow i head off to Heidelberg to see the sights with my friendly tourgudi Witali. Looking forward to seeing a familiar face.
I'll keep you posted!
After breakfast i ventured off to the Mannheim Flea Markets. I caught the tram. I still have no idea how to get a ticket to a station that isnt listed on the machine. Im sure there are different zones, Im just not sure what these zones are. I also dont know if im meant to get the ticket stamped by the machine once i get on the tram. I watched everyone else and only saw one man do this. Im not sure if thats because locals all have specially monthly tickets or something, or if that one man didnt know what he was doing...I havent got booked so i will leave it for now.
For once i didnt get lost. I made it to the flea markets (which are only held once a month - so i scored there). They were MASSIVE. Like a big big area of lots of little little stalls. hmmm...i spose thats a flea market...So i spent 2 hours wandering around trying to take in everything. It seems flea markets are the same world wide. Just a lot of people selling a lot of junk. It was hot, and there was no shade. But i was determined to look at everything because i thought i might find something. Im getting pretty good at faking I know german. When people talked to me i just smiled and nodded, said "danka" then left. They probably thought something was wrong with me. Especially if they were actually asking me questions...Anyway after lots of walking I decided the only thing i wanted to buy was at one of the first stalls I went to. 3 little copper cake moulds. I walked back but couldnt find the stall, or the lady had sold them. Bummer. But it was ok because I saw some others for sale elsewhere. I went to that stall instead. They only had a set of two. I think i got ripped off. As soon as you have to ask 'do you speak english?' followed by 'what are these used for?' and finally 'how much?' they know they can charge you what ever you like. The ladies were very friendly. I paid 10euro. Maybe thats why they were friendly, because at the next stall i went to to buy one more smaller tin the lady asked for 1euro. I think i got ripped off. The second lady then offloaded 3 more on me for 2euro. I didnt really need 6 little tins...oh well.
After 2 hours of browsing peoples junk (old nintendos, old crockery, cuttlery, lots of kids clothes and toys, plants, miscellaneous tools, old clocks, old cameras etc. etc.) it was time to leave. I kept wanting to look at old books, then remembered there wasn't much point buying books in german (although i could easily fake reading one on a tram). Once i was back in the centre market square of Mannheim I had a walk around the produce market there. It was awesome. Lots of fresh flowers (roses, peonies, lilies etc.) and lots of fresh fruit and vege stalls. I was taking a photo of some fresh blueberries and strawberries then this old man who was the stall owner put four cherries in my hand - so cute! Again i feigned my german and said thanks and smiled and nodded yes to whatever he asked. I think he said "they are good arent they?". And they were. Sweet and juicy. Best smells = fresh strawberries, and the herb stalls. Worst smell: the cheese stall - ewwww. But i still bought a fresh wedge of camenbert to go with my fresh grainy bread for lunch - at 1euro who could resist!
From there it was back to the hotel via a craft supply shop/cafe (best combination ever) i had seen advertising a sale. They had some awesome bits and pieces. I bought some nice weighted/patterned gift wrap, and coveted the selection of pens, coloured pencils, oil pastels and papers. Lucky my suitcase has a weight restriction - it saved my bank balance a lot of pain.
Home for lunch which was fresh bread, cheese and salad. Dat ist gut! Skyped home (again!). Then i watched some tv via youtube (gold old Gruen transfer). I love the internet. Its magic. Its also the best way to procrastinate. But, finally, i forced myself to sit and read the dreaded case study. It actually turned out to be quite intesting. Did you know it takes a grape vine 3-4 years to start producing grapes, and then it doesnt produced its best grapes until 35 years of age? No I didnt think you did know that. It took me forever to read. I only put down my highlighter at 5pm. I needed a reward. I needed a gelati (need is a strong word to use. strong, but appropriate). So i headed back down the street. I love the stores open hours here - so convenient. Lots of people were out and about shopping of a saturday evening. It doesnt really feel like evening because its so bright. I chose my gelati store (1 of 4 in 2 blocks). It was FANTASTIC (hazlenut and cookies). I can see why they are so popular (so popular in fact that a shoe shop a few stores down had a 'no icecream' sign on the door). Wandered around the shops for a while. They have a lot of shoe shops with a lot of nice leather shoes. Its lucky my feet are so long because that too saved my bank balance much pain!
Back home by 7.30pm. I purchased some postcards in the front lobby. This afternoons clerktress (female clerk) gets the award for the most helpful and friendly. Turned on the tv. I dont know why i bother. All i get in English is BBC News. Although as I write this I am watching Run Fatboy Run. Its amazing how their dubbed voices almost fit with the mouths. Dylan Moran in german is still funny. Now its 9.15. I need some dinner and then some sleep as tomorrow i head off to Heidelberg to see the sights with my friendly tourgudi Witali. Looking forward to seeing a familiar face.
I'll keep you posted!
Friday, June 25, 2010
buskers on Planken (the main st here)
These guys were cool - so relaxed. I should have filmed longer, but i didnt want to pay them too much.
Man oh man(nheim)
Still not quiet over the jetlag business - 5.30am was never a reasonable hour to be awake at home! So today i changed cities from Frankfurt to Mannheim. Here is a rundown:
1. Public transport was a pain - I still cant believe i am here. At Frankfurt main station the platforms are REALLY long. First class carriages are at the beginning of the platform, second class at the end. I missed one train (from platform 9) then saw my next option left platform 3 in 5 mins. Made my way quickly to platform 3, then had to run from one end to the other. I still didnt have a ticket. But i was told i could buy one on board. Fortunately that was true. The trip was through some german country side - so green here! And lots of little white houses with red roofs...so quaint. Spent the time reading and writing a postcard to grandma dearest.
2. German people are reasonablly friendly. A girl my age and an old man helped me find my tram when i got to mannheim. The girl told me it was tram #3, which was just arriving. She got on. I didnt. Thats because I couldnt explain I didnt have a ticket so had to wave goodbye to that one. Then the old man who spoke no english was like 'why didnt you get on?!' (im pretty sure thats what he was saying, its amazing what you can pick up from body language, facial expressions and tone of voice!). I said "no ticket!". He worked the machine for me - what a gem.
3. Found my hotel (again with the help from some locals - I was one block off to the right). All the streets here are letters,(vertical)and numbers (horizontal), so each block is a letter number - my hotel = C6. I thought this would make it a lot easier to get around. Not so. Thats probably more a result of my poor orientation skills than anything. But i didnt get lost. Checked in to hotel room. Its going to be a cosy 2 weeks when my roommate arrives tomorrow! For now i am enjoying the solitude, and high quality bedding (compared to the hostel!). Spent some time settling in, and trying to get the net working. Obviously i succeeded.
4. Wandered around the streets of mannheim for 3 hours. It's quite nice. Lots of old buildings (i especially like the use of balcony flower boxes), a couple of big churches, and the paradeplatz in the centre has pretty awesome water feature and really beautiful bright and colourful flower beds. I love them. Saw my first vw bug and Aldis (so German). Also saw some people getting married at St Sebastian church. Tracked down a shoe shop that i had accidently stumbled across online which specialises in shoes for large feet. It took some time, but i found it in the end. And i felt like i had to buy a pair then because of all the effort i went to. This too took some time deciding - i've never had so much choice! I am also grateful that i am a small 43, and not a large size 45...that would just be terrible. More shopping - there are a LOT of shops here. Some department stores have lots of sections - including fresh flowers and stationery/craft supplies which is cool. The huge deparment store here - Engelhorn - is spread over three blocks. Impressive. But also expensive.
5. Grocery shopping: i love it! In the afternoon after a long video skype home, and some time facebooking I headed off to do some grocery shopping. I was going to make dinner and now i had a fridge. FUN. Went to the nearest shop, but didnt find much, so headed to aldis. Ahhh Aldis. It was like being home again (or perhaps when im home Aldis is like being in Germany...). Spent my time wandering the aisles and wondering what lots of things were. I steered clear of any meat goods because i just wasnt sure what goods they were. I also avoided the jarred sausages - still cant see how they would be delicious. Mostly I just wished I had more than a stovetop and one pot to cook with. My options were limited. Ended up with ravioli, and some fruit (strawberries and stone fruit are in season here - yum-o), and veges. (and chocolate...).
6. Back to the hotel. It was time to read the casestudy which I keep putting off (its 32 pages!!!). But i sat down at the laptop first to check some things. Then i turned on the tv to see what was on. Two and a half men looks funnier in German. Big Brother looks the same. Thankfully BBC news channel is in english. There was a pretty interesting show called "Click" which was looking at the use of technology in sports now. Some very cool iPhone apps are in the process of being made. It seems my casestudy will never be read...
Also looked up the info on how to get to the flea markets tomorrow. I had to get the clerk downstairs to interpret the site for me. She ended up being quite friendly (last interaction i thought she was a little rude, soon we will be friends).
7. Uploaded some more pics, watched some more news, still no casestudy reading...I can procrastinate even when i am in a hotel room by myself. Talent. then it was time to cook dinner. I cant believe how much mess i can make in such as small space (a sink, 2 stove tops). Tomato paste ended up on pretty much everything. Including our one teatowel. Whoops. I blame it on the lack of space, lack of utensils and other necessary equipment (i stirred the sauce with a knife, and I had no strainer, no chopping board, no bench, one saucepan, no chopping knives, 2 bowls...very well equipped...) Dinner was not fantastic, but it was fun to feel like i cooked something myself (but i dont really believe ravioli is cooking). Ate dinner. And now i am still putting off the dreaded case study. Sigh. I will read 10 pages tonight. Unless i fall asleep like last night...
I'll keep you posted!
1. Public transport was a pain - I still cant believe i am here. At Frankfurt main station the platforms are REALLY long. First class carriages are at the beginning of the platform, second class at the end. I missed one train (from platform 9) then saw my next option left platform 3 in 5 mins. Made my way quickly to platform 3, then had to run from one end to the other. I still didnt have a ticket. But i was told i could buy one on board. Fortunately that was true. The trip was through some german country side - so green here! And lots of little white houses with red roofs...so quaint. Spent the time reading and writing a postcard to grandma dearest.
2. German people are reasonablly friendly. A girl my age and an old man helped me find my tram when i got to mannheim. The girl told me it was tram #3, which was just arriving. She got on. I didnt. Thats because I couldnt explain I didnt have a ticket so had to wave goodbye to that one. Then the old man who spoke no english was like 'why didnt you get on?!' (im pretty sure thats what he was saying, its amazing what you can pick up from body language, facial expressions and tone of voice!). I said "no ticket!". He worked the machine for me - what a gem.
3. Found my hotel (again with the help from some locals - I was one block off to the right). All the streets here are letters,(vertical)and numbers (horizontal), so each block is a letter number - my hotel = C6. I thought this would make it a lot easier to get around. Not so. Thats probably more a result of my poor orientation skills than anything. But i didnt get lost. Checked in to hotel room. Its going to be a cosy 2 weeks when my roommate arrives tomorrow! For now i am enjoying the solitude, and high quality bedding (compared to the hostel!). Spent some time settling in, and trying to get the net working. Obviously i succeeded.
4. Wandered around the streets of mannheim for 3 hours. It's quite nice. Lots of old buildings (i especially like the use of balcony flower boxes), a couple of big churches, and the paradeplatz in the centre has pretty awesome water feature and really beautiful bright and colourful flower beds. I love them. Saw my first vw bug and Aldis (so German). Also saw some people getting married at St Sebastian church. Tracked down a shoe shop that i had accidently stumbled across online which specialises in shoes for large feet. It took some time, but i found it in the end. And i felt like i had to buy a pair then because of all the effort i went to. This too took some time deciding - i've never had so much choice! I am also grateful that i am a small 43, and not a large size 45...that would just be terrible. More shopping - there are a LOT of shops here. Some department stores have lots of sections - including fresh flowers and stationery/craft supplies which is cool. The huge deparment store here - Engelhorn - is spread over three blocks. Impressive. But also expensive.
5. Grocery shopping: i love it! In the afternoon after a long video skype home, and some time facebooking I headed off to do some grocery shopping. I was going to make dinner and now i had a fridge. FUN. Went to the nearest shop, but didnt find much, so headed to aldis. Ahhh Aldis. It was like being home again (or perhaps when im home Aldis is like being in Germany...). Spent my time wandering the aisles and wondering what lots of things were. I steered clear of any meat goods because i just wasnt sure what goods they were. I also avoided the jarred sausages - still cant see how they would be delicious. Mostly I just wished I had more than a stovetop and one pot to cook with. My options were limited. Ended up with ravioli, and some fruit (strawberries and stone fruit are in season here - yum-o), and veges. (and chocolate...).
6. Back to the hotel. It was time to read the casestudy which I keep putting off (its 32 pages!!!). But i sat down at the laptop first to check some things. Then i turned on the tv to see what was on. Two and a half men looks funnier in German. Big Brother looks the same. Thankfully BBC news channel is in english. There was a pretty interesting show called "Click" which was looking at the use of technology in sports now. Some very cool iPhone apps are in the process of being made. It seems my casestudy will never be read...
Also looked up the info on how to get to the flea markets tomorrow. I had to get the clerk downstairs to interpret the site for me. She ended up being quite friendly (last interaction i thought she was a little rude, soon we will be friends).
7. Uploaded some more pics, watched some more news, still no casestudy reading...I can procrastinate even when i am in a hotel room by myself. Talent. then it was time to cook dinner. I cant believe how much mess i can make in such as small space (a sink, 2 stove tops). Tomato paste ended up on pretty much everything. Including our one teatowel. Whoops. I blame it on the lack of space, lack of utensils and other necessary equipment (i stirred the sauce with a knife, and I had no strainer, no chopping board, no bench, one saucepan, no chopping knives, 2 bowls...very well equipped...) Dinner was not fantastic, but it was fun to feel like i cooked something myself (but i dont really believe ravioli is cooking). Ate dinner. And now i am still putting off the dreaded case study. Sigh. I will read 10 pages tonight. Unless i fall asleep like last night...
I'll keep you posted!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The pocket of the world that is Frankfurt
So today i was feeling a little bit more adventurous. After my 4.30am wake-up I still got off to a slow start. I met a guy from Algeria this morning - but his english wasnt great, and my german and algerian both arent great. We still managed to carry on a conversation. Mostly about soccer, and the reason i am a pale Australian (because its winter in australia...and i like my skin cancer free). Called home to get the latest goss on our change in primeminister - still cant believe that all happened in two days! Dadzy also helped me sort out my german phone which was very handy!
After enjoying the free hostel breakfast - which is actually good (ie. not just a bread roll with jam) I asked the friendly receptionist what i should do to fill in a day in Frankfurt. She gave me some tips and i headed off.
I walked down to the river. They have beautiful avenues of oak trees either side of the river and it looked lovely this morning. Crossed a bridge and took a few photos.
Then i made my way to the art gallery. Unfortunately the normal exhibit was shut. They did have another open for viewing but I didnt want to pay 10 euro to see it because i knew i wasnt cultured enough to get my moneys worth. The english couple in front of me didnt think it was worth it either and were disappointed there wasnt a seniors discount. I chuckled. They said i'd feel the same one day. We talked for a little while. The man knew about KRudd - very well informed! And then they left. I stayed a little longer, then left to find somewhere else. My long legs meant i soon caught up with the english couple again. we chatted some more. They were here for the day because their cruise ship had docked her. The lady asked me what i was doing and told me to enjoy this time of life and travelling whilst i can. They let me walk ahead as they didnt want to hold me up. I tried the Communications Museum next (yes...sounds like a blast huh!). It was only 2.50euro, and i wanted to fill in some time. So i paid and entered.
Suprisingly it was actually really interesting. My favourite exhibit was the sheep made of old telephones. Very clever. I mostly looked at the section on radios (i wonder who influenced that decision...), lots of info about how they started, how Hitler used them, how the government couldnt own them after the war etc. And some great displays of radios from their origin to now. My favourite - the toilet roll radio.
Also had a look at the some old telephones, and the History of the German postal system. I actually found this interesting too. The postal system is always a source of amazement to me - so efficient. Because i had to read the booklets they had there in english the whole process became a little slow going. I took a quick look upstairs where there was a special display about a guy named Spickzettel (WHO?). He had a thing for writting really small on things. It was cool. The pic of the numbered rolls below are manuscripts. About the width of your shopping docket. Then i had a quick browse of the history of money section.
Did you know: America uses recycled denim as a component of their paper money. Wow.
Looking through the museums one of my favourite things was seeing lots of primary school kids here on excursions and listening to their teachers explain things and ask questions (i assumed thats what they were doing) - somethings are the same world wide. Also watching the children count out their money to buy gifts at the gift shop was very cute! The sales lady was losing her patience but i got a smile from her.
After this i headed down the road and walked along by the river taking some more pics. The trick to a good photo is add something alive to it. Buildings get boring. Buildings with a duck in the foreground swimming on the river are less boring. Also, coloured boats always look good. Whilst i was walking i saw some street sweepers.
Did you know: they use harry potter brooms to sweep streets here? Funny.
Headed back to the other side of the river and found my way to the old buildings in the city that are on all the postcards (thats how you know you are meant to see these things). Its a very weird mix of old and new here (because the war meant lots got destroyed). The old buildings are very cool, but obviously a tourist haven, as the number of postcard, beer stein, and lederhosen selling stores increased dramatically. Sadly, these were not available in my size...
Had enough of old buildings and bridges so i went to find Zeil St. which i was told is fantastic shopping. It took me forever to find, because I couldnt interpret the information maps that are scattered everywhere. I knew "I am here" but still couldnt work out how to turn here into there. When i did find it it turned out to be the stretch of shops Id found yesterday on my own hahaha. Didnt buy anything - but i did drool over lots of lovely european leather shoes.
In my wanders around the streets I found the Bear & Bull statues, the open markets area, the old opera house and a few shops which i was suprised by. First, there was a maggi cafe. That is maggi as in maggi noodle... Also, Fitness First has a cafe here under their gym. Fabercastle had a shop which was selling 300euro pens...the same fabercastle that i buy $5 packets of pencils from at Target. And there was a shop that is dedicated to selling gummybears. And gummy pizzas and beer...
I dont know why but the best thing i saw today which brought me much joy was seeing business men, in suits walking along and...licking icecream cones. It seems so out of place. its like they are little kids pretending to be grown ups. it made me chuckle and i had to sneak a picture. I had to follow their lead and purchased a delicious chocolate and cookie gelati (i know i am meant to be being healthy...but it got rid of some of my 2cent pieces. I think the european union uses 2cent pieces to force people to save. You never use 2 cent pieces, but you always get given them. I offloaded 5. win.)
On my way back to the hostel some market stalls had set up just outside. I think i will have to go back for some fresh straweberries and cheeses for dinner. Or maybe some mushrooms from the mushroom stall - weird. I am planning on staying up past 8.30pm tonight. Maybe til sunset...which is ridiculously late here.
But now i have just spent the arvo uploading pics and facebooking. Tomorrow i head off to Mannheim - hoping the train ride there will go smoother than my first experience!
I'll keep you posted :)
PS - more pics on facebook.
After enjoying the free hostel breakfast - which is actually good (ie. not just a bread roll with jam) I asked the friendly receptionist what i should do to fill in a day in Frankfurt. She gave me some tips and i headed off.
I walked down to the river. They have beautiful avenues of oak trees either side of the river and it looked lovely this morning. Crossed a bridge and took a few photos.
Then i made my way to the art gallery. Unfortunately the normal exhibit was shut. They did have another open for viewing but I didnt want to pay 10 euro to see it because i knew i wasnt cultured enough to get my moneys worth. The english couple in front of me didnt think it was worth it either and were disappointed there wasnt a seniors discount. I chuckled. They said i'd feel the same one day. We talked for a little while. The man knew about KRudd - very well informed! And then they left. I stayed a little longer, then left to find somewhere else. My long legs meant i soon caught up with the english couple again. we chatted some more. They were here for the day because their cruise ship had docked her. The lady asked me what i was doing and told me to enjoy this time of life and travelling whilst i can. They let me walk ahead as they didnt want to hold me up. I tried the Communications Museum next (yes...sounds like a blast huh!). It was only 2.50euro, and i wanted to fill in some time. So i paid and entered.
Suprisingly it was actually really interesting. My favourite exhibit was the sheep made of old telephones. Very clever. I mostly looked at the section on radios (i wonder who influenced that decision...), lots of info about how they started, how Hitler used them, how the government couldnt own them after the war etc. And some great displays of radios from their origin to now. My favourite - the toilet roll radio.
Also had a look at the some old telephones, and the History of the German postal system. I actually found this interesting too. The postal system is always a source of amazement to me - so efficient. Because i had to read the booklets they had there in english the whole process became a little slow going. I took a quick look upstairs where there was a special display about a guy named Spickzettel (WHO?). He had a thing for writting really small on things. It was cool. The pic of the numbered rolls below are manuscripts. About the width of your shopping docket. Then i had a quick browse of the history of money section.
Did you know: America uses recycled denim as a component of their paper money. Wow.
Looking through the museums one of my favourite things was seeing lots of primary school kids here on excursions and listening to their teachers explain things and ask questions (i assumed thats what they were doing) - somethings are the same world wide. Also watching the children count out their money to buy gifts at the gift shop was very cute! The sales lady was losing her patience but i got a smile from her.
After this i headed down the road and walked along by the river taking some more pics. The trick to a good photo is add something alive to it. Buildings get boring. Buildings with a duck in the foreground swimming on the river are less boring. Also, coloured boats always look good. Whilst i was walking i saw some street sweepers.
Did you know: they use harry potter brooms to sweep streets here? Funny.
Headed back to the other side of the river and found my way to the old buildings in the city that are on all the postcards (thats how you know you are meant to see these things). Its a very weird mix of old and new here (because the war meant lots got destroyed). The old buildings are very cool, but obviously a tourist haven, as the number of postcard, beer stein, and lederhosen selling stores increased dramatically. Sadly, these were not available in my size...
Had enough of old buildings and bridges so i went to find Zeil St. which i was told is fantastic shopping. It took me forever to find, because I couldnt interpret the information maps that are scattered everywhere. I knew "I am here" but still couldnt work out how to turn here into there. When i did find it it turned out to be the stretch of shops Id found yesterday on my own hahaha. Didnt buy anything - but i did drool over lots of lovely european leather shoes.
In my wanders around the streets I found the Bear & Bull statues, the open markets area, the old opera house and a few shops which i was suprised by. First, there was a maggi cafe. That is maggi as in maggi noodle... Also, Fitness First has a cafe here under their gym. Fabercastle had a shop which was selling 300euro pens...the same fabercastle that i buy $5 packets of pencils from at Target. And there was a shop that is dedicated to selling gummybears. And gummy pizzas and beer...
I dont know why but the best thing i saw today which brought me much joy was seeing business men, in suits walking along and...licking icecream cones. It seems so out of place. its like they are little kids pretending to be grown ups. it made me chuckle and i had to sneak a picture. I had to follow their lead and purchased a delicious chocolate and cookie gelati (i know i am meant to be being healthy...but it got rid of some of my 2cent pieces. I think the european union uses 2cent pieces to force people to save. You never use 2 cent pieces, but you always get given them. I offloaded 5. win.)
On my way back to the hostel some market stalls had set up just outside. I think i will have to go back for some fresh straweberries and cheeses for dinner. Or maybe some mushrooms from the mushroom stall - weird. I am planning on staying up past 8.30pm tonight. Maybe til sunset...which is ridiculously late here.
But now i have just spent the arvo uploading pics and facebooking. Tomorrow i head off to Mannheim - hoping the train ride there will go smoother than my first experience!
I'll keep you posted :)
PS - more pics on facebook.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
An american and an australian walk into a hostel room...
Sounds like the start of a great joke. Even better- the American is a Jew and the Australian a Christian. Last night when I was about to go bed (at 8.30pm - what a party animal) I meet one of my roomies. She asked "do you have a jumper or something?". I was confused. It turned out she wanted something to cover her laptop up with. The reason was she didn't have a key to our room, and couldn't afford a locker because both require you pay a deposit and she told me she didn't have the €5 for that because she had run out of money because of unexpected bank charges when withdrawing cash here. It took me a long time to work this out because her English wasn't great. I told her to leave her laptop in the room, and that I had mine in there too. Then she told me about all little mishaps that had occured in her travels, catching the wrong trains, getting fines for not buying a ticket, moving from her hotel to the hostel & how her rabbi was sorting out the bank issues for her back in the USA. And how she needed to buy Coke and in the US coke only cost $.95 but here it was €2! I wondered why she was going to spend money on coke when she had told me she couldn't afford a room key. It was a bizarre conversation. She eventually left to find her dinner.
I was left confused. I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth - in which case I should have offered to give her money or hire a locker for her. Or if she was scamming me and trying to see if I would give her money, in which case I didn't want to giver her money or hre a locker for her. If she told that story to everyone each day of her travels & people kept being generous she'd never need to buy anything. I didn't give her money. I did wait til she left then went and hired a locker for my own laptop and wallet. I hoped she would have enough to eat then I went to sleep. When I woke this morning (@ 4.30am - that will teach me for going to bed so early!) I saw she had sourced a bottle of Coke which she had by her bed (& later at 5.30 had a sip of when she woke up...surely not condusive to good sleep or health, but she did get fall back to sleep...)
I'm not sure if distrust of others is the best way to approach life - but it's easier, and when travelling I always inch up the distrust knob a little more. I must be more ethnocentric than I like to think, or perhaps it's just healthy precaution. Better to be safe than sorry!...but I wonder if Jesus would have lived by that proverb...
I was left confused. I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth - in which case I should have offered to give her money or hire a locker for her. Or if she was scamming me and trying to see if I would give her money, in which case I didn't want to giver her money or hre a locker for her. If she told that story to everyone each day of her travels & people kept being generous she'd never need to buy anything. I didn't give her money. I did wait til she left then went and hired a locker for my own laptop and wallet. I hoped she would have enough to eat then I went to sleep. When I woke this morning (@ 4.30am - that will teach me for going to bed so early!) I saw she had sourced a bottle of Coke which she had by her bed (& later at 5.30 had a sip of when she woke up...surely not condusive to good sleep or health, but she did get fall back to sleep...)
I'm not sure if distrust of others is the best way to approach life - but it's easier, and when travelling I always inch up the distrust knob a little more. I must be more ethnocentric than I like to think, or perhaps it's just healthy precaution. Better to be safe than sorry!...but I wonder if Jesus would have lived by that proverb...
Game on!
I assume there is a game of football on tonight and that germany is playing. There are face painted, flag clad, vuvuzela and whistle blowing fans everywhere! I don't forsee much sleep tonight.
But right now it's dinner time (in broad daylight still!) and some German "die Simpsons" - needless to say it's hilarious!!!!
But right now it's dinner time (in broad daylight still!) and some German "die Simpsons" - needless to say it's hilarious!!!!
quiz
After walking around Frankfurt for a couple of hours today I have put together a quick quiz for you all (it's a trick...I'm actually just using it to give you some information about this city).
1. True or false: It is not ok to take your big hairy dogs into airports or shoe shops?
2. True or false: Germans really do eat gelati a lot (not just Italians).
3. You cannot buy beer from:
(a) bars.
(b) supermarkets.
(c) newspaper stands.
(d) you can buy beer from all of the above.
4. True or false: you can buy cuckoo clocks in department stores?
5. True or false: the hostel I'm staying at is in the redlight district.
6. Esprit and other stores sort their clothing in:
(a) sizes
(b) seasonally
(c) in colours
(d) sort?!
7. True or false: there is a Lego store where you can go and create your own Lego men/women.
8. True or false: not many ppl here care about the soccer.
Ok that's enough. If you answered false, true, (d), true, true, (c), true, false then you know your frankfurtians. I saw dogs in the airport and a sports store today.
Everywhere I went I saw people eating gelato. You can buy beer from the newspaper stand down the road. Side note- going to supermarkets overseas is one of my favourite things to do. Here the sausage section of the deli was larger, lots of delicious looking jams and breads, a beer aisle, and some "pirate sauce" in one section. I almost bought it, but managed to resist.
You can buy cuckoo clocks here! These took my fancy. I think it's worth the €250 investment. I hope Mitch likes them.
Unfortunately my hostel is in the redlight district. I'm glad I'm sleeping here though and not round the corner at the "sex inn".
Question 6. Also true. It seems the Germans have a thing about ordering clothes by colour.
More awesomely the Lego store let's you make Lego men. The bucket of tiny Lego heads was calling out to me, obviously I had to make one. You're creativity knows no end (except that you're limited to a hat/hair piece, head, torso, legs and one accessory of choice...) I made a Lego Mitch. accesorised with a Lego croissant. Not because he likes croissants, but because it was a Lego croissant. Awesome.
Lastly everyone here cares about the football (soccer). Painted flags on faces, flags on bikes, soccer balls everywhere, and
people even wearing red, black and yellow fake flower chains. Crazy!
After walking around for a couple of hours i made my way back to the hostel for my salad lunch which I'd put together in the supermarket (passed on the sourkrout). I'm determined not to get fat travelling this time but it's hard when there are lots of pastry stores, gelati stores and chocolate shops.
Now I'm going to read a novel and follow the news of Mr Rudds impeding downfall. You turn your back on your country for a second then there's a political upheavel! Incredible.
I'll keep you posted.
Dat ist gut
Oh dear. I have gone and created a blog. I dont know what came over me. It might actually be genetics. Or else its because of the environment i grew up in. The old nature vs nurture debate...either way I am still here, typing my first entry of my first very own blog. I dont even expect people to read it. But i figured it would come in handy for the report i have to write when i return home, and instead of writing a travel diary by hand i figured this would do (although i cant as easily stick in all my train tickets, random food labels, and other miscellaneous bits of rubbish that somehow become treasured memories in travel diaries...oh well!)
So. Day 1! Yesterday i left Brisbane. At 1.35pm est. On an air china plane to Frankfurt, via Taiwan. For the first 8 hour leg of the journey the kind man next to me offered to take the window seat so i could have easy access to the aisle. I said no. But soon after very much regretted that decision because there is no way of getting out without the other person having to get out (i swear leg room has gotten smaller!!!). And, because he had given me the option of having the aisle row I felt it would be rude for me to ask him to move. So I had to strategically time my toilet breaks with his - he only took one. Apart from lack of toilet opportunities this trip was uneventful. I watched one B-grade movie (dear john for all those playing along at home). But then as i was feelling pretty sick and exhausted from only finishing semester the day before I mostly just sat and listened to the comforting sound of the engine droan. Peaceful. (Better than silence on a plane). And ate delicious airline food. Yuck.
First stop Taiwan. I love how you can tell cultures are slightly different (and slightly the same) just from 2 hours in an airport. First of all, Taiwan has made a new deity out of a white, pinkclad kitten (hello kitty for everyone who didnt save up their pocket money to buy her stationery). She was pretty much on everything. Second, Twilight novels look more intelligent in Taiwanese. Third, Justin Beiber looks just as annoying in Taiwanese. Fourth, it pays to know what bubblers look like in different countries, and to carry coins. I had to pay $75 for a bottle of water (taiwanese dollars), if i had had change it would have cost me $25, if i had known the bubbler was next to the cafe i would have paid nothing. Alas, i did not. But it doesnt matter because i dont think the bubbler water was Volcanic water like the stuff i got...so perhaps it was $75 well invested. And point 5, you lower all your standards when you travel - food, personal hygiene, personal space, sleep hours, etc. I created this blog whilst lying on the carpet in the airport. Thats disgusting. But i already felt dirty, and it wasnt like i was going to see anyone i know.
Part two of the trip - left Taiwan at 11pm their time. Flew 13 more hours to Frankfurt. I had two chairs to myself which was luxury. And, for the very first time, with help from my friends the pharmacists, i slept on a plane. Only a couple of hours but still - what an achievement. A note to the beginner traveller here - if you are given a choice between chicken and pork on a flight with china air, never ever take pork. It was essentially strips of pork fat stirfried. Yum-o.
Flying over europe was awesome. I love seeing clouds from above. They look like mashed potato. Even more awesome is when you see snow capped mountain peaks pointing through. And then little villages scattered around like monopoly board houses and hotels, with huge patchworks of crops between them and the odd windfarm. Totally awesome. God has done a good job, and people have done alright too.
Got to frankfurt airport and sat on the tarmac for 20 mins (delay!), then tried to work my way around the train station. Epic fail. I wish i spoke german. First i went to the long distance train station instead of the regional station (what was i thinking...). Then i had to work out how to use the ticket machine. Thankfully an american lady asked how to use it so i learned from her. Then, i got on a train. Then i got off on the wrong station. I dont know what i was thinking. I thought the voice over lady had said "main station", and signs outside said that too. I knew it was meant to take 10 mins not 5, and i would have assumed other people with suitcases would get off. But they werent, and in a moment of panic and stupidity i did get off. I wandered around for 5 mins. The other people who got off had disappeared. The station was small, and could not possibly be the main station. But there was no one to ask. Except two unpleasant looking men who i walked past in my search. Thankfully when i turned around to go back and older german woman arrived. SAVED. Thanks be to God. She spoke enough german to tell me where i needed to go, and she asked me where i was from. I didnt get in the same carriage as her though because i thought i might cry (lack of sleep does wonders to ones ability to think and feel rationally).
Got to the main station, found my hostel. Got in the smallest lift ever to the third floor. Checked in. Checked facebook (love wifi!). Called home :( Had my second breakfast for the day and then took a much needed shower. Now its now. I am about to explore the big exciting pocket of the world that is Frankfurt.
Ill keep you posted.
So. Day 1! Yesterday i left Brisbane. At 1.35pm est. On an air china plane to Frankfurt, via Taiwan. For the first 8 hour leg of the journey the kind man next to me offered to take the window seat so i could have easy access to the aisle. I said no. But soon after very much regretted that decision because there is no way of getting out without the other person having to get out (i swear leg room has gotten smaller!!!). And, because he had given me the option of having the aisle row I felt it would be rude for me to ask him to move. So I had to strategically time my toilet breaks with his - he only took one. Apart from lack of toilet opportunities this trip was uneventful. I watched one B-grade movie (dear john for all those playing along at home). But then as i was feelling pretty sick and exhausted from only finishing semester the day before I mostly just sat and listened to the comforting sound of the engine droan. Peaceful. (Better than silence on a plane). And ate delicious airline food. Yuck.
First stop Taiwan. I love how you can tell cultures are slightly different (and slightly the same) just from 2 hours in an airport. First of all, Taiwan has made a new deity out of a white, pinkclad kitten (hello kitty for everyone who didnt save up their pocket money to buy her stationery). She was pretty much on everything. Second, Twilight novels look more intelligent in Taiwanese. Third, Justin Beiber looks just as annoying in Taiwanese. Fourth, it pays to know what bubblers look like in different countries, and to carry coins. I had to pay $75 for a bottle of water (taiwanese dollars), if i had had change it would have cost me $25, if i had known the bubbler was next to the cafe i would have paid nothing. Alas, i did not. But it doesnt matter because i dont think the bubbler water was Volcanic water like the stuff i got...so perhaps it was $75 well invested. And point 5, you lower all your standards when you travel - food, personal hygiene, personal space, sleep hours, etc. I created this blog whilst lying on the carpet in the airport. Thats disgusting. But i already felt dirty, and it wasnt like i was going to see anyone i know.
Part two of the trip - left Taiwan at 11pm their time. Flew 13 more hours to Frankfurt. I had two chairs to myself which was luxury. And, for the very first time, with help from my friends the pharmacists, i slept on a plane. Only a couple of hours but still - what an achievement. A note to the beginner traveller here - if you are given a choice between chicken and pork on a flight with china air, never ever take pork. It was essentially strips of pork fat stirfried. Yum-o.
Flying over europe was awesome. I love seeing clouds from above. They look like mashed potato. Even more awesome is when you see snow capped mountain peaks pointing through. And then little villages scattered around like monopoly board houses and hotels, with huge patchworks of crops between them and the odd windfarm. Totally awesome. God has done a good job, and people have done alright too.
Got to frankfurt airport and sat on the tarmac for 20 mins (delay!), then tried to work my way around the train station. Epic fail. I wish i spoke german. First i went to the long distance train station instead of the regional station (what was i thinking...). Then i had to work out how to use the ticket machine. Thankfully an american lady asked how to use it so i learned from her. Then, i got on a train. Then i got off on the wrong station. I dont know what i was thinking. I thought the voice over lady had said "main station", and signs outside said that too. I knew it was meant to take 10 mins not 5, and i would have assumed other people with suitcases would get off. But they werent, and in a moment of panic and stupidity i did get off. I wandered around for 5 mins. The other people who got off had disappeared. The station was small, and could not possibly be the main station. But there was no one to ask. Except two unpleasant looking men who i walked past in my search. Thankfully when i turned around to go back and older german woman arrived. SAVED. Thanks be to God. She spoke enough german to tell me where i needed to go, and she asked me where i was from. I didnt get in the same carriage as her though because i thought i might cry (lack of sleep does wonders to ones ability to think and feel rationally).
Got to the main station, found my hostel. Got in the smallest lift ever to the third floor. Checked in. Checked facebook (love wifi!). Called home :( Had my second breakfast for the day and then took a much needed shower. Now its now. I am about to explore the big exciting pocket of the world that is Frankfurt.
Ill keep you posted.
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