Berlin: Friday

This is going to be a really long post and I’m tempted to break it up and post it as different posts for different days. There’s just a lot to cover.

Friday I started out and successfully made it via three trains and a bus to my hostel, the Three Little Pigs Hostel (found via hostelbookers.com – a good website). It was my first time staying in a hostel and this one was very nice. It used to be a convent or monastery and the private room I stayed it looked exactly like the St. Joseph Heights, where the Sister of Notre Dame live at home.

After dumping my stuff I asked the guy at the reception desk to pint me in the direction of something interesting. He pointed me in the direction of the Brandenburg Gate and I started walking. Along the way I found the Potsdamer Platz, an exhibition on the Berlin Wall, the memorial to gays and lesbians killed by the Nazis, and the memorial to Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Then I reached the Brandenburg gate which was pretty incredible to see something in person that I’ve seen in pictures, TV, and on stickers. It was a “wow” moment. I went into a souvenir shop by the Brandenburg Gate and found a brochure on the Kennedy Museum that looked pretty cool. I went outside and there the Kennedy Museum was so I went through it. And it was cool – lots of Kennedy family photographs, memorabilia, artifacts, and magazine covers.

From the Kennedy Museum I decided I needed a snack and got a “Berliner küchen” which is apple-y, icing-y, and not as good as you would expect. A bit of a let down actually.

Then it was time to march on – this time to Checkpoint Charlie with a side trip to a bookstore that sells English books. (I had finished the book I brought with me on the train ride to Berlin.). Checkpoint Charlie was pretty darn cool. There were displays explaining about the Berlin Wall, attempted escapes, etc.

Right now a Festival of Lights is going on in Berlin. Many famous or important buildings are lit up during the nights. I decided to go on a bus tour of these which was pretty darn cool. I saw lots of landmarks including the Reichstag, Alexanderplatz, the TV tower, Brandenburg Gate, and other fun sites.

After this I was exhausted, so I headed back the Three Little Pigs and crashed for the night.









The Brandenburg Gate



















Checkpoint Charlie

The Memorial to Jews who were killed by the Nazis





























An exhibition of the Berlin Wall at Potsdamer Platz.

The Wall is covered with graffitti.




























My nun-like room at the Three Little Pigs Hostel

Good housewives, IKEA, and an 80s party all rolled into one

Hey Everybody!

I’m sorry I haven’t updated sooner – things have been kind of quiet here.

Two weekends ago I visited some of my German cousins including Irmgard and Alois, Christian and his daughter, Sophie, and Marcos and his wife, Melanie. Günther and Annmarie were also there. We had coffee and cake at Irmgard and Alois’s. Everyone says that Irmgard is a good housewife and by that I thought they meant her house was clean, etc. I was mistaken. What they meant is that Irmgard served apfelkuchen that she had made from scratch with apples she picked from her garden. There was also a homemade mocha torte thing that was to die for and homemade bread with supper. She even made the lace that was sewn on the tablecloth. My socks were blown off I was so impressed.

Last week during the week I was pretty homesick, but I don’t think anyone wants to hear about the hard stuff. The homesickness was combated with Skype calls to my family and Lanie. If any of you have Skype and want to contact me that would be wonderful. I really do miss hearing about what’s going on.

I did discover the Paper Studio last week. It’s this little place on campus that is only open for a couple of hours a week where students can do art for free. There’s all these one of a kind rubber stamps, paints, stencils. There is also Norah Jones music (one of my favorites) and tea. It’s warm, inviting, and relaxing. I can’t wait for it to be open again!

This past week had a lot of shopping going on. I found an electronics store and was able to get a better power cord for my laptop so I don’t have to worry about it sparking anymore. I am not a computer person, but I was pretty sure sparking was bad for everything involved. I also got a battery charger for my camera and a second converter. Small things, but things that make life so much easier!

Friday I made another trip to IKEA. This time it was Maria and Lyazzat. I got a duvet cover for my blanket, pillowcases, and a couple of kitchen-y type things. I am still loving IKEA. It’s a wonderful, magical place.

Friday night was a birthday party for my friend Kate. The party had an 80s theme to it, so a few people (myself included) dressed for the occasion. Outrageous make and large hair were all the rage Friday night. There was 80s music, Tom & Jerry cartoons in Japanese (which was sort of baffling), and lots of people. It was a fun night.

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet, but I am planning a trip to Berlin for this upcoming weekend. I’ve planned my trains and booked a bed in a youth hostel. I’m really looking forward to it and will be sure to post when I get back!

Love,
Elizabeth







Günther, Alois, me, Irmgard













All the 80s people! There were lots more people there, but these are the costumed people. I'm sporting a fashionable Punky Brewster look!

Saskia (from Costa Rica), me, and Maria having a blast at Kate's party!

International Food

Hey Everyone,

I think I’m finally settling into a routine here which is nice. My life revolves around classes and spending time with friends. I had a presentation on Thursday on contemporary Turkish children’s literature that went surprisingly well considering I didn’t know anything about the topic till two days before the presentation. I think the fact the presentation was on 5 – 10 minutes had something to do with it’s success.

This coming Tuesday I have a presentation on American media – something I know about (at least a little anyway). This presentation is an hour and fifteen minutes long though.

This week has sort of been a week for international food, so I thought I would tell you a little bit about the food I’m encountering since I don’t have any cool trips to talk about.

I usually eat yogurt with müsli for breakfast. Sometimes I vary it with bread and cheese or a peanut butter and honey sandwich. It’s not that different from my American breakfasts.

Lunch I try to eat something “good” (which usually means hot). There is a café on campus called “Die Friseur” and my friends and I usually eat there. I’ve tried gulasch with pork there and really liked it a lot. I also tried kartoffelgulash which is like vegetable soup only with better spices. It is so good! If the special isn’t something I like I usually get pasta – it’s a safe fall back.

Dinner is a something different every night. If I’m not in the mood to go out or do anything it’s bread and cheese. I love döners which are good for lunch or supper. Pizza is also cheap and good here. There is a place up the road that makes it when you order it and bakes it in a fire oven – it’s cool.

Last night, Saturday, Maria cooked us Trinidadian (Trini) food which was AMAZING. Stewed chicken, homemade potato salad, macaroni pie (baked mac’n’cheese with carrots),“peas” (veggie mix), and salad. It was really, really incredible. I’m going to have to get the recipes from her.

Tonight, for the first time, I tried blinis which are little Russian pancakes. We put different toppings on them (ham, cheese, onions, sour cream, etc.) and ate them for dinner and then put sweet toppings (honey, nutella, fruit, jam, etc.) on them and ate it for dessert. It was pretty amazing.

I also snack on a lot of fruit and have discovered spekulatius, a kind of ginger Christmas cookie. I love them. I also like kasastanger – crispy cheese sticks, but I don’t buy those as often – they disappear to quick. I've also had the opportunity to eat crepes twice - once filled with bananas and nutella - what a treat!

My friend Maria’s host parents have invited me to tea twice (and I actually drank the tea) and they had really good homemade pastries. I can’t figure out why the pastries here are so much better than the ones in the States. There has to be some trick to it.

I’ll keep you update on my gastronomical experiences and the other more exciting ones as well.

Love, Elizabeth





Donnerstag (Thursday) is Doner-Tag!
My favorite doner place sells doners for cheap on Thursdays




















Embracing local culture with pretzels and beer at GSA Oktoberfest













Trini food night at the Blue House
From Left: Lyazzat, Maria, Ben, Kate
and whole lot of good food!












A plate of good Trini food!









Maria, me, Lyazzat, Ben

Zimmer at the Blue House

Hey!

It's been busy as usual here in Bremen.

Saturday I went to the neighborhood castle - die Schloss Schönebeck which was interesting, but not what I thought it would be. It was more mansion than castle by today's standards, but for early generations it was castle. The basement and first floor had lots of general interest history exhibits, but the second floor was dedicated to fishing/whaling/sailing - generally not my cup of tea. To top it off, our tour guide was a retired sailor so we spent more time looking at the sailing stuff than anywhere else.

Saturday afternoon I took a load of stuff to my new room at the Blue House (more on that later). After that I headed to the University for a presentation/discussion on the upcoming US elections. Jacobs University invited the US consulate to speak, someone who could help the US citizens register for an absentee ballot, and had the CNN Candidates Revealed film. It was really cool. It was mostly US and German citizens in the audience, but there were some people from other countries as well. After the presentation there was a reception with "American" cookies (chips ahoy and homemade chocolate chip) and a mock election - Nader in 3rd with 1 vote, McCain 2nd with 7 votes, and Obama won with 20 votes.

Sunday was dedicated to moving and settling in. Maria's host mother, Renate, graciously drove me from Herr Hammer's to Blue House with the last of my stuff. Since then I've hung things on the walls, washed almost all of my clothing/bedding to get the nasty smell from Herr Hammer's out, gone grocery shopping, and just generally settled in. I have a landline now if you would like my number please email me at bits1212@yahoo.com .

I really feel like I've found a home here in the Blue House. I like living with other students. My roommate, Maaheen, is nice, quiet, and considerate. I think my balcony is pretty darn cool and I love the fact I live about my favorite eatery - a döner place. Döners are this Turkish food that is bread, gyro meat, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and two kinds of sauce which I can pronounce but not spell. They are wonderful.

Okay it's 1 am and I'm exhausted.

Love you,
Bits










My pretty bed!















All settled into my new zimmer!















Closet space isn't valued here













Window and door that leads to my balcony













Bathroom

Oldenburg

Hey Everyone!

Today I did something pretty big for me: I went to Oldenburg by myself. This may not seem like a huge deal, but it was really a big accomplishment for me.

What started this adventure was these signs around advertising an Expressionist art exhibit in Oldenburg. I was pretty curious about it and asked my friends if they wanted to go to Oldenburg with me today. As luck would have it none of them could go. I went back and forth on if I should go by myself, but I reminded myself that this Europe thing is a once in a lifetime experience and I should get the most out of it as I can. Then I looked up train schedules from Bremen to Oldenburg.

I managed to get to Oldenburg no problem and even ate this pastry thing during the train ride. I really have no idea what this pastry was - it was apply, crumbly, and this pudding type thing in it. It was good.

So I got to Oldenburg and after wandering around the hauptbahnhof (train station) for about 10 minutes I found the tourism office. A girl spoke some English and pointed me outside. Once I got outside I sort of cheated and asked a taxi to take me the Landesmuseum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte (roughly translated: art museum). Something got confused though and I ended up at the Landesmuseum für Natur und Mensch (roughly translated: Natural History & People Museum). It was not what I was expecting, but I did wander around. Every single thing was in German so I couldn't really read the signs, but it was good none the less. There was an exhibit on early Christian artifacts that was pretty cool, but, once again, would have been way cooler if I knew what I was looking at.

After I left the nature & people museum I decided to walk in the direction of die Schloss Oldenburg (the Oldenburg Castle). Along the way to the castle I found the art museum I had wanted to go to! It was awesome. The person at the desk spoke English and I was able to walk around. The nice thing about art is that it is open to translation and you don't have to read signs describing it. I really enjoyed it.

After the art museum I made it to the castle, but just looked it from the outside. I wandered around and found a really cool church as well, but it had construction going on inside and outside so I wasn't able to go in and explore.

Overall it was a good day and I'm proud of myself for taking on a new city by myself when I don't speak the language.

Love,
Elizabeth







Pretty street scene from Oldenburg
















Signs for die Landesmuseum Natur und Mensch















This was on the ceiling of the art museum and I may or may not have been allowed to take it. Never the less it depicts a female as queen of heaven - email me if you are interested in some more of my observations of this painting.






One view of die Schloss Oldenburg























One of the better photographs I've taken - a park in Oldenburg. The water is actually part of this moat thing that was originally set up to protect the city from invaders. The city has expanded well beyond this boundary of course and now it's just a pretty park.

Pictures from the Schnoor!

The Schnoor is a huge tourist attraction on a Saturday (Samstag). You can see that some of the signs are in English. I also heard several other English speakers and English was spoken to me in the stores. I was a little bit disappointed in having English spoken to me - it means I can't practice my German, but as soon as I open my mouth I am identified as an American.















That is me in one of the widest parts of the street holding a bag of Christmas presents. It was a really pretty day when Tankut and I walked around.










One of the narrowest, if not the narrowest, streets in the Schnoor. I had to wait for a while before I could get the picture. Also, this is a random history lesson for you history loving people. The architecture of the house on the left is a very common old style here. People built the structures of the homes with the wood then filled in the squares with clay/mud, sticks, straw, etc. Now most homes are filled in with bricks instead of these, but the idea is still there.

Good weekend!

Hello!

Things are going along well here in Bremen. This past weekend I had a treat when I received a care package from one of my best friends, Kyllikki. She sent a digital photograph viewer keychain which she had uploaded some photos of us on to - it could not have been more perfect! I really love it.

Saturday I explored the Schnoor, the oldest part of the oldest section of Bremen with my friend Tankut. The streets are no wider than a twin size mattress. It tends to be a very touristy area of town and I took advantage of that to buy a couple Christmas presents. I also took some pictures, but I will have to put them in another post since I don't happen to have my camera with me.

From the Schnoor, Tankut and I headed to the Viertel (the Quarter). The Viertel is the student section of town with bars, restaurants, clubs, and lots of bookstores. Tankut had previously found a feminist bookstore and we looked at. 98% of the books were in German, but there was one row of books in English. They weren't really feminist, one in fact was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but it was nice to know there is a place in town that I can get English books if I so desire.

Sunday was a relaxed day. I went to an English mass on Jacobs campus then all 15 of the people who attended mass at brunch together at one the college servieries (a fancy word for a cafeteria). It was neat to meet more people and have some more discussions.

Sunday afternoon and evening I spent at the Blue House doing my laundry, hanging out with Alissa, and then there happened to be a big group dinner where we ordered Chinese food. It was kind of bizarre to see a menu for Chinese food in German. I got something similar to chicken fried rice and it was really good. We all watched a movie of the Jacobs Olympix (which I did not participate - I know you all are shocked). It was just relaxed fun.

I'll try to post some pictures toinght!

Love,
Elizabeth