Meine erste Woche zurueck...

The ride back to Minneapolis was a long one. I rode 2 hours on the fast German Train (Deutsche Bahn ICE) from Freiburg to Frankfurt am Main. Then in the airport I had 3 hours to wait before departure. I first checked in; was selected for random check because of my electricity converter. Whatever; I had time. Then I put my bags on the scale and they are both over--which I anticipated--but the fees were twice as high as I expected and in euros. A nice 80 euro fee to ship my heavy luggage home then came PLUS a tidbit that the plane I was flying on was overbooked. I had the opportunity to go on Standby and if all the spots were full, then I could stay in Germany that night, Lufthansa would give me 600 Euros Cash and pay for my hotel and food. I was talking to the counter attendent practically begging her to let me stay in Germany. She was excited to see that I was gung ho for Deutschland (im Vergleich zu den Foerdern fuer die USA, wie der normaler Typ). But as the line filed on the plane and the tickets were counted, she regrettedly gave me my ticket back to the United States and with welling eyes I accepted it and boarded my plane at approximately 5:00 p.m (17:00 Germany Time).
Because the plane flew from Germany, all the flight attendants were fluent in German. 9 Hours later I landed in Chicago, making it 7:00 p.m. CST and feeling like 2:00 a.m. German time.

My first step was to go through customs. I had three hours again so was not worried. But in the line, I declared that I brought back bacon for my father, real black-forest bacon directly from the butcher and purchased at the marketplace by our city cathedral that I visited regularly during my time in Freiburg. The damn customs agent checked it and said, "Nope. You can't bring this into the country," despite it being air-sealed and pork. The bastard confiscated my gift for my father, the gift I had carted 8,000KM, the gift perfect for my father the Farmer. This customs agent took it away because there was at one point in Germany's history the case of a disease.

Through customs, I finally find my terminal for Minneapolis. I purchase some french fries and was surprised that I received a bill for $1 (Euro uses a coin for 1 and 2 Euros). And then I bought a Mountain Dew--something I had been craving for the past 6 months--and was surprised to find that the price listed on the sign was not what I had to pay. It said "Pop-$2.09". So i laid $2.09 on the counter and the guy asked for, "$2.36". Damn it. So I paid the tax. "Welcome to America, Rick".
One nice thing was that while waiting in the seats to board for Minneapolis, I realized I forgot my entire Study abroad binder on the plane from Germany. But as I went to talk to the gate attendant, a Lufthansa flight attendant walked up and asked if "Rick" was around and had my black binder in hand. This woman came all the way from the international terminals, searched my connecting flights, and found me at the end of the domestic terminals just to give my my lost item. I love German companies and German service.
Flight to Minneapolis--check. Landed at 11:50 p.m. = 6:50 a.m. Germany time. Realize I had woken up at 6:30 a.m. the day before and had NOT slept at all on the traveling to the U.S. Then I was supposed to be picked up by my roommate (Matt) at 11:30. I had no phone. I had no coins. I had no way of reaching him. I'm panicking for a bit and pacing up and down the corridor hoping to catch a glimpse of my roommate. But Gott sei dank that I found a friend I knew from Minnesota, asked her if I could borrow her cell phone, found a number for my Roommate on my Palm, and ended up speaking with his mother who then gave me his cellular phone number. Got in touch, he showed up 15 minutes later. We loaded everything in, my other roommate came too (Jon), and when we were in the car, the conversation was as if I had never left. They didn't ask about Europe; they simply discussed normal events and happenings. When back in the apartment at 1:00 a.m. CST = 8 :00 a.m. Germany time, I dumped my stuff down and fell asleep very quickly.
The next few days contained the goal to see as many as my friends as possible and do as much "Minnesota-things" to remind me that I wanted to be here. After two days, I visited my friend Bridget in Maplewood. Pictured here is Jill and me taking a "MySpace Photo" (where you simply extend your arm with the camera in it and take a picture of yourself). Jill followed my blog the entire time I was abroad--something that really made me feel that a piece of Home was always with me in Freiburg.
While driving around with Bridget, I had the hard feelings of adjusting back to American ways. The streets were different, the businesses were different, the ads, the people, the cars, the skys. It wasn't home; it wasn't pleasant. But Bridget was always right there and she had just returned from Boston and had loved it. She left a lot as well, so in that day we could empathize as each missed home while being in it already.

Always amazing was/is Julie. Julie and I hung out for the first few days of my readjustment to American life. She had to put up with me always referencing what they would do in Germany and she had to tolerate my poor English because a lot of words were coming to my head in German and I then had to translate into English.
The second night, Julie cooked a deliciou pasta dinner and made caramel apples with sprinkles. Kristi is admiring her suggary delight here left.
Then a few days later, Julie, Sarah, Chris, and I went to the state fair (photos available on Facebook) and had an amazing time at the "Great Minnesota Get Together". I had so much fun with these friends, I still think about it often.

ich vermisse mein Heim.

I'm still adjusting to all the intricate aspects of American culture, currently emphasizing homework in addition to final exams, and missing Germany a lot. However, I am looking heavily into internships in Frankfurt and London next summer. If I'm in London, then I could work with Philipp and if I'm in Frankfurt, then I'll be back in Germany. I have a lot of work to do, but I'll make it happen and I will go back to Germany. I miss my home and there is no way I can leave it forever.

So I thank you for reading this blog. It has been an adventure abroad and a pleasure to know that you took the time to see me. Thank you!

Later Days,
Rick

The Last Week in Freiburg

The last week in Freiburg was one of the best. I spent every moment possible with friends and enjoying everything that I knew I would miss.

(Left) Friday night, Philipp and I went to a real German Football (Fussball=soccer) game. We had talked about it for almost a month as he insisted I see a real Football game before I fly to the U.S. We had real Rothaus Bier, we could see the Black Forest mountains behind the stadium, and we wore our Freiburg Sport Club Scarves with pride. My scarf was a parting gift from Philipp and rode by my side the entire flight/trip back to the US.
Philipp also insisted I learn the Baden Lied (the song from the region the team comes from). The entire game, I was cheering on Freiburg and shouting and singing in German with the German fans.

Philipp and Anne. These two are fantastic together and just started dating two weeks before I left Germany. They're adorable and I am (unendlich) endlessly happy for Philipp that he is happy in this relationship.

She works in marketing for the Sport Club Freiburg, and Philipp has been visiting these Football games with his father since he was big enough to stand.

After the game, Philipp and I met his father in the outdoor bier garten to discuss the sport, current developments, and enjoy a Rothaus together. (His father is the manager of the TravelEx banks in Switzerland)

And about Philipp and Anne, this showed me more of the European style of dating. They are more conspicuous in public in comparison to Americans. But the silver lining I found and try to tell myself, is that potentially it's good that I left them in Germany. Then as Philipp spends more and more time with her and less time with Viktor and me, I won't be as hurt as I slowly lost time to spend with him.

Philipp and Viktor after the Football match (Freiburg vs. Paderborn. Freiburg won 1-0!)
We met to enjoy a bier at Feierling Brauerei, Philipp's favorite micro-brewery in Freiburg.

Afterwards we went to the movie theater to see Transformers. Unfortunately, the movie wasn't showing any more that evening so we picked Quentin Tarantino's Deathproof (Todsicher), in which I fell asleep after about 15 mintues of the movie. I made a concious judgement that the movie was not better than sleep, so I opted for that. Good thing too, because Philipp and Viktor told me afterwards that the movie was pointless and absolutely terrible.

If you haven't seen a theme yet, let this remind you--we grill a lot. For my farewell, I invited a few friends over for drinks and grilling. Here Philipp, Anne, and Viktor prepare Shish-Kabobs for enjoyment.










While at the StuSie Bar one night as Viktor was bartending, I met two great Juristen = Law students. Thedo & Melissa gave me the bottle of Baden Champagne (Sekt) that I have at the apartment. We just had so much excitment chatting with one another (quatschen!).

They walked almost an hour to get to the farewell party becuase Thedo thought they were close and decided against taking the tram.

One of the best pictures from Freiburg. The day after the Farewell, Philipp, Viktor, Anne, and I got together for a "Veg-Out" night. We had pizza, bier, sweats, and movies. Well, I had sweats, Viktor was still over-dressed, and Philipp searched for a casual/comfy sweater, which was really great that he gave it the effort.

This was the beauty of my time abroad. Amazing friends having a great time, simply spending time together around a few beers and movies. I know I have my friends in Minneapolis, but I don't have all of them; I don't have some important ones. So I miss 'em.

As "Veg-Out" wrapped up, Viktor, Philipp, and I met the next day to hang out in the city, take photos by the Muenster, cook dinner together, and end the evening with drinks with friends at Philipp's place. That was the hardest night as I had to leave but knew that it was the last time for over a year that I could say "good night (or gute Nacht)" to my friends. It was so unfair that I had to leave all of it behind in Freiburg.

And on the final day, Philipp and Viktor arrived early at my WG, my Apartment, in Vauban to have breakfast together and spend the last four hours together. It meant alot that they came so early to take advantage of the time remaining. So I said my goodbye's to my roommates and we headed off to the train station. There, we waited for the train with all my luggage and in the chaos of climbing on with an apartment's worth of luggage and attempting a final goodbye, Philipp and parted as I began my journey 8000 km away. However, Viktor rode with me for the next hour as he was going in the same direction to go home for Semester Break. Having his company for that bit was a good consolation, but I was still distraught having just said good bye to Philipp and Freiburg in the same moment. Then as Viktor exited the train in Karlsruhe, my European adventure was officially over. I had to return to the United States and I had to leave, what developed to be my home, 8000 KM away.

The story of Readjusting is in the next post.
-Rick

We Grill A Lot.

As I've said, Germans love being outdoors, so any excuse they have to take advantage of that, they take. Therefore we grilled a lot, especially during my last weeks in Freiburg.

For Christoph's Birthday party, we grilled. He, the beloved cook, baked four varieties of delicious, made-from-scratch bread. He marinaded all the meat (about 6 pounds or 3 Kg) in a variety of sauces. And then add this to a wide selection of beverages and you've got "grillen".



As it was Christoph's Birthday, Janine bought for him his own easel that he could finally use here in Freiburg. He loves to paint, but always lacked the supplies to do so.

Funny story-- I always thought Janine and Christoph were dating, as they would commonly shower together or "uebernachten miteinander". Then I met Christian, who seemed to be dating Janine and I was completely confused and started making bad assumptions about the German Culture. Turns out they were just friends with benefits. That's something we have in America. Noooowww I understand.
The next night, another group of friends and I gathered to grill at StuSie. We met in the park and slowly tried to light the grill. With the introduction of rain, things went even worse. We hauled the grill to Viktor & Dora's building, planning we might be able to grill on the balcony. When finally let into the building, we realized that the coals were still going and we had no good way of getting it up 7 flights of stairs, so we definately put the lit grill in the elevator, as seen here at left.











Finally, everything was set up, about 10 people showed up with meat, bread, salads, and drinks. We grilled on the balcony without any of the roommates knowing we were there (for the first half).
Here you see Philipp with his stick--a necessary item for a man and fire. Behind him is Simeon (Darina's Boyfriend) and Darina.

This is also the night when Philipp and Anne officially started dating. We were pretty excited for him. Although, the details were really unclear until the next day. We were at the apartment grilling and he and Anne were just talking forever in the other room. We checked on them and they were simply conversing. That night we decided to go to Waldsee, the only club or bar popular on Monday nights, and Philipp and Anne were going to come along too, just later in Anne's car. But after arriving at Waldsee without them, I receive a text saying they wouldn't be able to make it. Then my response inquiring for details, and the lack of a response therafter. I'm pretty sure, but this was also the night when the next morning since I hadn't heard back from him, after he told me that he "always writes a response", I was really concerned for his safety. I ran to an internet cafe to search headlines to make sure nothing happened. Fortunately, we met up for Schnitzel that night and everything was alright. I was simply worrying for no reason.


Other things I learned about Germans:
*They pause the water during a shower to apply soap, then restart to wash it off.

*There is no Santa Clause, it's The Christmas Man here. And St. Nick comes around December 8th to put candies in stockings.

Now to move on to the last posts of my Deutsche Adventure.

Later Days,
Rick

Visiting the Isles of the North

After all the anticipation and planning, Philipp, Viktor, and I went off to London, Dublin, & drove through the countryside of Ireland.

Pictured left is Philipp and me at Buckingham Palace. The place was constantly littered with tourists, and surprisingly the palace was not very impressive. With what I assumed were strict Greek architectural lines, the only ornamentation was the (Wappe) or coat of arms on the gate.

So we saw the sights and met up with a friend of Viktor's, but other than that, we agreed that London was only a place to come on a business trip.

This picture summarizes our stay in London. Everything was so expensive that we looked for cheap deals everywhere. We ate so many cheap sandwiches, stayed in a dump of a hostel (as seen here), and avoided anything that required spending money. For this picture, I was practically standing in the other corner of the room--that's how small it was. And behind me in the room was the shower and sink--that wasn't a pleasant stay.
The exchange rate was bad, and the prices were worse. London hat uns nicht gut gefallen. i.e. we didn't like it.

So in between London and the auto adventure, we visited Dublin. The people were amazingly friendly, the city had a great atmosphere, and the hostel/University (which was on summer break) was the best hostel experience I've had. The city didn't offer too much for attractions (plus everything in Ireland is terribly expensive) so we found the city to be relatively less exciting than we anticipated.

But then we rented our auto for 4 days and headed Northwest to Achill Island. We found great bed & Breakfasts along the way (not terribly cheap, but amazing views with friendly hosts, and a full "Irish Fry" (translated to a full breakfast) every morning.
Here Philipp and I stand overlooking the bay from the Atlantic Ocean by the hills in Achill.
The next day we drove further south along the coast and found the Famine Memorial, directly across from this hiking path up the mountain (as seen here). The funny part was that we found the park where we wanted to have lunch, and Philipp & Viktor didn't translate the word "Famine", so we had our food at the famine memorial...great.

This was also the day of the first time I ever saw Philipp mad. He drove the entire day, stopping everywhere Viktor wanted to go and at the end of the day Philipp decided we would spend the night in a city where we could visit a pub. We searched a dozen B & B's for the best price and finally decided on one. Then 2 seconds after paying Viktor again raised a discussion that he didn't want to stay there. It was simply too much and, as everyone expects at least once on a vacation, the two butted heads.


All resolved, we drove the next day through the rain, mist, and fog to visit the famous "Cliffs of Moher". With only moderate enjoyment, pictured here are Viktor and Philipp. It rained the entire day and we just couldn't get a good view anywhere.


We also drove throug Limerick, the 3rd largest city in Ireland. They hated it becuase it was really industrial, but I kind of loved it becuase there were no tourists.

Then the last day we drove along the "Ring of Kerry" a touristy drive along the coast of Ireland (yet further south) and crossed the bridge onto Valentia Island. Poor Philipp, who drove the entire time, had to maneuver through roads too small for a single car covered in potholes and pedestrians.

Here almost finished around the Ring of Kerry, we stopped on the beach for a last moment of Irish air before heading back to Germany.

The trip home included driving through Cork, Ireland, driving through the night, eating all the remaining food we bought from Grocery Stores along the way (namely Tesco--our saviour--as the prices in restaurants and everywhere were outrageously overpriced), then flying to Friedrichshafen, taking the train to Basel, then connecting finally to Freiburg. Almost 20 hours just of traveling. We were glad to be back.

But then began my last week in Freiburg.

Later Days,
Rick

a short Vacay along the Border

--2007--

The Year of my European Adventure
The day after my last final, I went off to travel along the Western German border. First to Trier, Germany (the oldest city in Deutschland, older than the Romans).

The Elk here is the symbol for the Culture Capital of Europe for 2007, which is Luxembourg and surrounding area.

(I first thought it was something for MTV or Comedy Central when I saw it)
By the castle and park in Trier. The morning was rainy and a miserable walk across the entire city from the Hauptbahnhof (train station) to the hostel. But then the second I left the hostel to see the city everything cleared up.

What I first discovered in Trier.

The sign reads, "Dear Guests, we are taking a Vacation from Business from July 2- July 27. -Your ATHENA Team".

There's almost no way they could pull that off in the U.S.
But, hey, it's Europe. They take vacation.

(the marker writing simply says, "Open Today starting at 5:30")

The sunset in Trier. Really a beautiful city.

This was near the Hostel, the hostel that was more like resort.

Here, Nina (brunette), Linda (blonde), and I explored Luxembourg, Luxemburg together. Nina & Linda are friends from Uni-Freiburg.

Linda is actually from Luxembourg, so it was great having a personal guide through the city and then when we met up with her friends, I actually got to hear Luxembourgish. (almost, well, actually, a whole language on its own. A combination of slurred German with a bit of French influence)

As you'll see below, the city was gorgeous, founded in 963 above a large valley.

But we did have one jerk in the hostel room, the fat, hairy, foreigner who snored loudly and irregularly, and of course, slept in the nude, which added a disadvantage to the location.

Here is what I mentioned.

Luxembourg above the gorgeous valley (Tal, auf Deutsch) and with sunny weather fantastic for sitting on a bench with a cup of coffee.

Next after only 2 1/2 hour train ride I was in Liege, Belgium (french speaking part of Belgium). And, as always with the French, they only learn French. A few people had a pair of words in German, but I actually had it once where I went into the office building where Ernst & Young was located and asked the lady if she spoke English (I at least asked the question in French). "Non" was her answer. Wha?!?! Business center, speak English! That was a bit of a challenge. And here I am standing on the top of over 300 stairs, randomly replacing the need for a steep street.


And here a Belgian Waffel in Belgium. Because they spoke French and very little English, a friend in Freiburg actually recommended and wrote out what I should order. So when I went in I tried, but I ended up just showing the paper to the employee and they knew then what to do.

Maastricht, Netherlands. (Holland as all Germans say). I actually met a Dutch man in Liege and ran into him again in Maastricht where he studied for college for 7 years. He is a translator between Deutsch and Dutch, and English and Dutsch. So he gave me tipps on what to see in the city.

Unfortunately, I was so tired I just wanted to get back to Germany so I was only in the country for about 4 hours. Tired because in Liege was also a fat foreigner who snored.

And back in Germany I found Cologne (Koeln auf Deutsch). Right along the Rhein River, here the railroad bridge lies in the background over the Rhein.

The city prides itself very strongly on it's Cathedral...








The cathedral poorly pictured here.
Loaded with tourists, I of course went up to see the view and "do the sights". Although the city was great with a nice view, the tourists everywhere totally turned me off to it.

Well, now that the trip has been updated, I'll eventually get around to the blog of "Germany makes Party". The story of how right at the end of the semester, there was a party tent around every corner. BUT, I had to study all of July so that meant I was at home locking my windows trying to block out the sound.

More to come later.

Next I am off to London & Dublin with my best friends here, Philipp and Viktor.

Until then,

Later Days,
Rick

End of German University

This morning I wrote my final, final test. 6 down NONE to go!
The course went as follows,
Last week, that of 15th-21st, was spent with a test on Wednesday for Renaissance in Venice, Thursday morning with History of Germany.
This week of 22nd - today (the 27th) was
Tuesday- Investments (Upper division)
Wednesday- Finance Analysis and Porfolio Management (Upper Division)
Friday- Fundamentals of Finance (Lower Division)

Look through that once and think about it for a moment. Yeah. I definately was not too worried for Friday's Fundamental's test because the content had already been tested on Tues & Wed where they assumed I knew all the fundamental stuff already. But while Friday's test was not as stressful, just imagine how bad Tuesday's was.

The tests went well and if I ask myself "Did I pass" i think I can answer yes. I'll have to wait a month, yeah it takes that long if not longer, to get my grades back. Until then it's time to enjoy Germany.

Tomorrow I travel off to Trier Germany for the afternoon. Uebernachten, then
Sonday in Luxembourg, Luxemburg. A good friend from Freiburg, Linda, actually is from there so we'll meet up and see the city. Thereafter I'm off to Liege, Belgium (maybe with an excursion farther west to Brugge (sp?)) thereafter back to Germany; my first time in Koeln (a.k.a. Cologne) for two days. Then Thursday I zip back to Freiburg to celebrate with friends the end of the semester for everyone.
Because my best friends here, Viktor and Philipp, still have tests this coming week (with the worst one being on Thursday for Game Theory) I didn't want to mull around Freiburg alone while they studied, so I decided to go to Luxemburg and Belgium.

Thereafter awaits so many adventures.
I've already assembled a full list of restaurants and bars in Freiburg (68 so far, so I'm setting my goal at visiting 30 different ones of them before leaving). Plus in the middle is a vacation to London & Ireland with Vik & Philipp, and also an excursion to Loerrach (Philipp's hometown) and Basel, Switzerland. Then there are the adventures on the Trams. I want to see the city so I want to go everywhere the trams go. Plus there's always the sleeping in late, jogging 10 KM each night or every other night, and then catching up on some SAFA stuff, but in all enjoying Germany without obligations, with German friends, and with the desire to do and see it all. Here is the beginning of a month I will never forget for life.

Until the next update.
Later Days,

Rick

P.S. Sorry for the absence of photos. As you read, there was nothing this and last week other than tests, so there would only be REALLY boring photos of either my desk, my coffee pot, or my pillow-the neglected desire.

The "No English" threshold

So 3 finals down, 3 finals remaining.
At this point I've learned a very good lesson. A night without sleep definately shuts off the abstract part of my brain. This means that I can study until late at night and still perform well for accounting, statictics, or calculus, but not for history, and especially not while speaking in German.

I'll get back to that in a moment. First was the adventures of the last weekend. Melanie, a great friend from the U of M who was studying at Barcelona, came to visit in Freiburg. Arriving on Thursday night, the next day was packed with an early morning tour of Freiburg and then an afternoon in Basel, Switzerland (which is just 40 minutes away by train). Then after a late night, Melanie flew back on Saturday.

Sunday was spent with a British friend, Lisa, who is fluent in French so we went to Colmar, France. A very small, charming town really close to Freiburg, but took over an hour to get there. There was an international music festival going on until that day and actually, Lisa's former flute teacher was the lead flutist with the Orchestra of Paris, the featured performers. So we met up with him and he invited us in to hear the rehearsal. Aside from having to leave early to catch the bus, the practice was fantastic as the orchestra is one of the best in the world.

So that was the weekend...

And now the story of the week... the story goes that I was supposed to have my Renaissance in Venice test last week and then this week just focus on History of the Federal Republic of Germany since 1945. But the Renaissance test was moved to this week and I had to cut my History study time in half. But the Renaissance test came and went without a hitch. The oral exam was made very simple by the professor and didn't require too much strain. That meant that I had overstudied for it, and consequently under-studied for the History. The next morning came, after a night without sleep, and my brain just couldn't say anything in German, or remember much of the content I had just covered.

So now I sit, gearing up for 3 finance finals this week and therefore declare it an English Holiday. I have to improve my German as these are now written exams which require as much explanation as calculations. Calculations are fine since math is an international language; the explanations are not.

Well, that's been the summary of my week and learnings. Hope you're having a blast back home and until then.

Later Days,
Rick

woah, time to catch up

July is 1/2 over. Woah.
I realize that the last post was quite a while ago so I will try to catch up with everything that's been going on. Pretty much a great summary is...studying, well in Theory it's studying.




Last weekend I went on Thursday to Munich for the day, then on Friday rode to Graz, Austria where Brianna (seen here on left) studied for the past semester. The city was great, unfortunately Brianna wasn't as gung ho as she was upon her departure. She is departing Graz tomorrow (Friday the 13th) and traveling for 2 weeks before being back in Wisconsin. Here we are at a fountain between Hauptplatz and Jakominy Platz.




After two days of seeing Graz, we headed to Slovenia (Maribor was the town name) for Sunday and after only an hour on the train we were in former Eastern Europe.

Here I stand in front of the oldest vine in the world--440 (approx) years old. Brianna bought a bottle of wine and we tasted it that evening with some Austrian (flavor, Stracchietelle) ice cream.




Then we made our way back to Austria to crash for the evening and next day.
Pictured here is me in front of the Central Station with the glowing green clock, which is in front of the odd red & silver liquid-like painting covering the inside of the train station, then on the right the OBB (translated into Austrian national Train) (And the Pass auf sign means pay attention)







So back in Freiburg by 7:00 a.m. after 13 hours of traveling on Tuesday and then in class by 8:30 a.m.
Class ran as usual with me struggling to stay awake during my Investments class.
But that night we held "Taco Tuesday" at my apartment just like back home at the U of M every Tuesday with the percussionist and music friends.
Philipp is on left and Viktor on right. Both are Business students here at Freiburg and these are the two with whom I'm traveling through England and Ireland.

This week at the Uni there is a big celebration for the 550th Anniversary. (Christopher Columbus was 6 years old when they established the University). So there are tents all around, a volleyball tournament (national championship of Germany), concerts, and exhibits. The funniest, and simultaneously worst, thing is that the BIG stage is set up on the Place of the White Rose which is situated directly between 3 of our main buildings (we have College Buildings #1-4, and this is encircled by #'s 1, 2, & 3. So with the concerts going, all our classes are disturbed, studying is disrupted, and worst of all, the poor students taking a International & Domestic Tax Law Final Exam today have to do it during the Drum Circle on the main stage. They really should have better planned the days for this celebration.

Well, now I need to take care of SAFA stuff for July, get back to studying for the two tests next week (the Renaissance in Venice test was postponed to next week, the day before the History of Germany test) and the three tests the week after (all of which are Finance, and all of which I need to study way more for). So the next two weeks will be really schlimm here for me. Although tonight Melanie Cox (from the U of M) is arriving to visit until Saturday afternoon, so it will be a bit of a break and a nice little trip around SW Germany.

Fortunately I do have something to look forward to, the day after the last test on July 27, I ride up to Luxembourg, then Belgium, then Cologne (in Germany), then back home just in time to celebrate for the end of Philipp's college career.

Until then.
Later Days,
Rick

Real Germans, Homework, and a verdammtes System.

Immediately upon the return from Prague I realized that I have almost no time left to study for my finals. So this last week was spent taking care of everything possible to clear my schedule and "to Do's" for just studying.

Fortunately, there were a few breaks where I actually hung out with real Germans. I know it's not a big deal, they're somewhat like Americans but with a different language...but it's such a relief and so much excitement just to solely speak in German here in Germany, finally! (Granted my German still has a lot of errors, but it's better than doing everything in English). And...the more I hang out with the friends from Prague, the more real Germans I meet!

The title summarizes all that I've been busied with this week. Homework. I'll get that system in a moment. The only thing not included was a long jog Viktor and I ran. He normally trains for 1/2 marathons and said I should go jogging with him. So we meet Saturday at 7:00 a.m. (yeah, Saturday. I thought 7 a.m. didn't exist on Saturday--maybe that's just becuase I forgot since I haven't seen in since 1999.) Hearing him earlier in the week say that any jog under 1 hour is just not worth it, I decided to train all week, just for this jog. Fortunately the pace was much better than what I normally take, but we ran approx 10 KM and for 58 minutes. I didn't know I could even stand up for that long, let alone run.

Now for this system. The University Library is officially among the worst in the world. The whole school complains that they don't get enough funding so they need this "Study Fee" (Tuition) of ONLY $500 a semester. (I just want to scream --"QUIT WHINING!") But their entire University is so beaurocratic that nothing can be accomplished without the proper stamp, that you get from the one specific person, who is in the that other building, who only has office hours each monday morning from 8-8:30 and every 5th Thursday of the month from 12:00-1:00.

This anger has been rooted since I first had to check out a book. Now it escalated when I wanted to study at home. The business library ONLY let's you check out books on Friday night and then they have to be back by 9:00 a.m. Monday morning. (In case someone wants to use it. But forget the fact that there are already 4copies of each edition. They ALL have to be back). So I comply, and I got to the Business library at 8:50 a.m. and returned my book and started studying. (Trying to get through 13 chapters today). I work until 8:00 p.m. (when the bloody thing closes--I miss 24 hour libraries, or at least open 'til Midnight). And I ask if I can take the book home tonight and then bring it back tomorrow morning before 9:00 a.m. NO. I have to first prove I am a Diplom student in Business to the one manager who isn't around and then get the one special stamp on my little green card....THEN I can take the book home. Because if the guy at the gate could lose his job if he lets me take the book home. (Yes, they have a single entrance that is GUARDED to make sure no book comes in or goes out.) He kept asking if I understood and Yeah, I understood all the German, I didn't understand ANY of the rationale behind it.
If they complain about having too little money, then WHY do they so many employees who sit on their bums to watch people walk in and out, when they could allocate all these personell expenses to a book replacement fund, which probably wouldn't even be necessary. Oh not to mention that when I check a book out for the weekend, I have to write my name, address, phone number, book details, and sign for it on a piece of paper. Nothing centralized, nothing computerized. Beurocratic inefficiency.

Ask me what it takes to print a single piece of paper at the Library, that'll be the next story with
-account access
-wire transfers
-printing stations
-password verifications and even more.

Later Days,
Rick

Excursion Nach Prague

back from Pfingsten and attempting to study and assemble this German life. I spent the week in classes and recovering from the long trip.
But after finally posting all the adventures from Pfingstenpause, I thought I'd be ready to rejoin normal society and be a studious student--not yet. More fun to have...


Toni Ingenthron, the exchange student from Worthington (my home town) currently studying in Crailsheim, Germany, sent me a spur-of-the-moment message saying she was free for the weekend so I invited her to Freiburg. Thursday afternoon she arrived and I took her around the main parts of Freiburg, despite the blasted rain. The evening was spent with friends at the StuSie dorms as we had dinner together--Mike made lasagna and Marta brought Belgian chocolates.
Then crash til Friday. Early Friday morning Emma and I ran to Kaufland--which we didn't know until now actually existed--and bought tons of cheap food. Finally a place with everything in one grocery store. Then we ran back, picked up Toni, caught the Train, and Emma, Toni, Essi, and I rode to Triberg to see Germany's largest waterfall (pictured here). Oddly enough the city was only 1/2 hour away by car, but because no lines run East & West, only N-S we had to go 1hour 40 minutes to get there--one way.
Friday night, out of randomness and because Toni was here, we had everyone over to the Vauban to my apartment to hang out. Unfortunately they all left to catch the last tram back home.
Then Saturday was an early morning in order for Toni to catch the 5 hour train back to Crailsheim. It's actually only 2 1/2 hours away by car, but all lines run N-S, so you can only get there in a round-about way.

After seeing Toni off, I needed to start studying, but what do I do instead? I committed to finishing the book I started "Atlas Shrugged". I was 1/2 way through and thought I could finish it in a long sitting--mind you the book is 1,186 pages long. So Sunday, Monday, Tuesday evening and late night were consumed reading this book. It's totally worth it because the Library of Congress deems it the 2nd most influential book in American History, next to the bible. But, yes, it does take a long time to get through. But I had a nice break celebrating Becky's Birthday--a friend that lives across the sidewalk.

Wednesday was a long day of classes and rushed by Alastair's 21st birthday that night. Pirate themed and wow was he a well-dressed pirate. Unfortunately I had to leave early to catch the bus at midnight to go to Prague with the International Club.

After a 14 hour bus ride, and finally arriving at 2:30 p.m.

So we settled into our hotel rooms and met up for a collective lunch. I had recognized two of the group members from my Portfolio analysis course and met them right away. Victor & Philipp, both Germans...finally real GERMAN friends. Also, there were two girls from Australia--Ella & Kara, and two from Canada--Shiza & Laura. The Canadians didn't speak any German, so it was much harder to hang out collectively together because at any point there was someone who didn't fully understand what was being said.

The first 1 1/2 days (Thursday & Friday) were spent on a long tour around the city. Offered in both German & English, the tours were each 3 hours (total 6 hr) and showed a lot of old stuff. The photo here is of me and Nadja (also GERMAN!) on the observation platform of the tower resembling the Eiffel tower. Prague had an ausstellung (display or fair) similar to, but after the one in Paris and built this tall tower for a nice view of the city.

Our excursion included shopping in the city (which was no cheaper than anywhere else) and eating a lot--the food was really cheap. A huge meal cost $4 (or 3 Euros). Also we hung out at the hotel, took a cruise ride along the Moldau (the river pictured below), tried out some great cafes around the city, and of course saw a lot of old stuff.

Here, Philipp and I stand on the Charles Bridge (Charles Brueke) overlooking the Moldau and the length of the city.

But no trip would be complete without a visit to

my number one tourist destination--Ernst & Young. Located just outside of the tourist-plagued city center, E & Y was across from a long park, down the street from the "Dancing Buildings" (a building complex with a twisted architecture) and a block away from the Moldau.

Finally, we drove back to Freiburg--this time only taking 7 1/2 hours (we had to go through Austria to get into the country because of some technicalities with the Chinese students needing Visa's). All in all, Prague was a pleasant city, but the experience was amazing because I finally met REAL Freiburg Germans and can only look forward to studying, hanging out, jogging, and potentially traveling with these new acquaintances. Until next time with (probably fewer) new adventures...

Later Days,
Rick

Pfingstenpause (an excuse to Vacation) Part XI

Monday
Check out of Hostel. Buy lunch at bakery and open my book again for a good read. Off to Checkpoint Charlie which was so touristy and only mildly entertaining. Then I walked back along the remaining wall to Potsdamer Platz, further up to the Holocaust Memorial and the TierGarten (animal garden) for more reading. Back through the Brandenburger Tor to find a coffee shop on the strip (Haagen Daas) where I read again.

I then met Jenna and Tom for some ½ price German-made Mexican food—a fajita made by someone who has never been to Mexico.
After our early dinner I rush off to the airport to catch my flight back to Basel. But then time slowly passes as I miss the first bus to the train station. Then the next train running back to Freiburg was at 11:24 so I had to wait for 1 ½ hours at the station followed by a 40 minute train ride (which were both good opportunities for reading), to arrive at Freiburg in time for the last tram at 12:28 and then finally home by 1 a.m.


My trip is over. I had class the next day at 8:00 a.m. while holding plenty of good memories from a trip up north. Fun places, new people, and an experience to remember.

Later Days,
Rick

Pfingstenpause (an excuse to Vacation) Part X

Sunday
To try to make up for last night, I went out to a bakery and grabbed German pastries for the girls for breakfast. We dine and discuss salaries and I discover that Sweden is a middle-class economy; no one is poor and likewise no one is particularly rich. Next I deliver the bad news that it’s Germany and all shopping stores are closed. I head to the Haupt Bahn Hof (central Train station) to meet Rachel, and part ways with the Swedes ½ way there.
Rachel and I catch the tram to Potsdam, first visiting the Lady of Luck (seen left), the Rathaus (courthouse and city hall), and then next to the REAL Brandenburger Tor. Lunch on the pedestrian street and a short visit to the hanging rhinoceros; walk through park and see Fredrick the Great’s summer castle with lots of grape vines for always fresh fruit. We climb up another castle and are scolded by the old German who watches the stairs for not minding the red light. Off to the huge dual castle, of course covered by paper for renovation/restoration. Back to the city with a stop at a snack shop for cake, ignoring the mean server-lady, then again off to a snack shop to grab items to eat by the lake. We sit down and enjoy watching the waves flow by and the crane lifting the little Metro car onto a ferry for some unknown reason. We continue along the shore with moderate success to get back to the train station. There I check my e-mail and discover 96 new messages which amount, in majority, to my Facebook Birthday messages.

That evening we met for dinner at Hackescher Markt. Val, a friend of my Freiburg friend staying in the same hostel, came with for the start. We had terrible luck at the first restaurant as we waited for 15 minutes until no server showed up and I had to rush into finally try and grab our drinks. We said our goodbyes before the last tram at 1:20 a.m. after the bar close at midnight. My 5 minute walk back was quite amusing as I discovered that legal prostitutes hang around Oranienburgerstrasse and two of whom started to approach me from the other side of the street. I couldn't clearly see them because they were 30 feet away and I didn’t have my glasses, but only later while talking to my roommate back home did he tell me they were wearing corsets and carrying money pouches on their waists.

What a splendid ending to an evening...And for the final day of travels...

Later Days,
Rick

Pfingstenpause (an excuse to Vacation) Part IX

Saturday
I meet Jenna in Nollendorf platz for the ginormous Saturday morning market crowding the entire market square. We buy some Strawberries and some Chinese noodles for lunch and head off to Potsdamer Platz for a sight of the remaining Mauer (wall), the business area of town, and the impressive Sony Center. Next to the Gedächtnis Kirche (a ½ destroyed church standing from WWII).

Shortly thereafter I return to my hostel and meet two new roommates, two Swedish girls my age, Annie and Carolin who were beginning their one month travels around Europe. We chat and decide to go together to the shopping district of the city near Ka-De-We (a department store that apparently celebrated its 100th B-Day on June 1st). We find cheap dinner at a buffet. Unfortunately the area was very pricey and the girls opted to dine out, pushing off shopping until the next day, Sunday. After our first drink we realized there were no cheap places so we head back near our hostel for Oranienburgerstrasse where there are lines of restaurants. The first bar tried for a real international flair, which was ruined by the loud football game in the background. Here the girls tried their first German beer. Next bar was Japanese, then an Indian bar where Annie and I had the strongest Coffee to make it out to the disco that night.

Next foreshadows our adventure. We follow a text message from Jenna to go to this German Disco in East Berlin called “Matrix”. We just make it there at midnight, trying to beat the deadline for no cover charge but are too late. We wait in line like an actual club; we pay a 6 Euro cover charge, and then try to find a good dance floor but our options were limited to old, hard-beating hip-hop or epileptic techno. Jenna and Tom seemed to be enjoying the hip-hop as we found them dancing together in an elevated cage. We decide to leave at 1:15 a.m. and head back to the train station. We hop on to start our train adventure; wrong direction, hop off, wrong direction, hop off, etc. etc. In total we took 8 different trains for 2 ½ hours until 3:45 a.m. when we could have just spent 14 minutes to get from the club to our hostel. What an adventure.

Where else but Berlin. Wait, wait...there's more coming soon in Potsdam...

Later Days,
Rick

Pfingstenpause (an excuse to Vacation) Part VIII

Friday
My 20th Birthday. What more need I say? I arrived in Berlin at 6:30 a.m. after a 7 hour bus ride from Copenhagen repetitively interrupted by climbing out onto the ferry, waking up for border control, and struggling to sleep on a bumpy bus. After checking in at my hostel I start to see the city. Yet everything was still closed, so I passed by the “Museuminsel”, an island of museums including Parthenon museum. Next to the Reichstag, the German building of parliament and discover that I can travel up to the dome on the top of the building so I slip in line, wait behind what seemed like 100 French junior high schoolers and finally at the top saw a panoramic view of the city and read of the history of the building. Also, on the way up I passed by an Fire elevator with the inscription “LON-102-RL03” and found it coincidental that it had the first three letter of my last name, my initials, and my favorite number. Whoa…conspiracy theory?? Nah, just me being boring.
Next past the Kanzleramt building, see protest for environmental actions. Down to Brandenburger Tor, this was somewhat disappointing as it seems merely a relic of the past. Walk through “Unter den Linden” and grab Nachos and a beer at an outdoor café. Continuing on I pass the Berliner Dom (cathedral), and hike along the river viewing the various bars and clubs, including one that actually made it’s own beach, full with cabanas and sun chairs. Upon returning to my hostel, I open the door to my room to find not only a Freiburger, but a friend of mine from Freiburg University. We hadn’t crossed paths in almost 2 months and now where do we run into one another but by staying in the same room in Berlin. So chat and again, nap for 4 hours until 7 p.m.
Waking up to find food (quite reminiscent of Copenhagen), I walk down Oranienburgerstrasse with restaurants lining the streets waiting for me to make my choice. I settle for one in Hackescher Mark and order a 32 inch pizza, read my book, and brush off the condescending waiter who implies I am miserable at German.
The whole point of rushing with dinner was to meet my friends back at my hostel to go out for my birthday with Jenna Duesterhoeft, Tom Dobberke, and their friends from their study abroad program (IES). We sit around the hostel for a while, then move on to Prenzlauerberg area, located in East Berlin and maintaining a low-cost appeal. But on the way we head to the tram and notice almost 150 people piling out of a bar as part of a pub crawl. Standing on the sidewalk we hear one of those pub crawlers shouting Jenna’s name and who does it turn out to be but an acquaintance from the Carlson School; Pat Gaddy the former President of Alpha Kappa Psi ran into us in Berlin.
We are out on the for a while. Jenna and I run out for a moment to get a Döner—an American’s substitute for late-night burritos. The night winds down at about 3 a.m., I walk back to the subway with Jenna and Tom and head home for what was a great 20th birthday.

More on Berlin...

Later Days,
Rick