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