My final day in Germany has arrived. Has it been too long? Has it come too soon? It's hard to say. On the one hand, certain aspects of England call me back, on the other hand, there is still so much in Germany that I have not done or seen, and Stralsund, as snow ridden, out of the way and unashamedly German as it is, has started to feel just a little bit like home.
Don't worry Germany, I'll be back.
When leaving a country, the days are action packed. My to do list is extensive, with things being added about three times as fast as I can cross them off. The people at the bank will probably be glad to see the back of me, the number of times I've been in and out trying to sort out all things financial.
Presents for the teachers, the landlady and the school kids have been bought and dispatched- kids of all ages and nationalities love baked goods with Smarties! I have received all kinds of goodbye cards and presents too, and given my address out to most of the girls in the fourth class- I am not expecting too much fan mail, but you never know.
I will miss Stralsund, and the people I've met here. I will miss the lifestyle too, and of course the bakeries.
With my cases packed (please please Ryanair, let me be below the luggage limit!), my flat cleaned, the keys returned and my goodbyes said, all that is left to say is:
Goodbye Germany!
And Bis Bald- I hope I'll be back soon...
Monday, May 31, 2010
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Eurovision
On my previous blog, I commented that I would be supporting Germany, rather than England. This was mainly because England's entry is always rubbish, rather than any patriotism for Germany, but I am tempted to withdraw the comment, I didn't realise it was going to be so controversial!
The German entry is pretty damn catchy: Lena- Satellite
I've yet to hear the English entry, or any of the other countries, and although they are all available on youtube, I am saving it for the Eurovision Party we will be having when it's on- admittedly that only means going round to Carli's house and watching it there, but I have to make it sound grand.
Anyway the main point of this entry was to give Carli a mention, and we are very grateful that she has so generously offered to host a party so we can come and watch Eurovision, and she was in no way coerced into this decision.
The ulterior motive for this blog was to get the German Eurovision entry in your head. It's unescapable here.
The German entry is pretty damn catchy: Lena- Satellite
I've yet to hear the English entry, or any of the other countries, and although they are all available on youtube, I am saving it for the Eurovision Party we will be having when it's on- admittedly that only means going round to Carli's house and watching it there, but I have to make it sound grand.
Anyway the main point of this entry was to give Carli a mention, and we are very grateful that she has so generously offered to host a party so we can come and watch Eurovision, and she was in no way coerced into this decision.
The ulterior motive for this blog was to get the German Eurovision entry in your head. It's unescapable here.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
German Me.
I feared my blog had been losing momentum because Germans had stopped doing weird things for me to discover and comment about. However, I feel the real reason is that I have gone native, and all the things I previously noticed as weird, I now consider as perfectly normal.
That's not to say the Germans don't still occasionally do/ wear/ say things that make me stop and stare, but the everyday stuff doesn't seem so odd anymore.
Which is why, when I am back in the country in just a few weeks, you should not be surprised if I do some or all of the following:
1. Shaking hands with everyone as I enter a room.
2. If I don't go as far as shaking hands, I will probably say hello loud enough to make my presence known. This will apply in shops too, where I will also say bye to the shop assistant as I leave.
3. Eating ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast.
4. Dressing practically. I have a German coat now, there's no going back!
5. Relying too heavily on the timetabling of public transport. If a German bus is meant to turn up at 14.32, that's when it will turn up. Even if there's been a fair amount of snow. I fear 'This bus runs approximately every 10 minutes' just isn't going to be good enough any more, and I will have to relearn not to be surprised when three buses turn up at once.
6. Pressing my thumbs for luck. That's what they do here, rather than crossing their fingers. As I don't need to wish people luck here very often, I'm at that awkward stage where I will cross my fingers for them, then remember they have no idea what that means, and probably think I'm making some kind of obscene hand gesture, and quickly switch to the thumb pressing gesture. I will probably have just got into the thumb pressing habit by the time I get back.
7. Dropping the odd German word into the conversation. If the Germans can get away with saying 'gehandicapped' as a legitimate 'German' word, then I think I'm allowed a bit of Deutsch, oder?!
8. On a similar note, using the German sentence structure or word order, instead of the English one- some things just roll off the tongue better in one language, especially if I'm recounting something that happened in Germany, or what someone said in German.
9. Getting up ridiculously early, and then probably feeling disappointed that I'm up at 6am and there is nowhere open to cater to my ham and cheese sandwich eating needs.
10. Stockpiling food for the weekend. Nine months of shopless Sundays have got me trained in long term meal planning. Either that, or I will only go shopping on Sundays, just because I can.
And there you have it, 10 things to expect from the new German influenced Hazel. Hopefully this will give you a bit of advance warning, and you won't think I've gone completely crazy, and we can still be friends.
Though I will be supporting Germany rather than England in Eurovision.
That's not to say the Germans don't still occasionally do/ wear/ say things that make me stop and stare, but the everyday stuff doesn't seem so odd anymore.
Which is why, when I am back in the country in just a few weeks, you should not be surprised if I do some or all of the following:
1. Shaking hands with everyone as I enter a room.
2. If I don't go as far as shaking hands, I will probably say hello loud enough to make my presence known. This will apply in shops too, where I will also say bye to the shop assistant as I leave.
3. Eating ham and cheese sandwiches for breakfast.
4. Dressing practically. I have a German coat now, there's no going back!
5. Relying too heavily on the timetabling of public transport. If a German bus is meant to turn up at 14.32, that's when it will turn up. Even if there's been a fair amount of snow. I fear 'This bus runs approximately every 10 minutes' just isn't going to be good enough any more, and I will have to relearn not to be surprised when three buses turn up at once.
6. Pressing my thumbs for luck. That's what they do here, rather than crossing their fingers. As I don't need to wish people luck here very often, I'm at that awkward stage where I will cross my fingers for them, then remember they have no idea what that means, and probably think I'm making some kind of obscene hand gesture, and quickly switch to the thumb pressing gesture. I will probably have just got into the thumb pressing habit by the time I get back.
7. Dropping the odd German word into the conversation. If the Germans can get away with saying 'gehandicapped' as a legitimate 'German' word, then I think I'm allowed a bit of Deutsch, oder?!
8. On a similar note, using the German sentence structure or word order, instead of the English one- some things just roll off the tongue better in one language, especially if I'm recounting something that happened in Germany, or what someone said in German.
9. Getting up ridiculously early, and then probably feeling disappointed that I'm up at 6am and there is nowhere open to cater to my ham and cheese sandwich eating needs.
10. Stockpiling food for the weekend. Nine months of shopless Sundays have got me trained in long term meal planning. Either that, or I will only go shopping on Sundays, just because I can.
And there you have it, 10 things to expect from the new German influenced Hazel. Hopefully this will give you a bit of advance warning, and you won't think I've gone completely crazy, and we can still be friends.
Though I will be supporting Germany rather than England in Eurovision.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
A German School Trip
Today was the award ceremony for the foreign language competition, so we took 18 German kids on a train to Schwerin, to see the castle, the government rooms, and go to the awards ceremony. This was my first proper school trip (I've decided visiting the zoo on multiple occasions doesn't really count) and here are a few observations:
- Tell children they can bring pocket money, and they will feel they have to spend it, and will constantly count it, asking what they can buy with the few cents/ pennies that they have left. (Pennies included becuase this is exactly what happens in England too)
- School trips= more food. Children will arrive with their rucksacks packed full of goodies, most of which will be eaten on the train on the way there. And then more food will be bought, with the afore mentioned pocket money.
- The amount of technology the kids possess is almost scary. On the train, they played on all kind of games consoles; the vast majority of them had phones, and most of those were the touch-screen-music-playing-movie-taking-would probably-cook-for-you-if-you-pressed-the-right-button variety. I was embarassed to get mine out. They also had cameras, which meant they had to stop every five seconds to take a photo- sometimes of something impressive like the castle, but mostly snap shots of the other kids, the teachers, something they'd see everyday here in Stralsund, an interesting piece of ground, and who knows what else.
- While the day may have been highly educational, and an inspirational experience, it will be unclear whether the children took any of it in. Case in point: one boy wearing his headphones and listening to music during the awards ceremony.
- Taking a class on public transport, and looking after them between the hours of 9am and 8pm, is a long and stressful day. Especially for German teachers, the kids are usually gone from school by 1pm at the latest- apparently some of the parents where quite glad that we were keeping the kids out of their way until nearly bedtime!
- We ended up at McDonalds not once, but twice. I seriously doubt that would be allowed in England, and it would probably cause a scandal. Admittedly, it was a convenient holding place with enough seats and toilets, where we ate lunch before going to the castle, and waited until it was time to get the train on the way back, but obviously the kids made the most of this and spent much of their pocket money here.
- Priorities about what counts as children being under control seem to differ extremely between English and German teachers. Or at least, between the German and English teaching that I've had experience of. In a German classroom, any noise above total silence appears to be deemed 'too loud'- obviously not permanently, but whenever they are just getting on with a worksheet or other activity. However, the teachers I was with did not seem to mind that kids were clambering all over a statue, and it took them a while to react to them wandering around the train and getting louder and louder. The poor old lady squished inbetween all of us on the train back. I stayed on the train until a station after all the kids got off, and the sudden silence made me realise just how loud an entire class of over-excited, sugar-hyped and tired 9 and 10 year olds are.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
And Just Like That.... It Was Summer!
During the week, I still wore my gloves to school, and even wished I hadn't sent my winter hats home with the parents.
On Wednesday, I voluntarily stayed outside longer than was necessary- I bought myself a snack from the bakery, and sat on a bench overlooking the lake to eat it. I still had my coat and scarf on, and though my plan had been to sit outside and read for a bit, I decided against that as it wasn't quite as warm as I thought it was.
On Thursday, I sat outside by the lake watching the ducks, with my jumper sleeves rolled up to the elbow.
On Saturday, in Müritz, a little town with a lake, just south of Rostock, we sat outside while enjoying a drink, with our coats off.
And today, I sat outside for six hours or so, and even though I'd put on suncream, I have some definite tan lines. I also didn't feel too out of place wearing sunglasses... SUMMER IS HERE!
I'm dreading waking up tomorrow and seeing that it is snowing, but I hope that will not happen.
On Wednesday, I voluntarily stayed outside longer than was necessary- I bought myself a snack from the bakery, and sat on a bench overlooking the lake to eat it. I still had my coat and scarf on, and though my plan had been to sit outside and read for a bit, I decided against that as it wasn't quite as warm as I thought it was.
On Thursday, I sat outside by the lake watching the ducks, with my jumper sleeves rolled up to the elbow.
On Saturday, in Müritz, a little town with a lake, just south of Rostock, we sat outside while enjoying a drink, with our coats off.
And today, I sat outside for six hours or so, and even though I'd put on suncream, I have some definite tan lines. I also didn't feel too out of place wearing sunglasses... SUMMER IS HERE!
I'm dreading waking up tomorrow and seeing that it is snowing, but I hope that will not happen.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
The Firths do Stralsund.
Mum, Dad and Ian came to visit me in my German home, and experience all the delights Stralsund has to offer.
In my head it went like this:
German person: sfdlkjeajk sdjljklf sdflkjgdjs lsjkfdslkgd lsfdjks lakfjkljlglk?!?!?!!
Family (highly confused): but...whuh?
And then I'd come to the rescue with amazing German skills, and give a word perfect response to the German person, sorting out all the problems and saving the day.
Unfortunately, it didn't quite go like that, Dad's German skills are too good, and Ian remembered a lot of GCSE stuff, and was able to order himself a beer by the end of the weekend. It also didn't really help that whenever I'm put on the spot, and asked 'What does that word mean?' I have a tendency to suddenly forget my command of both German and English, and go 'Urrrm...er....it's kind of ...umm' until the person asking gives up and asks someone else/ looks in a dictionary/ decides to order something off the menu that they can understand. Oh well, I never said I wanted to be an interpreter, and I would like to claim that my understanding of a German word in context is generally better than my ability to explain it in English.
We did all the usual tourist stuff in the area, and I took them on a tour of the bakeries. A trip to Germany wouldn't be complete without that. And, this being a Firth family holiday, I saw a lot more of the morning than I would have done on an ordinary weekend.
They all said they had a nice time, thought I feel maybe I should have warned them a bit more about just how boring German Sundays are- we went to the Ozeaneum (one of Stralsund's two sea life centres) then went for lunch, but then kind of ran out of stuff to do by mid afternoon. I can't help feeling it's a bad sign that we went to the train station as if it was one of the main tourist destinations in Stralsund. I suppose it is a place I spend a lot of time at, so a trip to see what my life is like on my year abroad wouldn't have been complete without it. After that, we had to resort to just sitting around waiting until it was time for the next meal, but at least MTV Germany was doing a count down of 'The Best Music Videos EVER'.
It was nice to have them here, and they seemed to enjoy it. It was mum and Ian's first proper experience of Germany, and hopefully it hasn't put them off ever coming back.
They returned to England after the weekend, leaving me to complete the rest of my year abroad- it's hard to believe that I have less than two months left.
In my head it went like this:
German person: sfdlkjeajk sdjljklf sdflkjgdjs lsjkfdslkgd lsfdjks lakfjkljlglk?!?!?!!
Family (highly confused): but...whuh?
And then I'd come to the rescue with amazing German skills, and give a word perfect response to the German person, sorting out all the problems and saving the day.
Unfortunately, it didn't quite go like that, Dad's German skills are too good, and Ian remembered a lot of GCSE stuff, and was able to order himself a beer by the end of the weekend. It also didn't really help that whenever I'm put on the spot, and asked 'What does that word mean?' I have a tendency to suddenly forget my command of both German and English, and go 'Urrrm...er....it's kind of ...umm' until the person asking gives up and asks someone else/ looks in a dictionary/ decides to order something off the menu that they can understand. Oh well, I never said I wanted to be an interpreter, and I would like to claim that my understanding of a German word in context is generally better than my ability to explain it in English.
We did all the usual tourist stuff in the area, and I took them on a tour of the bakeries. A trip to Germany wouldn't be complete without that. And, this being a Firth family holiday, I saw a lot more of the morning than I would have done on an ordinary weekend.
They all said they had a nice time, thought I feel maybe I should have warned them a bit more about just how boring German Sundays are- we went to the Ozeaneum (one of Stralsund's two sea life centres) then went for lunch, but then kind of ran out of stuff to do by mid afternoon. I can't help feeling it's a bad sign that we went to the train station as if it was one of the main tourist destinations in Stralsund. I suppose it is a place I spend a lot of time at, so a trip to see what my life is like on my year abroad wouldn't have been complete without it. After that, we had to resort to just sitting around waiting until it was time for the next meal, but at least MTV Germany was doing a count down of 'The Best Music Videos EVER'.
It was nice to have them here, and they seemed to enjoy it. It was mum and Ian's first proper experience of Germany, and hopefully it hasn't put them off ever coming back.
They returned to England after the weekend, leaving me to complete the rest of my year abroad- it's hard to believe that I have less than two months left.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
And the winner is...
My school entred a foreign language competition, where they had to perform something in their chosen language. I wrote a play about the story of the Great Fire of London, which ended with the song London's Burning, and then from about mid October till February we spent one lesson a week practicing the lines, learning the song, and rehearsing it all. It was sometimes the most stressful lesson of the week, and I was quite glad once it was filmed and we sent it off, I presumed that would be the last I'd have to think about it!
However, I am proud to announce that our school WON the competition, and we have been invited to the awards ceremony. Awards ceremony is probably a bit of a loose translation, for a competition which I imagine only had one entry (...I'm still in shock that we won, if I'm honest) but I'm excited anyway. As scriptwriter, co-producer, co-director and co-English trainer, I hope I'm allowed to take some of the credit, though of course it's the kids who are on film who did most of the work.
And of course, in true awards ceremony style, I'd like to thank my mum, for sending me a poem about London's Burning, and the internet, for helping me research, and so on, and so on... I hope I don't actually have to give a speech!
But yeah, next stop Hollywood, I assume.
However, I am proud to announce that our school WON the competition, and we have been invited to the awards ceremony. Awards ceremony is probably a bit of a loose translation, for a competition which I imagine only had one entry (...I'm still in shock that we won, if I'm honest) but I'm excited anyway. As scriptwriter, co-producer, co-director and co-English trainer, I hope I'm allowed to take some of the credit, though of course it's the kids who are on film who did most of the work.
And of course, in true awards ceremony style, I'd like to thank my mum, for sending me a poem about London's Burning, and the internet, for helping me research, and so on, and so on... I hope I don't actually have to give a speech!
But yeah, next stop Hollywood, I assume.
Continental Europe's Traffic System
Dear continental Europe,
Let’s talk about your traffic system. So, you drive on the right. That’s a bit weird, but I can deal with it. I’ve been here long enough to know everyone here thinks driving on the left is the ‘wrong’ side of the road. ‘Right is right’ or ‘Recht ist Recht’, as they say. You have a lot of cycle paths. I am a fan of this, though I am intrigued as to what came first- the thousands of people who own bikes and use them as their main form of transport, or the facilities (cycle paths, bike racks and so on) that enable them to do so easily?
Pedestrians are not allowed to cross the road while the Ampelmann* is on red. I’m sure this makes a lot of sense, and as the punishment is a hefty fine or maybe even a jail sentence, it explains why everyone stays glued to the kerb till the Ampelmann turns green, even when there is no traffic in sight or earshot. Just a tip, it does make you appear quite odd to foreigners. Though I suppose when the foreigners get arrested or run over, they might stop laughing at your system.
I do have a question though: If pedestrians aren’t allowed to go when the signal for cars is on green, why are cars allowed to go when the pedestrian light is on green? Maybe you have a different system of physics laws operating here, but I’m fairly certain that if you get hit by something coming from the right, it will still hurt just as much as being hit from the left. So why are vehicles allowed to turn right onto a road even when pedestrians are crossing legally at a crossing?! I know there is sometimes a flashing light alerting drivers to be careful at the crossing, and that pedestrians have right of way, but a big truck and a small person being allowed to cross the same part of road at the same time sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.
Speaking of which, I couldn’t help noticing that some pedestrian crossings seem to beep (and by beep I mean click) when the light is on red, and others seem to beep when it’s on green. Surely that’s just going to get messy? Maybe that’s just Stralsund, or maybe the clicking is caused by the traffic light’s inner workings, and just means that it’s running, but it’s still slightly alarming. On a similar note, I have to say it is a very interesting technique that you use at night, turning off ALL the traffic lights. I’m sure the polar bears will be very happy about all the energy that is presumably being saved, but I can’t help wondering if it’s really a good idea.
Just thought I'd raise my concerns, though I'm sure you have it all under control.
Yours sincerely,
Hazel
A slightly confused exchange student
*Excuse my random insertion of German words, I appear to have forgotten the English word for the man on the traffic lights… I’m sure that’s not a good thing- this year is meant to improve my German, not damage my English!
Let’s talk about your traffic system. So, you drive on the right. That’s a bit weird, but I can deal with it. I’ve been here long enough to know everyone here thinks driving on the left is the ‘wrong’ side of the road. ‘Right is right’ or ‘Recht ist Recht’, as they say. You have a lot of cycle paths. I am a fan of this, though I am intrigued as to what came first- the thousands of people who own bikes and use them as their main form of transport, or the facilities (cycle paths, bike racks and so on) that enable them to do so easily?
Pedestrians are not allowed to cross the road while the Ampelmann* is on red. I’m sure this makes a lot of sense, and as the punishment is a hefty fine or maybe even a jail sentence, it explains why everyone stays glued to the kerb till the Ampelmann turns green, even when there is no traffic in sight or earshot. Just a tip, it does make you appear quite odd to foreigners. Though I suppose when the foreigners get arrested or run over, they might stop laughing at your system.
I do have a question though: If pedestrians aren’t allowed to go when the signal for cars is on green, why are cars allowed to go when the pedestrian light is on green? Maybe you have a different system of physics laws operating here, but I’m fairly certain that if you get hit by something coming from the right, it will still hurt just as much as being hit from the left. So why are vehicles allowed to turn right onto a road even when pedestrians are crossing legally at a crossing?! I know there is sometimes a flashing light alerting drivers to be careful at the crossing, and that pedestrians have right of way, but a big truck and a small person being allowed to cross the same part of road at the same time sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.
Speaking of which, I couldn’t help noticing that some pedestrian crossings seem to beep (and by beep I mean click) when the light is on red, and others seem to beep when it’s on green. Surely that’s just going to get messy? Maybe that’s just Stralsund, or maybe the clicking is caused by the traffic light’s inner workings, and just means that it’s running, but it’s still slightly alarming. On a similar note, I have to say it is a very interesting technique that you use at night, turning off ALL the traffic lights. I’m sure the polar bears will be very happy about all the energy that is presumably being saved, but I can’t help wondering if it’s really a good idea.
Just thought I'd raise my concerns, though I'm sure you have it all under control.
Yours sincerely,
Hazel
A slightly confused exchange student
*Excuse my random insertion of German words, I appear to have forgotten the English word for the man on the traffic lights… I’m sure that’s not a good thing- this year is meant to improve my German, not damage my English!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Social Contact...In Stralsund?!
So, the dramatic lifestyle change began on the day I met more of the Erasmus students. It feels as though they have all suddenly appeared in Stralsund, though many of them claim to have been here last semester. If that really is the case, I can't help thinking: Why didn't I meet them last semester?! But better late than never I guess, I'm glad that Daniela moved into the student accomodation, and that her flatmates don't mind me being the fifth flatmate in their four person flat.
It's nice to have some social contact in Stralsund, and while I don't usually speak in German to most of them, I can't help feeling 'not going mental sat at home' slightly overrules 'I must speak in German at all times'. However, after spending time with the large group of Spanish people, I can't help wondering: What exactly is the correct course of action in a conversation which is being mostly conducted in a language you don't speak? Should you pretend to follow it, and look at the person speaking, and laugh when the others do, or does that just make you look like a weirdo, as you don't really know what's going on? With Spanish, I recognise some of the words, and becuase they are so expressive, I can tell who is being made fun of, or the general gist of the conversation. I'm still not sure that's enough to justify pretending to take part though. The other option is to sit looking blank until the conversation returns to a known language- by the end of the week of school all morning and intensive German classes all afternoon, I was happy to adopt this strategy, and zone out for a while. Luckily there are some other people who don't speak Spanish, so I don't spend my whole time feeling confused.
At least at the parties, the loud music breaks down the language barriers, as noone can hear what anyone is saying anyway!
It's nice to have some social contact in Stralsund, and while I don't usually speak in German to most of them, I can't help feeling 'not going mental sat at home' slightly overrules 'I must speak in German at all times'. However, after spending time with the large group of Spanish people, I can't help wondering: What exactly is the correct course of action in a conversation which is being mostly conducted in a language you don't speak? Should you pretend to follow it, and look at the person speaking, and laugh when the others do, or does that just make you look like a weirdo, as you don't really know what's going on? With Spanish, I recognise some of the words, and becuase they are so expressive, I can tell who is being made fun of, or the general gist of the conversation. I'm still not sure that's enough to justify pretending to take part though. The other option is to sit looking blank until the conversation returns to a known language- by the end of the week of school all morning and intensive German classes all afternoon, I was happy to adopt this strategy, and zone out for a while. Luckily there are some other people who don't speak Spanish, so I don't spend my whole time feeling confused.
At least at the parties, the loud music breaks down the language barriers, as noone can hear what anyone is saying anyway!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
It's been a while...
The thing with a blog is that long periods of not writing occur either when I am not doing enough- reports about my afternoon naps and how I spent four hours staring at a wall hardly make for compelling reading- or when I am doing lots, and don't have enough free time to write anything.
The vast majority of the time that's passed between the last entry and this one would fall into category A, but luckily for anyone worried I was going to die of boredom, in the last few weeks a dramatic lifestyle change has occured, and a visit from Becca, another school trip to the zoo, an intensive German course at the Fachhochschule (college), meeting a load of new people, and many many parties have prevented me sitting around long enough to write about it all.
But for people who were wondering, I am still alive, Germany is definitely heading towards Spring (woo hoo!), and I will be updating as soon as possible!
The vast majority of the time that's passed between the last entry and this one would fall into category A, but luckily for anyone worried I was going to die of boredom, in the last few weeks a dramatic lifestyle change has occured, and a visit from Becca, another school trip to the zoo, an intensive German course at the Fachhochschule (college), meeting a load of new people, and many many parties have prevented me sitting around long enough to write about it all.
But for people who were wondering, I am still alive, Germany is definitely heading towards Spring (woo hoo!), and I will be updating as soon as possible!
Friday, February 26, 2010
But...What's all this green stuff?
The big news this week has got to be- temperatures in Stralsund have moved into the positive numbers!
During our time in Dresden (we stopped overnight on our way back from Poland, to break up the journey, and take lots of photos, as it really is one of the prettiest cities in Germany) we had experienced pavements that weren't covered in ice, and on the train we had even seen some greenery, but as we headed northwards, the snow was all firmly in place, the greenery disappeared, and it even started snowing, just in case we weren't completely sure that the winter had no intentions of stopping any time soon.
At least it meant my lesson -finishing the work on snowmen we'd started before the holidays- wasn't out of date, but I'd really thought the snow might have gone away by the end of the holidays.
However, despite new snow on Monday and Tuesday, there really have been signs that we might finally be heading towards spring. The temperatures are rising, the snow is starting to melt, and I've seen real grass in Stralsund! It really shouldn't be so exciting to report that, but everything has been white for nearly three months, and after so long, the grass actually looks almost artificial, and unnecessarily bright and green. It was also exciting when it started raining- yes, rain, not snow!
The other positive sign is the longer hours of daylight. It's now nearly light when I wake up on some days, which makes me happy, and though it might have a damaging effect on my lie ins, I'm willing for that to be the case, if it makes getting up before 6am more bearable.
Even the Germans are sick of the snow, and on the radio the reporters are clearly excited whenever they can report a lack of snow, and positive temperatures. They even played a fake trailer, that announced 'SPRING-Coming soon to Mecklenburg Vorpommern'. I'm looking forward to it.
During our time in Dresden (we stopped overnight on our way back from Poland, to break up the journey, and take lots of photos, as it really is one of the prettiest cities in Germany) we had experienced pavements that weren't covered in ice, and on the train we had even seen some greenery, but as we headed northwards, the snow was all firmly in place, the greenery disappeared, and it even started snowing, just in case we weren't completely sure that the winter had no intentions of stopping any time soon.
At least it meant my lesson -finishing the work on snowmen we'd started before the holidays- wasn't out of date, but I'd really thought the snow might have gone away by the end of the holidays.
However, despite new snow on Monday and Tuesday, there really have been signs that we might finally be heading towards spring. The temperatures are rising, the snow is starting to melt, and I've seen real grass in Stralsund! It really shouldn't be so exciting to report that, but everything has been white for nearly three months, and after so long, the grass actually looks almost artificial, and unnecessarily bright and green. It was also exciting when it started raining- yes, rain, not snow!
The other positive sign is the longer hours of daylight. It's now nearly light when I wake up on some days, which makes me happy, and though it might have a damaging effect on my lie ins, I'm willing for that to be the case, if it makes getting up before 6am more bearable.
Even the Germans are sick of the snow, and on the radio the reporters are clearly excited whenever they can report a lack of snow, and positive temperatures. They even played a fake trailer, that announced 'SPRING-Coming soon to Mecklenburg Vorpommern'. I'm looking forward to it.
Our Polish Adventure
On our way to Krakow, we were joined in our carriage by a chatty elderly man, who spoke both German and Polish, and seemed amazed that we were
a) English (and kept telling all the ticket inspectors when they came past)
b) travelling to Poland and
c) doing so alone.
I’m sure he was only trying to take an interest, but the conversation we had with him was slightly worrying:
Him: ‘You’re travelling to Krakow? How come you’re going there?’
Us: ‘Just for a visit’
Him: ‘I see… Do you speak Polish?’
Us: ‘No’
Him: ‘Hmm… Do you know anyone there?’
Us: ‘No’
Him: ‘Hmm….Well, aren’t you brave. I’m sure you’ll be able to get around…’ (whilst looking unconvinced)
I’m sure he’d be happy to know that not only did we successfully make it around Krakow, but it turns out we appear naturally Polish- I lost count of the time we were approached and asked directions in Polish, or spoken to in Polish in restaurants and so on. The people giving out tourism leaflets didn’t bother us at all, though it did mean we kept having to go through the same process- someone would say something in Polish to us, we’d look at each other, there’d be a moment of awkward silence, and then one of us would have to say ‘I’m sorry… we don’t speak Polish’. Luckily, this was usually met by some awkward laughter, or even an apology, but I would have felt better if we could have at least apologised in Polish.
I'm not even sure what it was that makes us look Polish. Our thoroughly practical coats are clearly German, and there doesn't seem to be any unifying characteristic between us and the Polish people we saw. I'm also not sure whether to take it as a compliment or not.
I never thought I'd be so happy to get back to Germany and hear German. At least now, compared to complete and utter inability to understand or communicate in Poland, I feel a bit more confident in German, and that's got to be a good thing.
a) English (and kept telling all the ticket inspectors when they came past)
b) travelling to Poland and
c) doing so alone.
I’m sure he was only trying to take an interest, but the conversation we had with him was slightly worrying:
Him: ‘You’re travelling to Krakow? How come you’re going there?’
Us: ‘Just for a visit’
Him: ‘I see… Do you speak Polish?’
Us: ‘No’
Him: ‘Hmm… Do you know anyone there?’
Us: ‘No’
Him: ‘Hmm….Well, aren’t you brave. I’m sure you’ll be able to get around…’ (whilst looking unconvinced)
I’m sure he’d be happy to know that not only did we successfully make it around Krakow, but it turns out we appear naturally Polish- I lost count of the time we were approached and asked directions in Polish, or spoken to in Polish in restaurants and so on. The people giving out tourism leaflets didn’t bother us at all, though it did mean we kept having to go through the same process- someone would say something in Polish to us, we’d look at each other, there’d be a moment of awkward silence, and then one of us would have to say ‘I’m sorry… we don’t speak Polish’. Luckily, this was usually met by some awkward laughter, or even an apology, but I would have felt better if we could have at least apologised in Polish.
I'm not even sure what it was that makes us look Polish. Our thoroughly practical coats are clearly German, and there doesn't seem to be any unifying characteristic between us and the Polish people we saw. I'm also not sure whether to take it as a compliment or not.
I never thought I'd be so happy to get back to Germany and hear German. At least now, compared to complete and utter inability to understand or communicate in Poland, I feel a bit more confident in German, and that's got to be a good thing.
...and the day we did.
As travelling to Warsaw had proved practically impossible, we decided to head straight to Krakow, where we had planned to go after Warsaw. Stralsund to Krakow is a long journey. The alarm went off just after 4.30am, we were on a train by 6.15, we changed at Berlin at 9.30, and then we were on the same train from Berlin to Krakow from then until nearly 8pm. I thought I’d built up a resistance to long journeys since being here, but I am not planning on doing another 13 hour journey any time soon, especially not one that involves ten hours on the same train. At least I was able to read, Georgina gets travel sick, and had to do the whole journey just listening to music and looking out of the window. Due to a problem with one of the carriages, we were moved to sit in first class, which probably made it a bit more bearable. Though sitting on any seat for 10 hours causes numbness, regardless of whether it’s made of leather and can recline.
I don't think I've ever been happier to finally get off a train.
I don't think I've ever been happier to finally get off a train.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
The day we didn't go to Poland...
After Stockholm, and a night out in Rostock, we had the weekend to recover, and then Georgina and I planned to travel to Poland on Monday. However, due to the snow, Georgina’s train from Rostock was delayed, and I was left standing at the station, watching the train we should have been on pulling away without us. It’s such a helpless feeling, and so annoying. Sometimes the trains will wait for each other, especially when they don’t come very often, and are going in different directions, so I wasn’t too worried about missing it, until it actually left. As the trains only came every two hours, the next train would have got us to Sczcecin at 5pm, which wasn’t that helpful as our train from there to Warsaw left at 4pm. We went back to mine and researched every possible option, and decided to try getting an overnight train, and get to Poland at about 6am. We got the first train, but then as we waited for the second train, it suddenly disappeared from the platform sign and the departures board. Noone actually said it was cancelled, but we didn’t want to have to figure that out for ourselves, by still being stood on the freezing cold platform at 4am, so we got the last train back to Stralsund. Needless to say, I was not impressed by the snow, or by Deutsche Bahn, and I was disappointed not to be in Poland.Trains and the weather, my two favourite topics… I might as well bring food, or rather, breakfast, into it, and say we consoled ourselves about not being in Poland by going for Frühstück the next morning, and, as it was Pancake Day, we were able to celebrate it with lots of pancakes in the evening.
Sweden
German schools in Mecklenburg Vorpommern are blessed with a two week ‘Winter Holiday’ in February. While I’m sure two weeks in Stralsund without school would have been fun (or at least, manageable), I didn’t stick around to find out, and instead I went to Stockholm, with five of the other Mecklenburg teaching assistants. Going further north to get away from the German winter probably wasn’t the best plan, but it was the best offer Ryanair had, and it was on the list of places to visit, seeing as we are living so close to Scandinavia at the moment. So, with our coats, hats, scarves, boots, mittens, tights to be worn under trousers, arm warmers (yes, they do exist) and so on, we set off, and despite Ryanair’s version of Stockholm airport being over an hours drive outside of Stockholm, we made it to the hostel eventually.
Although the most popular phrase of the holiday was probably ‘This is good now, but I bet it would be amazing in the summer’ it was a good trip. We saw Scandinavian animals, ate Swedish food, visited the palace and saw the changing of the guards, went to museums (they were inside, which meant not having to walk around in the cold) and played a lot of card games in the evenings.
I can’t help feeling if we’d come straight from England, the amount of snow in Sweden would have been impressive, but it wasn’t actually that much more or less than what we’ve had in Germany, so it didn’t really get much more than a second glance.Before this becomes an advert that the Swedish tourist board could use- I could quite happily go on about how great Stockholm is, and what a good time I had- I’m going to finish here, but if you do get the opportunity to go, it is a nice place. Though maybe head there when the temperatures are above freezing point…
Although the most popular phrase of the holiday was probably ‘This is good now, but I bet it would be amazing in the summer’ it was a good trip. We saw Scandinavian animals, ate Swedish food, visited the palace and saw the changing of the guards, went to museums (they were inside, which meant not having to walk around in the cold) and played a lot of card games in the evenings.
I can’t help feeling if we’d come straight from England, the amount of snow in Sweden would have been impressive, but it wasn’t actually that much more or less than what we’ve had in Germany, so it didn’t really get much more than a second glance.Before this becomes an advert that the Swedish tourist board could use- I could quite happily go on about how great Stockholm is, and what a good time I had- I’m going to finish here, but if you do get the opportunity to go, it is a nice place. Though maybe head there when the temperatures are above freezing point…
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Ten Trains
I visited Paderborn and Aachen this weekend. It was cheaper and somehow took less time to take a route to Paderborn that involved several train changes, which meant by the time I arrived in Aachen, I had been on ten different trains.
As I'm sure you want to share the excitement of this journey with me, here is a run down- my top ten trains of the journey, in chronological order:
1. Stralsund to Rostock
Alarm set for: 06:30. Planned time to leave the house: 07:30. Train at: 08:00
Actual time I woke up: 07:25. I don't know what happened to my alarm clock, but after gazing blearily at the clock long enough to figure out I was meant to be leaving the house in 5 minutes, I grabbed some clothes, brushed my teeth, threw all my last minute packing into the bag, and hotfooted it to the station. At least I got there, and made my train.
2. Rostock to Hamburg
'Yes, this is the train to Hamburg, but today it's not going to Hamburg, it's only going to Schwerin. Everyone get off at Schwerin please'
3. Schwerin to Büchen
The unscheduled one. Thanks Deutsche Bahn, I really felt the one thing my journey was missing was more train changes. As they kicked us off the train at Schwerin, they told us the train on platform 2 was heading to Hamburg, but they didn't actually specify whether it would be stopping at all the stops the prevoius train should have done. As I needed to change at Büchen, a middle of nowhere place on the way to Hamburg, I just had to hope I was getting on the right train.
4. Büchen to Luneberg
I was very relieved to find out that I was on the right train to Büchen, however, it was very frustrating to be sat on the train, watching it get more and more delayed, and seeing the expected arrival time at Büchen get later and later. Once we finally got to Büchen, I had to run, and saw the doors close on the train just before I got to it. Luckily, after hammering on the button, they opened again, and the group of us who were about to be stranded all managed to get on. The rest of this train was spent recovering.
5. Lüneberg to Uelzen
After the last few trains, this one was extremely uneventful, but I was glad to have a nice smooth change and a normal train ride from expected start point to the expected end point. Even if I did have to sit behind someone who smelt very strongly of aftershave.
6. Uelzen to Hannover Hbf
I'm going to assume Uelzen has something to do with the artist Hundertwasser, as it was very nicely decorated with Hundertwasser inspired mosaics and sculptures. The sign on the platfrom said the train I was waiting for was running 5 minutes late, which gave me a bit of time to take photos of the best train station of the journey, but then the train went to 10 minutes late, which was exactly how much time I had to change trains on the other end. I just had to hope it would make up the time once I was on it.
7. Hannover Hbf to Paderborn
The train didn't make up the time, and the train manager announced our arrival in Hannover would be at 12:55, the exact same time my next train was leaving. A woman sitting near me had got up and gone to stand by the door about 20 minutes before we'd got to Hannover. At the time, I'd thought she was being a little bit excessive, but once we got to Hannover I kind of wished I'd done the same. Although I could see my next train was still displayed on the opposite platform, as if it still hadn't arrived yet, and I still had a chance of catching it, I got caught in the queue of everyone getting off the train, behind someone who decided to let everyone in the rows ahead get out first. While I generally approve of politeness and letting people out, it was so frustrating. I ran as soon as I got off the train, but I must have missed the train somewhere between going down the flight of stairs on platfrom three, and coming back up onto platform one.
I went to the service desk, and got the details for the next train to Paderborn, and then had an unexpected stop in Hannover Hbf for an hour. At least I was stranded in Hannover, which actually has shops, inside places and stuff to do for an hour, and not in one of the middle of nowhere places. Also, at least it was the last train before my stop in Paderborn, so at least the rest of my journey wasn't thrown off schedule. I got back on track an hour later, though the last hour on the slow S Bahn made me very glad to eventually get to Paderborn.
8. Paderborn to Hamm
I met Grace in Paderborn, and it was nice to see where she's living this year, and get a well deserved cup of tea. A while later, we set off to the station, where we met Ameer, and got on the train to Hamm.
9. Hamm to Köln
A run in with conservative German attitudes- Grace was lying across a double seat, stretching out after a hard weeks work. She wasn't getting in the way, and noone wanted to sit on the other seat, she was just not sitting in a very traditional way. This was enough for an old man walking down the train to give her a very dirty look, and then double back just to give her a dirty look again, just in case he hadn't made his feelings completely clear the first time. Even the German guy sitting opposite thought the old man was being a bit extreme, but Grace decided to sit up after that.
10. Köln to Aachen
Despite the excitement of reaching my tenth train of the day, (full sarcasm intended) everyone seemed to slump, and were hoping Dan wouldn't mind if we declared it was bedtime as soon as we got to his. We eventually made it to Aachen, and it was great to see Dan, and the weekend was really good fun- and yes, worth the 8 hour journey both ways!
As I'm sure you want to share the excitement of this journey with me, here is a run down- my top ten trains of the journey, in chronological order:
1. Stralsund to Rostock
Alarm set for: 06:30. Planned time to leave the house: 07:30. Train at: 08:00
Actual time I woke up: 07:25. I don't know what happened to my alarm clock, but after gazing blearily at the clock long enough to figure out I was meant to be leaving the house in 5 minutes, I grabbed some clothes, brushed my teeth, threw all my last minute packing into the bag, and hotfooted it to the station. At least I got there, and made my train.
2. Rostock to Hamburg
'Yes, this is the train to Hamburg, but today it's not going to Hamburg, it's only going to Schwerin. Everyone get off at Schwerin please'
3. Schwerin to Büchen
The unscheduled one. Thanks Deutsche Bahn, I really felt the one thing my journey was missing was more train changes. As they kicked us off the train at Schwerin, they told us the train on platform 2 was heading to Hamburg, but they didn't actually specify whether it would be stopping at all the stops the prevoius train should have done. As I needed to change at Büchen, a middle of nowhere place on the way to Hamburg, I just had to hope I was getting on the right train.
4. Büchen to Luneberg
I was very relieved to find out that I was on the right train to Büchen, however, it was very frustrating to be sat on the train, watching it get more and more delayed, and seeing the expected arrival time at Büchen get later and later. Once we finally got to Büchen, I had to run, and saw the doors close on the train just before I got to it. Luckily, after hammering on the button, they opened again, and the group of us who were about to be stranded all managed to get on. The rest of this train was spent recovering.
5. Lüneberg to Uelzen
After the last few trains, this one was extremely uneventful, but I was glad to have a nice smooth change and a normal train ride from expected start point to the expected end point. Even if I did have to sit behind someone who smelt very strongly of aftershave.
6. Uelzen to Hannover Hbf
I'm going to assume Uelzen has something to do with the artist Hundertwasser, as it was very nicely decorated with Hundertwasser inspired mosaics and sculptures. The sign on the platfrom said the train I was waiting for was running 5 minutes late, which gave me a bit of time to take photos of the best train station of the journey, but then the train went to 10 minutes late, which was exactly how much time I had to change trains on the other end. I just had to hope it would make up the time once I was on it.
7. Hannover Hbf to Paderborn
The train didn't make up the time, and the train manager announced our arrival in Hannover would be at 12:55, the exact same time my next train was leaving. A woman sitting near me had got up and gone to stand by the door about 20 minutes before we'd got to Hannover. At the time, I'd thought she was being a little bit excessive, but once we got to Hannover I kind of wished I'd done the same. Although I could see my next train was still displayed on the opposite platform, as if it still hadn't arrived yet, and I still had a chance of catching it, I got caught in the queue of everyone getting off the train, behind someone who decided to let everyone in the rows ahead get out first. While I generally approve of politeness and letting people out, it was so frustrating. I ran as soon as I got off the train, but I must have missed the train somewhere between going down the flight of stairs on platfrom three, and coming back up onto platform one.
I went to the service desk, and got the details for the next train to Paderborn, and then had an unexpected stop in Hannover Hbf for an hour. At least I was stranded in Hannover, which actually has shops, inside places and stuff to do for an hour, and not in one of the middle of nowhere places. Also, at least it was the last train before my stop in Paderborn, so at least the rest of my journey wasn't thrown off schedule. I got back on track an hour later, though the last hour on the slow S Bahn made me very glad to eventually get to Paderborn.
8. Paderborn to Hamm
I met Grace in Paderborn, and it was nice to see where she's living this year, and get a well deserved cup of tea. A while later, we set off to the station, where we met Ameer, and got on the train to Hamm.
9. Hamm to Köln
A run in with conservative German attitudes- Grace was lying across a double seat, stretching out after a hard weeks work. She wasn't getting in the way, and noone wanted to sit on the other seat, she was just not sitting in a very traditional way. This was enough for an old man walking down the train to give her a very dirty look, and then double back just to give her a dirty look again, just in case he hadn't made his feelings completely clear the first time. Even the German guy sitting opposite thought the old man was being a bit extreme, but Grace decided to sit up after that.
10. Köln to Aachen
Despite the excitement of reaching my tenth train of the day, (full sarcasm intended) everyone seemed to slump, and were hoping Dan wouldn't mind if we declared it was bedtime as soon as we got to his. We eventually made it to Aachen, and it was great to see Dan, and the weekend was really good fun- and yes, worth the 8 hour journey both ways!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Top 5 Reasons I'm Glad to be Back in Germany
Because positive thinking is good for you.
1. Houses insulated and heated to a sufficient German standard. Yes it is minus temperatures outside, and the howling gale is strong enough to blow headphones right out of your ears, but inside it's toasty and warm. I am much warmer than I would be at home/ in student houses in England, despite the actual temperature being colder over here.
2. A powerful shower. This is probably not German specific, but it's specific to my flat, and it's so much nicer than a weak shower that just drips on you, and takes about half an hour to rinse your hair.
3. Gritted pavements. There are laws in Germany, stating that houseowners are required to clear the snow and grit the pavement outside their house. Yes, I read about them, I was that bored. But it's such a good idea, despite the snow, I can actually walk around without the risk of cracking my head open or getting some other serious injury. So thankyou to all the German houseowners who go out at ridiculously early hours of the morning, and do their duties so that everyone can get around.
4. 'Getrennt oder zusammen?' 'Getrennt, bitte.' This little exchange when you ask for the bill at any place that you have eaten or drunk anything establishes whether you want the bill 'getrennt' -divided up into what everyone had- or 'zusammen'- everything together. If you ask for getrennt, they divide the bill for you, sometimes even print out separate receipts. It just makes it so much easier when paying with a group of friends, and avoids all the time you spend trying to read the bill, figure out what you had, and work out what to do when noone has the right change. As you pay separately, everyone gets change, and if there is a difference of opinion on whether to leave a tip or not, it's down to the individual, and they can tell the waiter to take as big or as small a tip as they feel appropriate. It would be great if this caught on in England.
5. Going to the Bäckerei. Uninspired choice, but it is nice to go in and get a few Brötchen to eat with your soup, maybe even treat yourself to a Nussschnecke or a similar baked treat. And this isn't even starting on the many variety of Frühstücksangebote-mainly becuase I am yet to have one this year. But yes, fresh bread, good place to get change for the bus, and one of the few places open on Sundays. What's not to like?
So there you go, I may be exiled in Germany, and it may be freezing outside, but it's not all bad!
I quite like this top five format, if anyone has any suggestions on what to make a list of, I'd be happy to hear them!
1. Houses insulated and heated to a sufficient German standard. Yes it is minus temperatures outside, and the howling gale is strong enough to blow headphones right out of your ears, but inside it's toasty and warm. I am much warmer than I would be at home/ in student houses in England, despite the actual temperature being colder over here.
2. A powerful shower. This is probably not German specific, but it's specific to my flat, and it's so much nicer than a weak shower that just drips on you, and takes about half an hour to rinse your hair.
3. Gritted pavements. There are laws in Germany, stating that houseowners are required to clear the snow and grit the pavement outside their house. Yes, I read about them, I was that bored. But it's such a good idea, despite the snow, I can actually walk around without the risk of cracking my head open or getting some other serious injury. So thankyou to all the German houseowners who go out at ridiculously early hours of the morning, and do their duties so that everyone can get around.
4. 'Getrennt oder zusammen?' 'Getrennt, bitte.' This little exchange when you ask for the bill at any place that you have eaten or drunk anything establishes whether you want the bill 'getrennt' -divided up into what everyone had- or 'zusammen'- everything together. If you ask for getrennt, they divide the bill for you, sometimes even print out separate receipts. It just makes it so much easier when paying with a group of friends, and avoids all the time you spend trying to read the bill, figure out what you had, and work out what to do when noone has the right change. As you pay separately, everyone gets change, and if there is a difference of opinion on whether to leave a tip or not, it's down to the individual, and they can tell the waiter to take as big or as small a tip as they feel appropriate. It would be great if this caught on in England.
5. Going to the Bäckerei. Uninspired choice, but it is nice to go in and get a few Brötchen to eat with your soup, maybe even treat yourself to a Nussschnecke or a similar baked treat. And this isn't even starting on the many variety of Frühstücksangebote-mainly becuase I am yet to have one this year. But yes, fresh bread, good place to get change for the bus, and one of the few places open on Sundays. What's not to like?
So there you go, I may be exiled in Germany, and it may be freezing outside, but it's not all bad!
I quite like this top five format, if anyone has any suggestions on what to make a list of, I'd be happy to hear them!
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