Well, I finally made it. I just barely made it, but I did in fact make it. I owe my success to the kindness of yet another stranger. As I ran to catch the train very early in the morning, some guy literally jumped off his bike to help me get my suite case down the stairs and onto the train, wished me well, and then ran back up to his bike. I think he deserves a medal; I was mostly astonished at what was happening, amazed that I actually made it on the train, to offer anything more than a brief "Danke." So, thank you kind stranger.
Once I made it on the first train, it was (almost) smooth sailing. I did have one transfer, and when that second train showed up, it was unmarked. Typically, the train has a screen next to the doors that says what train number and it's direction so that you know you're getting on the right train. This one did not, but it was the right time and right track, so I hoped for the best. A few hours later, I arrived in Kaiserslautern. The scenery along the way was gorgeous. The light fog combined with the mountains, morning sun, and castles was stunning.
When I made it to Kaiserslautern, my supervisor met me at the train station and took me to the office to start my first day. I'll talk more about my internship at a later day, once I've figured out what I am working on. My team seems like a great group of people, and I know I will learn a great deal working under them.
Then, after many months of anticipation, I finally got to see what my housing situation was going to look like. All I had known previously was that I had housing supplied, but no real idea as to what precisely that entailed. I am living in a shared flat right next to a forest. I have my own room, but I share the kitchen and bathroom/laundry with 3 others.
When I first arrived, there was quite a bit of microbiology blossoming on various food items. I did not want to upset the flatmates I had yet to meet, but in the end I threw out all of the moldy food. I later learned that two had moved out the week before and neglected to throw out the perishable food, and the last had been home in Croatia for a few days, so it was fine.
Overall, it's a nice flat. We even have a balcony, although I don't have a door from my room... so I just have to climb out the window. The windows here fascinate me because you can set them to swing open like a door OR flip a knob and they crack open from the top (kind of like a drawbridge).
I've been spending this week settling down into my new home, unpacking and resting and rearranging things to make sense for me. My room has plenty of space and a lovely view. I am also proud to report I made a towel rack in my closet #weengineerbetter My only complaint is the pillow. They use these weird square pillows in Germany, and I just don't know how I feel about them.
All in all, a good first week in Kaiserslautern. Looking forward to an awesome summer!
Barcelona... what can I say? It’s a city with a lot of everything: beaches, museums, parks, architecture, food. Definitely worth a trip; definitely spend more than 2 days there.
At the airport, I found an adorable book right at my reading level :)
My flight was super delayed getting in, so it landed around 21.00 instead of 19.30, which meant everything was closed. Unfortunately that included the tourism office where I was supposed to pick up my transit card, the bank where I needed to break my €100 bill into something smaller (since the ticket machines don’t accept bills that large and the stores where I could also try to break my large bill.
So, the result is that I got to the train station to go into the city without a real plan about how exactly to buy the ticket. I was about to head back to the main station to look again for somewhere to break my 100€ when a man with his two small daughters asked me if I could buy an extra ticket from them. I explained to him that I would if I could, but I only had about €0.80 of usable money. He very generously gave me the ticket and even showed me the directions and train path to navigate to my hostel. I am so thankful for his kindness and very touched that he was willing to help me while having his two daughters to look after. What a beautiful family. He’s a former pro soccer player and was giving me all kinds of advice on where to go and what to eat in Barcelona (and Valencia if I ever make it there). People like him give me more faith in humanity.
Anyway I finally made it to my hostel, and was planning to go right to sleep. Instead I got a quick snack for dinner, then played Euchre late into the night with some Canadians staying in the hostel.
Pick pocketing is a huge problem in Barcelona, so much so that I was advised to take a picture of my passport and only carry my phone plus some cash and maybe a credit card, but not even a purse if I could avoid it. Fortunately I wore some pants with a secret zipper pocket I could put some cash in, and just keep a close eye on my phone (translation: hold it the whole time). It was really nice to travel so lightly, with no bag or anything to carry.
Friday morning I went on a horse tour of the mountains overlooking Barcelona. It was awesome. I hadn’t ridden a horse in a really long time, but would definitely say I did the best out of our small group. One of the other girls was scared her horse would walk off a cliff and screamed every time it went to the edge to nibble on some weeds. We got some great views of the city and surrounding area, but I didn’t take any pictures because I had my hands full riding my horse. I was surprised about how much the mountain landscape varied from side to side. It was really weird to only hear birds on one side, but they only live in one part of the mountain because of the kind of vegetation that grows there.
Our guide was super awesome, and I really enjoyed his honesty. The company that hosts the tours is also a competitive horse training school/training facility. I was asking about how popular horse showing is, and he flat out told us that it’s a sport for very rich people. A good competition horse can cost €100,000 on the low end or more than €2 million on the high end. Even if you win the competitions, there is no way to make back your money. The only way to be able to train and show horses is to come from a rich family, like our guide does. I didn’t realize just how rich his family was, though, until he casually was telling us that his father is personally financing the construction of a new road up to the horse school so that they can drive normal cars to it instead of off road vehicles. It’s not a small road, and I don’t imagine it was cheap. Sometimes the amount of money people have is too difficult to understand, and for me this took it to a new level.
After the horse tour, I went to the Sagrada Familia for my scheduled audio tour (you have to reserve it in advance). It’s the only museum-type thing I actually went in, but it was totally worth it. Gaudi has a very unique style, and the cathedral has so many amazing details.
After that I went down to the Olympic park to look around, then headed to the Magic Fountain for the nightly show. I wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be, but maybe that’s just because it was still pretty light during the show. It was cool, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t know if I would go back now that I’ve seen it once.
That night I made friends with my hostel roommates, and we went on a late night gelato run then had a riveting philosophy discussion. And, because I haven't given up being a child, I got some dinosaur cookies that miraculously looked just like the pictures on the box. I'm growing more and more adamant that the term American should be dropped and replaced with something that sounds less like we're the only inhabitants of this hemisphere. Hostels are great because even if you’re traveling alone, you meet a bunch of other people who are also traveling alone, and then you can hang out and have adventures together.
The next day I went on another self-guided tour guided by me, but this time I was a bit more in the know about what I was seeing. I went to the Gothic Quarter and saw a bunch of cathedrals, but I didn’t go in any because I kind of feel like I’ve been to enough Gothic cathedrals to know what they look like (unless it’s a special one like Sagrada Familia). The streets were super narrow and fun to weave around.
Then I ran into a huge protest that seemed to be growing to take up most of the Gothic Quarter main streets. They were protesting some kind of pension, and fortunately it was a peaceful rally, just chanting and waking and holding signs.
My last stop was the beach, because how can I go to Barcelona and not at least have a look at it? The sand was much darker than I’m used to seeing at beaches and had a bit of a different texture to me. It wasn't very sunny, so it did not look terribly inviting to me, but everyone there seemed to be having a wonderful time. At the beach, I got some paella as a final meal. I couldn’t define paella for you except that it’s a delicious rice dish. It’s the thing to eat if you’re ever in Barcelona.
Then as I was heading out, I was too enamored by the liquid nitrogen ice cream to pass it up. I’ve never actually had it before, and it really does have a much smoother texture than normal ice cream—much smoother. To make it, you just take the liquid ice cream and dump liquid nitrogen on it, then the ice cream freezes and you’re good to go. It’s just like a magic show!
Taking a two week intense German class and then going to a Spanish speaking country is kind of rough. Much less English is spoken here, which further complicated things. Then, to make it even MORE fun, I totally lost my voice on Saturday, so I couldn’t even speak in English in hopes they understand. It was quite literally pointing and nodding for most of the day. I got a sandwich from a bakery and I'm afraid the baker thought I was actually incapable of speaking because he gave me a free chocolate croissant. No worries, though, my voice came back toward the end of the day.
Surprise, surprise, my flight back was late as well. I’m 6 for 6 on late flights, so if you think your budget European air travel is going to be on time, I would reconsider.
Weekend #2 on the books.. I’d absolutely go back to see more of the city. But for now, I’m absolutely exhausted and need a break :)
Köln is a beautiful city, and I regret that my time here is quickly coming to an end. Tomorrow I will take the train down to Kaiserslautern to finally settle into my home away from home for the summer.
I had a short week here, only Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. And every one of those days it was supposed to storm all afternoon. I can happily report that the weather forecasting in Köln is about as accurate as Cincinnati— sometimes it rains on schedule, maybe it doesn’t. With the forecast in mind, it was a great week to hit up some of Köln’s museums.
But first an update on the grocery shopping situation: I got some kefir on accident thinking it was a tiny milk drink. Nope... when it first hit my tongue I thought it was sour milk because it was a little yogurt-y and fizzy. But it turns out it's some sort of fermented milk beverage (thus the fizz). If I ever bought it again intentionally, I'd enjoy it.
The first museum stop was the National Socialism Documentation Center. It is housed in the old Gestapo HQ. From the outside, I would have never guessed what was inside. The upper floors detail the rise and fall of the Nazi party in Köln. The personal accounts of different Köln residents were chilling— stories of forced sterilization and euthanasia, children brainwashed by the Nazi Youth and the ramifications they faced after, and the resistance to the Nazi Party. Part of the motivation to conform was simply that not all resistance was punished equally- some resistors met only light repercussions while others were forced into labor camps or even executed. Later in the war, the focus of the Nazi Youth was to remove them from the cities into “safe houses” in the country, but the exhibit showed how the propaganda and promises did not come close to the reality of their dreadful conditions.
Then in the basement we saw the actual Gestapo holding cells, some of them with inscriptions from the prisoners still on the walls. Honestly it was incredibly heartbreaking to read the messages left behind. Some didn’t even know why they were being held, only that they were facing almost certain death. I am so thankful not to live through such tribulations. It was a powerful reminder that we are all humans in the end and need to look out for one another. I don’t want to say it was a good museum, since it was more disturbing and simply depressing, but it was informative and an appropriate remembrance to what transpired.
Wednesday we went out to Bonn just to see the town. I thought it was neat, but there wasn’t too much to do. Beethoven’s birthplace is there, but we did not actually get to go inside.
We did however to the LVR Museum, which was some sort of archaeological museum that housed much history of the Rhineland. The downside was that everything was in German, so I had to rely on my basic basic German and general knowledge of European history. Surprisingly it turned out better than I thought. It was an interesting museum with really cool exhibits and artifacts.
While we walked around the town, I said I was going to put on sunscreen and walked over to a tree to put it on. A little girl was playing by the tree and her face lit up when she heard us speaking English. Her family had moved to Bonn for a few years just under a year ago, and I could tell she was overjoyed to speak to us for a few minutes. I bet it must be difficult for her at such a young age to be in such an unfamiliar environment, but I’m glad we were able to make her day just by walking by!
Then taking the train back was a complete nightmare. The first train was delayed by about 30 minutes, and the next train was so packed that I didn’t think anyone else could get on (I was wrong, of course). The way back was supposed to take 30 minutes but the train kept stopping randomly so it took an hour to get back. It was what I will call a novelty experience: totally packed train, many severe delays, no air conditioning. My only solace was the little hand fan I brought from my time in Korea. Luckily, though, I made it eventually :)
My last Saturday night in Köln, some of my classmates and I stumbled upon my first public soccer viewing. It was for the Liverpool vs Real Madrid in the Champions League match. Even though Germany wasn't playing, it's a big enough game that they all wanted to see it. It was really crowded, but looked like a fun time. I'm excited for the World Cup later (but first I should learn something about soccer).
Today I went to the Schokoladenmuseum to punctuate the end of my time here with a smile. On the way there, I met a recent PhD graduate from Ghana who studied International Relations. We had a super interesting discussion about how confusing the US political situation is, and how much the US news is influencing how people are thinking. I'm really starting to love these brief encounters I have with super interesting strangers. I think if I didn’t love chocolate so much it wouldn’t necessarily be a good museum, but given my love for chocolates I thought it was really interesting. And the super nerdy part of me was really pleased to see the chocolate production line, complete with some diagrams explaining the process. The truth is, it wasn't the most impressive museum but I'm very happy I went. And the chocolate fountain at the end did not disappoint.
More on the rest of the weekend/weekend later, since I took off for Barcelona Thursday after class.
I’m definitely going to miss Köln, but luckily it’s only a 2 hour train away! Of everywhere I’ve been in Europe so far, it’s definitely a favorite. I am definitely ready to move in to someplace more permanent for the rest of the summer. Next stop: Kaiserslautern. But first I should go get packed up....
I’m not quite sure what’s the best way to describe European airports and budget airlines. It feels like TSA has made me way too stressed about air travel. Flying from Köln to Stockholm was so relaxed I didn’t know what to do. First, nobody checked my ID to board my first plane (my route was Köln to Zürich, then Zürich to Stockholm). I flew Eurowings, which was cheap but the flight got delayed and then left 30 minutes later than the delayed departure time. Then, getting on the airplane was also a bit of a mob, not the regulated lines and boarding order I’m used to. My 3 hour layover turned into 2, which was no problem. I later learned that 3 hours is the absolute minimum connection time for budget airline transfers since they so often run late.
When I arrived in Zürich, I was expecting to check into my next flight immediately, but to my dismay I had to wait 2 hours before they would let me check in. That flight was also delayed. On my flight to Stockholm, I sat by a very friendly German couple. We talked a lot about living in Germany versus the US versus Switzerland, which was quite an interesting conversation. I also realized that distances in the US are perceived differently than in Germany. For example, I think Kaiserslautern is close to München, but was quickly informed that to a German, it is quite far.
The first thing to know about Stockholm is that you cannot navigate based solely on where the coast is— it is a city built on so many tiny islands that I don’t think you can walk more than 20 minutes without coming to some water. All of these lakes create an absolutely stunning view everywhere you turn. Stockholm is best described as regal between all of the old churches and the royal buildings it houses.
Madelyn and I went on a whirlwind tour of the city. Definitely not enough time, but I’m really amazed at everything we saw. In the morning we walked around Gamla Stan, which houses the royal palace, a famous church, and the Old Town.
Then in the afternoon we checked out the Skansen, which is an open air museum. It was like a zoo in some places because of all of the animals, but the best part was a recreation of a historic Swedish settlement. It was a living history exhibit, meaning each location in the village had an actor living the life of that time. We met a chair maker, a baker, a farmer (and some brave chickens), and even a mechanical engineer! Well, I don’t think I would call engineering exactly... but the factory was really cool to see. They make pretty much anything one could need out of metal and had candlesticks in production while we were there.
The most important part about Swedish culture is their Fika. The easiest way to describe it is a coffee break, but it’s about more than just some coffee. You can enjoy a small snack, but the most important focus is spending a few moments of quality time with the people around you (family, friends, even coworkers). The baked goods in Sweden are delicious and pair perfectly with a nice Fika!
We had a very sobering experience mid-day as we saw a biker get in some kind of hit-and-run accident. I only bring it up to point out that I have only seen a handful of the many many bikers in Europe wearing helmets. Even if a city has bike paths, I feel like wearing a helmet is such a basic precaution to help guard against accidents such as this. I hope the guy is okay— we left as the ambulance arrived but he didn’t look great.
That night, we went to the Fotografiska, a photography gallery. It was definitely the best photography viewing I’ve ever experienced. One of the artists did portraits of people from different time periods or scenes, but he made the costumes they wore as well. One of them said it took 84 hours to 3D print, in addition to design time and post printing processing. The best set of his pictures featured some astronauts. The way the pictures were, you could see one in the reflection of the other, which made a super cool effect.
After the museum it was super late, and we struggled to find some place to eat. Eventually we ended up at McDonalds for lack of a better option. The food was exactly the same as I picture it (not good). The reason I was glad to be there was because of the juice. Never before have I seen apple juice that has one ingredient: apples (and Vitamin C if you want to be technical). It tasted exactly like real apples, and I don’t understand why we can’t sell juice like this in the US.
The next day we were exhausted from walking all over Stockholm so many times. We had a late breakfast and then immediately went out to get a good Swedish brunch. Lingonberry is something I hadn’t had until I came to Sweden, but I can happily report that it’s quite tasty. For breakfast, we ate corn flakes with lingonberry jam and fil. Fil is a kind of milky yogurt that I think goes very well with cereal.
Our last stop was to ride the ferry around the main part of Stockholm. We got off for a few minutes to visit a castle on a small island. We walked across the island in probably 5 minutes, but it seemed like a nice quiet place to relax.
I highly recommend a trip to Stockholm, but is say you could easily spend 4 or 5 days enjoying Stockholm and the surrounding archipelago, and even then wish you had more time.
My return flights took a route that didn’t make sense to me, but I won’t argue because it built in a nice day trip in Vienna!
Normally I would say I got up long before the sun to catch my 6:30 AM flight, but Sweden being Sweden, the ~3:00 AM first light did beat me. I did have a lovely morning to accompany my trip, and it was significantly easier being awake those hours with the sun being up.
In Vienna I only had a few hours to explore, so I went on what I will call a self guided tour. The first stop was a coffee break in a park. Despite being right in the heart of Vienna, life really slows down at the park. I watched some young children chasing around the ducks and pigeons with unencumbered joy. The birds in these parks are rather bold, so it was actually a pretty good chase for the kids until all of the birds fled into the water or up in the trees.
Vienna has a cathedral that isn't close to as tall as the one in in Köln, but I was really impressed by its colourful roof:
As everywhere else I’ve been so far, Vienna is a beautiful city. It has a much different character than Stockholm or Köln, feeling much more classic and quaint despite its size. Statues of famous dead guys were everywhere, but I only recognized a few of the more well known musicians.
The architecture was incredible. It looked Greek or Roman inspired in many places, but my self guided tour guide (me) wasn’t terribly knowledgeable about the scenes so I mostly walked around and enjoyed the views.
I even snuck out to the Danube river just before it was time to go back to catch my flight.
I wish I had some exciting Viennese food to share, but unfortunately due to the holiday everything was closed and I had to make due with overpriced mediocre schnitzel from the touristy area. Fun fact: Wiener Schnitzel gets its name from Wien, the German name for Vienna. Adding the -er ending means 'from Wien.' So altogether it actually means 'Schnitzel from Wien.'
Fortunately I recovered from this lackluster schnitzel with some really awesome gelato, which also ended up being my first interaction that happened entirely in German. Look at that, my meager days of German lessons finally paying off!
Again, I think more time in Vienna would have been great to actually go into museums and perhaps see a concert, but I think I got a pretty good taste of the scenery.
Overall it was a 10/10 long weekend— two amazing cities in three days! Can’t wait to see what next week holds.
