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.
Hallo from Deutschland! I meant to write a bit sooner, but it’s definitely been a busy week since arriving in Germany. For those who might not be aware, I am spending the summer living in Kaiserslautern, Germany and working as a DAAD RISE scholar at the at the Max-Planck Institute. My project has something to do with computer science and cyber physical systems, but more about that once I actually figure out what I’ll be working on. My first stop is Köln for a 2-week intensive language school. In the mean time, Germany is quite a wonderful country that I am thoroughly enjoying. A bit about what I’ve been up to so far:
I arrived last Saturday around 8 AM in Frankfurt. Going through border control was interesting— it’s the first time I’ve ever really had to answer any questions. The border security guy was clearly confused, but luckily I’ve watched enough of Border Patrol: Canada’s Front Line to know what to do. I showed him the documentation I had from the DAAD and the Max-Planck Institute, and after he studied them for a few moments, I got my stamp and was free to enter. The Frankfurt passport stamp is incredibly dull, which was definitely a big letdown. I hung out at the train station for a few hours before my train to Köln, and there I got my first taste of just how different Germany is. Instead of McDonald’s or other similar eating venues, the train station houses many little bread/sandwich shops. It felt almost like the Panera bakery area, but they also have a bunch of pretzels and pre-made deli sandwiches. I got a sandwich that ended up being some kind of meat, lettuce, bell peppers, and a mystery sauce I now believe is mustard on a wonderful little bread roll.
When it was time to catch the train, I was shocked to discover that German transportation works largely on the honor system. There is no security to get to the inner city trains, and nobody checks your ticket when you get on. I think someone came by to check tickets midway through the train ride, but I only saw a few people actually showing tickets. I later learned that yes, German trains and public transport mostly operate on an honor system, but there is a very high penalty for riding without a valid ticket. It is a strange system that I am not entirely used to yet. My biggest fear is that I’ll accidentally ride an incorrect train, get my ticket checked, and get put on the Deutsche Bahn blacklist, but luckily I’ve survived this far without that happening.
Once I got to Köln, I took the short walk to my hostel to drop off my luggage, then went to explore the city. Köln is split by the Rhine River. I spent part of the afternoon walking along one side, then walked across a bridge to explore the other side. Side note to Cincinnati people: I actually went Over the Rhine, and it’s much nicer than OTR in Cincy :)
Green-space is everywhere in Köln, and it has some of the most beautiful inner city park space I have seen. Actually Köln has the most green space per person in either Germany or Europe. Since it was a warm, sunny afternoon, many people were out enjoying the day. I even saw kayakers and other water sports out in the river. Soon I met up with some of my future classmates and fellow RISE scholars to continue exploring the Rhine River area and start to get to know them.
The night in the hostel was interesting. The best way to explain a hostel for people who don’t know is like a dorm-style hotel. I had a bed in a room of about 4 bunk beds (sleeps 8 girls). There was also a kitchen area and a large common area where people could go to hang out and meet other travelers. My overall impression is that they are a great, affordable way to travel. The kitchen was nice because I could get food to eat for breakfast instead of having to hunt down breakfast somewhere else. It turned out in my favor since on Sunday’s practically everything in Germany is closed.The next day, I went to move in with my host family, provided by the language school. I got lost finding the train, so I ended up arriving late to meet my family. It turned out to only be a lovely woman who I would love to adopt me as a grandchild. She speaks very good English, which is very helpful, but she also repeats things in German and asks me questions in German to help me learn. She lives a 20 minute S-Bahn (commuter train, or something similar) ride from downtown Köln in an adorable community of townhouses. While I do not see her often, she has been super helpful and supportive, lending me cooking supplies and Tupperware and telling me some cool things to do in Köln.
This week, I’ve had my German language course every day until 1 PM, then gone exploring Köln in the afternoons. It is a great course, and in only a few days I feel like the German language is becoming decently familiar (not like I’m close to fluent, but it seems more manageable now). Luckily our teacher is wonderful, and understands our short timeline to learn “survival German,” so she spend the first few days introducing us to the language and has now started teaching us the skills we need to live day to day. Being in Germany definitely helps pick up the language more quickly. Especially since I look German, I always have the opportunity to to practice, even though right now it’s mostly me embarrassing myself and then having to converse in English. A for effort, right?
Köln has so many incredible things to do and see. It is most famous for the Dom, that big black church that helps define its skyline. Apparently it is the most visited tourist spot in Germany. Sunday we were able to see part of the mass, and then another afternoon we hiked all the way up the 533 steps to the top. I definitely struggled, but the view was worth it! It was weird to see the Köln skyline without the Dom, so we then crossed the river to the Triangle building with the Panorama to watch the sun set. What a beautiful sunset it was :)
Not knowing German and buying groceries at a German discount mart is quite the experience. I got lost a few times, and definitely didn’t buy pudding instead of yogurt once..... but the biggest shock is that they don’t refrigerate eggs here, and then on top of that, you only get 10 eggs in a carton. I almost couldn’t find the eggs and was highly skeptical of them at first. But good news (or bad news depending on how you look at it), the eggs here are delicious AND they are perfectly fine unrefrigerated.I think it’s safe to say I have my first week in Germany under my belt. It’s definitely an adjustment culturally, but I’m starting to feel settled into the German scene. Besides, everyone looks at me or sees my name and assumes I am German in the first place. The only thing that ruins it is if I talk to them, but my goal is to eventually be able to get away with small interactions.This weekend is Pentacost, so we have Monday as a holiday. I booked a last-minute trip up to Stockholm for the weekend to visit a friend, so stay tuned for more on that!
