I've noticed a new phenomenon here in Hamburg, specifically. Deutschland, in general. Bike riding is riddled with nuances that I am slowly coming to understand. Here's one: don't make eye contact with oncoming traffic. This is particularly true if you are riding with the right-of-way. By that, I mean you are riding in the bike path on the right (as opposed to left. Or wrong, really) side of the road. The point is, you are cruising along on the right side of the road, and someone, who is clearly breaking German rules, is riding in your direction (the wrong way). If you make eye contact, you have officially issued a challenge and the process becomes a game of chicken. And if you make room on the path, you lose. Really, you lose either way - because Germans don't really concede once the game is on. I think they'd rather wreck.
On the other hand, if, in your peripheral vision, you see an oncoming bike (wrong direction, necessarily) but don't acknowledge it or the rider, the person on the bike will obligingly get out of the way, no questions asked. No crash risked. Hmmm...
This leads me to the casual indifference that I feel like is the common approach for German drivers/pedestrians/strangers in general. No one is malicious. Not that I can tell. And people are much more patient. You really don't experience road range or even agitated honking, really. The most I have seen, when I, due to narrow or crowded streets, block traffic, is that people (especially station wagon drivers) will rev their engines as they pass me and shifting gears really quickly. That's it. No one intentionally crowds you out or cuts you off. Just casual indifference.
Same thing when you are walking on the sidewalk. Mostly, you look straight ahead. No gratuitous head nod or brief welcome smile. No real greeting at all. I'll catch people shooting sideways glances if, for whatever reason, I am somehow interesting (or weird). I'm mostly voting on weird, because I usually
try to make eye contact and maybe even smile. :-)
Dog people are only slightly different. There are the occassional kooks who want their dog to play with Stella. They march right up and ask if Stella is a girl. When I say yes, they let their dog off the leash and Stella goes to great lengths to avoid the offending dog. Unless it's Max. Max is Stella's Deutsch-love. He is a small-ish shiny black dog who does not participate in butt-sniffing (which suits Stella extra-fine). Instead, Max likes to be chased. Fast. If you've met Stella, you'll understand what utter bliss this instills in our predator-dog. She'll chase Max until I or Max's owner breaks it up. We haven't seen Max in a few days. Hopefully he's not on vacation.
What else?
Deutsch class is over!! Woo-hoo. I can't even begin to tell you. All kinds of time on my hands. Nice.
J-Amy arrive Wednesday. It's a good time since Deutsch class is over and it's festival time here in Germany. Street fests every weekend. There is one a block from here this weekend. It should be heaps of fun.
Autumn is in the air - you can feel it and the leaves are changing (yes, already). It's not yet September and the air is crisp and cool and getting cooler. Oye. I hope the Autumn is a long one.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Monday, August 20, 2007
Hotcakes, hiking and Hogwart's (aka Luebeck)
I have nearly abandoned Deutsch lessons and I only feel a vague, nagging sense of guilt about it. Last week I skipped Monday all together and only went to half of a class on Thursday. I think my and David's mood has infected the class. Most other students either don't show or leave early as well. Stefi, our teacher, is disgusted. She says she has never had a class like this. I just shrug and ask for the homework. I don't really know what else to say, what with my limited vocabulary and all. Since we are Deutsch drop-outs we'll be no help when visitors come, other than to order beer and bread. Those are no-brainer items.
Being a dead beat student has freed up all kinds of time. David and I basically lounged around and drank wine tonight while searched the net for a cheap trip to enjoy when Jeff and Amy come next week. It's weird how much time we've got on our hands. David is looking now at a newcomers guide to Hamburg to find a hobby. He skipped right over the language lessons section.
Backing up just a bit, David and I had nice weekend that involved pancakes, a hike and a trip to Lubeck. We decided to take it easy on Friday and get up early to go to an American restaurant we had heard about near the university. So, bright and early Saturday we mounted our trusty bikes and headed across Hamburg for hearty portions of flapjacks. The portions were not so generous but the pancakes got the job done - they were fluffy and authentic, not at all crepe-like. At 7 euro a plate I expected (but did not get) genuine maple syrup. Ho hum. That reminds me. I am making an open call to all visitors to bring syrup. It's pricey and hard to find here. The best I've done so far is a quart bottle for 20 euro. I would have bought it, but it was grade C. I didn't even know there was such a thing. We used to buy grade B at the coop and it basically tasted like molasses. I may, in my desperation, buy a little bottle to try it out.
After breakfast we took the city train south to a small village across the river and southwest of Hamburg. To our surprise there were genuine woods and even hills. Acres and acres of them. After Illinois, this was so unexpected, I was beside myself. We walked around all afternoon enjoying the countryside and picking wild blackberries - it was great. Stella ran like a banshee and peed all over. After our long walk we made our way back to the train through the village. You could certainly tell we were not in the city - everything was closed up as tight as a drum. Not even a cold beer to be had on a Saturday afternoon.
Sunday we took the regional train to Lubeck, a city founded in the 12th century. It was the seat of the Hanseatic League (part of an old trading alliance started in the 13th century) and was an independent city until 1943. As you might imagine, Lubeck is rife with old stuff - churches, an old (I mean seriously old) hospital, castles and houses. The best part is that the city is on a very small island. I don't know if the island was natural or due to design, but it made for a very fairy tale-esque setting. Lubeck is accessed through medieval city gates that look like something straight out of Harry Potter.
This is from Wikipedia:
Pretty cool, huh?
Our next adventure may be to an island via a catamaran. We'll keep you posted.
Of course, I still love Hamburg!
Being a dead beat student has freed up all kinds of time. David and I basically lounged around and drank wine tonight while searched the net for a cheap trip to enjoy when Jeff and Amy come next week. It's weird how much time we've got on our hands. David is looking now at a newcomers guide to Hamburg to find a hobby. He skipped right over the language lessons section.
Backing up just a bit, David and I had nice weekend that involved pancakes, a hike and a trip to Lubeck. We decided to take it easy on Friday and get up early to go to an American restaurant we had heard about near the university. So, bright and early Saturday we mounted our trusty bikes and headed across Hamburg for hearty portions of flapjacks. The portions were not so generous but the pancakes got the job done - they were fluffy and authentic, not at all crepe-like. At 7 euro a plate I expected (but did not get) genuine maple syrup. Ho hum. That reminds me. I am making an open call to all visitors to bring syrup. It's pricey and hard to find here. The best I've done so far is a quart bottle for 20 euro. I would have bought it, but it was grade C. I didn't even know there was such a thing. We used to buy grade B at the coop and it basically tasted like molasses. I may, in my desperation, buy a little bottle to try it out.
After breakfast we took the city train south to a small village across the river and southwest of Hamburg. To our surprise there were genuine woods and even hills. Acres and acres of them. After Illinois, this was so unexpected, I was beside myself. We walked around all afternoon enjoying the countryside and picking wild blackberries - it was great. Stella ran like a banshee and peed all over. After our long walk we made our way back to the train through the village. You could certainly tell we were not in the city - everything was closed up as tight as a drum. Not even a cold beer to be had on a Saturday afternoon.
Sunday we took the regional train to Lubeck, a city founded in the 12th century. It was the seat of the Hanseatic League (part of an old trading alliance started in the 13th century) and was an independent city until 1943. As you might imagine, Lubeck is rife with old stuff - churches, an old (I mean seriously old) hospital, castles and houses. The best part is that the city is on a very small island. I don't know if the island was natural or due to design, but it made for a very fairy tale-esque setting. Lubeck is accessed through medieval city gates that look like something straight out of Harry Potter.
This is from Wikipedia:
Pretty cool, huh?
Our next adventure may be to an island via a catamaran. We'll keep you posted.
Of course, I still love Hamburg!
Monday, August 13, 2007
You can't go shopping with Stella
So, on Tuesday - our weeknight off from language class - we decided it would be nice to go to the park and have a little picnic. The stars were really aligned since the weather was nice AND we had a little free time. David had an appointment for a haarschnitt (hair cut), so I left him at the friseur while I walked down to the grocery store to grab some treats for our outing. I had Stella in tow, who always gets nervous when we take her to the shopping street by our house. In fact, a couple of weeks ago she chewed her leash in half and ran all the way home (through city traffic), stopping to take a giant dump in the middle of the street, the sight of which actually clued me in that she was headed home.
I figured that I had her little chewing problem under control when David and I made a leash from a length of chain and typical leash hardware - a handle, a clip for her collar, you know. I even knitted the handle so I wouldn't have to hold onto a piece of chain. It was great. Or so I thought. When we got to the store, I chained her to a sturdy pole and walked into the store relatively satisfied that there wasn't much she could get into.
As I was just ticking off the last item on the list, I noticed a woman frantically walking around the store and asking people a question and pointing outside. I thought I heard her say "hund" and she confirmed it when she asked me the same question - "blah, blah, hund, blah blah?" I sort of shook my head to indicate I wasn't sure what she wanted and mumbled in my best German that I didn't speak the language. She looked at me with some annoyance and moved on. Unfortunately our German lessons are limited to plain and slow speakers who often repeat themselves. I certainly wasn't advanced enough to listen to frantic German. I figured I better finish my business and get outside in case Stella completely lost her mind and bit a passer-by or who knows what.
By the time I hustled outside, a crowd of eight or ten onlookers had gathered around Stella. Most people were standing around looking concerned with furled brows and much lip biting. One guy was putting down a bowl of water while a woman was unfastening Stella's leash from the pole. Stella looked utterly terrified. In my very most panicked German I said, "Excuse me, that dog is mine," as I relieved the woman of Stella's leash. The crowd took on a definitively mob-like tone, with the water bowl guy and the unleasher dressing me down for my apparent indiscretions and extreme neglect. I quickly turned around to leave and the woman who was questioning everyone in the store yelled at me for good measure. I told her again that I didn't speak German. She didn't care. Dear god, I thought, a small natural or man-made disaster would sure be handy right now.
To make matters worse, David and I agreed to meet in front of the grocery store after his haircut. I didn't dare stay there with all of the angry dog people, so I headed down the block hoping to bump into him. As I hustled away, I noticed that Stella had eaten the knitted handle. I wasn't sure if this was the cause of or a reaction to the crowd that gathered. In either event she was outside a total of ten minutes. Ten. I've seen people go in to do their weekly shopping and leave their dog outside the store for 30 minutes or more. I've also seen guys belly up to the bar with their faithful pooches longingly staring in the pub door. I'm not really sure what gives. Maybe it's that shelter dog look Stella has about her - sort of thin, scared and nearly feral. She always manages to look freshly abandoned. Whatever it was, I am very hesitant to show my face there, after that ruckus. It could have only been worse if the police had come. Jeez.
Otherwise, our little picnic in the park was nice. The park was really pretty - lot's of weeping willows and a big pond in the middle. There were also quite a few mosquitoes, but I don't think I'm allergic to German mosquitoes. Again, I don't know what gives. I do know that those little bastards can keep you up all night, though. This I discovered last night, when our friend Florian, on his way back to the U.S., stayed over for a visit. We went out after dinner for a beer at the little pub-in-the-park by our house and since it was so nice out, we decided to leave the big French doors at the front of our apartment open. When we returned about an hour later, I noticed a couple of mosquitoes in the bathroom, where I promptly smashed them. After cleaning up the smeary bug guts, I got ready for bed and went to lay down. About 20 minutes later I heard this high pitched buzz. I knew right away what it was. I figured the pesky little blood sucker would have a bite and then take a rest. Either he was exceedingly hungry or there were a whole flock of them. The buzzing went on all night. Finally around 3 a.m., I wizened up and stuffed my ears with toilet paper. This helped some, enough to sleep, but I could still hear that whining buzz from time to time. Ugh.
Even after mortifying embarrassment, I still love Hamburg. We are planning a day trip to Lubeck this weekend. I'll keep you posted.
I figured that I had her little chewing problem under control when David and I made a leash from a length of chain and typical leash hardware - a handle, a clip for her collar, you know. I even knitted the handle so I wouldn't have to hold onto a piece of chain. It was great. Or so I thought. When we got to the store, I chained her to a sturdy pole and walked into the store relatively satisfied that there wasn't much she could get into.
As I was just ticking off the last item on the list, I noticed a woman frantically walking around the store and asking people a question and pointing outside. I thought I heard her say "hund" and she confirmed it when she asked me the same question - "blah, blah, hund, blah blah?" I sort of shook my head to indicate I wasn't sure what she wanted and mumbled in my best German that I didn't speak the language. She looked at me with some annoyance and moved on. Unfortunately our German lessons are limited to plain and slow speakers who often repeat themselves. I certainly wasn't advanced enough to listen to frantic German. I figured I better finish my business and get outside in case Stella completely lost her mind and bit a passer-by or who knows what.
By the time I hustled outside, a crowd of eight or ten onlookers had gathered around Stella. Most people were standing around looking concerned with furled brows and much lip biting. One guy was putting down a bowl of water while a woman was unfastening Stella's leash from the pole. Stella looked utterly terrified. In my very most panicked German I said, "Excuse me, that dog is mine," as I relieved the woman of Stella's leash. The crowd took on a definitively mob-like tone, with the water bowl guy and the unleasher dressing me down for my apparent indiscretions and extreme neglect. I quickly turned around to leave and the woman who was questioning everyone in the store yelled at me for good measure. I told her again that I didn't speak German. She didn't care. Dear god, I thought, a small natural or man-made disaster would sure be handy right now.
To make matters worse, David and I agreed to meet in front of the grocery store after his haircut. I didn't dare stay there with all of the angry dog people, so I headed down the block hoping to bump into him. As I hustled away, I noticed that Stella had eaten the knitted handle. I wasn't sure if this was the cause of or a reaction to the crowd that gathered. In either event she was outside a total of ten minutes. Ten. I've seen people go in to do their weekly shopping and leave their dog outside the store for 30 minutes or more. I've also seen guys belly up to the bar with their faithful pooches longingly staring in the pub door. I'm not really sure what gives. Maybe it's that shelter dog look Stella has about her - sort of thin, scared and nearly feral. She always manages to look freshly abandoned. Whatever it was, I am very hesitant to show my face there, after that ruckus. It could have only been worse if the police had come. Jeez.
Otherwise, our little picnic in the park was nice. The park was really pretty - lot's of weeping willows and a big pond in the middle. There were also quite a few mosquitoes, but I don't think I'm allergic to German mosquitoes. Again, I don't know what gives. I do know that those little bastards can keep you up all night, though. This I discovered last night, when our friend Florian, on his way back to the U.S., stayed over for a visit. We went out after dinner for a beer at the little pub-in-the-park by our house and since it was so nice out, we decided to leave the big French doors at the front of our apartment open. When we returned about an hour later, I noticed a couple of mosquitoes in the bathroom, where I promptly smashed them. After cleaning up the smeary bug guts, I got ready for bed and went to lay down. About 20 minutes later I heard this high pitched buzz. I knew right away what it was. I figured the pesky little blood sucker would have a bite and then take a rest. Either he was exceedingly hungry or there were a whole flock of them. The buzzing went on all night. Finally around 3 a.m., I wizened up and stuffed my ears with toilet paper. This helped some, enough to sleep, but I could still hear that whining buzz from time to time. Ugh.
Even after mortifying embarrassment, I still love Hamburg. We are planning a day trip to Lubeck this weekend. I'll keep you posted.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Day Trippin'
I feel like in the last couple of weeks the only thing I have to comment on is the weekend. I blame it mostly on the German class. David actually dropped out of the class and then on Monday, he showed up just in time for class. I laughed because I almost didn't go. It would have been ironic if the guy who had complained most bitterly (but felt guilty) wound up sitting in class by himself. I would have been at home wondering what in the heck happened to David. After this drama, we decided to preserve our sanity and our clear conscience and just leave class at break. The class runs for 1.5 hours and then we have a 15 min break and return for the last 45 minutes, which is largely review and no one is really paying any attention anyway. Maybe this last bit is to allay my guilt, but whatever. We are still learning German and doing our best to stay sane.
So, as I was saying, not much exciting happens during the week. BUT! The weekends are always fun. Friday night we ate at an excellent Afghani restaurant near Hamburg University. The food was tasty and the owners/waiters were so nice. Stella was invited, too, which is very cool. The waiter said she is ALWAYS welcome. One (other) nice thing about Hamburg is that waiters and waitresses always offer to bring water for your dog.
The next day, we went to the market where I get to practice my paltry German. "Ich moechte zwei tomaten, bitte." Maybe this German class isn't all bad - I can carry on baby conversations. For instance, last weekend, two little boys threw the ball for Stella and we were able to converse - "how are you? where are you from? what's your name?" That's really as far as it goes with kids, but it helps to practice. When it was time to go, I said "I have to go home." They both mimicked me "I have to go home?" Funny.
After the market we headed downtown to pick up train tickets for a day trip we wanted to take on Sunday. As it happened, we stumbled on a gay pride parade. So fun! We were surrounded by elaborate floats bursting with techno and baby-smooth men gyrating and throwing condoms at the onlookers. Guys wasted on X were lolling over the side of the floats trying to touch and be touched. The best was the float with the older gay guys. The music was still bumping, but they weren't doing too much - just sort of sedately smoking cigarettes and sipping cocktails.
The rest of the day we spent just poking around town eating French fries and riding the ferry up and down the Elbe river. I can really get used to this weekend thing. Good riddance grad school.
7 foot drag queen (Not at the gay pride fest):
This morning we got up and took the train to an old town about 70 miles from here (Celle). There was a schloss (castle) a really old, formerly Catholic, now Lutheran church (what church around here isn't), and A MEXICAN RESTAURANT. We had to try it. With exceedingly low expectations we both ordered enchilada style vegetarian burritos. The weird thing was, they were actually pretty good. Not great. Certainly not great Mexican food. But pretty good. The veggies were fresh, the enchilada sauce was tangy and the tortillas were soft. I really couldn't complain.
Here are a couple of photos from the town:
We relaxed on the train ride home with a couple of beers from the station kiosk and watched a couple sitting across from us make out. I mean right across from us. The seats are set up so that two pairs of seats face one another and there really isn't anywhere else to look. It was weird. David took a nap. In fact, David is taking a nap now.
Another week, another euro.
I still love Hamburg!
As an aside: I'd like to recommend an excellent book about the allied bombings in Hamburg: The End by Hans Erich Nossack. It's just 63 pages long and it is artistic, horrifying and excellent. It's written from the perspective of a Hamburgian who watched the bombing and subsequent firestorm from across the river. Really, pick it up if you can.
So, as I was saying, not much exciting happens during the week. BUT! The weekends are always fun. Friday night we ate at an excellent Afghani restaurant near Hamburg University. The food was tasty and the owners/waiters were so nice. Stella was invited, too, which is very cool. The waiter said she is ALWAYS welcome. One (other) nice thing about Hamburg is that waiters and waitresses always offer to bring water for your dog.
The next day, we went to the market where I get to practice my paltry German. "Ich moechte zwei tomaten, bitte." Maybe this German class isn't all bad - I can carry on baby conversations. For instance, last weekend, two little boys threw the ball for Stella and we were able to converse - "how are you? where are you from? what's your name?" That's really as far as it goes with kids, but it helps to practice. When it was time to go, I said "I have to go home." They both mimicked me "I have to go home?" Funny.
After the market we headed downtown to pick up train tickets for a day trip we wanted to take on Sunday. As it happened, we stumbled on a gay pride parade. So fun! We were surrounded by elaborate floats bursting with techno and baby-smooth men gyrating and throwing condoms at the onlookers. Guys wasted on X were lolling over the side of the floats trying to touch and be touched. The best was the float with the older gay guys. The music was still bumping, but they weren't doing too much - just sort of sedately smoking cigarettes and sipping cocktails.
The rest of the day we spent just poking around town eating French fries and riding the ferry up and down the Elbe river. I can really get used to this weekend thing. Good riddance grad school.
7 foot drag queen (Not at the gay pride fest):
This morning we got up and took the train to an old town about 70 miles from here (Celle). There was a schloss (castle) a really old, formerly Catholic, now Lutheran church (what church around here isn't), and A MEXICAN RESTAURANT. We had to try it. With exceedingly low expectations we both ordered enchilada style vegetarian burritos. The weird thing was, they were actually pretty good. Not great. Certainly not great Mexican food. But pretty good. The veggies were fresh, the enchilada sauce was tangy and the tortillas were soft. I really couldn't complain.
Here are a couple of photos from the town:
We relaxed on the train ride home with a couple of beers from the station kiosk and watched a couple sitting across from us make out. I mean right across from us. The seats are set up so that two pairs of seats face one another and there really isn't anywhere else to look. It was weird. David took a nap. In fact, David is taking a nap now.
Another week, another euro.
I still love Hamburg!
As an aside: I'd like to recommend an excellent book about the allied bombings in Hamburg: The End by Hans Erich Nossack. It's just 63 pages long and it is artistic, horrifying and excellent. It's written from the perspective of a Hamburgian who watched the bombing and subsequent firestorm from across the river. Really, pick it up if you can.
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