#2

Hallo und herzlich Gruß aus Freiburg, Deutschland!

I have been in Germany for almost two weeks now, and I think it’s time for an update.

First, a little about the area in which I live. I live in southwest Germany, in a state called Baden-Württemburg. Baden and Württemburg used to be sovereign states before the German unification process in the late 1800’s. After World War II the area was occupied by France, and then was incorporated into the Federal German Republic, aka West Germany.

I live in one of Baden-Württemburg’s larger towns, Freiburg im Breisgau. It is about 45 minutes away from France and about an hour away from Switzerland. The town was founded sometime around 1120, when it was an independent trading town. Several centuries later it was placed under the protection of the Austrian (Habsburg) Empire. It is a beautiful town which blends old and new. For example, the town’s main church, Münster, was built in the 13^th century and a large portion of the city features cobblestone streets, but these are accompanied by stores such as Foot Locker, H&M, and unfortunately McDonald’s. In fact, one of the town’s two gates, Martinstor, is emblazoned with the McDonald’s logo. It’s kind of sickening. I’ll post pictures as soon as I have internet access in my room.

Anyways, I left Philadelphia on September 1 at 6PM and arrived in Barcelona, Spain around 8AM. With a four hour layover, I decided to keep myself busy by buying a duty-free bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin and by doing a bit of reading. After my layover I flew to Basel, Switzerland and then caught a bus to Freiburg. I took a cab to my hostel and got into contact with some of my trip-mates who had posted their phone numbers online. I quickly made friends with them.

Our first few days consisted of more orientation meetings than I would have liked, and more beer-drinking sessions than I’d like to admit.

Our class schedule right now consists of 2 hours of German and 2 hours of political science each day. We even had class on Saturday, much to our dismay. After classes are over, people usually go out to eat in groups or go shopping, as we are all still tying up loose ends with clothing and living arrangements. Dinner parties are a popular nighttime activity, as well as going to pubs or beer gardens.

Last Tuesday we went to Strasbourg, France to visit the European Parliament building. The European Parliament is an interesting establishment, in which delegates speak in their own languages, which are translated and repeated to other delegates through the use of headphones. While it may seem confusing, this is part of the EU’s attempt to negate the idea that the EU’s ultimate goal is to homogenize European culture, i.e. one universal language.

Last Saturday we went out to a club. Yes, I danced, believe it or not.

On Sunday we went hiking in the Black Forest, which is east of Freiburg im Breisgau. It offered spectacular views of the German countryside, as well as a look at a small village called St. (in German, Sankt) Peter.

Yesterday I bought a pair of bongos and jammed with a kid who bought a guitar. We are going to practice a few times and then go out to be street performers. If I can make 35 Euros before we leave Germany, I will have broken even on my musical expenses and will be satisfied.

This weekend, we are taking a trip to Alsace on Saturday, and then attending something called “Almabtrieb” in the Black Forest. It’s some kind of festival that involves dressing cows up in costumes. I’ll be sure to post pictures of that. On Tuesday the 18^th we leave for Berlin, then onto Tallinn (the capital city of Estonia, the northernmost Baltic state)

As for the Germans, they’re interesting people. Most of them speak very good English, especially the younger people. They have a good fashion sense as well. However, Germany has not escaped America’s influence in that area as well. The oh-so-popular emo style and hip hop style have permeated German society as well. Black jeans with black jackets and white studded belts can be seen, as well as Roca-Wear jeans along with flat-brimmed slightly sideways New York Yankees baseball hats. The strangest thing I’ve seen, however, is the popularity of the mullet. Kids wear mullets, sometimes spiked, sometimes with dyed hair tips, sometimes with patterns shaven into the sides of their heads.

They have interesting customs that threw me off initially. When going to a supermarket, most people bring their own bags, as plastic shopping bags cost a little extra. That said, the Germans are very environmentally conscious. Whereas an average American kitchen will have one trash can and maybe a recycle bucket, every German kitchen has four receptacles. One is for paper, one is for plastic recyclables, and one is Restmüll, biodegradable material such as banana peels and cake crumbs. The fourth is a crate for glass bottles, which are taken to recycling bins labeled Weißglas, Braunglas, or Grünglas (white, brown and green glass). Beer and soda bottles made of glass can also be returned to stores for a Pfand, a deposit refund. It sounds complicated, but I got used to it after about a week.

Further evidence of their environmentally-friendly nature is the fact that Freiburg’s mayor is from the Green Party, and that Freiburg’s area provided more votes for Green Party members to parliament than any other area in Germany. The preferred mode of transportation in Freiburg is the bicycle. Cars are a rare sight in the older part of town, save for the occasional delivery truck.

Another thing I found interesting is their wedding customs. In America, people used to tie cans to strings and drag them from behind a limo when a couple gets married. In Germany, wedding processions ride through the streets beeping their horns and waving at anyone walking by. Anyone who says that the Germans are stern, expressionless people clearly has not been to Germany yet.

Well, I should probably get back to homework now. More to come.

Bis dann,

Dave