my european adventure

2005-08-26T21:37:00.000-07:00

BARCELONA, SPAIN

Unfortunately, internet access in Spain has been pretty difficult to find, and Paul and I have been very busy, so I am afraid this will be my only update from Barcelona.

Yesterday (our first full day in Barcelona) Paul and I went to the Picasso Museum. It was a good collection but a little disappointing. The specialty of the permanent collection is Picasso´s Barcelona period. While historically interesting, the Barcelona works are not signature Picasso. There are hints of Picasso´s later cubism and monochromism, but they are just hints. The museum has a small collection of lesser known later works. The most interesting thing in the museum, in my view, were the sketches (really doodles) that Picasso made of his long-time friend and associate. I think that these were never intended as artworks at all but rather as private doodles for Picasso´s amusement.

Today we went to the Parc Guell, a huge urban park designed by Gaudi with an incredible view of Barcelona and the sea. There´s no sense in trying to explain the wonder of that park in words when the pictures will do much better. I will upload the pictures as soon as possible.

Barcelona is a very interesting town with a living arts scene. The streets are crawling with performance artists (most of them are human statues) with a variety of acts. The rumors you´ve heard about the Spanish siesta are true: Barcelona shuts down from 1pm to 7pm everyday. Most of the bars and nightclubs are not active until 2am or later! This is our last night, so Paul and I are going out for an evening of tapas, sangria, and perhaps a moonlight walk along the Mediterranean.

Even though I am leaving Europe tomorrow, I will continue posting pictures of my adventures to this website once I get back to America. Since I´ve been away, we´ve moved and we are uncertain when our internet connection will be reestablished. But please keep checking for the next few weeks because pictures of Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, and elsewhere will be available.

Adios!

2005-08-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

PARIS, FR

This post will be as long as I can bear to type on this French keyboard.

We have been in Paris for 2 full days. It is really a marvelous city! The rumors about Parisians are utterly false. We hardly know any French at all and we are getting along without any trouble. Every Parisian we have met so far has been unbelievably polite and patient. Far from being the rudest people in Europe, Parisians have been the NICEST people in Europe by a long-shot (with only one exception, which is forthcoming).

Of course, the sights are the real attraction, anyway, and they leave little to be desired. Yesterday we spent the entire day on the Champs Elysees. We saw the Arc de Trioumphe (warning: spelling errors are likley ahead) and the Eiffel Tower at night.

Today we saw Sainte Chappelle (inside and outside); Notre Dame (outside only); the Latin Quarter; the Seine River; and probably a thousand other things that I can't think to remember right now. Everything was lovely. Unfortunately, somewhere between Sainte Chappelle and Notre Dame I was pickpocketed. This in spite of the fact that I have buttons on my pants pockets! But the pickpocket didn't get anything with a decent street value: he got my hotel keycard and my metro card. I haven't kept anything of real value in my pockets on this trip because of the danger of pickpockets, but I guess now I will keep nothing at all in my pockets so that I don't risk another inconvenience.

I've had enough of this keyboard. Naturally, I have many other things to say about Paris but this will have to suffice for the moment.

Bon soir!

2005-08-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

BERLIN, DE

We made it to Berlin without incident last night (and thankfully, without the use of a Czech train). As promised, we are staying on a hostel/houseboat. It is definitely the most peaceful place that we've slept since we've been in Europe. Today we will explore Berlin; tomorrow, we leave for Paris.

It is so good to be back in Germany, a place where I understand the language and most of the local customs! And Berlin seems to be a great city; it is 8 times the size of Paris, so it is just my size!

Tschuess!

2005-08-17T00:50:00.000-07:00

PRAGUE, CZ

Paul made it into Prague tonight. These Eurail passes encourage all kinds of spontaneous nonsense. We are not leaving for Vienna tomorrow after all. Rather, we are going to Berlin for three days, and then directly to Paris (and Barcelona). So we are skipping Switzerland and Austria altogether.

It's probably better this way because I think that left to our own devices in the Swiss countryside (with plenty of "natural" dangers and no witnesses) Paul and I might kill each other.

But I'm sure we'll be perfectly happy in Berlin.

Ciao!

2005-08-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

PRAGUE, CZ

I tried to update yesterday but the internet connection went out just as I hit "post" and I lost everything. So here's a recap of the last few days, plus today:

13 AUGUST

Rachel and I left Eichstaett. The German train system, though notoriously punctual, was having a few problems on Saturday. Our first train was over 20 minutes late. Of course, all of the connecting trains were right on time. This means that we missed all of our connections and we had to frantically rebook trains to Prague. I don't think I have ever run as fast as I ran through the Nuremburg train station with 50000 lbs of luggage strapped to my back.

But I really shouldn't be complaining about the German train system in light of our experiences on the Czech trains. All it takes is one look at the Czech trains to realize that this country was part of Communist Eastern Europe not so long ago. Unfortunately, none of the people who ride Czech trains have bathed since the fall of Communism, either, so the trains are old, rickety, and stinky. Did I mention that the trains are OLD? If you have ever seen the black and white footage of two men using some kind of seesaw apparatus to propel a train down the tracks then you are familiar with trains of the Czech era.

Lesson #1: Come to Prague, but don't EVER take the Czech trains.

14 AUGUST

In spite of our difficulties getting to Prague, we have been having a wonderful time here. Grandma, your PBS tour guide was right: Prague is beautiful. It looks like something out of a fairy tale. There is a castle (Prague Castle) in the middle of the city! The castle is still the center of the Czech government. Just walking around in the city was worth the train ride.

Yesterday, we spent a lot of time in the Old Town. We shopped and ate a lot. We saw the Astronomical Clock (if you don't know what that is, look it up online!). We saw the Communist Museum (a museum created by an American to illustrate the hardships of life under communism in Prague). And we found a great vegetarian resturant that serves VEGETABLES (and not just pickled vegetables)! We ate there late last night and tried a glass of absinthe with dinner. Absinthe is pretty nasty stuff (70% alcohol) and one little shot was definitely enough. Somebody described it like this: it looks like mouthwash and tastes like paint thinner. Even though you drink it with a spoonful of caramelized sugar, that is a very apt description. The sugar really doesn't help.

15 AUGUST

Today we slept in late and had breakfast at this amazing resturant called Bohemia Bagel. They have American-style coffee, American-style eggs and bacon, fresh squeezed orange juice, and they serve maple syrup with their pancakes (perhaps the only place in Europe!). Plus, they serve breakfast until 2pm. Such a tourist trap for homesick American tourists who want Mom's big breakfast. A very successful tourist trap, I should add, because we are going back there tomorrow for breakfast.

After Bohemia Bagel, we went to the Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments. I was surprised to learn that German Catholics were behind the invention of nearly every cruel torture device of that period. They were mercilessly creative people (but I guess we already knew that).

Finally, this afternoon we went to "Mozart's Gift to The Prague: Don Giovanni, A Marionette Opera". The marionette opera was elaborately staged in the attic of some ancient building in Prague. Just to be clear, I'll rephrase: we saw PUPPETS perform OPERA in an ATTIC today.

Lesson #2: Prague is a strange (but fun) place.

Okay, I think that is enough for now. We have been staying at Hostel Elf but we are moving to Sir Toby's Hostel tomorrow. The part of the city where we are staying is very close to the city center but VERY polluted. It is so polluted that it is difficult for me to breathe when we walk down the streets (due in no small part to my lung infection). So we are moving a little farther out of the city center into a residential area for our last night.

Paul arrives from Amsterdam tonight (hopefully).

On Wednesday, Rachel is returning to Germany and Paul and I are going to Vienna. On Thursday, Paul and I are going to Switzerland (location TBA).

I have a lot of great pictures of Prague but I need access to Paul's computer to upload them. I'll try to post some pictures in the next day or so.

I miss all of you a lot and I can't wait until I get back to the States!

Ciao!

2005-08-10T11:30:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

Sorry I have not posted recently but the last few days have been pretty busy. On Saturday we went to the Hofmühl festival. Hofmühl is the local brewery and they have a huge festival with fireworks and...well, beer, every summer. All of the waiters are in leiderhosen and all of the waitresses wear dirndls. Additionally, they hire a really terrible German band (all German bands are terrible, in my view). Everybody gets drunk and does bad German dances on the tables in the Biergarten. We didn't stay very long, but we had a good time, anyway.

Hofmühl festival

Sunday and Monday were work days for me. I am wrapping up classes in Eichstätt and online. Unfortunately, on Sunday my nearly-cured sinus problems reasserted their control over my body and invaded my lungs. I am very, VERY sick today...much worse than before. I went to the doctor this morning during the first half of class. I am not sure what the exact diagnosis is, but I know that I have some kind of lung infection (possibly bronchitis) and she said something about a throat infection (?), too. Although I am suffering, going to the doctor was actually a good idea, because now I have access to the REAL German medicine (and not just the homeopathic drops). I have a prescription for penicillin and one for some kind of codeiene cough medicine. I am going to leave the computer lab, stop by Cafe Fuchs for warm tea and chicken soup, and then I am going to bed for the next 24 hours. Fortunately, I just took the final in my language class and I already wrote the final paper for my creative writing class, so my studies in Eichstätt are virtually over. There are a few activities for tomorrow and Friday: watching a movie, hearing a lecturer, etc, but none are required.

Rachel (another student from Memphis) and I are leaving Eichstätt on Saturday morning for Prague. Paul is going back to Holland for a few days with some other people from the course. He will meet up with Rachel & me in Prague. I think that Rachel is going to travel with us for the first week or so (Prague, Vienna, Switzerland). We have become pretty good friends so I am happy to have her along for the ride.

Tschüß!

2005-08-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

EICHSTAETT, GERMANY

I've finally had time to upload some pictures!

This is a pretty typical scene from Eichstaett:

This is the administration building at the university:

Yesterday we participated in the canoe race. Paul and Carolynn were my teammates. We only had two canoes for the whole group, so two teams raced at a time. Our opponents were randomly selected. Unfortunately, this was our opposition:

That's Peter, the Nordic god; Jay, the American football player; and Kristina, the completely superflous team member.

We raced twice against them: once upstream, then again downstream. Surprisingly, the race upstream (our first match) went better than the race downstream. We only lost the first race by about half a kilometer. The second race started out badly. As soon as we got into the boat, Kristina (from the other team) shouted: "Amy, there's a huge spider on your leg!" Indeed, there was a HUGE spider on my leg--it was about three inches long and defintely a spider. Carolynn, my teammate, started screaming louder than I was. We nearly tipped the canoe over trying to kill the spider. Our "camp counselor", Daniel, hardly waited for us to kill the spider and stabilize the canoe before sounding the starting whistle. So we were still recovering from spider trauma when our competition was already out of sight.

We thought we could make up a little bit of the distance because we were paddling with the current of the river. Unfortunately, that theory proved to be very half-baked: yes, the current pulled us in the general direction of the end of the race, but it also pulled us into every tree and rock along the way. We had very little control of the boat. By the time we finished the alleged race, our competition was already out of their canoe and standing on dry land. But in spite of our losses, we had a great time.

A good time made even better by a post-race night of Jaegermeister and Red Bull in the Clubzimmer of Kolpinghaus.

I have over 200 more pictures that I will be adding (slowly) to my Photobucket album (in a subfolder called Eichstaett). So check there over the next few days for more of Eichstatt, the international students, and the university.

Tschuess!

2005-08-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

EICSTÄTT, GERMANY

Tomorrow Jacob, Rachel and I interview the proprietor of a Fair Trade store for our in-class project. Should be interesting. We've already written the interview questions so that part won't be hard, but I am a little nervous about trying to interview a German in German.

On Friday we are participating in a canoeing race! I think I am going to vote to call our team The Sick Memphians. It should be fun. The Altmüthal River runs through Eichstätt, so we will be canoeing our way across the city. The Sick Memphians will definitely triumph! I am going to take as many pictures as possible for the blog.

The weather here is cool and rainy today. Still very welcome relief from the scorching temperatures last week.

I will definitely be online later today so for those of you with AIM, watch out for me.

Tschüß!

2005-07-31T17:37:00.000-07:00

EICHSTAETT, GERMANY

It's been a quiet and productive day at the Kolpinghaus. I've done a TON of online coursework (I can't believe I'm almost done with it!). I'm at the point in two of my classes where all I have to do are study for the final & take the final. I've got a bit of catching up to do in my literature course but it's all writing--I've already read all of the books. I am thinking that I may be able to finish my coursework this week (or at the very latest, by next weekend). That means that my final week in Eichstaett should be pretty laid back.

Lindsay, Natalie and I are practically the only people here today. We went to McDonald's for lunch. McDonald's is the only thing open in Eichstaett on Sunday afternoons! We always feel so sick after we eat there...European food is rich and fattening, but it is not as processed and greasy as American fast food. I can't believe I used to eat so much of that stuff! But thankfully McDonald's is open on Sundays...otherwise, we wouldn't be able to eat on Sundays until dinner!

Paul should be returing from Prague sometime tonight. I hope that they are organized enough to make the trains.

I will probably spend the rest of the day studying and working on online work. Fortunately my German teacher didn't give us any homework this weekend, so I've been able to devote a lot of time to my online work. Apart from that, all I've really done this weekend is watching German TV. It is always an interesting experience. There are a lot of American shows on German TV but most of them are (1) from the early 1990's and (2) dubbed in German. Lots of Voll Haus (Full House) and Prinz von Bel Air (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air). They also have a LOT of really terrible shows from MTV here. There are 6 different channels of MTV (and there are only 30 channels!) and they play really terrible music and bad MTV programs. One of the MTV stations actually plays documentaries and public television type shows during certain times of the day, though. I watched an interesting show yesterday on MTV (not an MTV production) that was supposed to teach Germans how to speak French. It was weird to learn a foreign language IN a foreign language but I feel like I actually learned quite a bit of French! Hopefully I will remember it long enough to last me through our trip to Paris.

The weather has been cool and intermittently rainy here for the past two days. The rain is frustrating because it always starts raining the minute we start walking somewhere, but it is infinitely better than the oppressive heat that we had last week. Hopefully the cool/rainy weather will hold out for the rest of the trip.

I am feeling a bit better. Still have a lot of congestion but I am not as tired and achy today. Hopefully the worst is over and I will be well for the rest of my trip.

Send me emails or leave comments! I miss all of you so much!

Tschuess!

2005-07-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

EICHSTAETT, GERMANY

The Germans are trying to kill me. They just kicked me out of a quiet, unlocked workroom with wireless internet access. The building is not closed but the workroom is apparently off limits on the weekend. So now I must sit outside in the cold, damp air. Thanks, Germans.

My friends who are taking the conversation course told me about an interesting excercise they did yesterday on European stereotypes. Here it is:

IN HEAVEN, the French are the cooks; the Germans are mechanics; the British are the police; the Italians are the lovers; and the Swiss are responsible for organizing everything.

IN HELL, the British are the cooks; the French are the mechanics; the Swiss are the police; the Germans are the lovers; and the Italians are responsible for organizing everything.

Hopefully the rain will hold off long enough for me to finish a little bit more work.

Tchuess!

2005-07-30T11:13:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

My stomach virus is completely gone but I've now got the same sinus crud that all of the other American students have been complaining about for a week. Fortunately, one of my friends brough some Advil Cold & Sinus so we are all suffering a little less than we might be otherwise.

One reason that we are probably having sinus problems is that the weather here is completely unpredictable. Yesterday at this time it was 97F and sunny. Today it is 68F and stormy. Thirty degree plus changes in the temperature in 12-24 hour periods are very commonplace here. When it is sunny, it is hot and arid. When it is rainy, it is cold and damp.

Paul and about 15 other students are in Prague this weekend. Some of the international students are going to Munich today and Nuremburg tomorrow. I am not going on any of the excursions this weekend because I need the quiet time to do my online coursework. Besides, travelling on the weekends seems very expensive and tiring. Paul and I are still planning to go to Prague (among other places) when we leave Eichstätt. So I've resolved to enjoy my precious time alone here on the weekends and look forward to our travels at the end of the program.

My German is definitely improving rapidly. We've started going out for meals with other international students who do not speak English. Thus, we must speak German over lunch or dinner. Sometimes this is a little frustrating but we know that it is useful.

I bought a small table fan yesterday (just in time for the cold weather and the rain!). Even if yesterday afternoon was the only occasion I will ever have to use it, it was well worth the €20.

I have some funny stories from the past week that I have not managed to write yet. I plan to add them slowly over the weekend. So keep checking!

AND...Paul's computer is finally on the network! Although I am using one of the lab computers right now, I brought the laptop with me and I am going to see where I get the best signal. So I should be able to upload some pictures of Eichstätt today or tomorrow.

AND...Amanda and I are moving! Well, Amanda is moving and I am coming home to a new apartment. We will still have our current apartment until the end of August, so feel free to send mail there until then. I have seen some digital pictures of the new place and it looks really nice. It's so much bigger! It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a dining room, a breakfast room, a dishwasher (!), washer/dryer hookups (!), central heat and air (!), and hardwood floors. It is less than a mile from our current apartment.

Tschüß!

2005-07-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

Today I learned the meaning of the phrase "lost in translation". Our homework for today was to write a recipe in the passive tense. I wrote a recipe for black beans and corn. I knew the word for black beans but I did not know the word for corn. So I looked it up in my trusty Deutsch-Englisch dictionary as I was writing the recipe last night.

CORN-- die Hühneraugen.

I wrote the recipe and read it aloud in class today. My teacher stopped me after I read the second sentence: "The can of Hühneraugen is poured into the pot."

"Hühneraugen? Nein..."
"Ja, Hüneraugen ist 'corn' auf Englisch!"
:::laughing::: "'Hühneraugen' ist 'chicken eyes' auf Englisch!"

I consulted my dictionary. Sure enough, corn was listed as Hühneraugen. I told my teacher, "Die Worterbüch sagt Hühneraugen ist corn."

The teacher looked at my dictionary. "Yes, Hühneraugen is German for corn. But it's the kind of corn that one gets on one's feet! Not so good for soup!"

My stomach is feeling much better today, due in no part to the mystical German medicine that the pharmacist recommeneded. I spiked a high fever last night so I took some Tylenol and found an American with Pepto Bismol. Miraculously, I had no fever and my stomach is nearly back to normal today. I'm not back to eating Döners yet but I ate some chicken soup for lunch and I feel much better.

The other students are going to Ingolstadt this afternoon. I have 2 tests to take for my online classes so it is better for me that they are gone (hopefully it will be peacful at the Kolpinghaus, my hotel).

Paul's computer should be on the system today or tomorrow. Everyone else is going out of town this weekend so I will have a lot of free time to upload the pictures.

2005-07-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

Ich bin sehr krank (I am very sick). Yesterday I stayed home from class because I was vomitting. Now I have a different (but equally difficult) stomach/intestinal problem. I am going to the Apotheke and then I am going to bed. Hopefully Paul will take pity on me and bring me a bowl of soup for lunch/dinner.

2005-07-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

It has been raining a lot in Eichstätt since we've been here. It is rainy or cloudy at least half of every day. I usually don't mind the rain, but today it is constant and heavy. Since we walk everywhere we are permanently soaked. It is supposed to be really hot and sunny for the rest of the week...95F and above. I guess I shouldn't complain too much about the rain beccause I definitely prefer 70F and rainy over 95F and sunny.

Not too much other news to report. School is going well, but it's keeping me busy. Paul is registering his laptop with the school secretary today so I will have 24 hour wireless internet access (of course, I have to come to the university to take advantage of it).

We've decided to eat Döners everyday instead of going to the Mensa. Döners are equally cheap and they taste so much better.

Thanks to everyone for reading my journal & leaving comments! I know I've been promising pictures for a few days now but they are REALLY coming. Once Paul gets his laptop on the network I will be able to upload them easily.

Tschüß!

2005-07-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

Today I heard the most beautiful words in the German language: "Wir sind ein Hot-spot" (We are a hot-spot).

Last night I accessed the internet from a sketchy internet cafe/bar. After I paid my €6 I realized that the computer itself was locked in a metal box. So I had no access to the CD-rom drive. So I could not submit my homework assignment online. I had two strange interactions with creepy, drunk German men. Obviously this internet cafe will not work as an alternate source of internet access. I left the cafe completely frustrated and dismayed.

When I woke up this morning, Herr Russer (the hotel owner) had finally turned on the phone in our room. I was looking forward to a long day of homework via expensive internet access through the phone jack in our room. In American hotels if you want to use the phone as an internet connection, you merely unplug the phone cord from the base of the phone and plug it into your computer. I assumed that German phones would be the same.

NEVER assume that European technology will be similar to American technology!

Considering my internet experiences in Germany thus far, I should have been aware of this rule before this morning.

I can't really explain the hotel phone except to say that it is directly wired into the wall. I used Amanada's pocket knife (thanks, Amanda!) to unscrew the plate and look at the wires. I left the hotel room at 11:00 assuming that I would have to find (1) a computer store before 12:00 (that's when everything closes on Saturday) and (2) a telephone cord that had one standard American input. I figured that if I bought such a cord I could splice the other end and connect the cables directly into the wall (like the hotel phone).

I finally found a computer store at 11:50. I bought the cable. The store clerks were helpful and spoke as much English to me as they could. I think that they could see that I was pretty stressed about the internet.

As I was leaving, the store owner asked me if I needed W-LAN (pronounced "vey-lan", the German word for wireless lan). I told him in my best broken German that yes, I need W-LAN desperately. That's when he told me the best news I've heard since I've been gone: "Wir haben W-LAN. Wir sind ein Hot-spot."

The store has worse hours than the computer lab BUT W-LAN is accessible from outside the store! I can sit outside the store any time of day or night and use the laptop with no problems! The network is not secure! And, though he usually turns off the hub over the weekend, he promised to leave it on this weekend for me, and offered to leave it on anytime I need it! He invited me to come to the store anytime during the week for W-LAN and have coffee with the store employees! I am going to the best bakery I can find on Monday after class and I am buying their finest cake to take to the employees of ABC Computer.

Finally, things are looking better in Eichstätt.

2005-07-22T18:37:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

I am getting a little better with the German keyboard, a little better with the German language, and a little better at finding my way around Eichstätt. My creative writing class was pretty cool. The professor is a journalist for a regional newspaper and a regular commentator on the German version of NPR. I like him a lot. We did some fun writing excercises in class today. There are only three students in the class. I was friends will both of the other students before I came to Germaný so I think the class has a lot of potential. Plus, this class will only meet 2 times per week (unlike some of the other afternoon courses).

After class, Paul, Rachel, Jacob and I went to a resturant for Dönner. What is a Dönner, you ask? Ein Dönner ist brot mit Fleisch, Tomaten, griesisch Käse und Salat (pita bread with gyro meat, tomatoes, feta, and lettuce). Dönner are only €3 apiece and they are enough food to feed two people (or one hungry international student). And Dönner are delicious! Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the food in the Mensa (cafeteria). Yesterday they served fried chicken on a bed of tomato sauce (?) and today they served "chineasisch essen" (Chinese food) that was neither Chinese nor food. But the food in the cafeteria is really cheap and the salad bar is the only source of fresh vegetables on this entire continent, so I will continue to eat at the Mensa at least once daily just to get my vitamins.

Speaking of vitamins, I bought what I thought were candies in a German train station only to discover that in Germany they dispense vitamin candies from vending machines. No need to worry about unsuspecting German children, though--vitamin candies taste like VITAMIN candies. But I am choking down one of those per day to supplement the meat-bread-cheese diet of Germany.

In other German food news, German bread is excellent. There is no bad German bread--not in the cafeteria, the grocery store, the hotel breakfast, or anywhere else. The cheap dinner roll that comes with my lunch in the Mensa is better than the best bread I have ever had in America!

I tried a sip of Paul's weiß Bier yesterday and it wasn't too bad (for beer).

Finally, I fulfilled my German dream today when I ordered a copy of Sein und Zeit von Heidegger. It is only €20 (and my only souvenier to date) and it should arrive in the bookstore on Tuesday.

I will not have much access to the internet over the weekend so the next update may be on Monday. But keep checking...I might find a way to get online this weekend.

Tschüß.

2005-07-22T13:32:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

I am still struggling with the German keyboard. Caps lock seems to go on and off at will. The Z and Y keys are transposed (German uses a lot of Zs and virtually no Ys. English, on the other hand, uses many Ys. You have no idea how many Ys you use until you try typing on a German keyboard and every other word comes out "zou" or "reallz" or "verz".) Besides these problems, many keys on the German keyboard have three letters/symbols. How do you access the third symbol? Ich weiß nicht (I do not know).

I begin my Kreativ Schreiben (creative writing) class in 20 minutes. I decided to take creative writing instead of conversational German because (1) I will never need to speak German in philosophy grad school, but I will have to read and write it and (2) I am much better at reading and writing German than I am at speaking it. Most of my friends are taking the conversation class, so that (combined with the fact that they go to the bars every night and talk to the locals while I am studying) will probably give them a distinct advantage over me in interacting with Germans. I am trying to sit with Germans at lunch in the Mensa (cafeteria) every day so I can get a little more exposure to spoken German. So hopefully I won't lag too far behind.

I am still looking for a phone that accepts American phone cards. I will try to call family and friends once I find a phone booth.

My classmates are going on a trip to Regensburg tomorrow but I am staying at the hotel to catch up on work. But tomorrow (Saturday) night I am going to take a break from work no matter what needs to be done. I think that we are going to a disco on the outskirts of town. Apparently the disco is entirely sustained by foregin students.

The pictures are coming...

2005-07-21T13:45:00.000-07:00

EICHSTÄTT, GERMANY

We made it to Eichstätt late on Tuesday night. We missed the train that we planned to take from Amsterdam to Frankfut. Fortunately, trains run between Amsterdam and Frankfurt every hour, so we were able to catch another train. Unfortunately, because we missed the first train, the rest of our schedule had to be modified. We had to take SIX TRAINS to get from Amsterdam to Eichstätt. Of course, we were hauling all of our stuff on and off of the train with us and running to the next train at every changeover. I have cuts and bruises all over my body from struggling with luggage and trains.

Eichstätt is a very nice town. All of the streets and sidewalks are cobblestoned. All of the buildings are distinctly Bavarian. Again, it is difficult to find water but quite easy to find beer. The student cafeteria serves beer. The hotel has beer vending machines. The grocery store has an entire wing devoted to beer. I haven't had any beer yet, but I hear that the weiß bier (translation: white beer) is best. I'll keep you posted.

I am extremely busy with school (American online courses and German language courses). We took a test on Wednesday to place us in the appropriate class. I am in the second lowest class (a bit better than most of my friends, who are in the lowest class). Classes started this morning. Our professor speaks no English to us at all. We are completely immersed in German. The professors claim to do this because they do not want to privilege the American students by providing instructions in German and English, but the non-Americans speak English better than they speak German, too! There are students from 20 different countries here. In my class, there are students from Italy, Spain, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and South Korea.

I will upload some pictures once Paul gets a permit to use his computer on the KÜ-Eichstätt network.

Tschüß!

2005-07-18T04:30:00.000-07:00

AMSTERDAM, NL

We had dinner on the Rembrandtplein at a good, cheap Thai place. Every meal without ham and cheese is a real treat in Amsterdam. We picked up a free guide for American tourists at the hostel that warned us not to eat Dutch cuisine. The secret to food in Amsterdam is eating foreign food. There are many immigrants here (less than 50% of people living in Amsterdam were born in Holland) so there are many opportunities for non-Dutch food. I will be happy if we never eat Dutch food again.

After dinner we went to a quiet coffeeshop in the south part of the central canal district. I had the best mixed fruit tea I have ever had. The trams and buses stop early on Sunday nights here so we took a nice, leisurely walk back to the hostel.

Once we arrived, we met up with some other travellers in the hostel living room. The hostel is definitely superior to the hotel for meeting people. We met an Estonian who lives in India, a Slovakian who lives in Canada, and three Spaniards who live in Switzerland. We may do some sightseeing as a group tomorrow. Talking to other travellers is definitely easing my homesickness a little bit. We will be staying exclusively at youth hostels from this point forward if we can help it.

I took a few more pictures tonight that I will upload tomorrow.

Ciao.

2005-07-17T23:56:00.000-07:00

AMSTERDAM, NL

Here are some of my favorite places from the last few days.

A building near the Red Light District.

The Concertgebouw (Concert Hall). This was across the street from our old hotel.

The grocery store from the infamous vinegar incident. See all the kids hanging out on the grassy roof?!?

The Homomonument, a Dutch monument to all of the homosexuals killed by persecution (especially during the Holocaust).

To view my complete photo album, go to Photobucket.com and view the album called "radical_amy" (no quotes). You do not need a password or an account to view my album.

2005-07-17T19:25:00.000-07:00

AMSTERDAM, NL

Doing a little online research for our visit to Munich. I discovered that "Falcor" (the name of our cat) is "Fuchur" at his home in Bavaria Filmstadt.

2005-07-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

AMSTERDAM, NL

We finally found an internet cafe with cheap rates and a wireless LAN! It is less than one block from Centraal Station--this means that all trams lead to our new internet cafe! We moved into our new hostel this morning. It is called the Radio City Hostel. It is in the Rembrantplein--much closer to the center of the city than our previous hotel. The room is much smaller but the hostel seems very youth-friendly (unlike our last hotel). It seems like there are other American students staying there. Plus, the hostel has free laundry and free internet access (but only one computer).

We are becoming more familiar with Amsterdam and the tram system every day.

We did not go to a movie last night after all. We stayed in the Leidsplein for a very expensive dinner at the Leidsplein. I am getting a sense of which areas are expensive tourist traps (like the Leidsplein) and which areas have less expensive, local businesses. Consequently, I am hopeful that we will be able to save on food until we leave Amsterdam.

After the Leidsplein, we wandered around Centraal Canal district until we found ourselves in the Red Light District. It was pretty creepy, so we didn't stay very long. We found a great bakery on the edge of the Red Light District and had a marvelous dessert. By this time it was nearly midnight and I was very tired. Paul walked me back to the hotel and he went to a club in the Leidsplein. He had a great time and danced all night--he didn't make it back until nearly 5:00! I am glad I stayed at the hotel, though. The club was expensive and I was not in the mood to dance.

The weather is cooler and cloudier today. I think it might rain. Due to Paul's late night and my need to study, we are planning to have a low-key day today. We will probably go for a late lunch/early dinner and return to the hostel for a good night's sleep.

I forgot to bring my USB cable to the internet cafe with me but I have a lot of great new pictures! I will try to upload some from the hostel later today.

The people of Amsterdam have an undying love for Bob Marley. I don't think I will ever want to hear the song "One Love" again for the rest of my life!

I will update again later. Please leave comments or send me an email! I miss everyone!

2005-07-16T10:42:00.000-07:00

AMSTERDAM, NL

Paul and I are at an internet cafe in the Leidseplein, where I finally figured out the trick to getting plain water (also known as water): ask for water "without gas." Water without gas is not widely available but at least when I am inquiring about a particular bottle I won't have to use ridiculous hand gestures to signal "no fizz" anymore.

We definitely overestimated the kinship of Dutch and German AND the prevalence of English. Oops.

The Leidseplein is a pretty cool market district with a lot of resturants. We tried going to the Rijksmuseum this afternoon but by the time we made it there, it was closed. Same luck with the van Gogh Museum. We also tried the Anne Frank House but the line was awful. We've decided to brave the crowds at the art museums early tomorrow and we will try the Anne Frank House again on Monday night.

Centraal Station is the Dutch equivalent of Grand Central Station. We spent a good portion of the day there: first in the Ben & Jerry's/internet cafe (where I submitted the last post) and then in the tourist information and international travel information offices. The internet access was much cheaper there & they let us use Paul's laptop (which allows us to upload pictures) so we will probably visit Ben & Jerry's every day while we are in Amsterdam. Free internet and wireless internet are not popular ideas in Amsterdam. Hopefully the rest of Europe will be a little more enlightened when it comes to wireless internet access.

Tonight we are going to see a movie in the Leidsplein (a movie that may or may not be in Dutch) and we are going to walk around the Centraal Canal district a little more. The center of Amsterdam is much more like San Francisco than New York City--there are no skyscrapers; most of the architecture is in the same style; and the streets are clean. It's really a beautiful city.

Our hotel is in Museumplein, one block from the Rijksmuseum and the van Gogh Museum. We must leave the hotel tomorrow morning because they are booked to capacity. We are moving to the Radio City Hostel (I think that's the name) in Rembrantplein. This is a fortuitous move because (1) the Radio City Hostel is much cheaper and (2) Rembrantplein is much closer to central Amsterdam. The hostel used to be a radio store so it is full of old electronic parts. Also, the tour guide claims that two cats live in the hostel so it will be just like home!

Besides, I think that Paul and I are ready to leave the two evil staircases of the Hotel Bema behind.

This is my photo album on Photobucket. There aren't too many photos yet but please check there for updates, too.

I will post again tomorrow from Centraal Station. Bis Morgen, auf Wiedersehen!

2005-07-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

AMSTERDAM, NL

Paul and I arrived in Amsterdam safely. We quickly realized that (1) we don't speak Dutch (2) we didn't have a hairbrush and (3) Europeans do not drink regular water. We've since found a hairbrush and learned to save Fanta bottles to refill with water at the hotel. Yesterday I had an awful experience trying to buy water. We went to a grocery store & I found a huge plastic bottle of "Naturwasser" (or something with a very similar Dutch description). We had been walking around all day without water & I was so thirsty! I bought it and could barely get the cap off before I took a huge gulp...of vinegar! It was awful (and awfully funny).

We are staying at the Hotel Bema. It is "charming". It is very safe and sufficiently cheap so it will work for now. Breakfast is included with the room. Breakfast in the Netherlands is cloudy coffee, cold ham, Swiss cheese, and stale toast. Who knew?

We're having a great time exploring the city. We are a little inhibited because we don't speak Dutch but we are managing pretty well. We are going to the Rijksmuseum today and the van Gogh museum/Foam Photography Museum/Stilderjik Museum tomorrow.

Internet access is easy to find but expensive here, so I will only be able to access the internet once per day until I get to Germany. For those of you who use AIM, I will probably not be available online until Tuesday.

2005-07-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

I am leaving for Amsterdam in an hour. Check back tomorrow for photos and updates!