Allison Goes To Germany

Tentative Travel Plans and Packing Plans

[ No Comments ] Posted on 02.06.10 under Uncategorized

I am excited as hell, can’t you tell?

I’m probably jumping the gun with the planning, but I am going to be buying some items for my trip (bag, travel cubes) and I want to make sure I hit everything, so naturally I am planning as close to out loud as I am going to get.

Because I will be traveling for 9 days during the break between semesters and for 9 days after the end of the program, packing light is a huge issue. But because I am also going to school, I don’t want to look schleppy during the “living in Germany” portion of my trip.

The last time I went to Germany I did some things that were not so bright, like pack jeans and bring a rolling suitcase that was a pain in the butt in a lot of the old towns I visited. It made getting to the hostels suck. This go around, I want to make sure that doesn’t happen.

As far as packing goes, I am having a huge issue with the clothing I want to bring. A lot of the travel clothing I looked at looked matronly (I’m 24) and I want to dress as sharply as I can at school. Because of the weather in northern Germany (last time I was there around the same time of year I think it rained almost every day), I want to be able to layer if I need to so I am thinking about bringing 1 dresses (somewhat casual and jersey knit), 2 skirts (also knit), 1 pair of lightweight pants (that exist only in my head and aren’t ugly), and maybe 5 or so shirts. In addition I was going to bring two pairs of tights for the layering and a nonbulky sweater and a windbreaker. My problem lies in footwear. Does anyone have any suggestions for shoes that I can pair with tights, dresses, and pants, and would also hold up in the rain? My boots are too big for a small bag. I feel like attempting to be fashionable while packing light is not going to happen but I desperately want it to.

As far as cosmetics go, I wasn’t going to bring too many of those. Foundation, blush, mascara, one eyecolor palette for when I want to look super hot, one tube of colored lipgloss, and one tube of chapstick. I am growing my bangs out so I won’t need to deal with a hairdryer while I am there. I’d like to congratulate myself on my foresight now. I can braid my hair, pull it back, put it in pigtails, in a bun. Voila!
I am DEFINITELY ordering a light weight travel towel. I was thinking about going with the Rick Steves’ convertible carry-on and some packing cubes. That is really all of the baggage I want to bring with me. I am going to bring a tote bag for groceries and school items, or a messenger bag style purse, not sure yet.

Does all of the above even sound feasible?

Look at all the weekends I will have to travel! I travel for free in Niedersachsen with my student I.D. In order to save money I can leave Lueneburg early and return late-ish at night, thus avoiding the cost of a hostel. BOOYEAH. So. . . check out the travel plans after the jump!

Read the rest of this entry…

By hook or by crook.

[ No Comments ] Posted on 02.03.10 under Uncategorized

On Friday I found out I did not get the Fulbright grant. I had a good full day of moping around the house because damn, that REALLY sucked. I knew there was a chance I might not get it, but when the odds are 50% in your favor, you tend to think you will get it. Someone simply had a better essay than I did, or maybe it was the 7 weeks I spent in Germany before that did me in? No matter. It’s not the worst part of the denial process, but telling the kind professors who wrote letters of recommendation for you that you did not get the grant is also pretty gnarly. But by Sunday I had another plan and was able to tell my professors I was going back, darn it!

On Monday I told my German adviser. He expressed his sympathies, we discussed other options and some grad programs.

On Tuesday, I told my Chaucer professor. I also had Anglo-Saxon with him. He is hilarious and a pretty damn solid professor. I used to feel like I was being robbed of a great education by the fact that I was going to UNR. I just hadn’t been looking in the right places. When I told him I was going back, he said “by hook or by crook” which is an interesting phrase I had never heard before, so I came home and googled it. So yes, by hook or by crook. I’m going the same way I did two years ago.

While the program I went to Germany with two years ago is not ideal, budget cuts at UNR since then make it a little more worthwhile. There are 4 upper division classes taught in German. So I am going back after I graduate this May to take Advanced German I and II over the summer, and greatly improve my German before I apply for graduate programs. I am hoping that having taken the classes will help me land a TA position wherever I end up. I am worried that I will encounter the same problems as before, that the program will be mediocre and I will not make any other friends/like anyone else, but I am 2 years older. The lovely people I lived with before in Campus 4 are probably gone, and I am going to get something new out of this experience. I just hope it’s near-fluency in German.

Vienna pictures

[ No Comments ] Posted on 10.26.08 under Uncategorized

Well, I have obviously finally uploaded my pictures from Vienna. Some of them are random and because I’ve waited 2 months, I can’t remember why they are cool anymore.

the bathroom is a funny picture. I was blown away by the nicest restroom I’ve ever been in. Then there’s my partially eaten Sacher Torte. I wanted my grandma to see it. There’s a tired picture of me, and there’s a picture of my nice hostel bathroom too! Seeing these pictures makes me want to go back again.

Update on Vienna incoming

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.21.08 under Uncategorized

I am back in the U.S. and I have fast internet and I need to upload pictures from Vienna and Nuremberg and other assorted pictures. I am going to keep this site updated normally, because I am going to apply for a scholarship to go to Germany next year and teach English. Even if I don’t get it, I AM going back. How can I not? I am already experiencing reverse culture shock. Last night I took out a yummy Amy’s Palak Paneer frozen dinner. I microwaved it. I broke down the box to put in the paper trash, and I was going to put the plastic in the gruene punkt and there was none of those things.

today I am cleaning out a lot of things. Closet, life. I do not need a lot of things to make me happy.

Vienna is amazing!

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.19.08 under Uncategorized

I rode tram 2 around the ring. Best cheap tour of Vienna to be had! Wiener Melange is Kaffee Mit Schlag (essentially). I also ate a Sacher Torte. Imo, it wasn´t worth the 10 euro for a coffee and a slice of the orignal sacher torte. The Viennese place right around the corner from the hostel was out of the champignons for Champignons gebacken, but they did make something special just for me. It is Eier schwarmel gulasch. It was delish, but VERY heavy.

Today is the Albertina and the KHM. Tomorrow is home. I have been having unpleasant dreams about my return. I just do not want to come back to America. I wondered if it would be so bad to miss my flight and the answer was of course yes. I am already plotting my next trip to Europe. It will involve Switzerland and Belgium. I might want company, I might not. Being 1 in Europe is easier than being 2. I would like to bring my mother here, if she could handle sleeping in hostels.

BTW, I sold my phone in Austria. I managed to get 20 euros for it, which is half of what I paid for the phone. Awesome, awesome. It funded my sacher torte and 48 hour pass for transit.

In Wien

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.18.08 under Uncategorized

Gestern bin ich in Wien gekommen. (That is possibly grammatically incorrect.)

The Wombat´s Hotel is what dreams are made of. It is 19€ a night. I am in a 4 bed room. There is a bathroom in my room. It is more like a cheap hotel than anything. The water seems to be always hot. In Nürnberg the last shower I took was cold and uncomfortable. The breakfast is not included, but it is 3.50€ and is the typical fare. I´ve met some cool Canadians in the hostel bar. Last night we were given free shots after the Canadian team won a gold medal. I started talking to the Canadians, and I met an Argentinian girl named Lucia. We ate breakfast together. I have really been forced to stop being such a wallflower, but I have to work at it. Also when you are traveling it is easier to meet people.

tonight I may do the 13€ bar crawl. That already seems like it is WAY out of my comfort zone. August really isn´t the month to be in Vienna. The opera doesn´t run and neither does the Spanish riding school. Poo. KHM for the win though!

Today I am going to see everything that´s not the KHM. It´s early yet, plenty of time to do things!! I am going to kick down money for a day pass on the tram (I save about 2€ buying 2 24 hour passes rather than a 72 hour pass) and then I will pick and choose my museums. I want to see the only other palace in Europe that rivals Versailles, and there is a museum that has over 500 of Dürer´s works. A bit sad that Vienna has more than Nürnberg, but that is how the cookie crumbles.

Tomorrow is KHM and King Tut. He´s my homeboy. Before the 16th century fascination started, Egypt was where it was at. Once I bought a kit and made my own papyrus. I´ve been a nerd from the beginning.

and now I am off! Vienna is a bit confusing. Very few street signs to be had, but that seems almost typical.

Those who are interested in the culinary aspect of my trip (mom) will be happy to know I ate schnitzel last night. And poppy seed ice cream. today is kaffee mit schlag and perhaps the original sacher tort.

Weimar

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.16.08 under Uncategorized

Here are the few pictures I took in Weimar

: The palace that is now the art gallery

: more palace, and a tower!

: Cranach lived here. Represent!

Germanisches National Museum and Nuremberg city sights

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.16.08 under Uncategorized

Yesterday it was a bit rainy, so all I did was walk the two minutes to the museum. The hostel is conveniently located.

I went in and I spent about 5 hours there. I took over 300 pictures of pre-16th century things. Artwork, household items, etc. I am sorting through them, and because of the lack of flash a few are blurry.

Today Tom from Tasmania (It helps me remember) was leaving the hostel at the same time as I was so we teamed up and went to Kaiserburg and the Albrecht Duerer house. The Duerer house was really cool. The gift shop was too. I didn’t buy anything because of my impending financial doom. The further south I have gone, the more expensive things are. After the house and Kaiserburg, we went to a really yummy sausage place. they have an in house butcher so they make them there. And now, back to the hostel. I will post the best of the best pictures of the museum in a separate post. Here are some random town pics.

: The oldest building in Nuremberg

: The view from my 16 euro a night hostel. Not bad

: The view from my 16 euro a night hostel. Not bad

: The view from my 16 euro a night hostel. Not bad

: Tom from Tasmania

: Frauenkirche

: the beautiful fountain

: Albrecht Duerer platz

: Albrecht's house

Alive and wet in Nuremberg

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.15.08 under Uncategorized

By the way, if you scroll down I inserted the image gallery into my Thuringia post. I am now attaching descriptions to the pictures.

You know those moments, where you’re like “Damn, I really really should have known better. No, really.” Well, I had one of those yesterday on my way to Nuremberg. The train was rather full, and I walked through a car and I found a free seat and sat down. I was practically right next to a mother and her maybe 8 year old daughter. The mother was applying wet clothes to her daughters neck and feeling her forehead, etc. But the daughter looked fine, really. Because of the way the seats were set up, I could see them the entire time. Let me try to set up the way the seats were arranged. We were both facing each other, but on opposite sides.

“”"” | |”mom and daughter”

“”me | | “”"”"”"”

Does that make sense?

Anyway I thought “well shit, I don’t want to be anywhere near a sick child. Germs, etc” but I didn’t want to move because finding a free seat was a major accomplishment.

So I’m listening to my mp3 player and sort of looking at this sick child, and the little girl makes a face and covers her mouth like she’s about to vomit. She doesn’t. This is when I should have moved, because about 10 seconds later, she lost it. I have always been a sympathy puker. I sympathy puke when I puke, it’s that bad. I turned up my mp3 player so I didn’t have to listen to her retching, turned my head and looked out the window, and suppressed my gag reflex.

I have never bolted off a train so fast. About 10 minutes before our stop, I was up waiting by the door.

In other news, I forgot to let you know that they had my ISIC card at the train station in Erfurt. Woot!

I am not sure how I feel about this hostel in Nuremberg. I have a girls only room (good). But the bathrooms are not on my floor. Also the bathrooms are co-ed. Not a problem, except they don’t have locking doors on the shower. They have only curtains. If someone wants to catch a glimpse of my naked body, I feel sorry for them but I’m a little weirded out by the no doors thing. The good is that they have a washing machine and dryer. Laundry! The bad is there’s no detergent, apparently. Good is it’s cheap, 16 euro a night.

But now it’s raining and I don’t want to go on a walking tour in this rain. I am going to walk to the museum and drop some major cash there, I know it. Art books are my weakness. I also spent too much money last night on dinner. I didn’t want to mess around with it, so I went to a thai place. I guess if you think about it, 10 euro isn’t that expensive but I could have spent the money on other things. Also if you think about it, 10 euro is $16 and I hate spending that much on food in the United States.

Thuringia, Thuringia

[ No Comments ] Posted on 08.13.08 under Uncategorized

After my last blog, I talked with the family staying in the room with me. They are from the Netherlands. They were heading to Prague. It was a father, his 16 year old son, and his 13 year old daughter. They were very nice. I also went to a store to buy groceries, because it’s just cheaper that way. I found a delicious apple I will try to buy more of. It is called Elstar. Yum! I also ate a Pizza. The man who sold it to me asked me if I was Russian. Ha. So far it’s been Dutch, Russian, and British. Nobody ever assumes I am American. I’d like to think it’s because they believe American’s don’t learn other languages, and that when I tell them I am from America I am changing their view of the “typical” insular American.

Yesterday I spent well over 6 hours walking around Erfurt. It is a very beautiful city, even if it is raining outside. I decided to go on the little walking tour my Lonely Planet guidebook had laid out for me. It was about 3,5 km and super amazing. My first actual stop was the Reglerkirche. It was built in the 14^th century. Outside of the church I was stopped by a very cute German boy who was with the WWF. We talked for a bit. He wanted me to join the group but I declined. I then went to the the Predigerkirche which was completed in 1400. I listened to an organ recital. It was played on their Baroque organ. At this point I was hungry so I ate an “original Thueringer Wurst mit Broetchen” and one of my delicious apples and some cheese. I threw some bread to the ducks and the fish in the river, and kept on until the most stunning Dom St. Marien. I spent a good deal of time in there, and I went straight over to the Severikirche. Outside the Severkirche, I saw a very ugly (in a cute way) dog. I then braced myself for a steep climb up a hill to Zitadelle Peterbeg. A lot of churches in Erfurt were deconstructed so the Citadel could be built. I walked buy an old Woad storage center (now a puppet theatre) and then by the Haus zum Sonneborn, which was built in 1536. I walked by Haus zur Engelsburg, where humanists met to compose two of the Dunkelmaennerbriefe, which were letters mocking contemporary (in the early 1500s) theology and science teaching practices.

Are you still with me? Because at that point I was ready to drop. There was still so much more to see!

I walked by the Collegium Majus, where Martin Luther studied for a bit. He called it “my mother to which I owe everything.” Outside of the College I petted a small stray and very friendly kitty. I missed my own cats at that moment.

I then walked past a monastery (which is still used as such) and across a bridge with medieval houses on either side of the bridge. After the bridge, I went to the Kleine Synagogue, which is now a memorial to the Jews of Erfurt.

Yeah, almost done. I promise.

I then went to the Fischmarkt, which is a Medieval (duh) market square. The buildings around it are beautiful, the Rathaus included.

To finish the day I went to the Kunsthalle Erfurt, which had only one artist on display. His art was nice. Next amazing stop and final stop (not just “oh that looks cool, but I’ll keep going”) was the Barfuesstenkirche, which was bombed in WWII. The west wall is still connected by an exposed aisle with gothic arches. Tons of cool things in there, mostly medieval religious artifacts.

Back to the hostel I went, after eating a Marzipan ice cream and getting my bangs trimmed (they were hanging in my eyes and it was obnoxious).

Once back in the room, I discovered some new guests and travelers. Teodora from Italy and Paul from Canada. We had a wonderful long conversation. Teodora was heading to Weimar the next day, and I wanted to go to Weimar, so that is what I did today. We rode the train, and talked, and had a lovely time. At the tourist office, we went our separate ways. On the train she gave me her address, and said “if you ever come to Italia, come visit!” I assured her I would. Sadly, she doesn’t use the internet so no e-mail address could be exchanged.

I really only wanted to go to Weimar for two reasons, the Cranach house (where Cranach lived for a year until his death) and the Schlossmuseum where SEVERAL and I do mean SEVERAL works of Cranach’s hang out. There are tons of other pre-17^th century goodies there as well. Some Duerer, too. That museum has been the best 4 euros I have ever spent. I bought a book about all of their 16^th century artwork, and a poster. I walked by the Cranach house, got a scoop of Milk pudding ice cream, and walked to the post to get stamps and a box for my poster. I made it to the train station just in time for the 2:52 train to Erfurt, and here I am.

Tomorrow I go to Nuremberg.

Enjoy the pic spam!