Birds

     This morning started off just like every other morning. I got up, showered, and went to the kitchen to eat of bowl of cereal. I opened the kitchen door and took two steps and heard a rustling sound as two wild birds flew out from under the kitchen table. It should have been a startling experience, but I was not awake enough to realize that it was an odd experience until I got down the the bus stop twenty minutes later. I think I will make sure our balcony door is shut before I go to bed from now on.

Ölbronn!!!

     Today was awesome! I went to the tiny city of Ölbronn--the city in which many of my ancestors lived.  No one else had any interest in going to a tiny town so I ended up going by myself. That actually turned out okay, because I could go at my own pace. I walked several miles today in the heat and humidity. It was so worth it though. The locals kept looking at me like I was a weirdo because I was taking pictures of the buildings and because I kept smiling at people as they passed by. Mom, I wish you could have been there! I thought of you the whole time I was there! Here are a few pictures to help you see what I saw...

Me at the Ölbronn-Dürrn S-Bahn platform!

"House hunting" old houses in Ölbronn (houses on the left with their inscription on the right)

Dieses Haushof erbaut Johannes Velte und mit ihm seine Ehe Frau Rosinn Dorothea 1803

Believe it or not in real life the house is a light green color (like mint toothpaste)! It looks way cool.

Johannes Böhringer und mit im seine Haus Frau Mariea Sibila Anno 1777 Mauerer Johan Uhlrich Wenning

Im Jahr Christi 1729 erbaut vom Jacob Veltin

     I also visited the neighboring city of Kleinvillars...

(above) The church in Kleinvillars, (left) the old "Rathaus"

Another old building in Kleinvillars

     I took bike paths to get from city to city so I got to see some really cool things. I even picked an apple off an apple tree on the way back to Ölbronn! I saw tons of apple trees along the path.

Aalkistensee

Monument to two men killed at the Aalkistensee in an accident in 1974.

Back in Ölbronn-- The church on the left and the 1890s "Rathaus" on the far right

Between the S-Bahnhof and Ölbronn...

The road to the Ölbronn-Dürrn S-Bahnhof...

Interesting side note: you must indicate that you want to get off the Bahn here or they will drive right on by...good thing I understand the driver speaking German over the loudspeaker!

    

     Ölbronn is a sweet little town and I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to visit it!

Gabel Gabel Gabel

     A few days ago I got together with some of my friends and made dinner. While setting the table, my friend Sterling handed everyone already seated at the table a fork and said Gabel--which is German for fork-- each time he handed one out. Because of this it sounded like he said "Gobble Gobble Gobble" the sound a turkey makes in English. This reminded me of a Thanksgiving song about a turkey that I had learned when I was a little kid, part of which went something like this:

...Soon t'will be Thanksgiving day,
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble,
People say that it's much fun,
But I think that I shall run
And hide until the day is done,
Gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble, gobble

Needless to say I burst out in uncontrollable laughter for, what seemed to everyone else, no good reason. They all gave me the "what's the matter with you" look. I tried to stop laughing and explain about the song, but everytime I got close to singing the "gobble gobble gobble" part I just started laughing again. I was laughing so hard that my eyes were watering and I had to use my sleeves to wipe my eyes off. I thought it was hilarious, but they didn't even think it was funny that Gabel sounded like Gobble. Maybe it's only funny to those of us who learned the song as a child... I don't know, but it sure made the evening awkward after that.
   
     Speaking of awkward moments... One time I was walking on the sidewalk and I ran into a metal pole. It didn't hurt real bad, but it startled me so much I started to laugh and I laughed so hard I started to cry! It was soo funny! The people behind me did a collective intake of breath and had a "do we laugh or should we be concerned" moment. Once I started laughing they decided that it was okay if they laughed at me. I got a small bump above my left eyebrow from the encounter, but thank goodness it didn't bruse! I don't know what I would have said to the people in my class if I had gotten a black eye from it! haha They probably would have looked at me like I was a crazy American or something! I don't think of myself as being a super clumsy person, but now i'm not so sure.
    
     An accual awkward moment happened when I was walking down a street with a few people from my group and saw a VW Beetle. I got excited and punched the guy next to me in the arm and yelled "punch buggy!". He looked at me with the "I can't believe you just touched me" look. I asked him if he had ever played the game before and he replied with "I don't think i've played that since I was three". Yeah that was really awkward.

Berlin Week 4

     The largest portion of the Berlin Wall still standing in its original place is called the East Side Gallery. Our group went there for class one day. It was interesting to see all the different art that was painted on the wall. Some of them were really strange. We also went to a bridge that is near by. The bridge is familiar to anyone who has seen the movie "Run Lola Run" because Lola runs across it several times throughout the movie. Like the crazy people we are when we are in a group we decided that it would be awesome if we reenacted that part of the movie by running under the bridge. The following picture shows us doing that very thing.

     For Family Home Evening (FHE) that week we watched a video clip on youtube called Validation. It is sixteen minutes long, but it is funny and makes you feel good so I liked watching it.
     We also went to the old Hamburger Bahnhof which is now a museum of contemporary art. These are a few of the works we saw:

River Avon Mud Circle by: Richard Long

Cagney by: Andy Warhol

     We also visited the Jewish Museum. It is an odd building, because it is built on a slant to make things feel uncomfortable...as if the subject matter (the Holocaust) wasn't enough on its own. It was a good place to visit and it was informational so I don't regret going.
     Our German class was made up of people from all over the world. We had people from the United States, Greece, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, England, Spain, Australia, and France.

Goethe Institut Class

Berlin Week 3

     We started off the week by going to an old Jewish Synagogue that was destroyed in the Kristallnacht of 1938. It was only partially rebuilt so people would remember what had happened to it and the people that had worshiped there. We also went on a tour around Berlin and saw many places around Berlin that were historically significant to the Jewish community. We went to a Jewish cemetery and got to see the grave of Moses Mendelssohn--the grandfather of Felix Mendelssohn! We also visited Rosenstrasse, the site of a small protest against Jewish imprisonment.

 
   We also went to the Olympic Stadium which was way cool because it looked like a smoky volcano because of the clouds and the night lighting. The Käthe Kollwitz museum was also interesting. Her works show ideas and feelings rather than being realistic. We then went to the Neues Nationalgalerie. It is a museum for modern art so it wasn't my favorite thing ever, but we went to get "Kaffee und Kuchen"--(really we got hot chocolate and cake) so it made the day better.

     It was a very rainy week and I got sick of my umbrella turning inside out because of the wind so I left it home most days and just wore my coat. Our German class had a mini Sommerfest on one of the days when it was pouring rain. A lot of people were complaining that we had to stand in the rain, but I didn't mind so much because they were handing out free potato soup and giant pretzels!

     After being out of my home country for the first time ever I broke down and went to a 1960s American style diner with some friends. It was a ton of fun. That same day I broke down and bought a jar of peanut butter. It only comes in one size...small. It was weird having the only choice be a jar the size of my fist, because at home entire sections of an aisle are devoted to peanut butter. It was the first time I had had peanut better since I left the United States almost a month earlier!

Berlin Week 2

     During my second week in Berlin I got to see cool things like the Brandenburger Tor, the Französischer Dom---we got to climb up to the top and look out across the city, the Berliner Dom, Sanssouci (which is really in Potsdam--a city near Berlin), the Altes Museum, Altes Nationalgalerie, the Berlin Zoo, the Ritter Sport store, etc...

Amlia and I at the Brandenburger Tor!



Me in front of the Altes Nationalgalerie in Berlin.



Sanssouci

     This was a hard week because a bit of confusion occured with my bank so I was unable to get cash from the ATMs. It was frustrating knowing that I had money, but it was useless because I couldn't get to it. Thank goodness for friends that loan you money when you are between a rock and a hard place. Thankfully I was able to relive my stress several times during the week by playing on the steinway piano at the Tiergarten church building. I was so glad I brought sheet music for a few of my favorite songs. The week wasn't all bad. The Altes Nationalgalerie had some amazing pictures by Casper David Friedrich including "Deep in the Forest by Moonlight", "Greifswald Harbour", and "Ruins of Ellena Monastery near Greifswald".

     Most of our BYU group went to see the final Harry Potter in theaters on July 13th. It was amazing! I wore the hufflepuff scarf Caralynn gave me for Christmas to the theater. It was a very emotional and I may or may not have cried during the movie when Fred and Snape died. I felt justified because the girl sitting next to me was also crying. It was a great experience.

     That weekend we went as a group to Dresden. We took the train and got our own compartments! It was my first real train ride so I felt like I was in a Harry Potter movie! We were all really excited. On the way we played Mafia. Sterling was the narrator because he is the best at making up interesting stories to go with the game.

Sterling, Amelia, Me, Tiffany, and Maggie on our way to Dresden!

     In Dresden we got to see some great buildings while still having time to take a break and play frisbee.

Maggie, Me, Becca, Amelia, and Grooms at the Frauenkirche in Dresden.

Becca, Me, Cassie, Claire, and Maggie at the Zwinger in Dresden.

Morgen!

     Most of the time when I saw my host Frau (an older lady of about 65) I just said "Morgen" and walked out the door on my way to class. This went on for a long time until one night I came home and she had guests. I walked to my room as usual so I wouldn't get in the way. I sat at my desk doing my German homework (and putzing a bit of course) when she knocks on my door and asks if I had had dinner. I told her that I hadn't so she led me to the kitchen where I got a bowl of potatoes, vegetables, and meatballs. It was my first home cooked German meal! It was really good. She then led me to the living room--a room I had never before entered. We then proceeded to talk about who her guests were and so forth. Things turned really interesting once we got to the topic of when she came to Berlin. She said that she came to Berlin and studied at a University. While she was a student she got arrested and sent to prison for a few months because she was seen as a flight risk. Really it was for no reason... just that they could. She said that they were the worst days of her entire life and didn't bother to elaborate. I was speechless. The nice old lady I had been living with had been to jail!?!?! What do you say to that? We then talked about how she had been living in Berlin ever since and how things are different since the wall fell for example you can now travel wherever you want to etc. It was almost one in the morning when we quit our conversation because I had to wake up early the next day for class. We never did have another deep conversation like that night ever again.

The Beginning

Me at Westminster Abbey

     At the moment i'm on study abroad and having a great time. I've been to England and Germany so far and it has been quite the adventure leaving my home country for the first time. I got to see a bunch of cool things while I was in London (and the surrounding area) like the Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the British Museum, the British Library, Baker Street, St. Paul's Cathedral (the walk to the top is so worth it...even if you do have to walk up 530 or so steps to get to the top), the Transportation Museum (it is set up more for kids, but that made it very exciting after going to so many "adult" museums), the National Gallery (I really liked the paintings by Camille Pissarro and John Constable), Kensington Palace (It is now "the enchanted palace" where you can learn about its history and the history of the people who lived there.... it was a bit strange, but okay), Shakespeare's Globe Theater (I stood in the Yard and watched "all's well that ends well". Standing was great because I was leaning on the stage the whole time so I felt like I was right in the middle of the action.) and a bunch of other tourist things.

Me at King's Cross Station

     By far my favorite place to eat in London was "Slug and Lettuce". It is a strange name, but a nice place and had a cool atmosphere. It was fairly cheap because they have lots of different deals depending on what days you go. How can you say no to 2 for 1 curry??!?! Nandos was also very good if you like chicken.
     My group stayed in London for six days (including the day we got there and the day we left). My roommate (Amelia) and I were so tired our first day that we fell asleep in a park, because we couldn't move in to the room at the Hostel for a few more hours and we couldn't stay awake enough to go anywhere. Our "Tube" stop was King's Cross station. I felt so legit! (I felt even more so after seeing the final Harry Potter movie when they showed the view of King's Cross station and I knew what it was, because I had lived right across from it for a week!) We were so lucky because it only rained once during the week we were there.

     A few things I've learned so far about traveling in Europe:
1. Water is not free at restaurants. (bring a water bottle with you always)
2. Bathrooms are not free. (always have at least 50 cents on you)
3. Most small shops don't take credit card so make sure you have cash with you.
4. Bring a book to read or music to listen to on the Tube, or you will waste a lot of time just waiting as you go from place to place.
5. Get the audio guides at the museum even if they cost extra. (They explain the meaning and/or the background of a painting or other object that may not be written on the signs next to said object.)
6. Pack as light as possible. If you can't carry your luggage by yourself then you should seriously consider repacking and getting rid of nonessentials.

Muffins and Cereal

In London we found a grocery store in Covent Garden. Using the grocery store was way cheaper than going to restaurants for every meal. Because of that, and the fact that we had no fridge, I became obsessed with muffins. Muffins were cheaper, and filled me up more, than granola bars so it seemed logical at the time to buy tons of muffins. I was so obsessed that we would go out to restaurants and instead of buying something I would just bring my muffins and eat them while everyone else ate their pizza or whatever. After a week of carrying around muffins I thought I was doomed to be "the muffin girl" for the rest of the trip. This, however, changed suddenly when we arrived in Berlin. Muffins were scarce so I latched on to another highly portable food substance---cereal. From then on, it was a common occurance to see me with a box of Shreddies---like chex, but chocolaty--- or Clusters---similar to cornflakes, but covered in chocolate. Maybe people will remember me as "that one girl with the cereal"...

Berlin-week 1

     The flight from London to Berlin was interesting. They gave us a type of egg sandwich for lunch. I was starving so I ate it, but it wasn't my favorite thing ever... I was in shock once I got off the plane in Berlin. People were speaking German around me! I know... shocker right? I was so glad I was in a group! We loaded our bags on a bus and went to our hostel, which was located between the Möckernbrücke and Hallesches Tor Bahn Station. Hostels and hotels should not be confused. They are very different. We dropped off our bags and went out to eat at a restaurant called Balli. I was terrified of having to order in German, because they talked so fast to the people in front of me, so I convinced Romy to order for me. We split a Dürüm--basically a pita wrapped around lamb meat, lettuce, tomatoes, french fries, fetta cheese, and a garlic sauce. It was huge so I'm glad we split it. I realized that I'm not a fan of fetta cheese.
     On our second day in Berlin we went out as a group and had currywurst--think hotdog with curry powder and ketchup on it. We also got to go to the Berlin Konzerthaus and listen to the Berlin Konzerthausorchester play. They played works by Debussy, Ravel, Ibert, and Lekeu. It sounded amazing, but most of the people in our group were still having a hard time with Jetlag so they were asleep for most of it. It didn't help that it had been cold and rainy all day.
     Day three was a Sunday so we left had church. We went to the Tiergarten Ward and doubled the size of their ward. It was hard to understand a lot of what was being said because everything was in German. It was helpful that I already knew the format of what was going on in English. After three hours of straining to understand German we went back to the hostel to get our bags. Amelia and I had to wait at a Bahn station for an hour because we couldn't move in to our homestay until later. Getting to our homestay was interesting because we didn't know exactly where it was. We wandered around the Alexanderplatz Bahn station for a while until we found our train. It is a maze down there. It felt like were wandered around forever because we had all our luggage with us. Once we got to the right street (the Rosa-Luxemburg Strasse stop) we walked in the rain to her apartment building and had to climb up 83 steps to get to her apartment. That was quite a challenge with all my luggage becuase I would walk up a flight with a bag and have to walk back down to get the other one and then walk back up over and over until I reached her door. After much frustration we made it and were able to put our things in our new rooms.
     I forgot about the fourth of July while I was in Germany, because we were so busy. We had Family Home Evening (FHE) at the church outreach center, which is in the same building we had church. It was fun and we got to eat waffels with an amazing cinnamon sauce.
     We had an Art and Architecture (A&A) class where we got to go around to various museums and monuments and learn about them. Most of the time we met at the Neue Wache, which was an eight minute bus ride from my homestay... I didn't know this until about two weeks later. Before that, Amelia and I took the Bahn because we didn't know how the other forms of transportation worked so it took us almost half an hour to get there everyday. We went to the Pergamon Museum and got to see the Pergamon Altar, the Market gate of Militus, the Ishtar Gate, and many other architectural works.



Market gate of Militus

     We also had a German class at the Goethe Institute which was a 10 minute walk from my homestay. Class was from 1:15-5:45 every week day. It was super long the first day because it was an hour longer than we were expecting it to be.

Totentanz

     For our A&A class we also got to visit the Marienkirche--where the famous "totentanz" picture is. We also saw the Nikolaikirche. It is the oldest church in Berlin!