Karneval and Amsterdam-A Novel by Harrison Emery

While many of my peers seemed to have a great weekend in Amsterdam, I decided to stay in the Rhineland and enjoy Karneval to the full extent.  The atmosphere around Bonn and Cologne very much reminded me of tailgating before a football game with everyone being super inviting and cheerful (read: intoxicated).  There were parades for the entire weekend, people wearing costumes on public transportation, and confetti all over the streets.  The parades were particularly enjoyable because you just get to stand around in a ridiculous costume drinking beer while people throw candy at you.  Another interesting note about the parades were the scavengers (typically middle-aged adults) who would walk around and snatch up all the candy off the ground if you didn't catch it on the first try.  I'm kind of curious what they ended up doing with all the candy they got because they would manage to pick up pounds of it.

I took a train to Cologne on Saturday and Rose Monday to #party with all the Germans.  The city was really busy, and we met people from all over Europe, plus a couple of Americans.  We happened upon a group of drummers performing outside of a McDonald's and they were actually quite good.  A bit later, we managed to find a group of old men dressed as pirates playing steel drums which might have been the most cultural experience I have had to date.  For Rose Monday, we went back to Cologne for the massive parade that goes through the city.  It was quite a spectacle, but we ended up leaving before it actually ended because it was extremely long, and there's only so much candy hitting me in the face that I can handle.  Regardless, I would consider Karneval 2015 to be a success, and I am glad I got to witness it.

The following weekend, a few of us traveled to Amsterdam.  Finding our apartment the first night in the rain was a bit of an adventure, but we eventually found our Airbnb hosts who were very welcoming.  On Saturday, we arrived at the city center early to try and see the Anne Frank House.  Upon arriving at the Anne Frank House, we found a huge line to get in to the museum, so we called an audible and headed to the van Gogh Museum instead.  I was of course familiar with van Gogh prior to going to this museum, but I really had no grasp of how prolific of an artist he was until I saw all of his paintings.  Honestly, the van Gogh Museum was probably the best art museum I have ever visited-perfect size, beautiful paintings, and I did not feel rushed when viewing the art.

After walking around Amsterdam for a bit, we decided to go off the beaten path and visit a lesser-known museum, the Fluorescent Art Museum.  The museum visit took place as follows.  We walked into a small building filled with fluorescent paintings cluttering the room.  A friendly old hippie lady greeted us and quickly urged us to take off our shoes.  She then ushered us down a ladder into a dark basement already filled with about 15 other museum-goers.  Here we were greeted by the museum's curator, an old hippie man (the hippie woman's husband) complete with long hair, full beard, faded jeans, a vest with patches, and a habit of ending every sentence with the word "man."  Hippie curator turned off all the lights in the basement, switched on a late 90's CD player softly playing some Jimi Hendrix, and illuminated a fluorescent art display in the rear of the room with some UV light.  At this point, a British girl said what we were all thinking, "I'm getting quite claustrophobic and need to get out," and left.  The rest of us powered through for the sake of art.  Our curator showed us some phosphorescent minerals, various fluorescent paintings, and, of course, the fluorescent tattoo on his forearm.  To sum it up, I spent 5 euros to go into an old hippie's basement in Amsterdam.  10/10 would do again.

Following the Fluorescent Museum, we returned to being normal tourists and waited in line for about an hour to see the Anne Frank House.  Since we all know the story of Anne Frank very well, it was really powerful to experience a part of history and see the actual rooms where these people had to hide in fear of capture.  To wrap up Saturday, we walked around Amsterdam some more, including the Red Light District which is unlike anything I have ever seen in the US.  The next morning, we started the day by going to the Heineken Factory for the Heineken Experience.  You know that the Heineken Experience is good when you realize that you are being inundated with Heineken marketing at all times but still have a lot of fun.  One side effect, though, is that you walk out of the experience wanting to solely drink Heineken for the rest of your life.  I finished my Amsterdam excursion by going to the Rijksmuseum to tour their massive collection.  My favorite (cliche) piece from this art museum was Rembrandt's "The Night Watch," a huge oil painting full of incredible detail.

I had a fantastic time in Amsterdam, and I really felt like I got to see everything I wanted to see.  The canals and townhomes along the water were beautiful, the museums were fascinating, and there were lots of fun things to do.  If I ever get the chance, then I will most definitely return to the Dutch capital.

Amsterdam

It probably seems like I say this about everywhere, but I swear that I mean it this time: Amsterdam is my favorite city ever. I love how every street with the colorful houses, cobble stones, and canals is distinctly Amsterdam. There is a relaxed, eclectic vibe that pervades the whole city. It is also extremely tourist-friendly, but not so much that I feel like I'm at Disney World. Simply walking through the city brought me surprising joy. The Van Gogh museum was the most enjoyable museum I've ever been in. We waited outside in line for over an hour in cold rain, but having the opportunity to see artwork that is so iconic and famous was so worth it. Learning about Van Gogh's personal life was also fascinating and I am beginning to understand why certain artists become hugely famous while so many others stay relatively unknown and unappreciated forever. We went to a modern art museum called the Stedelijk museum on Sunday and it was such a contrast to the Van Gogh. I am starting to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of art. I see that art is emotional expression- necessary and pervasive in every culture and society. I am always so inspired at art museums. I now have a desire to create my own art which I will hopefully explore when I have resources. The Anne Frank house was also very impactful. It's interesting because I actually went to the Anne Frank house when I was 12, but it was much more meaningful this time because I have better historical context.

I am learning so much about how to function as an efficient and happy person from all of this traveling and diverse human interaction. I haven't developed any concrete life mottos yet, but I have a growing sense of how to have a higher base line of contentedness.

KAR(amsterdam)NEVAL

This past weekend was the 5th season of Germany, Karneval! We only had class until Wednesday and then on Thursday with the AIB I went to Beuel to see the opening parade of Karneval. It was awesome (but a little bit cold) and I loved watching all the people in their costumes. That night we went to Amsterdam (which I partially did because I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with the atmosphere here for 5 full days.

Amsterdam was an amazing place with leaning buildings, breakfast food whenever you wanted it and dangerous roads. The first thing we did in Amsterdam was to visit the Anne frank house which was a great experience. Walking through the famous bookcase up the super steep steps to the Frank family hideout was something I will never forget. After that we went on a walking tour of Amsterdam and our guide explained to us that the city is sinking because it was built on a swamp and that was the reason for the crooked buildings. Also waffles are kind of like street food in over there which was definitely a plus and for breakfast the second day I had an enormous pancake which had cream (the ice and the whipped variety) chocolate sauce and powered sugar. On the way back from Amsterdam we became again fully immersed in karneval. Our train from Cologne (one of the centers of Karneval) to Bonn  was delayed and we ended up running between platforms at the Hauptbahnhauf (because they kept changing terminals and getting cancelled) for about 2 hours (which would make it about 1:30am). Finally a train came and copius amounts of people rushed in and the conductor couldn't close the door so we just sat there for about another 1.5 hours.

On Monday (Rosenmontag) we decided to go to Cologne which was probably the best idea ever. We met up with some other AIB students from LMU and it was probably the most fun day I've had. Everyone was singing, dancing catching the Kamelle flying above us, watching the parade and just having an awesome time.

Now its back to school and exams (of which I have 2 next week (which is why I'm writing this lengthy blog)) and un-Karneval activities which is kinda disappointing but I am looking forward to spring break and the soccer match this weekend!

Amsterdam + "Karneval on My Shoes"

Last weekend was definitely more than eventful. We started it off with the parade in Beuel, left for Amsterdam that night, and then came back Sunday to see the Rosenmontag parade in Cologne and Bonn. Karneval was so much fun and I'm really glad I got to experience it in Cologne! I'm also glad that we don't live there and therefore didn't have to deal with the mess that is the Cologne Hauptbanhof (except for when we went to Amsterdam, blah). The people in Bonn are much "classier" and cleaner when they Karneval. I'm definitely much happier now that my shoes don't stick to the ground.

Amsterdam was beautiful and I'm so glad I got to see it. The Anne Frank House was so interesting and pretty sad. It's cool seeing the place she lived and what happened in each room. Random things I learned: their toilet was pretty and she was soooo tall for a fourteen year old. We went on a city tour and learned more about Amsterdam and finished off the night with a canal tour! Tours on tours on tours. We also went to the Rijksmuseum, which was huge and filled with so many interesting works of art. I really enjoyed seeing the replica of Napoleon's library and the special collections. I wish we had more time in the museum because there was so much I didn't get a chance to see. Amsterdam was definitely quite an experience and I'm glad I had the chance to go.

Unfortunately, we have two tests this week and I am excited about neither of them. In exactly two weeks, I'll be in Rome. Whaaaaat?! I can't wait for spring break! :)

Karneval (Rosemontag)

Rose Monday, or Rosemontag, is a day of celebration. We went to Koln, the main carnival city. Waking up at 6:00 am was a difficult feat for me. I had to meet up with everyone by 7:15, but as you all know there was always someone who was late. Once we collected five of us to buy the group ticket, we journey on to Koln through the train. I dress up as a polar bear again. Others were dressed in bee, pig, pirate, and prisoner costumes. We finally arrived at about 8 as plan, went around and bought some pre-party drinks. Walking around finding the best spot for the carnival was some what difficult without some guidance. We ended up in the back of the parade. Some of the other LMU kids met up with us and we had so much fun sing to the carnival songs.

Weekend in Amsterdam

Since we got a super long weekend for Carnival (thank you Carnival), a group of us decided to go to Amsterdam for a couple days after the Carnival parade on Thursday. Getting there wasn’t easy. The planned trip was a 20-minute train ride from Bonn to Cologne and then we were supposed to catch a train to Amsterdam from there. Because of Carnival, the train had to keep stopping because there were people on the tracks between Bonn and Cologne. My thoughts on this: Why don’t the police or train officials clear the people off of the tracks. After a continual stopping and going on the train, we were then told that the Cologne Main Station was closed due to unattended baggage. We sat on the track for about an hour. Long story short, it took 3 hours to get from Bonn to Cologne, a trip that should only take 20 minutes. We finally got to Amsterdam and settled in around 1 AM that night.

So one of the first things on my list to do in Amsterdam was tour the Anne Frank House and that was the very first thing we did! We got there right when it opened so we only had to wait about 20 minutes to get in. There have been stories of people waiting 2-3 hours so we were very pleased. It was an incredible experience. These are some of my favorite quotes that I read throughout the museum from her diary.

“I know what I want, I have a goal, I have opinions, a religion, and love.”

“The weak fall, but the strong will remain and never go under”

“Riches can all be lost, but that happiness in your own heart can only be veiled, and it will bring you happiness again, as long as you live.”

It’s just amazing how mature and ahead of her time she was. She was only 13 when the Frank family went into hiding and was only 15 when she died. One of my favorite things I have done this whole trip, by far. Going up each staircase and learning about each room in the office below was very interesting. And then you turn down a hallway and you see it, the famous bookshelf. Then you go through the passageway and after going through the lower level of the annex (where the Franks lived along with another friend of Otto Frank, Fritz Pfeffer), you walk up the skinny stairway to the main floor of the annex. When Otto Frank decided to make the office space and annex a museum, he decided to leave all of the rooms of the Secret Annex empty to represent the void that was left when millions of people were deported and often never returned to their homes. I wish I could have taken more pictures but they weren’t allowed. I only snuck a picture of the famous bookcase (I just had to break the rule just that once). I would HIGHLY recommend this museum to EVERY person, especially if you are in Amsterdam. That afternoon, we took a free walking tour around Amsterdam to learn a little about the history and culture of the beautiful city. One of the unique aspects of the culture in Amsterdam, there are thousands of bikes everywhere. Most people bike around the city and there are parking garages just for bikes. I almost got run over by some when I was crossing the street (most of the time I was acting like a typical tourist, taking pictures of everything). Also, there are Squatter Houses, where people are allowed to “squat” in without paying rent. There was a law at one point in Amsterdam that said if a building was not occupied for one year, the city would allow homeless people to live in the buildings and would even protect them against being evicted by the owner of the building. That law is no longer around but the squatter houses that resulted from that law still remain and are still used by squattors. That night, we decided to go on an evening canal cruise through all of the major canals in Amsterdam. It was so beautiful with all of the lights. I wish my pictures would have turned out better.

 The next day, we decided to stop by the famous Rijksmuseum but I did not go in. Instead, a group of us went to a local flower market where we saw thousands of tulips, which are pretty famous in Holland. After some walking around and exploring, it was time to go. Luckily, our train was not delayed this time.

In regards to food. The food in Amsterdam was so delicious. There are 2 things that are a must when in Amsterdam, the fries and the pancakes. I know that sounds pretty normal but they double fry their fries in Amsterdam so they are very crunchy. On the other hand, the pancakes are more like crepes and there are hundreds of different topping combinations you can choose, my favorite being bacon and apple.

Amsterdam

A couple of my peers and I decided take a train and stay in Amsterdam for the Carnival weekend.  Because I enjoyed the free city tour in Budapest I thought that doing one in Amsterdam would be a good idea. Our tour guide Rocco was enthusiastic and very well educated about the city (hence why he is a tour guide), but at some point in the tour he warns us that taking pictures is not allowed in that area. At first I was very confused and didn’t know what he was referring to, but as soon as we walked through the alley and I glared to the side…. I had enterd the red light district in broad daylight! I know Amesterdam is famous for this , but to actually be there and see these women displayed on the windows was unbelievably uncomfortable for me.  It was a cultural experience alright! Another thing that shocked me was the countless signs of cannabis around the city shops. I wasn’t sure if I was going into a caffee or a “coffee shop”. Nonetheless,  I enjoyed being in amsterdam and my favorite part of the trip was visiting the Anne Frank House. Although I found many parts of the meseum sad because of the subject matter, I also found her story inspirational. It was touching to hear actress  Emma Thompson say, “The only thing we have to remember is: all her would-haves are our real possibilities”, at the end of the tour in the video room.

Karneval! Alaaf!

Karneval was probably the wildest experience in Germany so far. Rosenmontag in Cologne was the tip of the spear as far as parades and citywide parties go. The streets were full of people dressed up in costumes. The lamp  posts had kegs strapped to them so groups of old men could have a continuous flow of the finest kolsch into their system.  We got to Cologne at about 9 in the morning and people were trickling in from the train station. By 11, people were shoulder to shoulder trying to get a glimpse of the parade and fighting to catch the tons of candy that people were throwing from the floats. Chocolate bars, Haribo gummy bears, marshmallows, chips, tissues, wafers, cookies, and bon bons rained down from the heavens. It was like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and Halloween had a baby, and this baby was absolutely crazy. For certain reasons, I remember very little about the end of the parade and how I got back to Bonn, but I do know that I experienced something I would have never experienced back in the US.

I went as 'Puddles the slightly inebriated clown'

The Rhineland's 5th season

Wow, Karneval was so much wow. I am pleased that I'm finally doing typical activities expected of a study abroad experience in Germany. Karneval is honestly the most perfect celebration I can imagine. Free candy, parades, costumes, music, and beer combined make for a beautiful and memorable few days. I went to Cologne on Friday and had one of the best days I've ever had in my life. The whole day was beautiful weather, I met so many people and had wonderful, fun conversations with people from all around the world. I was entertained by seeing everyone's costume and the live performers on the street. I love how all of the usually stoic and neutral Germans are suddenly very friendly, happy, and colorful. I feel as though I really had a cultural experience and I now understand the people of the Rhineland more thoroughly.

The break from school was quite nice as well. I participated in zero strictly academic activities for the last 6 days, but I still learned a lot! I had some physiology lessons in how my body processes alcohol, some math lessons in the trajectory of flying candy bars from moving vehicles as my head was hit several times, and most importantly some life lessons that are too complex to explain here in this little blog post.

Vienna to Budapest

Vienna: 

Vienna was a beautiful cultural experience. I adored the food, scenery, art, and history. I'm pretty sure I visited the pastry shop Demel over 4 times. I couldn't get enough of their hot chocolate, cake, and delicious treats.  I enjoyed walking through the streets of Vienna and being lectured by a plague doctor about preventative measures that protect you against the deadly disease. The various medical tours involved wax models that were a mixture of science and artwork, which was absolutely incredible. It is crazy to think that those were lecture models medical students would use to learn human anatomy and physiology. I was very grateful that the program scheduled a concert where we listened to string quartet playing in St. Anne’s church. The sound was angelic and the ambiance was southing and spiritual and a great way to end the night.

Budapest:

After Vienna several of us hopped on a train and headed to Budapest! Going to Budapest was not a priority, but I’m glad I did. In the free city tour I learned about their history and culture. ..Who would have known that Hungarian ancestors came from Asia? Aside from cool facts I also got to see both sides of town (Buda/pest) and take beautiful pictures of the scenery and with friendsJ

A Journey into the Past: Vienna

It’s funny how somewhere that is so far from home becomes “home-like” as you travel to new places. We just returned from Vienna, our first excursion, and while the city was beautiful and historical I’m glad to be sitting in my little room and waiting for Karl and Gitti, my host parents, to cook me dinner!

My overall impression of Vienna: I have to go back. I loved the time that we spent in the city, but I didn’t get to do all the things I would want to do in a city so rich in culture and history. It’s the type of place that you feel like you need to take a whole course in “History of Vienna” before you go and then just spend some time walking around, drinking in the fact that millions of people—famous and obscure, rich and poor—have trod on the same cobblestones as you. And it probably STILL would not be enough.

While there was a lot that I didn’t get to do, there was also SO much that I did get to do! Our first day consisted mainly of a tour through the city from the perspective of Dr. Schnabel—a very wise man that was so knowledgable of the history of medicine in Vienna! However, Dr. Schnabel failed to warn me that Vienna is really cold, even on a sunny day! My main recollections from the tour were that there’s some really interesting history in Vienna--including the Jesus that you pray to when you have a toothache, the old medical university where the lecture hall is as ornate as a cathedral, and a spooky crypt with a winged skull on the outside--and that my feet were freezing. 

After Dr. Schnabel’s tour, we visited the catacombs of Michaelerkirche. If you’re looking for a place to ride out the zombie apocalypse, this place would be a 0/10. The crypt hosted approximately 4,000 deceased, with many of those people gracing the dust underneath our feet (completely decomposed), some lining the walls in the form of stacked or piled femurs and skulls, or a select few presenting themselves in mummified glory. Yes, the catacombs had mummies in the open air. I personally considered that a bit risky with decomposition and people coming in and introducing bacteria and changes in the air composition, but who am I to judge people for how they are preserving their mummies? We saw three: a tall man, a teenage girl with a cleft palate, and an old lady. The detail on the mummies was extraordinary, with each still possessing distinct facial features and toenails and crumbling shoes. Another interesting detail about corpses--when you die your muscles relax. When your muscles relax, your mouth opens. When your mouth is open and you're dead, it looks like you're doing the creepy mummy scream that I imagine all mummies do. Way spooky, but I guess it's just a part of life. 

The next day started with something very exciting: the Spanish Riding School! We got to watch several of the Lipizzaner stallions run through some of their dressage moves. The horses were all extraordinarily trained (you can expect that) but it was funny to watch one of the younger ones getting really sassy with his rider at one point. It’s nice to know that your horse can still be dumb even if you’re the elite of the elite. After the riding school, we all had a day full of free time to do whatever we wanted. My group decided to go to the Vienna Zoo and the Palace Gardens, which was basically animals and gardens. Although I had a lot of fun at the zoo and saw a unique variety of animals, I kind of wish I had gone somewhere more historical or unique. Note to future self: it's impossible to see everything you want to see, so being disappointed at the end of trip is normal and just means you need to go back! Despite my feelings of missing out, it was fun getting to spend time with friends at the zoo.

Day Three consisted of visiting the Freud house, the Josefinum, and a string quartet at St. Anne’s cathedral. The Freud house was a struggle for me at the beginning of the tour because I got hit by the sleep bug (it happens to everyone at some point I guess) so I was just trying to stay awake. Fortunately, I’m kind of familiar with the principles of psychoanalysis from intro psychology (s/o to Dr. Hull and her awesome class!). We then toured the anatomical wax museum, the Josefinum. Basically, an anatomy book come to life! There were many stand-up “dissections”—one body would display muscles, another would show vasculature, another the lymphatic system. There were also more detailed designs of eyes, brains, hearts, genitalia, and even pregnancies. I can honestly say that I learned new things about the human body by being in this museum for even an hour—seeing three-dimensional models of human anatomy really helped put everything in its place. Wish I had wax models for anatomy next semester!

The string quartet concert in St. Anne's Cathedral was probably the highlight of my trip to Vienna. I felt like I truly understood some of the rich musical culture of the city as I heard the strings echo through the ornate cathedral. The musicians were true masters of their instruments and the first violinist and the cellist kept looking at each other and smiling, as if sharing some special moments through the music (although some of it might have just been giggling about something silly too, cause I totally did that when I was in orchestra!). Each note reverberated richly through the painted walls and gilded figures of the church walls, adding new dimensions to the music. I've only experienced such a rich and moving sound when we heard the beautiful Latin song "Panis Angelicus" in a similarly ancient cathedral in Israel. When the quartet did an encore of “Aire” by Bach, it brought tears to my eyes hearing the peaceful music soar through the air and serenade the heart of Vienna. It was a dream come true to experience the music of this city, and I can only hope that one day I can go back and hear it again! 

Our final day involved seeing the pathological wax and specimen museum at the Narrenturm, or Madhouse Tower. It sounds like a really spooky place (and it was a little gross) but the tour guide said nothing scary had ever really happened there so we were okay in terms of not living out a horror movie! The Narrenturm was the first mental hospital in Europe, built in 1784. Patients could check themselves in and out of rooms, and apparently it was quite nice to stay at the facility and chill out and do your crazy thing until you felt better. But the interesting part was the preserved specimens and wax models. Did you know how nasty smallpox was if you weren’t vaccinated? I didn’t either, until we saw the wax model of a guy’s arm with smallpox. It was awful. There were a ton of wax illustrations of STD’s, skin leisions, tumors, cancer, etc., since historically, medicine was often based off of visual diagnosis. I thought the models of pathologic baby poop was especially useful (“oh your baby is sick? Let me go consult my wax models of baby poop to diagnose him!”). There were also skeletal specimen of conjoined twins, hydracepholophy, and a BEAUTIFUL head-in-a-jar specimen of a guy with tons of skull tumors. Crazy stuff!

We also went to the Museum of Natural History, which was really cool, but pretty much a museum so I won’t write about it as much. It was in an old palace though, so it was super ornate! I kind of feel like everything in Vienna was an old palace.

Oh ALSO, there was this chocolate store called Demel, and it was one of those professional-we-hold-the-secret-to-chocolate type of chocolate places. I wish I could bring back a bunch of Demel chocolate to America because it really was fantastic! And they made little chocolate roses, or painted hearts, or faces, or I saw one lady making a chocolate lamb in a field of chocolate flowers (you think I’m kidding but I’m not). They had amazing hot chocolate there too! At 5.50 a cup, I was expecting something legendary (it probably wasn’t worth 5.50 Euros, but hey I was paying for the experience too!).

Favorite moments in Vienna? Bonding with my roomies (Hazel and Jane) with our late night conversations. Breakfast at the hotel because the only interaction you had with the waitress was “Would you like coffee?” “YES” and she would bring you a whole pot. Wandering through the city with Dr. Schnabel and his authentic Black Plague apparel. That one “American” restaurant where Ryan got a whole rack of ribs for like twelve Euro and just being with friends and having fun together.

Overall, a fantastic trip. But I NEED TO GO BACK.