Week 3, Stuttgart and The Black Forrest

 It is weird to think that it has already been three weeks! They have flown by very fast. This week was relatively mundane in terms of school. On Monday, we had our second intercultural workshop and we went over places to go after Berlin or places to visit in Berlin. On Tuesday, we had an extended math tutorial meaning we did math for three hours and fifteen minutes. It was very exhausting. On Wednesday, we had another German class where we went over how to order. We also had our first meeting with our pilot teams for the Endmodes projects. On Thursday, on German class teacher took us to a coffee cart to order. I got some sparkling orange juice. On Friday, we had one BMEN class before we left for Stuttgart.

The train ride to Stuttgart was about 2.5 hours. I got one homework problem done but we spent most of it chatting. I went with Jarrett, Isabelle, and Nate. When we arrived, we immediately headed to the Airbnb to set out stuff down. After, we headed into town to find a palace. Upon arrival, we found that the tickets were expensive so we only walked around the free parts. Oddly enough, they did not speak English but, upon accident, we found that the front person spoke Spanish and Nate was able to communicate with them fluently. After this, we headed to a brauhaus for dinner. After dinner, we went to an art museum. The museum was nice but my stomach was feeling bad so I was not enjoying it as much as I could have. We then headed back to the Airbnb.

On Saturday, we started our day off by taking a short train ride out to be able to hike in the Black Forrest. We ended up hiking for 12 miles. It was quite tiring. I had bought oranges and apples for snacks which was quite handy. After, we found a bakery and grabbed some quick lunch before heading back to Stuttgart for the rest of the day. We then headed to the Porsche Museum. I enjoyed this museum much more than I thought I would. I got to see two vintage fire trucks and a lot of vintage Porsches. After this, we started our adventure to find dinner. We ended up going into about five different restaurants before one let us in because reservations were required due to COVID. I ate a lot of food- probably more than I should have. We had Japanese food. We then found an Italian ice shop and I had mango ice cream. After, we went to the local library. It was very pretty. We then headed home for the day. In total, our watch fitness tracked that we walked about 19 miles.

On Sunday, we took a morning train back home to Bonn and got back about lunch time. I grabbed some lunch and headed back home with the intentions of getting some work done. I got home, showered, called my parents and sister and then fell asleep. I really barely got any work done but the rest was much needed after the weekend I had been through. I am excited for this coming week to go to Berlin.

School and Sot-Weed

What a long week! Three cities, eighty thousand steps, and a single completed homework. Last weekend, I traveled with four other students to the city of Munster. I was fascinated to learn the history of the town, especially that of the church of St. Lamberti. In the 1530s, a sect of Anabaptists overthrew the city’s Bishop-Prince and established a communist government in his place. Their reign ended four years later when the leaders of the movement were tortured and martyred for their actions. But their actions were not in vain. To this day, their bravery and revolutionary ideas can be seen on full display at St. Lambert’s church, where the cages that once housed their corpses still hang.

While the death and religious persecution were great fun, we also had the time to visit the Allwetterzoo in Munster. I love animals and haven’t been to a zoo in years, so I thoroughly enjoyed my time there. My two favorite animals were the leopards and the seals. The leopards were gorgeous, and there’s something so enjoyable about watching big cats act like small ones. We were also lucky enough to watch the seals while they were being trained. It was remarkable how intelligent they were!

During the week in Bonn, most of my time was spent either working or reading. Our first assignment for Signals and Systems was due, which kept me fairly busy. Nevertheless, the week was enjoyable! I have liked settling into a routine this past week, although I know that this schedule will be thoroughly interrupted next week in Berlin. In my next post, I’ll talk about my weekend with Emily, Isabelle, and Jarrett in Stuttgart.

Aside from school and traveling, I’ve been (mostly) keeping up with my New Year’s resolution to read a book a week! I finished my fourth book of the year – The Sot-Weed Factor, by John Barth – earlier today, on the train back to Bonn from Stuttgart. I really enjoyed this novel. Historical fiction isn’t a genre that I frequent, but the novel’s complexity and John Barth’s cheerful cynicism kept me engaged for 750-odd pages. I mean, it has poetry, tobacco, pre-Victorian England, and quite a bit of sodomy – what’s there not to like?

Quote of the Week (we’ll see if I remember to do this in future posts):

“We sit here on a blind rock careening through space; we are all of us rushing headlong to the grave. Think you the worms will care, when anon they make a meal of you, whether you spent your moment sighing wigless in your chamber, or sacked the golden towns of Moctezuma?”

-John Barth, The Sot-Weed Factor

School In Bonn, Week 3

This week has had the heaviest school focus since being here, and I enjoyed the familiarity of It. Managing classes, our project, traveling, and enjoying life in Bonn will be a big challenge. I’ve enjoyed the classroom dynamic and having a smaller and more focused environment. The next week will be a little distracting with traveling the whole time, but It will be a nice refresher before bunkering down with school for a few weeks. 

Our work with Enmodes has progressed a little as we’ve formed our pilot teams and began researching and learning more about the ECMO. I wasn’t particularly familiar with the device and It’s applications so It’s been interesting learning more. We’re still early on in our work and I’m looking forward to progressing and committing more time towards the project.  

School, Stuttgart, and More School

 It is so crazy to think that I have already been here for three weeks! I’ve definitely gotten more adjusted over the past two weeks. However, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to not having Tex-Mex at my disposal. This week was the first full school week that we’ve had, and I really enjoyed the consistency of It. I’m enjoying my classes and I have a good idea of how I’ll have to go about them. I’m getting more used to my surroundings and going back and forth between school and my new house. 

This weekend we traveled to Stuttgart, which is a small town right outside of the Black Forest. It’s not a common city to travel to, but me and my friends really enjoyed It! We traveled out to the Black Forest and hiked around for a bit, and that was very beautiful. Stuttgart is known for being the city where Mercedes-Benz and Porsche were started, and we got to view the Porsche museum! The museum was so interesting and very impressive, plus they had an option to rent a Porsche, so I might have to make a return trip… We also went to a modern art museum, their well-known library, and walked around the city center quite a bit. Observing these normal German towns has been very fascinating as they give a good and authentic impression of normalcy and what life is like as a German!

We’re going to Berlin this week which I’m very excited for. Up to this point I have only been in smaller German cities, so I’ll be curious to see what a city as big and prosperous as Berlin feels like. From Berlin I will most likely travel to Hamburg. I don’t have any set plans at this point, but I want to take advantage of being in Eastern Germany and travel to a city nearby. Plus apparently Hamburg is known for their seafood, and that has my name written all over It.

School In Bonn, Week 2

 Heading into this semester, I was very excited to see how the school dynamic was going to be. Back in College Station I had a very sound routine and work style that I knew worked for me. And not having any familiarities or comforts here has been very interesting, but I’ve enjoyed having to adjust. I know these classes will entail a lot of work and adding in all the traveling will make for a unique allotment of time. 

We’re starting to begin our work with Enmodes and I’m excited to see how that goes. Up to this point the specifics of the work is a little foreign to me, but I’m looking forward to learning more about what we will be doing. I think the key with the project and school work will be time management. We have a lot of trips planned and staying on top of everything will be very important in order to have a peace of mind and free time to enjoy traveling. 

Cologne, Cathedrals, and Croissants!

 My second week has been quite different, but eventful nonetheless! This week was more of a normal school week, with a little trip to Cologne sandwiched in the middle. Last week was definitely more of a honey-moon with all of the new sights and experiences I was having. And this week has been more realistic in the sense that I will be resuming school and living here for the next four months.

Cologne was absolutely beautiful! We went Tuesday and spent the entire day there. We got to tour the city, view the old Gestapo headquarters, and tour the Cologne Cathedral. The tour of the city was very fascinating, over 90% of the city was destroyed in World War II so a majority of the infrastructure and buildings were all very new and modern. The city also sits along the Rhine, just north of Bonn! And seeing the differences in the use of the river compared to where I've been living was very cool to observe. Getting to see the old Gestapo headquarters was pretty crazy, the building served as the headquarters for Cologne and the surrounding areas from 1935-1944. The building was then turned into government offices, where a majority of the interior was changed, but the basements and interrogation rooms were still intact! Being the secret-police of Germany, the Gestapo held numerous prisoners. And the holding cells and interrogation rooms were very sobering, there were still writings and inscriptions left on the wall from when there were prisoners. But that is a big part of Germany's history, and I have enjoyed learning about it. The cathedral was probably the best part about the trip. It is the second tallest cathedral in the world and we got a very in-depth tour. I was amazed at all the art and detail inside the cathedral and the architecture is unbelievable. 

castles and no money

Word of advice. Don't try to apply for grad school while you are in Germany. You will be in for a rough time and a lot of last-minute essay editing. At least, that has been the case for me for the past 3 weeks. Here I am in Heidelberg trying to soak up the history and sights but at night I am frantically editing essays and trying to get my applications in by the due date. I don't think having this extra work has taken away from the experience of it all, but it does add more stress and less sleep. 

Enough of that complaining, today I got to see a castle that was originally built in 1213. The ruins were beautiful and it made me wish to see what it was like in all its glory with court in full force and people moving around as they would have back then. I guess I have period pieces to thank for that but I want more. Going to these places on your own allows for freedom of movement and decision making, but I find without a tour guide or someone there who knows the history, the buildings and sights don't quit hit its mark as much. 

The food is still amazing, but at this point I'm beginning to feel stressed about how much a meal costs every time I buy one. Back home I rarely ate out, and if I did it would be on a weekend and just for dinner. But when traveling you usually eat 2-3 meals which can really add up. 

Tomorrow I'm going to Cochem to see another castle. It's a fairly small town (I suspect) so hopefully I won't get any more blisters from walking or have to pay extra for transportation like I have had to do for the past few days. 

Peace out,

Avery