Wieder in Deutschland

For those of you non-German speakers, that simply says "Once Again in Germany".

I count myself so lucky to have contacts across the world who will welcome me with open arms to stay in their homes if ever I'm in the country.  And I don't just have one home to choose from: I have TWO. I am so grateful to one Mr. Underhill and his German program at my high school. I've tried to imagine how my life would've gone differently if I'd never signed up for his class. I can't say whether it would be better or worse, but it would for sure be different. I never would've gone to Germany in 2008, forging connections that have now lasted for over 5 years. That trip was the first time I got a taste of traveling abroad, and if you know me at all, you know that it is one of my favorite past times. (Truly, I count my passport as one of my most valued possessions, and when I thought I had lost it a few weeks ago I started crying bitterly out of fear that I wouldn't really be able to launch.) I don't know if I would've gone to Tanzania without that first trip to Germany: it gave me the confidence to seek out a new adventure and it gave my parents the confidence to know I was capable of such a journey. Without those four years in high school German I wouldn't have launched into the German department at UCLA, where I took some of my favorite classes, and I wouldn't have found the mentor in one of my favorite professors. And I certainly wouldn't be here now, in November 2013, preparing to launch into a year of work in northern Germany.

But anyway, contemplation aside, I've already been in Germany almost a week and my travels have finally slowed down a bit (that is, until Saturday when I'll take off again for my last two cities!). I flew into Hamburg and successfully navigated myself all the way to Conny's apartment in Kiel. I was a little disappointed to find how far my German had fallen in the past eight months or so, but Conny is incredibly patient and I've regained the majority of my skills soon enough. And of course, it gets easier every day. Immersion is the absolute best classroom.

Kiel is pretty far North, (53 degrees North latitude, like I mentioned last time) and right on the water. It's known for its sailing and naval history, so I decided to explore the city by walking along the water. Kiel is also the eastern-most point on the Nord-Ostsee Kanal (North/Baltic Sea Canal), a 100-km-long canal that cuts right across the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

I did another good 7 miles of walking and circumnavigated half of the city. Here are some pictures:

That steeple in the background is the Kiel City Hall.

Even with the short days, I love the autumn light.

And the golden leaves. I can't get enough of the golden leaves.

A Rathaus (city hall) with a steeple is sehr typisch in Deutschland.

Stroll along the Hindenbergufer (Hindenberg Embankment) in Kiel

An old naval ship. Like I said, Kiel is known for its naval history.

An old bunker. WWII? not sure.

The canal. Couldn't really get closer because I was right by the locks.

After a couple of days in Kiel, Conny and I took the train down to Elmshorn. She apologized that we had to take the train, but frankly, I love trains! Especially German trains. Seriously, the public transportation in this country has to be one of its biggest Pros. In the US, even when cities have good transportation, we're just too spread out for there to be good, regular, fast public transportation across the country (at least in the West). But driving across Germany from north to south, tip to tip, takes 10 hours max. And that old adage, "As reliable as a German train"? So true. Conny told me that most Germans think the Deutsche Bahn is crap and always late, but that's because they're German, and German people in general value punctuality and order. I will tell you that the German trains are punctual and wonderful haha.

It was nice to settle in for a short while at Conny's; her parents are incredibly warm and welcoming. And they have two adorable new cats, Hugo and Fritzie:

Fritzie is the little one pawing at Hugo, the larger one. That's kind of what she does: paws and attacks.

We went to Hamburg one day,

and Flensburg the next:

Flensburg is to the Danish border as San Diego is to the Mexican border, and it was fun to see Danish license plates and things in two languages: German and Danish. Conny and I had lunch in a cafe and I was very confused that the same item was listed twice, with different ingredients. Conny pointed out that the second one was Danish haha. They look similar enough that I thought it was simply German words that I didn't know!

We also had a good time just lounging around the house and eating junk food while watching ridiculous German television. (Youtube "Wetten Dass"). It's always nice to be in a place that feels homey.

I'm now in Pinneberg, a city really close to Elmshorn, staying with two other people I stayed with last summer. Juli is a teacher at EBS (Buena's partner school for the exchange), and her husband is a surgeon in Hamburg. For the first time in almost a month I have a very large, real mattress all to myself. I'm going to get a good night's sleep so that I can be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to meet with my future supervisor in the morning.

Gute Nacht!