because it contains real sugar. No corn syrup. If you're in the United States, you can experience the difference in flavor by trying coke bottled at one of Coke's plants in Southeastern Pennsylvania (I think that's where it is, at least). Another great thing that I discovered... you pay like € 0,49 for a can of coke AT THE GROCERY STORE here, but then you get €0,15 of it back. That means that you only pay €0,34 which converts to about $0.50. That's not a bad deal - it tastes better AND it's cheaper, as long as you take your cans and bottles back. So remember future travelers to Germany that between €0,08 and €0,50 of whatever you're paying for beverage is a deposit that you should redeem by being kind to the Earth and taking your bottles back!
My friend, Maggie, posted really cool pictures from Saarbrücken, specifically our trip to the Völklinger Hütte and in particular our visit to the street art exhibit that is being housed there. It was a great time, and you can check it out at this link: http://mcease.wordpress.com/2011/05/27/saarbrucken/ -- Imagine seeing THIS going up around you near the end of the 19th century...wow!
This is a brief and somewhat pointless update (except for the pictures), but I need to get to bed now. Good night!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wow...
Well my day was filled with a lot of stress about preparing for the Vienna Philharmonic's first concert as well as a swanky Galadiner with celebrity chef Johann Lafer. Well, apparently he's a celebrity TV chef here. And then I came home with this really nice person that I've met while here - he's an older guy, with a daughter who ended up studying in Texas when she did an exchange in the USA. But he also happens to know a few different people in Michigan, and so we've been talking about Michigan and he has been telling me everything I need to know about Deutschland. After grabbing a Döner Kebap (delicious) and throwing on my suit, I went downstairs to ride with the family who owns the house where I'm renting.
The wife and I began walking down the street because there was a mass earlier this evening, and her husband is the cantor at the church. Then, I see a really cool car pull up -- it's the husband. And it wasn't just any cool car; oh no, it was a Ferrari! Needless to say, it was a very quick ride to the concert hall...
Before the concert, I worked the ticket booth for a bit, which was fun. I really love the customer service aspect of the job, though the language barrier is often challenging. It's definitely getting better, though. Another part of this job that I love is getting to do awesome things like...walk on stage and give Daniele Gatti (director of the French National Orchestra) a present from the music festival for his work with the Vienna Philharmonic. And that's totally disregarding the fact that I did that after sitting through an amazing (free!) performance of the Vienna Philharmonic playing Mahler's 9th symphony.
Wow! That's were the title of this blog post comes in. I will not soon forget this evening and I was very conscious of the great opportunity that I have right now all throughout the concert. I think sometimes during the difficult moments, such as the stressful preparations earlier today, it's easy to take great things for granted. But then sometimes we have these little realizations of how great something really is and it brings us back into the moment to appreciate, remember, and reflect. I hope I keep having those moments during my time here.
The wife and I began walking down the street because there was a mass earlier this evening, and her husband is the cantor at the church. Then, I see a really cool car pull up -- it's the husband. And it wasn't just any cool car; oh no, it was a Ferrari! Needless to say, it was a very quick ride to the concert hall...
Before the concert, I worked the ticket booth for a bit, which was fun. I really love the customer service aspect of the job, though the language barrier is often challenging. It's definitely getting better, though. Another part of this job that I love is getting to do awesome things like...walk on stage and give Daniele Gatti (director of the French National Orchestra) a present from the music festival for his work with the Vienna Philharmonic. And that's totally disregarding the fact that I did that after sitting through an amazing (free!) performance of the Vienna Philharmonic playing Mahler's 9th symphony.
Wow! That's were the title of this blog post comes in. I will not soon forget this evening and I was very conscious of the great opportunity that I have right now all throughout the concert. I think sometimes during the difficult moments, such as the stressful preparations earlier today, it's easy to take great things for granted. But then sometimes we have these little realizations of how great something really is and it brings us back into the moment to appreciate, remember, and reflect. I hope I keep having those moments during my time here.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Centre Pompidou - Metz (and other updates)
Yesterday after other plans to travel to Düsseldorf/Köln (Cologne) fell through, I decided that I needed to do SOMETHING exciting this weekend. My solution was that I would go to the new Centre Pompidou in Metz, France, which is literally an hour away by train (which seemed to go a lot faster than the LIRR or MetroNorth in NY). Well, first I had to take a 20-min bus ride to France, and then a 40-minute train ride to Metz. It was really enjoyable, though, and it ended up being €7,50 less than I thought it would be, which was a big plus! Also, the Centre Pompidou had free admission for folks under 26. I was very happy about that, and the fact that I literally could walk 5 minutes from the train station directly to the Centre Pompidou. This was particularly important because I slept in until about 11 am today before realizing that I needed to put clothes away, do dishes, do a little grocery shopping - blah blah blah. I was worried because I arrived at the museum at 3:30 pm and I was afraid that 4.5 hours wouldn't be enough (the museum closed at 8), but I finished at about 7 pm. The exhibition was called "Masterpieces?" and it toyed with the notion of what it means to have a masterpiece as well as various examples of "masterpieces" of modern art. Represented were some of the very well-known names - Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Duchamp, Dali - and the not-as-widely-but-also-impressive folks - Delaunay, Tinguely, de Staël. The works all made me think a lot about the usual things I've been interested in with art...separation/integration of art from/with society; what we can consider to be "art" in the first place ("tout est art"?); ideas of originality, "high" versus "low"... I realize these are all very broad questions, but my notebook is a better place for the more specific musings than here on the blog. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera! This seems to be a common them, so I will just start keeping it in my backpack as a habit. I DID take pictures on my Blackberry, but now I have to figure out how to get those from my Blackberry onto my Mac (two things that usually don't go together).
Before I forget, some excitement on the bus ride back from France - this girl was cussing out some guys who were harassing her. They were all drunk (they were drinking beers on the bus, which I guess isn't a crime here or at least not as big of a deal as in the USA because people drink EVERYWHERE!) and every French cuss word that I've ever learned and then some came out of her mouth. It freaked me out enough that my RA instincts kicked in and I dialed the police line...but maybe they saw me because they calmed right down mid-call. The police strolled up in a van after we arrived and one of the drunk girls promptly went over and talked to them.
For the rest of the night, I'm probably going to send some e-mails, read, and then go to bed...yes, I'm boring, but I do eventually have to go back to my life in the USA, so I need to accomplish some things on that front. Gute Nacht!
Before I forget, some excitement on the bus ride back from France - this girl was cussing out some guys who were harassing her. They were all drunk (they were drinking beers on the bus, which I guess isn't a crime here or at least not as big of a deal as in the USA because people drink EVERYWHERE!) and every French cuss word that I've ever learned and then some came out of her mouth. It freaked me out enough that my RA instincts kicked in and I dialed the police line...but maybe they saw me because they calmed right down mid-call. The police strolled up in a van after we arrived and one of the drunk girls promptly went over and talked to them.
For the rest of the night, I'm probably going to send some e-mails, read, and then go to bed...yes, I'm boring, but I do eventually have to go back to my life in the USA, so I need to accomplish some things on that front. Gute Nacht!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Concerts, Visitors, and More
It has been a very busy week. My friend, Maggie, came to visit, and she's somehow the perfect combination of "flexible" and "a blast" in terms of sightseeing, exploring, etc. We went to a factory that was turned into a museum / performance space, under the guise of a UNESCO world heritage site. More info: http://www.voelklinger-huette.org/en/welcome/ We also went to a concert, hosted by the festival where I'm working, of German percussion star Martin Grübinger. The show was really entertaining, but we didn't get back till about 11:30 or 12 last night. I also went to/helped at a concert on Sunday. It was Haydn's "The Seasons" performed by an orchestra from Bavaria, with Baron Enoch zu Guttenberg as the director. I gave the soloists and the director host presents afterward, but I got confused as to who exactly the director was because he came out separately from the soloists. It was an awkward moment, but it just elicited a little laugh from the crowd giving a standing ovation. What else... I might get to go home early today to hang out with Maggie, but we'll see...it's okay if not. It is a job, after all. The German communication barrier is feeling better this week, and I think it will get even better next week. I feel myself on a steady upward path of improvement with the language. I just need to get over to France now and practice a bit there!
PS - I'll post pictures asap
PS - I'll post pictures asap
Saturday, May 14, 2011
An eventful past few days
They let me drive at work.
And I got to drive a Mercedes...
Just to the car wash. No expeditions on the Autobahn. Yet. Also, I got to drive three different cars, which was kind of fun.
A view of the Deutsche Rentenversicherung Saarland. I'm pretty sure this is similar to Social Security in the USA, except they have a huge surplus here that they don't borrow from to pay for two immoral and unnecessary wars. On a less political note, this is where I catch the bus in the morning to go to work!
A view from Egon-Reinert-Straße of the house where I live. It's the dark maroon one on the right, and I live on the top floor.
Further down Egon-Reinert-Straße
The "S-Bahn" - Saarbrücken's street tram line. It actually goes over to Sarreguemines, France (hopefully I'll have a chance to do that sometime this week, if not today)
The parking lot of Edeka, where I go grocery shopping. I felt like a creep taking a picture of a supermarket for some reason, so I snapped this one really quickly.
My little kitchen
Little living room
My little sleeping area, complete with that classically European duvet and pillow.I know this is a really quick update, but I want to go sit outside and read a little bit before I go out to explore the city and maybe head up to IKEA in Saarlouis...it's an adventure, right? Also, I just found out that there are 29-euro special tickets to Paris, so I'll have to check that out. There is also this carpooling website that past UM interns told me about called Mitfahrgelegenheit, so that's always an option, too.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Of grocery stores and other kleinigkeiten...
I have figured out that I am basically going to have to grocery shop every two days, at least, because the food that I like goes bad very quickly. This is probably actually a good thing because it means that the food I'm buying isn't packed full of preservatives. It also means that I'll be spending about an hour after work taking the bus home, walking to Edeka, and then coming back with my Lebensmittel (this is a great moment to pause and admire Edeka's slogan: "Wir lieben Lebensmittel!" I can't translate how adorable this is into English) Food is also seemingly cheaper, though that could just be the illusion of using a currency with more purchasing power. It's also too early to tell because I've had to purchase larger items to keep my food fresh, longer-lasting items such as cereal and confiture, and so forth...
Something else I'm beginning to notice is how much English has intruded into the German lexicon since the last time that I was here in 2007...or maybe I just wasn't in a setting to notice it. But imagine my surprise at seeing "ein warmes Catering" or "ein Sponsoring" in documents at the music festival. Does the intrusion of the English (aka coming-from-the-USA) word also mean that it is the intrusion of an American concept? Did guest musicians ever ask for "ein warmes Catering" before the culture of fame and consumption was perfected in the USA?? Such rhetorical questions interest me, but I don't know where to begin to try to answer them, and there probably isn't a definite answer. Like similar questions, it's just an open space of searching and thinking that provides us with some semblance of what we might otherwise call an "answer."
A couple other language things of note... I have had trouble adjusting my "huh?" response. By that I mean the response of saying "What?" or "Huh?" when I don't understand or hear something perfectly well. I think the correct way for me to pose this would be, "Wie, bitte?" so I've been correcting myself when I bust out with the strange-sounding, "Was?" which is a direct translation of "What?" Another thing has been my personal amusement at being called "Herr Brown" in the office. It might seem incredibly strange to an American, but at least in the German office where I'm working, almost nobody refers to one another by his or her first name. It's "Herr X" or "Frau Y." It sort of reminds me of how in Young Frankenstein, the horse neighs every time someone says "Frau Blucher" (neeeiggghhh)... Honestly, though, it's not weird, it's just a difference that I'm noting and enjoying.
Something else I'm beginning to notice is how much English has intruded into the German lexicon since the last time that I was here in 2007...or maybe I just wasn't in a setting to notice it. But imagine my surprise at seeing "ein warmes Catering" or "ein Sponsoring" in documents at the music festival. Does the intrusion of the English (aka coming-from-the-USA) word also mean that it is the intrusion of an American concept? Did guest musicians ever ask for "ein warmes Catering" before the culture of fame and consumption was perfected in the USA?? Such rhetorical questions interest me, but I don't know where to begin to try to answer them, and there probably isn't a definite answer. Like similar questions, it's just an open space of searching and thinking that provides us with some semblance of what we might otherwise call an "answer."
A couple other language things of note... I have had trouble adjusting my "huh?" response. By that I mean the response of saying "What?" or "Huh?" when I don't understand or hear something perfectly well. I think the correct way for me to pose this would be, "Wie, bitte?" so I've been correcting myself when I bust out with the strange-sounding, "Was?" which is a direct translation of "What?" Another thing has been my personal amusement at being called "Herr Brown" in the office. It might seem incredibly strange to an American, but at least in the German office where I'm working, almost nobody refers to one another by his or her first name. It's "Herr X" or "Frau Y." It sort of reminds me of how in Young Frankenstein, the horse neighs every time someone says "Frau Blucher" (neeeiggghhh)... Honestly, though, it's not weird, it's just a difference that I'm noting and enjoying.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
First days of work...
I think the most interesting part about any new work experience is that I always have this idealized vision of what it's going to be like as I'm about to begin, and the job turns out to be completely different. So far, my internship is not an exception to this pattern that I've observed in my life experiences. The Musikfestspiele is located on the lowest floor of a Professor's home a short drive from the city center of Saarbrücken. I'm basically doing everything that I did as an Honors RA this year, only on a much larger scale. For example, yesterday (my first day, mind you!), I wrote up an itinerary for a choir that is visiting at the end of June to send to charter bus companies and then worked on updating a checklist for the Vienna Philharmonic concert at the end of this month. Today, I had to write an e-mail to all of the Musikvereine in Saarland - the problem is that a lot of the Musikvereine do not have e-mails listed on Saarland's Musikvereine infopage and a bunch of them are outdated. So tomorrow I will be (bravely) calling up many of these organizations on the phone to offer them discounted tickets to the Vienna Philharmonic's second concert at the end of May. Everyone around me is speaking German at a seemingly ridiculously fast pace, but I'm sure it's just normal conversational speed. I'm hoping the comprehension aspect will click soon - in my past experiences (in France), it takes a week or so and then everything magically "clicks." I can't explain it other than in those terms. Hoping the "click" will come soon in this Saarlandischer Dialekt.
A side note - I'll try to post pictures - of my apartment and of some of Saarbrücken - tomorrow or the next day. I know it is boring without pictures. As the noble Rick Snyder said at UM's commencement ceremony, we are an increasingly "ADD society." Such well chosen words for such a well spoken man...
A side note - I'll try to post pictures - of my apartment and of some of Saarbrücken - tomorrow or the next day. I know it is boring without pictures. As the noble Rick Snyder said at UM's commencement ceremony, we are an increasingly "ADD society." Such well chosen words for such a well spoken man...
Monday, May 9, 2011
Arrival in Germany
(Written around 8:00 am this morning)
Getting to Saarbrücken was a lot less frustrating than getting to Rome….except for check-in at Rome Ciampino, where I stood in line for an hour, only to find out that I had been in the wrong line. Once I got through security, my flight was boarding. I took Ryanair, which is basically like taking a flying bus that constantly wants to sell you stuff. But it got me very close to Saarbrücken for a lot cheaper than if I had flown in somewhere else. I took a bus from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to Trier, and then I took a train from there to Saarbrücken. The trains here are so quiet! They are all electric, but they are even quieter than lines such as the Long Island Railroad in New York or NJ-Transit train in New Jersey.
Herr Leonardy, the guy whose apartment (Actually top floor of his house) I'm renting, picked me up in a little blue convertible, the trunk of which wasn't large enough to hold my suitcase. So we rode through Saarbrücken with a huge suitcase in the back of his little blue convertible - what a spectacle! But it was a fun ride. I unpacked everything in my apartment, which is basically the entire top floor of his house. It's pretty cool! I fell asleep around 6 pm and didn't wake up until 7 am this morning - oops. But it felt really great, and I'll definitely be on track to wake up on a normal schedule this week and beyond. This was kind of a boring update, but I'm about to go buy some food and other vital supplies.
Bis später!
-- wait one other cool thing that I forgot when I wrote this earlier: I met a prof on the plane from Rome to Frankfurt who lives in France. We talked a lot about modern philosophy, art, music, and literature. Hopefully I'll be going to her place in France on Saturday for a little meal. That would be so cool - I'm glad I started a conversation with her because I was a bit apprehensive at first. She also gave me a copy of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. Very cool, right??
Getting to Saarbrücken was a lot less frustrating than getting to Rome….except for check-in at Rome Ciampino, where I stood in line for an hour, only to find out that I had been in the wrong line. Once I got through security, my flight was boarding. I took Ryanair, which is basically like taking a flying bus that constantly wants to sell you stuff. But it got me very close to Saarbrücken for a lot cheaper than if I had flown in somewhere else. I took a bus from Frankfurt Hahn Airport to Trier, and then I took a train from there to Saarbrücken. The trains here are so quiet! They are all electric, but they are even quieter than lines such as the Long Island Railroad in New York or NJ-Transit train in New Jersey.
Herr Leonardy, the guy whose apartment (Actually top floor of his house) I'm renting, picked me up in a little blue convertible, the trunk of which wasn't large enough to hold my suitcase. So we rode through Saarbrücken with a huge suitcase in the back of his little blue convertible - what a spectacle! But it was a fun ride. I unpacked everything in my apartment, which is basically the entire top floor of his house. It's pretty cool! I fell asleep around 6 pm and didn't wake up until 7 am this morning - oops. But it felt really great, and I'll definitely be on track to wake up on a normal schedule this week and beyond. This was kind of a boring update, but I'm about to go buy some food and other vital supplies.
Bis später!
-- wait one other cool thing that I forgot when I wrote this earlier: I met a prof on the plane from Rome to Frankfurt who lives in France. We talked a lot about modern philosophy, art, music, and literature. Hopefully I'll be going to her place in France on Saturday for a little meal. That would be so cool - I'm glad I started a conversation with her because I was a bit apprehensive at first. She also gave me a copy of Rilke's Letters to a Young Poet. Very cool, right??
Pictures from Rome
The Original B&B (where the guy made me find another place)
My hotel room on the far outskirts of Rome...but it's pretty darn nice.
Flavia and I standing on the balcony of the hotel in the outskirts of Rome. Bright sunshine!
These didn't upload in the right order, but oh well... this is the altar inside St. Peter's basilica, looking up into the lantern of the dome. Note the Dove of the Holy Spirit and the wood-in-bronze tapestry-like decoration. Exquisite, no?
Looking from the entryway of St. Peter's Basilica
Pope John Paul II (After his beatification)
St. Peter's Basilica
Me standing down the street from St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's set up from Easter Mass and the beatification
Fountain in the Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese
View of the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna from Villa Borghese
View of a train exhibit set up on the edge of the Villa Borghese from the Galleria Nazionale
Statue of Goethe in Villa Borghese
Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
Dove of the Holy Spirit in S. Croce
"Line C" - aka Line Construction
The Colosseum...wow.
In front of the National Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Piazza Venezia
Flavia in front of two of her favorite places: Zara and McDonald's*!
Flavia and I in a place that she simply referred to as, "Pincio"
American Embassy - I got in trouble from Flavia for taking this because I apparently wasn't taking enough pictures, and I decided to take a picture of this as we passed by. Oops!
Colosseum at dusk! Gorgeous - if only I had been able to get a picture of it at night while on the moto (see below for my failed attempt)
Molly, John, and I shoved against the wall at the cool little pizza place where we ate for my last night in Rome
Fail (trying to photograph the Colosseum at night - we were stopped at a traffic light)*Not actually one of Flavia's favorite places
Last Day in Rome
Wow…what can I even say about it? Rome turned out to be one of the coolest experiences I have ever had. Flavia was just extremely welcoming and so much fun to hang out with. I actually didn't meet her until 5 pm yesterday.
Before meeting up with Flavia, I decided that I wanted to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (a church with relics of the passion, but I'll get to that in a second). It was really easy to visit the National Gallery - it was located on the edge of the Villa Borghese, which was absolutely beautiful. The gallery had great works from Italian artists such as Claudio Cintoli and Alberto Burri, but they also had works from folks such as Mondrian and Van Gogh. Very thought-provoking, overall, though some of it just was over my head.
Trying to get to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme turned out to be tricky, and I instead ended up at San Giovanni (Saint John's) Basilica. But that was absolutely gorgeous - the ceiling was basically pure gold, and the frescos were also quite beautiful. I asked one of the sisters at the church about how to get to Santa Croce, and she gave me a map (what a novel idea, a map…I forgot mine at the hotel). I hurried over to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, and I walked in expecting to see the relics right in the main sanctuary, but they were actually in a small side chapel.
It was kind of an awe-inducing experience to stand in front of one of the nails that they used to put Jesus on the cross, as well as some of the thorns, part of the inscription that was over his head, and pieces of the actual cross as well as the good thief's cross. If you go to Rome, go to this church! It wasn't crowded at all, and I think it's one of those things that you need somebody to tell you about (thanks to Molly's art history professor for that).
In the evening, I went on a walk with Flavia to different spots in the city - Venezia Square, Spagna Square (and the Spanish Steps), and this spot where we could look out and see basically all of Rome, but I forgot the name. After grabbing a sweatshirt from Flavia's house, we grabbed her motor scooter from near the colosseum and went to pizza with Flavia's friends and my friend Molly, who brought her friend, John. That was really fun - we had great fried appetizers, pizza, and pasta. The conversations were also really hilarious because half the table couldn't speak very much English and half the table knew almost no Italian, with the exception of John. I hated that I had to say goodbye to Molly again, because it had already been basically four months since I had seen her and now it will be another 3 months or so… It's a little ridiculous how quickly time passes!
One of the coolest parts of the whole day was riding on the scooter with Flavia past all of these famous sites that were so beautifully lit up at night, including the colosseum. It was like a movie, honestly, because it was so darn cool. It's something that I'm not going to forget very soon...
Before meeting up with Flavia, I decided that I wanted to visit the National Gallery of Modern Art and Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (a church with relics of the passion, but I'll get to that in a second). It was really easy to visit the National Gallery - it was located on the edge of the Villa Borghese, which was absolutely beautiful. The gallery had great works from Italian artists such as Claudio Cintoli and Alberto Burri, but they also had works from folks such as Mondrian and Van Gogh. Very thought-provoking, overall, though some of it just was over my head.
Trying to get to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme turned out to be tricky, and I instead ended up at San Giovanni (Saint John's) Basilica. But that was absolutely gorgeous - the ceiling was basically pure gold, and the frescos were also quite beautiful. I asked one of the sisters at the church about how to get to Santa Croce, and she gave me a map (what a novel idea, a map…I forgot mine at the hotel). I hurried over to Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, and I walked in expecting to see the relics right in the main sanctuary, but they were actually in a small side chapel.
It was kind of an awe-inducing experience to stand in front of one of the nails that they used to put Jesus on the cross, as well as some of the thorns, part of the inscription that was over his head, and pieces of the actual cross as well as the good thief's cross. If you go to Rome, go to this church! It wasn't crowded at all, and I think it's one of those things that you need somebody to tell you about (thanks to Molly's art history professor for that).
In the evening, I went on a walk with Flavia to different spots in the city - Venezia Square, Spagna Square (and the Spanish Steps), and this spot where we could look out and see basically all of Rome, but I forgot the name. After grabbing a sweatshirt from Flavia's house, we grabbed her motor scooter from near the colosseum and went to pizza with Flavia's friends and my friend Molly, who brought her friend, John. That was really fun - we had great fried appetizers, pizza, and pasta. The conversations were also really hilarious because half the table couldn't speak very much English and half the table knew almost no Italian, with the exception of John. I hated that I had to say goodbye to Molly again, because it had already been basically four months since I had seen her and now it will be another 3 months or so… It's a little ridiculous how quickly time passes!
One of the coolest parts of the whole day was riding on the scooter with Flavia past all of these famous sites that were so beautifully lit up at night, including the colosseum. It was like a movie, honestly, because it was so darn cool. It's something that I'm not going to forget very soon...
Friday, May 6, 2011
The outskirts of Rome aren't so bad...
Moral of the story: Hotel Brunella was awful, and there was no room at the convents with the nuns. I found myself in panic mode at an Italian internet café, talking to my mom about where to stay, when I stumbled upon this Best Western. I looked at the map, and there appeared to be a Metro stop VERY nearby. I zoomed out and it was far from the city center - but there's a metro stop, so no big deal, right? WRONG - mainly because Google maps was displaying a not-yet-existing metro stop on "Line C." Imagine my surprise when I met my friend Flavia at the Colosseum and she told me that "Linea C" was still under construction. So...Flavia and I spent about 2 hours on buses getting out to this hotel near Tor Vergata, one of the universities in Rome. We asked the hotel desk, and there was a much easier way of getting out here - metro line A all the way to the end, and then Bus #20 for about 20 minutes.
Oh - another bit of excitement was that I asked Flavia whether or not I needed a bus ticket, and she told me it was no big deal that I didn't have one. Well... the public transport officer didn't seem to agree. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I think that I got a ticket. I just know that he asked for my passport, then Flavia gave him 50 euros (I promise that I tried to pay her back), and then there were about 3 or 4 old Italian women literally SCREAMING at this man! He was not amused... I'm glad to see that if nothing else works in Rome, the cops at least still know how to write tickets!
I need to pause and say that at this point, I was ready to buy the next Ryanair ticket to Germany and stay in a hostel there. But Flavia and I took the shorter bus+metro route back into the city, and we met her sister and friends at a restaurant. It was so much fun, and I just felt so welcome and a part of the city life. There was also this ridiculous guy interviewing us about Campari Soda...he had me hold up the small bottle of red liquid to my eye as if it were a monocle. I came back to the hotel last night, and I slept well.
Today I did a bunch of sight-seeing at the Vatican, partially with Molly, who is studying abroad here right now (I went to St. Peter's Basilica with her art history class - so cool!), and partially on my own (Musei Vaticani e Capella Sistina). I will add some pictures tomorrow along with the sights that I see tomorrow - hopefully this will include some images of well-known places in Rome.
N.B. I don't like to take pictures of artworks in museums or of very sacred places/things. I was a little horrified today at how often people had their cameras flashing, but oh well.
Bis später!
Oh - another bit of excitement was that I asked Flavia whether or not I needed a bus ticket, and she told me it was no big deal that I didn't have one. Well... the public transport officer didn't seem to agree. I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I think that I got a ticket. I just know that he asked for my passport, then Flavia gave him 50 euros (I promise that I tried to pay her back), and then there were about 3 or 4 old Italian women literally SCREAMING at this man! He was not amused... I'm glad to see that if nothing else works in Rome, the cops at least still know how to write tickets!
I need to pause and say that at this point, I was ready to buy the next Ryanair ticket to Germany and stay in a hostel there. But Flavia and I took the shorter bus+metro route back into the city, and we met her sister and friends at a restaurant. It was so much fun, and I just felt so welcome and a part of the city life. There was also this ridiculous guy interviewing us about Campari Soda...he had me hold up the small bottle of red liquid to my eye as if it were a monocle. I came back to the hotel last night, and I slept well.
Today I did a bunch of sight-seeing at the Vatican, partially with Molly, who is studying abroad here right now (I went to St. Peter's Basilica with her art history class - so cool!), and partially on my own (Musei Vaticani e Capella Sistina). I will add some pictures tomorrow along with the sights that I see tomorrow - hopefully this will include some images of well-known places in Rome.
N.B. I don't like to take pictures of artworks in museums or of very sacred places/things. I was a little horrified today at how often people had their cameras flashing, but oh well.
Bis später!
From 5 May 2011 - Morning in Rome
Good morning…well, it could have been a very BAD morning, but it is a good morning. Let me explain…
The flight from LHR to FCO was delayed. And then I took the wrong train into Rome, overshooting my stop by about 3 stations, arriving at Rome Termini instead of Rome Trastevere. To make matters worse, I speak almost NO Italian, though I am learning some key phrases quickly. My French came in handy on the train when I was able to ask the French-speaking African folks sitting across from me whether the train stopped at Trastevere - they were so kind and helpful. I bought another train ticket at Termini, got it validated (or else would have faced a 100-euro fine, supposedly), and then climbed aboard this random train, hoping it was going in the right direction. I pulled out my Italian phrase book and began asking these women to my left when the train departed. They looked absolutely perplexed, and as I continued trying to speak (very bad) Italian with them, they finally said "Ungar" or something like that, which I took to mean Hungarian. Immediately I said "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" and it more or less saved the day - their daughter was a tour guide in Rome for German-speaking tour groups. Perfecto.
When I finally arrived at Trastevere station a few minutes later, I immediately called my B&B patron…he ended the phone call by saying "See you later" and I wasn't sure whether that meant he would see me when I arrived or he wasn't coming at all. He was there when I arrived by taxi, but there was a problem immediately upon arrival. I had double-booked, he told me, and I would need to be moved to another (pre-arranged) hotel unless I want to pay Euro20 more per night. ABSURD! So here I am, completely angry, and then I go to the ATM to withdraw money, and my card is declined. At this point I'm in panic mode, so I go and buy a little carte telefoniche to use in a phone booth, I call my friend flavia, and it runs out extremely quickly. So now I can either buy another carte telefoniche or…buy a SIM card for my cell phone. Obviously, I did the latter.
By then I was running very late to meet my friend Molly for dinner. But I was able to call my credit union, call my friend Flavia, and leave my mom a message that I had arrived in Rome safely, all for less than the total amount I had loaded on the card. It was really good to see Molly, though I feel bad because I was still in panic mode. We grabbed Gelato and walked her neighborhood. After returning to my B&B, Flavia came over and we chatted for about 15 minutes. She is so wonderful and still speaks English extremely well - in stark contrast to my nonexistent Italian! And this morning I was able to access my bank account, Gott sei Dank!
Now I await my sentencing to the Hotel Brunella…if I like it, I'll stay there, but if it's seedy, I think I may go stay with the nuns in a convent (cheaper and more interesting, for sure)…
Bis später!
The flight from LHR to FCO was delayed. And then I took the wrong train into Rome, overshooting my stop by about 3 stations, arriving at Rome Termini instead of Rome Trastevere. To make matters worse, I speak almost NO Italian, though I am learning some key phrases quickly. My French came in handy on the train when I was able to ask the French-speaking African folks sitting across from me whether the train stopped at Trastevere - they were so kind and helpful. I bought another train ticket at Termini, got it validated (or else would have faced a 100-euro fine, supposedly), and then climbed aboard this random train, hoping it was going in the right direction. I pulled out my Italian phrase book and began asking these women to my left when the train departed. They looked absolutely perplexed, and as I continued trying to speak (very bad) Italian with them, they finally said "Ungar" or something like that, which I took to mean Hungarian. Immediately I said "Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" and it more or less saved the day - their daughter was a tour guide in Rome for German-speaking tour groups. Perfecto.
When I finally arrived at Trastevere station a few minutes later, I immediately called my B&B patron…he ended the phone call by saying "See you later" and I wasn't sure whether that meant he would see me when I arrived or he wasn't coming at all. He was there when I arrived by taxi, but there was a problem immediately upon arrival. I had double-booked, he told me, and I would need to be moved to another (pre-arranged) hotel unless I want to pay Euro20 more per night. ABSURD! So here I am, completely angry, and then I go to the ATM to withdraw money, and my card is declined. At this point I'm in panic mode, so I go and buy a little carte telefoniche to use in a phone booth, I call my friend flavia, and it runs out extremely quickly. So now I can either buy another carte telefoniche or…buy a SIM card for my cell phone. Obviously, I did the latter.
By then I was running very late to meet my friend Molly for dinner. But I was able to call my credit union, call my friend Flavia, and leave my mom a message that I had arrived in Rome safely, all for less than the total amount I had loaded on the card. It was really good to see Molly, though I feel bad because I was still in panic mode. We grabbed Gelato and walked her neighborhood. After returning to my B&B, Flavia came over and we chatted for about 15 minutes. She is so wonderful and still speaks English extremely well - in stark contrast to my nonexistent Italian! And this morning I was able to access my bank account, Gott sei Dank!
Now I await my sentencing to the Hotel Brunella…if I like it, I'll stay there, but if it's seedy, I think I may go stay with the nuns in a convent (cheaper and more interesting, for sure)…
Bis später!
From 4 May 2011 - At LHR
I am currently sitting outside of a Starbucks in Heathrow Airport in London. It's a bit ironic, honestly, because my mom offered me a Starbucks gift card before I left home, and I declined, thinking that such a thing wouldn't exist across the pond. Oh how wrong was I…
Heathrow is so cool and seemingly technologically advanced. I am connecting to Rome, and instead of following the "connecting flights" sign, I just went with the herd of other Americans when I deplaned. Oh how like-groups love to "clump." The border agent informed me that I could stay within the confines of the airport by following those signs - which I did, arriving at a bus with a door on its left side! And then we drove on the left side of the road all the way to the other terminal. I still can't quite get over the driving-on-the-other-side-of-the-road thing. It was a detail I first noticed on the plane, along with - among other things - the rotation of wind turbines in Wales (from 30.000 feet, mind you!). Perhaps those folks in Nantucket who were upset about a wind farm barely obstructing their view had a point…
Anyway, I'm just really thrilled to be in Europe, even if it's not the continent - yet. I'm trying my hand at the German keyboard feature on my computer. I think the only letter difference is the z and the y are switched. My friend back home suggested that I do this along with the "keyboard viewer" feature on my mac to get myself accustomed to a foreign input. I feel more Deutsch already! I'm going to go try to find a plug that will charge my computer now because this one doesn't seem to be working.
Bis später!
(the ä is where one would find the "/' key on an American English keyboard!)
Heathrow is so cool and seemingly technologically advanced. I am connecting to Rome, and instead of following the "connecting flights" sign, I just went with the herd of other Americans when I deplaned. Oh how like-groups love to "clump." The border agent informed me that I could stay within the confines of the airport by following those signs - which I did, arriving at a bus with a door on its left side! And then we drove on the left side of the road all the way to the other terminal. I still can't quite get over the driving-on-the-other-side-of-the-road thing. It was a detail I first noticed on the plane, along with - among other things - the rotation of wind turbines in Wales (from 30.000 feet, mind you!). Perhaps those folks in Nantucket who were upset about a wind farm barely obstructing their view had a point…
Anyway, I'm just really thrilled to be in Europe, even if it's not the continent - yet. I'm trying my hand at the German keyboard feature on my computer. I think the only letter difference is the z and the y are switched. My friend back home suggested that I do this along with the "keyboard viewer" feature on my mac to get myself accustomed to a foreign input. I feel more Deutsch already! I'm going to go try to find a plug that will charge my computer now because this one doesn't seem to be working.
Bis später!
(the ä is where one would find the "/' key on an American English keyboard!)
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