Dropping the H-Bomb June 13, 2011

Yesterday the Mr. and I decided to take a little day trip to Nürnberg, or “Nuremberg” as it is better-known to English-speakers.  I mentioned before that I visited Nuremberg the first time when I was 18, but I don’t think I’ve ever shared the details of that trip on this blog. Hmmm…sounds like another entry I need to work on soon!

Anyway, we decided to head to Nuremberg yesterday as I really wanted to see a film. I guess we’re fairly lucky that the cinema here in Würzburg offers an English-language film on every Monday night, but the problem is that often we either aren’t interested in the film that’s playing (Hangover II last week), OR they don’t offer an OV (original version) film on holidays. We had a long weekend here in Germany with today being holiday. (What holiday, you ask? Why, Pentecost, of course! It’s a religious holiday, but many Germans today don’t even know what it is or why it’s celebrated anymore. Now it’s just a day off.)  We realized that if we wanted to see a movie this weekend, we’d have to head out of town. Nuremberg has a big multi-screen cineplex in its city center, and offered three different OV films yesterday: The Hangover II (Here, too? Really?), Pirates of the Caribbean III (maybe…I do love me some Johnny Depp), and X-Men: First Class. Having read X-Men comic books throughout high school and college, I was most excited about seeing this one. So we decided to make a day of it. We’d first see something else I’ve been interested in checking out for quite some time and then catch the film.

Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait at 28

So what was first on our Nuremberg agenda? We toured the famous painter Albrecht Dürer’s home. Albrecht Dürer lived from 1471 to 1528, and is “conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance” according to Wikipedia. I remember studying Dürer’s self-portrait in a college art history class and finding the level of detail and realism absolutely stunning. Part of the exhibit inside the house showed that self-portrait blown up, and I was still blown away by the detail and precision, even at a size way beyond the dimensions of the small, original painting. The way he painted his curls, for example, they shine and reflect light exactly the way real hair does. Beautiful. The house itself was very interesting. You’re given an audio guide in whichever language you prefer, and his wife, Agnes Dürer, guides you around.

Nuremberg's Imperial Castle

After the tour, the Mr. and I walked around the old center of Nuremberg a bit more, and then had dinner. I found myself really impressed with the area immediately surrounding Dürer’s house, which I’m fairly sure I had never been to before. While Nuremberg’s market square is a bit ugly after it was rebuilt quickly after the war, the medieval portions of the city that survived are really beautiful and interesting. Nuremberg has definitely grown on me!

After the film (which we both really enjoyed), we went to catch our train back to Würzburg at 11.35pm.  It was clear that with it being a long holiday weekend, many people were making the most of it in a celebratory (i.e. drunken) manner. Shortly after we took our seats, a group of teenage boys stumbled into our carriage in the seats directly opposite us, one of them almost sitting on my backpack that was on the seat across from me. He apologized, but it took me about 2 seconds to decide that I really didn’t want to sit across from him and his drunken friends on a long train ride when most of the train was empty. I quickly suggested that we could move so they could all sit together (aren’t I polite and thoughtful?) We then settled into our new spots,  next to a young couple, and I joked that if the train got crowded for some reason, I at least wanted to be next to sober people.

Well, we couldn’t believe what happened next.

At our next stop, the first out of Nuremberg, a flood – and I mean a FLOOD – of mostly 20-something guys and girls wearing lederhosen and oompfa loompfa big busty dresses PILED into our train. It was unreal. Suddenly, we didn’t have just a couple of people sitting across from us, we had four: a girl in a oompfa loompfa dress (it probably has an actually name, but I have no idea what it might be and whatever it is I’m pretty sure I’ll still like my name better) sitting on some random guy’s lap, and two girls in the seat next to them with one sitting on the other’s lap. The aisles filled up with beers, shouting, laughter and LOTS of lederhosen. If ever there were a time I wish my camera had had a little battery power left, last night was it.

Since I couldn’t take a picture, take this image below and instead imagine it on a crowded, tight train carriage and you start to get an idea of what it was suddenly like:

Got the image from here: http://www.thelocal.de/society/20110607-35507.html

Yup, it was pretty much like this. They didn’t have glass mugs, but many of them had stone beer steins. At one point, a drunken man in lederhosen standing next to my seat stumbled into me. He apologized and when I said no problem, he could immediately tell I wasn’t German and then starting asking me questions. He offered me some of his fresh, unopened beer, and told me he needed to show me how hospitable Germans can be even though they are often drunk and annoying. He popped it open, I took a swig, and everyone cheered. I asked him why everyone was wearing the traditional outfits as it’s something I’m genuinely interested in knowing. I’ve seen the dresses, for example, sold in normal clothing stores the last few weeks so I’m sort of wondering why, really. Is there a special event going on? Where did you all go to this evening? He then slurred out that it was “for Hitler. We meet for Hitler.” And then this gem: “Germans only care about Hitler and beer.” Really, I swear to you I’m not making this stuff up.  “Ohhh…” I responded. I mean, how do I respond to that??! Let me tell you something: if Germans ever want to make a non-German feel awkward during polite conversation, all they have to do is drop the H-bomb and bam! *instant* discomfort. Anyway, about five minutes later in the conversation he tells me “He was only joking earlier, of course,” and I tell him “I thought so. I hoped so.”  He then gets all serious on me: “Really?” he asks. “Why? Why did you hope I was joking?” Umm, can anyone say awwwwk-waaaard?  Thankfully, he loses interest in our conversation. Later, he literally falls onto my lap, but luckily that and the H-bomb were the worst parts of the journey. Oh, and the spilled beer on the bottom of my shoes. That sort of sucked, too. But at least no one hurled on them, so I count that as a plus.

Just another day in Germany.

Old Brown Shoe December 7, 2010

One of the most enjoyable things I find about living abroad is discovering all the new traditions and holidays of the host culture. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been able to experience a number of Christmas season “firsts” here in Germany. On Sunday 28th November, the Mr. and I traveled to his Aunt and Uncle’s house for their annual First Advent party. According to Wikipedia, Advent “is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas.” Many people here purchase an Advent wreath, and they light a candle on each Sunday of Advent leading up to Christmas until all four candles are eventually lit. I’m not sure if the idea of doing something on the First Advent is simply a family tradition or is more generally something many Germans do, but the Mr.’s family get together for brunch and spend the afternoon visiting.

Then this past weekend, the Mr. and I travelled to Nuremberg to experience what is considered one of the best Christmas markets in Germany. We felt a little disappointed that the setting of the market wasn’t a bit more impressive. Nuremberg, like many German cities, was bombed heavily during WWII. Most of the buildings that were put up during the reconstruction period were simple concrete structures that sadly don’t have much character, so the square in Nuremberg where the main market takes place is disappointingly surrounded by such buildings. Nevertheless, we did enjoy other aspects of the market. Firstly, there was a fantastic horse-drawn carriage that made a couple of appearances while we were walking around. We also enjoyed visiting smaller “breakout” markets that were located near but apart from the main one. The first we saw was a world market where all the cities around the world that Nuremberg is partnered with as a “sister city” each had a stand. A few of those cities included Venice, Verona, Atlanta, Glasgow, etc., so it was interesting seeing all the wares each for sale. I found the Glasgow and Atlanta stands particularly interesting, but sadly no Cheetos or Twiglets on offer. We also visited the Children’s market which had a fantastic double carousel and other rides for kids. Above each of the rides were wooden figures on the signs that moved – pretty cool for young and old kids alike. After walking around the market for a couple of hours, we couldn’t feel our toes anymore (it was about 19 degrees fahrenheit) so we headed to the cinema to see the latest Harry Potter film in English. Big, happy sigh. It was a great day out, and I’m glad I got the opportunity to visit Nuremberg again (I was briefly there when I was 18). Apart from the convenience of having lots of English-language films showing on a regular-basis, the shopping seems to be fairly good. I discovered they had a Lush store, squealed with joy, and went on a mini shopping spree. Yes, I think there will be many more visits to Nuremberg in the future.

My boot

The Mr.'s boots

And finally yesterday I had another German Christmas “first,” goodies in my boot from Nikolaus. According to The Local, Nikolaus “was a Greek Christian bishop known for miracles and giving gifts secretly, and is now the patron saint of little children, sailors, merchants and students.” Germans remember his death on 6 December by having children put out a boot the night before to be filled with treats in the morning if they’ve been good. The Mr. and I debated whether we should celebrate Nikolaus or instead put up stockings on Christmas Eve to be filled for Christmas morning (as is the American tradition). We toyed with the idea of doing both (double the treats – hurrah!) but then remembered we won’t actually be here for Christmas morning (d’oh!)  I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing, so I bought the Mr. enough treats to fill TWO of his boots. But it was probably still less than what I would have bought to fill a stocking. Oh, and Nikolaus really did visit us – we had a chocolate Santa sitting on our bookcase outside our flat door in the morning =)

Hurray for Hollywood April 19, 2010

When I first started college, my declared major was in communications, not anthropology. I loved film and was very interested in working somehow in the industry, although I wasn’t quite sure in what capacity. My very first college application was to Emerson College in Boston, MA, the only college or university in the US dedicated exclusively to communications and the arts in a liberal arts context. I was accepted but my parents had a look at the tuition and financial aid package (or lack thereof) and nearly had heart attacks. They begged me to go to a college or university in Indiana, at least for my freshman year (you get a break in tuition if you study in the state where you are a resident), and then we could revisit the idea of Boston. So after visiting a few institutions in Indiana, I ended up enrolling at DePauw University, largely because of its Media Fellows program.

The Media Fellows program is a type of honors program for students planning a career in mass media. My high school was small and didn’t have either a student-run radio or television station, so I had no real hands-on experience in any type of media – just a lot of ambition – when I applied as a high school senior. I was rejected from the program, and I can only guess it was due to my lack of experience because I’m fairly sure my high school GPA was high enough. While I was invited to reapply once I was on campus and had enrolled in communications classes, I felt so angry about the rejection that I decided against enrolling in ANY communications classes my freshman year and took other subjects instead. Second semester of my freshman year, I discovered anthropology and fell in love. I sometimes wonder how differently my life might have turned out if the Media Fellows program had accepted my application….

Anyway, although my plans for a career in film petered out, my love for watching it never has. In the UK, I became a subscriber to Lovefilm DVD service and received an unlimited number of discs per month, two at a time, mailed to me. Unfortunately, the reality was that I paid for a service that wasn’t used all that often. Although the turnover time for receiving new discs was pretty fast (a couple of business days at most), working full-time and needing to use our weekends for cleaning and socializing meant there just wasn’t much time left for watching films. So I rarely watched the DVDs I had paid to rent.

Of course now my situation is very different. I’m unemployed and at the moment, I have oodles of free time on my hands. Luckily, Lovefilm has branched out into other parts of the world and there is a Lovefilm.de here in Germany. I’ve already subscribed and received my first discs.

Here’s the good news: almost any big-budget Hollywood film that I’d like to watch is available to rent, and these all come with the OV “original version” option so I can watch them in English. Here’s the bad news: any film that isn’t originally in English seems to only come in that language and German. I learned this lesson the hard way when I received “Coco Before Chanel” and “Broken Embraces” and could watch neither. My options were French and German, or Spanish and German, respectively. I had to immediately send them both back, and this made me very sad. (Especially since it took a full week for them to arrive in the first place…sigh…) The other frustrating thing is that smaller-budget independent films seem in general more difficult to find.

My other worry once we moved here was that I wouldn’t be able to go to the cinema anymore. The big cinema in Würzburg city center unfortunately doesn’t seem to regularly show English language or “original version” films, but luckily there is a cinema just outside the city limits that does. We went on Sunday of last week to see Alice in Wonderland in 3-D. A bit about the experience:

Firstly, I got a bit of a shock when we got out of the car. The cinema is located in a very rural area and surrounding it is all farmland. A bit like Indiana, and yet…. The windows were cracked as we pulled into the parking lot, and I remarked to the Mr. that I could smell something funny. When I opened the car door it took my breath away: the overwhelming stench of cow manure (we think) just about knocked me off my feet. Now being from central Indiana you might think I’m used to “farming smells,” but this was like nothing I had encountered before. Apparently all the fields are covered in manure and the smell dies down after a while but initially is pretty intense. The Mr. thinks farmers in Indiana must do this, too, but I swear I’ve never smelled anything like it before. It was intense and made me realize that the small towns in Germany the Mr. refers to as “cow villages” really are that because they stink like cows. Huh. Don’t think I could handle living in one and smelling that all the time, to be honest. He found my reaction and gagging hilarious.

Anyway, once we got inside (and the scarf around my nose removed) we discovered a very, very long line to buy tickets. We only had 15 minutes before the film was starting, and I was a bit panicky that the theater would be completely crowded. The interesting thing was that there were maybe six or seven films all starting at 11am, and three of them were OV English language versions. That was a nice surprise as I had thought only Alice in Wonderland was playing that day as the OV film. Luckily, we found the theater itself was almost empty and we got great seats. We also discovered that there were no advertisements or previews before the 11am start time, so we missed the first ten minutes or so of the film. At least we’ll know for next time.

All in all, I’m fairly happy with my film-watching options here in Germany. Now if only I can figure out how to set up a slingbox at my parents’ for more television-viewing options….