Staying in Germany...Visa Related

I've been gathering so much information lately that I feel like its time to write it all down. What better place to put it than here ;) weeks have gone by it seems since I wrote and I've done a lot of research.
In doing all of this I've also learned from some of my German friends some things about dealing with German people.Its definitely a different bunch and adjusting to their thinking has been a challenge for me. I'm used to seeing Germans on holiday, so its completely different!!

I started the job hunting process officially, I made that decision when I was at the Bodensee in Lindau sitting there staring at the Alps thinking 'yeah, I'd LOVE to stay here'. So I put travel on hold and have put my nose to the grind stone so to speak.

At the registration office she said (I found a nice English speaking one) that I am supposed to find work and get a job offer as soon as I can. That way I can go back to the office with the letter of intent and they begin the process of securing my visa. So all this time I thought I was supposed to wait three months then they would say okay was a TOTAL misunderstanding. When you do this, get here, go straight to work looking for a job! So far it seems it could be any job. They have a thing here called a 400 Euro job. Means that's all you get paid, its part time and they give you all the money without withholding taxes etc. Which for me would be ideal assuming I had English tours set up already. I could do both. (Karensworld=karen's own reality~usually :)
I have a list of a few more questions to ask the people just to make sure I'm covered. I did ask her about working somewhere besides where I'm registered. For example I'm registered for the residence permit in Esslingen but I could get a job in Tuebingen as long as I go back to Esslingen with the job offer. All paperwork through the same place otherwise doesn't matter the region. 
My next question will be about working on a river boat, those are contracts for a period of time and I'd want to stay here after that.

Another thing I did was I walked into the Tourist Information office and asked about walking tours (this was in Tuebingen). She says "we offer a walking tour of the city every day but not in English" so I of course say, "well how about English tours"? She looks at me and says " there is alot to learn and the people we recommend take a training class". I said "well I can learn the information, that's not a problem" but she was already not too interested. At any rate what it told me was that I'd have to really prove I was worthy for them to recommend me and also that they may not recommend me at all because I'm not high enough caliber. Sheesh. The lady in Esslingen TI was alot more friendly about the whole thing but I'd still have to learn it and then 'sell' it to them. Which I could do with time and effort and will continue to work on those ideas but I'll have to get a job in order to stay and work on that.
I will be asking the registration lady about starting a business and that counting for my visa/residence permit requirement. I'll find out and get back to  you.

I'm sorry but that's funny

I've applied for many jobs and have sent inquiry emails to a lot of other people. Since the straightforward approach seems to be too much my friends thought it would be better to write and ask if they were hiring, would they be interested, here's my quick story etc. seems to be working, they do respond to that. Rolf seemed to think that since Germans (not all) see the problem first that I should present them with their problem (example-you don't have English tours) and then give them the solution. Dani doesn't see it quite like that. She says just be specific and honest about what you're interested in and they will respond.

Either way you need to be specific. I live with big generalizations all the time. If not this, than this. That doesn't work out, oh well, moving on. Its not quite that easy for some people here. And even my being that way stresses them out. Ha! Its not their problem ya know? :)

After all was said and done I had been working on fun and unique tours in Tuebingen (because that's where I was at the time, why not start there) and then my living arrangement changed there so I had to abandon my efforts for the time being . I had a great idea to get in touch with the people at the German American Institute (not that helpful a place other than for networking) and offer to help Germans practice English if they'd follow me around and help me practice my tour. Mutually beneficial.

So most of these notes are specific to the area I'm in. Stuttgart is a big place and I don't really care much for it at this point, not in a touring perspective anyways. Its not a bad town really. But the little villages on the outskirts are where there is a lack of English tours. I think even in Esslingen if they didn't have much demand my other idea is to offer tours so that local Germans can practice English also. I mean, why not? Make it a fun event every now and then and let the people come talk to an American.

So that about sums it up. I've got an interview coming up in Cologne on June 18th. I'm really excited about it. Otherwise I'm still sending out inquiry emails to everyone I can think of. Tomorrow I'll go visit the local hostels and see if anyone is hiring. I think I'm in the wrong town for that kind of busy summer action. Stuttgart isn't top of peoples lists much.

Friedrichshafen in Circles

I walked alot today. Turned out after all that hassle getting here yesterday the walk to the island is a total

piece of cake, I'm not paying for the bus again!
I went into town by way of the train bridge and saw a new part of the island this morning. Once I'd made it around to the harbor side of town I decided to sit down and have breakfast. Americanisch style.
People that serve breakfast have options. Small Medium Large. American, Bavarian, Mediterranean etc. its fun. When I ate breakfast with Sabine and Marcus in Limburg (a blog entry I've yet to make) we ate the
large breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bread, spreads, meat and cheese. Today I debated...the Bavarian breakfast consists of pretzel, weisswurst (sausage) and .5L beer. No joke. I knew I'd be sleeping in my chair after that so I went with the American Breakfast today. Eggs sunny side up, covered in a crisscross of bacon and hotdogs, a side of bread and some butter and jam. It was so good! Gotta say, I love bacon, so finally having some american style bacon really made my day.
After that massive meal I walked around a bit and realized that since its a holiday in Germany NONE of the shops were open. I mean, why make money on a day when thousands of additional visitors were in town? Call me crazy! So after only being able to window shop I sat down and thought about what to do next. I'd seen the island almost entirely. I'd paid money to see Bregenz Austria so I headed back to the train station and found I could go visit another little village by train for really cheap so off I went for 4.25 Euro to Friedrichshafen. Cute place. So busy there today! Its another town on the lake. Also closed for the holiday (restaurants are still open, don't get me wrong) so before I realized that attractions like castles were closed also i walked to the far end of the harbor to go see the Schloss there. Yep, gated up tight. Ugh. Nice walk along the lake though. Lots of crazy people in that town.
I circled back around to the staircase that you can climb up and have a view out from. It was really cool, kinda swayed in the breeze, which was a little weird feeling, but hey, could have been I was swaying from having climbed those stairs too, hehe.
I made another lap around the town trying to find the train station, I needed to get on the train at a different station than i got off of so it was a struggle. Especially as the tourist office was also closed. I mean, why help thousands of extra tourists get around  your city? Weird! I guess they deserve a holiday too? Not if it means wandering around an extra hour on my part it doesn't. ;)
By the time I got back to Lindau I had food on my mind again (don't worry this was HOURS later) so I found a cheap Thai place that made really good food fresh to order and was cheap too! Fun. Its kinda scary Asian restaurant style from the outside so people don't give it a chance but the meal was really good.

I bought a cheap beer at a snack shack and sat at the harbor and watched the people. That is a lot of fun, there are some crazy people wandering around Lindau!
Just as I walked back to the hostel (hell on earth) the thunder came and then the rain. I literally walked in just in time for it to start pouring rain! Phew!
Tomorrow I head back to Tubingen to have more of an official wander around the city according to their guide. Maybe beg for a job...I really want to stay in Germany!

Flashing at Lindau

Well, I am so far behind! Today is Wednesday May 8th. I took the train this morning to a place called Lindau, which is on the German side of the Lake Constance. Bodensee is what they all call it. Its a humungous lake!

I bought my ticket today and then noticed that the connection time was only 4 minutes. And as you all know I am TERRIBLE at trains/connections/trains...haha so as we approached the station I needed, I got ready to jump off. I noticed the track I wanted had no train on it so there was hope. (either that or disappointment because it could have left already) so I ran off my train, down the stairs, up the other side to the track I needed just in time for the next train to roll up. Phew! That was close.
I arrived at Lindau around 2 pm and because I knew my hostel wasn't on the island (its small but still) I chucked my (now much smaller) bag into a little locker and chose to wander around the old city a while. I'm so glad I did. The sun was out, it was a beautiful day!! I got a map with a suggested walking route on it and then I meandered as I do around the city. I had forgotten they have ferries going all over the lake so after I'd wandered for a while I decided I'd take my chances and hop on a ferry to Bregenz Austria. The weather is supposed to turn cloudy/rainy tomorrow so I thought better go now. You

Harbor at Lindau

could see the Alps in the distance!! So cool. It was a nice trip. I had a couple of hours to walk around Bregenz so I saw as much as I could in that time. I didn't have time for the funicular up the mountain unfortunately but that's okay. I walked over and saw the famous floating stage. They are doing the Magic Flute this year, which would be awesome but it doesn't start until July.
My real adventure today came when it was time to head to the hostel. I hadn't eaten by this point (it was 7 pm) because I knew the hostel reception closed at 9 pm and I was certain there was food near the hostel.
So in my hungry angry delirium state I walked out to the bus area without having even picked up my bag from the locker...haha oops! I went back for it and then hopped on the bus as they suggested in the directions for this place. I got off the bus and proceeded to wander aimlessly around in circles because the directions were pretty unclear (okay, they were exact but I went east instead of west)
I arrived at the hostel totally pissed off, tired and hungry, which is never good. I got checked into my room and went to have a look and forgot that it was a co-ed dorm room so I took off my shirt and was standing there in my bra when a poor young fella came in. Ha! I didn't even think about it! I'd been staying in female dorms mostly so I wasn't thinking. Anyways, he ran out and has still not returned. I really must have impressed him.
Okay so I'm now tired angry hungry and embarrassed, I go upstairs to take care of that situation when the guy tells me there isn't food nearby and that I'd need to go back onto the island for it. Seriously?! I bought a single ride bus ticket because I thought they had some special deal on tickets here.I paid 2 euro when I could have bought a 5 euro 24 hour ticket. I was so mad.
The only thing that saved that reception man from my fists of fury was that he sold beer (which is always like a meal here) so I had one of those and am now about to call it a night.
Tomorrow who knows. The weather seemed to hold today but I'll see what I wake up to. Maybe a bike ride around the lake or maybe I'll just sit and watch the mayhem at the harbor in Lindau.
This place is so beautiful. The lake is huge as I said, the Alps are right there. Now all I need to do is try some local cuisine and I'll really have it made!

Crazy for Cologne

Rub for good luck

I'm having such a good time I'm neglecting my blog duties. After such a stressful few weeks I finally hit my stride in Cologne. I LOVE this place. There is just enough crazy to keep you on your toes but not too much to discourage you from walking out the hostel door.
I arrived here Weds afternoon. I sat next to a man who was older but spoke really good English. He had lived in Dallas Texas of all places. He had plenty of suggestions for my visit to this area. It isn't hard to find things to do though really. I got checked into the hostel, showered and cleaned up and then headed out for a walk and some food. On the other side of the train station (which is huge!) I found the Dom (Cathedral) its huge! Really cool.
The train station here is so big, has everything you need. Food all types, clothes, accessories, souvenirs, Burger King and McDonalds, outside on the one side is a curry wurst stand if you're hungry for cheap street meat. Its great. I like to go there and just watch the insanity as people change platforms and figure out their next move, and do they go this way or that. Its so crazy.
I walked around the Dom at first but was followed by a guy who wanted to know all the details of my entire life, which made me really uncomfortable so I told him to get lost. Lets see, I didn't get far that evening

because I was tired and hungry and tired. So I went back to the hostel and went to bed.
Thursday though, Oh, I should mention I bought a city map at the train station and studied it...preparation!! Yeah!
I got up eventually and made my way out the door to see as many sights as I could manage. Eight hours roughly I saw a lot of stuff!! This place is great. I walked to the river and found every tour group in Cologne there starting their city tour...wow. I wandered along taking photos, circling the blocks trying to find things they recommend I see etc and had such a great time. That was bout 9/9:30am and nothing was open, no one

was around, I had the place to myself. I went back later and found it FULL of people!
I'm trying to think what else that day but it was full of amazing things and I took tons of photos of course. I paid to climb the steps up to the 'top' of the cathedral for the view. Awesome. 533 steps altogether. It wasn't so bad until coming down when all those tour groups (think Washington DC in May~nightmare) coming up the stair case built for barely one...it wasn't fun. But I did it and then I went back to my favorite part of town and had a few beers....oh another thing! I went to a place called Bier Esel, its supposed to famous for its mussels (according to my map) I get there and the waitress says "its finished". Well, what does that even mean?! She brings me a menu in English after that and it says mussels are in season September to February. Ugh. So I ordered "Kolsch fast food" which was bread, cheese, onion rings. I get a plate with a hard rye roll, cheese and actual slices of red onion (typical American thinking onion rings was fried onion rings, haha) so I graciously ate it and left. Fail.
Thursday night I bought some food at the grocery store for dinner and talked with some people in the hostel. One kid from Croatia had a ton to say about every place. He was really entertaining! Lots of advice.
This morning (Friday May 3) I got up wondering what to do as I'd done most of the things on my list. So I walked back to the Roman tower because I took a picture of something I thought was it Thursday and then realized it wasn't it so had to go back. I also visited the Eau de Cologne 4711 building. Cool place. Love the

fragrance.
I did finally give up and go back to the Rhine Garden (area at the river) my favorite place. Grassy area near the beer gardens. I had come prepared today and brought my shawl for sitting on the grass. I ended up taking a nap, it was awesome! I layed there and thought about nothing.
This afternoon I got stopped by a man who wanted to know where I was from and then take a photo of my shoes. I mean really? I was in flip flops which people think is just the weirdest thing! Why is that so weird. Today I wore, shorts flip flops strapless top. It was enough to put people over the edge. Like its cold here? Its not! Sheesh!
I finally went back to the hostel and changed tonight. Sheesh. I wanted to go back to Fruh (U with two dots) they have a cool cellar area. Turns out its really the place to be so there was a huge group of people waiting for tables. I had no idea! So I sat there all alone, had a few tiny beers (why do they only serve Kolsch in .2L glasses there? Seriously, lame. But the waiter was really nice and the atmosphere was worth it, I guess.

3 little marks are for keeping track...

Eventually the pressure to give up a mostly empty table to the waiting masses was too much! So on the way back to the hostel I pass through the train station (its enroute to everywhere from here) I bought a Fruh .5L size for way less than I'd bought my three little ones...but hey experience right?!
Tomorrow I pack up and head out to new places. Yeah.

North Friesland Gap

Just noticed there is a missing day in the blog lineup. I mentioned going to Flensburg with Niklas but then skipped ahead. By the way that looks like Fry's land, like the french fry but its "Freezeland".

We did go Flensburg, intent on doing a brewery tour of the Flensburg Pilsner but they require reservations. So we went to Hansen's brewery by the harbor and had a great time tasting the brew there, they literally brew it then it's poured out of the container directly, so fresh! I'll show you.

After that we headed to North Friesland. I'd name the villages but there were so many and I was pretty certain Niklas was driving in circles. Ha! We caught up with a bunch of his friends there and they had a party at someones house (someone not living with their parents...I totally get it) it was fun. I was the oldest one there of course but they all guessed I was 26 years old so they are my friends for life now hehe.
Saturday we got up and drove up to Tonder which is across the border in Denmark. Really cool town but everything closes early in the afternoons there so the town was deserted. We drove to a place called Dagebull (u has the two dots, but I don't have the button) and had fresh shrimp straight from the North Sea.

It was totally amazing, they serve them straight on a bread with some mayo! Really fishy tasting but not ocean fishy, it was hard to describe. Not quite as salty but definitely fishy. Yum!
After that we headed back to Kiel and then you see my post for the time after this...hell.

Tonder Denmark

Kill me in Kiel

Wow, morbid title, but appropriate. Having no internet is so difficult! And the internet I had was not strong enough to do blogging etc. Plus I was having a pretty miserable time so writing about my days was just depressing. Actually come to think of it there is NOTHING to report about Saturday afternoon, Sunday, Monday and Monday night. Niklas disappeared, leaving me to wander around Kiel which is a totally ugly and boring place. So really you didn't miss much.
I'm in Cologne now. I left Kiel a week early. Wasn't soon enough. But no need to go into it really, its all good now.

American aisle, with squeeze cheese

I did have a great day on Tuesday. I took the train (eventually...because I kept trying to buy tickets but the language would change to German mid way through, then the card machine wouldn't work, trains...aargh!!) So I missed the first 2 and then finally go onto a train headed for Flensburg. I had really liked it on Friday when Niklas had driven me through there so I went back. The train station isn't far from the harbor so I had a great walk around. What a cool town, I really like it there. Even more now. I would recommend going there, staying in a hostel/hotel and just enjoying it. There is plenty to see, good beer, Denmark is right down the road so you can check off another country on the 'master list'. Its great. I'll go back.
While I was there I went back to Hansen's Brewery for more good fresh beer and a meal of red cabbage (saurkraut) potatoes and roast with brown gravy. I also visited one of the rum distillers in Flensburg.

Apparently it was quite the place for that back in the days. They still old a Rum festival each year in the harbor. Nice. I went into St Nikolai church. Its an old one, really cool inside but there was this guy who was

standing still, staring not at the church/alter/pipe organ/stained glass...but at one of the pillars. Weird. Then he moved over a little bit and stared at the benches...I didn't want to be stared at next so I left. Haha

Like I said. Now I'm in Cologne. You'd be proud of me, got a ticket for the ICE, made a seat reservation and managed to get onto the right train car and into the right seat. Minor miracles...haha

Cologne is so cool, you walk towards the doors and BOOM there is the Cathedral staring you in the face. Awesome. I can't wait to go see it tomorrow.

Schleswig and the local celebrity.

I woke the sleeping bear and made him start the day earlier. Turns out it takes a non morning person a really long time to get into the day. I can’t imagine. Getting up at noon means you’ve only got a few hours to do things.

We headed to a place further north today. A town called Schleswig. It sits on a water inlet from the Baltic Sea. Was a nice place, had a big cathedral, a nice quay by the water and a really old area where they preserved the fishing village from the 1700’s and earlier. It was really cool. They still fish there and you can buy the fish fresh from the man on the boat! Yum!

Niklas’ mom took us to a café near the harbor and we had lunch. Niklas ordered what turned out to be cold smoked salmon with a dish of pasta. Wow! Yum. I’m still not sure what its called on a menu but once I learn I’ll be ordering it. Salmon is so cheap here, its on every menu!

Niklas' mom Elke was voted by her local community to be a model for people over fifty. It was a contest they ran in the local paper and she won! She was modeling on a catwalk on Friday. Neat! She's pretty adorable though so I could see it. That was my local celebrity...haha

Inside the cathedral is an alter carved entirely of wood, it survives from the 1400’s. Wow! They were pretty organized about showing it off. They have a ‘map’ of the different scenes so you can follow along and then they also have close up photos enlarged and in a big display so you can see them up close. Really cool!

This morning I walked to the Tourist info office. Its just past the train station. They are pretty well organized, with a nice store but only 2 items were in an English version. Which is what I’m finding everywhere. Its been really interesting. I keep visiting places where few Americans wander so they aren’t quite as tourist oriented.

On my way out the automatic door stopped working. So you walk up to the sensor and nothing happens, it was funny. Talk about being trapped, there was a line to get in and out, ha! Finally a desperate lady just pulled the doors open.

This afternoon (Niklas had to work today) we are headed to Flensburg. I’d tell you all about it but I haven’t have Google power for days, I’ve gotten to do no research ;( it’s a bummer actually, I kinda like being able to read up a little bit on where I go, what I see etc. But its not so major. 

Kalifornia...

I went to California (okay, Kalifornien) haha. It was great! Niklas kept saying lets go to California which is especially funny because his tour was all over California.

As it turns out it’s a real place right along the sea. Big sections of beaches (which they are ‘combing’ right now, scooping off the rocks…) beach chairs, beach gear, shops etc it was great. Since its so early in the season there isn’t anyone around yet but when I come back in a month the place will likely be packed!

I got into the water a little bit, its freezing cold! Swimming there would be hard really, besides that its freezing, you have to wade a long ways out to get to deeper water otherwise it’s a nice shallow sandy pool.

This was the first area I’d seen that had camping options also. Around here they seem to be RV campgrounds mostly. I could see that though, its really windy across that place. A tent would never survive. Their RV are really cute mini versions of our road warriors…

Right next to Kalifornien is a place called Brasilien. Ha! So we walked there to check it out, all we found was an enormous campground parking lot and the biggest rooster you’ve ever seen. I mean this thing was the size of a golden retriever! I couldn’t get him to move off his hilltop so the photo doesn’t do him justice.

Neither Niklas nor I were sure if that was all brazil had so we kept walking and walking and walking and ended up in a new village altogether. Ha. I guess Brazil is just a place you camp.

Along the way there were the funniest cows I’ve ever seen (simple minds, simple pleasures) how cute are they? Really small, shaggy curly hair and colored around their noses. I couldn’t get them to come closer to me either so no good photo but I am determined to snap a picture of one eventually.

There were restaurants and snack shacks at this village so we had a break before our long and upwind walk back to California. I had Pringles and a Diet Coke, a little taste of home I guess, haha.

Last night was a champions league soccer match on TV so we watched that. Apparently everyone in Germany is totally into it because two of the teams are German. Both have won but I’m still not sure what that means, Niklas said they play more games.

We also experimented with mixing our own cocktails, I mention this because later on I’m going to want to remember some of the mixtures…well one in particular. Its called (I learned yesterday) The Mexican. Its delicious. Made with this stuff called Sangrita (I bought the picante version) it’s a spicy tomato juice loaded with pepper or something…then you mix it with vodka (the actual recipe calls for korn, but I don’t know what that is exactly, a type of liquor) and Tabasco which I don’t like and we didn’t have anyways. So you mix it all up with more black pepper and drink it like a shot. Though you could add more juice and make it a ‘long drink’ that’s what they call things like Rum and Coke, long drinks…haha

The other concoction was nameless but really good, vodka and caramel syrup (the kind we Americans use for flavored coffees) sweet but like eating a piece of birthday cake. Ha!

Today I made Niklas get up early (he slept till noon yesterday, too long…so much to do…haha) we are headed up north to see some new country. I’ll also meet his mom today and it sounds like also his grandma. We are meeting Caroline there which will be really fun.

Baltic Sea Catch Up

Tuesday morning I sat waiting for Niklas in the hostel coffee shop and talked to a man who was from Hamburg originally. He told me all the things I should go see, where to walk, which trains to take…I was like, where were you Sunday evening?! So I took notes for when I return to Hamburg (catching my train back to Stuttgart from there)

When we arrived in Kiel Niklas switched into tour guide mode and showed me around. We went and saw where he worked on the Kiel Canal. Saw the beach, then another beach in a place called Laboe (that place is rad, beach front Baltic Sea. Who would have ever thought I’d see the Baltic Sea!

community, kite surfers etc.) Laboe sits right on the

We went and had a pasta and fish lunch, yum! Then headed to the Citti Park which is a giant shopping mall! We did a grocery shop there, it was like a Costco (within the shopping mall) only there was both huge portions of things and smaller ones for regular people. It was pretty fun. 

After that was hung out and relaxed at his apartment. It was rainy and windy and cold out. Today the sun is out so we are headed to another beach this time.

This photo here is of the end of a Uboat and the big brick structure is a Marine monument. It costs a bit of money to get into both of them so I skipped it but weird to see U boats sitting around here. That one was built in Hamburg, which I read earlier was bombed by the British because of its amazing ship building abilities. Who knew. 

Red Light...check

Had major technology meltdown at the hostel so I'm just now posting blogs....sorry!

Having major technology meltdown. Monday I was able to post photos of my wanderings on Facebook and then after I returned from hunting for dinner the computer wouldn't connect any more. Old computer I guess. Poor little thing wasn't planning to come back to Europe, now here it is.

I’m currently in Kiel Germany. You might have to look it up on a map. North of Hamburg, on the eastern side of the peninsula leading up to Denmark. It sits on the Baltic Sea. But I want to go back to Monday first.

Since I hadn't come prepared, I wasn't really sure what to see when I got to Hamburg. The hostel people were great but not at ‘tour our city’ type things so they hand you a map, show you were you are on it and then off you go. Sunday afternoon I’d walked around quite a bit so Monday I walked in a new direction. This time past the tourist information office. They offer tours of the area but only in German. The English tour are on Friday and Saturday mornings. I pointed to a photo on a brochure and asked where that was, he gave me directions and off I went.

Red light district. That’s where I’d asked to go, without knowing that’s what I’d done. Why wouldn't the man have offered up that information? Ha! At first you walk by a really cute little church then it’s all straight to hell from there. I had asked about the street because they have a bunch of (non sexual) neon signs hanging over the street. I’m thinking “Vegas” but below the signs was, well, you know. I don’t even want to describe it and if you’re really curious there are graphic photos on the outsides of the buildings.

I wandered onto the street in the day time luckily so I just got out of there.

The Reeperbahn is another place people say I should visit. Let me describe it to you. San Francisco, Market Street, between 8^th and Powell essentially. It was a little sexier but otherwise dirty and run down, shops were closed. Bums were around. So I kept walking.

I had seen people climbing the steeple of a church from the harbor so I wandered down the road to it. It’s called Saint Michaels Church. I took the stairs, it’s a lot of stairs. So many stairs! Up past the clock works and the bells and onto the top portion for a great view of Hamburg. Really cool! They had a crypt too which I always find interesting but they’d fixed it up, put museum type things in it and left the bodies alone. They were all apparently below our feet. Different than in the English crypts where you see the coffins etc.

From here I wandered back along the harbor where I’d already been. Walking in circles…I did stop and have a ‘bratfisch’ I had no idea but on the photos it looked the least scary. It turned out to be a fried fish sandwich, not sure what kind of fish but when you’re hungry it doesn't matter.

I walked under the Elbe River along the Old Tunnel. That was really neat. They let cars drive through there and they have elevators for the cars! The other side is nothing special it’s totally industrial but the view was really nice. Not a lot of people go there for that view, not sure why. It’s a short walk.

Altogether it was a good day. I went back to the hostel for a shower and nap and then wandered back to the food street to find something cheap to eat. I ended up with a crepe that had ham, Camembert cheese, and some weird jam or jelly. Surprisingly delicious!

At this point it had been decided that Niklas would come and get me from Hamburg on Tuesday instead of Weds. So I packed up a little but and took it easy the rest of the night. 

Hostel Refresher

Oh boy, when I was making up my hostel bed yesterday I realized it had been quite a while since I'd stayed in one. It was like relearning an old skill.
First you check in, get the 'orientation' of the building, lockers, sheets, kitchen etc then you go check out your room, find a bed. They provide a pillow and comforter and clean sheets to put on it. They don't want you using your own because they can control bugs better. Ew, but its true.
As far as I can gather 16 'beds' share one shower/toilet combo and one toilet room. Its a little bit much. Shower when you can, when no one is around and you hear yourself think, "now's my chance!" I goofed on that yesterday. Rookie mistake.
When it was time to go to bed (I went first, old lady in the house) I had a moment of panic trying to find my ear plugs. That's the one thing you need when you go to bed early, a way to block out the noise. I've learned to sleep with the lights on and the ear plugs in and that way people aren't fumbling around in the dark when they could just as easily have the light on.
This morning it seemed we all got up at once. Which meant we were fighting over the one shower. It was kind of hilarious. So either get up early and get to it or what I'll end up doing, come back mid day (break time anyways) and take care of business then.
Its raining at the moment so I'll keep it simple today. Coffee shop?? Maybe I'll pay for the hop on hop off bus around Hamburg, then I can see it all from inside a vehicle.

Hamburg!!

I had quite a day today. Travel day, very few 'hiccups'. I got up early and caught the train in Stuttgart to head to Hamburg. It was actually pretty smooth ride, I slept the whole way. I guess I should have been seeing scenery but I couldn't keep my eyes open, something about that rocking train. It was an ICE train so it was flying through the countryside too! 5 1/2 hours.
Once I arrived in Hamburg I had to navigate the most insane train station I've ever seen (so far) it was huge and absolutely heaving with people. Trains on every track, S trains, U trains, Buses. My gosh! Luckily I'd looked up my route ahead of time (I know, preparing ahead...a magical thing) so I knew I needed the U3 train. Piece of cake, find a kiosk, tell it speak English and push some buttons. See what happens. Then it was a matter of not hurting anyone with my giant bag! haha trains are easy to navigate here and cheap to hop on too. That was a relief considering what I went through to get to the correct train :)

I did of course get lost walking to the hostel. I know the general street names but the street signs here are grafitti'd to death so it wasn't easy. Luckily for me the bus stops are equipped with maps.
The hostel is great, cute little reception area, a patio and clean rooms. I'm in an 8 mixed dorm room. No sweat. After walking around all afternoon with my bags I'll sleep like a baby with all my new roommates.
After some bed making and unpacking/resorting I got oriented by the front desk guy and wandered off down the street.
I'm in a neighborhood called St.Pauli and it sits in between all sorts of great districts...or so I hear. I haven't gotten that far yet. This place is crazy about grafitti. to the point where its a little bit much, like control yourselves (check out the building in the photo, its covered in 'superheros;). Its everywhere. Everything not moving has a hundred stickers on it. And they don't clean up after their pets and the men urinate on the street so its alot like being back in Spain. Totally different than Southern Germany. I miss Southern Germany for its cleanliness but things are way cheaper here and the stuff they sell in the shops is great fun and very entertaining. Not like my cake ring :)
Tomorrow I'll get up early ish and wander around while everyone has gone back to work...I should be so lucky. Not sure what to go see but I'll figure it out!

Survived a German Beer Tent (Fruhlingsfest)

Its an interesting thing to go to a carnival in a foreign country. Walking in you'd think you were in America during every state fair...but with no admission fee. Food vendors, games with prices, lots of little rides. And then there are the enormous beer tents.  Totally unexpected. They are huge solid wooden structures. The Germans have such a way with putting on a festival and bringing in these actual structures. I gotta hand it to them.
On the way to the beer tent they have built this Austrian village. It had food,
beer, tables and umbrellas and a shop for all the traditional clothes. It was raining today so there weren't alot of people out, which made it more manageable.
When you approach a beer tent all you can hear is the music and the singing and its quite a bunch of noise. Then you step inside and you are literally hit with a stinky smokey heat wave. Vile. That was the word that came to mind. I mean really it wasn't that dirty but people were allowed to smoke so it was a really smelly place. My advice would be to have a drink to ease the shock before you walk in. I mean, whoa. It was so overpowering. Overwhelming. I had my one large (1 Liter) of beer then we left, it was too much. The best part for me was actually the Austrian village.

BangBags, its a band, not a cuss word

Cassiopeia, that's the place where the band played (in Stuttgart). Why they are called the BangBags I'm not sure. Oli said in German they are called something that means crazy person. After seeing them sing and dance and perform I can see that. It was great. I'm in Germany, the last thing I expected to do was go see a band that plays old American Rock and Roll songs but they were so entertaining! It was great fun! People were dancing and all dressed up in the theme of the band. It was awesome. The place is up on a hillside or hilltop I guess has great outdoor seating and a restaurant and room for the band. Right down the hill from them was an amazing looking tennis club! Really random spot for it it seemed like but who knows.

I packed up all my stuff today, got ready for my trip north. I'm headed to Hamburg on Sunday and will stay in a hostel that seems to be pretty centrally located. We shall see. I don't even know why I'm going to Hamburg except that all my German friends love the place. Then beyond the few days I have there I'm not sure what to expect.

I sat on my cake

Yes I did. I sat on my cake. It wasn't a cake in the true sense of the word it was this thing they have here that  is just a thing of beauty. Oh man, its really hard to describe. Its a pastry that has strawberries and a crumble topping with glaze over it. I'll snap a photo of it one of these days. Either way I bought this thing and went to the park (Schlossplatz-Castle grounds) to have a seat in the sun and enjoy it.
When I got to the park I found a great spot to sit down and decided it would be better not to sit on the grass

and have the potential muddy bum happen so I put my bag down and proceeded to sit and get comfortable. Only after I'd done that did I realize what I'd just sat on. It was a sad moment when I pulled the giant sticky paper bag out of my larger (luckily) plastic one and saw the smoosh. Wah! So at least I didn't get a muddy bum and since the pastry was inside a plastic bag I didn't get a sticky bum either, hehe.

I went to Stuttgart on the train today. It was an easy journey this time. After having ridden the entire line before it all seemed familiar. I stopped into the tourist info office (where I was given a plastic bag) and then headed up the main shopping street to the park. They say the shopping street there is a mile long. You should see it, store after store. And everyone was busy too!

The Schlossplatz was packed with people so I circled the place a few times (and bought a pastry) before I came back and had a seat (on my cake).
My plan was to meet Dani and a few other girls for sushi. It was a great plan! They all met at 4:30 and we had an Eis (ice cream~we call it gelato) in the park before it was time to head to the restaurant. Nice day for it. We headed to the Sushi place which was tucked into this little alley, you've never have found it without a local taking you there. Its a tiny place so it fills fast, people wait in line outside to get a table. Dani had made reservations so we were in luck. The sushi was good. Everything seemed familiar except for one fish which was totally white and was a weird chewy thing. Hmm
After dinner we had cocktails at a really cool old building that was the library and is now a bar. I guess they are tearing it down which is really too bad but Stuttgart seems to insist on modernizing everything. Bummer!

S Bahn RE Bahn Just give me a direct train to somewhere!

Seriously! What is my problem with the trains in Europe!! I knew when the train was leaving Zell today so what do I do? Leave the apartment too late (much longer walk than I remember) and miss the train I intended to take. So, I catch the next one 30 minutes later. I did finally get to Tubingen without too much trouble. That city is bustling! It feels very international, lots of nationalities wandering around. I was planning to meet Rolf at the Neckarmuller brewery which sits on the river but I was early (yes, even after missing trains)

I walked into the old town Tubingen and had a look. It was such a nice day, people were lining up for their afternoon ice creams and sitting in the sun on the church steps. Totally different place when its not snowing but still as nice.
After beer and food and ice cream myself it was time to head back to the train station. I bought a ticket at the automated kiosk machine and didn't look closely enough at the time and in heading to platform 2 I reached the top of the steps and saw the train moving out of the station. Ack! Missed it by THAT much!
So instead of my hour journey home....I caught a train headed in another direction, transferred (luckily it was the end of the line at the transfer point because it was so dark out I wouldn't have seen the station I needed till it was too late) Once I got to the end of my trip I saw the sign that

showed all the stations...I literally did almost the whole route today. Phew!
I did want to mention a few things about the train. The S bahn is like a subway or metro, servicing the local area only out so far, I think Stuttgart is that hub. Then you have to transfer to Regional trains (which seem to be run by DB) Those two are different than the ICE train, the quick ones that travel the longer distance. My journey today required I start on the SBahn and transfer at a larger station to a Regional train (where a train man checked my ticket...) to get to Tubingen and vice versa. It was a learning moment today!

Setting up my Esslingen Tour

I walked for hours yesterday, up and down every alley in Esslingen. People probably wondered what I was

doing with my little notebook. Writing down the names of restaurants, wine cellars, etc.(check out Einhorn

Weinkeller, looks promising)  Now I have to learn how to ask "what makes your place special?" "what are you best known for among the locals?"

I went into the Tourist Office once I got to the main square and found a couple from Wisconsin in there! What were the chances of that! I never see Americans here.
The lady working there was able to get me a 'tour guide booklet' for Esslingen in English so I can start studying. Fun!
After I'd walked circles around the place I was waiting for the bus and decided I'd go try and find the bottom of the stairs that lead to the Burg. But you know, once I got there I couldn't not go up there so, one step at a time I climbed up to the top and enjoyed the views. It was great! Really it boils down to alot of work and plenty of visits to the local establishments to see what I'm impressed with etc. Fun!

A Beer Garden at Every Stop

Germany has one thing figured out. Beer Gardens everywhere, its amazing! And when I say beer garden it is much more than beer. Its coffee, cake, food, soda, wine, you name it. OH and the most expensive thing on any of the menus is the bottle of water you desperately want to buy and drink.
I haven't written since Friday so I'm playing catch up a little bit. Saturday was "meet the parents" then "meet the friends" of Oli. It was a great day. A really adorable old couple who spoke no English invited me over for lunch. Maultaussen soup. I got the recipe!! Its written in German but that would actually help me during the shopping trip here.
Saturday evening I met 7 new people. All around my age and so much fun! What a great group of people. I asked them all what they did, made them go around the circle and tell me. Then I introduced them to the

bucket game. That was almost the best part of the night. They may not forget me if only because I told them to put a bucket on their heads and jump around. Ask me any time, I'll show you. Its hilarious!
I thought the funniest thing was when they told me what the German words for 'bucket on the head' it sounded just like a ladies name. Ima Oppencof (spelled in German Eimer auf den Kopf) the more they said it the more I heard 'Ima' haha.

This morning (Sunday) the sun was supposed to come out so it was time to get out and see some countryside, and a few castles too. First stop on the route turned out to be a fairly grueling hike to the top of a hill where the Burg Teck sits. I think the hike even surprised Oli. But once at the top there was, of course, a beer garden! And amazing views as well. (oh and notes for later, really nice bathrooms, food, water and a cave below the castle)
After we came back down and had a sausage and bread at the snack taxi (mobil food cart, snack taxi, haha!!) we headed to an 'outside museum' Freilichtmuseum Beuren. It was interesting, some of the buildings were 500 years old. The things in the house were from the 30's and 40's so the "see how it used to be" theme wasn't very consistent but still really cool to see how it was done. One room had both laundry and the bread oven. I guess so you could keep the bread from burning while you beat the clothes.

Our next quick stop (we were headed for the monks place to try their brew) was a place called Bad Urach. Really pretty drive, down a windy narrow road into a little valley. Really cool.

Wimsen Cave area

On our way to the Monks place we were again distracted by the signs for Wimsen Caves (and waterfalls and as it turned out, beer garden) that was a cool stop. We were thinking, quick walk into the cave to check it out, but they put people onto these little boats and float them into the cave instead. Whoa. We didn't stay and do that but its on the list to revisit.
Zwiefalten (z-vee-fall-ten) was the town where the monks worked ;) After we'd parked we approached this amazing looking church and found the information desk and were then made aware that it was in fact a mental hospital we'd stumbled onto...oops. Ha! We did finally find our way into the church. Oh man, you know European churches are done up sometimes but this one

takes the cake. It was covered in angels and people and animals and sculptures and paintings and my gosh you could sit there for an hour and only see one little bit of the decoration.
Just outside the church is the motorcycle club headquarters. It was a bikers paradise there for sure. I could see why though, all roads leading in would have been really fun to ride on.

Just around the corner from that place was the Gaststatte Klosterbrau. The restaurant attached to this big brewery. No monks in sight but the beer and food were delicious. I had I'm not sure which one, I didn't get it written down but it was good.
We headed to Lichtenstein castle next. That place was the coolest one I thought. You get up to the parking lot (all castles are on hills-attention Americans-and require some effort to get to, something about keeping watch over valleys below...hehe) There is a beer garden to greet you there, toilets, a park for public use. The castle cost a couple Euros to get into but worth it, amazing views again and cool buildings. Outside the castle but still on top of the hill is another beer garden, why would one be enough?? Just next to that is an Adventure Park.

Reminded me of the log walk at Quaker Hill. No one will remember that but essentially tons of obstacles in trees that you move around while harnessed to a cable. Looks like so much fun!!
Phew, what a day! It was a warm sunny day with plenty of good fresh air and amazing views. Germany is such a beautiful place, I love it! Every where along this route there were bikes trails and walkers and hikers. These people love being outside. It was awesome!

Beer and Burgers, Best 2 B's

Friday night and the sun was out! Oli and I headed to the Harley Davidson store for a burger! Haha, no joke, you walk into the motorcycle showroom only to find half of it is tables and chairs and a bar! Fun! We were seated by the door adn proceeded to order our food. The burgers there are HUGE, and delicious, I was very impressed. I ordered the Texas Burger and it came with a few surprises. I just went with it. BBQ

Texas Burger

sauce, red beans, cucumbers, bacon and special sauce of some kind. Amazing! Thats a picture of it with the pommes frites. Delicious. After the meal had started we heard the rumble of a Harley and the owner swings the doors wide open and in rolls this running Harley! It was awesome. I mean, seriously, drive your motorcycle into the place while people eat! Love it! From this place we headed into Esslingen for a nice evening out. Mostly to walk around, everything closes early but its still fun to window shop.
Our next stop was ad Astra. A cool college bar in downtown Ess. Beer is the cheapest thing  you can get on any menu. I might just switch from food to beer only. I mean seriously. 10 Euro for a burger but 3 Euro for a half liter beer! A beer here has to equal the calories in a meal anyways! hehe. At 11 pm they start the salsa

ad Astra

dancing at Joe Pena's place. A Mexican style restaurant in town. It was great fun, people are good dancers and they seem to really enjoy it. Its interesting to see it when you know you're in Germany but everyone is totally into the Hispanic music! I attempted to dance with Danko (Oli's friend Andrea's boyfriend) He is really good and I certainly struggled but still fun ;) I hope to try it again!