We sat on our beds, diligently reading our next text book - to be completed by Monday. "I want some Starbucks," Heather said.
"We could go to Munich," I suggested, only partially joking (the Munich train station has a Starbucks).
"We could."
We sat. "We could," Heather said again.
"Let's go," I said.
Heather looked up the train schedule online. We had enough time to get dressed, eat lunch, invite Jeff, stop at the bank, buy our ticket, and step onto the train moments before it pulled out of the train station.
The number one priority was to read on the train. Much was accomplished. All three of us had to read the same book in the same amount of time, so there was little distraction from each other (until the ride back when we were all tired of reading). The number two priority was Starbucks and, by the time we got to Munich, food. Once that was accomplished, we stepped out of the train station, walked a couple blocks, Jeff bought a pair of gloves, and then we got back on the train for Regensburg so that we could get back by dinner time.
It was a fun, spontaneous day. The sun was shining on the fresh foot or two of snow as we sped by, making the scenery outside rather distracting.
Tomorrow Heather and I are heading to Oberammergau to do some more reading, go for a hike, and pretend that we're going to see the Passion Play.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Vienna, Austria
Prepare yourself. This post is going to be a doozy (how do you spell that?). It is going to summarize the three days that we spent away from Regensburg. Our first academic tour was to Vienna, Austria. We had been studying Freud in our Christian Worldview class (as a comparison. He did NOT have a Christian worldview.) so preluded our trip to Vienna.
We left Sunday morning and stopped at Melk Abbey about half way to Vienna. It was built by Leopold I of Austria as his place of residence. The castle was turned into an abbey in 1089 by Benedictine monks. It was a religious school until World War Two when it was turned into a state secondary school. The antiquities on display were very ornate. The ceremonial robes of the bishops were hand embroidered and were very beautiful. The chapel was one of the most beautiful of the churches that we have seen so far. It also housed the skeletons of St. Michael and another priest.
When we reached Vienna, we went to the Freud museum. It was much smaller than I expected, for he only lived in an apartment. It was rather bleak and only one room was furnished. Pictures of Freud's life filled the walls of his study and patient room. Freud denied God and surrounded himself with other gods and small statuettes which he had on his desk. These were displayed in a case in the waiting room. Freud had a hard life and he seemed very unhappy. His life conflicted with his views quite a bit.
We checked into the hostel and the five of us girls crowded into at room that wasn't much bigger than the room Heather and I share in Regensburg! It was fine for two nights, but I'm glad we don't all live in such tight quarters all the time.
Sunday night Dr. Trull, Tanner, Andrew, and Jeff found a bar where the Superbowl was showing. Needless to say they were quite excited.
Monday we went to the summer palace of the Imperial family of Austria: Schloss Schonbronn. It was amazing! The magnificent design and artwork was beautiful. The two women who starred during the tour were Maria Theresa and Sissi (Empress Elisabeth). Some construction work was going on during our tour, so those rooms didn't quite posses the same aura of antique authenticity as the rest of the rooms.
It was so cold in Vienna that we didn't wan to be outside, thus we didn't see as much as we wanted to of the city. We did get an extensive tour of Vienna at night on Sunday when we were looking for somewhere to eat. We finally found the Mexican restaurant we were looking for. In Germany/Austria, it is polite to eat as soon as you get your food. That is so hard to get used to! There is no "waiting until Grandma Bonnie takes the first bite of dessert."
The architecture in Vienna is beautiful. The city is smokey, even the air outside feels smokey. Nudes are everywhere one looks. Not only the ancient statues, but posters and paintings that are very recent. It is not a place I felt safe walking around by myself.
Tuesday morning we Kelley, Heather, Tanner, and myself went to the Spanish Riding School. The morning exercise is all that we were able to see, but it was amazing. Three groups of six Lipizzaners were trained and exercised in the time that we were there. The strength and control of those stallions is remarkable. They're so graceful too! It was so cool! Unfortuantely photos weren't allowed, so I bought a few postcards.
The Abbey.
The abbey library
Schloss Schonbronn
The Hofburg
Spanish Riding School
We left Sunday morning and stopped at Melk Abbey about half way to Vienna. It was built by Leopold I of Austria as his place of residence. The castle was turned into an abbey in 1089 by Benedictine monks. It was a religious school until World War Two when it was turned into a state secondary school. The antiquities on display were very ornate. The ceremonial robes of the bishops were hand embroidered and were very beautiful. The chapel was one of the most beautiful of the churches that we have seen so far. It also housed the skeletons of St. Michael and another priest.
When we reached Vienna, we went to the Freud museum. It was much smaller than I expected, for he only lived in an apartment. It was rather bleak and only one room was furnished. Pictures of Freud's life filled the walls of his study and patient room. Freud denied God and surrounded himself with other gods and small statuettes which he had on his desk. These were displayed in a case in the waiting room. Freud had a hard life and he seemed very unhappy. His life conflicted with his views quite a bit.
We checked into the hostel and the five of us girls crowded into at room that wasn't much bigger than the room Heather and I share in Regensburg! It was fine for two nights, but I'm glad we don't all live in such tight quarters all the time.
Sunday night Dr. Trull, Tanner, Andrew, and Jeff found a bar where the Superbowl was showing. Needless to say they were quite excited.
Monday we went to the summer palace of the Imperial family of Austria: Schloss Schonbronn. It was amazing! The magnificent design and artwork was beautiful. The two women who starred during the tour were Maria Theresa and Sissi (Empress Elisabeth). Some construction work was going on during our tour, so those rooms didn't quite posses the same aura of antique authenticity as the rest of the rooms.
It was so cold in Vienna that we didn't wan to be outside, thus we didn't see as much as we wanted to of the city. We did get an extensive tour of Vienna at night on Sunday when we were looking for somewhere to eat. We finally found the Mexican restaurant we were looking for. In Germany/Austria, it is polite to eat as soon as you get your food. That is so hard to get used to! There is no "waiting until Grandma Bonnie takes the first bite of dessert."
The architecture in Vienna is beautiful. The city is smokey, even the air outside feels smokey. Nudes are everywhere one looks. Not only the ancient statues, but posters and paintings that are very recent. It is not a place I felt safe walking around by myself.
Tuesday morning we Kelley, Heather, Tanner, and myself went to the Spanish Riding School. The morning exercise is all that we were able to see, but it was amazing. Three groups of six Lipizzaners were trained and exercised in the time that we were there. The strength and control of those stallions is remarkable. They're so graceful too! It was so cool! Unfortuantely photos weren't allowed, so I bought a few postcards.
The Abbey.
The abbey library
Schloss Schonbronn
The Hofburg
Spanish Riding School
Saturday, February 6, 2010
No German and a Grumpy Bus Driver
Hello Everyone! I just wanted to check in with you. It's been something of an exhausting week. We've just completed half a semester's work in a week. Our class was Christian Worldview and we've had some very good discussions and read two good, though provoking, not-very-light books. Tomorrow we head for Vienna for an academic tour. We are going to see where Freud lived and worked for most of his life. Tuesday morning we have a few options of activities: The Papyrus Museum, The Spanish Riding School, and some art museum (the name escapes me at the moment).
Where do you think I'll be?
Heather and I needed to get some books for our presentation next week. The library university in Regensburg has allowed us to look at their books, but we can't check them out. We can make copies. So, Heather and I hopped on a bus to the university. It is built of cold concrete. Even the floor is stone and the first floor is cobblestone. As we walked through the lifeless hallways, I had visions of soldiers appearing around any corner and a royal family being led to their death (I know, the Romanovs were Russia, but it's what came to mind) or fleeing from some unthinkable danger. It is a large library. We only went to the theology section (they do have some English books). In the center of the room is a vast opening devoid of bookshelves and filled with white tables in perfectly straight columns and rows. Two chairs are at each table. No one whispers, no one smiles.
Until this year university students haven't had to pay tuition. Now, the government is saying that they have to pay about 600 euros per semester if I remember correctly. Students are furious! They're protesting. On one of the outside walls was a message saying Education should be free (in English, oddly enough). I told Heather that we should take a picture and give it to whoever decides how much to charge students tuition.
On our way home we got on the correct number bus, going to wrong way. He got to the end of his line and kicked us off the bus, telling us where to get the correct bus. For ten minutes we could see a bus sitting on the curb a little ways down the road. When it was time for our bus to arrive, it pulled up to the curb and, no joke, was the same driver. It was a fun day and very educational for us to venture so far without having anyone with us who speaks German (usually there's at least one, normally three of our group who speaks German).
I don't know how my internet availability will be while we're in Vienna, but I will publish a lot when we get back. Three days of academic touring is bound to result in many posts.
Where do you think I'll be?
Heather and I needed to get some books for our presentation next week. The library university in Regensburg has allowed us to look at their books, but we can't check them out. We can make copies. So, Heather and I hopped on a bus to the university. It is built of cold concrete. Even the floor is stone and the first floor is cobblestone. As we walked through the lifeless hallways, I had visions of soldiers appearing around any corner and a royal family being led to their death (I know, the Romanovs were Russia, but it's what came to mind) or fleeing from some unthinkable danger. It is a large library. We only went to the theology section (they do have some English books). In the center of the room is a vast opening devoid of bookshelves and filled with white tables in perfectly straight columns and rows. Two chairs are at each table. No one whispers, no one smiles.
Until this year university students haven't had to pay tuition. Now, the government is saying that they have to pay about 600 euros per semester if I remember correctly. Students are furious! They're protesting. On one of the outside walls was a message saying Education should be free (in English, oddly enough). I told Heather that we should take a picture and give it to whoever decides how much to charge students tuition.
On our way home we got on the correct number bus, going to wrong way. He got to the end of his line and kicked us off the bus, telling us where to get the correct bus. For ten minutes we could see a bus sitting on the curb a little ways down the road. When it was time for our bus to arrive, it pulled up to the curb and, no joke, was the same driver. It was a fun day and very educational for us to venture so far without having anyone with us who speaks German (usually there's at least one, normally three of our group who speaks German).
I don't know how my internet availability will be while we're in Vienna, but I will publish a lot when we get back. Three days of academic touring is bound to result in many posts.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Each day is busy with reading textbooks or traveling on an academic tour or simply being tourists. Even Sundays have had a scaled down busyness. We've visited three churches in the three weeks we've been here, two of them ancient and in German, still conducting services as they did when the churches were built. The antiquity of the churches and the services are fascinating and the architecture is beautiful. But when one cannot understand the message, when the service is mostly ritualistic, and when a university professor speaks for the bulk of the time about donating to a local children's fund there is something missing.
Tonight we at last had our own worship session. Only half of our group is here right now so we were small, but one has an exceptional voice and another plays the guitar. A German woman and her daughter came as well. We played UNO with the little girl after we were done singing. Apparently, she threw a snowball at one of our professor yesterday morning and launched us all into an acquaintanceship. She's five and likes horses and playing outside in the snow and so I thought of Emma.
One of the hardest parts about being in a foreign country, for me, is putting relationships on hold that were just beginning to develop. I finally found a church and began to get involved in it when God brought me to this remarkable experience in Germany. One of the most exciting things about returning to Salem is knowing that I know where I will be worshiping every Sunday and I know that I will be able to understand the language. I'm excited to return to work with the kids again. When school starts, I'm excited to go to college group (the highlight of my week). I'm excited to see what God has in the future. I am anticipating while I am enjoying this new experience.
So, if anyone from church and/or college group is reading this I miss you all and I can't wait to see you again!
Tonight we at last had our own worship session. Only half of our group is here right now so we were small, but one has an exceptional voice and another plays the guitar. A German woman and her daughter came as well. We played UNO with the little girl after we were done singing. Apparently, she threw a snowball at one of our professor yesterday morning and launched us all into an acquaintanceship. She's five and likes horses and playing outside in the snow and so I thought of Emma.
One of the hardest parts about being in a foreign country, for me, is putting relationships on hold that were just beginning to develop. I finally found a church and began to get involved in it when God brought me to this remarkable experience in Germany. One of the most exciting things about returning to Salem is knowing that I know where I will be worshiping every Sunday and I know that I will be able to understand the language. I'm excited to return to work with the kids again. When school starts, I'm excited to go to college group (the highlight of my week). I'm excited to see what God has in the future. I am anticipating while I am enjoying this new experience.
So, if anyone from church and/or college group is reading this I miss you all and I can't wait to see you again!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Nuremburg
You've heard of the Nuremburg Trials after World War II. It was the capital city for the Nazi party's rallies and the seat where anti-Semitic laws were created. Ironically, it is also where 24 of Hitler's officers faced a trial for their contribution of war crimes. Out of those 24 eleven were hanged on October 16, 1946. One man was acquitted. The rest were imprisoned for a range of years.
Nuremburg's history began before the Third Reich. Our purpose in going to Nuremburg was to visit the Germanisches Nationalmuseum. The museum is home to the largest collection of art and antiquities in all of Germany. Like most German buildings it was pristinely clean. We walked across carpetless floors to gaze into display cases of artifacts. We had our own audio tour and listened to the information that was interesting to us. The most intriguing pre-historic artifact was the Gold Cone of Ezelsdorf-Buch. It was made from one piece of pure gold with a mass of 310 grams. Small rings are etched into the gold, circling the cone from base to tip. It is believed that this is an early form of calendar calculations. It was found by a bricklayer who threw the pieces aside nonchalantly. His clever wife took the pieces to her dentist who had it assayed and found it to be pure gold. Apparently priests used to wear it in ceremonial rituals. It's probably about three feet tall.
This is the oldest globe in the world, made by cartographer Martin Behaim. He used calculations from previous explorers and inscripted the globe with these calculations.
My favorite part of the museum was the music room. The largest collection of piano-fortes was displayed there. Some of the most beautiful and intricately crafted instruments stood for us to see. It was desperately hard for me to walk by an uncovered piano-forte and not touch it. The denseness of the silence would've had a sharp interruption and I'm certain that all kinds of security would've come down on me had I dared to press one key. What a story that would've made!
It is a general consensus that we will all return to Nuremburg when the weather gets better. It wasn't a very good day to be walking around. We were also pressed for time because we had to get back for dinner. Next time we will see more of this great historic city. I will also include more of my own photos.
The poor barista who made this latte machiatto really didn't understand English very well and my three lessons of German did not aide me at all. The most important concept - that of the need for soy milk - was successfully conveyed. The concept of only one latte machiatto - with espresso - was not. Thankfully, Heather is very good at "sign language" and I only received one and only had to pay 2,50 euros instead of 5 euros. It was delicious.
Monday, January 25, 2010
"Dear Anonymous"
Dear "Anonymous" (and anyone else who is interested),
This is in response to a couple of comments on my last post. I have, in fact, found a Starbucks and a cream-filled pastry and I didn't even have to learn the German phrase for them. I'm not one who generally likes Starbucks, coming from Oregon where there are so many other, better options. However, it was the first place I found which served soy milk in their espresso drinks (until today). It was in the Munich train station.
The cream-filled pastry was called a "wind-bag" and was as big as my head with whipped cream spilling out and chocolate drizzled over the top. Don't worry, I shared it with my roommate. We were fed this at the pilgrim church on the hill above Amberg on Sunday. I felt a little ill afterwards.
It is strange, desserts don't taste the least bit sweet here, yet they are still amazing. It's remarkable!
Until next time,
Lisa
P.S. Thank you for complimenting my photos.
This is in response to a couple of comments on my last post. I have, in fact, found a Starbucks and a cream-filled pastry and I didn't even have to learn the German phrase for them. I'm not one who generally likes Starbucks, coming from Oregon where there are so many other, better options. However, it was the first place I found which served soy milk in their espresso drinks (until today). It was in the Munich train station.
The cream-filled pastry was called a "wind-bag" and was as big as my head with whipped cream spilling out and chocolate drizzled over the top. Don't worry, I shared it with my roommate. We were fed this at the pilgrim church on the hill above Amberg on Sunday. I felt a little ill afterwards.
It is strange, desserts don't taste the least bit sweet here, yet they are still amazing. It's remarkable!
Until next time,
Lisa
P.S. Thank you for complimenting my photos.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Group
We've been blessed with a really great group of people for our semester abroad. Even I enter into conversations with people I've only known a week (I'm very proud of myself) and enjoy their company. Five are from Corban, four from The Masters College, and one from University of Idaho. It is very strange to live in a dorm setting again. The picture below was taken on the new bridge over the Donau (Danube) River. Downtown Regensburg is in the background.
Friday a group of Bavarian exchange students had a camp here at the youth hostel to help them learn how to re-acclimate to being back in their own culture. I was able to speak to a couple of them who had been in Japan and were counselors for the camp. They introduced me to a girl who was in Wisconsin and who spoke extremely good English. She hardly had an accent. It was very interesting to speak with a native German and be able to understand and be understood. I'm very anxious to learn their language. German Language Acquisition begins tomorrow!
Friday a group of Bavarian exchange students had a camp here at the youth hostel to help them learn how to re-acclimate to being back in their own culture. I was able to speak to a couple of them who had been in Japan and were counselors for the camp. They introduced me to a girl who was in Wisconsin and who spoke extremely good English. She hardly had an accent. It was very interesting to speak with a native German and be able to understand and be understood. I'm very anxious to learn their language. German Language Acquisition begins tomorrow!
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