BERLIN 2016: Woche/Wochenende 3

Hallo, ich habe noch mal zuruckgekommen! (I'm back again.) This past week was full of adventures. Finally, I feel like my Deutsch is going somewhere. I can actually form coherent sentences and speak with waiters, shop-keepers, and of course my host family. Usually I can understand what they're saying as well, especially at home. It is quite a relief to be climbing the learning curve. I was feeling pretty discouraged for a while, feeling utterly unable to express anything I wanted to say without sounding really, really dumb. My grammar is still ganz schlecht (really bad), but I can get a point across.

Highlight of this week was undoubtedly an excursion to Prague. Seven of the 18 kids on the program headed out on Friday afternoon for a weekend of tourism in Czechia (formerly known as the Czech Republic-- they apparently changed their name last week). I decided last minute to tag along, so couldn't take the bus that the other six students had booked. Deswegen habe ich allein mit dem Zug gefahren (therefore I went alone on the train). Little did I know, you have to book not only a ticket, but also seat reservations on the train. I got kicked out of seats and wandered aimlessly around the train for about half an hour before I found a free spot. Not the best start to the Reise (trip). The train ride was about 4.5 hours long, and stopped in Dresden along the way. The countryside, or what I saw of it when I wasn't sleeping, was beautiful, with steep cliffs rising from greening fields. You can see a pic below. Once I got into Prague, I was a little stressed out-- first time alone in a foreign country. I am really, really not a fan of Czech. The words are so complicated that I couldn't even remember what they looked like, which was really inconvenient when trying to meet up with a group. My stress was compounded when I finally made it to the hostel, The Old Prague Hostel located just a 5-10 min walk form the Old Town center. When I rang the bell to be let in to the reception, a guy answered on a speaker system and said something quickly about a Passover dinner or something. I said, very, confused, that I was at the door to be let into the Old Prague Hostel. The man said it had closed a few weeks ago, but I was welcome to come in. I was speechless. He let the silence drag on for about 15 seconds before he said, "JUST JOKING! Come upstairs!" Not particularly amusing. At the front desk, it turned out that I had to pay for the three nights at the hostel in cash. I took out my money and handed it over. The man at the desk frowned and looked up. "Where did you exchange this?" he asked. I told him that I had just exchanged it at the train station a few minutes ago. "Um. These aren't Kroner," he told me. Again, I was speechless.

"JUST JOKING!" Thought I wasn't that gullible. I blame it on the stress.

The Hostel was pretty nice. I had a bed on the top of a bunk, and the room was fairly quiet even though there were six people sleeping in it the majority of the nights. Lots of Indians staying at the hostel; not too many other Americans. I was the only member of my group to be staying in that specific room, again because I had booked a little late, but that was fine. Kein problem (not a problem). I met a nice woman in her late 20s from Texas (only other American I met) who was working in Zürich for the year, as well as another lady from Israel on a tour of Europe during her Passover break.

First night, the gang went out and dined at the official Pilsner Urquell (the beer of the Czech Republic) restaurant. We were all extremely hungry, and there were racks with brezeln (pretzels) on the tables. My friend Andrew and I each took one, only to later be informed that they were not at all free, but cost almost a dollar each, and were completely and utterly stale. I ended up throwing mine under the table. It was a little difficult for me to find food to eat in Prague, given that meals are heavily meat-based, but there were some nice little bakeries and cafes where I found some delicious pastries etc zu essen (to eat). Many members of the group also enjoyed going to the Spätkaufen, or mini-markets, in the area, and there were plenty of snacks to choose from there, such as 60c popcorn that didn't taste quite right, and vanilla wafers that may or may not have been made of cardboard.

Did a ton of walking and exploring in Prague. It was a little difficult to make decisions with such a large group (and no internet or data since we were out of Germany), but we managed to make it work, and saw a lot of the city. Took a free tour which ended up being really awesome; learned a ton about the history of the city, especially the Old Town and the Jewish Quarter. I'll let the pictures do the talking. The weather in Northern Europe ist nicht so gut in late spring. We had multiple bouts of flurries in Prague, as well as some nice 39 degree rain storms. Glad to have brought my coat to Europe.

I was pretty relieved to be back in Germany on Monday. Though I am not particularly proficient in the language here, I can get around, and I know the public transportation system decently well. Starting to feel a little bit like home here.

More from this week:

-Learning about the DDR in History class. Went to the DDR museum, which is privately owned, and a for-profit organization (a big f*** you to Communism, I guess?). Wasn't particularly interesting. Most interesting part was definitely the section on East German nudism. They were pretty big on that in the 70s. Who knew??

-Went to a restaurant mit meiner Gasteltern (guest-parents). They brought the dogs along. This country is crazy about dogs. Since when is it acceptable to let your dogs lie under the table at a fancy restaurant? In Berlin, apparently.

-Missed my Gastschwester's (host sister's) 15th birthday while in Prague, unfortunately. She leaves for Paris later this week for 6 weeks.

-Got a haircut today. Went in and asked the Friseurin (haircutter) if she spoke any English. A first-- she did not! That was slightly unnerving. Hopefully it turned out fine. Can't tell right now because it is straightened, but will provide an update once it returns to its normal Jew-curl state.

-Had a lecture on Art History from a professor's Frau (wife) today. Decided that Art History is bs. Seldom does an hour feel so long as it did this morning, while we discussed the juxtaposition in color between two landscape paintings.

-Really like my German 3 Language prof. She's great, and has recommended a piano salon to me. I plan on going, probably with my other pianist friend, Emma, sometime very soon

Stopped at a Czech shoe store, which was very popular among the group. The shoe company was the shoe company of the Soviet-Era, but had a revival about 10 years ago.

Can't pronounce the name, but these cinnamon-sugar dough rolls were absolutely delicious.

Classmate Riley, right, got along very well with our tour guide, left. We believe they might be soul mates.

When Schnapps are spilled on the table, there is only one option: save them. Identity of "savior" will be withheld due to blogger discretion.

Gate to the Prague Castle.

Stained glass window in the St. Vitus Cathedral. Absolutely mesmerizing. This picture does the art no justice.

Dresden countryside seen from train

Old Town, Prague

The famous clocktower. Fun fact: the creator was blinded and had his tongue cut off so that he could not create such an intricate clock anywhere else in the world. Only Prague would have such a spectacular clock (days, months, years, sun, moon, astronomical symbols).

Jewish Quarter. Was home to 50,000 Jews before the Nazi occupation. They managed to kill all of them within 40 days. That is not a typo. 40.

Emma and Zak

St. Vitus Cathedral

Symbol of the city of Prague on a draincover. Even the sewers are beautiful in Prague (though the city REEKS)

Sorry for jumping around-- pictures uploaded in a weird order. This is a lake near my house in Berlin called Wannsee. The landmass on the right contains property owned by none other than Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Crappy real estate, as one can easily see.

Hefeweissen at a Biergarten near Wannsee (same lake as picture above) while celebrating Emma's 20th birthday. Was für ein schöne Tag! (What a beautiful day)