I've never been as glad to see strangers as I was to see my host family when I arrived at the train station in Rostock. I was completely exhausted and hadn't really eaten to speak of, but they immediately made me feel welcomed and took care of me. This is their front door. Their whole house is wonderful-tucked into a cobbled alleyway in the historic center, watched over by the church where they were married and had their children baptized. It's also a very short walk from Neue Markt, where a lot of the action in Rostock is centered. Last Sunday, the SDP gave an event there. I didn't ultimately listen to the speeches though-I had other plans, which I will write about soon.
This is for Geoff: look, a kiteboarding store, right in the city center!
This was their mascot. I thought it looked pretty cool.
And I loved the idea of a street being named Buchbinderstaße, "Book-binder street". I can only imagine that many books were made here.
This is a sign on the Kröpeliner Tor, which is a legally protected historic monument. It says, "Don't lean bicycles on the Kröpeliner Tor (unless they're legally protected monuments...)" Someone clearly has a good sense of humor.
It just so happened that Deutschland bewegt sich, a state-sponsored festival that seeks to promote a healthy lifestyle, happened in Rostock on my first weekend there. It was fun, but the pole dancers performing in broad daylight to a fascinated audience of children was undoubtedly the most amusing.They're in amazingly good shape!
Grafitti, apparently many by two tiny, adorable, and elderly elves. I found this as I was taking an alternative route to Neue Markt.
I could hardly believe this: there is a huge fabric store in the city center. It's closed at the moment for remodeling, but re-opens soon.
The Neue Markt, one of the most picturesque parts of Rostock. The real story is much more complicated, as shown by the situation at my school. But that's a story for another time.
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