First Days in Rostock

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.

Adventures in Köln: The Chocolate Museum

I had heard of the Cologne chocolate museum quite a while before I arrived here, and I was very excited to visit it.  I hoped it would be like the time I visited the Zotter chocolate factory, when everyone on the tour left absolutely stuffed with chocolate. On Saturday, our Station hostel group of Fulbrighters headed on over. We were given a piece of milk chocolate as we went in.

The first part of the museum dealt with the growth, economics, and history of chocolate.  At least for my limited abilities, it didn't lend itself to being photographed. There was a greenhouse that I liked, but the rest of it wasn't very interesting to me.  I was already familiar with most of the information, and it was so busy that I couldn't stand in front of the displays comfortably. I did get to try a roasted coffee bean. It was an intense experience, more like coffee grounds than sweetened chocolate, but pleasant at the same time.

And then...we went into my favorite room of the museum. It began with some beautiful chocolate molds. This was my favorite. 

The whole process of preparing and packaging chocolate was shown in this room...in reality, making the chocolate we had been given as we went in! I took some video of the different steps of the process, which I may post later.

And at the end of the room, there was this beautiful chocolate fountain, from which we were given samples.

Upstairs, there was finished chocolate in fantastic shapes.

There were also more molds.  This goat reminds me of an animal from a coat of arms.

Another interesting part of this room was the opportunity to make your own chocolate bar. There were cards with lists of things that could be added to dark, milk, or white chocolate.  I was tempted to do it, but at 5 Euros for a bar, I didn't think it was worth it.

This one's for my mom, whose collection of chocolate whips is more impressive than the museum's!

I love Lindt truffles, so I was a big fan of this giant model.

In the store at the end, there was an absolutely incredible array of chocolates.  I thought the cherry brandy truffles with the image of the Dom were the more visually impressive.

And that was my tour! It was less gluttonous than I had hoped, but still a lot of fun.

Hamburg Part II

This photos are from the second part of my walk yesterday, ein angenehm Stadtbummel durch Hamburg.

My hostel was located in Sankt Pauli.  (As you might expect, what with its name being 100% Backpackers Sankt Pauli). It was an interesting neighborhood. You could almost feel the youth culture pulsing through it.  South Park Sankt Pauli seemed pretty appropriate.

Yet another thing that reminded me of Brooklyn: the chance to play oversized chess in a public park.

The park was a small one, but it had plenty of ceramic murals.

And palm tree sculptures, for that matter.

In Soviet Russia, the Simpsons watch you.

I could not resist photographing this fancy octopus.

The neighborhood park featured a plump and contented local cat.

A picture for Basho and Musashi.

Am Fischmarkt.

I thought the shape of this pedestrian bridge was really beautiful.

The name of this street is "Broad Street". There was also a "Long Street".  

I am an extremely mature individual and do not find the name of this street amusing at all.

Beatlesplatz!

And nearby, where they got their start.

And then I went back to the hostel, where I talked with some nice people from the Netherlands, France, and the USA.

Taking Leave

Saying goodbye to Geoff was the hardest thing I've ever done, even more than the last time I left. I thought that maybe it would be easier this time, being three years older, stronger, and tougher. I was wrong. It wasn't nearly enough to make up for being in love three years longer, three years more deeply. 

We went for a motorcycle ride shortly before I left. In the short time Geoff's been biking and the still shorter time I've been a passenger, I've come to love it-the thrill of motion, the chance to communicate without words. On that ride, I felt in my body the truth of an obvious solution: the way to make the best of this year was to fully inhabit it. I couldn't stand spending the year consumed with missing Geoff, but I can do it consumed with living what's in front of me. 

I might have more to say about the trip later. There was a lot of emotion and a fair number of funny anecdotes. 

But for now, I'm just here-really here.  

Hamburg Part I

On the way to my hostel, I was greeted by a good omen: prayer flags fluttering a couple of stories up, strung completely across the street.

While checking out the Elbe, I found all sorts of pretty things. This one's for Geoff.

Some people peacefully sitting and watching the Elbe.

A tour bus, of all the boring things to take a picture of.  But this one was specially to me, because on my first day in Germany, I saw a tour bus from the city I still love.

Some views of the Fischmarket from a distance. 

As I walked through the city, I realized that it felt surprisingly familiar...in fact, that it reminded me specifically of Brooklyn. This is the building that first made me realize just what I was remembering. 

Ain't that the truth.

My (Entirely Legal) Graffiti

The other day, I told my boyfriend, Geoff, that I've always kind of wanted to do some graffiti but of course never have, since that would be illegal.  His response was that I would be welcome to put some on his car.  (As you will no doubt be astonished to hear, the car in question is not very valuable.)  

So today, this happened.

I printed out a stencil...

Then I traced it on to stiff plastic...

Cut it out with an exacto knife...

Scrubbed the car a little, since as you can see, it was a bit scruffy...

Attached my stencil and masked off the area to avoid making a mess...

Did a first and second coat...

And voila!

Not quite as crisp an image as I would have liked, but I'm still happy.

It just goes to show, with a little creativity and a lovely boyfriend, you can find a way to do things you thought you never could.

Yay, I tagged something! Very carefully and with the owner's permission!

;)

6 Days

"There are years that ask questions, and years that answer." 

-Zora Neale Hurston

I had lunch with my mother and sister the other day, and we considered the question: for each of us, has it been a year that asked, or that answered?

For my sister, it's been a year of answers to questions large and small, of quiet answers to important questions and resonating answers to modest questions.  My mother has focused more on her loved ones' questions and answers this year.  

And for me?

Like music, some quotes speak to the heart immediately, while others take on meaning over time.  Zora Neale Hurston's quote touched me from the first moment it sunk it, but it's another, older quote that has shown me the way I want to interpret it.

"Genius is eternal patience." Attributed to Michelangelo, that meant very little to me when I first encountered it.  I have never chipped away marble to free the shape within the stone.  It didn't seem relevant to my life.

But I have had a year of questions, and I feel the shape of another year of questions approaching.  And slowly, I have learned to feel the genius in the kind of patience it takes to let things unfold.

I'm leaving for Germany in six days.  I'm excited to make the best of my year, to be active in making it everything I would want it to be.  

But I'll also do my best to be patient, to give space for questions and for answers to shape themselves.