Day 10

Laundry Day

Yesterday i managed to get a hold of the landlord in order to buy tokens for the laundry machines, so today was the big day. The landlord had given some instructions and basically what i got out of it was that you were supposed to turn the token thing after every token and it would take 2-3 tokens per load per machine. I also learned where the machines were, so i packed up my clothes and my soap and headed down the stairs. This is what the room looked like:

So i walked over to the washing machine and saw this sign posted above it. It looked pretty important, but it seemed to just say that you were supposed to leave the door open when you were done washing.

Then i turned my attention to the token machine:

which made me think i’d get 20 minutes for each token i put in. Forty minutes should be plenty for washing, so i put in two tokens and then tried to figure out the washing machine.

Of course it wasn’t lit up or anything when i was looking at it. Someone had come in after me by the time i actually took the pictures. On the left is a key that explains what all the symbols mean that show you where the machine is in the cycle and also what the letters mean for the various cycles mean. It was on C when i got there and i figured most clothes are synthetic so maybe that’s what i wanted? (Later with a translator i found out that A is cottons/machine wash and the word in front of synthetic means fine, so i probably really wanted A) I had no idea what the numbers by the letters were for, except that near A it said °C (yeah i realize now that numbers like 90 don’t make any sense as °C, but i was just trying to get my clothes washed) so i just left everything where it was and hit start. The little light up number only said 20 though so i didn’t think my second token had worked. Instead of putting in more money i just decided to come back in 20 minutes and see what it was doing.

20 minutes later i walked back downstairs and the light up number said 23. I watched it for a bit and it seemed to be counting down normally, so i went back upstairs. 25 minutes later i went to check on it and it still had 6 minutes left, but the cycle light was flashing in a way that made me think there was a problem.  Just in case it was supposed to flash like that, i came back again in 10 minutes. The number was still on 6 and the light was still flashing. “Crap i just broke the machine.” It was after office hours, but i knew the landlord lived in my building so i buzzed his apartment:

Hallo?
Hallo, ich denke dass die Waschmachine ist kaputt.
Welche -static- ?
Die Waschmachine? Für die Kleidung?
Welche Waschmachine, welche Wohnung?
Judenstraße?
Welche..
Oh! Acht! Judenstraße acht!
Ok -static mixed with German-
Ok

So i sat down on the steps and assumed he’d come down to fix it, though i wasn’t really sure what he said after i figured out he was asking if i was talking about the washing machine in Judenstraße 2 or 8. After about 10 minutes i started wondering what i would do if he didn’t come, but then a few minutes later he showed up with a little box of tools.

We walked into the room; he took one look at it and was like it’s not broken. Then he motioned for me to put more money in, so i did and it started running again. “Do i always have to use three tokens?” “No…more German with motions toward the number dial i had ignored.” I saw that it was just a little past 40 and everything came together. I apologized for wasting his time, but he seemed in a good mood about the whole thing.

I didn’t even try to figure out the drying machine.

I could find no indication of how long each cycle should take and i didn’t want to spend more than two tokens. There were two choices with times on them: 15 minutes cold air, 20 minutes warm air. I just chose to run the 20 minute cycle twice and then hang up anything that was still damp. Well it all ended up being pretty wet, but i got it all hung up in my room and was proud to have survived my first day of German laundry.

 

PS- The castle post has pictures now since i have my own internet.

Day 8/9

I have internet!!! On Tuesday we rode the bus back out to the internet place, and the guy was actually there. He waited until a small group arrived and then began his pitch. It was all in German, but he spoke slowly with lots of gestures so it wasn’t hard to understand. I also already knew the drill from others. They were offering two packages, one with 5MB internet and the other with 32MB. Of course the guy  wanted everyone to buy the faster package, but from my hours of online research i was pretty certain that 5MB would be plenty fast, and it was only 12.90 EUR/month instead of 19.90.

After the guy did his spiel and everyone had chosen a package, he went around and started filling out the actual contracts. As he went around he wanted a cellphone number for each person, but no one had one. For the six people in front of Juliann and me this was not a problem and he just put down the landlord’s phone number instead, but suddenly when he got to Juliann it was a huge problem. There was a lot of German and a lot of “what the heck, no one else had to have a freaking cell phone,” but it was no use. It was absolutely impossible for Juliann and me to get internet without a phone. I guess our landlord wasn’t cool with the internet company calling him, but i don’t understand why we couldn’t just set up a time then, or go into the other branch to set up a time, or any number of other possibilities, but Germans have their rules and their procedures and they don’t bend them for anything. At the most Juliann and i could share a phone as long as we would be able to let the guys into each other’s rooms if necessary. He was also willing to let us text him the phone number later in the day, so all our effort so far would not be wasted.

So we take the bus back to the city center and go looking for a prepaid phone. Of course there wasn’t anything cheap, so we ended up paying 55 EUR to receive one phone call. On the plus side, now i have a clock.

We received our one phone call around six o’clock and Juliann answered it. Best she could figure they said they would come at eight the next morning to install our internet. Now my impression had been that we would choose a four hour window during which they would come, but it seems as though they never asked when it would be convenient. As it was, if they actually came at eight that would be perfect, but if they came sometime between eight and noon, we would most likely be in class.

Tuesday morning i set my alarm for 7:30 so i would have enough time to be somewhat presentable if they actually came at eight. Of course they didn’t come that early, and i was afraid to take a shower anytime after eight in case i missed them. This situation meant that i spent an hour just kinda chilling, listening to music and wishing i was still asleep. Around nine o’clock i figure they’re not going to come in time, so i start getting ready for class (which starts at nine thirty). At nine ten my door buzzes and i leap from my chair as i frantically try to figure out the phone/door unlocking system to let them in the building. Of course i have no idea if it works, so i run out the the stairwell and sure enough i can see internet looking men climbing up the stairs. I rush back to my room, to try and look nonchalant when they knock on my door.

They came; they set everything up; i tested it briefly, and i was only two minutes late to class!

Day 7

Monday morning came early and cold. Before class i had to go by the International office because apparently there were some excurions which were free with our intro course and the spots were filling up fast. I ran into the Finnish girl on the way and we both managed to get on all three lists. The first was for some German version of bowling on Friday, the second for Munich on Saturday, and the third to visit the French part of Switzerland sometime later. It should make for a good weekend, and hopefully some pictures.

After signing up, we walked to the classroom building where we go to listen to a bunch of welcome speeches. They were all in German and probably wouldn’t have been that interesting in English so i kind of zoned out. After the speeches we got divided into groups to take the placement exam, and my friends and i had some time to kill so we tried to go to the internet place. Of course the guy wasn’t in his office. He had a “back in 15” sign on the door, but we waited for over half an hour and he still didn’t show up. He did have hours posted for Tuesday, so we’ll just have to go back then i guess.

We took the bus back to the city center for our test, but it had been delayed so we went out and got bratwurst for lunch. It was ok. Kind of like a hotdog but not as good. The placement test was absolutely terrible. It was on the computer which stinks to begin with and then it was all fill in the blank whcih i think is probably the hardest kind of German test. I mean there were times when i would know the entire sentence but still not know what should go in the blank. It was really painful, and when i got out even the girls i knew who had pretty good German had found it really hard. At least i was able to console myself with some quality internet time before we went to a movie night put on by the international program. The movie was Goodbye Lenin which i had seen before in English. I was glad that i knew the basic plotline, but i was actually able to follow along pretty well with the dialog and stuff, cause they ran it with German subtitles.

After the movie we all went to see which German group we had placed into. Turns out that i made group B (it goes from A to F and people who have never studied German get put in A). Whatever though, i’m just glad i’m not in A and it won’t be terrible to have an easy German class for once. Plus maybe B is harder than i think. I guess i will find out tomorrow.

Day 6

Today i got to go to church with Tina! The church where she goes was about a fifteen minute walk from my apartment, but service wasn’t until 10 so i still got to sleep in some. The building was absolutely beautiful! It was really old (of course) and was basically a big round tower room. The choir and organ were in the back in a loft (which i guess is normal, but i’ve never been to a traditional church before). The choir sounded so awesome the way they resonated around the big round room. I didn’t understand the sermon at all except that i figured out she was talking about stewardship or tithing, and when i asked afterwards i found out that it was about the widow who gave everything she had.

After the service they had a going away party for the pastor, because apparently it was her last sermon at the church. When i asked Tina about it she said they had a team of preachers who took turns, so they didn’t have to find a replacement right away or anything. At the party they had all kinds of little appetizer foods which looked really pretty, but i don’t think i have German tastebuds. Even the cake, which i figured had to be good, didn’t taste that great to me. The one thing i did like were little sausages wrapped in dough like our pigs in a blanket. To drink we had carbonated apple juice, which is better than carbonated water, but not as good as regular apple juice.

After the party i had a little bit of free time and then we all went to the castle. Of course it was built on top of a  mountain, so the path up was quite a workout but the views were awesome!

The Drawbridge, for some reason i always thought you'd need a moat, but clearly not

The castle pet 😉

The view of Bamberg from the castle

We walked around the castle for a bit when we got there and it was pretty sweet. You couldn’t go inside any of the buildings but just walking around the courtyard and the towers was cool. After we had walked around for awhile, they devided us into teams and had us play relay games. Yeah probably not my favorite thing in the world, but whatever.

When we got back i got a half an hour of internet, went out for ice cream with Juliann, and got an early bedtime for an early start on Monday.

Day 5

Today was definitely the best day in Germany so far. Since the official arrival date was yesterday, there were three different tours planned for the day. The first was a tour of the local shops to buy groceries and other necessities, so we were divided into two groups depending on if you lived in town or out on the east end. The second was the kind of tour the tourists would get of Bamberg, and the third was a tour of the pubs.

During the first tour i met Juliann who lives next door to my building and is from New Jersey. It was great to finally meet someone else who lived on my street because it seems like most of the students live far away from me. After we were showed around the shops, Juliann and i went back to her place so she could charge her computer with my adapter, and then we grabbed lunch at a dӧner kebap stand. When we were done eating it was time for the second tour.

This time they divided us into German and English tours, and i decided to be lazy and go with the English group. It turned out to be a really good thing too, though, because the guide told a lot of the legends about the different buildings and stuff which i’m sure i would have missed in the other group. We walked out to the bridge first and told us about the painting on the old city hall. Apparently mixing painting with sculpture was popular back then, but to me it just looked weird.

He also showed us “Little Venice” where the fishermen live and the old slaughterhouse which was built partly on the river so they could just open hatches to clean up really quickly.

They also have kayaking courses set up on the river, but i think that was too modern for our tour.

After the bridge we went to look at the common people’s church.

Back in the day people got married on the steps outside of the main doorway and then entered the church as a newly married couple. On either side of the door way they had these carvings. Do you know what parable they illustrate?

I actually got it right away because we had just discussed it in Sunday School, but they are the wise and unwise virgins from Matthew 25:1-13! I don’t think the guide really explained it very well though, nothing like Wayne’s teaching anyway =). After looking at the common church, we walked over to the cathedral where the nobles and other people of wealth and status attended.

(sorry these pictures aren’t very good, but i realized too late that i didn’t have my zoom lens)

The legend here is that an old architect was building the cathedral, but it was taking so long he needed some help, so he hired a guy from France who said he had built many beautiful cathedrals before. Honestly though the man had never built a thing, he just wanted to look impressive. Well he got so desperate when he couldn’t build because he would be found out that he sold his soul to the devil to build his half of the church for him. Soon after the church was finished the devil came for a tour, and threw the “architect” out of the tower to get his soul. Apparently enough people believed this legend that they had to do a big exorcism and everything to remove any demons the devil might have left when he built it.

After the cathedral, we went across the street to look at a prince’s palace. He had wanted a second wing, so he left all of these bricks hanging out to attach it, but then ran out of money and never got to build it.

He did build a nice garden overlooking the city though. Apparently it’s amazing when all of the roses are in bloom and the statues are released from their wooden houses for the summer.

After the tour of Bamberg, i got an hour of internet at a bigger library that is actually open on the weekends, before watching a bit of Ever After at Juliann’s and heading to the pub tour. There ended up not being much of a tour because once we left the first place, we just kind of broke into our own groups and went into whatever places looked interesting. I didn’t feel like spending any money, but i did try other people’s drinks. In general people didn’t like the smoked beer. The white beer was a bigger hit, and the smoked version of white beer was ok. The last place had a deal on anything mixed with coke, so people got whiskey and coke, but it was a lot stronger than they make it here. All in all i think bar hopping is a really expensive form of entertainment, but the company was good and nobody got
ridiculously drunk.

Tomorrow i get to go to church with one of the German girls and then we have a castle tour!

Day 4

Well Day 4 probably isn’t going to be very interesting, because i have nothing planned. However Day 3 actually had some entertaining events which occured after all available internet was shut down. After the internet closed last night i went to a “Stammtisch” (which is basically just a hangout) for international students. I got there kind of early so i was afraid i wouldn’t be able to find the people i was supposed to be hanging out with (especially considering i had never met these people). Well it turns out that the girl who gave me all my forms and stuff the first day was the first one to arrive at the bar after me, so i had no trouble being in the right place. A ton of people showed up and i ended up meeting an American (Kathryn), a Chiliano (David), a Swiss (Sing, his parents are from Hong Kong), and a Canadian (Samantha). David hadn’t studied any German before so there was at least one person in this country who’s German was worse than mine. We all sat around and talked in English about everything from the politics of South America to the rules of Rugby, and it was so nice to be able to actually hang out with people.

Around 12:30 someone knew about a party they wanted to go to and had free tickets so i got to go to my first club. Maybe it’s just German clubs, but i think that they are highly overrated. The music is really loud so you can’t hear anyone and all the lighting is flashing, not to mention it’s about a hundred degrees and smells like BO with everyone dancing. The music was one long techno songs which mostly sounded like songs that used to be popular in America remixed to be techno. It was kind of fun to dance for awhile, but then i was ready to leave. Luckily Sing had a class the next morning, so i just peaced when he did. All in all it was the most fun i’ve had in this country,  so i’m hoping it’s just the beginning of how things will be when i actually have a schedule.

Day 3

Yesterday involved a lot of running around, getting lost, and not finding internet. Today was better. The weather is still nice here which i am very grateful for since i spend so much time walking. I should probably invest in an umbrella soon though. Anyway, last night was rather chilly since i forgot to pick up my sheets before they closed at noon, so this morning i headed straight to the office. I paid for the sheets and then got to take my first bus ride out to the east side where the bigger dorm is to pick them up. I’m still not sure if i paid the right amount because the ticket booths were rather confusing, and when i stepped aside to watch someone else they appeared to be just as confused as i was. Most of the people getting on the bus didn’t stop to pay or punch a ticket so there must be some sort of card or something. Anyway on the way back i just got on and kept my head down and no one bothered me for money. I must say my room looks much more homey now. I’m thinking of buying a plant since i wasn’t able to bring my fish tank, but i’m holding out in case i make a lot of friends and am never home enough to take care of it.

After the sheet deal i went down to the computer lab to try and find some sort of permanent internet that i can access late at night (stupid time difference). Well i looked online for awhile and talked to dad about it, but it’s all very confusing. I find it kind of ironic that i’m trying to do things in Germany that i haven’t had to do in America yet. Anyway no luck yet with the internet, so i suppose i’ll look some more tomorrow. In the mean time i’m going to some sort of international hang out tonight so maybe i’ll make some friends and have something more interesting to talk about than sheets.

Day 1

I’m here. I’m alive. All i want to do is sleep. But first cool things:

-they handed out hot wet towels on the plane which is actually pretty refreshing
-i got to pick out my own movies
-they have deer stands!! I wonder if i’ll meet any German rednecks? Do they even have rednecks in Germany? It just seems to clash with the whole European stereotype to me, but i suppose it’s possible.

and the not so cool things:
-they have a lot of stairs in places like airports and train stations, not escalators, stairs
-their sidewalks are cobblestone so the whole world knows you’re rolling your suitcase down the street
-their hotels don’t necessarily have a sign

Anyway it’s cold and dark i have nothing to do until early tomorrow morning, so i think i will try out my awesome pink bed.