It's been quite a while since I've updated the blog. Since I've just kicked off six weeks of traveling through Germany, Indonesia, and Singapore though, I was inspired by some wanderlust-stricken friends to revive it. So, here we go.
Yesterday, after flying from New York to Frankfurt, I arrived back in Germany for the first time since I left after my Fulbright year in July 2011. The Singapore Airlines flight itself was rather nice: my own little TV, plenty of space, and even a fancy menu for my meals (yes, TWO meals).
I did not get much sleep though (thanks to the kid behind me who kept kicking my seat while he played his little video game), so I ended up watching one movie and half of a second (we started our descent before I could finish the second movie). Once I actually walked around the airport and made my way around Frankfurt, it felt a bit strange to be back, but I found my friend Ginger's office with little trouble.
Ginger was also a fellow Fulbrighter, except she stayed in Germany after our Fulbright year and has had many awesome experiences here and around the world since. She is also the one who introduced me to the wonderful world of CouchSurfing, which has been great for some of my travels since then.
After going to a fun, informal lunch meeting with Ginger and some entrepreneurial folks she knows, we went back to her office, where I dozed off a few times (on accident) in the empty conference room. I sincerely hope I did not snore, because my eyes just closed while I tried to do some work. I usually have little trouble with jet lag, but I blame the kid who kept me up the whole flight.
Once we made it back to her place and bought some groceries, we cooked up some curry and rice (by "we," I mean Ginger, since all I did was wash and chop a few vegetables). Her roommate returned home with impeccable timing to join us right as we sat down, too, so that was nice to have dinner all together.
This morning, I slept in while Ginger and her roommate both went to work (I'm on vacation, after all!), and then I went to meet a current Fulbrighter who happened to email me last week after he found my Fulbright Alumni Ambassador profile on the Fulbright website. He actually had no idea I was even coming to Frankfurt when he contacted me, so it was extremely fortuitous that we happened to have the chance to meet in person.
We went to his favorite spot near the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Café Laumer, which apparently has its own Wikpedia page and was known as the local spot for German philosophers throughout the 20th century. Ardevan's Fulbright research has many ties to German philosophy, so it was fascinating to learn new stuff.
Nearly all the food items on the menu were named after German philosophers who frequented the place back in the day. We both had a "Horkheimer," which was a platter of potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, and fresh bread. It made me think that perhaps one day I will have a plate of food named after me at Shultzy's on the Ave in Seattle. But...probably not.
After a very filling brunch, we took a bus over to Ardevan's university nearby. I have always enjoyed visiting colleges and universities in the US, so when Ardevan agreed to show me around campus a bit, I was quite thrilled to have my own campus tour guide.
I learned some crazy (and also a few extremely disturbing) facts about the campus, including:
The campus is also just wrapping up some new construction, so most of the buildings looked extremely modern. I also liked that there was plenty of sculpture art spread around campus. And they had multiple fountains, too!
We headed up to one of the newest buildings on campus, which also happens to be one of the places on campus where you can see Frankfurt's skyline. Frankfurt is probably the only city in Germany that has a modern-looking skyline.
I was very grateful to Ardevan for not only showing me around campus but for also setting me up in one of the many cafés on campus and logging in so I could use the Wi-Fi. After a few hours of work, my laptop's battery died, and with no power outlets nearby, it was time to move.
So, I went back to the bus stop where we had arrived earlier and took the bus on the other side. One of the things I love about living in NYC is how easy it is to get around with public transportation (compared to Seattle), though it isn't without its own set of bumps and challenges. The German public transportation system, though, is phenomenal in all its major cities.
For instance, check out that TV screen in the front of the bus. You can see not only the upcoming bus stop but also the next few ones after. Unless you fall asleep or are completely clueless, it's really not very hard to figure out how to get around if you know the name of the bus stop (or simply, the street/area) where you want to get off — plus you can do all that at the bus stop before you even get on, since all the stops on the line are usually posted.
I do find the U-Bahn and S-Bahn system in Frankfurt a bit funny though. They don't look too much like the U-Bahns and S-Bahns in Berlin. Rather, they're quite colorful and remind me a bit of the trains in Philadelphia, actually.
All in all, Frankfurt has been a nice stop, not only to see good friends and to meet new ones but also to simply get reacquainted with life in Germany before I head to Berlin to see tons of old friends. Tomorrow, though, I make a one-day stop in Marburg to see some other old friends first. Marburg will be nice, because it's always fun visiting cities with a castle right in the middle of everything — something that just doesn't happen all that often.
Till the next update...
Yesterday, after flying from New York to Frankfurt, I arrived back in Germany for the first time since I left after my Fulbright year in July 2011. The Singapore Airlines flight itself was rather nice: my own little TV, plenty of space, and even a fancy menu for my meals (yes, TWO meals).
I did not get much sleep though (thanks to the kid behind me who kept kicking my seat while he played his little video game), so I ended up watching one movie and half of a second (we started our descent before I could finish the second movie). Once I actually walked around the airport and made my way around Frankfurt, it felt a bit strange to be back, but I found my friend Ginger's office with little trouble.
Ginger was also a fellow Fulbrighter, except she stayed in Germany after our Fulbright year and has had many awesome experiences here and around the world since. She is also the one who introduced me to the wonderful world of CouchSurfing, which has been great for some of my travels since then.
After going to a fun, informal lunch meeting with Ginger and some entrepreneurial folks she knows, we went back to her office, where I dozed off a few times (on accident) in the empty conference room. I sincerely hope I did not snore, because my eyes just closed while I tried to do some work. I usually have little trouble with jet lag, but I blame the kid who kept me up the whole flight.
Once we made it back to her place and bought some groceries, we cooked up some curry and rice (by "we," I mean Ginger, since all I did was wash and chop a few vegetables). Her roommate returned home with impeccable timing to join us right as we sat down, too, so that was nice to have dinner all together.
This morning, I slept in while Ginger and her roommate both went to work (I'm on vacation, after all!), and then I went to meet a current Fulbrighter who happened to email me last week after he found my Fulbright Alumni Ambassador profile on the Fulbright website. He actually had no idea I was even coming to Frankfurt when he contacted me, so it was extremely fortuitous that we happened to have the chance to meet in person.
We went to his favorite spot near the Goethe University in Frankfurt, Café Laumer, which apparently has its own Wikpedia page and was known as the local spot for German philosophers throughout the 20th century. Ardevan's Fulbright research has many ties to German philosophy, so it was fascinating to learn new stuff.
Nearly all the food items on the menu were named after German philosophers who frequented the place back in the day. We both had a "Horkheimer," which was a platter of potatoes, eggs, tomatoes, feta cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, and fresh bread. It made me think that perhaps one day I will have a plate of food named after me at Shultzy's on the Ave in Seattle. But...probably not.
After a very filling brunch, we took a bus over to Ardevan's university nearby. I have always enjoyed visiting colleges and universities in the US, so when Ardevan agreed to show me around campus a bit, I was quite thrilled to have my own campus tour guide.
I learned some crazy (and also a few extremely disturbing) facts about the campus, including:
- The IG Farben building pictured below was where gas used in concentration camps was produced during World War II (Wikipedia also says it served as "the principal location for implementing the Marshall Plan" after the war);
- The university campus is HUGE like one you'd find at an American university, which is actually quite rare since most German university campuses I've seen are nothing like universities in the US (more campus pictures below); and
- The student population is actually quite diverse (relatively speaking in Germany).
The campus is also just wrapping up some new construction, so most of the buildings looked extremely modern. I also liked that there was plenty of sculpture art spread around campus. And they had multiple fountains, too!
We headed up to one of the newest buildings on campus, which also happens to be one of the places on campus where you can see Frankfurt's skyline. Frankfurt is probably the only city in Germany that has a modern-looking skyline.
I was very grateful to Ardevan for not only showing me around campus but for also setting me up in one of the many cafés on campus and logging in so I could use the Wi-Fi. After a few hours of work, my laptop's battery died, and with no power outlets nearby, it was time to move.
So, I went back to the bus stop where we had arrived earlier and took the bus on the other side. One of the things I love about living in NYC is how easy it is to get around with public transportation (compared to Seattle), though it isn't without its own set of bumps and challenges. The German public transportation system, though, is phenomenal in all its major cities.
For instance, check out that TV screen in the front of the bus. You can see not only the upcoming bus stop but also the next few ones after. Unless you fall asleep or are completely clueless, it's really not very hard to figure out how to get around if you know the name of the bus stop (or simply, the street/area) where you want to get off — plus you can do all that at the bus stop before you even get on, since all the stops on the line are usually posted.
I do find the U-Bahn and S-Bahn system in Frankfurt a bit funny though. They don't look too much like the U-Bahns and S-Bahns in Berlin. Rather, they're quite colorful and remind me a bit of the trains in Philadelphia, actually.
All in all, Frankfurt has been a nice stop, not only to see good friends and to meet new ones but also to simply get reacquainted with life in Germany before I head to Berlin to see tons of old friends. Tomorrow, though, I make a one-day stop in Marburg to see some other old friends first. Marburg will be nice, because it's always fun visiting cities with a castle right in the middle of everything — something that just doesn't happen all that often.
Till the next update...
2 comments:
Thanks for starting the blog up again--we're following you from lovely Lynnwood. Work on Keelan to start a Tokyo blog (as if)!
Hooray! Thanks for following along, Eileen! I will do my best to convince Keelan (I'd love to see updates and photos, too!), but that may or may not go anywhere. Will try though!
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