Ende des Sprachkurses

So yesterday (Friday) we had our last day of class. Now I'm on vacation until April 14, when my semester at the university finally begins.

For our last day of class, we took another tour of Constance. This time we only hit up historical sites, including the Bismarck Tower and old French military housing from the days when Constance was part of the French Zone.


another historical site, The Bus


This is where we eat lunch.


And here I am with my wonderful (ex-)professor, Hilde.

Last night four of us (two Americans, a Turk and a Russian) took the bus to Switzerland. We got coupon books with our residency permits and wanted to use one to get into the planetarium in Kreuzlingen. But here's the deal: We finally get there, and so far everyone's been really nice (especially the bus driver, who even pointed out exactly how to get to the planetarium). Then we arrive at the actual planetarium, and the guy working the counter there is … hmm, what's a nice word for it… it starts with an "as" and ends in a "shole." Anyway, unhelpful Herr Ihateyouall tells us that we have two choices. Either we don't use the coupon, and we pay the student price (€5,00) or we use the coupon and take off €2 off of the adult price (€8,50 - therefore we'd pay €6,50). So our "coupon" would actually cost us an extra €1,50! Unbelievable.
Obviously we didn't go. Instead we wandered around Kreuzlingen and walked back across the border into Germany, where we bought gelato and then shared a bottle of wine in one of our dorms.

Then today I had a massive hassle with reserving the train back from Paris to Constance. My teller was from Korea, didn't speak especially good Germany, and was truthfully one of the least helpful people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. I spent an hour with him. It ended with his drawing a picture of a train full of people. This was supposed to explain to me what I would have understood with the word "ausverkauft" (sold out). He also smiled condescendingly the entire time - as if my German wasn't better than his. Anyway, then I spent an hour on the internet in McDonald's (remember how I don't have internet in my room), and then went back. I got a different teller who said he spoke English, but didn't really. We spoke German again. He was very confused by the whole mess, but in the end was very helpful and nice. The trip back won't be ideal (four transfers and a total of about 12 hrs of transit), but it'll take place, and that's all that matters at this point.

And tomorrow I'm off!

historische Stadt

So as I mentioned, on Saturday a bunch of us from the Sprachkurs (language course) went on an historical tour of Constance. Here are some of the photos.
(PS - I went to the bridge that connects the two halves of Constance today, and it wasn't foggy, so you could see the Alps! I love Constance!)


Just kidding, this isn't from the tour, but it is my new phone. Pretty sweet, right? Plus I misspoke/mistyped: it only cost €50.

This is a monument to Count Zeppelin. I don't remember exactly (maybe because the entire tour was auf Deutsch), but maybe he was born here in Constance.


This is the Inselhotel. It's really pretty amazing for a hotel! It's an historical site. Inside there are all of these really old paintings that recount the history of the island all the way from the 100s when Constance was originally inhabited by the Alamanni (hence Fr. allemande, Sp. alemán) tribe (see below).


Our tour guide told us the Alamanni probably didn't live this well.


There was this one room that was entirely filled with images of martyrs being killed. I'm not sure what the room used to be used for back in the day, but now it's a dining hall. Guten Appetit!


riverside in Constance


Konstanzer Münster (Cathedral of Constance)
It was built in three separate stints in three separate eras (Romanesque, Gothic and something else… sorry, mom). It's one of many different churches here in Constance, but so far it's the only one I've visited. Chrissy went here last Sunday for mass.


inside the Münster


building near Münsterplatz


These things crack me up! In German they're called Seehasen, which would translate to something like "Sea Hare," except that already refers to something else in English (it's related to sea slugs). There are a bunch of things around town named Seehase this and Seehase that.

Well that's it for today. Bis bald!

Märchenstadt

I'm in Germany!
So here's my first actual post. It's amazing. Truthfully, I think this is about my favorite city I've ever been to except for Eidfjord. It's beautiful and quaint and a college town with plenty of stuff to do all at once.
So quick recap with photos (Fotos):

My parents came to the airport to see me off. I love my parents :)



This is me on the "red carpet" which United rolled out for Chrissy and me. Seriously, they called it the "red carpet." My flights were basically uneventful. A little delayed, but nothing serious.

One thing that was interesting was when I was on the long flight from Chicago to Copenhagen, I sat next to this really large, drunk man from near Iceland. He talked a long time (occasionally incoherent, but unfortunately in English, so I couldn't pretend not to understand). One of his many inappropriate stories was about the prostitute he bought in New Orleans for $300. He also said that he has 6 children, none of whom look like him. Hmm.


Here's Amelia and me in the Zurich train station. Also included are Chrissy's bags. We got stares. Total, I'm pretty sure our luggage weighed a ton and a half.


We went shopping at the Supermarkt. I found the exact same chocolate rabbits that Mom gave me. I also got a good bottle of wine for 1 euro 49 cents! I haven't tried it yet, tho, so we'll see.


Uni-Konstanz! My university is enormous and ridiculous-looking. The cafeteria (Mensa) is actually decent and pretty cheap. I had orientation today.


bizarre sculpture(?) near the university


Lake Constance (in German "Bodensee") and a statue of Imperia. I have no idea who Imperia is, but she's a big deal here. Maybe you can see the Alps in the background. Constance is really pretty.

We went on a tour of the city today after our orientation period and language placement exam. It was chilly, but the city is really nice. Buses run every fifteen minutes to everywhere, and actually nothing is really that expensive. While we were walking around I met a bunch of other foreign students who'll be taking language classes this month, too. One of the young women I met (from Italy) called Constance a fairytale city ("Märchenstadt", our common language is German).


buildings in Constance


another building


Hanfuniversum - I'm not really sure what they sell here, because I'm pretty sure pot is still illegal here. They do have hookahs in the window, tho.


shot of our tour group - Our tour was actually a scavenger hunt, so one of our tasks was to take a photo of ourselves in this courtyard.


Here I am in Constance. It's a little chilly, but still better than Minnesota!

*So I don't have internet in my room yet, but I will hopefully very soon, so expect better posts in the near future.

A little about my room: It's decent; it was really nasty, but I cleaned for hours, and now it looks fine. Plus I found an extra mattress, so I have a place for visitors to sleep (for free)! It's also really close the university, so it's only a walk. And tomorrow the bus drivers are striking, so for the people living in nice dorms - hah! - they have like a half hour walk. One point for Sonnenbühl Ost. (My address, by the way, is Zr. Nr. 160, Haus E, Sonnenbühl Ost, Jacob-Burckhardt-Str. 35, 78464 Konstanz).

There's my first post. There will be more in a few days.