Jen-sized door in Leipzig!
Jen-sized...tree in Dresden!
Jen-sized...well, Jen in Celle.You're welcome.
Showing posts with label dresden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dresden. Show all posts
Sunday, January 10, 2010
And Now, Your Moment(s!) of Jen
Jen-sized door in Leipzig!Jen-sized...tree in Dresden!Jen-sized...well, Jen in Celle.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Leipzig and Dresden...and a very lazy journalist.
Oh, hey; I have an online journal.
As I look out of my bay window, I see the snowfall beginning anew. It's always a comforting sight: fat, lazy flakes slowly drifting down from the gray evening sky. I wonder how many more inches we'll have by tomorrow morning.
For, yes! We in Celle have quite a bit of snow. Being a Southerner, this is an unfamiliar sight, and I'm enjoying almost every minute of it. Of course, with beautiful snow comes freezing temperatures...and it's kind of hard right now to feel my cheeks.
But, yes! Online journal! Which means that I record events and stuff here! So, as some of you may remember, I had traveled with Maryle to Leipzig and Dresden for the New Year. I may add that this was quite a fun adventure. After riding on regional trains to which one actually can set his/her watch, Maryle and I spent a couple of hours in Leipzig, whereupon we visited the two churches that Bach frequented when he was the head homie of the city. Leipzig, by the way, is a rather musical city, as many composers (and poets, etc., for that matter) did frequent it. The churches themselves were impressive feats of architecture, but the most enjoyable aspect for me was just wandering around this very East German city (well, and finding a very Jen-sized door near the Thomaskirche, which shall be featured in an upcoming MOJ). It was actually refreshing seeing the Ampelmann crossing lights again, along with the very, very East German architecture, somewhat awkwardly working in conjunction with the older parts of the city that were either restored or there first. And though we were not there with any particular agenda, Leipzig is a city that I definitely wouldn't mind seeing again.
After mailing off a postcard from Leipzig (one of our top secret missions, you know), we set off to Dresden, where, upon meeting Maryle's college friend and current Dresden Fulbright scholar, Rachel, we three headed to Rachel's humble (and awesomely hospitable) abode. The night was spent getting to know Rachel a bit, along with setting up bedding and whatnot. I've discovered that I'm actually quite okay with residing in a stranger's place, but that may have been because Rachel seemed like a person I could trust with my well-being, if at least for three nights.
The next day, New Year's Eve, consisted of visiting the art museum, the Gemaeldegalerie Alte Meister...which was, in all honesty, as crowded as an art museum can be. However, I did manage to see two works by Vermeer as well as Raphael's famous work with the little cupids (which is why they're all over Dresden souvenirs). Yes, this is me not being accurate. I will try to fix this later. Upon exiting the museum, I took to what I usually am wont to do: wandering. True, the wandering did not extend to anything too much further than the Frauenkirche (which does resemble a Dalmation, Maryle), but it did its job; I took an ungodly amount of photos of the beauty that is the Altstadt of Dresden. I also should probably post these said photos here, but...I'm...lazy. My apologies.
Upon reuniting with Maryle and Rachel after my brief wanderings (and listening to a rather good street trumpet player), we three trekked over to one of the cinemas to see Avatar in 3D...and dubbed in German. It's not a particularly Oscar-worthy film by far, but it was entertaining, at the very least, watching a pretty film in German. Never mind the thin plot. Plus, the 3D glasses? Pretty awesome. It is a pity that we had to give them up after the feature.
After our German cinematic experience (featuring an...American film), we three took the tram to Rachel's initial home-stay family (two sisters, Jeanette and Dana) for a New Year's Eve gathering. Though it was a bit awkward suddenly introducing ourselves to Germans our own age, it was incredibly nice spending the evening with Dana, Jeanette, and Jeanette's boyfriend, Frank. We played board games, drank champagne, and trekked to the mountain to watch the fireworks have a field day on the Dresden skyline. And I will tell you: everyone and his/her German dog owns and abuses fireworks here. It's...ridiculous and dangerous at the same time. But, upon midnight, we watched the spectacle from an almost-safe standpoint, hugging each other, saying "Happy New Year!" in both German and English, and playing relentlessly with silly string and sparklers. Barring a delayed tram at 2:30 in the morning, it was a fantastic way to start off 2010.
New Year's Day was also a rather fun time, though a lot more relaxed, seeing as we...slept in until about 1:30 in the afternoon. It had snowed that morning, so we three went about the Altstadt again, taking pictures of the snow. After having dinner at an Italian restaurant in the area of the Frauenkirche, we did call it an early night, but only to watch wonderfully bad German (and German-dubbed) television, including Cool Runnings in its not-quite entirety. After bidding farewell to Rachel in the morning, Maryle and I returned to good ol' Celle, and life has gotten back to as normal as it can be here.
For, yes, I started back to work this past Thursday, and by Friday I was pretty much back into routine. The first day passed without too much ado, seeing as 4b and 3a, though fond of me, aren't particularly loving. Friday, though, went much better in that regard, as little Anne-Marie, the adorable cherub of 2c, tackled me upon my entering the room. Additionally, when Lia and Michelle hugged me in the hall, Anne-Marie also had to join in...of course. But, it was what Lia said to me that clinched it: "Martha muss Sie sehen! (or: 'Martha must see you!')" And, rest assured, she did. Apart from having to be a substitute for the Philosophy AG with some problematic fourth graders, it was a good start to getting back to it. Go me.
Phew. I've finally come to the conclusion...of this post, anyway. I don't know what happened, but posting just got away from me. I will, however, be more diligent about my posting henceforth. 'Til next time, duckies (which actually may be very soon).
As I look out of my bay window, I see the snowfall beginning anew. It's always a comforting sight: fat, lazy flakes slowly drifting down from the gray evening sky. I wonder how many more inches we'll have by tomorrow morning.
For, yes! We in Celle have quite a bit of snow. Being a Southerner, this is an unfamiliar sight, and I'm enjoying almost every minute of it. Of course, with beautiful snow comes freezing temperatures...and it's kind of hard right now to feel my cheeks.
But, yes! Online journal! Which means that I record events and stuff here! So, as some of you may remember, I had traveled with Maryle to Leipzig and Dresden for the New Year. I may add that this was quite a fun adventure. After riding on regional trains to which one actually can set his/her watch, Maryle and I spent a couple of hours in Leipzig, whereupon we visited the two churches that Bach frequented when he was the head homie of the city. Leipzig, by the way, is a rather musical city, as many composers (and poets, etc., for that matter) did frequent it. The churches themselves were impressive feats of architecture, but the most enjoyable aspect for me was just wandering around this very East German city (well, and finding a very Jen-sized door near the Thomaskirche, which shall be featured in an upcoming MOJ). It was actually refreshing seeing the Ampelmann crossing lights again, along with the very, very East German architecture, somewhat awkwardly working in conjunction with the older parts of the city that were either restored or there first. And though we were not there with any particular agenda, Leipzig is a city that I definitely wouldn't mind seeing again.
After mailing off a postcard from Leipzig (one of our top secret missions, you know), we set off to Dresden, where, upon meeting Maryle's college friend and current Dresden Fulbright scholar, Rachel, we three headed to Rachel's humble (and awesomely hospitable) abode. The night was spent getting to know Rachel a bit, along with setting up bedding and whatnot. I've discovered that I'm actually quite okay with residing in a stranger's place, but that may have been because Rachel seemed like a person I could trust with my well-being, if at least for three nights.
The next day, New Year's Eve, consisted of visiting the art museum, the Gemaeldegalerie Alte Meister...which was, in all honesty, as crowded as an art museum can be. However, I did manage to see two works by Vermeer as well as Raphael's famous work with the little cupids (which is why they're all over Dresden souvenirs). Yes, this is me not being accurate. I will try to fix this later. Upon exiting the museum, I took to what I usually am wont to do: wandering. True, the wandering did not extend to anything too much further than the Frauenkirche (which does resemble a Dalmation, Maryle), but it did its job; I took an ungodly amount of photos of the beauty that is the Altstadt of Dresden. I also should probably post these said photos here, but...I'm...lazy. My apologies.
Upon reuniting with Maryle and Rachel after my brief wanderings (and listening to a rather good street trumpet player), we three trekked over to one of the cinemas to see Avatar in 3D...and dubbed in German. It's not a particularly Oscar-worthy film by far, but it was entertaining, at the very least, watching a pretty film in German. Never mind the thin plot. Plus, the 3D glasses? Pretty awesome. It is a pity that we had to give them up after the feature.
After our German cinematic experience (featuring an...American film), we three took the tram to Rachel's initial home-stay family (two sisters, Jeanette and Dana) for a New Year's Eve gathering. Though it was a bit awkward suddenly introducing ourselves to Germans our own age, it was incredibly nice spending the evening with Dana, Jeanette, and Jeanette's boyfriend, Frank. We played board games, drank champagne, and trekked to the mountain to watch the fireworks have a field day on the Dresden skyline. And I will tell you: everyone and his/her German dog owns and abuses fireworks here. It's...ridiculous and dangerous at the same time. But, upon midnight, we watched the spectacle from an almost-safe standpoint, hugging each other, saying "Happy New Year!" in both German and English, and playing relentlessly with silly string and sparklers. Barring a delayed tram at 2:30 in the morning, it was a fantastic way to start off 2010.
New Year's Day was also a rather fun time, though a lot more relaxed, seeing as we...slept in until about 1:30 in the afternoon. It had snowed that morning, so we three went about the Altstadt again, taking pictures of the snow. After having dinner at an Italian restaurant in the area of the Frauenkirche, we did call it an early night, but only to watch wonderfully bad German (and German-dubbed) television, including Cool Runnings in its not-quite entirety. After bidding farewell to Rachel in the morning, Maryle and I returned to good ol' Celle, and life has gotten back to as normal as it can be here.
For, yes, I started back to work this past Thursday, and by Friday I was pretty much back into routine. The first day passed without too much ado, seeing as 4b and 3a, though fond of me, aren't particularly loving. Friday, though, went much better in that regard, as little Anne-Marie, the adorable cherub of 2c, tackled me upon my entering the room. Additionally, when Lia and Michelle hugged me in the hall, Anne-Marie also had to join in...of course. But, it was what Lia said to me that clinched it: "Martha muss Sie sehen! (or: 'Martha must see you!')" And, rest assured, she did. Apart from having to be a substitute for the Philosophy AG with some problematic fourth graders, it was a good start to getting back to it. Go me.
Phew. I've finally come to the conclusion...of this post, anyway. I don't know what happened, but posting just got away from me. I will, however, be more diligent about my posting henceforth. 'Til next time, duckies (which actually may be very soon).
Thursday, December 31, 2009
May auld acquaintance be forgot, something, something, something, somethiiiiing...
Happy New Year's from Dresden! Fun stories to come.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Packing Up Again
Hi, duckies. I'm currently in my small flat, stretched out on my rather comfortable sofa, drinking perfect hot toddy, and contemplating my next trip starting tomorrow.
Heather and I parted ways yesterday, after I had accompanied her to the Hannover airport until her gate opened. It was very bittersweet for me; here I had spent two weeks in Germany and France with one of my closest friends, and I wasn't quite ready to let that go. Yes, we generally left each other alone once we got back from Paris (to read, surf the Internet, or watch very strange German television), but that was nice for me--just having the company was all that I needed and wanted. I already miss her...though I'd never tell her that.
Christmas day was rather quiet, though I did manage to chat with and see all of my immediate family via Skype as well as chat with a somewhat endearing friend via Google chat. Needless to say, I was grateful for this, since this Christmas was admittedly my first without my family. Not to say it was a bad day, but it just seemed interesting to me because of this.
Tomorrow, however, will probably begin a new adventure. I shall be traveling with Maryle to Dresden via Leipzig in order to meet up with one of Maryle's Doane friends and one of the Fulbright teaching assistants in Dresden. We will be staying with her through New Year's until the 2nd, when we'll be traveling back to Celle. Truly, I am grateful for the potential distraction because 1. of the awesome art museum that I will do my damnedest to visit, 2. the possibility to make a new friend, and 3. of the opportunity to get out of Celle for a bit longer. Don't misread this; I love Celle, but there's the potential there for me to remain inside my head if I stay here too long on my break. I've enjoyed today, since I managed to clean up the place a bit and lounge around, but I can't do that for one and a half more weeks. So, here's to a new adventure.
Heather and I parted ways yesterday, after I had accompanied her to the Hannover airport until her gate opened. It was very bittersweet for me; here I had spent two weeks in Germany and France with one of my closest friends, and I wasn't quite ready to let that go. Yes, we generally left each other alone once we got back from Paris (to read, surf the Internet, or watch very strange German television), but that was nice for me--just having the company was all that I needed and wanted. I already miss her...though I'd never tell her that.
Christmas day was rather quiet, though I did manage to chat with and see all of my immediate family via Skype as well as chat with a somewhat endearing friend via Google chat. Needless to say, I was grateful for this, since this Christmas was admittedly my first without my family. Not to say it was a bad day, but it just seemed interesting to me because of this.
Tomorrow, however, will probably begin a new adventure. I shall be traveling with Maryle to Dresden via Leipzig in order to meet up with one of Maryle's Doane friends and one of the Fulbright teaching assistants in Dresden. We will be staying with her through New Year's until the 2nd, when we'll be traveling back to Celle. Truly, I am grateful for the potential distraction because 1. of the awesome art museum that I will do my damnedest to visit, 2. the possibility to make a new friend, and 3. of the opportunity to get out of Celle for a bit longer. Don't misread this; I love Celle, but there's the potential there for me to remain inside my head if I stay here too long on my break. I've enjoyed today, since I managed to clean up the place a bit and lounge around, but I can't do that for one and a half more weeks. So, here's to a new adventure.
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