Today, I learned three new adjectives that describe Kassel, Germany: nett, grune, and schoen (nice, green, and beautiful).
I started my day off right. I prevailed once again over jet lag by getting a full 10 hours of sleep and waking up at 9:00. Christiane made me a delicious cup of coffee and a nutritious breakfast. After Johanna returned from her driving lesson, we ate together.
Then, Johanna and I walked her dog Jasper to the park. Johanna was still getting over a cold, so I set off running on my own. I had planned to get about five miles of running, but instead I got lost and ended up running six to seven. Plus, it was about a mile and a half's walk to the park each way. Good exercise!
We were definitely ready for lunch when we arrived home. Christiane had just come back from the fruit stand and had brought tons of fruit, especially strawberries.
Soon, Johanna's older sister Luise returned home from a trip to Prague with her friends. I'd heard all about her great taste in music and funny sayings ("Money money money, rain" and "Mio queso" (inside jokes, sorry)), so I was happy to finally meet her! Luise went on an Interrail/Eurail trip last year, so she's a good source of information for our upcoming adventure. For now, she recommends we don't try to cheat the public transportation system in Prague—you can get fined 40 Euros if you get caught, even though tickets only cost 40 cents.
Around 6:00 Johanna and I took the bus and tram to the city center. Kassel was badly wounded after World War II, so much of the city has had to be rebuilt, except for a few buildings. The oldest building in the city is the Naturkundemuseum, which used to be a theatre.
While the city planners didn't put in the money or the effort to reconstruct a beautiful downtown, they did build a few key buildings, including the town hall and the documenta Halle. The documenta Halle is particularly interesting. Every five years the documenta Halle holds an art exposition called Documenta in which artwork by young rising artists from all over the globe are showcased. Some works are enjoyed year-round as architectural landmarks of the city, including the overhang at the old main train and the picture frames in front of Karlsaue, a city park with a palace, pond, gazebo, and greenspace.
Even though we'd walked pretty far earlier on that day, I was too excited to do more sightseeing to stop myself from walking more again. Ich liebe laufen! There were plenty of photo opportunities throughout Karlsaue, an English-style landscape park completed during the reign of Duke Karl.
While we walked through the manicured trees and pathways, we saw many bikers, runners, and strollers enjoying the outdoors and improving weather. I mentioned to Johanna how ironic I found it that in my town people stay indoors despite the warm weather while in her town people are out and about despite the cold weather. Probably much of German appreciation for the outdoors comes from the abundance and quality of greenspace. Maybe it's also why German people are generally more respectful of the environment.
Another interesting contrast between California and Germany is that while Californians are in a drought and use too much water, Germans have plenty of water and don't use enough of it. Underuse of water is a problem in Germany because it causes sewage to stagnate in overly large calas and noxious gas to corrode cement. Crazy stuff! German toilets, like most European toilets have two modes; they typically use about two gallons of water for a full flush and less than one on water-saving. I vote we implement these, among other important measures, in California!
When we returned home for dinner, I found even more excitement and surprises. I met Johanna's father Lutz, a surgeon like Christiane, and Luise's boyfriend Jonathan, who is studying medicine at the University of Gottingen. Johanna's close friend Anne joined us. I still can't get over how phenomenal Anne's English is. Her accent is very American because she studied at a boarding school in Pebble Beach for a year. She had to repeat a grade because it would have been almost impossible to re-enter the German math curriculum after a year of absence, but her time studying abroad seems to have paid off in language skills and in good memories! She told me that hanging out with me reminded her of how much she missed the U.S.
Before serving myself Nudeln mit Tomaten, Mozzarella Kase und Basilienkraut (pasta with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil), I noticed a familiar-looking label on the wine bottle: Gallo Family Vineyards. I couldn't believe I had traveled over a continent and across an ocean to find a bottle of wine from a vineyard right down the street from my house in Healdsburg! Vie toll!
After unser Abendessen, Johanna, Anne and I relaxed in Johanna's room. Soon afterwards, Anne went home and Johanna and I fell asleep.
When I woke up today, I had another coffee and talked with Jonathan about the German university system. Students have no general education requirements and complete their bachelor's degree in three years and their master's in two more. Medical students take seven years for their international certification and then continue their studies in specialized fields if they wish.
It's amazing all the things I've learned in 24 hours! I can't wait for today's adventures.
Then, Johanna and I walked her dog Jasper to the park. Johanna was still getting over a cold, so I set off running on my own. I had planned to get about five miles of running, but instead I got lost and ended up running six to seven. Plus, it was about a mile and a half's walk to the park each way. Good exercise!
We were definitely ready for lunch when we arrived home. Christiane had just come back from the fruit stand and had brought tons of fruit, especially strawberries.
Soon, Johanna's older sister Luise returned home from a trip to Prague with her friends. I'd heard all about her great taste in music and funny sayings ("Money money money, rain" and "Mio queso" (inside jokes, sorry)), so I was happy to finally meet her! Luise went on an Interrail/Eurail trip last year, so she's a good source of information for our upcoming adventure. For now, she recommends we don't try to cheat the public transportation system in Prague—you can get fined 40 Euros if you get caught, even though tickets only cost 40 cents.
Around 6:00 Johanna and I took the bus and tram to the city center. Kassel was badly wounded after World War II, so much of the city has had to be rebuilt, except for a few buildings. The oldest building in the city is the Naturkundemuseum, which used to be a theatre.
While the city planners didn't put in the money or the effort to reconstruct a beautiful downtown, they did build a few key buildings, including the town hall and the documenta Halle. The documenta Halle is particularly interesting. Every five years the documenta Halle holds an art exposition called Documenta in which artwork by young rising artists from all over the globe are showcased. Some works are enjoyed year-round as architectural landmarks of the city, including the overhang at the old main train and the picture frames in front of Karlsaue, a city park with a palace, pond, gazebo, and greenspace.
Even though we'd walked pretty far earlier on that day, I was too excited to do more sightseeing to stop myself from walking more again. Ich liebe laufen! There were plenty of photo opportunities throughout Karlsaue, an English-style landscape park completed during the reign of Duke Karl.
While we walked through the manicured trees and pathways, we saw many bikers, runners, and strollers enjoying the outdoors and improving weather. I mentioned to Johanna how ironic I found it that in my town people stay indoors despite the warm weather while in her town people are out and about despite the cold weather. Probably much of German appreciation for the outdoors comes from the abundance and quality of greenspace. Maybe it's also why German people are generally more respectful of the environment.
Another interesting contrast between California and Germany is that while Californians are in a drought and use too much water, Germans have plenty of water and don't use enough of it. Underuse of water is a problem in Germany because it causes sewage to stagnate in overly large calas and noxious gas to corrode cement. Crazy stuff! German toilets, like most European toilets have two modes; they typically use about two gallons of water for a full flush and less than one on water-saving. I vote we implement these, among other important measures, in California!
When we returned home for dinner, I found even more excitement and surprises. I met Johanna's father Lutz, a surgeon like Christiane, and Luise's boyfriend Jonathan, who is studying medicine at the University of Gottingen. Johanna's close friend Anne joined us. I still can't get over how phenomenal Anne's English is. Her accent is very American because she studied at a boarding school in Pebble Beach for a year. She had to repeat a grade because it would have been almost impossible to re-enter the German math curriculum after a year of absence, but her time studying abroad seems to have paid off in language skills and in good memories! She told me that hanging out with me reminded her of how much she missed the U.S.
Before serving myself Nudeln mit Tomaten, Mozzarella Kase und Basilienkraut (pasta with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil), I noticed a familiar-looking label on the wine bottle: Gallo Family Vineyards. I couldn't believe I had traveled over a continent and across an ocean to find a bottle of wine from a vineyard right down the street from my house in Healdsburg! Vie toll!
After unser Abendessen, Johanna, Anne and I relaxed in Johanna's room. Soon afterwards, Anne went home and Johanna and I fell asleep.
When I woke up today, I had another coffee and talked with Jonathan about the German university system. Students have no general education requirements and complete their bachelor's degree in three years and their master's in two more. Medical students take seven years for their international certification and then continue their studies in specialized fields if they wish.
It's amazing all the things I've learned in 24 hours! I can't wait for today's adventures.