Return from Hiatus

An interesting and detailed fountain in Koblenz

I haven’t written in a long time, I know. It started during my semester break, I had been on a couple short trips to Luxembourg (with some sightseeing in Koblenz along the way) and Munich, and was simply enjoying the new spring weather too much write down what I was doing. The more time went on, the more daunting the task became until I put it out of mind, occasionally resolving to renew my efforts but never doing so.

Truth be told, there isn’t much to tell of the last 6 months. Luxembourg is beautiful, but you can do all your sightseeing in a day. It’s a good destination to go somewhere to eat well in a beautiful setting, a good destination for R&R without feeling like you’re not missing out on the obligatory tourist stuff. Just what I needed at the time. I had a short visit home in September and I had a chance to help Mom trim back a few things that needed it, although scorching heat eventually drove us inside. I also had a chance to visit with my good friend Tristen, who was home for the birth of his second nephew. Once the new semester started, I was too busy to go anywhere or do anything that would be of particular interest to any readers back home because of classes (all of which were very interesting and engaging) and my new side job as a graduate research assistant.

"The German Corner" where the Rhine and Mosel meet

Later in the break I had the chance to make my way back out to Kloster Andechs, one of my favorite places in Germany as well as one of my favorite breweries. It was a beautiful day, the beginning of an unusually early and lovely Spring. It is there that I first had the chance to personally meet Tom Lipton, with whom I had become acquainted through our mutual membership in Beta Theta Pi.

I made my way to Munich last weekend to help Tom (who is in the wine business) with a trade show where I was pouring for Uncork New York, an joint export venture of some smaller family-owned vineyards in New York State. The train down from Regensburg was half-empty, but the air was filled with the low murmur of quite conversations in German. Across the aisle from me was a large, beer-bellied, middle-aged Bavarian backpacker (at least I hoped he is by the smell of him) wearing jeans with suspenders, a plaid shirt, and a traditional grey hat. He was enjoying a Hefeweizen, and the occasional snort of snuff. An elderly woman in front of me occasionally chuckled or muttered to herself has she reads the newspaper.

After meeting me at the station, Tom and I made our way to the exhibition hall on the edge of Munich, just a stop short of Allianz Arena where FC Bayern plays. The president of the company, Christian, was delayed driving in from Luxembourg with the wine samples so set up our stand and strolled about watching others do the same while we waited. I noticed that the vendors of cheese, salami, and truffles were all placed in the corners and along the sides near doors and vents with a chuckle. Once Forum Vini exhibition was started, the strong odors of all the food and wine hit you like a wave when you walked in the room, in spite of the ventilation efforts of the special events staff.

Luxmbourg, from the river below

The company I was working for is not licensed to sell on a retail basis in Germany yet, so we were there purely doing tastings of about eight reds and whites respectively, primarily from the Finger Lakes and Hudson River Valley regions. I read up on the wines Thursday night before the show started, and by the end of the first day I felt like I had most of the information people would ask of me memorized. Although Saturday was a genuinely busy, Friday and Sunday had long stretched where it was relatively slow, which afforded time to walk around and sample from the neighbors, which is not only encouraged but almost expected by one’s immediate neighbors. So one samples a little wine, takes a bit of some chocolate, a little more wine, some cheese, maybe some nice preserves, then a little schnapps, some salami with truffles in it that costs about 30 Euros for a 6 inch piece. Then about ten hours later you wonder why you’re so tired, when all you’ve done is stand around drinking wine and eating cured meats and cheeses. It was wonderful, but by Monday, if the CIA wanted to torture me for interrogation, all they’ have to do is sit me down at a table and say, “alright, you tell us what we want to know, or you’re going to have to eat this charcuterie board and then do a tasting of a half-dozen Cabernet Francs!” And I’d say, “Ok, ok, I’ll tell you everything you want to know!”

An architectural kaleidoscope 

This past weekend was the 25^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. According to the news it was a momentous occasion celebrating by huge crowds in Berlin, but you wouldn’t have known anything was unusual was happening in Regensburg or Munich. Germans are still lukewarm about reunification, especially in the former West where they still pay “solidarity taxes” to supplement the project of rebuilding the infrastructure of the former East. Even a quarter-century later, the former East still struggles in integrate into the capitalist system and some areas of the former East have unemployment near 30%. So-called Wessies often complain that the quality of their roads deteriorates while the Ossies enjoy the new roads their taxes paid for. 

While East-Germans are mostly happy to no longer be living under an oppressive one-party system, they miss aspects of East German society, such as universal childcare and other socialist benefits, and resent the way Wessies act as if they were right all along. A common saying among Ossies is that a fox is a clever animal which acts as though it is foolish, while a Wessie is a foolish animal that acts like it is clever. It is important to remember that before Germany was divided among the victorious powers in 1945, it had only existed as a unified country for about 70 years, and was divided for nearly as long after the war. Regional differences and rivalries persist to this day. For example, Bavarians have more in common linguistically, culturally, and religiously with Austrians than they do with northern Germans. That Bavaria was drawn into the Prussian sphere of influence is the result of a sudden swing in the central European balance of power away from the Hapsburgs of Austria and toward the Hohenzollern of Prussia. Germany unification, in short, still has a long way to go.

Now I’m in my last semester of classes for my M.A. After this, it’s just the internship and the dissertation, which sounds deceptively simple. The past few weeks I’ve been having a bit of a quarter-life crisis. At the same time that I was celebrating my 28^th birthday, I was also celebrating a year in Regensburg, but also realizing that I only have another year left. I have taken comfort in having the immediate future planned out, but the uncertainty of what will happen after next year is very unsettling. So in the meantime I try to focus on the present, not just in terms of schoolwork but also in taking advantage of the social aspects of being in school, even if I often feel like the old fogey in the room who is worried about the two-day hangover I could have if I don’t mind myself.

I’ve also begun a campaign to take off the weight I put on last winter, largely due to the side effect of a medication I was taking. So it’s back to smart eating and pounding iron, although I find myself increasing enjoying yoga, not just for the benefits of increased flexibility and core strength but just for the sheer convenience of being able to do it just about anywhere at any time, for however long you like, even if it’s just a quick 20 minutes in the morning to the blood pumping and to loosen yourself up. I’ve also noticed with my weightlifting that although I’m stronger than I used to be, that my joints bother me a lot more than they used to, so maybe making yoga the main attraction would be a good idea. As my German doctor so delicately put it when I complained about having trouble taking off the weight and that I’d had trouble with hypothyroid as a child, “well, you are getting older…” Although my first instinct was the leap across his desk screaming “WHAT’S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN YOU KRAUT BASTARD!” he does make a valid point. One of the challenges of living here is that the food is very good but unless you’re a farmer it’s simply too rich and trying to eat lean and healthy with lots of fresh produce and fish is a bit expensive. So you  just have to try to be as active as possible and watch the beer, which is easier said than done of course because it is so delicious and so cheap in comparison to home.

The Thing About Germany Is...

After a long end-of-semester hiatus, and some uneventful post-semester recovery time, the blog is back.

"Grillenparty" with cathedral spires in background

There are a lot of things about Germany that still strike me as odd, in both good ways and bad. At the moment the thing about Germany is that the weather has been unbelievable the last couple of weeks, and for once I have had the time to enjoy it. The last two times I was in Germany for February and March, the weather was awful--snow and sub-zero temperatures blown in from the East on a bitter wind. Twenty minutes outside and your ears were burning. Not this year. The same weather phenomenon causing the polar vortex back east has also drawn the Atlantic jet stream south, causing all the systems that would normally come rolling across the North Sea into northern and central Europe to collide with the British Isles instead. So while they struggle with unrelenting floods, we have had almost three weeks of sunny days in the mid-50's. It was so warm last week that I even went to a BBQ on one of the islands in the Danube river. I say this whilst knocking on wood, because March is a treacherous month that likes to get your hopes up then hit you with a blizzard. Nonetheless, I say this hoping for an early Spring.

Some other things about Germany:

Cloudless skies in the late-afternoon

I've said it before and I'll say it again, German bureaucracy lives up to it's Kafkaesque stereotype. I recently was offered the position of research assistant at the university by one of my professors. The project sounded interesting and I figured it would be good for my resume and help my hone my research skills. My professor referred myself and a colleague to the link where we would get the list of required items for taking on the paid position. I found on the list eight different forms and even more other materials ranging from proof of enrollment and medical insurance to a birth certificate (thank God I brought mine with me). Among the forms I have to fill out is a fealty pledge to the German constitution which may conflict with the thousands of times I recited the Pledge of Allegiance in school. Even more laughable was a questionnaire concerning any involvement with Scientology. Unlike in America, Scientology is not given the status of a church, and is rightly regarded as being somewhere between a cult and a scam. I can't help but feel like the man from the country in Franz Kafka's parable "Before the Law." It is only two pages if you have never read it and here is a link to an English translation: Before the Law 

The other great exception to the stereotypes about Germanic formality and rigidity lies in Academia. Given, there are separate systems for registering for classes and registering for exams, and multiple systems for finding course reading, study questions, powerpoint presentations, and other course-related materials, but the academics themselves do not conform to the mold. The stereotype of the German academic as laid out by Winifred Hegert in his account of Americans studying in German universities in the late 19th century (because the American university system was till in its infancy and German universities were considered the best and most innovative in the world at the time) was that of a reclusive, almost hermetic personality who shunned society, hated social interactions with non-academics, and was utterly devoted to their field of study. While my professors have more personality than that, they continue to exercise a range of independence and self-determination that American professors would envy. The system as a whole is more flexible, it is very common for term papers not to be due at the end of the term but at the beginning of the next. It is possible to begin studying for a masters degree before turning in one's bachelors thesis. I would not want to suggest, however, that the standards are not high. Sure the German curriculum requires less of the individual on a weekly basis than the American student at a respectable college would expect, but projects and papers tend to be larger and longer, much more importance is placed on the study and discussion of theory (and the reading of tedious, jargon-filled papers on theory) and the onslaught of work at the end of the semester can be overwhelming.

Finally, as much as Germans, like most Europeans, like to complain that the Westernization of the world over the previous decades is really just an Americanization of it, they do like American crap. It is common for Europeans to say that America has no culture, at the very least no high culture, and that the importation of American popular music and fast food erodes their culture, but I don't hear any complaints when it's 2 AM and I find myself the only person not ordering a burger at McDonalds. If there were an In-N-Out or a taco truck in Regensburg that would be a different story of course. I hear bad American pop music in the gym, and see kids wearing T-shirts that say Venice Beach or sporting a Washington Redskin baseball cap. I tell people I am from Newport Beach, California and they respond with big eyes "Das OC?" in reference to a teen-soap opera that ended almost a decade ago.

Then one day while enjoying our unseasonably good weather and taking a long walk, I discovered the Regensburg Cowboy Club, est. 1960. There is was, on the outskirts of Regensburg, a faux town from the old west, complete with covered wagons, a saloon, and a Wells Fargo. No one was there at the time, but if they were I bet dollars to donuts they'd mess their britches if told them I was descended from actual stage-coach driving, Indian-fighting, roping, and wrangling pioneers and saw my adobe ranch house out at Warner Hot Springs. At the very least I will have to keep and eye out for some upcoming events, sounds like great blog-fodder to me.

This weekend I am meeting up with my wonderful cousin Lauren for a few days in Luxemburg where we will take in some light sightseeing, relaxation, but not opening up any tax shelters which is why most Germans go there. Thank you for taking the time to read and I promise to start writing on a regular basis again.

A Pause For Pig

It's crunch time here in Regensburg. I have been derelict in my blog writing duties as I have been preoccupied with the impending end of the semester. It has not been a terribly eventful beginning of 2014 for me, save that in the first few hours of the New Year I slipped on some black ice and cracked a rib. It's mostly healed by now but I have hardly had a proper nights sleep in a month as a result, because I will roll onto the afflicted side and then not be able to fall back asleep.

I told myself that I wouldn't go the whole month of January without writing anything, so I just wanted to share a short anecdote from Thursday. A friend of mine, Federico, who you might guess is Italian, organized a dinner for everyone to take a break before diving into a weekend of test preparation and writing papers. It consisted of 30+ people, about two-thirds Italians with the rest German and a couple of Americans. There is a medieval-style restaurant in Regensburg which is known for great food and house-made mead. They are also known for their Spanferkel or "suckling pig." It is only available to large parties and requires ordering well in advance. I had been to this establishment several times enjoying their Flammkuchen, a German dish resembling pizza, and ribs with a delicious honey-mustard dipping sauce. However, I always wanted to feast like a medieval lord, and last week I got my chance.

We all congregated on the steps of the cathedral here in Regensburg. With great ceremony, Frederico read through his list of people who had signed up for the feast, and with most of us in attendance, we headed to our destination. The restaurant is located in an old building with vaulted stone ceilings, and is filled with long tables and benches with furs and pillows on them, the walls are decorated with shields, bows, and even a small tapestry. I wish I had remembered to bring a proper camera with me, I only had my cell phone, so I couldn't really get any good low-light pictures of the place.

We filled in to our section of the restaurant and placed our drink orders. All the drinks are served in terracotta cups, and mine was full of a delicious mixture of dark beer and mead. I was seated at the end of a table flanked by a German girl from Allgäu, a scenic part of southern Germany famous for it's dairy products and thick dialect, as well a couple of Italian exchange students from the area around Pisa. We enjoyed our drinks and waited for the pig, and I discussed differences between America and Italy with my Italian table-mates. Aside complaining about how early Germans and Americans eat dinner, the most important lesson they had for me was that "Italian women are a beautiful, but a very dangerous!" I told them I could believe it, and recounted a story of when I was in Italy and was struck by a very beautiful girl walking with her boyfriend, who at that particular moment took obvious notice of a buxom woman in a very scandalous dress. The girl began to beat her boyfriend with her purse while letting our a stream of what I assume were Italian obscenities, the only one I could recognize being "ba fangul!"  

I know, no apple in the mouth, how disappointing.

It was around this time that I heard people start chanting "Schwein! Schwein! Schwein!" and pounding on the tables. I saw the main event coming out of the kitchen. Two Germans, a tall man and a woman almost as large carrying the suckling pig out on a huge cutting board. This pig was surrounded with a ring of their delicious brown bread, some of the best bread I've ever eaten, you could live of this stuff with a little butter. There were also bowls of Knödel, tennis ball sized dumplings (I can't understand how people can eat more than one), delicious Sauerkraut and pitchers of Au Jus to pour over your plate. The pig's skin is crispy, but the meat is so tender that you don't really need a knife for it, you can just stick it with the big serving fork and it comes right off the bone. I don't know if they have a huge oven or a rotisserie, but it must take all day to cook.

It was one of the best meals I've had in a long time: simple, salty, and satisfying. After my second plate and cup of mead/dark beer I was feeling very content and sleepy, I'd been up since early that morning and been working my ass off all week. So I peeled myself off the bench and caught a bus back home. It was one of the few nights that I've slept soundly in the last month, and I slept like a feudal lord after a day of hunting.