So, I just returned from my weekend trip to Bad Arolsen to see some of my old GAPP friends.I had a great time in Arolsen and I hope to return soon. It was nice to escape the city life and relax in rural Germany. I took a Mein Fernbus to Kassel on Saturday around 9:30, which was a great alternative to the train. One-way to Kassel only costs 9 euros, which is pretty reasonable. My next visit will include free transportation, because I will have received my Goethe card by then. Additionally, I will able to visit Florian next time, who I stayed with the first time. Regardless, the trip lasted about 3 hours, because the bus made stops in Gießen and Marburg, (which I intend to visit sometime).
Saturday: Once I finally reached Kassel, my friend, Moritz, was waiting for me and then we drove roughly 45 minutes to Arolsen. We proceeded to take an abbreviated (and nostalgic) city tour before we ate. Then, we decided to play to basketball for a couple hours. The rest of the night was spent watching the Sportschau (Bundesliga soccer highlight show), eating Döner, and then watching Shawshank Redemption in German, which was the first time I ever saw the movie and I must say it was a pretty good movie.
Sunday: I woke up around 8:30 and ate some breakfast and had a nice conversation with Moritz's family. Shortly thereafter, Moritz's brother, Janosch, drove me back to Kassel, in order to catch my 11:15 bus. I arrived back in Frankfurt around 2:30 and it's been raining since. I don't plan on doing much the rest of the day, because it's Sunday (not many businesses are open) and I'm rather tired from my weekend trip.
Thanks for reading! If you have any requests, recommendations, or comments, feel free to let me know.
Matt
Sunday, September 13, 2015
Monday, September 7, 2015
So, I finally have internet in my room and it's awfully nice not having to carry (schleppen) all my things to a cafe in order to access the web. But I have other exciting news; my pre-semester German course began today. It was nice to be in a classroom setting learning German again. I also was placed in the highest Niveau (level). It's a fairly laid back atmosphere and the teacher (Frau Kröger) seems to be very friendly. I think it will be a good setting to improve my German. We also went on a tour of Bockenheim towards the end of class, because we had talked about Theodor Adorno in our seminar. I knew very little about this man before class and I know now what a tremendous impact he had in Germany (especially Frankfurt), U.K, and the U.S. (look him up)
Unfortunately, I was unable to make it Heidelberg yesterday, because I slept in too late. The night before I had stayed out too late with my friend, Saj, and his friends. The fact that I missed the Heidelberg trip was only eased by the fact that I had spoken in only German the night before, which is remarkably hard to do once people find out you're a native English speaker. However, I will strive to visit Heidelberg in the near future. I was able to study some German yesterday in order to prepare for my upcoming class. The highlight of my day was going to the Weinfest near the Alte Oper, where I was able to see many Rheingau wineries proudly sell their wine. I did buy some roasted Cashew Kerne, which were very tasty.
My upcoming plans are to perhaps attend a Eintracht Frankfurt/FSV Frankfurt game or visit some old GAPP friends in the neighboring town of Arolsen. I may also travel to Dortmund to see a game at the Westfalenstadion, where the tickets are very cheap in the standing area, which is unique to German stadiums. Once I receive my Goethe Card, I will be able to travel more freely and hopefully I can visit Mainz, Marburg, and some other cities in Hessen.
Unfortunately, I was unable to make it Heidelberg yesterday, because I slept in too late. The night before I had stayed out too late with my friend, Saj, and his friends. The fact that I missed the Heidelberg trip was only eased by the fact that I had spoken in only German the night before, which is remarkably hard to do once people find out you're a native English speaker. However, I will strive to visit Heidelberg in the near future. I was able to study some German yesterday in order to prepare for my upcoming class. The highlight of my day was going to the Weinfest near the Alte Oper, where I was able to see many Rheingau wineries proudly sell their wine. I did buy some roasted Cashew Kerne, which were very tasty.
My upcoming plans are to perhaps attend a Eintracht Frankfurt/FSV Frankfurt game or visit some old GAPP friends in the neighboring town of Arolsen. I may also travel to Dortmund to see a game at the Westfalenstadion, where the tickets are very cheap in the standing area, which is unique to German stadiums. Once I receive my Goethe Card, I will be able to travel more freely and hopefully I can visit Mainz, Marburg, and some other cities in Hessen.
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Hallo Alle,
I'm sorry for the delay on my first "official" blogpost. However, I haven't had access to WiFi on my computer at all, but I managed to find a Starbucks!. Additionally, I only have 1GB of internet on my phone per month. I have in Germany for nearly 5 days now and my experience so far has been both frustrating at times and enriching in others.
My first day in Frankfurt, I was greeted by my Saj, my buddy that was assigned to me through the International Office. He picked me up in his car, which was incredibly generous and allowed me more time to get set up on my first day. I was able to receive my keys and move into my room. This was much better than the alternative: staying in a Jugendherberge. After I moved in, I went off in search of some food and sheets for my bed.
On Wednesday, I had Immatrikulation at 9:00, where I provided information for my Goethe card, which will allow me to travel through the state of Hessen free of charge and provide internet access. I also tried to begin navigating Frankfurt's vast public transportation network, in order to register my new address in Germany. I ended up being too late and had to return to my room. The rest of the day was spent getting groceries and other essentials.
On Thursday, I reserved a "Termin" at the Bürgeramt Höchst, which was very far from my Studentwohnheim. However, I was able to get the earliest appointment here. I was able to properly fill my Anmeldung out in a matter of 10 minutes.
On Friday, I had my "Eignungstest" or aptitude test, in order to determine what language course I should be placed in. I think the test went well. The questions were rather open-ended and easy to answer. They were "Why did you come to Germany to study?", "Why Goethe Uni?", and our expectations for our stay. I also was able open up my bank account at Targo Bank. I noticed most large banks have very similar accounts for students. Before the test, I met some Erasmus students that I later met up on a free alternative tour of Frankfurt, which allowed me to see the "Main (pun intended)" parts of Franfurt on Main, like Römerberg, Skydeck an der Hauptwache,a statue of Gutenberg, as well as many other sites in Frankfurt. I also was able to meet three students from UW-LaCrosse. After the tour concluded, many of the Erasmus students proceeded to go to (Alt) Sachsenhausen. I also learned of a Erasmus trip to Heidelberg, one of the few cities not destroyed in WWII and is home to the oldest German universities. I endeavor to be more timely with my next post, hopefully with many pictures of Heidelberg.
Thanks for reading,
Matt
I'm sorry for the delay on my first "official" blogpost. However, I haven't had access to WiFi on my computer at all, but I managed to find a Starbucks!. Additionally, I only have 1GB of internet on my phone per month. I have in Germany for nearly 5 days now and my experience so far has been both frustrating at times and enriching in others.
My first day in Frankfurt, I was greeted by my Saj, my buddy that was assigned to me through the International Office. He picked me up in his car, which was incredibly generous and allowed me more time to get set up on my first day. I was able to receive my keys and move into my room. This was much better than the alternative: staying in a Jugendherberge. After I moved in, I went off in search of some food and sheets for my bed.
On Wednesday, I had Immatrikulation at 9:00, where I provided information for my Goethe card, which will allow me to travel through the state of Hessen free of charge and provide internet access. I also tried to begin navigating Frankfurt's vast public transportation network, in order to register my new address in Germany. I ended up being too late and had to return to my room. The rest of the day was spent getting groceries and other essentials.
On Thursday, I reserved a "Termin" at the Bürgeramt Höchst, which was very far from my Studentwohnheim. However, I was able to get the earliest appointment here. I was able to properly fill my Anmeldung out in a matter of 10 minutes.
On Friday, I had my "Eignungstest" or aptitude test, in order to determine what language course I should be placed in. I think the test went well. The questions were rather open-ended and easy to answer. They were "Why did you come to Germany to study?", "Why Goethe Uni?", and our expectations for our stay. I also was able open up my bank account at Targo Bank. I noticed most large banks have very similar accounts for students. Before the test, I met some Erasmus students that I later met up on a free alternative tour of Frankfurt, which allowed me to see the "Main (pun intended)" parts of Franfurt on Main, like Römerberg, Skydeck an der Hauptwache,a statue of Gutenberg, as well as many other sites in Frankfurt. I also was able to meet three students from UW-LaCrosse. After the tour concluded, many of the Erasmus students proceeded to go to (Alt) Sachsenhausen. I also learned of a Erasmus trip to Heidelberg, one of the few cities not destroyed in WWII and is home to the oldest German universities. I endeavor to be more timely with my next post, hopefully with many pictures of Heidelberg.
Thanks for reading,
Matt
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