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 Posted February 10th, 2010 at 2:36PM
This is an account of my weekend trip to the Netherlands the last available weekend during my semester abroad in Freiburg, Germany, fall semester of 2005. I’m able to piece together that it was December 9th through the 12th, although additional details beyond that get hazy. The retelling got long so it’s split into two parts. Here’s the second part. Note that no admission of guilt or wrongdoing in any territory should be taken as stated or implied!
It was the middle of December 2005 and I was wrapping up my time abroad in Freiburg, Germany. The following week was final exams, and I would be on a Lufthansa flight bound for the States immediately thereafter. I felt all of the tumultuous, conflicting emotions of a student whose time abroad was drawing to a close. There was relief of some end in sight, being able to see friends and family, and the simple joy of understanding the errant stranger that might ask what time it was. There was trepidation over leaving the former French barracks and surrounding neighborhood that I came to know as home, and the several dozen other exchange students in the program that I had, with varying degrees, grown fond of. I had emerged unscathed from the supposedly unadulterated ‘anti-Americanism’ of a Europe still reeling from Dubya – even given the thumbs up on a train by a Turkish immigrant after revealing my nationality. I had my regrets, but they were mostly of the ‘opportunities missed’ variety.
The study abroad program I entered – IES‘s European Union program – nearly finished my Politics degree and included a host of program-sponsored travel throughout Europe, concentrating on EU seats of power and influence. We traveled in groups throughout Europe from west (France, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg) to east (Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia). In addition, I had spent a free weekend in Dublin, leaving with the pukey smell of the Guinness factory clogging my nostrils and some disorderly Irish kid’s piss soaking my shoes. By the end of the program, my wanderlust was all but sated. There was a single item left on the proverbial bucket list for my then 21-year-old self, and that was to experience Amsterdam.
Now, one fortuitous result of the European Union has been the slackening of borders, to the extent where travel of persons and goods throughout the Union is practically unfettered by traditional political boundaries. Because of this, and because of some particularly enterprising fellow students who had taken a train northward earlier in the semester, I was already familiar with the exceptional products coming from the Netherlands’ coffeeshops and smartshops. In quick summation for those not aware, the Netherlands has had for decades the clear-thinking drug policy of decriminalizing natural substances you might find whilst walking in the woods (or desert, as the case may be). Any free adult is able to walk into a coffeeshop and purchase small amounts of marijuana, or the equivalent smartshop designated for psilocybin mushrooms, hallucinogenic cacti, or any of the numerous other specimen that might alter perceptions and which the Christian god purportedly gave man dominion over.
Being one not shackled to puritanical ideals of consciousness, I felt a strong obligation to blow some legal weed while giving the DEA the figurative middle finger. (The legality of so-called ‘soft’ drugs in Germany is a murkier area, much like the rest of Europe.) Sure, I had some other things planned for my trip to the Netherlands, but then I’d already read Anne Frank’s diary and heard of the unfortunate incident involving Van Gogh’s ear, so there were certain priorities above and beyond the museums and canals.
I booked a flight via one of the budget airlines and looked forward to the Amsterdam experience, still temperate mid-December. I would be missing the legendary flower markets, but giddily I could already imagine the picturesque canals snaking through the oldest de Wallen district of the city, the friendly prostitutes soliciting from their black-light-lit rented cubicles, and the now ubiquitous coffeeshops peppering the landscape.
This trip, however, was almost not to be. My status as rookie globe-trotter glaringly revealed itself after I mistakingly left my passport on top my bureau. I discovered this fact just short of arrival at Frankfurt airport, a two hour-odd train ride, and despite the sincerest regrets of airport staff, I had nowhere to turn but back. So back I went, arriving in Freiburg late at night, playing the dejected fool.
“Soul-crushing” would be proximately the correct term, but after weighing the pros and cons, phoning my parents for solace, and in consideration of the dirt-cheap cost of the original ticket and the (slim) likelihood of getting another chance to go, I booked a one way flight the next day and fervently held onto the passport. It was going to happen. I phoned the hostel where I would be staying and told them I’d be a day late. Even factoring in two tickets to Amsterdam, the cost of flying was ridiculously low, to the point where it doesn’t even make sense for an airline to fuel the damn planes. But they did, and so I went.
Posted April 9th, 2007 at 11:09AM
I was doing some reading on green building today, for a profile I’ll be doing on an alumnus for the IC alumni magazine (now ICView, formerly the IC Quarterly). I read through all of the material on the guy’s site, did some googling, and then hit up Wikipedia for more on the basics. Well, what did I stumble on but several references to Freiburg, in the Germany section of a wiki page. It mentions the “Solarsiedlung” which sounded vaguely familiar, and then Vauban, which is where I actually lived during my semester abroad in the fall of 2005.
I’m not sure if I ever actually blogged about it, but Vauban was a French barrack until 1992, when it was turned into housing. 16 of the 20 units are for students of Albert-Ludwigs-Universität. The remaining four were expropriated by.. well, squatters basically. The entire complex is quite green and sustainable: portions using greywater, passive and active solar power, and all of the related tricks.
Regardless, I followed links till I happened upon pictures of Vauban. And, believe it or not, I sort of miss that place. Vauban, Freiburg, and Germany were certainly pretty interesting. I wish I did more while I was there.
Vauban, Freiburg entry at Wikipedia
Some info in English
Photos of Vauban (Click on the street names (the long ugly German words mostly ending in “Straße” at the end of the page)). And here’s where I lived! This site is great.
EDIT: Looking over my Germany category, you know another thing I miss? Glühwein. Ach!
Posted November 24th, 2005 at 9:12PM
Today I went to class, which was fairly typical. I stayed up till around two last night, working on a paper. Two down, two to go. I’m doing all right in that area.
And then, at six, we gathered together to go to the Thanksgiving dinner that the study abroad program put together. And, surprisingly, it was very good.
Most people decided to go, so we were a large group. We had the entire restaurant to ourselves, and it was (naturally) free for us. Champagne, two additional drinks, and a five course meal. The food was probably some of the best that I’ve had this semester. I had the ‘vegetarian option’, which usually means “crap alternative for the morons who don’t eat meat”. However, it was good. The appetizer was an odd red cabbage puree dish. The salad was very good, with roasted sunflower seeds and some sort of tasty dressing. The pumpkin soup was very good, much better than the previous bowl I had at another gathering. And then, the main course, which was some sort of mixture of vegetables wrapped up in a flaky crust, with sides of mashed potatoes and dressing. Very good. For dessert we had what everyone brought (we were suppose to bring stuff we made, not too many people did, I abstained altogether).
But regardless of all of this, I was in an odd mood. It was a merry time, lots of laughter, alcohol, pictures, etcetera. But I was still sort of down.
I came back to my room, and was about to just chill out, listen to music, go to bed. But I decided to call someone, and met up with a few people at the bar in our residence (quick aside: I live in a little cluster of buildings which use to be French barracks till 1992, when they were turned into student housing. And there is a bar in one of the buildings, administrated by the college. Only in Germany). Drank a few dollar fifty Becks, had a few laughs.
Oh, and it snowed today. First time that it actually stuck to the ground. I’m in a better mood now. A successful Thanksgiving Day after all.
Posted November 19th, 2005 at 6:41PM
So, more than two weeks ago we departed for a ten day tour of Western Europe. The educational seminars were by and large better than the ones on the other trip, however the hotels (and their continental breakfasts’) were generally worse.
Franktfurt
Paris
Brussels
Luxembourg
Thursday, November 3rd we loaded our crap onto the bus bright and early at 8am. We arrived in Strasbourg an hour and a half later. We had been to Strasbourg several times already, and were only staying for a single presentation, so this was not very exciting. We left Strasbourg for Frankfurt at 11:30, and we arrived in Frankfurt by three. We had a meeting, and then had the rest of the night off.
In Frankfurt we stayed at a youth hostel. But it was probably one of the nicest youth hostels known to man. There were only four beds per room, and it was a generally clean place, with decent furniture, brightly lit, a good shower. And so on.
We only had one night to spend in Frankfurt, so we had to use it wisely. I set off in a group to the area nearby the hostel which supposedly had a lot of restaurants, and also to try some of the “apple wine” that is apparently a local concoction (for the record? It was alright. Nothing I would want to get drunk off of, but a glass or two with dinner? Acceptable). I split off of the main group at the earliest opportunity, and ate at a very good Thai place with a few others. Why Thai? I had not eaten Thai since arriving in Europe; it was a pretty clean, decent-looking establishment; and it was relatively cheap. The restaurants were expensive in Frankfurt.
It was very good Thai.
After that, two of us hooked up with another small group who were going to see a play (A Midsummer Night’s Dream). I was sort of interested, but not entirely in the mood. The price (12 euro from scalpers) was the deciding factor, and I passed on the chance. Instead, I headed into the downtown area with two Americans, and a German that one of them knew. We went to a few bars, drank a few rounds. Generally nothing to write home about. It was a good time though. I got back at around half past eleven though, and all three of my roommates were asleep.
Err… whoops? No, waitasecond. Why the hell were they sleeping so early?
The next morning, Friday the 4th, we packed our stuff onto the bus, then headed to the European Central Bank, where we had a presentation. It was alright. Again — nothing spectacular. I also began feeling sort of rotten this day, something which continued through most of the trip. It had nothing to do with drinking, I believe it was rather the result of a shoddy diet (I ate mostly cheese on baguettes during this trip, because, guess what? The French do not make vegetarian food). Any time I drank coffee, I would get indigestion, and I was generally in a sour mood.
We left Frankfurt at twelve, and arrived in Paris at around eight in the evening. We had the evening free in Paris. Gai Paris, eh? *shrug*
Posted November 15th, 2005 at 5:41PM
I saw the cat in our flat again tonight. I don’t know why he was in, how he got in, or if anyone else knew. But I lured him back into my room and petted him for a few minutes. Eventually he jumped off my lap and walked out of the room. Someone noticed him and chucked him outside.
I’m thinking about bringing him back to the states with me. In my carry-on. Perhaps… A bowling ball bag?
I kid.
Probably.
Posted November 1st, 2005 at 2:10PM
The first weekend I was here, I was sitting in my room, at the window, smoking my pipe. I saw a cat outside. All black, good size. Probably wild.
Since then, I’ve seen him occasionally. When it’s nice and warm, he sometimes sits on the little knoll in front of my window. And once in awhile I see him running somewhere else.
Tonight, I stepped out of my room to get a snack in the kitchen, and the door to the hallway was propped open. These hallways are inside the building, but they are unheated, the outside doors are left open, and it’s pretty much “the outside”.
I wondered if the open door was intentional or not (Sometimes you can accidently snag it on the throw rug in front). Before I was able to ask one of my flatmates, however, I saw the cat in our flat. He saw me, and tensed up.
This was my chance! I made a little clucking sound and rubbed my fingers together. He ran up. I petted for about five minutes. Choice! Solid cat, well-fed. Jumps into my lap, purrs.
I went into the kitchen to ask if the door should be open. He said, “yeah,” and then saw the cat that had followed me. “Oh, the cat is in,” he said, “better put him out.”
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. Pff. Anyways, he rounded the cat out, then returned to the kitchen. The cat came back of course. When he did, I cught him and brought him into my room. Spent fifteen minutes, I watched him closely to make sure he wouldn’t start spraying or any other nonsense. He seemed hungry, but I didn’t have anything to give him, and didn’t want my cover blown. I left the window open. Made a few quick motions, he became alarmed. Smart cat. I let him jump out. Perhaps he’ll be able to jump back in someday, although it’s a pretty decent height. In any case, I’ll be sure to have some food on hand for him next time.
I like cats.
Posted September 18th, 2005 at 4:11PM
Hung parliament looms in Germany
Germany’s centre-right Christian Democrats, led by Angela Merkel, have failed to win a governing majority in Sunday’s election, exit polls suggest.
They indicate the Christian Democrats will, by a small margin, be the largest party in a hung parliament.
Germany’s political future appears uncertain, with both Mrs Merkel and centre-left Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder claiming a mandate to govern.
Observers say a grand coalition between their two parties is a likely outcome.
Germany’s ARD television puts with Christian Democrats (CDU) and its sister CSU party in the lead with about 35% of the vote – much worse than expected.
Their intended coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats, did well with 10%, according to unofficial exit polls – but apparently not enough to secure a joint majority.
Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s Social Democrats (SPD) are estimated to have won about 34% of votes.
Both the new Left party and the Greens are credited with about 8%.
…
Analysis: German power struggle
With the first exit polls suggesting that Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrat party has won a slim victory in the German elections but has fallen short of an overall majority. Germany is rife with speculation about what post-election coalition might be possible – and there are plenty of options.
…
3. The Traffic Light Coalition
This is something that has been increasingly talked of in recent days, and might enable Mr Schroeder to remain chancellor.
It would combine three parties whose colours match those of a traffic light: the SPD (red), the FDP (yellow) and the Greens.
It has never existed before, although the Social Democrats ruled with the FDP in 1969-82.
The thinking behind this coalition is that the FDP would be desperate enough for power after seven years in opposition that they might be persuaded to join.
But there are huge difficulties.
…
Although it is somewhat less likely (than a grand coalition), I think the so-called “traffic light” coalition would be the best outcome of this election. Even further from likely, would be a coalition between SPD, the Greens, and Die Linke (“The Left”, a coalition of left-wing parties). However, although all three are on the left side of the political spectrum and share the closest politics, it probably won’t happen.
Why is this? From what I have read, the past of Die Linke still troubles many in the SPD and Greens. A major component of Die Linke was once East Germany’s Communist Party (the PDS), and much of the membership remains. Die Linke is also staffed with former SPD members who left after becoming disgusted with some of Schroeder’s more centralist parties — foremost among them, Oskar Lafontaine, once party leader of SPD and foreign minister, who stepped down from both in ’99 after a falling out with Schroeder.
So what would be the most natural decision for Schroeder and the SPD is unlikely to happen because of history and personal enmity. And thus is politics. It’s particularly interesting in Germany, because even after the election, there is no telling what will happen. No smart-ass remarks about the 2000 fiasco in the US (or the strange exit polls in 2004) please.
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