Souvenir roulette

If I buy myself a souvenir, usually it's something consumable because I have already enough stuff. My choice is usually to buy something interesting at the locale's supermarket, preferably either something I've never tried but read about in a foraging book or a foreign cookbook, or something that I have no idea what it is and even better yet, can't read the package. This purchase from Poland fits the bill nicely:

tea! I love me some herbal tea.

In this tea purchase, I bought some fennel tea, which I've had in some other mixtures before. There is also aronia (chokeberry) tea, which I recognize from books about foraging but have never tried before.

The last tea is chiang mai flower and I have no idea what that is so I thought, why not buy it to find out? Usually it's fun to buy things that are unknown. The only time it didn't work out was when I bought a mix for Hungarian goulash in Macedonia and couldn't read any of the various languages on it to find out how to make it and also realized that it probably involved using meat, which is not my thing. D'oh!

My week: April 2 ed.

During the beginning of the week, I was in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a beautiful town at the foot of the Zugspitze Mountain, among others. I was actually there for work. It was so "difficult" to work in such an enviornment. Or maybe not ;) Plus I was able to work with some colleagues for whom I regularly provide support but very rarely see. I really enjoy that aspect because sometimes it feels a bit stiff and cold to conduct everything by email or phone call, especially when it's a support issue that's so much faster when addressed in person.

On the train ride home, I finished watching Heimat. It's a tv series that follows the lives of a family in the Hunsrück region of the Rheinland, which is somewhat northwest of Kaiserslautern. The first series covers the years 1919 until 1982. For those curious about how life in Germany was during this time, this series covers it reasonably well, at least from what I can tell from my studies in history. For example, one can see why National Socialism would have been attractive to some Germans at the time because of the promises it made during shaky economic times. The series is slightly twee and nostalgic but it gives a decent rundown of German history for this time period.

When I got back to Kaiserslautern, I met my tandem partner and we practiced more for the German telc test that I would take in April. Can I just say that test preparation sucks the joy out of learning German for me? Okay, maybe it's not so dramatic as that, but reading a controversial editorial or findings of a research study and expressing my opinion about it gets old. In the next German class, C1, it's going to be even more intense because that is the level that is required to get into German-speaking unversity programs.

During the weekend, I met some friends at the palace in Schwetzingen. I've been wanting to visit for years but the palace itself had been closed for renovations. It was finally open again and even better yet, the cherry blossoms were still around.

Spring showers bring...cherry blossom flowers, and cherry blossom flowers bring...cosplayers! I bet that you didn't see that one coming, huh? (hehe) Our group, including my friend and her partner (who's also my friend), their child, and my other friend A. gathered under the trees for a picnic and some great people watching. Ladies wearing steampunk-inspired gowns primped and posed under the trees. The majority of people showed the peace hand symbol (can that just stop please? Seriously?).

We shared quite a laugh because J thought that a security guard was cosplaying. Heck, I laughed really hard because initially I thought that she wasn't really a security guard, either, just someone in a costume. However, her body language was very police-like and I later saw her in the security office.

A. and I bought tickets for a tour of the castle. It lasted about an hour and traveled through one set of apartments. The guide asked everyone not to touch the fabric or furnishings in the rooms and even showed us a sampling of the fabrics and those we were allowed to touch. Of course people still touched the fabric in the rooms. Gah.

Later we toured the grounds and ran into literal forests of Bärlauch, or in English, ramsons. They are a cousin of chives and have a mild oniony and garlicky taste. I had been looking for them in other places and so badly wanted to find some. It was definitely a tease to find so many of them at the castle; I didn't dare pick any of them, whether or not there was a cosplaying (or not) guard around. Below is a picture of the Bärlauch at a farmers market and some of it on the castle grounds. They are a major symbol of spring around here and people go nuts for them. You can even find them for sale at times at the grocery stores; my friends saw them at Lidl. Local restaurants cook soups and other dishes with them.

Passing wistfully by the Bärlauch, we visited the back part of the palace grounds and came upon the mosque. It was built in the Turkish style during the late eighteenth century. A examined it and pronounced, "I hope you do not think that this is how mosques really look. This is not accurate."

That cracked me up as I saw this building, while beautiful, as a European vision of a mosque with its mysterious, lovely, undulating designs and Arabic. It was probably not meant to be accurate as it was constructed for a Christian ruler who wanted an exotic building on the grounds. A. squinted at the Arabic on the ceiling. She is an Urdu native speaker and can sometimes read Arabic. This script was too difficult because of its stylized nature.

After leaving the non-authentic mosque, we continued to visit the lake and ran across what I call a "turducken thingie" and of course had to explain my excitement and the backstory.

I found the castle worth a visit, especially during cherry blossom time. It's beautiful and definitely has some interesting flora and fauna.

Poland: a Katowice and Krakow Trip, day 1

In February, my friend A and I took an extended weekend trip to Poland. We caught a low-cost flight on a Saturday night from Frankfurt Hahn and before we knew it, we were in Poland.

We hopped into the shuttle we had the forethought to book with our plane ticket and within 30 minutes, we had arrived in Katowice city proper. We asked the driver where the bus station was because we were going to use that to navigate to our hotel. He asked our hotel name and offered to drop us off because it was on our way back. Awesome! It wasn't a super long walk, but it was late and cold and we were tired so we welcomed the good fortune.

We stayed at the Novotel Katowice Centrum, which is near the university, and even better yet, the main part of the Silesian Museum (though sadly we had very little time there during the trip). It's about a fifteen minute (easy) walk to the heart of downtown and the main bus and train stations.

It was one of the less inexpensive hotels to choose for our flight package and it suited us just fine. Actually, it offered more amenities than I had expected (yes, I'll admit, I was in a hurry during booking and didn't look at too much). A pool, hot tub, and even a casino are available. We didn't have any interest in any of those things but were happy with our room, which included a refrigerator. Had we wanted to buy snacks, we would've had a cold place for them. Since we normally stay at hostels, it was also quite a luxury to find ample towels, nice soaps, free coffee and tea with a corresponding coffee pot. We were living the high life, I tell ya! 

My initial impressions of Katowice, which are not entirely to be trusted after arriving late and shivering, was as follows:

-Oh, this city is way bigger than I had thought; there are quite a few apartment blocks and even some skyscrapers with shorter buildings tucked in.

-The air smells...uh, polluted, like sulfur. I later read this article from Well, That Was Different, and it explained a lot. I wish I had read it ahead of time.

-Why is there sand all over the sidewalks? Wow, there is a lot of sand. Finally my duh moment subsided as I realized that it's probably used instead of salt to deal with icy or snowy pavement. 

-Where our hotel is seems really deserted. Actually, the whole city seems rather deserted, especially for a Saturday night. Yes, it was late, but I thought we'd see a few more people.

-I'd like to explore downtown more. It reminds me of Detroit because the mix of new(er) and older buildings were in various conditions; some were abandoned, some beautiful historical buildings had been spruced up, and others were in rough shape. A renovated, central square with benches around a water feature would probably make an excellent place to enjoy some drinks with friends during summer; this is totally a foil for Detroit's Campus Martius. As someone who likes Detroit, I see it as entirely positive that a city that's been run-down is revitalizing itself but is not completely perfect.

---

Note: I am not affiliated in any way with the hotel, nor do I receive any compensation for my review. All thoughts are mine.

My week: September 4 ed.

Man, was I tired at the beginning of this week. Even though I wasn't sick from allergies, which have been mostly held at bay thanks to an aggressive daily routine of allergy pills and maintenance breathing steroids, my immune system still freaks about goldenrod and other allergens. I kept wondering why I was so tired but when I saw the goldenrod, I figured that must be the reason. I haven't been sleeping well because of congestion and also since my bedroom gets too hot. If I leave the rolladen up for air flow, then there's too much light coming into my room. If I leave them down, then the room gets stuffy. I turn on the fan and then I'm too cold. The whole thing is a bit ridiculous.

I met with my tandem partner and for the second time, followed her recommendation where we'd each speak our target language the whole time. I managed to work my way through a complex sentence, complete with relative clauses and multiple ideas, and I did it right. Yay! It's easy to get lost in German sentences, especially when using subordinating conjunctions and relative clauses. After watching out for verb order and keeping an eye out for splittable verbs, by the end it feels as if one has come up for air.

Another night, I invited my friend Ay. and her sister over for dinner. Ay. is from Pakistan and wanted to try to macaroni and cheese because "it's what single dads always make for their kids in American movies." She is always cracking me up and I tumbled into a heap of giggles over this reasoning. I bought Kraft Mac n' Cheese because she wanted the typical kind. Both gals liked it. Heck, I like it, as low-brow as it is, but mostly avoid it because the wheat in it gives me a headache.

During the weekend, I took a trip to the Stuttgart region. My friends C+K, who had previously lived in Neustadt, moved there. While I'm sad that they're no longer an easy 30-minute train ride away, I'm still glad to be in contact with them and the Stuttgart area does have some interesting activities.

On Saturday, we spent some time at their new apartment then started our journey to Tübingen, a university city about half an hour away. On the way, we stopped at C's parents' house to drop off some things. We were just in time as his mother, R, had just put a pizza in the oven. I've stayed there last year with C+K during C's annual garden party, so it was a nice reunion. My German has improved so much even since then so it was nice to talk more with C's father, who doesn't speak as much English.

After that, we drove to Tübingen and wandered around the city. More will follow about this trip, as a separate blog entry, but below is a picture of how pretty it is. I'm a sucker for cities with bodies of water.

The next day, while C did some work around the house, K and I visited the Keltenmuseum Hocdorf/Enz in Eberdingen. It's a museum dedicated to the Celts who lived in the area and includes artifacts from the grave site there. Entry was 5 euros and we spent about an hour there, looking over the exhibits. Most parts are in both English and German but the last third of the museum was only in German.

What's up, Celtic statue!

As we were leaving, I saw a sign for a free museum in the neighboring town of Markgröningen and we decided to visit. The Wimpelinhof Museum is sparse but offers some information about the local sheep herding traditions. K and I were very sad to learn that by a week, we had missed the annual herders' festival, where women wear Tracht and run races with water buckets on their heads, among other things. I would have been keen to view the former as I enjoy strange traditions.

Wimpelinhof Museum

After we wandered around the city a bit more, ate ice cream, and got rained on, we cut our visit to Markgröningen short. It's a shame because the town is quite lovely, full of historical fachwerk buildings. However, we didn't bring umbrellas and didn't feel like standing around in rain so we went back to their house. For dinner, I cooked raja masala, which they enjoyed, and then I drove home, content after catching up with some good friends.

My week: August 21 ed.

I met with my tandem partner to practice German. I've been wanting to practice pronunciation so we worked on words like Eichhörnchen (squirrel), hören (to hear), and some other umlauted words. I don't think I'm ever going to get ö, ü, and r correct in German. I've given up on ever saying that it's humid outside because an umlaut makes all the difference and can dramatically change what you're trying to say (German speakers know what I mean on this one).

It's been about the two year mark since tandem partner A. and I've started meeting. She's helped me immensely with German and any errors are mine, despite her excellent tutoring. A. is pleased with her progress in English and I'm impressed. She uses many idioms and employs a wide understanding of English. I highly recommend that those learning a new language practice conversation regularly with a native speaker because it enforces what one learns in the classroom.

I took off Friday and headed to Darmstadt for a seminar in the evening. I was feeling as if I could use a mini vacation so I decided to explore the city and meet some locals. 

I ate lunch at Djadoo, a Persian restaurant that offers a buffet lunch for about 10 euros. I won't lie; this lunch was part of the reason for taking the day off. The other more pressing reason was that I was feeling a little burned out so a day off seemed a good way to refresh myself. Anyway, I was able to snag a table inside at this handsome restaurant. I think it would've been even nicer to sit on the terrace under the umbrellas. If you'd like to do that, make a reservation. The buffet was tasty with various rice and sauce dishes, plenty of them vegetarian. There were sauteed vegetables, salad with dressings, and a few desserts. My favorite was the eggplant dish. I tried the ghormeh sabsi, which I also eat at home (from a tin), and it was good but a bit more citrusy than I usually enjoy.

After lunch, I took a short walk to Waldspirale, a housing development designed by an Austrian, Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It undulates over a whole block, and is mostly apartments with some businesses scattered throughout. For those interested in art and architecture, it might be worth stopping by to view the building.

I wasn't done with viewing architecture; my next stop was Mathildenhöhe, an Art Nouveau artists' colony, reached by a pleasant 20 minute walk across town. I am enraptured by Art Nouveau and enjoyed my time very much. I visited the museum, which is somewhat small, for 5 euros, and admired works from the artists who were in residence in the early part of the 20th century. I also stopped by the lovely Orthodox church on-site and basked in its opulence.

Afterward, I stopped by the bustling downtown area to look around before the seminar that had brought me to Darmstadt. It's a typical German downtown with chain stores but does also have a palace, a theater, and other amenities, and was very busy.

The next item on my itinerary was the seminar, held in a suburb. It covered optimal body alignment for both everyday living and for sport and performance. I was chosen as someone to work on at one point and I unintentionally turned my session into a stand-up comedy routine, with full support from the teacher. He's from Ohio originally so we joked about Ohio-Michigan rivalry. I made sure to tease him about "The" Ohio State University. Yes, really, that's how the university refers to itself -- always with "The" in front of the name (I find this practice silly and pretentious.) 

The other participants had been shy and demure; I am neither, so we definitely had a lively session. One of the ground rules of using this method is that one has a head and a body. The teacher started to ask if I had a head. I told him that I definitely had a mouth. At first the other students were a bit shocked by our bantering (they were mostly Europeans and seemed rather serious) but they really seemed to get into it and clapped loudly at the end. I hadn't set out to be so raucous but since the teacher encouraged it, why not?

That night, I stayed with an architect. Man, the theme really was architecture on this trip! We had a nice chat and the next morning he made a lovely German breakfast.

I then met another Darmstadter for a hike at the Freizeitpark am Oberwaldhaus, which cracks me up a little bit at its name. It's a "free time park." Heaven forbid that one goes there when one should be doing something else! I enjoyed a nice chat with the woman who showed me around and I even navigated us successfully back to the parking lot after she missed a turn (I'm usually quite good with navigating, even in new places).

I really enjoyed Darmstadt, which I hadn't expected to enjoy to that extent. I'd recommend it to those who enjoy architecture. Oh yes, and I'd also recommend it to those who enjoy Persian food, too, as there seem to be several Persian restaurants in town!

The next day, my coworker hosted a potluck for my friends. We all had a great time and she was happy to meet some new people. She enjoyed it so much that she offered to host again! How sweet is that? I love to introduce the people in my life.

It was an excellent week, filled with architecture, friends, and new experiences.

My week: April 17 ed.

-The German class went sooo much better this week. Our teacher is a perceptive chap and I think he made some accommodations to the lesson and we didn't have the mass failures in understanding that we had the week before.


-A, M, L, and I took a trip to Bonn to see the cherry blossoms. Plus, it was the opportunity to see the former West German capitol. What struck me immediately was how many people were already drinking beer or were buying beer; we arrived at 10 a.m. so I wasn't expecting that. However, I think that it was possible that the individuals were ones who might live on the streets. I was curious about the dynamics of the area.


Beyond that observation, we changed our focus to a visit of the cemetery. Have you visited a German cemetery? They are often quite lovely, a peaceful memorial to those already gone, and make for a picturesque walk that effects memento mori.


The interesting thing about German cemeteries is that one just rents the burial plot for a certain amount of time. If the remaining family does not renew the lease, the remains are removed and the grave will be rented to someone else. In fact, we saw a notice on one of the graves that the rental time had run out and the relatives have to contact the office.

Leaving our mortal musings aside, we continued to Heerstraße, the focus of our trip. On this street, the magical cherry blossoms of Bonn were in full bloom. We wandered through the streets, dodging cars and bikes piloted by those frustrated by the gawkers, and a disproportionate number of Asian tourists. The street was absolutely beautiful, with classically styled houses and pink blossoms. At the beginning of the street, we were treated by two men conducting what I assumed was a drug deal in a defaced and non-operational phone booth. After all, who uses pay phones any more, especially when there's no phone inside? They finished up the deal and a cop drove by about a minute later - too late to investigate the shady business. Oh, Bonn, what a city of contrasts you are.

Pictured: the notorious phone booth in question. See the pretty cherry blossoms behind it? Bonn is a place of contrasts.

 Pictured: a much nicer, and presumably drug-free, stretch of the street.

For lunch, we visited BurritoRico, which is kind of like Chipotle: order and pick toppings for your item at the counter. I ordered some pork tacos (yeah, not so vegan that day) and some nachos. I wasn't super impressed with either item; the corn taco shell was not heated well and even the cheese on the nachos wasn't very warm either. Plus, it's that liquid style of cheese instead of shredded cheese. My friends liked their food well enough and I didn't hate my food but felt a bit "meh" about it.

We continued downtown after lunch. My friends wanted to visit the Beethoven Haus Museum so I dropped them off and wandered around downtown, window shopping and finding the lay of the land. The downtown area is your typical German downtown pedestrian zone but has some interesting features, such as the Altes Rathaus.

I really like the clock on it, and it's somewhat unusual in that instead of showing just 1-12 for the time demarcations, it also showed the corresponding numbers in five minute increments. I'm sure that kids who are just learning to tell time greatly appreciate that!

Soon I met up with my friends again and we headed back home.

-The next day, a bunch of us met for our monthly gathering. We ate a delicious lunch and played Mafia, a party game. It was a good end to the week.

Finding a good fare on local German Train Travel

My friends invited me on a day trip to Karlsruhe and I wanted to avoid spending a crazy amount of money on train tickets. (I definitely didn't want to drive there.)

We worked it out that I'd take the train from Kaiserslautern to Neustadt and ride with them in the car to Karlsuhe since they were driving anyway. We'd spend some time there together and then I'd take the train back because they were staying for a concert.

I wanted to find out: how could I best buy the train tickets to minimize the prices? I'll share the steps I took in hopes that it might be useful for someone. Do you have tips to share? Feel free to leave them in the comments section; maybe you know an even better way to buy tickets.

-The first thing to know is that train tickets can be rather costly and prices have recently climbed. There are ways to buy cheaper tickets, such as by linking different regions through creative ticket buying.

-If you are only traveling in one or two regions instead of taking a long distance trip, it can make more sense to buy tickets from each regional traffic association instead of buying an overall ticket from Deutsche Bahn. However, it can be a bit confusing that if buying tickets at a train station, one uses the ticket machines that are labeled DB but also sell local tickets.

-When I searched the DB website, bahn.de, I found that a default setting is "schnelle Verbindung bevorzugen," which means "prefer fast connection." This means that Inter-City Express and Regional Express trains are more likely to be chosen. You'll get there faster but there's a possibility you'd pay more. I unchecked this option so I could see both the high speed and the cheaper local trains.

-If you have a reduction card, such as the BahnCard, be sure to select that option. After all, why not save money?

-The DB website can usually give a price for distance travel (i.e. the whole trip from Karlsruhe to Kaiserslautern), but for local travel, it'll often give a message "Preisauskunft nicht möglich," which means "price information is not available" because travelers must visit the individual regional transportation websites to determine the prices. Grr! Why this isn't integrated is beyond me.

-If you want to save money, you'll want to check the regional train sites to "hack" your trip.

-I ended up buying a VRN all-day train ticket. VRN is the transportation association that covers Kaiserslautern to Mannheim, and many other cities too. That got me to Neustadt to meet my friends.

For the return trip, I bought a ticket from Karlsruhe to Bad Schönborn-Kronau, which is the end of the Karlsruhe region and only cost me 3,50 euros with my Bahncard. From there, I used my VRN day ticket to get me to Mannheim, where I transferred to another train to get me back to Kaiserslautern.

Let's compare prices.

Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket

• 40 euros for a day of travel; does not include high-speed trains

A "traditional" way of buying the ticket:

• Buy a one-way ticket from Kaiserslautern to Neustadt (7,10 euro regular price; 5,30 euros with BahnCard)
• Use Deutsche Bahn to buy a ticket from Karlsruhe to Kaiserslautern (cheapest price I saw without BahnCard was 19 euros but it went up to 33 euros depending on the time and if it was a high speed train; with BahnCard it was as low as 14,25 euros)
• I wasn't sure exactly when I'd be done in Karlsruhe and the longer one waits to buy the ticket, the more likely it is to be more expensive.
• Using this method, I would, at minimum, paid about 26 euros without the BahnCard or as low as 20 euros with it. However, depending on the time, the average prices I saw for some of the various options were about 25 euros or so in total because I was working on this last-minute.

What I actually spent:

•  17,50 for the VRN day pass
• 3,50 to get me from Karlsruhe to the beginning of the VRN's coverage area (it would've been 5,70 without the BahnCard)
• Total = 21 euros

 How I could have hacked this trip further:

• Buy a single trip ticket to Neustadt  (7,10 euro regular price; 5,30 euros with BahnCard)
•  3,50 to get me from Karlsruhe to the beginning of the VRN's coverage area (or 5,70 without the BahnCard)
• Buy a single trip ticket from Wiesloch-Walldorf, which is the beginning of the VRNetwork, to Kaiserslautern (10,20 regular price or 7,70 with BahnCard)
• Total = 22,60 euros without BahnCard or 16.50 euros with BahnCard

So, reader, are you thinking, "geez, that sounds like a lot of work and was it really worth it for ATW to spend all this time trying to figure this out?" Well, have no fear; I enjoy this type of research and it's more of a hobby for me so I'm not seeing it as a waste of my time. I also received some tips from friends to get me started (thanks, awesome friends!). Even though I've been riding the trains here for three years, I didn't know all the ins and outs as well as I could have and this helped me fill in some gaps. Of course, there's always more to learn!

A supergalactic hike among the Planentenwanderweg of Nonnweiler

Nonnweiler website with more information

Nationalpark Hunsrück-Hochwald
An der Talsperre 1
66620 Nonnweiler
 
Monday was an American holiday: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. An American friend and I planned to do something together to celebrate the holiday (and to be more honest, the day off) and she suggested that we take a hike along the Planentenwanderweg Nonnweiler. I vaguely remember reading something about this in another expat blog and agreed.

Winter has finally arrived in southwestern Germany so it made for a rather cold hike today at about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. However, I'm a glutton for winter punishment and actually celebrated the cold. It must be my Michigan roots at work. After layering up, I picked up K and drove us up to Nonnweiler. I was pleased to see some snow up there; we had hardly any in Kaiserslautern.

Yay! Snow, along the wide and hiker and bicyclist-friendly trail.

The Planentenwanderweg is a trail that circles the Stausee Nonnweiler, a reservoir in the Nationalpark Hunsrück-Hochwald. As the name suggests, this trail also offers a special feature: a scale model of the solar system. The model starts with the sun at bridge over the reservoir. From there, one makes a circuit and encounters the other planets. Since everything is scaled, wanderers on the path are technically traveling at the speed of light, at least according to the tourist bureau's website ;) I don't think that we were anywhere near that fast because our legs were stiffening with the cold.

It all begins with the sun.

The gravel path is wide and easy to traverse. However, if one wishes to traverse the entire solar system, it's a rather long walk since the final planet (or downgraded whatever it is -- Pluto) is across the reservoir. We had originally thought that the path would be around 5 kilometers or about 3 miles. It seemed way longer than that and indeed, it was. We ended up taking the 11 kilometer route all the way around the reservoir! There's even the possibility to take a 17 km route. Oy vey. I definitely recommend studying the maps near the kiosk/bathrooms at the beginning of the trail to decide which route and distance to take.

There are benches and picnic huts along the trail.

As we labored around and across the reservoir, we encountered all of the planets. Most of them are at the beginning and each station includes a model of the planet on a stand with more information and pictures. As can be expected in Germany, all of the descriptions were in German. It is interesting to combine a hike while "exploring" the solar system; by the time one reaches the final planets, the immense scale is really apparent. We were wondering if we'd ever get to the end of the planets!

Model of Mercury (about the size of a BB); it struck us as funny after how big the sun was!

We were especially interested in seeing if the information about Pluto had been updated since it had been downgraded to a dwarf planet. We found that the solar system model kept mum about the change. Maybe the model maker is still in denial.

Pluto's model, with no mention of its downgrade

We enjoyed our hike around the solar system but did wish that we had studied the maps better before taking our path. We kept wondering if we had missed a turn-off somewhere. The path is not that confusing but seeing the maps first would have helped a lot more.

Tips for enjoying the Planentenwanderweg:
-Dress for the weather! It was even colder by the reservoir with the cold air blowing over the water.
-Study the maps of the trails first and decide just how far you want to walk before you start. The shortest path is probably to walk to Pluto and come back the way you came.
-If traversing the path clockwise from the beginning (by the sun), take the first bridge on the right to cross the reservoir. It takes a while to get there so don't be too surprised!
-There are bathrooms (heated, reasonably clean, and lit) at the beginning of the trail. In the warmer months, the kiosk is open too and sells snacks.
-Follow the signs for Nationalpark Hunsrück-Hochwald; to reach the reservoir, take the steep road with the sign that's just outside Nonnweiler.
-The trails are very wide and well-maintained. They're pleasant for both hikers and bicyclists.
-Dogs must be leashed at all times and swimming in the reservoir is not allowed because it supplies drinking water.

Here are the maps so you can pick your route first.

11 km route, the one we took

About 9 km path (pink one on right) that will tour all the planets

17 km path

Hiking in the Pfälzerwald: Weidenthal and Schwarzsohl

Waldhaus Schwarzsohl
Schwarzsohl, K38, 67475 Weidenthal
http://schwarzsohl.de
 
Situated between Kaiserslautern and Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, the paths near Weidenthal offer some easy day hiking through the Pfälzerwald. In addition, the Waldhaus Schwarzsohl offers forest enthusiasts an opportunity to grab something to eat and drink, rest, and park -- whether it's a car, a bike, or a horse! With beginner-friendly trails and a comfort station, this area allows one to hike without making many preparations.

Some friends and I took a day trip to the area. The hardest thing about the trip was finding the place - but once I knew a key piece of information, it was very easy to find. 

When driving from Kaiserslautern:
-Take B37 east;
-In Frankenstein, head south on B39 (staying to the right);
-In Weidenthal, turn right on Langentalstraße (the Evangelical Church is on the corner);
-Follow this road for 3.5 miles and Schwarzsohl will be on the right.

Parking is available at Waldhaus ("forest house") Schwarzsohl. In fact, the restaurant's website gleefully announces that there is room to park cars, bikes, and even horses on the property! There is a covered pavilion area for the latter two modes of transportation. 

Trails radiate from Schwarzsohl. Our group crossed the road to wide, well-maintained gravel paths. There were plenty of markers and some signs as well. The terrain made for an easy hike with gradual ascents; it's a suitable trip for beginners. It is important to pay attention to the path markers since there are so many converging.

After the hike, join the mountain bikers, hikers, and families at the Schwarsohl. It's a small restaurant that offers seasonal main dishes, regional fare, drinks (including beer, wine, and soft drinks), cakes, and light snacks. Most of the seating is outside, whether in the Biergarten area, under the pavilion, or on the front porch. Children can play on the playground located near the seating area. Those wanting to warm up after a chilly hike can find limited seating in the heated building.

We entered the ordering area by turning left in the foyer. Staff gave us a beeper and our food was ready quickly. To pick it up, we entered the door on the right of the foyer. Give your empty dishes back in the center.

Easy hiking, regional specialties, and a short drive (half an hour) make a day trip to Weidenthal and Schwarzsohl an attractive destination for a day out in the forest.

Waldhaus Schwarzsohl

Trails abound!

Is the Leipzig Card worth buying?

Some cities offer special discount cards for tourists. The cards often offer transportation on the local bus, tram, and subway system, in addition to discounts and free admissions to local museums and attractions. When I visited Leipzig, I made the decision to buy the Leipzig Card because I thought it might be worth it from a cost-saving perspective. Was I right? Is it cost-effective to buy the Leipzig Card?


Let's look at my thought processes for buying it. My trip to Leipzig was from Friday-Monday. I planned to visit some museums and take public transport. I usually buy a day pass for public transport since it works out to be cheaper than buying individual tickets for most of my wanderings. For example, the day ticket was 6,90 euro, whereas individual tickets are 1,80. It would only take four trips to make it worth it for a day card. Four trips would really be two roundtrips.


The Leipzig Card is 10,90 for a one day or for 21,90 for three days and includes public transport and discounts on museums, stores, etc. It also includes free entrances to some attractions, though this is limited. Since my visit was 3 days and it averaged out to 7,30 a day, I thought that it would be worth to get the card.


However, upon tying up the trip, I had to re-evaluate that. I didn't realize how compact the main sights are within Leipzig. I stayed mostly in the center of the city, pinpointed on the map as Markt. In that vicinity are many museums, stores, restaurants, etc. My hostel was right in the area so I didn't need transportation to that either. I found several free museums that took up a lot of my time. I also could have used very little, if any, public transportation. In order to try to get my value out of the ticket, I did take some tram rides to see the city but I could've walked.


I used the card to get a discount at the fine arts museum (I think 2 euros discount) and on a bus/walking tour (4 euros). I only heavily used the travel portion on one day. My take is this: I don't think it was money totally down the drain but had I realized how easy it was to see most of the sights in a compact area, I probably wouldn't have bought the card. For those considering it, it would be wise to figure out how far everything you want to see it and if the discounts are worth it to justify buying the card. For a short visit, it might worth it just to walk and visit free museums.

My week: October 11 ed.

Man, I've been bad about writing these weekly wrap-ups (not that they're all that exciting, but they work as a nice means of remembrance for myself). I haven't been so great about writing regularly in the blog, either. I don't know that this situation will improve since my second German class is starting soon and there are many projects occurring at work right now. At least I won't get bored, though I do have the firm belief that if you're bored, you're boring ;)

-I had a meeting with my tandem partner and attended the VHS class. In the VHS class, it's really become more of a review of B1 (so I guess it's similar to what the VHS calls B1+). While I would like to focus more on conversation, I'm also happy enough with reviewing grammar since that's always needed. I like listening to the teacher talk; he has a very calm, reassuring way of speaking and a nice cadence.

-Since it was a three-day holiday weekend, I decided somewhat last minute to take a trip to Leipzig. It had been on my mental list (which, for the record, has no rhyme or reason) of places I'd like to visit. My main travel partner C had moved back to the US so this trip I went by myself since it was so last-minute. I lucked out, however, and bought some Sparpreis train tickets for 26 euros each way (with seat reservation) after BahnCard discount. It can be difficult to find train tickets at a good price if one doesn't book early (up to 30 days in advance) or super late, such as several days before with L'tur. The problem with the latter option is that cheap tickets aren't always available so soon before departure.

I also booked a hostel through booking.com but realized that if I had booked directly with the hostel, I would have gotten a better rate. The frustrating thing is that one must call the hostel though. I don't enjoy doing this; I'd prefer to do everything online. The hostel has a website but the booking capabilities are limited and the website directed me to call since not all of their available rooms were listed online (why?!).

I had found another hostel with good rates and I tried calling at 10 p.m. since I figured it would be a quieter time to inquire about reservations. Well, the woman couldn't help me because there was only one person on staff at the time. Argh! That certainly didn't help with my frustration and dislike of having to call places instead of being able to book instantly through the hostel's website.

I left for the trip on the Friday night after work. It's about a 5-6 hour high speed train ride to the city and I got in really late. However, the party at the club next door to my hostel was ready and waiting for me! I could have even arrived at 4 a.m. and they would have had the music booming. Sigh. It was so loud that I could still hear it in my room when I had my earplugs in, but at least it was mostly muffled.

That's how I learned that Leipzig doesn't have a set closing time for its clubs and restaurants. Usually, it's 10 p.m. or 12 a.m. in many other cities. I think I'm getting old because I was wishing for a closing time. To be fair, I also don't expect to get a great night's sleep if I'm at a hostel.

I might write more about the weekend later, but to sum up the rest of it: I wandered around town and admired the architecture; took a walking/bus tour; visited museums; did some window shopping; and took the time to do whatever the heck I wanted to do. While I usually prefer to travel with a friend, it was also a positive experience for me to enjoy my own company and set my own schedule.

My week: September 6 ed.

-I met with my tandem partner and we worked together in my B2 book. I had thought that this class will be too easy since the book appears to repeat what I just learned in B1. Well, it does repeat it, but in a more difficult way. D'oh! I floundered through the first exercise, where I recognized the grammar constructs but still got stuck on part of it. That's what I get for being too cocky!

-I went to a language cafe meeting with a club and wrote about it here.

-I took a trip to Freiburg to visit a new friend, S, who is a researcher there. I had met her in April when she was visiting the TU here in Kaiserslautern. Since I had been keen to visit Freiburg, she invited me and we had a very enjoyable weekend. I even lucked out with a decent deal on train tickets, scoring round-trip tickets with a high speed segment for 45 euros round trip.

S showed me around town and let me help with one of her science experiments. Of course I was thrilled because I also wore a lab coat and felt very official and science-y. I'm awful at math, which by extension ruins science for me, but I enjoy living vicariously through my friends.

On Saturday, her friends picked us up and kindly drove us to Triberg, where we visited the Triberger Wasserfälle (waterfalls), which are some of the highest in Germany. Apparently one is supposed to pay to visit the waterfalls (about 4 euros) but since we arrived in the evening, there was no one to take our tickets. A, who is German, was concerned about not paying for tickets. "What if there is someone at the ticket booth when we come down the hill from the waterfall?" he asked.

"Run!" I said. There was stunned silence as they pondered it, then started laughing because the situation was a bit absurd.

Sunday was a lazy day for us but we revved up a bit and took a trip to the Schauinsland mountain. Despite the directions seeming a bit confusing, it's actually rather easy to get there via public transport.We enjoyed the views from the top of the mountain and saw some nice hiking trails.

I enjoyed the trip very much and look forward to hanging out with my friend again.

My week: August 9 ed.

Whew! That was one heck of a week. I was responsible for a training event at work for our staff members from all over. I coordinated more than 12 different speakers for the event, found us a free place to have it, made the arrangements for everyone's travel documents and lodging, and basically took care of everything. The hardest thing about this wasn't any of that, though: it was the bureaucracy of just getting the event approved. I have been working on this for six months; no joke! It was astounding how many layers of requirements that must be met to pull this off. We even had the person in charge of our entire program worldwide come in for the training. Everyone was really happy with it; I am both relieved, pleased, and exhausted.

-I took our visiting colleague to Heidelberg this weekend and saw the castle ruins for the fifth time. It was too dang hot and I was still tired from the training so I tried not to droop too much. It's easy for me to take people to Heidelberg because I know the city well and it's atmospheric. I have to giggle, though; people who visit from the US talk about it reverently and get so excited about visiting it. For me, it's just where C lived and I like visiting it in an everyday type of way.

After our jaunt in Heidelberg, we met up with my friends C+K (a different C from the Heidelberg one) in Neustadt on the way home for dinner together. My colleague really enjoyed meeting them and commented on just how lovely they are. It's true; they're so sweet!

-On Sunday, I met up with C+K in Dahn for a hike along southern Germany, about 20 miles from the French border. It's a beautiful part of the Wasgau area with trails through the forest with random large sandstone formations jutting up. Along the way, we stopped at Burgruine Altdahn, the castle ruins. We climbed up the crumbling former castle as lizards scampered ahead of us.

The day was rather humid and as we completed the last third of the hike, things started to heat up. I usually don't have a problem keeping up but I was lagging that day with the heat and lots of ascents. Seeing the parking lot at the end was a relief!

We followed up the hike with Flammkuchen at Brauhaus Ehrstein in Hinterweidenthal and had a view of the Teufelstisch, which is a rock formation named for a "devil's table." I look forward to that hike in the future.

Why I'm not a big fan of AirBnB

Airbnb is a popular alternative to staying in hotels. Through the website, travelers can stay in the home or apartments of locals. Heck, guests can even stay in some non-traditional accommodations such as barges and tree houses.

The reaction to Airbnb has been varied. Many travelers are delighted with it, citing finding good deals on places to stay. Many are happy to have a kitchen for cooking their own meals and an opportunity to stay in a neighborhood of the city they're visiting. On the other hand, sometimes neighbors and local governments aren't keen on it, as it might turn a residential area into a business area with no permission.

Here's my feeling on Airbnb: I'm just not that into it. A group of us have used it before and I have no complaints with the property where we stayed; our host was awesome. However, it's not something that I'll seek out normally. I'll list why I'm just not feeling it with Airbnb. Btw, these are my feelings. You don't have to feel the same way; that's cool, and I'm not trying to change your mind. There's no need to take it personally if you think Airbnb is the best thing ever.

• Price: the majority of the places I have looked at cost as much, or sometimes more, than a decent budget hotel. If I'm going to stray away from the stability of renting a hotel, I'm looking for a better deal than staying in one. Usually I travel with just one friend so hotels tend to be cheaper. For larger groups, Airbnb might be cheaper. Then again, with the ridiculous amount of extra money that some hosts charge per additional person, it might not be cheaper after all.
•  Incredibly high security deposits: I've seen ridiculous deposits, such as 400 euros, on many Airbnb properties. I can understand the owner's point of view; it's a risk to take on an unknown person in his home. However, I'm not keen on such a huge hold being put on my credit card. I just want to sleep at the place, not tear it down, for goodness sakes.
•  Ridiculously high cleaning fees: I've found places that seem to be a good deal, then I read the fine print. One place was 40 euros to stay per night (in the middle of nowhere) but an additional cleaning fee was another 40 euros! This was completely nuts to me; I could have stayed at a decent chain hotel with more amenities in a bigger city for that much. The only cleaning needed would be to wash the linens and that costs nowhere near 40 euros. 
• The inconvenience of not having a reception desk: this usually translates to having to play phone tag with the host to be let in. This is a pain in the neck when you don't have a cell phone that will work in the area or it would be excessively expensive to use mobile minutes. Then comes the fun of trying to find a pay phone; many don't accept coins any more so have fun with that one and trying to figure out where to get a calling card. When I roll into a city, especially after a late flight, the last thing I want to do is try to figure out how to call someone to be let into the property. Then, what happens if the person doesn't hear his phone? I also don't like to set an exact time to meet someone. I prefer the convenience of having a reception desk where I can roll up within a chunk of time. It can be hard to figure out how long it'll take to arrive somewhere, from the airport for example, and I don't want to stress about being late. I enjoy the freedom of making my own schedule and not having to check it against a third party.
• The added time and effort it takes to find a place: I tried to find a place in Paris, about 3 weeks before we were there. I carefully read the description of the property, made sure that the host's calendar showed availability for those dates, and then would write a pleasant message to double check that everything was available. I wrote to about 20 people. Even though I had carefully checked to see that the dates were available, I either received a response that it wasn't available after all or I received no response. I had spent hours doing this and found it incredibly frustrating. Even worse? After I received the "no" answer, I checked the host's calendar a little later and saw that the date was still available. What the heck! Why even have a calendar when the person isn't going to keep it up to date? After wasting days on this (between searching for places and waiting for responses), I said "forget it," found a place on Booking.com, and was set within minutes. Ain't nobody got time for that.
• Many communities are banning or restricting Airbnb: to be honest, I can understand many of the reasons why they do it: it can be disruptive to neighborhoods; properties might not be zoned for business like that; homes aren't inspected for safety of the guests; and often the owners aren't paying taxes on their Airbnb earnings. From my point of view, I don't want to have the worry of my booking being cancelled last minute because the host has run afoul of regulations.

When I travel and I'm going to pay to stay somewhere instead of staying with friends, I want a simple, hassle free stay. I'm looking for easy check-in and check-out times, no ridiculous fees or policies, and a standard experience. For that reason, I find a hotel instead of using something like Airbnb.

C1 and B1 meet on the train

On my way back home via the train this past weekend, I pulled out my German textbook to make the most of my time. The man sitting across from me was watching me work for a bit. Whatever, I thought. It's not uncommon here in Germany for people to be curious (sometimes to the point of staring).

I think he finally couldn't stand it any more. He asked what language I was studying. I was taken a bit aback because people don't usually make small talk with strangers in public here. Once I recovered myself I said it was German and he asked what my native language is (at this point we had been speaking German). Smiling, he pulled out his own textbook, showing me that he is learning English (he's C1, which is starting to become advanced).

We continued the conversation, code switching between English and German. He thought it was nice that I was learning German. He told me that I need some German friends so I could practice German. I responded that I have some really nice German friends but because our conversations can be rather complicated, we usually speak English.

He was just returning from a New Zealand trip and was keen to practice his English, especially since he doesn't talk to Americans that often. We had a chat for a while. Soon, his train stop came up and he said goodbye as he was on his way to visit family. We wished each other good luck on language learning.

I was a little bit surprised by the exchange, to be honest. As I said, it's not super common for Germans to make unsolicited small talk with strangers. Also, to be honest, I don't project a very welcoming or friendly persona when I'm traveling alone, either. As much as I love Detroit, I have to say that going to school there toughened me up and taught me to be proactive and protect myself especially when traveling alone as a single female. Since this cheery bloke seemed harmless enough and we were surrounded by others, I felt okay having a conversation with him and enjoyed the exchange.

More photos from the Staubsauger Museum

A small group of us really enjoyed our visit to the Staubsauger Museum in Bruchmühlbach-Miesau and wrote about it here.

I took tons of pictures; here are some more. They are mostly of old advertisements for vacuum cleaners. I was incredibly fascinated by the mechanical vacuum cleaners that used no electricity.

When I first saw this ad, I thought, gee, the guy's just sitting there reading a newspaper while his wife is busy vacuuming. How rude! Herr Steffgan told us that this is a patent drawing for a vacuum cleaner that is provided suction by the person rocking back and forth in the chair. Apparently the husband pictured isn't as lazy as I had thought.

 

 

Another interesting contraption. The woman creates suction by walking on bellows.

 This vacuum is activated by turning the wheel. The photo above it is an ad for this model.

Close-up of the ad.

Staubsauger Museum, Bruchmühlbach-Miesau, Germany

Staubsauger Museum
Website

Miesau Pfühlstraße 15
66892 Bruchmühlbach-Miseau
Museum visits are by appointment only. Call 06372-5090051.
Entry is free but a donation is suggested


About two weeks ago, some friends and I were searching for a bit of fun on a cold winter day. I enjoy visiting eclectic little museums, so I suggested the Staubsauger Museum in Bruchmühlbach-Miesau. It's a short drive from Kaiserslautern (about fifteen minutes) and made for a pleasant and local trip.

Entrance to the Staubsauger Museum

What is a Staubsauger? That is the German word for a vacuum cleaner. I was initially charmed by the fact that there was a museum dedicated to vacuum cleaners. As the tour continued, I was charmed by another element.

The museum is open by appointment only. When I contacted Herr Steffgen, the proprietor of the museum, he informed me that the museum is normally closed during the winter because the building was not heated. However, if we were willing to have a chilly visit, he was willing to accommodate us.

Since our group of friends is accustomed to hiking during the winter and spending time outdoors, we gladly took Herr Steffgen up on the offer and met him at the museum, which was previously a cow barn and is now a neatly organized and displayed collection. It had been my impression that we would just look at the museum but we were in for a treat as he took us on a tour. He said that normally he would prepare a customized tour based on the participants' interests, whether it's focusing on history or more on technology. Since we hadn't specified our interests, he covered a bit of both.

He started by showing us the vacuum cleaner that had started the collection. Shaped like a milk can, it is at first glance nothing that extraordinary, other than antique. However, as Herr Steffgan told us, the vacuum cleaner's back story is rather unusual. In 1993, an 83 year old man from the local community gifted the slightly rusty vacuum to Steffgan and told him about its history. The elderly gentleman had bought the used vacuum cleaner from his boss in the 1930s. He had used it regularly but during World War II, he had to evacuate the area. He couldn't take the vacuum with him so he buried it. After the war, he returned and dug it up, finding that although it had rusted a bit, it was still perfectly usable. It was so usable, in fact, that he continued cleaning his floors with it until 1993!

Pictured on the right is the vacuum that started the collection.

Herr Steffgan continued the tour, taking a historical approach. When pointing out the earliest vacuum cleaners, he even gave me the chance to try a few mechanical models, which had been introduced starting in the 1860s. Phew! They are quite the workout, requiring the user to pump the handle up and down in order to create suction.

When we moved onto the 1930-50s, we found vacuum cleaners that were more than just devices to vacuum. Companies had been developing the motors for the vacuums and found that these motors could power other appliances. One could change out the vacuum bag for a blender, for example! Even better yet? With the proper attachment, it is possible to turn some of the vacuums into airbrush painting machines. Herr Steffgan allowed us to "paint" a board with some water in one of the airbrush attachments.

A futuristic vacuum cleaner, ca. 1950s, that hovered above the floor when in use!

We also learned about the power of vacuum cleaners. Herr Steffgan demonstrated a board that can be held to the wall with only suction. To prove the power of the connection, he had one of our group members sit on it.

The seat o' suction. No worries - the suction holds the seat on the wall.

The tour lasted about an hour. I did find that my feet became quite cold because I hadn't worn my hiking boots, but that is definitely my own fault as Herr Steffgan had been very careful to communicate that the museum would be cold.

Herr Steffgan and the vacuum that started his collection

Despite the cold, our small group really enjoyed the visit. I had mentioned earlier that in addition to the museum, there was something else very charming about the visit; it was Herr Steffgan himself. His enthusiasm for vacuum cleaners is catching and it's clear that he loves sharing his hobby. I had never given much thought to vacuums before but was sucked into the fascinating stories and information that he shared. Both adults and children can enjoy the museum with its mix of history, hands-on experimentation, and enjoyment of one man's hobby.

The Freinsheim Rotweinwanderung

On Saturday, a group of us boarded the train and headed out to the Freinsheim Rotweinwanderung, or red wine hike. It began on Friday night with a torchlit hike through the vineyards just outside of town and continued until Sunday.

From the train station, it was about a 15 minute walk through town to the vineyards. Various restaurants and wine makers set up along the path and offered regional wines and food. At the beginning, there were covered, long wagons where people could enjoy wine with friends. One wagon was rocking as the jolly inhabitants were singing and (presumably) dancing as much as is possible in such tight confines.

The wagons on the right offer a respite from the snow and a place to eat.

The event began at 11:30 a.m. and lasted until 6:00 p.m. By the time we arrived just before 3, people were in high spirits and quite merry, despite the chill in the air and the sleety snow falling. Our group perused the various food offerings, sampling the Flammkuchen (delicious) and hearty soups such as potato and pumpkin. We also saw Reibekuchen/Kartoffelpuffer/latkes, plenty of wurst, and of course, the regional specialty and Helmut Kohl's favorite thing to foist upon unsuspecting foreign visitors, Saumagen.

The hike took us up the vineyard hill where we found more stands. We availed ourselves of the Glühwein, a hot, mulled wine that was perfect to take away the chill. 6:00 came too soon for us as we reluctantly headed back to the train station.

The Rotweinwanderung is a wonderful way to experience the specialties of the Pfalz and to live like the Germans do. In other words, it means enjoying the outdoors, even though it might be snowy and cold. Dress warmly*, bring some friends, ride the train, and drink some wine. It's all part of the good life!


*If you really want to fit in with the Germans, wear Jack Wolfskin clothing ;)

The Rhein-Neckar-Pfalz Reisemarkt

ReiseMarkt Rhein-Neckar-Pfalz website

Two weekends ago, I had a case of cabin fever but not a lot of desire to plan a big trip. Instead, I decided to do something fun, local(ish), and informative: I visited the Reisemarkt Rhein-Neckar-Pfalz. The event is a travel fair where local and not-so-local tourist associations, travel vendors, and associations set up booths at the Maimarkt location in Mannheim (next to the SAP Arena).

It was an enjoyable and easy day trip. A friend and I took the train from Kaiserslautern to Mannheim, getting out at the Maimarkt stop just past the city's main station stop. We then walked 10 minutes (straight ahead) to the fair location. There is also a tram that will shuttle people back and forth but we didn't feel like waiting for it. Another option would be to drive and park in the lot across the street from the market; parking is one euro per hour after the first (free) hour.

We paid 6,50 euros a piece for the tickets and headed over to the exhibition hall. Inside, we wandered through the booths, picking up literature and dreaming of vacations to take. The majority of the booths were from tourist and travel associations, including those run by local governments. There were plenty of free informational fliers and maps. I would guess that about half of the travel destinations were within a couple of hours from Kaiserslautern. The other part included farther parts of Germany, Europe, and even some travel agencies selling trips all over the world.

How about being transported to another country in the movie-showing geodesic dome?

In addition, some booths were run by hotels and other businesses. Other businesses were selling goods, including a bicycle store, a winter clothing store, and some others. A motor home dealer parked one of his vehicles inside but it looked miniature in comparison to the luxury travel coach on the other side of the building!

There was an area for kids, with comfy seating, a slack line to try, and a table to make wooden houses for bugs (for a fee). Those who worked up a hunger could eat at a Schwarzwald (Black Forest) themed cafe or stop by some food carts for a light snack. There were various stage presentations; during our visit, we saw karate students performing and and then a travel agency highlighting some deals on tours.

Presentation of travel deals

Ginormous Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte (Black Forest Cake) - this one was just for display

It was a very enjoyable trip and was a great way to pick up travel ideas, maps, and tourist information to help plan that next trip. It is especially useful for those around Kaiserslautern as destinations within a few hours from there were plentiful.