03 November, 2008

Ich habe rote Blumen and I just can't hide it.

The first song I heard playing on the radio in Germany was "I'm so excited and I just can't hide it!"





I have been staying with my dear friend Christina in Dortmund for three days now. On the first day I was so relieved to discover that I was still excited to be in Germany. I mentioned this to Christina far too many times.

On Sunday we decided to drive to the nearby town of Münster. The guide book said that Münster is famous for its broke (sp?) architecture and many special bike paths.



The guide book was right.



The bike boulevards were lovely with few conflicts between pedestrians and cyclists.





A new boulevard addition near the castle or Schloss looked a little different.






The castle gardens were used by the university for research and learning but were also very beautiful. (By the way I am already speaking my English with a German accent and sentence structure so this post sounds really funny to me as write it.)




This house had the tropical plants stored for winter.




Here a little bridge, about a foot and a half wide crossed the water feature.




This is the restroom building. (GreenWorks, I took this one for you!)




And here are some pictures from around the rest of town:


(Hals means throat and this street was like a little alley.)






(Oh and Aunt Kathy, I almost forgot to mention, Grandma Marge says "Hi".)


Today Christina and I visited some banks and phone companies so that she could help me ask some of the more complicated questions about services and what pieces of information I will need to be able to sign up. We also called my landlord, Frau Moser, to let her know when I would arrive. She said she would have everything ready that I could just fall into bed and go to sleep. Aunty Fran, I think this means that they will provide sheets, so you don't have to worry!

I spoke with my new office and they sounded very friendly. Tomorrow I will travel to Überlingen and Gerhard (one of my bosses) will meet me at the train station.

I will update as soon as I can with pictures of my German farm house, my new office, and Überlingen.

Tschüss!



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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Where is the hat?

Anonymous said...

It's Baroque architecture! You CRACK ME UP!!!
Glad to see you looking so happy!

Anonymous said...

Congrats on a happy-start! Looks progressive too :)

All well on the political front with Obama in, and Merkley taking over smith (about 5 days later the vote was tallied). Rumor is Earl Blummenauer (sp?) might be Secretary of Transportation or a new cabinet level post for sustainability! Then we have hope for bike paths, high speed trains (coming to California now) and a combat to global warming....

Everyone seems really excited here about Obama. Taylor will not stop singing. Even the lights seem brighter (new compact bulbs?) Good time to be an ex-pat (better than '04!)
Take care!
Anne

Marina said...

I am a little jealous :) Is Christina a UO Alumni? I think I remember her from an UO ISO. The German word is "barock" since you want to improve your German. And we call them "Boulevards" oder besser "Alleen" Just a heads up :)
And another hint, you are deep down in Germany - teh older Germany. You'll find a lot of stuff that will feel ancient :) At least I always found so when I went to southern Germany.
Have fun and enjoy the probably most strangest German accent I cannot even understand.
~Marina

tortuga said...

oh, jaime. i love that your first post from germany includes more pictures of bike boulevards than anything else, an analysis of streets vs. alleys, and a detail photo of a bridge that includes dimensions. (not to mention that the picturesque pond is a "water feature.) we are so well trained.

jenn