Tanzen… That’s German for “dancing”…

As I stated last week in my post, travel is not the only component to my cultural immersion while here in Germany. Last week, I supported that thought through participating in that small art expo in the city center. This week, I was given an even bigger blessing as I helped that same group at their summer festival. I should probably actually say that I helped very little… more of it was simply talking and having a good time.

The party started at Siloah at 4pm on Saturday afternoon, but I didn’t show up until around 5pm. I was immediately greeted by one of the ladies I had met last week, and after I had paid my small admission fee, I was free to raid the food buffet. Restaurants are a good way to experience German cooking. Cafeterias at work are also good for this. BUT nothing substitutes for a good old fashion “pot-luck” where everyone brings their own specialty. I tried to explain the word “pot-luck” to a few of the people, but I couldn’t really do it well. I guess we’ll just stick to the word “buffet”, but the main point is that the food was good.

The “Sommerfest” was being held (as it is annually) to celebrate a successful summer just before the German holidays. The German schools are not in session in August through the middle of September so many families take vacation then. Basically, many organizations, groups, and extra activities “shut-down” during this time because nobody is around. Not a bad concept, right?

It was a celebration to say the least. All together there were probably 50 of us. Next to food and drink, there were a few tents set up outside of the center with one having a live band. The band was a three person Spanish group with keyboard, guiro, bongo drums, and a cymbal. They were quite good. It brought me once again to the thought of how inter-cultural the world really is. Here I was… a white American with a group of German handicaps dancing to some sort of Spanish mariachi band. REALLY? Yes, really. That is today’s world, and I think it is great.

On a side note, I did learn a few more interesting things about America’s melting pot. One of the Germans asked me why we use the German “yes” in the states all the time. I was puzzled at first by the question, but then it made sense. Let me explain… When your mom asks you if you have done your homework, are you more likely to say “yes” or “yeah”? I would say “yeah”… or even “yup” if responding lightly. In any case, the word “yeah” is a derivative of the German word for “yes” which is “ja”. SO we basically are speaking German all the time at home! My conversation with this same gentleman brought just a tiny bit of pride out as well. He asked where I came from, and I said, “America”. The light bulb went off and he responded with a chuckle, “I didn’t think you were from Bavaria!” I took that as a compliment! If he was even considering I was from the region, I must have been putting on a pretty good show! That was my golden star sticker for the week.

As the night wore on, I was able to meet several other people. Some shared their “story” a little bit and that was really neat. The same struggles are met all over the world, but the fact that I could relate and sympathize without a language barrier was cool. Moving on from some darker spots in their lives, many are doing their own independent thing. I met some potters and also some dancers!

One lady knew how to foxtrot and waltz rather well. I told her that I learned these dances with a good friend about five years ago via video, but I couldn’t remember how to do them well anymore (as if I could ever do them well!). I did know how to swing dance a little, so I taught her the basic steps. It was quite funny! She picked it up very quickly, and suddenly I was again the dancing amateur! I don’t think dancing is really my thing… but then again, nobody was judging. Ha!

Around 10pm, things were chilling and people were leaving. I helped quickly with the clean up and tearing the tents down, and we called it a night. It was a blessing to get to know such a great group of people. It was without a doubt the highlight of this week.

Hanging with the Locals

Well, I hinted last week that I had something in “the works” for something to do this past weekend, so I will elaborate now. I’ve been trying to find some form of community engagement where a “foreigner” can actually be helpful despite language barriers. After talking with a few organizations, I landed at a place called Siloah. They are a nonprofit organization geared towards creating healthy and normal lives for people with and without physical handicaps. I met with the local supervisor last Thursday and was told that I could help out at a couple upcoming events.

On Friday I met with the group at the Kunsthalle downtown near Marianplatz. There we were to view an art exhibition guided by one of the museum curators. This was my first encounter with a very in-depth review of art pieces. This was seriously one of those museums with the giant rooms and plain walls with a few pictures hanging on them. Seismographs were attached to the walls to assure nobody touched them! Normally this is not my scene, but I did learn a few things. This wasn’t the first time Siloah had been there though. As I pushed around one of the member’s wheelchairs, I could see the attentiveness they all gave the curator. Afterwards, they assured me that after a few exhibitions and visits, one becomes really good at picking apart the symbolism and meaning behind what people see as ordinary pictures.

We continued that discussion later into the night over dinner at a local Wirtshaus. The atmosphere was extremely welcoming, and I was glad to get to know a few more locals in the process. They were a VERY fun group. It was especially neat to hear about how they each were able to continue completely independent and active lives despite their handicaps. Next week they are hosting their annual summer festival and I will be helping with setup and tear-down. In the mean time, I get to practice my speaking skills and meet some new people! I’m definitely cool with that.

Saturday was pretty relaxed on my end. It rained all day, so I did laundry and a few other chores. While most of my family and friends are at home burning up in the heat wave the US is experiencing, I am fairly certain that Munich is facing one of its coldest and wettest Julys in history. One of my coworkers verified that thought. The world’s weather has apparently gone crazy. When I come back in August I’ll be experiencing a 40 degree swing!

Sunday was a bit more interesting. I met up with one of my co-workers and we checked out the local airplane museum. This is actually a part of the larger Deutsches Museum I had already visited back in April. The airplane museum (Flugwerft) in Schleissheim was the first official airport in Germany and served as a major hub through World War II. During World War II, all of the Third Reich’s pilots trained at this airport and most of the Luftwaffe flew out of the port. The place was literally filled from door to door with airplanes, rockets, gliders, and engines. It was very family friendly too. Kids could fly model planes and blimps while their fathers gawked at 1000 h.p. rotary engines used on aircrafts.

Afterwards, we found our way to Hirschgarten for a couple beers and some AMAZING cheese dip. I am not a raw-onion guy, but dang… this cheese dip with some red onion and a GIANT pretzel… and naturally a beer… YUM.

Not a super crazy weekend, but considering the weather, not bad.

Brothers and Sisters in Salzburg

This week has brought with it MANY incredible blessings. Most have to do with good company and connecting with new people (read: “getting to know your family”). I’ll start by giving a brief update on the week’s happenings before diving into the adventure that was this weekend.

The Week

Early in the week I received an email from a Cincy student who was in the same study abroad group that has been in Germany since the end of June. I had no idea who he was, but it was his wish to chat about international co-op and do some research for his honors project. **Here would be a good place to advertise how AWESOME UC’s international and honors programs are!!** Part of this request was to interview a German BMW worker as well. I was in luck because the colleague I have been learning from this entire co-op term was able to make a free evening on Wednesday for us all to get together and have an “interview.” The bar we visited was called Blücher Café and it was a perfect place to enjoy the evening with some friends. We’d been having cooler and wetter weather this month (mid 60s most of the time), so it felt quite “gemütlich” in the small café with a warm meal. I hope the fellow UC student’s honor report turns out well. He can count on being in my report since this blog is part of MY honor’s project! …and here’s a fun fact from the interview: German’s receive a minimum of just about a month of vacation when STARTING a job. Not too shabby, right?

I had another evening “interview” on Thursday, but it was of a different variant. I have a feeling that might be a more appropriate update for next week’s blog entry.

The Weekend

This weekend has been marked on my calendar for a few months now, and I have been looking forward to it for a while. Sometime back during winter break last year, I was talking with my parish priest from St. Henry about the big Germany trip coming up. He mentioned that he had a good friend in Salzburg and that I should try to visit if time and conditions permitted. Well… I shot Fr. Barry (the friend) an email back in April and we were able to get a weekend squared away where I could visit. Long story short… I made it! There must have been enough prayers for good weather too, because the weekend weather was gorgeous… blue skies and 70s the entire weekend. Perfect. As I would soon find out, the weather wouldn’t be the only blessing I found.

Friday, July 15, 2011

I caught a Rail Jet train to Salzburg at 5:23pm on Friday after work and arrived in Salzburg at around 7:30pm. The trip was supposed to be an hour and a half, but we had a delay… which leads to an interesting story.

The train stopped about halfway to Salzburg because of a person that was apparently walking on the tracks in front of the train. This seems simple enough to solve (yell at him to get off the tracks), but apparently in Austria, this is a more complicated matter. Police were called to “investigate” the suspect and for some reason, the episode lasted about 30 minutes. I couldn’t see anything from my cabin, but the delay got the lady sitting next to me to initiate some conversation. I’m not sure if she was tipsy or not, but she started the conversation VERY awkwardly… she explained some story about a man who made love to a horse. ??? Yes. Word to the wise… don’t ever start conversations to strangers in this manner. Anyway, I guess the connection to the event was how crazy the world can be. She kept laughing out loud each time she started talking about the story. I was trying to figure out how to excuse myself to another seat, but I was able to change the subject quick enough. We went from “beastiality” to talk on travel and language (much to my relief). You know how you meet those people who are VERY open and will tell you their life story in a moment to a random stranger? I’ll just say that the time went by pretty fast. It turns out she was from Russia, had moved to Germany, and was visiting her sister in Innsbruck. She was studying French because she was considering moving to France in pursuit of a better lifestyle. The important factor seemed to be the nature of the people in the area she lived. It was interesting to hear from her how the “friendliness” levels of regions differ from one another. It opened my mind up a little more to just how small our world is when someone in Europe can so easily travel and move between countries. We also talked about how essential it is to know multiple languages in Europe (she knew four). Could you imagine if every state in the USA spoke a different language?? Another thing we often take for granted... simple conversation.

As I said, the ride went rather fast after that interesting encounter, and after wishing each other a good life I exited onto the Salzburg platform. I immediately spotted my contact. No signs necessary. This was the first time Fr. Barry and I met, but we seemed to already know each other a little through our previous correspondence. Before heading to the retreat house, we stopped at a café to grab a small bite and get introduced.

After finally arriving at the retreat house, I was given the grand tour. The house was just newly renovated and was beautiful. It had a contemporary look. I jokingly said it looked like a bunch of garage doors from the outside and Fr. Barry promptly replied that was not the first time someone had said that. Although contemporary, it had a very open feeling. It was perfect place to be on “retreat.” A large chapel stood in the middle and the guest rooms surrounded it on the outside. Each room had a window with an incredible view of the woods or a courtyard. The pillows even had mints on them. Venturing farther, I was shown the library, the resource center, the group rooms, the cafeteria, and other parts of the house. I reminded me of a newer version of the retreat house in Maria Stein back home.

The Spirituality Center in Salzburg

The Front Entrance

Inside From My Room Door

The Chapel

My Room

Founder of the Missionaries of Precious Blood - St. Gaspar del Bufalo

Group Rooms

St. Gaspar

Earlier Picture of the Center

We ended the tour in the recreation room, where I met another couple of priests who lived at the house. We sat down for some drinks and got to know each other a little better before we all said “Gute Nacht.” After a little light reading in bed later, I was out like a light.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

I almost never wake up to an alarm any more. I am always awake quite naturally at around 5:45 am every morning (sorry if that horrifies anyone). Not sure why, but I’ve got this natural alarm in me. This morning I slept in until nearly 7:00 am. I really was sleeping peacefully!

I went with Fr. Barry to his mass at 7:30 am at an Ursuline convent. After mass, the sisters treated us to a nice breakfast before we departed. Even in Austria, the traditional German breakfast is the norm. Bread, cold cuts, muesli, butter, jam, and coffee.

It was an incredibly clear and cool morning, so Fr. Barry suggested I check out the Salzburg castle (Hohensalzburg) before lunch. I was sure to get a good view. He instructed me on getting down town and I figured it out easy enough. 10 minutes later I was in the old part of the city walking towards the big hill.

Salzach River

Birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Small Shopping Streets of Salzburg

Residenzplatz

Hohensalzburg Castle on the Hill

One thing needs to be made clear about Salzburg… it is a city of music. Not only was Mozart born here and The Sound of Music (the film) shot here, but the culture of music is really built into the people. Do the mountains sing? Almost. On the way up to the castle, I saw a little boy playing the accordion. He was INCREDIBLE. I would have sworn I heard a professional who had been playing his entire life. It was too cool!

Cathedral and Altstadt

A short hike later, I found myself in a fortress literally on top of the city. It was built in the middle ages and it never saw a single defeat by force! It was only ever surrendered once and that was without a fight to Napoleon. Next to learning a little history, I took in the sights. The views of the city and country side were amazing.

From the Castle

River and Altstadt

King of the Castle... Sort of...

I had just enough time on the hill before needing to head back for lunch at the center. Once back, I arrived to a delicious homemade goulash soup and a few other guests at the house. After lunch, the house manager, Fr. Georg, graciously invited a group of us to take an afternoon trip to Berchtesgaden to see the Königssee (King Lake). Four of us piled into the car and made the drive. During the ride I was able to get to know my companions a little better. Can anyone guess how small the world is? Really small. It turns out that Fr. Walter was from Tanzania and actually had the chance to meet the mission group from St. Henry last year in 2010. He even remembered meeting my friends who just got married three weeks ago! He was in Salzburg from Rome working on his dissertation. Another one of the priests, Fr. Johannes, was a pastor in Austria, but he had actually spent some time in Celina (a town just north of my hometown) studying a few years back. There he was able to become acquainted with my high school German teacher! He recalls speaking to one of St. Henry’s high school German classes that year. How crazy is that?? He told me to thank my German teacher for doing such a good job. Haha!

Once at Berchtesgaden, we found a full parking lot. EVERYONE was out enjoying the lake and the mountains today. No wonder either… it was so nice out! Small shops were selling Bavarian clothing and beer gardens lined the lake where families were swimming or taking boat rides in the mountain passages. In the distance, on one of the mountain peaks, it was possible to see Hitler’s summer vacation home, the Eagle’s Nest. Out of fear for being bombed off the mountain side, he rarely visited though.

Shot of Eagle's Nest from Berchtesgaden, Germany

Königsee at Berchtesgaden

...Again

As we walked we also saw a rescue chopper flying back and forth from one of the mountains. Apparently someone was in trouble, because it came back from the mountain with two people dangling from the safety line. Even as pretty as the mountains can be, they can be equally dangerous if you are not careful.

Checking Out the Rescue Chopper

Drive Back from Berchtesgaden

After a short walk and enjoying the lake, we took back to the car for Salzburg. We drove the long way through the mountain roads and found a good place for ice cream on the way. Can’t beat that on a hot day!

Once back, we experienced a little more of Austrian culture. Saturday was the funeral of Archduke Otto von Habsburg. He was the last heir of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and thousands of people were in attendance to see the funeral. We were watching it on TV at the spiritual center. The pomp and circumstance were certainly present with the wide array of costumes, colors, music, and procession. It gave a better picture of the culture in lands where people were ruled by royal family lineage. In many cases, these royal lines still have extreme significance.

After watching the mass and part of the funeral procession, Fr. Barry and I caught a bus to the city center for a short tour and a late supper. It was a perfect evening and Fr. Barry was quite knowledgeable of the area. We walked through the gardens of Mirabell’s palace as he filled me in on some of the city history and explained some of the sights. Of course, as we walked we spotted an American band playing in the courtyard. I don’t know why I keep finding these groups in Europe! They were really quite good though.

Gardens of Mirabell's Palace

Mozart's Apartment

Salzach River

Fr. Barry and I on the River (Castle in the Background)

Dinner was at a VERY tiny guesthouse and beer garden on a cliff-side overlooking Salzburg. This was Fr. Barry’s “in the know” place to go for good food and a great view. Both were true, and we enjoyed a few hours of conversation with a great meal and a couple of Austrian beers. In the background we had free entertainment. A young lady was celebrating a birthday with her friends, and they all apparently were in a music group or something. Boy could they sing well! Four part harmony, African style songs were being sung on and off throughout the evening. I don’t think I would wish for a better birthday present, had I been the one with the birthday. Like I said… Salzburg = Music.

The "Birthday Choir"

Before heading back home, we took a late evening stroll through Salzburg. You could smell fresh tomato and garlic from all of the Italian restaurants between all of the small window front stores in the tiny old city alley ways. All of the churches had an ambient glow to them and the fountains lit up the small courtyards between the stores and cafes. It was an extremely peaceful evening in the city, and I definitely could identify that romantic air of an old European city. It’s like being in an old house versus a new one. The old ones seem to breathe and have life. They have history and memories. An old city’s wear and tear amidst its fine artistry gives it a wise and learned presence. It was almost as though if you stopped to just listen, you could learn something from the old city walls. It is really a neat feeling.

At around 10:30pm we caught our bus home and turned in. What an incredible day!

Salzburg at Night

Sunday, July 17, 2011

This morning was to be a Spanish mass that Fr. Barry gives once a month to the local Spanish speaking community. Fr. Barry spent quite some time in Chile along with my hometown priest, Fr. Tom, when they were younger. After being there so long, Spanish basically became their native language. After the mass was over at noon, I could see why it was such an appreciated mass by the locals. They stayed a while for snacks and drinks on the back patio and the community they had with one another was very apparent. They could all speak German, but you could see they loved to converse in their mother tongue. I suppose I can understand this much more since being in Germany. When I finally went home in June and heard an English mass for the first time in a couple months, it was very refreshing. Something about hearing the mass in your own language helps to give it much more depth.

After the social and a short siesta, Fr. Barry took me over to see the Trapp House next door. For those of you not familiar, the Trapp Villa is where the Trapp family lived in the early 1900s before the war. This is the family the film, The Sound of Music, was based on. It was amazing to see the house was right next door to the spiritual center! In fact, I found out from Fr. Barry that the house was actually given to the church and was basically under its care after the war. Who knew? It is now a bed and breakfast, and Fr. Barry was able to give me the private tour. There was a lot of history to the house, and it showed this through its many wall portraits and decorations. It once had a very bright history, but a dark one as well. During the war, this was the house that Heinrich Himmler (perhaps one of the most diabolical men in the German Nazi party) lived. On the second floor, Fr. Barry showed me the office where Himmler made many of those fateful decisions that caused such suffering and death in the concentration camps. The blessing is that this room has since been turned into a chapel. A room that once caused blood to spill has been transformed into a sanctuary of Christ’s life-giving blood. I thought this was a wonderful transformation… and a very symbolic one at that.

The Spirituality Center (left) and the Trapp House (right)

In the "Backyard"

The Trapp House

The Trapp Family

Dinning Hall

The Chapel

From the Top Balcony

After our viewing of the Villa, Fr. Barry took me out to the Wolfgangsee by St. Gilgan. It was a short drive out of Salzburg and it led to perhaps my favorite view of the Alps yet. We had ice cream out on a terrace overlooking the town, lake, and mountains. Para gliders were dropping from the mountains and the lake was covered with sail boats. It was a wonderful sight.

Wolfgang's Lake

Ice Cream and Cappuccino on the Terrasse

Upon returning to the retreat center, I gathered my things and said my goodbyes to those I had met at the center that weekend. Fr. Barry took me out to the train station where we also said our farewells.

There was a lot to tell about this weekend, but I don’t think I will soon forget it. Amidst the “events” that happened and the great people I met, I can draw some important conclusions from the trip. Home really can be where the heart is and family can be just about anywhere in the world. God connects people in many ways, and he draws us to be a community all the time. Whether we are from the Alps, the Rockies, the Serengeti’s, or the Arenas, we all share a common thread and some history or story always ties us together. That is an incredible thought to me… and a comforting one at that.

Skyline and Driving

Not much to report this weekend! After being all across the map for the past month, I decided I was parking it for the weekend in Munich.

Work was pretty exciting this week, because I was able to drive a BMW for the first time! With one of our supervisors gone for the week, I was basically running one of the test stands more independently. Since he wasn’t here to drive the cars, my supervisor from the offices at R&D told me to go pick up the car myself. I was initially under the impression that we were not allowed to drive the cars, but he said it shouldn’t be a problem. When I got back after driving in the first car, one of my co-workers informed me that he doubled check if I was permitted to drive and he got a red flag. Apparently I had done a “no-no”! I basically drove a pre-production car without the proper paper work. Shhh! Don’t tell anyone. Pretty sweet though! The good news is that I found I was able to drive cars that were already in production, so I was able to drive a couple more later this week! Awesome!!

Friday was extremely fun because my band director was in town with his wife for vacation. We were able to coordinate schedules and meet up for dinner at the Hofbräuhaus! It was just as rowdy as they said it would be… and that is more so than the one in Cincinnati! My dad actually bought me my first beer at the Hofbräuhaus in Cincinnati when I turned 21. Two years later, I was able to compare notes with the same brew in the ACTUAL Hofbräuhaus. Yup… just as satisfying. The cool part about the end of the night was running into some other UC student randomly! We were walking out the door when we spotted a table with some students sporting UC polos. What are the chances?? They were actually in town on a weekend trip from their study abroad program in France. SMALL WORLD! Go UC International Programs!

The rest of the weekend was basically getting caught up on some responsibilities back at home and a little down time. The weather was great for running and the past few nights we have had some mega storms roll through. I appreciate my 8 foot wide window, because I can open it up, sit on the ledge, and watch the storms without getting wet. Very cool.

I will also mention here that I broke out my Skyline survival kit that was sent to me on my birthday from a friend back home. It is FAR from the actual thing, but wasn’t half bad. Germans do not have shredded cheese, so that was the first big problem. The second was that I had to settle for Coke, because there is practically no Dr. Pepper over here. Boo. I did get my chocolate mint afterwards though, so mission accomplished!