Expectations: Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Dresden
Munich Before arriving in Munich I was especially excited to see the city. Previously I had done a project on the Marienplatz and therefore I was a little familiar with the area. I expected to see traditional German outfits such as the Lederhosen and Dirndl. Among these things I looked forward to the beer and Bavarian food! Salzburg Before going to Salzburg, I was not very familiar with the city. The only things that I knew of were it being the birth place of Mozart, and Salzburg is where the...
Read MoreThe Freiburg experience auf Deutsch.
In Freiburg lerne ich Deutsch, aber ich besuche auch viele Orte in Deutschland und die Umgebung. Aber zum Glück hatten wir bisher jeden Tag schönes Wetter. Zuerst habe ich Frankreich besucht. Ich bin nach Colmar gefahren, und dort habe ich die Stadt und eine Weinkellerei mit meiner Professorin und den anderen Studenten besichtigt. Hier haben wir auch leckeres Essen gehabt. Zum Abendessen haben wir Flammkuchen gegessen, und wir haben Wein aus der Gegend getrunken. Diese Flammkuchen waren die...
Read Moreaufschlagen
Since being in Deutschland I have learned many new words. One particular word, aufschlagen, caught my attention while in Heidelberg at the Heidelberger Schloss. The meaning of aufschlagen is broad and includes: to pitch or to serve (a ball), to set up or to pitch up (a camp, a tent), to break or to crack (an egg), to open (a book), to impact or to strike or to hit. In regards to opening books, this word has been used in a specific phrase dating to around the 1200s; “Schlagt eure Bücher auf.”...
Read MoreKäsespätzle
Käsespätzle is a specialty dish of Schwaben region in Germany. The dish is a German version of mac ‘n cheese. The noodles, however are a little more dense and the dish also has fried onions. Spätzle has a long history and it is not completely clear who the originators where. I believe Spätzle has been around for longer but evidence dates it back to at least 1725. The first Spätzle is said to be formed by hand or with a spoon to make small pieces of dough. There are at least two ideas on...
Read MoreInterview auf Deutsch
The following link is to an interview I conducted with another student who was also attending the Goethe Institute in Freiburg. His name is Timo and he is from France. While in Freiburg I was fortunate to meet so many new people from many different countries. These countries include Switzerland, France, Sweden, Iceland, Japan and the list goes on. The short interview allowed me to put my few weeks of German to use while getting to know another student with the same goal of learning German....
Read MoreArriving in Germany and My Expectations
Before traveling to Germany, I spent four nights in Iceland. I had a great trip and learned a lot about Icelandic culture. The culture was very interesting, and the country itself was settled by some Vikings in the early 9th century. The most fascinating part to Iceland, however, is their location on the tectonic plate fault line of the North American Plate and Eurasian Plate. The Icelandic people harvest the energy from the Earth and are able to produce energy. Furthermore, the land there is...
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