So! As you all know, I've spent the last 2 weeks in Germany working an internship for the DLR (German Centre for Air and Space), and its been so fun *and hectic* that I honestly haven't had a second to let you all know about my travels. But today, I finally got the afternoon off, so I decided to write everything up. Since it has been so long, I'm going to be compiling things into subjects, rather than doing a day-by-day account as I originally intended.
So without further ado, *drumroll*
1/ Getting to Germany
Not a whole lot happened during my actual travelling, so I'll put the basics:
- The flight from Manchester to Stuttgart was okay, but the guy on the German passport control desk took about as long to process everyone on the flight as the flight itself. Someone needs to play Paper's Please (Glory to Arstotzka)
- Stuttgart is a very nice city, especially when one is walking around it in circles for half an hour trying to find the train station. Suddenly I know why that's the first thing you're taught in a foreign language.
- The train from Stuttgart to Heilbronn was double decker. DOUBLE FLIPPIN' DECKER. I thought they were only in America and Russia and I'd never get to go on one, but I did, *yeah!*, one more thing off the ol' bucket list. (Except I couldn't go upstairs cos of my luggage, so I'm keeping it on for now)
- Arriving in Heilbronn, the train to the house and Möckmühl was... cancelled. As were all of the others after it. For three weeks. Because the rivers flooded the day before and the lines were damaged.
Shit.
Thankfully, my supervisor at DLR was told about this and came to pick me up, so I finally made it to the guesthouse about 5 hours after I expected to.
Which leads me right onto:
2/ Where I'm staying
The guesthouse itself couldn't be nicer: it's quiet, surrounded by forest and the people I'm living with are nice, friendly and a whole bucketful of nationalities. Pity the closest shops and supermarkets are about 5 miles away. But luckily, everyone else has this problem too and they drive in to town every few days, so as long as I bat my eyelashes flirtatiously, they give me lifts in with them.
My room sits on two levels, with a desk on the lower floor and my bed upstairs. I've lovingly nicknamed it 'The Crow's Nest', and I often shout "Land ho, Cap'n!" out of the window.
I literally took this photo as I was writing this blog post.
3/ Where I work
I actually can't say a whole lot about this, since the DLR handle a lot of military contracts. Suffice it to say, I get my own desk, and some of the tests that I've seen so far have gone very similarly to this:
Science is nothing without the occasional slip-up
Saying that, my particular work so far hasn't been too taxing, just writing up a project plan of what I'll be doing for the next six months. Which generally means listening to the Hamilton soundtrack on loop in the background while I try to find the right words to use. I've finished that now, so hopefully I can move onto real practical work next week.
4/ Adventures around Germany
Now this is the fun bit. Since arriving, I've been invited on about 4 different trips to different cities. Last Thursday, there was a company trip to Bamberg, a beautifully city, which also happens to be the self-proclaimed beer capital of the world. So that devolved into me staring in awe at the architecture of the city while everyone else stared in awe at the size of their beers. Each to their own.
Bamberg Cathedral. Named for and has a mural of Saint George inside, so a little bit of England in Germany
Bamberg Castle, looking like German Hogwarts
Home of the main inquisitor during the witch hunts
Then, on Monday, we went to Stuttgart University for a series of lectures on aerospace and European agencies. Most of them were barely interesting, but one on a certain topic really piqued my interest (which may become the foundation for one of those ingenious presentations that Leggett suggested earlier).
5/ Observations about Germany
The first big observation is that Germans are ridiculously welcoming and nice, although this isn't much of a shock (most people are). And whoever said they have no sense of humour has clearly never been to Germany.
One thing that I've noticed is that German people never say 'Auf Wiedersehen', which I'd always thought of as just 'Goodbye'. Apparently, this is far too formal, and it's similar to saying 'I bid you adieu' or 'Toodle-pip' in the UK. People tend to say 'Tschüss', pronounced 'choos', or just 'ciao'.
It also rains just as much here as back home, probably because it's so hot. Or the weather's trying to make me feel at home.
And I can't finish without talking about the food. Every day, I seem to be trying something new and German, and it's all amazing. The obvious things, like bratwurst, schnitzel and pretzels, are all awesome, but there's some weirder, lesser-known gems I've tried. My favourites so far are 'Gaisburger Marsch' (kind of like a corned beef stew, and a favourite with the Stuttgart army during the Napoleonic era), 'Schweinegeschnetzeltes' (beef and mushroom casserole, called 'Zurich-style') and 'Maultaschen' (like ravioli, but the size of your hand). Now that I know what's good, I'm finding the recipes, so prepare for me cooking you all authentic German food when I get back!
Anyway, that's pretty much been my life for the last 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to the rest of my time, and looking even more forward to letting you all know about it. I'm sure the next time that we all talk on Skype, you guys can fill me in on everything that I've missed around home. Or just how much you all miss me, whatever =P
Oh, speaking of that, I almost forgot the most important part:
6/ The things that I miss
- My family. Probably goes without saying.
- My Xbox. Should also go without saying.
- Fast internet. The house may be nice to live in, but anyone who's tried to get in touch or play games with me knows how pitiful internet is over here.
- Knowing what stuff's
called. It's so frustrating trying to mime what I mean to someone in a
shop or at work, and I have a newfound appreciation for foreign
university students. Most people do speak English, but that means I feel ignorant for not being able to return the favour.
- Fresh milk. I forgot that over here it's always UHT and tastes a little off, even when first opened.
- All you guys. You're all amazing, and I'd love to Skype with you all sometime =]
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