The Language
This little bit on the end is only for those of you who want to look at some German grammar. I have chosen three really basic words being the, it & but to show just how messy this german language caper is. These basic words change in there structure in virtually every different sentence you use them in. It is little wonder that Mark Twains book on his attempts to learn the language is called ``That Horrible German Language ``.
the, before vowel.
I. def. art. der, die, das; pl. die; (a) the voice of the people, die Stimme des Volkes; the arrival of the guests, die Ankunft der Gäste; the Martins, die Martins; George the Sixth, Georg der Sechste; (b) he's not the person to do that, er ist nicht einer, der das tun würde; the impudence of it! was für eine Unverschämtheit! (c) (with adj.) the beautiful, das Schöne; translated from the Russian, übersetzt aus dem Russischen; coll. the poor, die Armen; (d) paid by the day, tageweise bezahlt; ten pence the pound, zehn Pence das Pfund/pro Pfund.
2. (stressed) he's the authority on that, er ist die führende Autorität auf dem Gebiet.
II. adv.
1. it will be (all) the easier for you as you are young, es wird um so leichter für Sie sein, da Sie jung sind; so much the better, umso besser.
2. the ... the ..., je ... desto ...; the sooner the better, je eher, desto besser; the less said the better, darüber schweigt man am besten.
it, pers.pron.
1. (a) (subject) es n; er m; sie f; (b) (direct object) es n; ihn m; sie f; she took his hand and pressed it, sie nahm seine Hand und drückte sie; (c) (indirect object) ihm m, n; ihr f; bring the cat and give it a drink, hole die Katze und gib ihr etwas zu trinken.
2. (impersonal use) (a) (subject) es; who is it? wer ist es? it's me, ich bin's; it's the children, es sind die Kinder; that's just it! das ist es ja gerade! it's raining, es regnet; how is it that...? wie kommt es, daß...? it's said that..., man sagt, daß...; (b) now for it! jetzt geht's los! there is nothing for it but to go back, es bleibt nichts anderes übrig als zurückzugehen; she had a bad time of it, sie hat es schwer gehabt; he hasn't got it in him, er hat nicht das Zeug dazu; the worst of it is..., das Schlimmste daran ist....
3. (with prep.) da-; dar-; of/from it, davon; out of it, daraus; to fall in it, (da) hineinfallen; I feel the better for it, danach fühle ich mich besser.
but.
I. conj. aber; jedoch; b. I tell you I saw it! ich sag dir doch, daß ich es gesehen habe! b. yet/all the same, aber trotzdem; (b) (after negative) sondern; he is not English b. German, er ist kein Engländer, sondern ein Deutscher.
II. adv. nur; one can b. try, man kann es wenigstens versuchen; had I b. known, hätte ich das nur gewußt.
III. conj. & prep. (a) (except) all b. he/b. him, alle außer ihm; the last b. one, der vorletzte; anything b. that, alles nur nicht das; he is anything b. a hero, er ist alles andere als ein Held; nothing b. water, nichts als Wasser; he all b. drowned, er wäre fast ertrunken; (b) b. for, ohne+acc; b. for the accident he would have won, ohne den Unfall hätte er gewonnen.
22.8.02
Our Annual House Party
The annual house party for Bettina and Margarite’s birthdays was a great success. We had a similar turn out to last year with some 50 odd punters showing up to assist with the festivities.
For the second year running the prerequisite barrel of Gluckspils was acquired by Thomas and I. The purchase of which sent us down to the hobby brewery at Morlenbach to meet with the master brewer Joachim. I personally feel that the sampling of the wares prior to bulk purchase is essential, particularly when free and served in endless racks of half litre glasses. Our host Joachim made us very welcome and after being presented with a 500ml bottle of plum schnapps from Thomas he invited us to sample some aged apple wine. Wow, great stuff! Runs at about 8.9% and really kicks. Normally most apple wine lasts about 12 to 14 months. This stuff was over 2.5 years old. Apparently it is possible but you have to maintain a very steady temperature and occasionally rebalance the sugars and acids with additional additives.
Turned out that Joachim is a Cold Chisel freak so I have since sent him some additional albums for his brewery bar collection.
It took us a long time to get home, touring along back roads through the Odenwald hills with our 50-litre keg riding snug in the back. Thomas showed me some of the lesser known villages and routes on the return trip which were really pretty and very old.
It took a couple of days to prepare for the party given the shopping and general setting up of the cellar areas and outdoor settings. A lot of people brought food with them which in turn created a spread to rival any party banquet I have seen, bar the occasional wedding. The day brought a mild climate in the mid 20’s and it stayed pleasant enough throughout to enjoy the garden atmosphere and the plethora of scents from the flowers and fruit trees.
Unknown to us, as we settled in for lunch in the back garden, the street out the front had come alive with dozens of riot police. Dressed in their army greens, visor helmets, machine pistols, bullet proof vests, batons hung from waists and riot shields slung across their backs they resembled an invasion of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Apparently there had been a policeman shot dead at a soccer match two weeks earlier in another district and one of the teams playing on that occasion were playing down the road at our local sports ground. The police had barricaded all routes to and from the grounds in the hope of locating several of the supporters they were searching for. Some of our guests arrived looking around somewhat dubiously at all the commotion. Once I had explained that it was just security for our party and that Thomas had gone a little bit over the top when organising it, people tended to relax and settle in to enjoy themselves. A little later in the afternoon a flight of 5 Blackhawk helicopters went over in formation directly over the house. I looked over at Thomas and said, “Airborne security as well, nice touch! A little bit over the top but nice!" Some of the people we were expecting to come along to really help with drinking the beer failed to show but we found out later that they had arrived but had been deterred from coming in by the throng of 30 police and six police transporters hanging out at the front gate.
Not to be deterred by the lack of serious beer fiends hanging at the bar Thomas and I valiantly poured, coerced and roped in unsuspecting wine drinkers for a glass of pils. Given the size of the keg there was little we could do but resign us to the fact that Sunday was going to be a party day as well. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon immensely and a couple of Bettina’s mates from Heidelberg hung in till the early hours blowing the froth and chewing the fat.
Sunday was a glorious day and perfect for the back yard activities we had in mind. Kicking back in a deck chair, feet up on the bench seat and within arms reach of the beer tap. Bliss!! We had a lot of left over food and this was attacked in due course throughout the afternoon. A great weekend.
Our next-door neighbours had an engagement party for one of their daughters the following weekend. They had put up marquee tents around the side of the house and hired professional caterers, disco and bar staff. We were invited to come over and join in on the festivities. It is an old custom here to take an old cup and saucer to this type of occasion and to smash it in the driveway when you come onto the property. When all of the guests have arrived the bride and groom to be get to sweep up the smashed china as their first task together in married life. I guess they are getting in training for the inevitable, “Pottery In Motion”, which marriage brings.
Thomas tells me that just after he finished his national duty in the army transport corps, he was driving tip trucks for a while. A friend of his was having his engagement party and had invited him to the party. Thomas arrived at the party in style, reversing his massive tip truck up to the entry of the front drive. His mate came barrelling out of the house shouting No, No, No, please No! He knew all to well that Thomas was likely to have found some way of filling the truck with a large amount of old china and the thought of having to clean up the ensuing blitz of shattered crockery was frightening. Alas it was all too late, the truck was blocking the gate, and his mate could not get out front to where Thomas was manipulating the controls. The truck tray rose up higher and higher and with a metallic, skittering scrape, a single cup and saucer fell out of the back onto the driveway. Sighs of relief and screams of howling laughter all round. Nice one.
For the second year running the prerequisite barrel of Gluckspils was acquired by Thomas and I. The purchase of which sent us down to the hobby brewery at Morlenbach to meet with the master brewer Joachim. I personally feel that the sampling of the wares prior to bulk purchase is essential, particularly when free and served in endless racks of half litre glasses. Our host Joachim made us very welcome and after being presented with a 500ml bottle of plum schnapps from Thomas he invited us to sample some aged apple wine. Wow, great stuff! Runs at about 8.9% and really kicks. Normally most apple wine lasts about 12 to 14 months. This stuff was over 2.5 years old. Apparently it is possible but you have to maintain a very steady temperature and occasionally rebalance the sugars and acids with additional additives.
Turned out that Joachim is a Cold Chisel freak so I have since sent him some additional albums for his brewery bar collection.
It took us a long time to get home, touring along back roads through the Odenwald hills with our 50-litre keg riding snug in the back. Thomas showed me some of the lesser known villages and routes on the return trip which were really pretty and very old.
It took a couple of days to prepare for the party given the shopping and general setting up of the cellar areas and outdoor settings. A lot of people brought food with them which in turn created a spread to rival any party banquet I have seen, bar the occasional wedding. The day brought a mild climate in the mid 20’s and it stayed pleasant enough throughout to enjoy the garden atmosphere and the plethora of scents from the flowers and fruit trees.
Unknown to us, as we settled in for lunch in the back garden, the street out the front had come alive with dozens of riot police. Dressed in their army greens, visor helmets, machine pistols, bullet proof vests, batons hung from waists and riot shields slung across their backs they resembled an invasion of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Apparently there had been a policeman shot dead at a soccer match two weeks earlier in another district and one of the teams playing on that occasion were playing down the road at our local sports ground. The police had barricaded all routes to and from the grounds in the hope of locating several of the supporters they were searching for. Some of our guests arrived looking around somewhat dubiously at all the commotion. Once I had explained that it was just security for our party and that Thomas had gone a little bit over the top when organising it, people tended to relax and settle in to enjoy themselves. A little later in the afternoon a flight of 5 Blackhawk helicopters went over in formation directly over the house. I looked over at Thomas and said, “Airborne security as well, nice touch! A little bit over the top but nice!" Some of the people we were expecting to come along to really help with drinking the beer failed to show but we found out later that they had arrived but had been deterred from coming in by the throng of 30 police and six police transporters hanging out at the front gate.
Not to be deterred by the lack of serious beer fiends hanging at the bar Thomas and I valiantly poured, coerced and roped in unsuspecting wine drinkers for a glass of pils. Given the size of the keg there was little we could do but resign us to the fact that Sunday was going to be a party day as well. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon immensely and a couple of Bettina’s mates from Heidelberg hung in till the early hours blowing the froth and chewing the fat.
Sunday was a glorious day and perfect for the back yard activities we had in mind. Kicking back in a deck chair, feet up on the bench seat and within arms reach of the beer tap. Bliss!! We had a lot of left over food and this was attacked in due course throughout the afternoon. A great weekend.
Our next-door neighbours had an engagement party for one of their daughters the following weekend. They had put up marquee tents around the side of the house and hired professional caterers, disco and bar staff. We were invited to come over and join in on the festivities. It is an old custom here to take an old cup and saucer to this type of occasion and to smash it in the driveway when you come onto the property. When all of the guests have arrived the bride and groom to be get to sweep up the smashed china as their first task together in married life. I guess they are getting in training for the inevitable, “Pottery In Motion”, which marriage brings.
Thomas tells me that just after he finished his national duty in the army transport corps, he was driving tip trucks for a while. A friend of his was having his engagement party and had invited him to the party. Thomas arrived at the party in style, reversing his massive tip truck up to the entry of the front drive. His mate came barrelling out of the house shouting No, No, No, please No! He knew all to well that Thomas was likely to have found some way of filling the truck with a large amount of old china and the thought of having to clean up the ensuing blitz of shattered crockery was frightening. Alas it was all too late, the truck was blocking the gate, and his mate could not get out front to where Thomas was manipulating the controls. The truck tray rose up higher and higher and with a metallic, skittering scrape, a single cup and saucer fell out of the back onto the driveway. Sighs of relief and screams of howling laughter all round. Nice one.
29.7.02
1st Anniversary Reflections
This time with a renewed sense of all things German. First year down and the wheels of progress are grinding forward with relentless surety. In retrospect the year has gone so fast that I am still not quite sure just exactly where it has all gone. A bit like looking to and fro between the picked clean bones of the Christmas turkey and your expanded waistline and wondering how on earth you fitted it all in. A year of great change mingled with periods of high anxiety, howling laughter, blissful wonderment and confusion interspersed with moments of deep-seated relief. An intellectual and emotional roller coaster on a grand scale. Almost enough material in twelve months to fuel a psychiatric convention. I guess I got all that I asked for and more, so no complaints there. Life being life to the full.
At least year two is kicking off with most of the major hurdles now jumped or flattened on the track. Some plans have been laid for trips around the continent and other plans plotted out to garner some more language knowledge and attendance at some of the annual events in and around southern Germany. Due to Europe being so vast and with so many events happening you are often unaware until the very last moment that something is taking place. It may be through word of mouth or by reading an article in the newspaper. At either rate you’ve really got to move it if you want to get the time off from work, the tickets, the accommodation or whatever else it takes. All very spur of the moment sometimes. It’s always nice to plan in advance but in living somewhere where you are not aware of the annual events, they seem to leap out at you all the time.
I made note last year of a few things that I would have liked to attend so that maybe this year I am better prepared. The advent of regular work also opens up a much larger horizon, not only through the ability to request freebies in the hotels but also with the added advantage of regular income. 2002 / 2003 should be a right old hoot. Better that I stick to the news of the moment for now however.
Life has been really busy with things around the house and the grand attempt to finish off as much of the outside renovation work as possible whilst the sun continues to shine. As you no doubt have been seeing on the telly and in the papers, Europe is having some of the worst floods for over 100 years. Luckily this has not been too serious here in the west of the continent. It has still been a fairly grey and mediocre kind of Summer so far but at least the rains have been infrequent. The flooding in eastern Germany particularly around Dresden is just terrible. So many historic buildings being literally washed away as the Elbe River slowly but surely surges to levels not seen since 1854. Since the reunification of Germany Dresden has worked almost endlessly to restore its historic buildings which were so badly decimated by the fire bombing of WWII. Now it is all but lost once again. They are expecting the river to peak at 10 metres above some time tonight. With some of the older buildings they had to make the decision to flood the basements prior to the river bursting its banks simply to stop them being completely washed away. The art treasures and museum artefacts have in the main been saved but the damp and humidity is already damaging one of the finest art collections in Europe. The Dresden Opera has lost all most of its props and costumes built up over several centuries. Up stream in Prague where the river has already done its worst they have been left with up to two metres of mud throughout the city which is now baking rock hard in 30 degree plus temperatures.
A larger concern to follow is that more rain is expected this weekend and as the Elbe River traverses Germany to empty itself into the sea at Hamburg there is likely to be wide spread flooding across the breadth of the country. Small villages and towns anywhere within a 10 meter height variation of the Elbe are already in panic mode and sandbagging furiously. One girl I work with whose parents and family live in Dresden cannot even get home to see them or help. Likewise they cannot get out. Even the airport is shut down. Seriously bad business all around. I won’t go on as you probably have it plastered all over your newspapers and TV screens at home.
At least year two is kicking off with most of the major hurdles now jumped or flattened on the track. Some plans have been laid for trips around the continent and other plans plotted out to garner some more language knowledge and attendance at some of the annual events in and around southern Germany. Due to Europe being so vast and with so many events happening you are often unaware until the very last moment that something is taking place. It may be through word of mouth or by reading an article in the newspaper. At either rate you’ve really got to move it if you want to get the time off from work, the tickets, the accommodation or whatever else it takes. All very spur of the moment sometimes. It’s always nice to plan in advance but in living somewhere where you are not aware of the annual events, they seem to leap out at you all the time.
I made note last year of a few things that I would have liked to attend so that maybe this year I am better prepared. The advent of regular work also opens up a much larger horizon, not only through the ability to request freebies in the hotels but also with the added advantage of regular income. 2002 / 2003 should be a right old hoot. Better that I stick to the news of the moment for now however.
Life has been really busy with things around the house and the grand attempt to finish off as much of the outside renovation work as possible whilst the sun continues to shine. As you no doubt have been seeing on the telly and in the papers, Europe is having some of the worst floods for over 100 years. Luckily this has not been too serious here in the west of the continent. It has still been a fairly grey and mediocre kind of Summer so far but at least the rains have been infrequent. The flooding in eastern Germany particularly around Dresden is just terrible. So many historic buildings being literally washed away as the Elbe River slowly but surely surges to levels not seen since 1854. Since the reunification of Germany Dresden has worked almost endlessly to restore its historic buildings which were so badly decimated by the fire bombing of WWII. Now it is all but lost once again. They are expecting the river to peak at 10 metres above some time tonight. With some of the older buildings they had to make the decision to flood the basements prior to the river bursting its banks simply to stop them being completely washed away. The art treasures and museum artefacts have in the main been saved but the damp and humidity is already damaging one of the finest art collections in Europe. The Dresden Opera has lost all most of its props and costumes built up over several centuries. Up stream in Prague where the river has already done its worst they have been left with up to two metres of mud throughout the city which is now baking rock hard in 30 degree plus temperatures.
A larger concern to follow is that more rain is expected this weekend and as the Elbe River traverses Germany to empty itself into the sea at Hamburg there is likely to be wide spread flooding across the breadth of the country. Small villages and towns anywhere within a 10 meter height variation of the Elbe are already in panic mode and sandbagging furiously. One girl I work with whose parents and family live in Dresden cannot even get home to see them or help. Likewise they cannot get out. Even the airport is shut down. Seriously bad business all around. I won’t go on as you probably have it plastered all over your newspapers and TV screens at home.
24.7.02
My Deutschland 1st Anniversary
Well I’ve been a little bit busy over the last few weeks so the Blog traffic has slowed somewhat. Hopefully things will slowly settle in and time will once again be on my side. The daily trips to Frankfurt almost seem to be second nature now and the public transport is generally spot-on except when there are protests, visiting foreign dignitaries, road works or some such to screw it all up.
Our launch into summer was fairly dramatic with temperatures soaring into the mid thirties for over a week only to be followed with several weeks of grey gloom. The last two weeks have been particularly mundane with showers, electrical storms and blustering winds. The wonderful blooms of spring scattered to all points of the compass. I guess you can’t expect the balmy endless waves of warmth that are so common in an Australian summer to be a part of the European experience.
It is coming up to the end of my first year here and in reflection I have to say that I am both very pleased at the way things have gone so far and also shocked at how very, very different it has all been from whatever it was I had at first expected. I realise that this is generally always the case wherever and when ever I throw myself in at the deep end but I guess this was just a little bit more of a loop the loop given the language barrier and subsequent problems with securing work. True to form however fortune favours the brave and I find myself with a future looking brighter than it has for a very long time. It is the first time ever that I am reasonably able to make some long-term plans which might be realistically attainable. Year two shall certainly be the telling of all if I can manage to secure and maintain the current stable arrangements, which are so favoursome to my well-being at the present moment.
Our launch into summer was fairly dramatic with temperatures soaring into the mid thirties for over a week only to be followed with several weeks of grey gloom. The last two weeks have been particularly mundane with showers, electrical storms and blustering winds. The wonderful blooms of spring scattered to all points of the compass. I guess you can’t expect the balmy endless waves of warmth that are so common in an Australian summer to be a part of the European experience.
It is coming up to the end of my first year here and in reflection I have to say that I am both very pleased at the way things have gone so far and also shocked at how very, very different it has all been from whatever it was I had at first expected. I realise that this is generally always the case wherever and when ever I throw myself in at the deep end but I guess this was just a little bit more of a loop the loop given the language barrier and subsequent problems with securing work. True to form however fortune favours the brave and I find myself with a future looking brighter than it has for a very long time. It is the first time ever that I am reasonably able to make some long-term plans which might be realistically attainable. Year two shall certainly be the telling of all if I can manage to secure and maintain the current stable arrangements, which are so favoursome to my well-being at the present moment.
12.7.02
Heidelberg Castle And Fast Trains
I have had my first big outing into the surrounding area of the Odenwald with a trip down to Heidelberg on the last weekend. Bettina and I took the train down there on Saturday.
I guess the first point of interest is the train system itself. Talk about typical German efficiency and technology. When I compare it to the trains to Sydney from the Blue Mountains it makes you feel like you have stepped into a sci-fi film.
There are four main classes of passenger trains which zoom around the place. The R.B. (Regional Bahn) , are the local ones and they use carriages that are very similar to the double decker N.S.W. suburban trains and tend to operate around the city lines and possibly to the next nearest town or two. The next quantum leap forward is the I.R. (Inter-Reggio) or inter–regional. This is the type that we caught to Heidelberg. Next is the E.C. (Euro-City) which tend to travel the long distance routes through Germany or across the border into neighbouring countries. The top class is the I.C.E (Inter City Express) which are the ultra high speed express lines.
All tickets are charged for on a per kilometre basis with different levels of increase for each of the different types of service. The faster the train the more expensive the ticket. Berlin is about 4.5 hours away by the high speed expreess and can cost in peak periods around $800 return. If you were to go by the the I.R. and take maybe 50% longer the same journey can be done for around $130. The I.R.´s still sprint along at about 140kph but it seems pretty slow compared to the 260kph of the I.C.E.´s. Even if it is only a short stage I guess I had better take the fast one at some point just to try it out. Bettina´s annual rail ticket for her daily travel to Stuttgart is an I.C.E. one so we can travel on that for free on Saturdays only with up to five people. Mind you at $5,000 a year you would want to get something back. My Westpac handycard almost needed to have the cardiac paddles when I heard that one.
The trip to Heidelberg only took 35 min but wowee are these trains cool. Smoking and non-smoking compartments, really comfortable seats with wrap around head supports, ultra modern interiors and the the level of noise is so low that it is hard to believe that you are even on a train. They all have buffet cars and because each carriage is split up into a dozen compartments you never get the sense of being over-crowded. The really astonishing thing are the platform clocks which show remaining time to the next train on each platform. When that clock hits zero the train is just grinding to a halt in front of you and it is at the time shown on your timetable not 5 or 10 min either side. Mind blowing....a train system that runs on time...well get down !
We arrived in Heidelberg at around lunch time and caught the bus from the station to the city centre. They were having thier annual Autumn festival street carnival and the Haupstrasse (main street) through the city centre was just heaving with thousands of people, food and market stalls, busking musos and live bands on 4 or 5 sound stages up and down the 3 kilometre length. They had a little bit of everything and the array of musicians was truly fabulous from South American pan pipe troupes to self styled hip hop and house D.J.s sampling and mixing the sound from the desk to a small amp on the side. Street pantomine and Marcel Marceau type mime acts along with the endless array of different beer and wine tents. Biggggg party party.
We spent a few hours wending our way through the flotsam jetsam of humanity and pausing to take in some of the performances. As we reached the top end of the town we turned off to head up the hill to where the Heidelberg Schloss (castle) is located.
The small walk ways weave themselves between the really old houses and up some 327 steps to the castle entrance. The views from the battlements out over old Heildelberg and the Neckar River were simply breath taking. Picture postcard come fairytale.
The castle itself was started by the then Prince Elector Ruprecht III in 1398 and was 220 years in the making as successive rulers added different buildings. It was partially destroyed in the 30 year war in the early 16th C, rebuilt, sacked and destroyed again by the French in the late 16th C and rebuilt yet again.By the latter part of the 17th C locals had started to misuse the outerwalls as a free quarry and used a lot of the stones to build thier houses on the lower slopes and through what is now the old quarter of the city. Luckily in the early part of the 18th C, Count Charles de Graimberg stopped this practice and did all that he could to preserve what remained. Thank god for people with a bit of foresight. What does remain is truly exquisite and the statues, gargoyles and edifice sculpting are more or less all in tact.The gardens within the grounds are massive and are refered to as ``Hortus Palatinus``. (plants of the palace I guess). Designed by Salomon de Caus, who was very famous in his time, the gardens were refered to by contempories as the eighth wonder of the world. More than enough room to throw a boomerang around. As Heidelberg is one of the worlds most famous medical universities they have an Apothecary Museum located inside. Really very interesting as it shows the whole history of the pharmacy profession over the past 1000 years.
One of the castle areas that held vast interest for me was the wine making vaults. They have the largest oak wine casks in Europe that were built on site. The larger of the two main casks holds 221,000 litres and is about 20 metres across the front and some 35 metres long. The other one is about two thirds this size but still awe inspiring. Serious stuff. Talk about totally impressed. I was gob smacked. Gives one some inkling of things to put on the Christmas wish list along with the arabian nights costume. I don’t even think Santa could squash this one on his sleigh. All told it was a wonderful day out and it really gave me that long sought feeling that I am finally in amongst it all. Bring on the rest of Europe......yeeehah !
I guess the first point of interest is the train system itself. Talk about typical German efficiency and technology. When I compare it to the trains to Sydney from the Blue Mountains it makes you feel like you have stepped into a sci-fi film.
There are four main classes of passenger trains which zoom around the place. The R.B. (Regional Bahn) , are the local ones and they use carriages that are very similar to the double decker N.S.W. suburban trains and tend to operate around the city lines and possibly to the next nearest town or two. The next quantum leap forward is the I.R. (Inter-Reggio) or inter–regional. This is the type that we caught to Heidelberg. Next is the E.C. (Euro-City) which tend to travel the long distance routes through Germany or across the border into neighbouring countries. The top class is the I.C.E (Inter City Express) which are the ultra high speed express lines.
All tickets are charged for on a per kilometre basis with different levels of increase for each of the different types of service. The faster the train the more expensive the ticket. Berlin is about 4.5 hours away by the high speed expreess and can cost in peak periods around $800 return. If you were to go by the the I.R. and take maybe 50% longer the same journey can be done for around $130. The I.R.´s still sprint along at about 140kph but it seems pretty slow compared to the 260kph of the I.C.E.´s. Even if it is only a short stage I guess I had better take the fast one at some point just to try it out. Bettina´s annual rail ticket for her daily travel to Stuttgart is an I.C.E. one so we can travel on that for free on Saturdays only with up to five people. Mind you at $5,000 a year you would want to get something back. My Westpac handycard almost needed to have the cardiac paddles when I heard that one.
The trip to Heidelberg only took 35 min but wowee are these trains cool. Smoking and non-smoking compartments, really comfortable seats with wrap around head supports, ultra modern interiors and the the level of noise is so low that it is hard to believe that you are even on a train. They all have buffet cars and because each carriage is split up into a dozen compartments you never get the sense of being over-crowded. The really astonishing thing are the platform clocks which show remaining time to the next train on each platform. When that clock hits zero the train is just grinding to a halt in front of you and it is at the time shown on your timetable not 5 or 10 min either side. Mind blowing....a train system that runs on time...well get down !
We arrived in Heidelberg at around lunch time and caught the bus from the station to the city centre. They were having thier annual Autumn festival street carnival and the Haupstrasse (main street) through the city centre was just heaving with thousands of people, food and market stalls, busking musos and live bands on 4 or 5 sound stages up and down the 3 kilometre length. They had a little bit of everything and the array of musicians was truly fabulous from South American pan pipe troupes to self styled hip hop and house D.J.s sampling and mixing the sound from the desk to a small amp on the side. Street pantomine and Marcel Marceau type mime acts along with the endless array of different beer and wine tents. Biggggg party party.
We spent a few hours wending our way through the flotsam jetsam of humanity and pausing to take in some of the performances. As we reached the top end of the town we turned off to head up the hill to where the Heidelberg Schloss (castle) is located.
The small walk ways weave themselves between the really old houses and up some 327 steps to the castle entrance. The views from the battlements out over old Heildelberg and the Neckar River were simply breath taking. Picture postcard come fairytale.
The castle itself was started by the then Prince Elector Ruprecht III in 1398 and was 220 years in the making as successive rulers added different buildings. It was partially destroyed in the 30 year war in the early 16th C, rebuilt, sacked and destroyed again by the French in the late 16th C and rebuilt yet again.By the latter part of the 17th C locals had started to misuse the outerwalls as a free quarry and used a lot of the stones to build thier houses on the lower slopes and through what is now the old quarter of the city. Luckily in the early part of the 18th C, Count Charles de Graimberg stopped this practice and did all that he could to preserve what remained. Thank god for people with a bit of foresight. What does remain is truly exquisite and the statues, gargoyles and edifice sculpting are more or less all in tact.The gardens within the grounds are massive and are refered to as ``Hortus Palatinus``. (plants of the palace I guess). Designed by Salomon de Caus, who was very famous in his time, the gardens were refered to by contempories as the eighth wonder of the world. More than enough room to throw a boomerang around. As Heidelberg is one of the worlds most famous medical universities they have an Apothecary Museum located inside. Really very interesting as it shows the whole history of the pharmacy profession over the past 1000 years.
One of the castle areas that held vast interest for me was the wine making vaults. They have the largest oak wine casks in Europe that were built on site. The larger of the two main casks holds 221,000 litres and is about 20 metres across the front and some 35 metres long. The other one is about two thirds this size but still awe inspiring. Serious stuff. Talk about totally impressed. I was gob smacked. Gives one some inkling of things to put on the Christmas wish list along with the arabian nights costume. I don’t even think Santa could squash this one on his sleigh. All told it was a wonderful day out and it really gave me that long sought feeling that I am finally in amongst it all. Bring on the rest of Europe......yeeehah !
10.6.02
Let's Dig Holes In Deutschland
My partner currently has 4 weeks holidays so this down time between jobs has occurred at a really good time. It means I can be here to give her a hand with some of her house renovation tasks as well as to go out and about for walks in the forest and soak up some of this wonderful, warm, spring sunshine.
This week I have been out at Heppenheim at Bettina’s parents house for 3 days. They are having the front of the house remodeled to incorporate a 3-story staircase that will run from the upstairs apartment down to the basement swimming pool. As most of the construction is going to take place over the existing front garden, all of the flowers, trees and shrubs that they wanted to be saved had to be dug up and replanted in the back garden. On top of this they wanted to save as much of the topsoil as possible given that good soil is very expensive here and what they do have, has taken over 30 years to build up with composting. You may recall from an earlier post that the entire region here is part of the Rhine River Valley and most of the soils have a very high sand content. As a result I ended up digging up some 20sq meters of garden beds and lawn and transporting the "mutter erde" or mother earth into long piles along the fence, away from the building site. We also had to locate the power and water lines for the excavator operator which meant digging a trench some 1.5 meters deep from the house out towards the front gate.
The front pathway from the gate to the front door at the house was paved with granite slabs set in steel reinforced concrete. All of these had to be taken up, numbered and stacked so that they can be re-laid later on as a new patio area. This was one occasion where German engineering was not so overwhelmingly appreciated. It took both of us more than a day to angle grind and hammer drill the 54 slabs off. I could not believe the construction of this path and I have no doubt that, if left alone, would still be in faultless form some 2000 years from now. Heavy-duty stuff. The retired old boy who made the path and front fence in 1970 was a master stone mason who apparently had an arrangement with the local undertakers to collect the granite off cuts produced from the making of tomb stones and crypts, he then used these to build stone walls and pathways. In some ways it all seemed perversely laughable as not only did I discover about 100 muscles that I didn’t know existed until the next day but it left me feeling that I may have to order my own slab of granite for a tombstone. I am still recovering from the ordeal as I write. What a job!
The steel mesh and concrete slab underneath the path was around 40cm thick in places. This had to be cut through at both ends so that when the excavator came to rip it up the steel mesh would not pull at the stone fence or house entry foundations. Talk about totally over the top engineering. At any rate the area is now ready for the builders to move in later this week. Side benefits of the job included getting to try out Alfred’s new sauna after work, drinking his beer and consuming large quantities of Margarite’s traditional German home cooking 3 times a day. Piggy, piggy. To sum up the week I find myself sore as hell and somewhat fatter.
This week I have been out at Heppenheim at Bettina’s parents house for 3 days. They are having the front of the house remodeled to incorporate a 3-story staircase that will run from the upstairs apartment down to the basement swimming pool. As most of the construction is going to take place over the existing front garden, all of the flowers, trees and shrubs that they wanted to be saved had to be dug up and replanted in the back garden. On top of this they wanted to save as much of the topsoil as possible given that good soil is very expensive here and what they do have, has taken over 30 years to build up with composting. You may recall from an earlier post that the entire region here is part of the Rhine River Valley and most of the soils have a very high sand content. As a result I ended up digging up some 20sq meters of garden beds and lawn and transporting the "mutter erde" or mother earth into long piles along the fence, away from the building site. We also had to locate the power and water lines for the excavator operator which meant digging a trench some 1.5 meters deep from the house out towards the front gate.
The front pathway from the gate to the front door at the house was paved with granite slabs set in steel reinforced concrete. All of these had to be taken up, numbered and stacked so that they can be re-laid later on as a new patio area. This was one occasion where German engineering was not so overwhelmingly appreciated. It took both of us more than a day to angle grind and hammer drill the 54 slabs off. I could not believe the construction of this path and I have no doubt that, if left alone, would still be in faultless form some 2000 years from now. Heavy-duty stuff. The retired old boy who made the path and front fence in 1970 was a master stone mason who apparently had an arrangement with the local undertakers to collect the granite off cuts produced from the making of tomb stones and crypts, he then used these to build stone walls and pathways. In some ways it all seemed perversely laughable as not only did I discover about 100 muscles that I didn’t know existed until the next day but it left me feeling that I may have to order my own slab of granite for a tombstone. I am still recovering from the ordeal as I write. What a job!
The steel mesh and concrete slab underneath the path was around 40cm thick in places. This had to be cut through at both ends so that when the excavator came to rip it up the steel mesh would not pull at the stone fence or house entry foundations. Talk about totally over the top engineering. At any rate the area is now ready for the builders to move in later this week. Side benefits of the job included getting to try out Alfred’s new sauna after work, drinking his beer and consuming large quantities of Margarite’s traditional German home cooking 3 times a day. Piggy, piggy. To sum up the week I find myself sore as hell and somewhat fatter.
6.6.02
Spechen Sie Deutsch?
I have now completed my first 13 week language course which I have to say has raised many more questions than answers. By gad what a dastardly language it is.
The golden rule is that there are no rules and you must learn the way of it more by the general melody rather than by hard and fast grammatical rules. Mein Gott !!!! As my work has several different start times I cannot enrol in any of the standard evening courses on offer as I would miss 2 out of every three due to finishing work at different hours. I have decided to commit 2 single weeks a year of my 10 weeks annual leave to doing intensive week-long courses. At least every six months I will have something new to chew on as well as being able to upgrade to different levels if I find that my skills have improved dramatically since the last course.
All told though I am surprised at just how much I am able to understand and read day to day. It is more the speaking part that is proving awkward given the weird tonal inflections which alone separate one meaning from another. Onwards and outwards irrespective. Do or die in Deutschland !
The golden rule is that there are no rules and you must learn the way of it more by the general melody rather than by hard and fast grammatical rules. Mein Gott !!!! As my work has several different start times I cannot enrol in any of the standard evening courses on offer as I would miss 2 out of every three due to finishing work at different hours. I have decided to commit 2 single weeks a year of my 10 weeks annual leave to doing intensive week-long courses. At least every six months I will have something new to chew on as well as being able to upgrade to different levels if I find that my skills have improved dramatically since the last course.
All told though I am surprised at just how much I am able to understand and read day to day. It is more the speaking part that is proving awkward given the weird tonal inflections which alone separate one meaning from another. Onwards and outwards irrespective. Do or die in Deutschland !
28.5.02
Finding A New Water Hole
My friend from the English Club, Nicole, had her birthday last week and to celebrate, David and Lynne along with Bettina and myself caught the train on Saturday night to Egelsbach, about 3 stops up the Frankfurt line, to meet up with her and her partner, Frank. We went out for a very nice meal and a few drinks at one of the local club bars. After much scoffing and sculling we eventually made our way back towards the train station and hence to the hotel over the road named, The End Station, where some more beer sampling was undertaken until the train arrived. Great friends and top food = good times!
To celebrate my newfound job, David and Lynne came around and hijacked me to the infamous Bayerischer Biergarten in North Darmstadt. What a humungous beer garden! It is set in around 5 acres of grounds with 100´s of tables and oodles of chairs spread around in all directions under the huge spreading elm trees. At this point in time the trees were all still bare with only a few starting to show the regrowth of new leaves. Apparently during the summer months it just simply heaves with people. It is known also as a Wirtshaus or host house, which is a name given in reference to the fact, that you can purchase, along with copious quantities of beer, traditional German foods such as pigs trotters and super fatty bratwursts (multi-preservative, high fat, offal tube) and the like. We sampled some of the schwartz bier or black beer as well as a dark wheat beer. Both were very good indeed and it was only the cooling evening that eventually sent us packing. I can imagine it would be a very nice place indeed to while away a lazy summer’s afternoon or two in the shade of all those beautiful trees. Strangely enough the weather seems to be improving almost every day of late. Kismet?
To celebrate my newfound job, David and Lynne came around and hijacked me to the infamous Bayerischer Biergarten in North Darmstadt. What a humungous beer garden! It is set in around 5 acres of grounds with 100´s of tables and oodles of chairs spread around in all directions under the huge spreading elm trees. At this point in time the trees were all still bare with only a few starting to show the regrowth of new leaves. Apparently during the summer months it just simply heaves with people. It is known also as a Wirtshaus or host house, which is a name given in reference to the fact, that you can purchase, along with copious quantities of beer, traditional German foods such as pigs trotters and super fatty bratwursts (multi-preservative, high fat, offal tube) and the like. We sampled some of the schwartz bier or black beer as well as a dark wheat beer. Both were very good indeed and it was only the cooling evening that eventually sent us packing. I can imagine it would be a very nice place indeed to while away a lazy summer’s afternoon or two in the shade of all those beautiful trees. Strangely enough the weather seems to be improving almost every day of late. Kismet?
25.3.02
Trust Me
Wow, these weeks are really flying past lately. It only seems like yesterday that I was sending out the last e-mail. As is true of so much that I encounter over here, I am finding that everything changes a lot faster than one would think possible. There have been a few major changes in the last couple of weeks that have led to some good things. The biggest one is that I am no longer working for Hilton. They decided that my German language skills were not good enough to enable me to interact with the guests on an acceptable level. As I was on probation for the first 2 months they only had to give me 3 days notice which they availed themselves of a week before Easter. I still enjoyed the small amount of time I spent there even if it was somewhat short lived. It is a shame that I won’t get to use the hotel group for my travels but that’s life. Suffice to say, the demise of the Hilton Hamster.
I decided to use the last active week of my monthly rail card to go up to Frankfurt each day and walk around knocking on the doors of prospective employers but with everyone going away for Easter holidays the prospects were grim. I eventually did get lucky with a walk in interview at Trust International who handle the European Central Reservations Desk for ``Leading Hotels Of The World´´ . The company is owned by the Bertleman Media Group, which also owns AOL, Time-Warner and Amazon etc. My new job is to work in the center answering only English speaking calls, which in the main come from England. They have a fabulous Unix software program which is linked via broadband Internet to every hotel in the group so that you have instant access to the current room availability, rates and transport links for booking transfers. I have never seen anything quite as fast as this before. There is no waiting for pages to download to the screen, one click and it is right there in front of you. There are different desks for different languages in the office. One is the French / Italian / Spanish desk, one for Greek / Middle East countries, one is for Scandinavian countries, one for German / Slavic and my one is referred to as The Nordic Desk for American / English callers. The contract conditions are fantastic with lots and lots of holidays and bonuses as well as a good pay increase over the Hilton offer. No weekends or nights and no dress regulations other than, no blue jeans. It was as if it were tailor made for my immediate needs. No face-to-face customers to deal with and no horror hours. Every time the phone rings it displays the language of the caller on the other end. Only if I see ENG. on the display do I pick it up and handle the call. When there are no incoming calls you can read a book or surf the web. They are not into this call center monitoring where you are timed on the speed of your calls etc. Some calls can take 45 minutes, others just 5 and on the quiet days you can apparently have a lot of time to yourself. Fingers crossed that this job lasts a little longer than the last one. I start on the 29th of April so it has given me a few more weeks off to do other bits.
I decided to use the last active week of my monthly rail card to go up to Frankfurt each day and walk around knocking on the doors of prospective employers but with everyone going away for Easter holidays the prospects were grim. I eventually did get lucky with a walk in interview at Trust International who handle the European Central Reservations Desk for ``Leading Hotels Of The World´´ . The company is owned by the Bertleman Media Group, which also owns AOL, Time-Warner and Amazon etc. My new job is to work in the center answering only English speaking calls, which in the main come from England. They have a fabulous Unix software program which is linked via broadband Internet to every hotel in the group so that you have instant access to the current room availability, rates and transport links for booking transfers. I have never seen anything quite as fast as this before. There is no waiting for pages to download to the screen, one click and it is right there in front of you. There are different desks for different languages in the office. One is the French / Italian / Spanish desk, one for Greek / Middle East countries, one is for Scandinavian countries, one for German / Slavic and my one is referred to as The Nordic Desk for American / English callers. The contract conditions are fantastic with lots and lots of holidays and bonuses as well as a good pay increase over the Hilton offer. No weekends or nights and no dress regulations other than, no blue jeans. It was as if it were tailor made for my immediate needs. No face-to-face customers to deal with and no horror hours. Every time the phone rings it displays the language of the caller on the other end. Only if I see ENG. on the display do I pick it up and handle the call. When there are no incoming calls you can read a book or surf the web. They are not into this call center monitoring where you are timed on the speed of your calls etc. Some calls can take 45 minutes, others just 5 and on the quiet days you can apparently have a lot of time to yourself. Fingers crossed that this job lasts a little longer than the last one. I start on the 29th of April so it has given me a few more weeks off to do other bits.
9.3.02
Oooo Thanks An Olympus Trip 35 !!
My birthday in February went exeptionally well and as Thomas here has his birthday only 8 days after mine we celebrated on the weekend in between with a host of various beers and friends. Thomas gave me a second hand Olympus camera which is identical to the one I got on my 10th birthday and which had long since ceased to function. This one however is in mint condition and takes fabulous pics just like my original. Way cool! Other wins included the Joanne Harris book, a copy of Simon Winchester´s, ``The Surgeon Of Crowthorne´´, as well as a basket full of premium German pilsner from various regions. Bettina gave me a lever arch file binder with a title preface which reads,``Learning By Drinking´´. It will be used to house all of the labels from the beer and wine bottles that I am collecting here. My German language lessons began here by reading the labels and getting translations from Thomas. This remarkable form of learning is not only building a great library of labels but I find myself enthused at all hours of the day and night to vigorously pursue my studies with a true thirst for knowledge and that which lies beneath.
28.2.02
Spike Milligan - We Will Miss You!
Unfortunately this month I won’t be including a book review as the ones I would most like to cover are on loan at the moment. Hence I have no passages to quote. Maybe next month. This month...``And now for something completely different! ´´
I thought as tribute to one of my favourite comedians I would include some small gems from that comic genius who was Spike Milligan. Grandfather of Monty Python, Ripping Yarns, Q shows and all the inherent silliness that became the trademark of British comedy. His passing marks not only the end of an era in comedy but also an end to a life which gave us over 60 books as well as countless films and radio shows. ``The Last Goon Show of All´´, was one thing but the last goon of all is something else altogether. You may recall him in ``The Life Of Brian´´, as the man in the crowd scene holding the shoe who gets trampled by the thronging masses. It is something of a sad moment, to reflect on so many funny moments and anecdotes and the endless laughter over the years. I hope you enjoy these extracts even if they are known to you already. Farewell Eccles, Henry and Min! From the pen of Spike some quotes and poems...
Teeth
English Teeth, English Teeth!
Shining in the sun
A part of British heritage
Aye, each and every one.
English Teeth, Happy Teeth!
Always having fun
Champing down on bits of fish
And sausages half done.
English Teeth, HEROES’ Teeth
Hear them click and clack!
Lets sing a song of praise to them –
Three cheers for the Brown Grey and Black.
``Money can’t buy you friends but it can buy you a better class of enemy! ´´
``It was a perfect marriage. She didn’t want to and he couldn’t. ´´
``I thought I’d begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine. ´´
``My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic. ´´
``I don’t mind dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens. ´´
His requested epitaph on his tomb.... ``I told you I was ill! ´´
After receiving a CBE in 1992.... ``I can’t see the sense in it really. It makes me a Commander Of the British Empire. They might as well make me a Commander of Milton Keynes. At least that exists. ´´
Celebrating his 75th birthday.... ``When I look back, the fondest memory I have is not really of The Goons. It is of a girl called Julia with enormous breasts. ´´
In reply to Prince Charles on a letter praising his lifetime achievement comedy award...``Little grovelling bastard. ´´
There was a young man named Wyatt
Whose voice was exceedingly quiet
And then one day
It faded away
.................
Said Hamlet to Ophelia,
I’ll do a sketch of thee,
What kind of pencil shall I use,
2B or not 2B?
And last but not least his key phrase
``You silly twisted boy. ´´
I thought as tribute to one of my favourite comedians I would include some small gems from that comic genius who was Spike Milligan. Grandfather of Monty Python, Ripping Yarns, Q shows and all the inherent silliness that became the trademark of British comedy. His passing marks not only the end of an era in comedy but also an end to a life which gave us over 60 books as well as countless films and radio shows. ``The Last Goon Show of All´´, was one thing but the last goon of all is something else altogether. You may recall him in ``The Life Of Brian´´, as the man in the crowd scene holding the shoe who gets trampled by the thronging masses. It is something of a sad moment, to reflect on so many funny moments and anecdotes and the endless laughter over the years. I hope you enjoy these extracts even if they are known to you already. Farewell Eccles, Henry and Min! From the pen of Spike some quotes and poems...
Teeth
English Teeth, English Teeth!
Shining in the sun
A part of British heritage
Aye, each and every one.
English Teeth, Happy Teeth!
Always having fun
Champing down on bits of fish
And sausages half done.
English Teeth, HEROES’ Teeth
Hear them click and clack!
Lets sing a song of praise to them –
Three cheers for the Brown Grey and Black.
``Money can’t buy you friends but it can buy you a better class of enemy! ´´
``It was a perfect marriage. She didn’t want to and he couldn’t. ´´
``I thought I’d begin by reading a poem by Shakespeare, but then I thought, why should I? He never reads any of mine. ´´
``My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic. ´´
``I don’t mind dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens. ´´
His requested epitaph on his tomb.... ``I told you I was ill! ´´
After receiving a CBE in 1992.... ``I can’t see the sense in it really. It makes me a Commander Of the British Empire. They might as well make me a Commander of Milton Keynes. At least that exists. ´´
Celebrating his 75th birthday.... ``When I look back, the fondest memory I have is not really of The Goons. It is of a girl called Julia with enormous breasts. ´´
In reply to Prince Charles on a letter praising his lifetime achievement comedy award...``Little grovelling bastard. ´´
There was a young man named Wyatt
Whose voice was exceedingly quiet
And then one day
It faded away
.................
Said Hamlet to Ophelia,
I’ll do a sketch of thee,
What kind of pencil shall I use,
2B or not 2B?
And last but not least his key phrase
``You silly twisted boy. ´´
25.2.02
This Is Not The Danish I Get For Breakfast Back Home
I have been going to the English Club here in Darmstadt for the last couple of Wednesday nights. A really good bunch of people who having been really kind in offering all kinds of assistance. They have regular film nights, quiz evenings and social dining events. The club secretary David, has given me a loan of all the German language course books and tapes he used during the last three years. He has said that even with company sponsored intensive language courses (these cost around $1200 per week for 30 hours), both he and his wife Lynne were not speaking fluent German until they were at it for two and half years. God only knows how long it will take me.
It really is a monster language and so very different in structure and pronunciation to English. My tongue is having to find whole new contortions to get the right sounds and I am sure that I have managed to tickle my tonsils with it on more than one occasion.
Feels kind of funky like your choking yourself before you can yell HELP! All I can do is perservere and muddle on regardless.
It is at times like this that I wish I had payed a bit more attention to my German teacher, Henry Winkler, during my school years although some of the basic rules of the language that I have found so very useful to date were never explained to me at any point during those years. On top of that my friend Thomas has been throwing me bits of Danish to show some of the Nordish similarities.
Eg:
Dane: Smukke pige, jig elske dig !
Phon: Smoog-e pee-ah, yiiee elska dayee
Tran: Beautiful girl, I love you !
Aust: Smooch piggy, I really dig you
Dane: Jig kann snakke lille Dansk, jig er Australisk
Phon: Yiiee carn snarga leel Dansk, yiee ur Ostrarlisk
Tran: I can speak little Danish, I am Australian
Aust: Just shut up and kiss me
All a lot of fun but seriously confusing in the midst of all the rest of the gutteral germanic sounds I am trying so hard to learn.
It really is a monster language and so very different in structure and pronunciation to English. My tongue is having to find whole new contortions to get the right sounds and I am sure that I have managed to tickle my tonsils with it on more than one occasion.
Feels kind of funky like your choking yourself before you can yell HELP! All I can do is perservere and muddle on regardless.
It is at times like this that I wish I had payed a bit more attention to my German teacher, Henry Winkler, during my school years although some of the basic rules of the language that I have found so very useful to date were never explained to me at any point during those years. On top of that my friend Thomas has been throwing me bits of Danish to show some of the Nordish similarities.
Eg:
Dane: Smukke pige, jig elske dig !
Phon: Smoog-e pee-ah, yiiee elska dayee
Tran: Beautiful girl, I love you !
Aust: Smooch piggy, I really dig you
Dane: Jig kann snakke lille Dansk, jig er Australisk
Phon: Yiiee carn snarga leel Dansk, yiee ur Ostrarlisk
Tran: I can speak little Danish, I am Australian
Aust: Just shut up and kiss me
All a lot of fun but seriously confusing in the midst of all the rest of the gutteral germanic sounds I am trying so hard to learn.
24.2.02
Birth Of The Hilton Hamster
Well I may not be in Oz or in Kansas for that matter but a little magic is still happening to me over here once in a while.
I finally scored a new job which I have to say is a huge relief after 7 months of struggling through the twilight zone of unemployment in a foreign country. I am working for the Hilton Frankfurt as a Night Auditor. Yes I know, famous last words, no more night work for me etc. I can here all the moans emanating from Australia to here but in all honesty, it is at least a job and one that I need little training for which only leaves me the language barrier to contend with. There are a huge number of benefits associated with working for a company like this. To start with the only items of my uniform I had to supply were my socks, jocks and shoes. I get to stay in Hilton Hotels all over Germany, of which there are currently seventeen, with breakfast included for free. I can stay anywhere else in Europe and America for US$25 per night and in England for ₤15 per night. As long as I stay with the company it will bye-bye backpacker hostels for my travels around Europe. They have 2300+ hotels world wide and they encourage the transfer of staff between hotels. Recently they purchased the Scandic Group of hotels in Europe which bolstered their number in Europe by over 150 sites. I get 6 weeks annual leave, 8 weeks sick leave per year and one months salary as Christmas money each year. It takes me about one and a half hours each way to travel there but I only do 4 x 10 hour shifts then take 3 days off. One other perk is that with working nights the union rules here get you a tax free shift allowance of about AUS$300 per month which for me covers the cost of the monthly train ticket with some to spare. I was never offered anything like this in Australia. There is of course the ubiquitous 2 month probation period but short of some problem arising with the language barrier I should get through that without any major dramas.
It is a large hotel at around 360 rooms and it is only 2½ years old. It has all the latest whiz-bang techno bits and bobs and it runs so smoothly in all departments that you would barely know that you had so many rooms in house. The central area is a glass atrium rising 12 floors to the stadium style ceiling, it has 4 glass walled lifts which rise up on one side giving dizzying views to the restaurant and reception below as well as a really good vista over the Frankfurt city skyline through the massive bank of glass windows that cover the opposite side. At night it really is quite marvelous particularly as the Old Opera House with its massive statue of a war horse mounted on the roof, gargoyles and Greek styled amphoras, looms into view under the floodlights that surround it. The other buildings although more modern are quite spectacular as well and this includes the Deutsches Bank building which is currently the tallest in Europe at around 260 meters. The Hilton has won the, ``Best Business Hotel Award´´, in Europe for the last couple of years. So all in all it can´t hurt the look of my somewhat battered and world weary resume. Never the less it is work. Yahoo buckeroo !!!
They have a 2 month orientation period that covers some training as well as history and local knowledge. We have a test at the end of the orientation period which everyone must pass to continue employment and this is something of a worry as the orientation days are presented wholly in German. I have managed to get some translation advice from one of the girls in my group who speaks 4 languages but short of translating the entire company rules and regs and history on my own, this part is looking a little shakey. In the short term I will just have to ask as many people at work, as many different questions as I can and try to assimilate the required knowledge.
On the second of these orientation days we got to go for a walk around Frankfurt with a man called Deiter who has been running these walks for over 20 years to raise funds for the benefit of the local artists club (Künstlerclub). The club has art shows, live music, theatre and dance and it runs on a regular basis year round. Entry is free to all shows and includes 2 glasses of wine but to leave the building costs €10. It was a really great afternoon as he took us to see the old churches, monasteries, museum locations, best restaurants, markets, cinemas and shopping areas as well as towers and vantage points for the best views around the town. We stopped at the Roman ruins which are the earliest known beginnings of Frankfurt, these were uncovered only recently when they started the digging for the construction of a multi-level carpark. Thankfully the carpark project was killed off and the ruins of the Roman house, well and courtyard have been left in place for all to enjoy.
The city of Frankfurt was 85% obliterated during the war and unfortunately the people who were responsible for the rebuilding simply tore down the little left standing of the historic buildings which may well have been saved with some applied effort. Hence it is as such, a very modern city. They were going to tear down the remains of the Old Opera House which had been all but destroyed by fire but upon the outcry of thousands of people in Frankfurt it was slowly and successfully rebuilt. Some opponents to the project (anti-bolshoivists) set fire to the building part way through the restoration but it was saved for a second time as hundreds of locals turned out to fight the flames. It stands today as one of the major cultural landmarks of the city. Of other things like the timber and mortar frame buildings that are so typical of the old German style of architecture, little remains. There is only one original building left of this design although due to a resurgence of interest in the 60´s and 70´s a large number of replica buildings were contructed. These at least give some of the market squares and lane ways a truly medieval air. The wander around town will not only help me to help guests but is also of immense benefit to me as my monthly rail ticket allows me to take an extra person to Frankfurt for free on weekends as well as after 7 at night during the week days. So I guess I will be going there occaisionally on days off for the English Cinema or to see concerts or art museums etc. The Museum of Modern Art is a real head turner and from the little I have seen so far, looks set to recieve a more thorough viewing. Entry is free there every Wednesday which should at some point coincide with my own days off. Rock on!!!
I finally scored a new job which I have to say is a huge relief after 7 months of struggling through the twilight zone of unemployment in a foreign country. I am working for the Hilton Frankfurt as a Night Auditor. Yes I know, famous last words, no more night work for me etc. I can here all the moans emanating from Australia to here but in all honesty, it is at least a job and one that I need little training for which only leaves me the language barrier to contend with. There are a huge number of benefits associated with working for a company like this. To start with the only items of my uniform I had to supply were my socks, jocks and shoes. I get to stay in Hilton Hotels all over Germany, of which there are currently seventeen, with breakfast included for free. I can stay anywhere else in Europe and America for US$25 per night and in England for ₤15 per night. As long as I stay with the company it will bye-bye backpacker hostels for my travels around Europe. They have 2300+ hotels world wide and they encourage the transfer of staff between hotels. Recently they purchased the Scandic Group of hotels in Europe which bolstered their number in Europe by over 150 sites. I get 6 weeks annual leave, 8 weeks sick leave per year and one months salary as Christmas money each year. It takes me about one and a half hours each way to travel there but I only do 4 x 10 hour shifts then take 3 days off. One other perk is that with working nights the union rules here get you a tax free shift allowance of about AUS$300 per month which for me covers the cost of the monthly train ticket with some to spare. I was never offered anything like this in Australia. There is of course the ubiquitous 2 month probation period but short of some problem arising with the language barrier I should get through that without any major dramas.
It is a large hotel at around 360 rooms and it is only 2½ years old. It has all the latest whiz-bang techno bits and bobs and it runs so smoothly in all departments that you would barely know that you had so many rooms in house. The central area is a glass atrium rising 12 floors to the stadium style ceiling, it has 4 glass walled lifts which rise up on one side giving dizzying views to the restaurant and reception below as well as a really good vista over the Frankfurt city skyline through the massive bank of glass windows that cover the opposite side. At night it really is quite marvelous particularly as the Old Opera House with its massive statue of a war horse mounted on the roof, gargoyles and Greek styled amphoras, looms into view under the floodlights that surround it. The other buildings although more modern are quite spectacular as well and this includes the Deutsches Bank building which is currently the tallest in Europe at around 260 meters. The Hilton has won the, ``Best Business Hotel Award´´, in Europe for the last couple of years. So all in all it can´t hurt the look of my somewhat battered and world weary resume. Never the less it is work. Yahoo buckeroo !!!
They have a 2 month orientation period that covers some training as well as history and local knowledge. We have a test at the end of the orientation period which everyone must pass to continue employment and this is something of a worry as the orientation days are presented wholly in German. I have managed to get some translation advice from one of the girls in my group who speaks 4 languages but short of translating the entire company rules and regs and history on my own, this part is looking a little shakey. In the short term I will just have to ask as many people at work, as many different questions as I can and try to assimilate the required knowledge.
On the second of these orientation days we got to go for a walk around Frankfurt with a man called Deiter who has been running these walks for over 20 years to raise funds for the benefit of the local artists club (Künstlerclub). The club has art shows, live music, theatre and dance and it runs on a regular basis year round. Entry is free to all shows and includes 2 glasses of wine but to leave the building costs €10. It was a really great afternoon as he took us to see the old churches, monasteries, museum locations, best restaurants, markets, cinemas and shopping areas as well as towers and vantage points for the best views around the town. We stopped at the Roman ruins which are the earliest known beginnings of Frankfurt, these were uncovered only recently when they started the digging for the construction of a multi-level carpark. Thankfully the carpark project was killed off and the ruins of the Roman house, well and courtyard have been left in place for all to enjoy.
The city of Frankfurt was 85% obliterated during the war and unfortunately the people who were responsible for the rebuilding simply tore down the little left standing of the historic buildings which may well have been saved with some applied effort. Hence it is as such, a very modern city. They were going to tear down the remains of the Old Opera House which had been all but destroyed by fire but upon the outcry of thousands of people in Frankfurt it was slowly and successfully rebuilt. Some opponents to the project (anti-bolshoivists) set fire to the building part way through the restoration but it was saved for a second time as hundreds of locals turned out to fight the flames. It stands today as one of the major cultural landmarks of the city. Of other things like the timber and mortar frame buildings that are so typical of the old German style of architecture, little remains. There is only one original building left of this design although due to a resurgence of interest in the 60´s and 70´s a large number of replica buildings were contructed. These at least give some of the market squares and lane ways a truly medieval air. The wander around town will not only help me to help guests but is also of immense benefit to me as my monthly rail ticket allows me to take an extra person to Frankfurt for free on weekends as well as after 7 at night during the week days. So I guess I will be going there occaisionally on days off for the English Cinema or to see concerts or art museums etc. The Museum of Modern Art is a real head turner and from the little I have seen so far, looks set to recieve a more thorough viewing. Entry is free there every Wednesday which should at some point coincide with my own days off. Rock on!!!
26.1.02
Here Comes The Euro
Hello again to you all. The year has moved into that stage where the business of getting my life on track has had to take precedent over the sight seeing and general holiday mode enjoyed thus far. February 1st saw the end of my first 6 months here and feels to be something of a major milestone given the inherent difficulties that I have weathered to get this far with the language and bureaucratic barriers.
We have undergone the introduction of the Euro € currency as of January 1st and the ensuing problems of not only the inherent confusion in having two different currencies in circulation but a real increase in the cost of most goods as retailers took advantage of the change over to up their prices. In some cases almost doubling the effective cost. It is at times like this you realise the importance of bodies such as the Department of Fair (Dinkum) Trading in Australia. They don´t seem to have anything like that here and as a result some businesses have gotten away with nothing short of highway robbery. An example is the local dry cleaners whose charges for a pair of trousers jumped from DM4.50 to €4.50, in Australian terms this is about $4.10 to $7.90. Food items have risen in a lot of cases as have alcohol and cigarettes.
Eleven of the twelve member countries in the European Union have changed to the new system, with the exception of the United Kingdom. Each has been able to design one side of the coins released in their country to depict their own national identity. It means that although the denomination side of the coins are the same for all countries the flip sides have different designs. Ireland has the Harp of Erin, Germany the Brandenburg Tor, Holland has Queen Beatrix etc. etc. Banknotes across the board are all identical. The only oddity being the word Euro written in Greek characters under the English word as their lettering does not use the standard English alphabet and hence the EURO is spelt EYPΩ. Nice also to be talking something more familiar in Euros and cents rather than Deutsch Marks and pfennigs. The current exchange rate is about €1.10 to the U.S. dollar and about AUD$1 to € 0.57 cents.
I was sent a news clipping from The Melbourne Age the other day that points out that you will no longer be able to spend a penny when in Europe, from now on you will have too €uro-nate. Very funny, tee hee hah hah !
They have introduced a new tax on tobacco as well that goes to fund anti-terrorism measures. Anyone who is not smoking in Germany is a social reprobate and not doing there bit to fight the forces of evil that threaten our peaceful existence. Tobacco Against Terrorism....Smoking Saves Lives....Butts Not Bombs....Roll Up Against Regimes....Ashtrays Not Ashrams.....interesting twist, heh! I should be in the t-shirt logo business.
On a brighter note I now have my Social Security Registration and Permanent Residents Permit repleat with holgraphic eagle and other funky bits including the most frightening part, my mug shot. This should be a major help in the search for work. The real catch over here is that you can´t get work without the Permit and you can´t get the Permit until you have work. The only way around it is to find an employer who will sponser you from the very beginning aand provide a contract prior to your starting work so that you have the time to apply for the permit. The employer must also prove to the relative governmental department that you are not taking a job that can be filled by a German national citizen. So in reality it is probably my greatest hurdle overcome and a cause for some celebration. Fizzz pop glug!
I have made several trips to Frankfurt in the last few weeks for work interviews and to undertake work tests. They have a very strange system here that means that most employers want you to undertake the proposed tasks required in the new job for an hour or so to make sure that you are capable. The set up is O.K. but it generally means that you end up going to the same place 3 times in the course of securing work. Once for an interview, once for a work test and once to finalise all the formalities by filling in forms and signing the Vertrag or contract. It is quite normal here to have a binding contract between employers and employees.
One of the jobs that I went for was for a part time position with United Parcel Service (UPS), which was only for 3 hours per day Mon-Fri. What I did not realise was that they wanted a minimum twelve month contract to begin with and the option to extend it for a further twelve months. In Germany if you are going to have 2 jobs, by law you must let each employer know about the other. Who ever has the first contract can say no to the second if the hours are likely to conflict with what they have scheduled for you. As UPS have a 3 shift rotating roster around the clock it meant that if I found full time work, I would not be able to accept it as the hours would ultimately conflict with when the second employer wanted me to work. In some ways it is a really stupid arrangement being locked into 3 hours per day for up to 2 years and no way of increasing your weekly income. Then this is Germany. Given that it costs around one third of the money I would make with them just to travel there each day on the train it all became quite laughable. The 10.30pm till 2am shift was another glitch as I would have had to wait for 4 hours after work till the trains began again to get home. To too much. I have another interview next Monday with the Hilton Hotel Group but that is some way off as yet and may prove to be a lucky break. Wait and see is the name of the game.
Another item that bears thinking about is the way the system is structured for the care of the general masses. Wages or salaries here are all paid monthly. From the gross amount you receive approx 42% goes to health care and to the social security to fund unemployment, old age pensions and your own health insurance. Of this 42% the employer pays half which leaves your input at around 21%. This is not however the end of it as you then have to pay your income tax on the overall amount which is a further 20-22%. Given the cost of petrol and public transport even getting to work unless you are fortunate enough to be within push bike distance is a fair chunk of the months income. Frankfurt is 23km away from here and with a discounted weekly ticket for the train it works out at about AUD$70 p.w. or AUD$250 p.m. discounted.
Bettina´s father is in the proccess of installing a new sauna at his house. This of course means that I will be going to Heppenheim to help him put it together when it arives next weekend. He has a heated pool built into the cellar so the sauna will really give it a nice finishing touch. I hope these Scandenavians know what they´re doing as all I need now is to find a suitable birch tree to provide some nice flexible branches so that we can beat each other senseless then steam like a dim sim before plunging into a nearby snow drift to cool off.
As for other building work on the renovations at home, the main body has ground to a halt as it is far to cold in the attic to do any work and in the lower areas where we are plastering the temperature is not high enough for the plaster to cure properly. As a result quite a bit of effort has been going into the garden with the pruning of the citrus, apple, quince and mulberry trees. With the very heavy recent snows we had a large build up on top of the ancient ivy plant which covers the rear wall to the property. The weight of it all became to much and pulled the abundant cover clean off the wall. Branches up to 10cm thick literally just splintered and as a lot of it had grown onto the next door neighbours shed roof and under its eaves, it promptly took a part of that as well. Needless to say there has been a major surplus of ivy to cut up and dispose of as well as the propping up of the remaining sections of the plant. Luckily the neighbour had already been considering the removal of the shed for some time as it was becoming to old and damp to be of any use for storage.
I finally begin my language course at the Volkshochschule on Feb 18th. It runs two nights a week for about 6 months. I hope that the teachers have a reasonable grasp of English so that I may at least ask questions where relevant. When I went down to see the selection panel last week both of the people I spoke to had virtually no English skills and as a result I was left feeling that if the teachers are equally poorly versed in English then I was going to find it quite a hard slog without the aid of elaborate and time consuming charades. Next Monday shall tell all no doubt.
We have undergone the introduction of the Euro € currency as of January 1st and the ensuing problems of not only the inherent confusion in having two different currencies in circulation but a real increase in the cost of most goods as retailers took advantage of the change over to up their prices. In some cases almost doubling the effective cost. It is at times like this you realise the importance of bodies such as the Department of Fair (Dinkum) Trading in Australia. They don´t seem to have anything like that here and as a result some businesses have gotten away with nothing short of highway robbery. An example is the local dry cleaners whose charges for a pair of trousers jumped from DM4.50 to €4.50, in Australian terms this is about $4.10 to $7.90. Food items have risen in a lot of cases as have alcohol and cigarettes.
Eleven of the twelve member countries in the European Union have changed to the new system, with the exception of the United Kingdom. Each has been able to design one side of the coins released in their country to depict their own national identity. It means that although the denomination side of the coins are the same for all countries the flip sides have different designs. Ireland has the Harp of Erin, Germany the Brandenburg Tor, Holland has Queen Beatrix etc. etc. Banknotes across the board are all identical. The only oddity being the word Euro written in Greek characters under the English word as their lettering does not use the standard English alphabet and hence the EURO is spelt EYPΩ. Nice also to be talking something more familiar in Euros and cents rather than Deutsch Marks and pfennigs. The current exchange rate is about €1.10 to the U.S. dollar and about AUD$1 to € 0.57 cents.
I was sent a news clipping from The Melbourne Age the other day that points out that you will no longer be able to spend a penny when in Europe, from now on you will have too €uro-nate. Very funny, tee hee hah hah !
They have introduced a new tax on tobacco as well that goes to fund anti-terrorism measures. Anyone who is not smoking in Germany is a social reprobate and not doing there bit to fight the forces of evil that threaten our peaceful existence. Tobacco Against Terrorism....Smoking Saves Lives....Butts Not Bombs....Roll Up Against Regimes....Ashtrays Not Ashrams.....interesting twist, heh! I should be in the t-shirt logo business.
On a brighter note I now have my Social Security Registration and Permanent Residents Permit repleat with holgraphic eagle and other funky bits including the most frightening part, my mug shot. This should be a major help in the search for work. The real catch over here is that you can´t get work without the Permit and you can´t get the Permit until you have work. The only way around it is to find an employer who will sponser you from the very beginning aand provide a contract prior to your starting work so that you have the time to apply for the permit. The employer must also prove to the relative governmental department that you are not taking a job that can be filled by a German national citizen. So in reality it is probably my greatest hurdle overcome and a cause for some celebration. Fizzz pop glug!
I have made several trips to Frankfurt in the last few weeks for work interviews and to undertake work tests. They have a very strange system here that means that most employers want you to undertake the proposed tasks required in the new job for an hour or so to make sure that you are capable. The set up is O.K. but it generally means that you end up going to the same place 3 times in the course of securing work. Once for an interview, once for a work test and once to finalise all the formalities by filling in forms and signing the Vertrag or contract. It is quite normal here to have a binding contract between employers and employees.
One of the jobs that I went for was for a part time position with United Parcel Service (UPS), which was only for 3 hours per day Mon-Fri. What I did not realise was that they wanted a minimum twelve month contract to begin with and the option to extend it for a further twelve months. In Germany if you are going to have 2 jobs, by law you must let each employer know about the other. Who ever has the first contract can say no to the second if the hours are likely to conflict with what they have scheduled for you. As UPS have a 3 shift rotating roster around the clock it meant that if I found full time work, I would not be able to accept it as the hours would ultimately conflict with when the second employer wanted me to work. In some ways it is a really stupid arrangement being locked into 3 hours per day for up to 2 years and no way of increasing your weekly income. Then this is Germany. Given that it costs around one third of the money I would make with them just to travel there each day on the train it all became quite laughable. The 10.30pm till 2am shift was another glitch as I would have had to wait for 4 hours after work till the trains began again to get home. To too much. I have another interview next Monday with the Hilton Hotel Group but that is some way off as yet and may prove to be a lucky break. Wait and see is the name of the game.
Another item that bears thinking about is the way the system is structured for the care of the general masses. Wages or salaries here are all paid monthly. From the gross amount you receive approx 42% goes to health care and to the social security to fund unemployment, old age pensions and your own health insurance. Of this 42% the employer pays half which leaves your input at around 21%. This is not however the end of it as you then have to pay your income tax on the overall amount which is a further 20-22%. Given the cost of petrol and public transport even getting to work unless you are fortunate enough to be within push bike distance is a fair chunk of the months income. Frankfurt is 23km away from here and with a discounted weekly ticket for the train it works out at about AUD$70 p.w. or AUD$250 p.m. discounted.
Bettina´s father is in the proccess of installing a new sauna at his house. This of course means that I will be going to Heppenheim to help him put it together when it arives next weekend. He has a heated pool built into the cellar so the sauna will really give it a nice finishing touch. I hope these Scandenavians know what they´re doing as all I need now is to find a suitable birch tree to provide some nice flexible branches so that we can beat each other senseless then steam like a dim sim before plunging into a nearby snow drift to cool off.
As for other building work on the renovations at home, the main body has ground to a halt as it is far to cold in the attic to do any work and in the lower areas where we are plastering the temperature is not high enough for the plaster to cure properly. As a result quite a bit of effort has been going into the garden with the pruning of the citrus, apple, quince and mulberry trees. With the very heavy recent snows we had a large build up on top of the ancient ivy plant which covers the rear wall to the property. The weight of it all became to much and pulled the abundant cover clean off the wall. Branches up to 10cm thick literally just splintered and as a lot of it had grown onto the next door neighbours shed roof and under its eaves, it promptly took a part of that as well. Needless to say there has been a major surplus of ivy to cut up and dispose of as well as the propping up of the remaining sections of the plant. Luckily the neighbour had already been considering the removal of the shed for some time as it was becoming to old and damp to be of any use for storage.
I finally begin my language course at the Volkshochschule on Feb 18th. It runs two nights a week for about 6 months. I hope that the teachers have a reasonable grasp of English so that I may at least ask questions where relevant. When I went down to see the selection panel last week both of the people I spoke to had virtually no English skills and as a result I was left feeling that if the teachers are equally poorly versed in English then I was going to find it quite a hard slog without the aid of elaborate and time consuming charades. Next Monday shall tell all no doubt.