Jengonda
Jennifer Gonda Joined: September 16th 2008
Logged in: December 3rd 2008
Logged in: December 3rd 2008
In addition to that, I plan to make new friends, experience European culture, resurrect my German language skills, enjoy German delicacies, and of course sample some tasty Bier!
Hope you all enjoy reading about my adventures!
Jen
To learn more about the program, check this out:
http://www.acgusa.org/about2.php?pagename=Fellowships&subpagename=For+Other+Mid-Level+Professionals&toppagename=Urban+Affairs%2FLocal+Government&mlinkid=33
Travel Blog Posts
In Munich I found out that with a few exceptions, there really aren't school buses in Germany. The kids are taught to ride public transport around the age of 6. Younger students attend schools in their neighborhoods and walk. The more I think about this, the more it all makes sense. Here we are with a massive deficit in our ability to run an effective public transport system and a huge overrun in the school system budget - partially driven by the cost of busing. Could we solve both problems in one fell swoop? I suspect parents will be concerned about safety on a system open to the public. But what if part of the busing money went back to the classroom? And some of the rest could go to build a better transport system... Wishful ... read more
Ein Prosit!
Take Summerfest times 7 and you get 7 million people, in tents holding 7000 people drinking the 7 local beers of Munich! Really, this has got to be the most amazing sight. And the best thing is that the people are so festive and happy, which makes for a very fun time. In addition to the beer tents, there is an entire carnival/amusement park at the festgrounds with rollercoasters and every other ride you can imagine. In fact, local residents are sensitive about the fact that the festival is not just about beer. And they are right, after a couple beers, the rides are very appealing! Our hostess, Christiane, reserved a table for us in the Spaten tent - in an area reserved for local city officials. We were supposed to be sharing the table with ... read more
Internet access and spare time have proven difficult to come by over the past week. Now that I am reconnected, many posts will be forthcoming. Since I know you are anxiously awaiting to hear about Oktoberfest. Here is a little preview!!... read more
City Hall at Night
Ok, I am starting to feel blogging guilt. Started typing this over a week ago and am just now gettting to publish it. Don't think I am cut out for this in the long term! Here's my Jesse Ventura promise: this is a one-time deal. In most German cities, the public transport systems (and water and energy) are run by municipal utilities that are owned by the city but are privately administered. However, this doesn't stop Erfurt from having an incredibly coordinated transportation system that addresses all modes of travel. Dirk (our host) gave us guest passes to ride the tram to the public transit agency, which lies at the outskirts of the city. There we were able to meet with their planning chief for an extensive discussion of the system we had already found to ... read more
Fire Chief Bauer
It is no joke when I say that these people take their city services very seriously. Their new fire house boasts a full GIS system and fingertip blueprints on most city parcels. Citywide the firefighter staff is about 25% full-time and 75% volunteer. Paramedic services are fully staffed by city employees and they only turn to priovate companies for overflow - rather than splitting up ALS and BLS response. Response time averages 8-10 minutes and that is considered standard in Germany. As you can see, they were very kind in their tour and allowed us access to the entire station and training grounds. They even pulled out the ladder truck for us to take a ride in the basket. Admittedly that was a bit of a nailbiter! With all of Erfurt's beautiful and historic buildings under ... read more
Wartburg Castle
This post is merely for a few pictures - if you want to learn about it, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wartburg_Castle As much as I've always wanted a castle, I think this one might be a little too drafty for me. I'll have to keep shopping.... read more
City Guesthouse
Erfurt, the capitol of Thuringia, lies in the dead center of Germany. Not sure why, but this program doesn't include it as a location. This seems odd considering it is a state capitol of 200,000 people and a center of regional trade. Dirk is our host in Erfurt. He works in the city's Human Resources Department and is also a volunteer firefighter. He has given us a jam-packed schedule of activities here so my comments willl have to be brief. We spent part of our first two days just taking in the sights of town. Halle was beautiful, but Erfurt is truly magnificent! Everything about it is charming, well planned and well worth a visit. Another thing you should know about Erfurt is that people here make funny sound effects to describe everything. We've all been ... read more
Wine Cellar
When I woke up this morning, I swore I was not going to have any Bier today but alas I was thwarted by my travelmates at lunchtime. I guess they have much greater responsibilities they normally have to attend to at home. Yesterday afternoon we did visit the famous Bauhaus in Dessau, home of early Modern design, but I won't bore you with that... see pictures below. After that we drove to the Weinstrasse (or Wine Road) in Seeburg and had a very nice tour and taste of some surprisingly tasty Vino! The owner gave us a tour and explained that he bought the place about 10 years ago after he and 3 friends went on some tastings and decided they wanted to make their own wine to drink. It was funny because I think the ... read more
Numerous Waste Cans
Halle and Germany in general have a very advanced environmental management system. It is probably not unique to this country because the lack of space in Europe is common. The city has a comprehensive environmental management department that includes waste management, recycling, forestry, water/air quality provision and protection, nature preservancy, wastewater/stormwater GIS and aything else you can imagine that would be "Umwelt" in nature. The department produces multiple brochures and even a calendar for sale that describe waste collection and environmental protection requirements. Each household gets waste receptacles for waste, compost, paper, plastic ad metals. Can you imagien trying to fit all these in your Milwaukee alley? I can't. Most environmental issues are regulated federally which means that each locality only has control over the nuances of their own system. F... read more
Cardinal Albrecht's House of Fun
..especially when it involves the church! Evidently Cardinal Albrecht (formerly Archbishop of Magdeburg) had a second castle and cathedral here in Halle. It was generally known that Halle was his "playground" while he did business in Magdeburg. You may recognize his name from the origins of the Reformation - a movement elevated after an argument between him and Martin Luther. Martin Luther attended the University now named after him here in Halle. Local historians believe Cardinal Albrecht had constructed a tunnel from his local castle directly to the house shown in this picture. Here his cleric would bring ladies to fit his fancy. This was not the most Catholic of activities to undertake, but supposedly true and often. Halle embraces its history with a beautiful fountain on HallMarkt depicting this and other local stories and scandals. ... read more
