Blogs from Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, Europe

English During an in inpatient rehabilitation, you are quite busy, believe me. Last week, I wrote that I had arrived in a rehab hospital in the town of Bad Urach, not far from Stuttgart. I saw the doctor, she talked to me and she examined me, and then she decided what therapies I would do during the next three weeks. But the therapies didn't start until Monday, so I had time to relax a little bit and have a look around. So on Saturday morning, I walked into town, around town and back, which was about 6 km altogether. I didn't even feel that sore after my trip. In the afternoon, I went to a very nice thermal bath that is just a few minutes away from my rehab hospital to relax a little bit. Sunday ... read more

We started classes this week. They seem like they'll all be fairly interesting but the way they're scheduled in is much different from my college schedule back at Valpo. It may be the change in friendships and the lack of cafeteria time that adds to this, as well. Instead of classes being spread out, they're all pretty well in a row and for longer periods of time. To add to the "blocked" feel, every class is in the same room. I think my favorite class will be German Economics because the professor is such an odd man (I mean this in the best way). He loves to joke and has a jolly chuckle that reminds me of a character from a book or movie. Very animated. He likes to pull out random strange facts about Americans ... read more

-Pedestrians no longer have the right of way. You must stay in the "Zebra Strips" -Germany is very eco-friendly. Deposits can be up to 50 cents on the bottle! -Half of German's walk around with huge baskets for shopping (eco-friendly) -Police sirons are even more obnoxious here -Dairy seems richer here -They know how to make good baked goods -Diet Coke is called "Coke Light" -They divide their garbage into three different types -There is Hazelnut flavored everything... read more

Reutlingen is a town of rich history its ingredients are a perfect blend of simplicity and intricate details. Life is quiet here even when there are people everywhere. Today we took a two hour tour of the city in which we traveled through "narrowest street in the world", bullet rattled entryway from the war, and learned of the twelve guilds (artisans) of the old days. On the tour I was constantly snapping photos as unique scenes popped up everywhere I looked...the people and their styles included. Right before the tour I got a delicious turkey sandwich on a fluffy yet crusted topped bun. Since I didn't study as much as I wished there was no way to communicate that I wanted mustard (my favorite condiment)...I now know that it's called "senf". Oh well this may be ... read more

With a population of clearly over 100,000 this is already one of the larger cities in the German state of Baden-Wurttemberg. Reutlingen is about 40 kilometers south of Stuttgart. Like so many places in this region, the Alamanni took the city in the 5.-7.th century. The most obvious landmark of Reutlingen, St. Mary's Church, was completed in the 14th century. Reutlingen was later awarded the important status of an 'Imperial City'. A peculiarity of Reutlingen's judicial system in the 15th century was the 'Asylum of Reutlingen' that granted all manslayers asylum in the city if they committed their crime unintentionally (I'm not sure if that's still the case today...)! With the notable exception of Nuremberg, Reutlingen was in 1530 the only Imperial City in Germany to sign the "Confessio Augustana" , the declaration of belief in ... read more