My year of Germany

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I have been off from writing for a while.
This is mainly due to my bachelor coming up and so forth... but so what - that should not be an excuse for not writing a bit about one particular country which I have now visited five times in one year. It is the big scary wolf of a neighbouring country. It is Germany, the object of endless jokes by Danes. It is the country of sausages, beer-festivals and reunification. It is jocking suits, clinical comercials and syncronising of everything. It is the autobahn on the way to France where you only need to stop once and therefore only have to practice the frase "benzin, bitte!" Aber, aber, aber. Deutchland ist much more and I am sorry for my poor poor German.

I have within the last year been to the border region of Barden Wuttenberg towards Schweiz and France, to the amusement park Europa Park also in Barden Wuttenburg, to Hamburg, Berlin and most amazingly to the Ruhrgebiet.
And after these five trips to five very different destinations in the country of the autobahn can I only apologise most sincerely to all the many Germans who through out my 23 year old life have had to listen to my bad bad jokes (though funny).
Germany is truly a magnificent country and I now after having had a little pretaste hope to see much more of this country. But let the dreams of my next travel destination prevail for a description of what germany has untill now revieled for me.

My first stop was the border country to Schweiz and France, a small village called Bad Säkingen and which is probably only known to those who live their or those as me who are as fortunate as to pass by. It lies to the southern border of the Black Forest. I came in winter and though I was freezing tremendously I still came to grasp the beauty of a sunset over the Schwiss Alps seen from the German side of the border. It was truly magnificent and I am glad that I have come to see this region. Within the Black Forest you will find several small villages and towns, some of which are very much as in the fairy tales of the Grimm brothers, or as I imagine these would be. One town is named St Blasien and is not far from the Schluchsee lake. In St. Blasien and somewhat hidden from the rest of the world lies the Dom with an adjacent monestary (the monestary dating back to the 9th century). The Dom is seen from far away due to its enormous copper cupola which shines golden in the winter light. Well, this is just one of the secrets which the Black Forest holds. Many more there are, I am sure, but I am not the one to tell them. They are to be discovered by being there.

I will instead engage myself in the "wunders" of the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. As a young Danish girl, I grew up while very often studying the map of Denmark as it hang in every class room. On this map Copenhagen offcourse stands out as a big red spot spreading out on zealand and I knew this place like my own back pocket as it was my home. But there was one other and extremely larger red spot on the Danish map. Hamburg being rather larger than Copenhagen and close to the Danish border, allways seemed to me a mystery. Later on as I started my teenage years I became interested in the Beatles (which I believe allmost everybody does). Hamburg thereby became even more of a mystery and of interest to me. What was it that had encapsulated the four young guys from Liverpool? Older yet, I heard the wisper of Reeperbahn and Herbertstrasse (Herbertstrasse being the only place I knew of in Europe where I could not enter because of my sex). All this drew me to Hamburg. And when I had the chance of visiting a friend from Madrid whos parents lived in Hamburg I took it. I was in Hamburg for three days. As I had no prior idea except for those mentioned above I became pleasantly surprised. Hamburg is a large metropolitan city with the dynamic and joy of life as any such city should have. The tremendous harbour with container ships that to me seem allmost impossible in any way to manouvre. The area around the famous football club St Pauli and the area surrounding the Reeperbahn with the alternative bars and stores and clubs. And the large red-brick storagehouses on the waterfront. All of it really got to me and I enjoyed my three days as tourist in Hamburg to the fullest.

A month after my return from Hamburg and while I was still so fascinated by the atmosphere of this city did I venture out on a company trip: destination Europa Park. It is to be said that I work in a rollercoaster in the summertime. Something that might seem rather as the job of a teen and not someone studying at university. But as I started as a teen I hung on enjoying the comradeship and everyday life within this rather old and bumping rollercoaster. My colleagues and bosses are offcourse in one way or the other a bit nerdy when it comes to rolelrcoasters and we went to Europa Park to check out the Silver Star sponsered by Mercedes, which I suppose only draw their attention even more. Well, we were nine people joining this 18 hours of drive down through Germany in a van that did not go beyound the 145 Km an hour top. Trafic jam and beer cans and lots of breaks for the guys to meet nature (I was the only girl). You might say that I truly know the autobahn by now. But we made it, all of us! And we joined in a ride of the Silver Star. WOW. My bosses who are hardcore when it comes to rollercoasters, having worked at one for several years, even they looked like frightened children at the manitory picture taken at the ride. It was awsom. The rest of Europa Park too is quit interesting. All countries has an area in the park and within that area you truly feel that you could be in the country. In Schweiz you can buy Scwiss knifes and walk an alp village. In Russia you could travel to Mir and see Kreml. It was really great done. But nothing beated the Silver Star!

Three weeks after my return from Europa Park and the German autobahn did I once again leave for Germany. This time for Berlin, where I met my friend Meike. I have been to Berlin before, but Berlin is a city that draws you back. So much is to be discovered in Berlin that one simple visit would never be enough. This time I had equipped myself with the Lonely Planet Germany which had been a faithfull friend in Hamburg. It should prove out once more to be a usefull companion. While my first three visits to Berlin had been rather quick and without more tourist information than a brochure from whatever hostel, this time became a more vivid and deep love affair with that truly misterious and endlessly large city. Being accomondated by people who lived in Berlin and spending my days and evenings with people who knew the little corners of the city, I have come to see a side of Berlin that I would not otherwise have discovered. I spended most of my time in Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg which are two very adorable and lively neighbourhoods and got pretty well acquainted with those areas.
Berlin was truly amazing - as allways.

My last stop to Germany went to Bochum in the Ruhrgebiet.
This is not normally a traveldestination for tourists, but it has proven to be a briliant place to discover. I, though, did not discover much more than my friends kitchen, but that might be the true feeling of seeing a place - to be a part of the every day life there.
I also enjoyed the New Years eve in Bochum and was in a line for the big party in the Shauspilhaus when the clock turned 00.00. It was a very funny evening and all I can wish to have done differently was to sing a few more christmas carrols! Bochum in total is fun to go out in. There is the entire Bermuda Triangle with bars and pubs and dancefloors and I have no idea how the students of Bochum get anything done with so much temptation, but my friend Meike is evidence that it can be done.
Meike you have no idea how proud I am to know you!

These were my trips to Germany. Now I can only wonder were 2008 will take me, while I remember 2007 as a fantastic year for German relations.

Anna

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Photos

signs with meaning
On the corner of Grosse Freiheit and Reeperbahn

sunset over Baden-Württemberg
view from somewhere within the deep of the Black Forest

red brick storage houses
Hamburg

me infront of St Pauli fan-store
St Pauli fan-store, hamburg

be aware of the silver star
silver star rolercoaster, Europa park, Rust am Rhein

one last song for the silver star
silver star rollercoaster, Europa Park, Rust am Rhein

Meike and other Bochum students
Metro at the Bermuda Triangle in Bochum