Die Schlosser

What has been accomplished this weekend?  Yesterday I went the Alps, something I've wanted to do for a long time.  We didn't really actually spend much time within the Alps themselves, so I really want to go back and spend time hiking or just being in them.  But, I went to Neuschwanstein, mad King Ludwig II's crazy fairy tale castle.  It is beyond impressive, but also a little off-putting, because he built it high up on a mountain and the whole thing reflects all of his mental disorders, which eventually caused him to be taken out of the ruling position.  But every room was painted to look like a Wagner opera (speaking of crazy), so it really was beautiful to see.  The tour was in German, and I tried to concentrate on understanding a few sentences.  All the other American tourists there were pretty annoying, but I liked speaking German around them and feeling better about myself.  I do not understand the American desire to be as loud as possible, and to make assumptions about things you do not actually know.  ("This castle is way back from the Middle Ages!")  No.  It was built in the 1800s. 

We also spent time in Fuessen before this, a nice little Alpine town, where we all learned a little bit more about ordering food in German.  I think we must appear immediately American or at least out of place, because people speak English to us before we even say anything.   

We came back, with a nice bus ride away from the Alps, and then several of us cooked a late dinner, after a somewhat chaotic grocery-shopping trip.  Spaghetti with wurst in it, which were really just hot dogs, but we couldn't tell.  (Tonight we had frozen pizzas and had an interesting time trying to figure out the baking directions in German).  The Nutella is also present at every meal.

Today was Dreikoenigstag - Epiphany - very important here.  I went to a mass this morning at a church right next to my Wohnheim, with another Goethe student.  We were able to understand a little bit, like the Lord's Prayer, the post communion prayer, the gospel (because I know the story), and the hymns since we were reading them.  But other than that, it was difficult.  Very interesting and pleasant though, except for the fact that it looks like Europeans don't heat any rooms that they don't live in.

I went to the one bakery in town that is open on Sundays (everything else shuts down), and managed to have an entire interaction in German to order what I wanted.  It was short, but I was proud.  Then several of us walked all the way down the river and eventually out of Schwaebisch Hall.  We were told that if you walked long enough, you'd get to a castle.  And we found it, in Comberg.  It was hard to miss, sitting on top of a very high hill, extremely walled, with a giant church in the middle and overlooking the whole town.  We went inside the grounds (the museum and church were closed though, so we want to go back; also I forgot my camera), and it was more amazing even than Neuschwanstein.  This one actually looked real, and apparently did not come from a crazy person.  We walked all around in it, and could see for so far in all directions since we were up so high.  It had been raining on the way over, but the sun broke through and pretty much created some of the most picturesque scenes I have ever witnessed.  I thought I had to be in a very-nicely-shot movie at some point.

Interesting occurrences on the way back - first we saw a car with "Elvis lebt!" spray painted on it (Elvis lives).  Then we nearly got hit by the Volksmarch - the annual run that happens all over Germany on Dreikoenigstag.  It was 10 kilos, and we were right in the path.  We smelled gunpowder, knew we were in trouble, yelled a lot of "schnell, schnell!", and got out of the way in time to be hit by pouring rain and sleet.  But it was fun to watch what must have been most of the population of Schwaebisch Hall go running by.  Today, I was charged by the Germans.

I have realized that I am not really afraid to go out and do things - at first I was, thinking about how obvious it would be that I am not from here and how terrible I would be at German.  But I am less nervous about interacting with German people than I was before, and have finally begun to understand that the best way to learn is just go be in the town, like I actually really do live here.  Some people are so eager to completely hide the fact that they are American to the point that they limit themselves on what they do.  Don't be afraid to be yourself, but do try to learn about the local culture and become a part of it.  I do think both are possible.