I'm finally going to sit down and make myself do this. I've found that this whole blogging process has become more of a hassle for me than anything but people keep telling me I haven't written anything lately so here goes. I guess I can start about 2 weeks ago when I took a day trip to Dresden. Ever since I planned this Dresden trip I've really started to put the number of weekends I have left here into perspective, and there really aren't that many. So I left early in the morning on Saturday and it took about 3 hours to get to Dresden. Although it lies in what was former East Germany, I would have to say Dresden has done a great job recovering from years of Soviet occupation. The city was clean, cleaner than Berlin I'd like to think, and the architecture of the buildings was absolutely amazing. Dresden is an older city and is more or less suited for tourists. I'm sure it's also a very profitable place to do business because of its location on the Elbe river but I'm fairly certain most of its income is from tourism. I booked one night in a hostel, which wasn't so bad considering the complimentary glass of champagne one receives after checking in. The hostel wasn't too far from the old city either so everything was within walking distance. I was in for a shock, however, as I hadn't yet met my roommates until about midnight; when I was coming in for the day and they were just starting to go out. They were 3 young men from Leipzig visiting a friend for the weekend and needed a place to crash because his house wasn't big enough to accommodate the others. As my good friend Patrick Stutler always said and I believe the phrase nails it right on the head, "boys will be boys". It would have been annoying that I was woken up three times throughout the night, 1pm, 5am, and 8am when they finally got home, but there's just something about listening to drunken Germans where you can't help but laugh. All in all, Dresden was a great vacation and if you haven't already, check out the pictures on Facebook to see what I'm talking about.
This will really be a long post because I'm trying to include 3 major events that took place over the last few weekends, but don't be surprised if my stories keep getting shorter and shorter. This past weekend I made an excursion to Hamburg and I have to say before I left I had high expectations for this city and every one of them were met. Hamburg is by far one of the coolest cities I have ever visited. If you're from Michigan, picture a small city on the west side of the state, like Ludington or Traverse, except it's about 6 times bigger than that. There are boats, tourists, and little shops with sea crap everywhere. Hamburg just had a much more "homier" feel to it than Berlin and the spirit of the people definitely helped. It is also a very historic city and the buildings are architecture are absolutely stunning. There is also the infamous Reeperbahn in the neighborhood of St. Pauli. This strip became known as the red light district along with its bountiful supply of bars and restaurants. If you're going to Hamburg, definitely make that a stop on your list. Also, if you want to get out on a boat and get somewhat a tour of the harbor, DO NOT pay for a Große Rundfahrt for 15 euro. They have a shuttle service just like the buses, but on a boat, that will take you from stop to stop for a grand total of about 1.70 euro. Just as good, but cheaper. If you're not on a budget, then by all means take the big ships. You can try to see everything in one weekend but of course it's impossible. At least I found where I will retire someday.
Last but not least was move in day and first day for the HU Sommer-Uni students. I left Hamburg around noon and it takes about 3 hours to get back to Berlin (excluding the detour we had to take because of traffic) but as soon as I arrived I had to book it to the East side to help move in the newbies. It was actually a great feeling helping them move in because I can remember not too long ago being in the same position myself, except now I actually know where the heck I'm going in Berlin. I looked really cool answering all their questions and pointing out places they should go and things they should see. Then there was their first day of classes/registration which honestly I don't remember very well because the whole day went so quickly. It was great bonding with the other interns/student teachers and I really started to feel like part of the team, even though my role is very daunting and menial. Oh yeah, and I am now officially the new HU Sommer-Uni barista until August 12th. This is my first time actually making coffee so I'm thinking by the end of the summer I'll be pretty damn good at it, considering it's my job for the next 4 weeks. My boss assured me this is not the only thing I'll be doing for the next 4 weeks and I'm praying she meant that. Regardless it's still a great way to practice my German and I get free coffee out of it.
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