The Quest for the "Gift of the Gab": My Thanksgiving Weekend Trip to Ireland

Cork, Ireland is where one of my good friend Kait and her husband Markus are currently living. Kait and her boss (who owns a coffee shop and is also an American) were planning a large Thanksgiving extravaganza and so Kait invited me over to Ireland for a long weekend. I left early on Thursday morning from Duesseldorf and flew first into Dublin. In Dublin I was required to switch airlines (because Aer Lingus does not fly to Cork from Dublin and Ryan Air does not fly to Duesseldorf) and so I had to exit through pass control. The Non-EU passport control line was ridiculously long and they only had 2 windows open and for about 20 minutes the pass control people were dealing with the same foreigners. As I nervously waited, worrying that I wouldn't be through pass control in time to check in for my next flight, I watched as numerous EU citizens would come in waves and breeze through pass control. Finally after about 40 minutes of waiting I had a little Irish luck and they opened up so additional lines and I was able to make it in time to check in for my flight.
At the Cork airport I was picked up by my friend Kait and her boss Ella. We then spent the afternoon frantically running around in order to procure the final ingredients for the Thanksgiving feast which, I learned, would be for 30 people (a combination of Americans and Irishmen). Once the errands were finished, Ella took us back to her house where we met up with Julie (another friend whom I had studied abroad with in Salzburg). This is where the frantic cooking began. The turkeys were already cooked as they had been put in early that morning, but cooking for 30 people requires a great amount of work. Amazingly Kait, Julie, and I (Ella didn't do any of the cooking but instead spent the time "staging" and creating atmosphere) pulled it off and were ready to serve by eight o'clock. Of course Ella was still not finished with her staging as a guest had arrived who does professional lighting for parties and such. We ended up not eating until 11 p.m. (probably about the same time that most of you in the U.S. were sitting down for dinner). The atmosphere was quite impressive - complete with about 5 disco balls and numerous colored lights. It was not exactly what I would expect for Thanksgiving but it turned out to be quite enjoyable and we received many compliments on the food.
The next morning, after some peaceful sleep, Kait, Julie, and I began to clean up from the chaos of the night before. It actually didn't end up being too terrible. Then Ella drove us from her house (pictured in the top left corner and top center) in the country back to town to Kaits house.
On Saturday morning I ventured off on my own so that I could actually see some of Cork and not just the inside of people's houses. Kait had already seen all the tourist attractions and so she opted not to join in as they also cost a bit of money. Cork is not a particularly large town, however, it is incredibly easy to get lost as the streets are poorly marked. I was always heading in the right general direction but would often overshoot a turn that I was supposed to make. Downtown Cork is a cute little city. I explored the glorious Penneys which is an inexpensive department store. After some shopping at Penneys, I meandered throught the English Market (pictured at right) which is sort of a permanent farmers market that is all enclosed.
After wandering through the town I began to head towards the City Gaol (Jail), however, once again I became lost. This time I ended up on a lovely little nature walk along the river Lee. I enjoyed the serene nature setting for awhile and then headed back the direction I had come in order to climb the hill and end up at the jail. Finally I reached the jail, which turned out to be interesting and informative. The two ladies that worked there (that day anyway) were very friendly and they gave me a new bag to put my shopping purchases in, as mine had ripped on the journey. The old jail chronicled the history of both the general prisoners and those who were imprisoned due to political affiliation. One quote on the audio tour that I found to be especially representative was, "The only real crime many of these people committed was the crime of being born poor." The jail seems to have been a revolving door (as it is now in the U.S.) and often times people were continuously being relocked up. Once a person had served time in the jail it was almost impossible for them to find employment and so they were destined to lives of beggary and thievery. The jail is also supposedly haunted - one passageway in particular depicts an optical illusion that is "ghost-like". Kait informed me, however, that people in Cork really do believe the jail to be haunted, even though the "ghost-like" figure is clearly fraudulent.
Kait and Julie ended up having to work that night so I ended up hanging out with Markus and Pa (short for Patrick), who was a friend of Kait and Markus. Pa is a typical Irish character who liked to drink and have good crack (Irish for good conversation and fun). He nicknamed me "Blondie Bear" partially because of my hair color and partially because he has a horrible memory and could not remember my name. After having a couple beers with Markus and Pa we met up with their friend Nora, who was also incredibly nice and fun to hang out with. We first headed to Lennox's to have some famous chips and cheese and garlic. The Chips and Cheese and Garlic were deliciously greasy and satisfying - I have never had anything quite like it before in my life as normal fries and cheese really do not compare. Then we headed to Nancy Spains for a pint and to meet up with Kait and Julie.
Sunday morning, Markus cooked us scrumptious omelettes. After savoring every bite, I headed off to the bus station in order to head to the Blarney castle. The Blarney castle (pictured at left) once belonged to Cormack McCarthy and it is also the site of the Blarney stone which is supposed to bestow upon those who kiss it the "gift of the gab". Although I am not usually hurting for words, I decided to kiss the stone in order to ensure eloquence - I also hope that perhaps some of my eloquence would transfer over to my German language abilities.
The castle grounds were beautiful and serene. It provided for a relaxing afternoon filled with Irish lore. On the grounds there is a witches stone (pictured at right) in which a witch is believed to be trapped until nightfall. The witch has a kitchen and there are steps that lead down to a river that are said to be wishing steps. As repayment for using wood for her fire the witch must grant the wishes of anyone who walks up and down the steps with their eyes closed (of course I participated in the activity).
On Monday morning I ate a traditional breakfast roll (a baguette with scrambled eggs, a few types of sausage, cheese, butter, and brown sauce - basically a delicious heart attack waiting to happen), said my goodbyes, and headed to the airport. My first flight was just to Dublin and this time I had a 6 hour layover. Not wanting to spend the whole time in the airport, I caught the bus into town. In Dublin I walked along Henry Street (which is the main shopping district), Temple Bar (a funky pub ditrict), and strolled through Trinity College. Due to the short amount of time I was really only able to whet my appetite for returning to Dublin and not able to really explore properly. All in all Ireland was a wonderful trip and I will definitely be returning for more exploration.

Frankfurt (sadly without pictures)

Disclaimer: As noted above, I do not have any Frankfurt pictures because my camera batteries died the moment that I arrived and I did not have time to procure replacements. Hopefully I will have the opportunity to return to Frankfurt and then I can share some photos.

This weekend I traveled by slow train (because I am not lacking for time and it is much cheaper than the fast trains) to Frankfurt in order to attend the German Fulbright Alumni Association's Welcome Meeting. This meeting was a good opportunity to meet Germans who had received a Fulbright to study in the U.S. and an opportunity to meet up with some of the people I had met during my first week in Goettingen. Surprisingly there were not many of us from the American delegation to Germany at this meeting, primarily those individuals who I have kept in contact with.
The weekend kicked off with a "meet and greet" which ended up not being the sort of mingling that you would expect from an American meet and greet but rather our group of Americans sitting together at a table and then the Germans all sitting at their own tables. Despite the lack of mixing it was quite fun. Those of us from the American delegation were able to reunite, share stories, and bond over shared experiences.
Saturday began with some welcome speeches. We heard a speech from a U.S. Consulate officer, the Frankfurt mayor's office, and a famous German journalist. The journalist (unfortunately I did not have his name written down anywhere) was the keynote speaker and he gave a talk on the transformation of Europe and specifically the changes within the EU. This particular journalist was a prominent German figurehead as he had been on the Tagesschau (I would compare it to the national nightly news) and had been a foreign correspondent in France. I would probably liken him to Tom Brokaw or Dan Rather. His talk was interesting and information and he was able to give first hand accounts for many things as he had met and interviewed important figureheads like Charles De Gaulle.
After the keynote address we had some lunch and mingled a little (more so than at the "meet and greet") before heading to workshops. We were allowed to choose which workshop we wanted to attend. I had originally chosen to go to the "How to Survive Germany" workshop - thinking that there would be some amazing new information from a German perspective. Sadly the workshop was run by an American Fulbright Teaching Assistant. In a way it was nice to commiserate and share stories, however, in retrospect I wish that I had attended the "Global Challenges" workshop.
On Saturday evening we attended a dinner party at the zoo - well the building was at the zoo but we did not actually get to see any animals from where we were. This was where the true mingling began. There was a delicious buffet and flowing beer, wine, and champagne. For the first part of the evening everybody sat at tables enjoying their dinner and then later the dancing began. The evening celebration can probably be equated with a wedding reception. Of course there was no bride and groom and all of the traditions that come with the pair but the dinner and dancing was much like what you would find at a wedding reception. We ended up dancing the night away and were out until the subway resumed operation at 4:15 a.m.
Sunday commenced with a lazy brunch. After the delicious brunch we had the option of attending a city-tour, which I was looking forward to as I had not had the opportunity to explore much of Frankfurt. The tour turned out to be a disappointment, however. Our tour guide was a little old man who walked extremely slow and so we were not able to see a lot of the city and it was surprisingly exhausting to have to walk that slowly.
Overall the weekend was excellent and I am looking forward to the next opportunity to gather with people from the organization.

Marburg - Fairy Tale Land (Literally)

This past weekend I had the opportunity to spend a relaxing weekend visiting one of my oldest friend's, Maya. Coincidentally, Maya is studying abroad in Marburg, Germany this semester. Marburg is about 4 hours (by slow aka. cheap train).
The city of Marburg is a picturesque University City complete with a castle that sits atop a small mountain. One immediately gets the feeling that they are in the setting for a fairy tale as the styles of buildings and the castle itself create an atmosphere of make believe. The Brothers Grimm actually lived in Marburg and much of their inspiration for various tales is drawn from the surrounding area.
Aside from visiting the castle and just walking around and taking in the atmosphere, I did not partake in many other "tourist activities". Apparently there is a fairy tale road, the tower where Rapunzel let down her hair, and other sights, however, I mostly just enjoyed being in the city and spending time with my friend.
Every day Maya gets together with a group of American students and they make dinner together. This gathering proved to be a lot of fun and I was able to learn how to make sushi -which is something that I have wanted to learn how to do for quite some time.
Karaoke (which is one of my favorite activities in the States) was on the agenda for one of my nights in Marburg. Interestingly enough, Karaoke songs are mostly in English. I don't know why this surprised me since the majority of the popular music here is American, however, I guess I was expecting people to be more interested in singing German music even if they do not necessarily listen to it. The whole karaoke atmosphere was different than my experiences with Karaoke in the States. Everybody was sitting at tables just listening to the singers - in the U.S. it has been my experience that people are usually dancing and singing along. The DJ got a kick out of the fact that we were Americans who understood German and so he continuously decided to use us as a theme for the evening.
In addition to Karaoke, I attended a German University party, ate at a traditional German restaurant, and did some shopping. All in all it was a fun and relaxing weekend.

Rally for Human Rights in China

"Ohne Menschenrecht, kein Olympischen Spiel" (German for "Without Human Rights, No Olympics in China"). This was the rally/protest that I visited in Duesseldorf last weekend (October 27). The campaign is a worldwide campaign and I believe that it deserves some attention on my blog even though it is not strictly a German/European experience. You can read more at http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/08/02/china16560.htm or http://en.epochtimes.com/news/7-9-1/59285.html or http://chinaview.wordpress.com/2007/10/07/no-human-rights-no-olympic-games-in-china-speech-by-david-matas/ . The Chinese government has been using the Olympic games as an excuse to persecute protesters and those who defend Human Rights in China. They are using the games as an excuse to imprison practitioners of the Falun Gong religion. Prisoners are then required to work from 5 a.m. until midnight in sweat shop conditions. They are fed little and are only allowed 2-3 trips to the bathroom a day. A modern day work/concentration camp is a good way to describe the conditions. Doctors are also removing organs from the prisoners in order to sell them on the black market to people who need new organs....the stories of camp survivors are truly horrifying and the whole operation runs contrary to what the Olympic spirit is all about. The protest is not against the athletes, the games, or the Chinese people themselves, rather it is requesting that people stand up to the Chinese government and stop turning a blind eye to this atrocious human rights abuse.
As part of both my concern for Human Rights and my hope to be involved in International Human Rights law in the future this is a cause that I care deeply about.

Assorted photos from Duisburg - The Landschaftspark...where Old Industrial meets Nature

The Duisburg Landschaftspark is a creative use of an old industrial site. Nature has been allowed to regrow and portions of old buildings are used for rock climbing, children's play equipment, a skate park, etc. It is a recreational area and was an enjoyable place for my friends and I to spend an afternoon.