eins… zwo… drei… jetzt geht’s los aufm Wasen!

What is one of the first things that comes to mind when most people think about Germany? A horrible event in its past, Lederhosen, small cars, Apfelschorle, but… aren’t I forgetting something? Well, Germans are also, perhaps above many other things, known for their beer and their festivals involving copious amounts of it. It turns out that the German drinking culture has deep historical roots (see Reinheitsgebot), starting centuries and centuries ago when the Church finally removed the ban on alcohol drinking during lent (or something like that), so, what were monks (Paulaner!) to do? Brew rich and tasty beer to help with the nourishment; rumor has it that seven small beers equal a Schnitzel, but I’m not entirely sure about that. Drinking is also not a taboo and is not slightly demonized as it is in the states, for example, as mentioned in an earlier entry, there is a famous Biergarten here in Freiburg (Hausbrauerei Feierling) that is next to some kind of, well, Kindergarten or childcare place. Beer at Church? Warum nicht? A couple of weeks ago I went on a hike in the neighboring mountains and went to the St. Ottilien Chapel. I think she, Ottilien, was born without sight and abandoned by her father who wanted to kill her, but later regained her sight and did some healings, or something of the sort, but back to the point. Next to this Chapel there was another Biergarten! I can already hear some of you gasping, but it is totally acceptable here, because nobody thinks anything bad about enjoying a beer or two with friends and family. That is exactly the point: enjoying it, but with moderation. It seems people here know how to better control their drinking and, even though they might be ganz besoffen, most will not do anything bother others, do something stupid, or drink themselves to death.

Lots of drinking was what happened last week, during the Cannstatter Volksfest (colloquially/better known as „Wasen“) in Stuttgart. This was one of those events that will stay with me until the end of my life and it will always bring a smile to my face. Why? Well, imagine thousands of strangers sitting at benches, singing and drinking together like best friends without worrying about much else, being one, singing in unison. Sons, fathers, and grandfathers; together. What more can I say? Watch this video I made:

Da simmer dabei! Dat is prima, VIVA COLONIA!
Wir lieben das Leben, die Liebe und die Lust
Wir glauben an den lieben Gott und hab’n noch immer Durst!

Möchten Sie ein Gummiband auf Ihrem Flammenkuchen?

I have been in this country for more than three weeks and I am settled in. I am mostly used to the cultural differences, but somethings still strike me as odd. As some of you probably have already heard, costumer service, as a whole, is not the best here in Europe and the bureaucracy is absurdly complicated here in Germany.

A couple of days ago I went for a walk with one of my flat-mates, a Canadian girl, around Vauban (where all the streets, except the main one, are named after Nazi opposers) and I was surprised to see how green and architecturally interesting it is. Also, at the end of Vauban-Allee, one can make a left and go on a train where there are horses and cows; as one walks up the a hill side, the many vineyards become visible and one gets a great view of the city from above. Sadly, I forgot to bring my camera, oh well, I have a lot of time left. After that, we went to eat at a restaurant close to the student housing, where we waited about 30 minutes for the waitress to take our order (the place was not even busy at all) and after having eaten ~3/4 of my Flammenkuchen I realized that that thing that looked like an onion was actually a RUBBER BAND! After about 20 minutes of having called the waitress, she came and I explained the issue to her, then she proceeded to remove the plate and said she was going to bring a new one, but I told her I didn’t want a new one, so she gave me weird look and left it on the table. I ended up finishing the slice I was eating and later asked her for the bill (another 15 minutes passed) and told her I was only paying for the drinks, she asked why, and I told her why… she gave me a half-smile and said that it was OK, but that next time I should let her know as soon as I notice it. Odd? Yes.

This incident is more funny than annoying or upsetting, which what I am about to tell is. As you may have read on previous entries, I am not a big fan of German bureaucrazy, but some things are just ridiculous. A couple of days ago I went, for the second time, to try to get my residency permit; this time I only had to wait in line for about an hour. Once I finally had the chance to talk to her, but she told I could not get my residence permit until I registered at the university, which I cannot do without the residency permit. What? Yes. That really upsets me, specially because she did she say she recognizes that it is a Teufelskreis, but that some countries have privileges and can get the Aufenhaltserlaubnis (residence permit) without the Immatrikulation (registration). What now? Well, I am waiting until next week when I can do my Immatrikulation so that I can then, hopefully, get the Aufenhaltserlaubnis.

I opened up my bank account with Deutsche Bank a couple of days ago, but that is not that exciting, specially since I get poorer by the day, as the € goes up and the $ gets weaker! It’s not all stress and paperwork, I promise; I have been been having a lot of fun. Last week I went to a Biergarten (Hausbrauerei Feierling) and I had some amazing beer that tasted like Hefe Weizen, but it wasn’t. I asked somebody and he told me it’s because it’s not pasteurized and has very little, if any, sour hops. Oh, by the way, this beer was organic–only in Germany! It was really an amazing experience: it was outside, the sun shone, the wind blew, and people sang Trinklieder. This is next to Augustinerplatz, if I remember correctly, and there were a lot of people singing and just chilling. The funny thing about this experience is that the Biergarten was shaded by chestnut trees and every time the wind blew, people yelled ,,vorsicht!” (“watch out!” more or less), but several people still got hit by the rapidly-falling chestnuts!