I finally think I'm completely settled in. Although it cannot possibly fully fill the place of Vermont, Hambühren and Celle are starting to feel normal. My family and school no longer feel foreign and I am no longer the awkward kid trying to fit it, (At least I don't think so!) I can get around the city without walking in a circle and I can actually sing along to German songs now.
On Friday I returned from my trip to Vienna, Austria and boy was it an experience! I'm not going to go over everything that we did because that would take me many hours, but I'll talk about some highlights of mine.
It all started early Saturday morning at the Celle train station. After many hours of travel my group, which consisted of nineteen girls and four boys, finally reached Vienna. Over the next five days we visited all of the sights worth seeing in Vienna, my favorites being Schönbrunn Palace, Belvedere Palace, the Hundertwasserhaus, Stephansdom and the old architecture all together. It's incredible how much history is in Vienna and how beautiful it is. Situated on the Danube River below the last few bumps of the Alps, Vienna, looking past the fact the city alone has 1.7 million people, reminded me of Vermont during the autumn.
Viennese Vineyard
Stephansdom
Hundertwasserhaus
Music makes up a big part of Vienna's long and famous history. Famous composers Franz Schubert, Johannes Brahms, Ludwig Von Beethoven and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart all spent a significant portion of their lives in Vienna. We visited a very interactive museum in Vienna that, in addition to traditional exhibits on famous composers, had fascinating hands-on sections dedicated to what sound and music are from a physics perspective. In addition to the museum, we went to see a performance of Mozart's Don Giovanni opera in Vienna's most famous and naturally most expensive theater. Although I tried to watch this opera with an open mind, it didn't strike the right chords with me. I found that three hours was too long, I couldn't understand the entirely Italian lyrics and I was beyond uncomfortable in our cramped, smelly and hot standing room only section. On a more positive note, we had another much more peaceful and quiet music experience in Vienna before we left. Vienna's central cemetery is where many famous composers are buried. And like a treasure hunt, I sought out my favorite musician's grave out from the tens of thousands buried there. It wasn't easy, but eventually I found Falco's burial place; the man who rocked Amadeus was right in front of me. I was speechless! :)
Falco's Grave
R.I.P.
What many non-German speakers may not know is that there are thirty dialects in Germany. That number is only for Germany, not including Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Austria. These dialects are not like the difference between a Boston accent and a Southern accent. People from northern Germany literally have a very hard time understanding people from Bavaria, let alone Austria. I, being a novice German speaker, found it near impossible to understand this goofy dialect. Admittedly I am a German snob since Celle in the center of where the clearest and purest German is spoken, but I honestly thought that this accent was a joke. I thought there was no way this dialect could still be the same language I was learning in Germany.
Now that I'm back in civilized Germany, (don't worry, that was a joke), I'm taking a two week intensive German course at the local community college during our two week autumn break from school. This class takes place every weekday this week and next from 9:00-13:15. Hopefully I will learn a lot!
Mein Gastbruder hat mich gefragt warum ich nur in Englisch in meinem Blog schreibe. Er sagte dass es war lustig. Ich antwortete dass mein Blog ist für meine Familie und Freude, aber ich weiß dass jetzt meine Freude und Gastfamilie in Deutschland meinen Blog auch lesen. Ich verstehe dass mein Deutsch natürlich nicht perfekt ist, aber es ist besser als vor zwei Monate. Jetzt, jeden Blog Post wird ein bisschen Deutsch haben. Ihr alle könnt Deutsch mit mir lernen wenn ihr mein Blog Posts liest!
In front of the Schönbrunn Palace
On a bridge over the Danube
Does this sound good to anyone?
This is something we had in Vienna
Some trivia: Johann (Hans) Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian pop and rock musician and rapper. He had several international hits. "Rock Me Amadeus" reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, making him the only artist whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the US.
Some trivia: Johann (Hans) Hölzel (19 February 1957 – 6 February 1998), better known by his stage name Falco, was an Austrian pop and rock musician and rapper. He had several international hits. "Rock Me Amadeus" reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts, making him the only artist whose principal language was German to score a number-one hit in the US.
ReplyDelete