how to name animals in German

For those of you who are unaware of the German obsession with pigs....

Time Machine - May

The Germans definitely have strange semester dates. The summer semester only just began about 3 weeks ago and doesn’t officially end until August 2^nd, whereas in Dundee everyone is done for the year. It’s a bit of a pain that my summer break will be so short but at the same time, the weather here is so nice that I feel like I’m still on holiday. I imagine that this might cause problems when it comes to studying. I mean, who wants to revise when they can go swimming in the lake, or bbq in the sunshine?

Picking classes this semester has been causing problems once again; not all the classes which had previously been advertised as available this semester were actually on the database when it came time to pick. As well as this, halfway through the online sign-up period they decided to make some of the classes available to international students unavailable to those doing Erasmus. I luckily signed up to one before this happened, although I appear to be the only Erasmus student who did – probably because I only actually found the class after some ingenious searching. I’m told that they can’t throw me out though as I was already accepted into the class. Somehow I’ve managed to find enough classes to get me the required points, but one of these requires me to write a 20-page essay over my summer break on a topic that’s pretty foreign to me.

There’s a pretty big workload here compared to Dundee, which would be completely fine if I’d come here in 2^nd year and only had to pass, but it’s a little more stressful doing it in 3^rd year, knowing that I need good grades in everything. Considering I need to make at least 6 presentations in the next two months it’s hard not to crack under the pressure at times. Though admittedly, that’s partly due to my bad time management. I also still need to have my new module choices approved, which is an interesting thought, as if they don’t accept them there’s nothing I can really do except repeat the year.

Ranting aside, I am actually really enjoying my classes and am finally getting a chance to study things that interest me such as renewable energy in Europe, German history, culture and society, and the functioning of the EU. I’m also feeling a lot better about studying French this semester. I’ve found a conversation class which covers relatively complex topics, whilst spending time revising very basic themes, which is something I really need, as it feels like I’ve forgotten practically everything since I left school (one of the downsides of taking two gap years I guess!).

When not gallivanting off half way around the world, I spent a lot of my semester break doing research on Freiburg during the First World War as part of an international history project, the results of which we presented in Berlin a few weeks ago at the History Campus ‘Europe 14/14’. It was actually a pretty huge event with over 400 participants from around the world. Angela Merkel was even there for the opening ceremony, and Steinmeier, the foreign minister, made an appearance later that week. It was really exciting to be a part of it all, especially as a workshop speaker, and see how the war is perceived nowadays from a multitude of different national perspectives. Here is a short video from the end of the event:

Time machine - February

So I wrote some posts a while ago and just never got round to typing them up. So....time machine! We're back in February now ;)

I’m back now from Budapest. I think I’ve found a new favourite city….time to start learning Hungarian and working out how I can wrangle another free year abroad. Just a shame the weather was a little too Irish! We managed to pack a lot into 5 days, although we barely even scratched the surface of what the city has to offer.

The alternative scene in Budapest is just amazing. I’m kind of disappointed that Freiburg doesn’t seem to have the same sort of hidden gems. I hate to admit it but my inner hipster appears to be surfacing. Not that Freiburg is in any way boring, in fact most people would appreciate the lack of gimmicks. As a city it has a natural beauty which speaks for itself, but for a place with so many students it’s definitely missing a spark of creativity. Well, to make a German comparison, it’s definitely no Berlin.

I don’t want to bore you with all the details of my trip so allow me to limit my account to the highlights:
Communist pizza

Marxim is one of Budapest’s best kept secrets. It’s a bit of a trek but definitely worth it. So good in fact that we went there twice. Hidden in a basement down a side street, it would be pretty hard to find if it weren’t for the red star outside. Inside it’s decorated with communist posters and white-washed walls lined with barbed wire. The menu boasts such options as ‘Snow White and the 7 small proletarians’, ‘Gulag pizza (Hawaii), and ‘Pussy-pussy Monica & Bill’. Another interesting feature there is that they give you a little jug of pizza sauce with your pizza. I think this is because some of the pizzas come with sour cream bases, though that’s not to stop you from pouring it all over the standard ones. In fact, I’d recommend it.  Go tomato sauce crazy! There is no such thing as too much red in a communist pizza joint!

Bora Bora tea

Another little treasure trove is a tea-café called Sirius (it also has a sister-café called Altair, which appears to offer a similar experience). The entrance to this café is incredibly easy to miss, unless you know what to look for, as it’s only marked by a small silver plaque on the wall outside. When you walk in on first look it seems just like any other café, not particularly remarkable, but walk around the back, take off your shoes, and you can climb up into one of its many hideouts. Sink into a massive cushion, choose between one of 80 flavours of tea and relax. For those curious enough they even have their own ‘Narnia’ type experience. Crawl through the wardrobe and you will not be disappointed.

                                       

Thrift shopping

And one unforgettably crazy club