First and probably least important, my class got a little less diverse today. Our friend from Libya was moved to a different class, and our Spanish student went MIA. Additionally, two more Americans are now in our class.
Class aside, the big happening today was my giant walk. I grabbed my camera and thought, "Let's see what this neighborhood has to offer." So I set off down Bingerstraße looking completely touristy. I figure it couldn't look too bad since I was in a residential neighborhood away from the big sights.
Needless to say, I got lost. Big time lost. That's not important at all. What is important is that I saw lots of wonderful things. I found two Catholic churches, one of which was built between 1891-3. It isn't every day you just happen upon a church from the 19th century. I managed to get a couple of pictures of these churches, but unfortunately for me, it started to rain. There was a threat of rain all day, and it rained earlier. When I set out, though, everything looked blue. Alas. Fortunately, the sidewalks around my neighborhood have so much tree cover that it really wasn't much of a problem walking more.
Afterward, I came across what I thought was a park. A high wall surrounded the park, so I went through one of the wrought-iron gates to find out instantly that it wasn't a park at all, but a cemetery. I didn't really know how to react because it seemed almost private, and others were paying their respects. I explored though. I'd never seen a cemetery like this before. Patrons used the entire plot to plant gardens on top of their loved ones. I also got the impression that this cemetery was old. Toward the back, adjacent to the church in the cemetery stood rows and rows of crosses with dates like "1875-1916" and others. Titles like "Leutnant," "Wehrmann," and "Kriegsfreiwilliger" (lieutenant, army man, and war volunteer) preceded names in the cross.
This was the first "whoa..." moment of my trip. Lots of things went through my mind. I thought about, first, how many of these people lived before Germany was actually Germany. And while German history is certainly rich before its unification in 1870, it is still fascinating to think about what things were like before then--when Prussia was such a strong player, and it doesn't even exist today. I thought also about the experience these men must have had during the First World War, about the trenches and the brutality. But also, this was the other side. We often hear about what our grandfathers and great-grandfathers have done, and this was the other side of the story. Something like this isn't something you expect to "stumble upon." I will certainly return there, given I can find it again.
After the churches and the cemetery, one might think that a walk couldn't have much more to offer. You would be wrong, my friends. I have had a very difficult time finding a grocery store. By difficult time, I mean I haven't been able to find one since I arrived. Well, lucky me, I found one. Even better, it is about three blocks from my house. It's called Kaiser's. Today, I bought a box of granola bars, a loaf of bread, a bag of chips, peanut butter, and jelly. I'm still trying to get over my nervousness about speaking German to Germans, so I didn't approach the meat counter (on a side note, I have a hard enough time approaching the meat counter in America). I really just wandered around the grocery store for about 30 minutes to see what all there is to offer. I stood in front of the bread section, and the entire time I thought, "Don't buy the 'American Sandwich bread!'" But I did. I'm American. And I want an American sandwich. So, that is what I will do.
Enjoy your day, Americans, and I will be back with more tomorrow
Deutsches Wort des Tages:
verloren -- lost
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