new blog

here

last night in the fatherland.

I feel a bit nauseous today. I cant seem to settle down. Each time I sit, my leg starts shaking. Its a weird feeling. I am anxious about the next few months, about settling down back in Chicago. Only it wont be settling at all- it'll be crazy and busy, full of BA writing and jobs and becoming an American again.

At the same time I want to sit and enjoy this last evening with the Heidemanns. Appreciate how wonderful it is with them here in Deutz.

I tried to pack a year into 2 bags and 46 kg. It didnt work.

I could try to pack a year into this entry, but it wouldnt work either. All I can say is thank you. Its been good.

Thanks to everyone who read this throughout the year. The more you read, the more I wrote, and writing has been wonderful. I will continue to blog from Chicago, only probably from a new site. I will post the link here when I set it up.

Until then, this is Alex signing off from mein Jahr in Heidelberg.

Love.

ciao heidelberg.

It's my last night in Heidelberg. Forever? Of course not. So many loved ones here, I'll of course find my way back in the next, let's say, 5 years.
But my year here, my "Jahr in Heidelberg", ends tomorrow morning. Thorsten and I will pack up the dishes in the kitchen, load up the car, and head north to Köln am Rhein.

Today was as close to perfect as the day can get. Thorsten and I slept in and I made him my last cup of coffee. We sat in the kitchen for a while, enjoying the slowly waking day. We then wandered to my seminar building where I handed in my last documents for die Universität Heidelberg. It felt good, sliding those envelopes into the steel mailboxes. It was so anticlimactic that it was nice- I think if it had been climactic I'd have been disappointed.

We then enjoyed a last latte in the Mensa with my last few euro on my ID card. (note- coffee #2, already at 12. Must be with a Heidemann.) We then changed shoes and went for a hike up to the castle, one last time. Though overcast, we could see quite far. We went further into the forest, enjoying the Odenwald and its moist undergrowth and creepy vampire houses.

On arrival back in the Altstadt, sweating and hungry, we went to Falafel. We ate falafel there. Best I've ever had.

After a little relaxation we met with Philipp for a walk along the Philosophenweg. Also beautiful. I sat for a bit in the garden up top, looking at the beauty and taking it in.

We then met Philipp's girlfriend and son on the Neckarwiese. Heidelberg threw its best at me today. The weather report called for rain, rain, rain. And the actual weather was bluest of blue skies and sun in bunches. Perfect.

We then eventually wandered to Schnitzelhaus for a final meal. In Heidelberg. And I went back to the standard, the Rhöner Bauernschnitzel, with eggs, bacon, and onions. Mmm.

And then we grabbed a couple Vetters bottles, 1 liter each, and sat on the Neckar bank. And it rained.

Heidelberg, it's been real, real good. At times I've hated it here-- thousands of tourists, stupid bureaucrats, annoying professors, annoying amis-- but days like today remind me why I loved it here. It's a magical place here. It feels removed from the rest of the world, somehow stuck in a sunny version of the 17th century. I'll miss it.

Alt Heidelberg, du feine, du Stadt am Ehren reich. Am Neckar und am Rheine, kein andre kommt dir gleich.

Thanks, Heidelberg. Auf Wiedersehen.

Love, Al.

credit photo: Thorsten Heidemann

a few photos...

...from the last couple weeks.

letzte woche in HD

Hello- I apologize for the long break. I have been wanting to write, but things really have been busy here in romantic Heidelberg.

Wednesday last week I met with Badi and Phillip for beers after their last exam. This began around 4 pm. By 7, I'd had a few, and was to meet with Hanna for a walk after her last exam. Badi came along.

As we headed out along the Neckar towards the Karlstor Bridge, Hanna turned right towards the square where the Schnitzelhaus is. I remarked to Badi, as he was leaving the next day, how sad it was that we wouldn't be able to eat there. But he should definitely try it out.

And to my surprise, outside the restaurant is Rick, Ben, Kathi, Babsi, Teresa, and Anni. No way. They had organized my birthday dinner. I assume my seat at the head of the table, and delve into a Schnitzel "a la Meyer". That's one huge schnitzel, grilled onions, and two fried eggs on top. Mmm.

After dinner a few of us climbed up to the castle gardens for music, beer, and candle-lit star gazing. Perfect.

Thursday was a mammoth day- I played two hours tennis, three sets of beach volleyball, and rode my bike 30 km. Plus went dancing. It was also our WG-Dinner, where Rosa and Ahron made pizza for Irmela, Liz and I. I had a blast- I wish our apartment had eaten together more this year.

After a loungy Friday came Saturday, my birthday. The weather was weak. Cold, rainy, cloudy, and overall sad. But Liz and I went for a walk, I got all dressed up, and we ended up at Rick's cafe for a free birthday beer around 1. We then had pizza and this fantastic Italian place which I'd meant to visit the whole year. It was wonderful- maybe even worthy of Thorsten this week.

Then after a little power nap, we headed to the Neckarwiese for my Birthday/Goodbye party. I followed the formula of last year's birthday party, my best on record: one needs only loved ones, meat, and beer to be completely satisfied. We had each of the three in plenty, and a good time was had by all. The skies even cleared up by the end- some stars were visible by the time we all left around 1:30.

I've said some tough goodbyes in the last week, and that won't stop soon. But I want to say here: thank you to each of you wonderful people who've been with me this whole year. Vielen, vielen Dank an euch alle, die das ganze Jahre lang so wunderbar zu mir waren. Ihr habt mein Jahr so bedeutend gemacht.

I'm going through the thousands of photos I recieved as a final parting gift. It's been good.

Love from Heidelberg,

Alex.

goodbyes

I just spent the evening with two great people-

three hours walking and cooking dinner with Hanna.

three hours drinking beer and listening to music with Badi.

I'm going to miss these people. It's tough right now.

I'm thankful for meeting such great folks.

Both of them have concrete plans to come visit Chicago. I can't wait.

Bis dann.

U of C

probably the most accurate forum in which the University of Chicago experience is discussed:

here

cover

of ben kweller.

(klausur)stress

it's that time of the semester again... when German university students do their best UChicago impression and study their butts off for exams. No friends are available, everyone's pissy, and the sun shines beautiful and hot anyways.
I'm feeling the stress too. Turns out the Germans use a bookend scheme with their bureaucracy. The first month is hell, the 10 months in between they forget you exist, and the last month is shaping up to be quite annoying. I'm pretty much out of money, offices are only open from 10-12 every day, which isn't too practical for the student schedule, so I can't get much done. I need to officially leave the university, cancel my health insurance, and officially leave the city. And write two papers in two weeks. I am a bit stressed too.

But Thorsten is coming soon!

Bis bald, Chicago-

Alex.

we weresterdam

amsterdam is rivers and smiles and flowers and boats and bikes and bikes and bikes and bridges and blooms and rembrandt and van gogh and prince orange and firefighters from kentucky.

sam and i went local with rented bikes and rural with pitched tents. we wandered canaled boulevards for hours and hours, we sat on canaled ledges for days, we sipped espresso in canaled cafes for weeks. we simmered in the dutch oven until ready for dishing.

i've said it a few times this year: i could live here. bonn, vienna, köln, berlin, and onward. but the dam was different. i want to live there. i'll get me a black bike, a tailored navy blue suit with slick brown shoes, and i'll be on my way.

visit amsterdam. discounting the chi, the coolest city i've ever seen.


love, al!

Ich lerne die Sprache

Editor's note: This guest blog post does not represent the views of "Ein Jahr in Heidelberg" or any of its executives.

Alex Meyer can speak German. A lot of kids I know claim to be able to speak a second language, but that just means they took, at best, a couple quarters of Spanish in college and maybe watched "Y Tu Mama Tambien" without the subtitles on. They can't really talk, make no effort at an accent, and only really learned enough to pass some competency test. Alex is not like this. He speaks effortlessly and with a preposterously good accent that pervades his entire expression; I could swear that his laugh is German. He knows almost every bit of relevant slang, and never pauses to search for a word. Not one of his friends pities him with English (unless I'm there and they're being polite), they realize that even their prodigious European linguistic prowess is staring at a far greater beast.

Now, you're probably saying to yourself, "Big deal. The guy spent a year in Germany, he BETTER be able to speak the language." To you I say, you've never studied abroad. If you had, you would have learned that most American students, while abroad, are like an acquaintance I knew who spent a quarter in Barcelona: they hang out with other Americans, get drunk every night, and ask for the English menu when they eat out. They come back with 264 photos of them with their three "abroad friends" arm in arm in front of, or deep in the bowels of, various monuments and nightclubs, respectively. His pipe-ness used his time in Germany well.

To me, language is a failsafe test of how considerate a person really is. Learning another language is a fundamentally selfless act: one spends years of his life practicing and learning just so that other people won't be inconvenienced by his native tongue. One learns a language so that he will not be a problem for anyone, so that they won't have to adjust to him. The benefit is that other people will be impressed by your efforts, and their opinion of you usually rises. My friends tend to be the ones like Alex, who make the effort, as opposed to the type to yell at a cab driver for speaking "----ing foreign."

Al has shown me a great time here, and I'll never forget it. His friends, for the most part, are great people. Heidelberg is a town so beautiful that it seems like, 500 years ago, a King walked here and said "this will someday make great post cards." And even with all the German he's learned, Alex is still the greatest. Martin, out.

Grilling, hiking, posting up.

This week has been quite the whirlwind. I've shown Sam pretty much all there is to see in Heidelberg: the castle, the Neckarwiese, the University, the Hauptstrasse, cafeteria, cafes, the forest, the Philosophenweg, the nightlife, my friends, etc. I think I got it all.
He seems to like it here. Despite a little writing I've actually surprisingly gotten in, it feels like vacation. We've been getting along about as well as you'd expect two people who spend every hour of one week together- a potent mixture of gunpowder, open flames, and water.
We leave Monday morning for Amsterdam. We're going to rent a tandem. So pumped.
Highlight of the week has been hands down the grill evening on Wednesday. Something about grilling with Sam makes the world feel right. Good food, good beer, good people. Our time.

Love from romantic Heidelberg, especially to the Meyer Family reunion in St. Louis,

Alex

schnitzelhaus

Sam is here!

He got in today in Frankfurt, I picked him up, we took the train back to HD, and promptly visited a local gem which I hadn't yet seen: the Heidelberger Schnitzelhaus. Over 100 types of Schnitzel. Fantastic. Sam was craving an oniony creation from the start, and went for the Schnitzel with onions. I, however, went for the behemoth: Schnitzel, eggs, bacon, onions. Heart attack on a plate. After a couple beers we went for a walk on the river and I showed off romantic Heidelberg. He was way into it. It's now early to bed due to jet lag, and tomorrow is a day full of university!

Happy Father's Day Dad, and all other dads out there.

Love Al.

a long, long three days

I'm back! Been back in romantic Heidelberg for a few days now, but haven't really gotten around to writing about the trip.

It was wild. And I don't really have the time or energy at the moment to give it the detailed analysis it deserves. It will come, I promise. Let's just say we cycled ca. 160 km over 2 days, without money or a map, nowhere to camp, one exploded tire, many many overly kind Germans, rain, thunder, hail, sunny skies, beautiful German countryside, concrete factories, many many middle of nowhere towns, castles, and raw fish for dinner. Only the last detail wasn't true.

Until then, please see Rick's blog (on the right hand side of this blog, under Rick S) for some details he's written up.

And here some pictures:







So now it's crunch time. My goal is to finish a draft of paper one (of two): A classification of a play by Ludwig Thoma, Moral. Is it a comedy, satire, or thesis-exchange? Elements of all of them, I'd say. But the draft has gotta be done before Sam Work Martin lands in the Fatherland. I can do it.

Until then!

morgen geht's ab

(tomorrow it's goin down...)

I'm leaving tomorrow with Rick for a bike tour along the Neckar River, 175 km south to Tübingen to visit Aaron, who's been studying there this year. From one Uni-Stadt to another. It'll take two nights; we're hauling along sleeping bags and a tent, and are going to camp out where we stop at 7:00 tomorrow evening. I'm pumped!
To Lemon: I promise, the first day I am back in Chicago, I will take you for a long, long ride, one you'll never forget- it'll be vigorous, energetic, and enjoyable for both of us, I'm sure of it. But sadly you're not here, so I'm riding Goldie tomorrow.

Also, Sam is coming. I'm proud of the guy. He graduated college! I've got a couple nice trips planned with him as well, in addition to showing him around romantic Heidelberg: we'll hop up to Amsterdam for a couple days to look at art, and do a bike tour to Weilbach, in Bavaria, to see the town that my dad's mom's family comes from. Pumped.

Lem's, see you in 8 weeks!

Love, Al.

angie!

Angela Merkel came to romantic Heidelberg yesterday to give a speech in a final campaign push before the European elections today. Despite the rare sprinkling of rain we experienced, a good time was had by all, I'd say.

She gave a pretty standard speech, focusing on our democratic right to vote. No matter who we choose, or why, the most important thing is to vote. I found this quite refreshing, as Merkel was acting as spokeswoman for the CDU (conservatives), her party, rather than as Chancellor of Germany. The event yesterday was really just a party rally, with Merkel as the headliner, but the focus was CDU (Christian Democratic Union) candidate for the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering. No one is directly voting for or against Merkel today, but they are voting for Pöttering. I am very excited about this election, if only because it seems to be a movement towards a further united Europe. In essence, Europe is, or may become very soon, a very loose version of the USA with extremely strong and inalienable states' rights. The election tomorrow is like a congressional election, sending representatives from member states to Brussels to debate legislation that affects all of Europe. Merkel spoke in depth about what Europe can do for Germany, and what it shouldn't. She lauded the open market and single currency. As a country of 80 million, Germany doesn't have a ton of influence in the world of 7 billion people. But in cooperation with the European Union, Germany places itself in a situation of a bit more influence, with 450 million people. The European Union multiplies possible consumers of German products more than fivefold. But certain policies need to be controlled by the countries themselves, and Merkel brought up a rather humorous example- earlier this year, panic struck German bakeries due to a possible regulation from the EU on salt levels. German bread had too much salt and was making its customers fat. Merkel stoked the populist revolt by chanting, "Unser Brot ist gut!" (Our bread is good!). Just as the federal government leaves many decisions up to the states, here Merkel employed an example where the EU has really no business intervening, but rather where the country itself should protect its culture, tradition, and culinary prowess from encroaching EU regulation.
What also struck me was the labeling of the CDU as the conservative voice in German politics. In the US two-party system, the CDU would be the Republicans, and the SPD (Social-Democratic Party of Germany) would be the Democrats. In addition, Germany has a strong tradition of smaller, more specific parties, with a prevalent Green Party and many other representatives of smaller, "fringe" interests. This is possible due to the percentage system used to elect representatives, as well as the possibility of coalition governments, where multiple parties are forced to pair together to create an overall majority. The percentage system means simply that people vote for a party, and each party has a list of representatives, and depending on what percentage of the national vote the party receives, they are then allowed to send that percentage of the Congress to Berlin.
Anyway, so the heavy hitters and the representative of mainstream right-left politics would be the SPD and the CDU. In American politics, I generally fall left of center. I appreciate sound environmental practices, think trickle-down tax concepts are worthless, and support gay marriage and quality healthcare for everyone in the country. And with this in mind I went to a "conservative" party rally in the main square of Heidelberg. And what were the main points of Merkel's speech? The continuation of vigorous research in renewable energy and the regulation of banks to avoid another crisis. It seems that the political spectrum in Germany is shifted to the left, whereas in America we are so tied up by backwards political games. Take evolution and global warming. The fact that these two concepts are even debated in the US is cause for laughter here. In the case of global warming, Germany takes the stance that it most likely exists, and even if it doesn't, we're not hurting anyone by avoiding the use of (finite) fossil fuels. It seems that Germany has already solved and moved on from some of the arguments
So what makes this party conservative? One comparison is to the SPD, which would fall far left of the Democrats in the US. The SPD stands for social justice, modernization of the economy into a social market economy, improvement and advancement of the welfare state, worker's rights, world peace, etc. But something happened yesterday at the end of the rally that friends of mine noted as quite conservative, but that I found commonplace- the politicians on stage and supporters in the crowd sang the national anthem at the end. Supposedly the SPD would never do that. I can't imagine a political rally in the US that wouldn't be full of American flags and national anthems. If singing the national anthem is conservative, then I may have to rethink my political alignment.
Of course I'm ignoring the elephant in the room when it comes to German pride. But that's super complicated and something we could maybe discuss later.

Anyway, it was pretty cool to see Ms Merkel in person.

I am definitely biking to Tübingen this week, either on Wednesday or Thursday. Rick and I are going to camp one night, then get to Tübingen on day 2, spend a day sightseeing, and ride the train back. Very pumped.

bittersüß

I leave Germany two months from tomorrow.
I have been living in Heidelberg now for 8 full months, and been in Germany for almost 9.
The end is really, really close- I can't imagine June and July feeling so small in my life. Normally June and July are the longest months of the year-- besides August-- because of summer vacation. Months full of unplanned time, where you live by the day and by what the shift schedule for the next day looks like. If it's an opening shift, plan on a light night, because you're rising with the sun. Any other shift, and it's all good. It stretches on into eternity because planning is kept to a bare minimum.
This "summer" will fly by. I have 7 weekends left here in romantic Heidelberg. They are (almost) all completely filled already:
June 5-7: Angela Merkel is coming to HD. Also hiking.
12-14: Thinking of a bike ride to Tübingen. Still in planning stages.
19-21: Sam is coming. Or is he? Maybe he'll tell me one of these days.
26-28: Will Sam be here? Otherwise, hiking and helping friends move in.
July 3-5: Actually wide open... Party at the military base? Don't really want to. Maybe I'll spread some American culture somewhere.
10-12: Choir concert.
17-19: 21 years old! Most likely doing a Feuernacht redux, or something of the sort.
24-25: Thorsten drives down to pick me up. I'm very, very excited to show him my Heidelberg. He brought me here the first day to enroll, and he'll leave with me. Thanks, Thorsten!
And that's that. The last week will be spent in Köln with family.

Sadly the best word to describe my feelings is bittersweet, only because that word sucks. I figure I'll reflect a bit more in the next few weeks, but it's enough to say that I cannot wait to hug my mom and dad at the airport in Chicago. I also want these next few weeks to streeetch so I can run around inside of them until my legs are tired and I collapse. Thus bittersüß: or bittersweet.

Listening to: Lives- Modest Mouse
"It's hard to remember, we're alive for the first time. It's hard to remember, we're alive for the last time. It's hard to remember, to live before you die."

not an occupied country.

I went for a run today. I tried the Philosophenweg again, after my rousing success in conquering the Castle incline a few days ago. The Philosophenweg is a bit taller, a bit steeper, and I pretty much made it, only to stop and walk right at the top for a while. But I did make it all the way up. Definitely a vast improvement on my last attempt.

But once I made it over the bridge and back into the tourist mayhem that is the Heidelberger Altstadt, I heard those familiar celebratory bagpipes that U of C tends to claim as its own. I turned off my running music (went with a classic today: Led Zeppelin Mothership) and looked around to see what was going on. I approached the church and saw the bagpipes streaming out, followed by a procession of blue-robed and hatted students. Cool!, I think. I didn't know that Uni Heidelberg even had graduation ceremonies, and definitely didn't expect them to take place in the Heiliggeistkirche. But then I think some more, and realize we don't finish the semester (and thus no one would celebrate graduating) until mid July. And as I near the huge group of older people now filing out of the church I hear that oh-so-familiar twang of southern-American. Everyone's all fancy, decked out in their Sunday finest, streaming out of the church on Pentecost and invading the town's main square with diplomas and cheap Nikons in hand. It's the graduation ceremony for Heidelberg High School, filled with sons and daughters of servicemen and women stationed here.

I met Babsi's father this weekend- they took me out to a delicious steak dinner last night, and we went to church this morning. After church we had a cappucino and he talked to me about immediate postwar Germany, about its divisions into Russian, American, French, and British zones, and the ways in which this division manifested itself. He told me how the license plates from 1945-1949 designated the city of origin as well as which occupying power controlled that region- for example, B-M (British Münster) or A-H (American Heidelberg). These symbols fell away once Adenauer became the hand-chosen new Kanzler of West Germany. He told me of how the Americans spared Heidelberg from massive bombing because of its inherent beauty and quaint Old-German feel. About how the French, British, and Americans invited Adenauer to Bonn for a signing ceremony in a 5 star hotel overlooking the Rhine valley. They took a group photo, but had originally symbolically intended for the representatives of the 3 occupying powers to stand on a carpet, with Adenauer off it to demonstrate distance and power. Adenauer, defiantly, stepped onto the corner to show his (and Germany's) willingness to rejoin the democratic West. He told me of the huge British population that used to reside near his home in Osnabrück (in NW Germany)- how people would take in stride automobiles with steering wheels on the wrong side and some streets with traffic flipped as well. But they all left in the 70s. He tells me today not a single British person lives in Osnabrück; while that is certainly not true, the population went from about 15,000 to under 100 very quickly. When I ask why, he responds quickly, matter-of-factly, and somewhat surprised, by saying, well, we're not an occupied country.

And so with these memories and this conversation fresh in my mind, I encountered the masses of Americans celebrating a truly American tradition, and certainly one worth celebrating, thousands of miles away from America in the center of a German city. And my question, and annoyance, is formed in this way: what the hell are these people doing here? I'll put away my passing annoyance with loud, whining bagpipes piercing an otherwise calm Sunday afternoon. Why are American students graduating in a centuries-old Protestant church in the center of a German city? Why is there an American population of over 30,000 in a German city? And no, not people who've immigrated here and work here, not people attempting to learn the language and appreciate the culture. No, they don't apply for visas or get driver's licences. They live on a base. An arm of American military might, leftover from American involvement in World War II. And because the Allies had the kindness, and the foresight, to not bomb Heidelberg into the stone age, 64 years later the American government supports a massive army base here, the center of American military operations in Europe.

I keep coming back to Herr Frenk's answer, that simple, obvious answer as to why the British population in Osnabrück so quickly fell- Germany is not an occupied country. So how do I explain hundreds of Americans streaming out of a church in the center of Heidelberg, on Pentecost Sunday, after their graduation ceremonies? They study here, yet they don't have student visas. They're identified as relatives of members of the US military. But what are they doing here? What are our tanks, and jets, and guns, and bombs doing here? What are we afraid of?

Germany is not an occupied country. We should stop occupying it.

before/after

thoughts?

not a bad thursday...

I made it to the castle today! About 6 weeks after I started running, I jogged up to the castle, around the park 3 times, and back down. Pretty sweet. When I made it home I wanted to see how far I'd gone, and for the first time since 10th grade, used trigonometry (or basic geometry?) to measure how far I'd gone. You see, normally I run on a pretty much even course, with slight but never prolonged inclines. The jog up to the castle, though, is 1.32 km long with a total height difference of 95 m, or .095 km. I used the famous a(a) + b(b) = c(c) equation to figure out the actual distance I ran, but came up with 1.323 km. All the ridiculous hard work that I put into jogging up that ascent equals 3 m. Unless I did the math wrong. Oh well. But I felt quite accomplished, and it is a beautiful run. Again tomorrow?

I also had English class today. I'm teaching graduate students conversational English- one from Bulgaria, one from Poland, and one from Argentina. It was a lot of fun- I get to talk alot and listen to their stories, and they get to improve their English. I also enjoy the teaching element- it will be nice to watch them improve over the next two months I get to work with them. Also, I get paid... 10Euro per hour, and I suggested more time for each of them today, moving my hours per week from 2 to 5! Good times.

RIP Chicago Blackhawks, go Chicago Fire. Maybe they will be the team to bring us joy this year.

Love from rainy, romantic Heidelberg.

Al