Hildeblog

I’ve been shopping in a grocery chain called Tegut. They are an upper-scale chain like Harris Teeter. It’s been nice because they take Visa and I didn’t have to worry about having enough cash. Anyway, while Giovanni was shopping last night, I decide to catalogue some of the interesting packaging. Enjoy!

Coffee Packaging

Tea Packaging

Rice

Laundry Detergent

More Coffee

Energy Drink

Different kinds of fruit syrup

Christmas is coming!

Found in alley in Bad Hersfeld

Found in “disco” club in Herigen

Found on VW in Bad Hersfeld

I was showing Gio around the city a bit and we came across this public art. From far off I really thought it was three dimensional pinwheel of some sort, but upon closer inspection it was, of course, flat. I think I got a good shot of it that shows the dimensional aspects.

I bought a “top up” card for my prepaid phone the other night and was admiring the layout of the card. Just thought I’d share it with you.

PS: Vodaphone has a pretty cool logo too.

1. Pork, Pork, Pork
2. When out at a bar/night club the talking space between people is unsettlingly close. So, if someone enters your personal space to say something louder so that you can here them, don’t be alarmed if they are closer than you like.
3. Turkish is the new Mexican (Immigrant that is)
4. German “drunk” food is a Turkish specialty called a döner. It’s like a gyro, but specific to Germany. Don’t expect to get one in Turkey.
5. Did I mention PORK
6. Pizza, ah pizza. Something so delicious and simplistic in nature you would think it would be universal. However, paradoxically, in Germany you can not get a pepperoni and sausage pizza. Germans are also unaware of the concept of sharing a “large” pizza. The largest pizzas they have are about 10″ in diameter. So, if you’re planning on getting pizza for 5, plan on 5 individual pizza’s.
7. German words to know when ordering pizza:
   Pepperoni = Banana Peppers
   Salami = Pepperoni
   Paprika = Bell Peppers
   You can very easily get something you didn’t want if you’re not aware of this vocabulary
8. If you are ever celebrating anything personal, such as a birthday, graduation, new baby, etc… It is your responsibility to provide the cake, drinks, food, etc. People will still give you presents/gifts for those occasions, but you are expected to provide the refreshments. It’s kind of a crappy tradition. I told them it’s one where American’s definitely have it better. I mean, people are supposed to buy you things on your birthday, not the other way around.
9. Don’t let BMW fool you, according to Germans Audi is the “ultimate driving experience.”
10. The area I’m living in is very close to the former border of East and West Germany. In fact, half the people I work with live in towns that used to be East German and the other half, West German. The Germans kind of have a similar distinction between East/West that we do of North/South.
11. Many Germans are also upset that 40% of their income goes to taxes, and Westerners are upset about the amount of Federal money being spent in the East. They feel that are “paying for the East,” but that’s not entirely true.
12. They are also having a similar problem with their equivalent to “social security” that we are having in the US. Everyone pays a tax that goes toward their social security, but many people are worried that they won’t get those benefits even though they’ve been paying for them their entire life. This is because a mass of people from East Germany who didn’t pay into the system during the time of the Iron Curtain are now drawing funds out as they get older. After the reunion, everyone has had to pay into the system, but it is the fear of some that the years where there wasn’t as much going into the system will lead to shortages in the future.
13. It’s considered extremely rude if you do not say goodbye. This, being considered more of a courtesy in the US is like a serious party foul in Germany.
14. German Efficiency…  yeah right!
15. Don’t Tip. The tip has already been calculated into the cost of whatever you are purchasing. You can tip if you had extremely outstanding service and want to let the person know that, but one Euro is more than enough. Or, to make things simple, just round your price up and let them keep the change (ie 3.60 give ‘em 4.00 and call it even)

Hope you’ve enjoyed these pointers. Keep checking back for more!

Just thought you’d like to know that Germany and the US have similar graffiti…

This was on a building that I pass everyday on my way to work. This particular morning I happend to be sitting at the light, glanced over, and felt a bit of nostalgia.

Finally…

I’ve moved in to the apartment that I will make my home for the next five months. It was kind of rocky there in the beginning trying to get settled. The apartment they were going to get for us was under renovations and the owner kept pushing the finish date back. When I first arrived I was going to have to wait two weeks until Nov. to get moved in. That was fine with me, but when Nov 1 came and went and he pushed the date back another two weeks, I realized waiting on him was not the answer. I kindly asked my employers to search for other places. We found one last Wed and signed the papers on Friday. I spent my first night here last night and have been spending the weekend getting all of my stuff arranged like I want it. Here are some pictures of the place as it is now. I think we may get a few plants or something else to spruce it up a bit more, but it should do nicely for the time being…

The apartment is on the top (4th floor) of a building right on the edge of downtown. Though it’s only 4 floors, there are seven flights of stairs to go up since they double on each floor. The above picture is the entrance to the apt once you arrive at the top of the last flight of stairs.

As you enter, you can see directly into the kitchen. To the left is the living room, and down the hall to the right is the bathroom, master bedroom, and other bedroom.

Here’s what you see when you first enter the living room. I rearranged the furniture to create this lounging space. Originally they had put the table and chairs in the center of the carpet and shoved the couches into the small space I now have the table in. I flipped this to make it more livable.

I’ve turned the “dining table” into my work area. This is much nicer than the night stand I had to use in the B&B!

Turning back around, leaving the living room…

You pass through the entrance way and heading down the hall, straight ahead is the master bedroom, bathroom on the left, and guest bedroom on the right.

Before heading down the hall, on the immediate left is the kitchen. Here is the kitchen table in the breakfast nook…

and if you turn around here are the main cabinets and stove. The sink is just out of frame on the left. No dishwasher, so if I come back to the US with wrinkled fingers you’ll know why. Btw, how do you like our Easy Bake Oven? Sometimes Skipper comes over and helps me bake cupcakes.

Here’s the bathroom. Of everything in the apartment it feels the most dated. As you can see, there’s not really a shower, but I’m thinking about jerry-rigging a set-up with the movable spray head so that it’s mounted to the cabinet standing next to the tub. That way I can take a normal shower. They way it’s set up now, a shower sprays all over the rest of the bathroom.

The Master bedroom is a great size. I have the equivalent to a queen bed, but the German beds are different that US ones. This big bed is created by pushing two smaller mattresses together. You actually buy two separate fitted sheets (one for each mattress) and then two separate comforters. They don’t sell them as a one, single, large comforter. It’s ridiculous if you ask me, but I guess this way you don’t have to worry about your partner hogging the covers because you have your own. However, it looks pretty silly when just one person is sleeping in the bed.

So, the best part… is the view. Looking one direction out of the living room you can see housetops and mountains in the distance…

and the other direction looks back toward downtown.

In case you didn’t notice, being on the top floor basically means I’m in the attic and my ceilings are A-framed to fit the roof. I have several windows that are actually set into the roof and open at an angle. Once such window, in the bathroom, looks back toward the B&B I was staying in. If you look closely into the distance, you will notice a large, grassy opening. On the very left edge of this opening is the B&B I was staying in.

Earlier this morning I packed up and prepared to move into my much-waited apartment. I thought some of you might be interested in seeing the space I had been living in for the last three weeks.

I guess they knew I was leaving and wanted to get one last, peaceful/country living B&B PR moment before I left.

This was my closet…

My Bed…

and my work station.

After our night out in Fulda, I was introduced to German “Drunk Food.” Apparantly, there are a lot of Turkish immigrants in Germany, and they have assembled a unique entree called a döner. It’s kind of like a gyro but harder to eat. I’d still rather have a burrito from cosmic, but I can definately get used to these.

PS: They cook the meat on this kind of rotisserie grill and shave it off in strips…

I went out on Friday in a town called Fulda. A few of my coworkers live there and it seems to big a bigger city than Bad Hersfeld, where I’m currently living. It has a university and a lot more young people who are interested in going out and having a good time. In fact, Fulda has more bars per person than any other town/city in Germany. Here are a few pictures from the trip…

The giant Cathedral in Fulda

My hosts pointed out that this drug store was famous. It is the only drug store in Germany that doesnt’ sell condoms. This is because the building is owned by the Catholic Church.

The religuous figure, Saint Bonifacius

Ahh, and the reason for the trip… das bier