A morning view of downtown Frankfurt am Main from the window of the building where I live in Frankfurt. You can also see a large passenger plane flying over the city. It is likely following the same flight path that my plane was on when I arrived on 20 November 2009.
Image: GrrlScientist, 25 November 2009.
This morning, I snapped the above image of downtown Frankfurt from the top floor window of the building where I live, whilst waiting for the elevator.
Our flat does not have wireless yet, and likely won't have it until sometime around the 2nd of December. Of course, this has inspired a tremendous amount of complaining from me. (Sorry, but it's true: writing my blog is my job, which requires wireless.) I thought I was moving to the European Financial Capital -- this long wait time for wireless is worse it would be in a Third World country!
Currently, I have to go to the shopping center to seek out a wireless connection there. Unfortunately, by the time I find a stable connection, my laptop batteries are halfway run down and are getting ready to quit, so even after I've found a good connection, I am not guaranteed much connect time. This is the reason my blog is still not very active, and the reason that I struggle to even keep up with the daily Mystery Birds, and am flooded out with many hundreds of emails that I haven't had a chance to read yet. So if you've emailed me, or commented on my blog, chances are that I've not even seen it yet, so I am not ignoring you intentionally, I am being forced to remain out-of-contact by forces that are beyond my control.
I still have not managed to configure my iPhone, which is hugely disappointing. Every step necessary to make my iPhone usable is just so difficult .. I am lucky to accomplish one step each day! Today, for example, I am stuck on the same step I've been stuck on for the past three days: trying to set up an iTunes account. Unfortunately, my iPhone is German, my address is German, but my laptop thinks I am Finnish, although the time zone is set for NYC (where my blog is based), and my credit card is American -- all of which prevent me from setting up an iTunes account necessary for formatting my iPhone and being able to use it. Calling the German Apple tech support is useless since I don't know enough German to know which button to push on my phone for help, so I have to email them and ask for help.
Currently, my iPhone is a very expensive, very heavy and very disappointing piece of junk filling my coat pocket.
Some new discoveries that I've made:
- The first sentence I spoke in German was "Bitte, ein Glühwein mitt rum und ein Glühwein mitt amaretto." Since I got what I asked for (without resorting to the usual "international sign language spoken by dummies"), I assume my German was acceptable and understandable.
- The first piece of mail I received in Germany was a book. This book is entitled Wholly Irresponsible Science: 120 Daring Experiments to Do in Your Home and Garden by Sean Connolly.
- Germans purchase their own washing machines as well as their entire kitchens -- including all appliances -- when renting. This is very different from what people do in North America. In fact, if renters in the USA had to purchase their own kitchen appliances, fixtures and cabinets as well as clothes washers, they would live with their parents far longer and move far less frequently once they do leave the nest, or they would end up renting a room in a boarding house due to the expense of living on one's own as well as the expense of moving.
- I was surprised to notice that the Germans add meat to nearly everything they eat, and these meats are often highly processed (in the form of a wide variety of sausages). I have found meat bits in numerous cheeses, cooked vegetables, and even in "vegetable" sandwiches. I would not be surprised to learn that they have a special ice cream with bacon bits in it. So I wonder; is it even possible to be a vegetarian in Germany? And if so, does a vegetarian have a social life that includes food?
- I was also surprised to notice how many Germans smoke. Worse, they seem to smoke absolutely everywhere, especially where food is served. My allergies and asthma are already in high gear due to this -- it makes me wonder how Germans with such chronic health problems can have any sort of social life at all -- what do they do?
- I live in a shopping center. No, seriously. Those of you who know me, know that I despise shopping centers, so this might seem like some sort of cosmic revenge of the retailers. However, it is actually really convenient and surprisingly pleasant. This shopping center also houses a post office (the PO door is immediately next door to the side door of my building). It also has a bus station in the basement between my building and a large store, so I can jump off the bus and either go shopping or walk to the elevator in my building -- all without getting wet! (I tested this during yesterday's rainstorm). I also live across the plaza from the Burger Meister's office where I had to register to be a legal alien -- a process that took less than five minutes and resulted in me being awarded a fat red zippered bag crammed with maps of Germany and of Frankfurt, bus and subway route maps and schedules, and 2-for-1 coupons for all sorts of special deals that I need to Google first to identify. (I'll bet this process is nowhere nearly as fast nor as friendly in the USA!)
- There is an online language course, Rosetta Stone, that uses the usual tools to teach a language, as well as also using sonograms to help the learner improve her pronunciation. The first week of this course is free, but if it's as good as it sounds, I suspect I'll be hitting up Rosetta Stone for some sort of discount for the German language version in exchange for a review on my blog.
- I also learned that WC Damen is not one of my spouse's colleagues.
- Log in to post comments
Hm. No mention of copious quantities of Gluhwein drunk.
Ooh, Gluhwein! I am fond of glogg, the Swedish equivalent!
While we're on the topic of awesome foreign languages, buna ziua din Statele Unite ale Americii! Nu e Romania, dar nu e corupt!
(I know just enough Romanian to get out a few sentences. My best friend is a Bucharester, so I'm trying to learn some Romanian.)
I understand that WC Herren has been responsible for more than a few embarrassing moments, what with the "Her" and all.
Viel Gluck!
Are you sure that isn't the Space Needle and that you are not in Seattle?
Check out the prices for mobile (G3) broadband. There's a very competitive market in Europe and you can probably be up and running in five minutes at fairly reasonable cost.
The best language courses by far are Pimsleur. The full German course will have you up and running far faster and better than anything else out there. Their courses are amazing. I've done a number of them and been successful traveling around the world.
GrrrlScientist wrote:
As a semi-vegetarian lobbing up in Berlin in the 90's, I was astounded when the salads turned up with meat in them. Only the Tomato Salad had no meat, but only tomatao. "Salat" is not the salad Australians, UKians and USaians are familiar with.
Being vegetarian in Berlin was a nightmare. There was a vegertarian restaurant right up near the Erhmailger Ossie Grenze (previous East German Border, in badly written Berliner Spraeke), that that was a fair hike from where we lived. Eventually I gave up on being vegetarian when I ate out.
I was wondering in the Germans had moderated their smoking habits in the decade since I was last there. No. In winter, we perpetually smelt like smoke. WE had to shed our clothes in the entrance to the flat because of the stench of cigarette smoke. Being an occasional asthmatic it was not fun.
But then again, lots of the old Berliner flats our friends lived in were heated by coal stoves, so it was like being stuck in a room full of smokers anyway. At our favourite music pub, I learned to sit next to the door so I could rush out at intervals in order to breath.
You lucky, lucky person, they must think the sun shines out your bottom. Getting German telecommunications to do ANYTHING in less than a geological epoch is a miracle.
And don't try and get things done around closing time, or you will be faced with non-responsivenees other than "Fierabend" (basically, free afternoon, or knockoff time or "Guv' I'm going home, you can do what you like".
europeans, in general, are heavy smokers. this is changing, but slowly... i was pleasantly surprised when france took charge of this in and around paris recently...
Welcome again to Frankfurt!
From your description, I'm pretty sure to know where you live. A friend of ours lives there, too. It's a really good place. Beside the busses, you also have a convenient light rail connection to the center of Frankfurt.
It shouldn't be too difficult to get vegetarian food, most restaurants offer vegetarian dishes, especially Asian places. In most supermarkets you can get organic (Bio-) products and if I remember correctly, there is also a "Reformhaus" in this shopping center. There you can reliably get vegetraian stuff. It may be a bit more expensive, though.
@4: This is definitely NOT the Space Needle. The local nickname is "Spargel" (asparagus).
We do not add meat to everything. Meat in sweets like ice cream would be gross, for example :)
And of course the cheese with added meat is a really tiny quantity to the other types of cheese here. Just try a "Feinkosthandel" at some time.
In restaurants, there is indeed meat added to salads like a topping in some cases, for example if you order some big salad-only dish. Other salads in restaurants are vegetarian of course, for example the salad side dishes when you order steak or something like that, but of course also some of the bigger salads you order without meat.
There are also some dishes which are called salad here, but some anglo-people would not consider to be a salad, because they contain no lettuce (ironically, the German word for lettuce is... Salat): potato salad (sliced cooked potatoes, onions, vinegar, this is probably also known in the US :) noodle salad (noddles, mayonaise, pickles, peas, carrots, sausage, other stuff) the aforementioned tomato salad (tomatoes, onions, salad sauce) and even meat salad (!) (highly processed meat in mayonaise, onions, sometimes pickles, can be bought ready made in supermarkets, should not be consumed too frequently I think)
As a general rule, if it contains some kind of salad sauce (vinegar, oil, or even something based on mayonaise or mustard), some vegetables and is served cold, it's a salad. I guess the word salad is kind of a false friend, because our definition is wider.
There are definitely vegetarians in Germany, I know some. But tofu is not widly used, so it's harder. There are some misconceptions against vegetarians, for example it was thought that a vegetarian diet can't provide you with all or enough nutrients. Most restaurants have at least one vegetarian dish to offer, aside from salads, that is of course not muche, but many have more. You can often get vegetarian dishes at Italian restaurants. You can also always ask the waiter to leave out some ingredient or add another. That is fully ok here, just don't make your list too long or your companions will become unnerved ^^. I've never seen a vegetarian restaurant. "Nordsee" is a fast food chain selling only fish based food.
I found sandwiches without meat, for example at the Frankfurt main station snack stands. They have goat milk cheese instead of meat, for example. There are also egg sandwiches and tuna sandwhiches, if you are a vegetarian light ;). I try to not eat tuna because they are endangered :(
You might want to see how relations with your new landlord & neighbors develop before trying those 120 daring experiments.
Just sayin'...
Off-topic, but look who just published a book review in NATURE (Nov. 24 issue), and a well-written one.
Nov. 26 issue, sorry, guys and gals.
Wow, that picture of Frankfurt just looks awesome! Can't wait to hear more about Germany.
As a sometime lurker on your blog, I'd like to firstly say congrats for making it to Germany, I hope you have a wonderful life there with your hubby and parrots :-)
I've mainly come out of lurkdom to suggest Pimsleur as a really fantastic audio language course - I am currently trying to learn Russian, and it's been one of the few things that has really pushed me forward (it took me like 2 years to just start constructing sentences, blah). But the comprehensive CDs are mega expensive, so if you can get big discounts for reviews then it might be feasible for you.I get them from my uni library, so maybe even the state library there might have some good resources?.
Good luck with everything!
the funny thing with the picture of Frankfurt is, that it is more or less the only city in germany which has this kind of skyscraper view. Other cities don't have so much skyscrapers .
Although: Talking of skyscrapers. It's not comparable to NYC, I guess.
Wow. I'm gleefully omnivorous and I become more and more disgusted by the overwhelming meatiness of American restaurant cuisine. I think German food would make me throw up despite my love of animal flesh.