Our Last Day in Salzburg

Yesterday we got up around 7:00 and got ready and packed up our things. After checking our items at the desk, since we were checking out before we were leaving Salzburg, we went around the corner to a little bakery and Mary picked up my breakfast, since I had paid for her water the night before. So, I chose a yummy apricot pastry and Mary picked a chocolate cinnamon roll. We went back to the hotel lounge and had some complimentary espresso and juice to go with our breakfast. Mary and I ended up splitting the pastries so that we could each have a bit of both.

After breakfast, the whole group went to Hellbrun Castle, just outside the city of Salzburg. We took a bus to get there and had enough time before the tour started to explore a bit of the grounds. Our tour included many outdoor statues, fountains, and entertaining areas. Apparently the archbishop who created the castle was a bit of a trickster, so he installed trick fountains in several seats, along walkways, and in the corners of some outdoor buildings. The thing that amazed me most was the mosaic work on many paths and floors outside that used river stones. The castle interior was also quite beautiful, and had several interesting paintings. One of the things that I learned while listening to the audio guide in the castle was that during the time that the archbishop was ruling in this area of Austria, it was common practice to bring rare specimens of living things to the residence and surrounding ground. As a result, there were several exotic birds, plants, and mammals, especially deer-like ones, living on the grounds. Several of the paintings in the castle were of some of these creatures. This raised for the question of what may have happened to the grounds when these were introduced. For example, did it introduce new invasive species?

After leaving the castle, Dr. Veltze invited Lyme and me to join her for lunch at a typical Austrian café along the river. She had been given her breakfast for both days free, since her TV did not work, so she offered to pay for our lunch with that money. Lyme and I took her up on the gracious offer and had a wonderful lunch and a nice time to get to know Dr. Veltze better. Lyme ordered breakfast food, eggs, toast, yogurt, and fruit, and I ordered a mozzarella salad with tomatoes and basil. Dr. Veltze ordered a very fancy version of mac and cheese that was seasoned with some sage, which she let us both sample. After a wonderful cup of coffee, Lyme and I left and went to find our way to the fortress.

We wandered our way through the streets, grateful for the beautiful weather, and Lyme picked up some wonderfully illustrated children’s books. After leaving the bookstore, we found some street artists, so I found a piece that I purchased for 10 E that is quite lovely. After leaving the street artist, we stumbled upon a large chess board marked off in the square and a few people playing with these almost two feet high pieces. As we stood there taking pictures, we heard a marching band coming, so we stayed to watch the Austrian band play. When we finally left the square, we wandered toward the fortress, taking in the views along the way. The trail was very steep, but the views were worth it. When we got to the gate, we turned around and headed back into town in search of a WC (restroom). Once we found one, we both realized that we didn’t have any change between us, since we’d spent it on the bus earlier in the day, so we couldn’t use the WC. So, we headed back to the hotel to use the one in the lobby there. It was fun getting to know Lyme better in our ramblings around Salzburg, learning her story and what she enjoys. It's been nice to be able to bounce from person to person throughout this trip to get to know each person individually.

When we got back to the hotel, we met a few others and decided to go grab a bite to eat with them. Mary and Amanda split a wonderful cheeseburger and fries at the river café they found, while Matt ordered fried chicken and potato salad. Lyme just ordered a drink. I have learned with this group that it’s better just to be on “clean up duty” if you’re not that hungry, so Lyme and I enjoyed some fries, olives, potato salad, and fried chicken when the others were all finished. Then we all went back to the hotel to pick up our luggage and went to the train station to go back to Munich. When we got to our platform at the station, we ran into a group of high school students who were from the Charlotte area, so we visited with a few of them. We boarded the train at 5:45 and were back in Munich by 8:30. I arrived back at the house at 9:30, after a wonderful walk home enjoying the sunset. After chatting a bit with Benny and unpacking, I fell into bed at 11:15 for a restful night’s sleep. Overall, Salzburg was wonderful and I’d go back again if I had the chance.

Day Two in Salzburg

Yesterday, I woke up around 7:00, took a shower, and got dressed in jeans, a sleeveless shirt, tennis shoes, and a raincoat. Yet another rainy day greeted us, but we’ve been told that that is typical Austrian weather, so I suppose we’re experiencing Salzburg as the locals do. After getting ready, Mary and I headed downstairs for our breakfast buffet. Although it cost 13 E, we got our fill of eggs, melted cheese on tomato slices, a variety of bakery breads and pastries, various hams and salami, as well as fruit and yogurt. There were several types of spreads to go with the bread and fruit, including Nutella (which was fantastic on pear slices and as a substitute for peanut butter on a piece of toast with orange marmalade). There was also champagne and juice, of which I didn’t partake this morning, but Dr. Veltze said that once she had poured what she thought was sparkling white grape juice, she couldn't let it go to waste! I had several small cups of coffee and thoroughly enjoyed the variety of cheeses as well. I would say that I certainly got my money’s worth on that breakfast!

After breakfast, we headed out to Mozart’s residence and birthplace, which were just a few blocks from the hotel. The first museum was quite well done, with an audio guide and several markers throughout each room explaining the items. We were not allowed to take photographs here, so I’ve included the link here for you to peruse.





http://www.mozarteum.at/02_Museen/02_Museen_WohnHaus.asp?SID=168244122101443. (You may need to switch it to English using the links at the top, or you can try your hand at deciphering the German if you'd prefer. There is more text here than pictures, but it does have some more detail about the Mozart and Hayden exhibit that was housed at the Residence.) It was rather interesting to learn that although Mozart had a rather successful career, all of the family’s furnishings, etc. were sold at an estate sale after his death. This museum housed many reproductions of instruments that Mozart would have played, and the audio guide had samples of some of his works being played on the instruments. The second museum, housed in a small apartment, was not as well done, but still interesting. There were items we wish had been explained more, such as the room that had a relief map of Salzburg on the ceiling and all of the pictures were hung upside down. There was another room with German and Italian words written around the room on the wall paper, but there was no explanation as to what was said or why this room was decorated in such a way. We did get to see the family kitchen, a family tree of the Mozart family, and some of Mozart’s personal effects that individuals had donated to the museum. Overall, this to these museums was worth the 8 euros that it cost, especially since we were given a student discount off the original 10 E price.

From there, we went to a few souvenir shops, where I picked up a tea towel to take home and the others picked up a few items. After that, we went to the craft fair held along the street by the river that we had seen the night before. Although I did not find any original drawings, prints, watercolors, etc., I did find some handmade jewelry that I purchased, and Mary picked up a few things for friends and relatives. At this point, we were all so completely soaked through (even with our umbrellas and raincoats), that we decided to come back to the hotel to dry off. So, we took a few hours to rest and dried our socks and pants with the hairdryer.

After hanging out and drying off, we got ready for our Mozart Dinner Concert. Most of the girls wore cute black dresses, I wore my brown flowered dress, and Mary had a very nice blue dress to wear. Lyme wore a blue button down shirt with some sparkly cuff links and nicely pressed black pants. We took a taxi to the dinner concert, which was held in St. Peters Abby at the restaurant called the Stiffskeller. The concert began promptly at 8:00, with the orchestra dressed in period costumes. After the opening piece, the opera singers came out a performed a few pieces from Don Giovanni. Then we had a lovely appetizer of a cream based soup with a dumpling in it, seasoned with sage and lemon. After the first course, we heard a few selections from Le nozze di Figaro, which were beautifully performed. The main course was served after these selections, and consisted of a roasted capon breast, steamed veggies, and a wonderful sauce seasoned with sage and truffles. A tad on the salty side, it was wonderfully filling. Die Zauberflote was the next piece performed. This popular opera from Mozart combines farce and drama into an exciting piece. Dessert was a fantastic finish to this unique experience, consisting of a honey flavored frozen dessert on a graham cracker-like crust, served with two fruit sauces. I’ve included a picture of the dessert here (so that you can adequately picture this luscious thing).

We left the concert a little after 11:00 and walked back to the hotel, enjoying the sights of Salzburg at night, with the lights along the river. I was very glad to have my new shoes, which kept my feet nice and dry on this walk and were comfortable enough to walk back to the hotel. When we finally arrived back at the hotel, I made myself a cup of hot peppermint tea in the lounge and then headed up to bed. It was after midnight when I finally fell into bed, after an enjoyable, but exhausting day.

First Day in Salzburg

Yesterday was we began our trip to Salzburg. I got up early, took a shower, finished my last minute packing, and walked to the s-bahn. I just barely missed the 7:10 train, but still met the group on time by catching the 7:30 line. When I arrived at the Hoptbahnhof station, I picked up a pastry for breakfast and we were off on our two hour ride to Salzburg, Austria. The sights were beautiful as we rode across the countryside and the mountains came into view through the mist. There were so many church steeples and Bavarian style homes with steep roofs covered in red tile.

When we arrived at the Salzburg station, we picked up some information at the information desk (maps, guide books, etc.) and walked to our hotel. Our hotel is a very old hotel with smaller rooms, but very high ceilings. Here's a link if you want to see more pictures of the hotel: http://www.austrotel.at/en/hotel_salzburg.html. We weren’t able to check into our rooms until 2:00, so we left our things behind the desk and found a place for lunch, another tasty little Italian place. I had a margherita pizza (cheese and sauce), and shared bits of the others’ pasta dishes. After lunch, a group went to do the Sound of Music tour, but I opted to stay around town and explore the shops and old buildings. I found this cute church with nice architecture, so I’ve included some of those pictures here.

When the group returned from the Sound of Music tour, a few of us went to a rooftop café for a bite of dinner around 8:00 at another hotel. The views were spectacular since it was right next to the river and you could see the bridge that’s featured in The Sound of Music. The food service left a little to be desired, as they seemed to be out of quite a few items on the menu, but the views made up for it. After leaving here, we found a street music festival and an art fair that was packing up for the day, but we decided to come back to the art show today. After a leisurely walk along the river and pushing our way through the crowds at the music festival, we headed back to the hotel for a good night’s sleep. Overall, a nice beginning to our jaunt in Salzburg!

Day Two of the Poetry Conference

Today, I got up early and had my shower and was ready with about 40 minutes to spare, so I posted my blog entry for yesterday and worked a bit on reworking some parts of my paper. When I started to come downstairs, I saw that Petra had put a new pair of pantyhose on the top step for me. (I had asked her where I could pick up some for relatively cheap during our chat last night, and she ended up having an extra pair in her drawer that was the size and color I needed, which I didn't know.) I was downstairs by 8:30 for my breakfast of toast and raspberry jam, and left with Petra by 8:55. She was able to get a "VIP" spot right next to her shop today, with no chance of a parking ticket! So, I was off to the library (with my camera today).

I arrived early at the library and had some time to take pictures around the grounds. It was beautiful today (no rain!), and I got some nice pictures of the ducks, the patio where we can eat lunch during the week, and some pictures of the outside of the castle. When some of the others arrived, we toured some of the new exhibits that were opened last night. A castle makes an incredible museum, it turns out, with all of it's towers, nooks for reading and pictures, and multiple levels that enable people to spread out in a relatively small space. I've posted some pictures here of the exhibit designed to honor and remember a famous German author and illustrator.

At 10:00, the conference began, so we went upstairs to hear a discussion on the topic of whether children's poetry is worth publishing today, in terms of the possibility of a poet being able to make a living writing children's poetry. This discussion was with a German publisher and a German editor, so we listened to the translation through our headphones. The next presentation was another series of short biographies of poets around the world, with a few of their poems being read. Perhaps the most interesting was the poem presented from poet Shintaro Tanikawa, of Japan. The presenter was Japanese and discussed the use of word play and double meanings of some of the characters within the poem. The poem was also projected on the screen, so it was interesting to see the Japanese characters while the speaker read the poem in Japanese. Other poets mentioned in this session were Douglas Florian, a US poet, and Maurine Mahy, of New Zealand (her style is similar to Shel Silverstein). There is a picture here of Johan presenting his poem.

We then had a coffee break, with cookies and cappuccino, espresso, and alfredo again today. I have a picture here for you to see the alfredo that I had today. If you look closely, you might be able to see the pretzel on the side of the mug.

After our coffee break, there was a presentation by a phenomenal Dutch children's poet and illustrator, Ted van Lieshout. His work is more surreal and abstract, which seems to be a theme among European illustrators. One of the things that I've noticed during this conference is that the European culture as a whole is less afraid to present less than cheerful, and sometimes downright gloomy, images and text to children in poetry. This seems largely dissimilar to the US culture as a whole, although these certainly exist in the US in certain segments of the literary and artistic culture. Van Lieshout presented the idea of not creating illustrations for the text, but of writing the text and then finding images to go with it, as he did with one of his works. He simply went through his portfolio and found images that he felt went with the overall rhythm, theme, or mood of the text. He uses all manner of techniques, including collage and computer generated or altered images.

For lunch today, we had peppers stuffed with couscous and chopped veggies with a creamy tomato sauce. There was also red cabbage that was spiced with cloves and cinnamon, multiple salads, pasta, German dumplings, and bread. There was not dessert with today's lunch, but I suppose the cookies during the coffee break sufficed.

After lunch, there was a presentation from the Austrian collaborative group, Gerda Anger-Schmidt (poet) and Renate Habinger (illustrator). This pair was quite dynamic and has worked together for over 25 years. They seem to compliment each other well and were thoroughly entertaining to listen to, even with the English translation by headphones. There are some images of Habinger here illustrating some of her techniques. After their presentation, there was another presentation by the library staff on more poets from around the world. At the end of this presentation, there was another short coffee break with yummy chocolate and orange filled cookies, and then back for the last few sessions of the day.

The most interesting presentation of this last session was from Lionel Le Neouanic, a French poet and artist. He primarily uses mixed media for his illustrations, and often reworks famous pieces from artists such as Picasso, Degas, Monet, and others. He typically creates the images first and then develops the story from those, saying, (in rough translation) "I am almost the translator who translates the picture into text." The last discussion of the day was a sort of debate regarding illustrating classical poetry and presenting classically adult poetry to children. This raised a lively question and answer portion with the audience at the end of the day.

I left the library shortly after six to come home. I picked up a yummy cream cheese pastry as a snack for dinner, since lunch was so filling, and discovered that the bakery in Grafelfing puts pastries on sale after 5:00, so I purchased it for .65 E instead of the regular 1.25 E. I love finding new deals! When I got home, I chatted with Petra a bit about the weather in Salzburg for the weekend (mostly more rain), and asked her to put a few things in the laundry with her laundry this weekend. Currently, the cat is sleeping on my bed while I pack my bag for Salzburg. I'll leave early in the morning to catch the 7:10 train to be at the Haptbanhof station by 7:45ish. We'll be in Salzburg until Monday evening.

First Day at the Poetry Conference

Yesterday, I got up a little later than usual, but still managed to have breakfast before Petra came back from her walk with Alegra. I was surprised that the rain had let up a bit, but in spite of that, Petra told me that there has been flooding all over Germany recently due to the amount of rain we've had. She dropped me off at her shop, and I walked to the train without an umbrella for the first time in about a week. At my stop at Pasing to pick up the bus, I realized that I had forgotten my camera in my rush to get ready.

I arrived at the library early to help with whatever last minute preparations needed to be made, but everything seemed to be taken care of for the poetry conference. So, I stowed my things in a locker and got set up to work before the politicians arrived. None of them asked me any questions, although they did speak with some of the other professors who have been there working. I was able to add a few more pages to my paper before lunch, as well as finish reading one of the novels I'd been working on for the unit.

Lunch was outside in the courtyard in a large tent and it seemed to be quite the event. There were servers carrying drinks to people and cheese and bread as appetizers. The food was fantastic; an bountiful buffet of roasted vegetables, salads, caprise salad (one of my favorites with mozzarella and sliced tomatoes), and so many varieties of potatoes. There was salmon, beef, and pasta as a main course. And dessert... mmmm... chocolate mousse with bits of dark chocolate mixed in, as well as a vanilla mousse that was heavenly. After lunch, coffee, cappuccino, and alfredo (espresso with lots of steamed milk) was served, and the conference began at 3:00.

The first portion of the conference was a bit boring, as there were lots of German folks in the literary and publishing world who seem to be rather "high society" who had a few moments to speak. Fortunately, there were some language students from the university who were there to translate, using a sound system that went to headphones for those people who needed to hear the speeches in English. After the introductions were made, there was a children's poet from Germany who spoke and shared a few of her poems in German, and we were provided with a rough translation in English. After she spoke, there was a series of poems presented from poets around the world, many of these being presented by the library staff. Each presentation included some biographical information about the poet and then a poem or two by that particular poet. I suppose I should mention that the topic for the conference is children's poetry and illustrations. It seems that some of the discussion has been surrounding the use of word play, alliteration, imagery, etc. and the choice of images used to illustrate these poems, whether they inhibit or encourage the imagination of a child when hearing or reading the poems.

At this point, we took a short coffee break and had coffee and cookies (of the Danish variety, the ones in the blue tin, although these were served on very fancy silver platters). I had an alfredo at this point and enjoyed some conversation with one of the professors who is studying here who is from a university in Texas.

After the coffee break, we had the opportunity to hear the most exciting speaker so far, a poet from England named Andrew Peters. He has written numerous poems, some on his own and some in collaboration with his wife, Polly Peters. He is more of a performance poet, so many of his poems were read with great expression, hand motions, etc. and were very engaging and honest. He has recently begun writing for young adults and these were some of my most favorite pieces. He and his wife have been very honest about their own experiences as teens in these poems, so they are the type of literature that is very popular with teen audiences. Unfortunately, only some of his childrens books have made it to the US publishers. It seems that most publishers aren't interested in publishing poetry, since it seems to be the thing that doesn't sell as much. He has also written some novels with his wife, and a poetic novel (I think that's the correct term) that tells a story through a series of poems. I would love to see some of his work published in the US and see him perform some of his poems for US students (although some parents might object to his frankness with regards to teen experience). Here's his website if you'd like to check him out: http://www.tallpoet.com/. At the end of his presentation, he gave the chance for people to ask questions and to purchase some of the books he'd brought with him, and he signed them. I purchased one of the novels he's written, although I would have preferred to have a copy of his book Poems with Attitude. He only was able to bring what would fit in his carry on luggage, so he only had a small selection from which to choose.

After Andrew's presentation, we had dinner, which was again lovely. Quiche, potatoes, steamed kohlrabi, salads, more caprise salad, and fish of some kind, all of which was very good. I was coming away from the buffet table and saw Andrew and asked him about videos of his performances that I could share with my students. He said that he didn't have any on his website, as people tend to just pull stuff from the web without giving credit where it's due. He then surprised me by offerring to come sit with our group, since he was sitting by himself previously. So, we had the chance to chat with him, share our experiences in American schools, hear from him some of his experiences and desires with regards to being published in the US, etc. After dinner, he had to leave to catch a flight back to England, and I left to come back to the house, as it was getting toward 8:00.

When I arrived at the house, Alegra greeted me as usual, and Laura and I had a nice chat about her school, my students, and some other general getting to know you discussion. When Petra came home, I found the pictures of Lavender that she had been asking about (she has had dachshunds in the past) and some pictures of the house. We stayed up and chatted about all manner of things, including some of her trips to the states when she was younger to visit a cousin in Colorado. We chatted about hikes in the mountains and she shared some places that I might want to go hiking here when it gets a little prettier. She made some hot tea with honey and shared it with me, and it was a wonderful way to wind down from a long day.

I will post pictures of the library staff in their traditional dress, the buffet tables, etc. when I can get copies of pictures from someone else in the group. I am taking my camera today, though!

Preparations for the Poetry Conference

I woke up today to yet more rain, so I wore my jeans today, with my cardigan and sweater tank, and put on a scarf. My breakfast of cereal and currants was quite tasty while I waited for Petra to return from her morning walk with Alegra. As soon as she was ready, we were off and had our morning chat on the way to her shop. She told me that she had gotten a parking ticket yesterday and a speeding ticket the day before, but she didn't mind too much, since the police officer was cute. She explained to me that parking and minor speeding tickets don't require much paperwork on the part of the driver, just pay the fee and you're off again. However, if it's excessive speeding or drinking and driving, then the fines are much steeper, and sometimes a license is revoked.

When I got to the library, I had to wait outside, since it wasn't quite 10:00 and the doors weren't open yet. When the doors were opened, I got settled in and began typing more of my paper. I was able to add some more resources today and solidify the criteria I need to use to evaluate the literature from an international perspective. Instead of eating at the library today, I opted to go with most of the group to McDonald's just down the street. The choice today for lunch was dumplings again, and I thought a salad would be better, since I haven't had as many veggies as I'm used to lately.

After lunch, I returned to my work and got some helpful feedback from Dr. Veltze. I'm hoping to use tomorrow morning to work on the science part of my unit and rough that out reasonably well. At the end of the workday, we all collected our things from the locker area and met outside for a group meeting. It seems that the library staff is convinced that our presence here at the library researching will show the politicians, who are coming for the morning portion of the conference tomorrow, that the funding that the government contributors provide for the library is well spent, since we are an international presence. We also met to find out what meals we'll have tomorrow and Friday as a part of the poetry conference and what some of our duties might be. Thankfully, we will have tomorrow morning, at least, to continue working on our papers (and I'll work on my unit plan). It will be exciting to see how this conference is run, to see the staff all dressed up (most of them will come in the traditional durndles (sp) and leiterhosen (sp)), and to experience the "fair-like" atmosphere that the staff has tried so hard to arrange in the courtyard of the castle. I should have some exciting pictures to post of the events tomorrow and Friday.

We left the library and traveled to Hoptbanhof, where the central station is for regional trains. We will leave from this station on Saturday morning to go to Salzburg for the weekend, and we'll return on Monday evening. (I realized another "green" feature of Germany--escalators. They don't run continually, but are triggered by someone stepping on the metal landing before the first step. Also, the revolving doors are not electronic, they are regular pus turn-style doors.) After we figured out how to get to this station and our meeting area, some of us went shopping. I tried to find a pair of tights to go with the shoes I found yesterday so that I could wear my skirts, but could only find pantyhose and leggings. So, Mary and I decided that we would go out tomorrow afternoon and try to find some things at H&M, since we didn't get there today.

After Mary and I left department store, we went back to the Hoptbanhof station, had a bratwurst on a baguette, and caught the S6 train back toward Tutzing. Mary got off at Pasing to catch her bus, and I came the rest of the way to Grafelfing. I walked home in the misty rain and was greeted by Alegra at the door. After putting my things down, I went downstairs to get a few things from the fridge and saw that the rabbits were in the livingroom (in their cage). So, I took their picture to post here. One is named Jimmy and I don't remember the other's name, but Petra said that they've lived longer than they have expected them to. I'm planning to work a bit more on my paper tonight and then just relax with a book and the radio. Hopefully, tomorrow, I will remember to take pictures of the lake, ducks, etc. at the library and can post those here.

By the way, I'm missing your comments! Please post any questions you have so that I can answer them for everyone. I'd like for this to be as interactive as possible.

Another rainy day

Today, I woke up to more rain. It almost feels like Boone it's rained so much here lately. So, I dressed as warmly as I could for my day today, and had my breakfast of cereal and the currants that I brought back yesterday. Petra came in a little later than usual from her morning walk with Alegra. Apparently, Alegra had gotten away from her and had found some yummy bit of leftover in the woods that someone had left, so Petra had to take off after her in the rain through the field. Petra was none too happy with Alegra, and was a little late for work as a result, but I still made it to the train on time. There was a group of middle schoolers on the train today, obviously on a field trip from the presence of ipods and the teacher's roll sheet, and it made me miss that part of my job (a bit--I can't imagine packing a whole class onto public transit, but it would certainly be an experience!)

Once at the library, we had a short meeting about the upcoming week, and then went to work. Junko shared a book with me today that is a wonderful fit for my project and has an annotated bibliography to boot, so I'm excited about that. I finished the social studies part of my unit, at least the rough draft, so I had some sense of accomplishment before lunch. Lunch today was a Mediterranean fish dish with olives and tomatoes. I posted a picture here so you can see the yummy lunch from today. (I'm hoping to get out to the patio at the library cafe tomorrow to post those pictures. The ducks have been very happy in the rain on the patio, though!)

After lunch, I read some more of one of the novels that I cannot take home from the library, probably over 100 pages of it. It's a remarkable book called In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer and the life story of this Polish woman is incredible. It is one that I highly recommend, if you're in the market for a good, but serious, read.

When I left the library, it was still raining, but I needed to get some close-toed dress shoes so that I could wear the skirts that I brought (since it's continually raining, the sandals just make my toes cold and wet.) So, Dr. Veltze and I went to a few shoe stores in Pasing to find some shoes, since she is in the same predicament. (I never thought I'd go shoe shopping with my professor, but I suppose Dr. Veltze was probably more fun than Rob might have been. ;)) I posted a picture of them here, mostly because there wasn't much else to take pictures of today. After finding the shoes, which are very comfortable, I went to the discount bakery, picked up a pretzel, and headed for the house.

When I got home, I ate the rest of the pretzel that I hadn't eaten on the train, and had a few more currants and a piece of chocolate for dinner. I also worked on my paper a bit more and have listened to NPR. It seems that this is becoming my daily routine, but it's been a nice way to wind down from the day. (And the rain limits the amount of walking that I want to do around town.) This weekend is our Salzburg trip, so I'm sure that I'll have more to post then.

Library Research

This morning, I got up and dressed as warmly as I could for what I packed. I came prepared for a few rainy, cool days, not a week, so I've been layering as much as possible. I had breakfast here at the house and then walked to the train in the rain. Petra's shop is not open on Mondays, so she did not take me part way, so I got a little more exercise today. Thankfully, I had allowed enough time to still arrive at the library on time. At the station, I saw a school group of what looked to be 8-9 year olds trekking out on a field trip. It has been fun seeing students around town and at the library.

I managed to get a rough outline of the social studies portion of my unit completed today and hope to complete that in the morning. I plan to get the entire unit roughed out by Wednesday, but that will depend entirely upon whether or not I can find the secondary resources I need from journals, etc. I did quite a bit of reading in one of the novels I found to supplement my unit, since I cannot take that out of the library. I'm hoping that after the poetry conference is over at the end of this week, I'll be able to get a little more help from Claudia, the English language specialist, as well as the others. The poetry conference is a really big deal, they're having politicians and funding groups from around the country to come in, so I understand their stress.

For lunch today, we had a "dumpling" in a creamy mushroom sauce with cheese. It was sort of like a stuffing meatball with cheese melted on top in a heavy cream sauce with mushrooms; very good, but very rich. It was so filling; it reminded me of trying to eat a whole dish of pasta alfredo at Olive Garden. Shea didn't care for hers, so she gave it to some of the staff at the library. I've included a picture here. I'm hoping tomorrow will be something with a few more veggies.

After lunch, I continued my reading and went over to the lending library to pick up a book about propaganda. I also found a few more resources from the web, including a website from Illinois, which requires that the Holocaust be taught in all public schools, as well as current instances of genocide. Thanks to Junka, the professor from Chicago, for cluing me in on that bit of information. After cleaning out the locker, I picked up the currants I left over the weekend and munched on those on the bus.

After leaving the library, it was so dreary and rainy, I just wanted to come back to the house. So, I stopped in Pasing, picked up a pretzel as a snack and took the train home. The picture here is a pretzel from yesterday... I didn't eat one that large today!I was greeted by Alegra at the door, who thankfully didn't bark, as Petra was taking a nap in the living room. After eating my snack and changing into comfy clothes, I went downstairs to put my currants in the fridge and visited a bit with Laura. I haven't gotten to know the girls as much as I'd like, simply because they seem to be typical teenage girls and are busy with their social lives.

We've had quite a few thunder storms this afternoon and evening, including some hail, so it's been a nice afternoon to sit and research, read, and listen the the internet radio. I've included a few more pictures here from the Botanical Gardens from yesterday. Enjoy!

Yesterday in the English Gardens

Yesterday, I slept in a bit and met Mary in Pasing to pick up some breakfast at the discount bakery (yes, I can find a deal while traveling as well) before heading to meet the group in Marienplatz. I had a wonderful apple pastry and a coffee while we walked around the square, window shopping. (Since Bavaria is largely Catholic, many of the shops close on Sundays, including the grocery stores. Only the bakeries and restaurants are open on Sundays.)

At 12:00, we met the group at the golden statue in the middle of the square. When I take the walking tour one day, I'll hopefully find out more of the history of this area and how so much of the architecture was preserved during WWII.






When the group was gathered, we took the U-bahn (subway, not train) to the English Gardens, which are one of the largest park areas in the world. This area is larger than Central Park in NYC, and quite beautiful. There is live music on Sundays, which was wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We listened to the music at the Chinese tower while we ate lunch, which was in a large area served kind of cafeteria style, where you stood in a long line and made your selections at the counter(s) of your choice. Mary and I split up, she purchased drinks while I bought lunch, and it came out to be an even split. We had several types of sausage mixed with our potatoes (which was fantastic) and red cabbage cooked with apples, very similar to what I make at home, which was also tasty. I decided that some of you would probably like to see the food, so I'll begin posting pictures as space allows.

After leaving the English Gardens, a few of us went back to Marienplatz and toured the Botanical Gardens, an area which Mary, Amanda, and I visited on our first day, but several of the others had not seen. Then I made my way home, but just as the rain was coming. So, I schlepped my way through the rain from the train to the house, which is about a fifteen minute walk. Thankfully, I had both my raincoat and an umbrella. When I got home, I found that my jeans were soaked at the bottom, so I went ahead and put on my comfy cotton lounge pants. I have come to enjoy internet radio even more than I did at home, now that I am away. So, I sat for the rest of the evening in my comfy clothes, listened to NPR and the rain, and read a bit for my project and just for me. Overall, a wonderful Sunday.

A Day in Dachau

This morning, I got up earlier than usual, left by 7:15, took my train to Pasing, and met Dr. Veltze by 8:00. After grabbing a very yummy pastry and caffe latte for breakfast, the rest of the group was there and we were off to Dachau, after some deliberation about which train to take.

We arrived in Dachau and then took a bus to the camp, using the same road that the prisoners would have been forced to walk. When we got off the bus, we visited the visitor's center, purchased an audio guide for the student price and were able to share those with the group, so not everyone needed to purchase one. As we approached the camp, we entered through the same gates that the prisoners would have come through for selection. Forged into the gate are the words, "Arbeit Macht Frei" or "Work shall set you free." This was the beginning of the Nazi propaganda that we saw throughout the camp and museum.

We saw the roll call area, where 40,000 to 50,000 prisoners were forced to stand for roll call each day. Often times, those who were too weak to stand would be supported by other prisoners as a sign of solidarity and as a means of saving that person's life for at least another day. We also visited the barracks, which changed in floor plan and structure from the beginning to the end of the camp. The picture here of the gravel areas show outlines of where the barracks once were. The barracks actually pictured are reconstructions. The fences that surrounded the camp were largely made of wire, some electric trip wires, and some barbed wire. Stationed throughout the camp were watch towers, which I've pictured here. The grassy area around the camp was known as the "killing zone", where the guards in the watch towers were allowed to shoot at will any prisoner who stepped into the grassy area. The closer to the wall a prisoner made it and was shot, the more extra pay the guard who shot him received, so it behooved the guard to allow the prisoner to get as close to escaping as possible.

Perhaps the most trying area to visit was the crematorium and the gas chamber. There is an earlier crematorium, and later ones were added toward the end of the war as more and more bodies were needing to be disposed. There is no evidence to prove that the gas chamber that was installed in the Dachau camp was ever used, although there are records to show that prisoners were sent to other camps to be gassed.

On a more positive note were the monuments and memorials that were placed throughout the camp. The main monument in the camp is a sculpture that is created by a survivor of the camp. Other monuments have been added over time to this installation. There are also several religious monuments and memorials at the end of the camp, including a Christian monument and a Jewish memorial.

In the museum portion of the camp, there developers have done an excellent job of highlighting the resistance and solidarity movements among the prisoners and within the community, while showing the reality and tragedy of the situation.

After spending several hours at the camp, we all felt the need to leave and find some lunch, and some rejuvenation (as Lyme said, she needed to "scour and bleach her soul") so we went into the old part of the city of Dachau and had Italian. It seems that Italian is very popular here, and we ordered several pizzas to share and a few salads. The salami pizza was wonderful, but the view from the windows was even more incredible. I've included a picture here of the outside of the restaurant.

From there, we went to Schloss Dachau (Dachau Castle). The fee was two euros, and I paid with a 10, and received three back. When I questioned the woman behind the counter, she insisted that I paid with a five. I decided it wasn't worth making a scene, and kept going, but I am beginning to feel some empathy for those immigrants and travelers who are unsure about the currency. The gardens and views were the best part of the castle. We all assumed that there would be signs, etc. to explain each room and important statues etc., but found that this was not the case. So, if you're ever in Dachau, I would not recommend paying for a visit to Dachau Castle, unless there's nothing else you can do with two (or more) euros.

After visiting the castle, we were headed for the s-bahn, and saw a street fair, so we hopped off the bus and headed down the square. We found that the street fair was being set up for a cover band of ABBA, but the show didn't start until the bus stopped running, so we just browsed the food stands and watched the kids on the rides, etc. It was also fun seeing all of the dogs that were out (we saw several dachshunds today). Oh, and did I mention the fish on a stick? Yep, scales, tail, fins and all, smoked or roasted on a stick and very popular as street food here.

From there, we took the bus back to the station, took the s-bahn to Marienplatz and browsed the shops. We eventually found our way to a beer garden where several people found a beer they liked, a sausage or brat on a roll, and Mary and I split an order of pomme fritze (sp) (french fries), which were very good. Then, after an interesting encounter with some gentlemen at the table beside us, we took the s-bahn back to our respective homes.

I am exhausted today, after so much walking around the camp and towns (even though I wasn't hauling the laptop around). So, it's off to bed for me for some reading a a day tomorrow touring some of the palaces in the Munich area with the group.