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| Unfortunately, I only caught a glimpse of the northern part of Germany. There's so much more I want to see of what is more my "homeland" abroad than anywhere else. I'm half German, my parents lived in Southern Germany during the Vietnam War, and I speak German, though not as well as I used to. The WWI German flagship, the Von Der Tann, was even named after my Opa's (grandfather) family. I think we as a people have been exposed to the Nazis and the Holocaust (as well we should in order to remember), but there's also another facet to Germany, too. This is what comes to my mind when I think of Deutschland - warmth, strong ties to family, intellectual inclinations, a sense of awareness, and a wonderfully dry sense of humor. I won't proselytize but I think that too few people experience it and only concentrate on its negative past...and they're missing out on some wonderful people. Deutschland ist ausgezeichnet. Well, on with the trip. I travelled from the Netherlands into Germany and up towards Hamburg. I got to experience the magnificent Reeperbahn, the infamous Red Light District where the Beatles performed before they hit it big. Anyway, that picture was taken of the road sign through the window of a moving vehicle, but I was able to walk up and down the strip of the Reeperbahn - with male escorts, of course. Over there, it's not particularly safe to go strolling through the Red Light District of Germany by yourself if you're a woman. As it was, I was having people stare at me, expecting me to "hawk my wares", so I didn't stop to take any photos. I stayed in a pub, drank some tasty German white wine (Liebfraumilch), and listened to some bawdy woman play the accordian while belting out German drinking songs. Afterwards, we went to a park, which had fountains that would pulse and change color in tune with the music that was blasting out of a nifty soundsystem. Everyone just stood around in the dark and listened to the Beatles (kismet or what?) while the fountain beat in accordance. The pictures I have really don't capture the beauty of it, since everything but the fountain is dimly lit, but I'll give it a shot: the first picture has a white color with some green tints to it, while the second picture has a glaring orangey-red hue. I only wish I could remember the name of this park. It provided the best eye candy in Germany. After spending the night and eating potato salad the way it was intended - HOT - I travelled up to Lubeck, a medieval city. Here is the quasi-Front Door, which still stands. Impressive. The next picture is of a double-decker bus, the first that I saw while abroad. I thought it kind of captured the feeling of the town, with all the colorful buildings surrounding it. If nothing else, I found Germany to be very clean. If you'd like to know more about Deutschland, please visit the German National Tourist Board, which offers information in both English and German. If you speak German, visit Yahoo! Deutschland or you can check out my favorite German site, Der Spiegel. The magazine is one of the best available, too, provided you're willing to shell out $7.00 plus tax for an imported magazine here in the States. Lastly, you can visit Deutsche Welle TV - the best in German broadcasting available in the U.S., in my opinion. There is also a link to read the schedule in English. If you'd like to pick and choose which of my pictures you want to view, please visit my Photo Gallery for Germany. |
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