Sunday, Sunday

So for a long time I have been annoyed about everything being closed on Sundays. Now, however, I have started to embrace it. It is nice to be lazy and not feel guilty. I can't run errands, the ZI's library is closed, and the Staabi has not gotten the books in that I ordered Friday.

So here are what my Sundays are like now
1. Wake up around 11am
2. Watch movie (today was Persepolis, which was really good)
3. Make an elaborate lunch
4. Talk to family and friends
5. Do hand-washing
6. Write a boring blog entry
7. Consider making dinner for several hours, until the hunger interrupts my contemplations on how much work this is.

Ahh the day of rest!

Struwwelpeter

So I have been seeing this classic book of German Children's stories everywhere I go. Frankly I am glad I was not a child in nineteenth century Germany, because the cover image alone is terrifying. So I decided to look up what the plot was, hoping it would explain this image.


Using only the best source (wikipedia) this is what I discovered.

It comprises ten illustrated and rhymed stories, mostly about children. Each has a clear moral that demonstrates the disastrous consequences of misbehavior in an exaggerated way. The title of the first story provides the title of the whole book. Literally translated, Struwwel-Peter means Shaggy-Peter.

What are some of these stories you might ask:

1. The Dreadful Story of Pauline and the Matches: A girl plays with matches and eventually burns to death.

2. The Story of Kaspar who did not have any Soup: Kaspar, a healthy, strong boy, proclaims that he will no longer eat his soup. Over the next five days he wastes away and dies.

3. The Story of Flying Robert: a boy goes outside during a storm. The wind catches his umbrella and sends him to places unknown, and presumably to his doom.

4. The Story of Bad Frederick: a violent boy terrorizes animals and people. Eventually he is bitten by a dog, who goes on to eat the boy's sausages while he is bedridden.

5. The Story of Thumb-Sucker: a mother warns her son not to suck his thumbs. However, when she goes out of the house he resumes his thumb sucking, until a roving tailor appears and cuts off his thumbs with giant scissors.

And I thought Family Guy was just making it up: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Mzg2mbrZs

Waiting Room Etiquette

Since Munich is trying to convince me to leave by always making me sick (HA! Nice try, but it isn't working), I have gotten to experience the German health care system. You can go to any doctor and the doctor sees you almost immediately. There is none of that first going into the room to have your vitals checked by the nurse and then waiting another thirty minutes until the doctor pops his/her head in.

What I find most interesting, however, is how one is supposed to behave in the waiting room. The other patients greet you. Even if you are sitting in there and a person comes merely to pick up her coat and leave, she still says goodbye to you and wishes you a nice day. Now everyone knows that I love talking and making eye contact with strangers. Think how much more I like this at the doctor's office, say when I am visiting the gynecologist.

Mmmmmm...Krapfen

So as Fasching approaches all the stores are decorating (which for the Lotto/Tobacco shop next to me means the word 'sching' in construction paper letters since the F and A fell down). And the bakeries have all their different types of Krapfen out on display. I have now eaten two and I think I have reached my doughnut limit for the rest of the year.

But as you know German is a fun language and Bavarians and Austrians often have their own names for things. So if I do want another and am in Berlin I cannot just ask for Krapfen.

So if you would ever like a doughnut filled with stuff in Germany around carnival season, here is what you need to know:

1. In Bavarian and Austria = Krapfen
2. In most of the rest of Germany = Berliner
3. In Berlin = Pfannkuchen. This makes perfect since because that word in the rest of Germany means a type of pancake. And why would we want to make this easy on anyone?

Travels with Germans

So today I went to Landshut, which is northeast of Munich, with the other stipend holders at the Zentralinstitut and the second-command of the ZI. It was nice to be included, because I could watch the habits of Germans during their excursions. Since I am incapable of having conversations in German at any sort of level, this allowed me to hone my anthropological skills.

Here are some of my observations and preliminary findings
1. They are able to stand for extraordinary amounts of time in freezing cold castles and palaces. Despite the fact that, for me, hypothermia had long set in, the subjects continued to discusses mediocre paintings at length. The only conclusion I can draw from this is that they must all have prosthetic limbs that serve as insulation between the cold floors and their torsos.

2. They never drink water or anything hydrating at lunch, which is usually a large, heavy meal. Conclusion: Their digestive systems have evolved to be able to extract enough water from sausages and random meat parts held together by jello.

3. Portion sizes are huge, therefore there must be secret vomitoriums to which I have not yet gained access.

4. On train rides everyone is able to produce chocolate from their bags. This includes everything from RitterSport and Kinder products to chocolate covered cookies and almonds. These treats are shared with everyone in the group and passed around in a kind of community bonding ritual. Also chocolate purchases must be subsidized by the government.

Tram Rides

So some days when I don't want to be stuck in an underground tube, waiting for it to cave in on us all and bury us alive, I take the tram. This also means I can try a different flavor of doughnut from the bakery near the tram stop during the lead up to Fasching (carnival to you). You can see the bakery--it's the red building--in the picture. You can also see the screen that tells you when the tram will come.

I also like that if you run in front of the tram it will stop for you. (Although the subway drivers will often wait if they see you running down the stairs to catch the subway. Gotta love friendly Munich). You can also look out of the windows and see fun sights, such as the amazing mustaches sported by older Bavarian men. (I am going to do a photo series of these soon).

What is less pleasant: (Yes Kate another list)
1. The fact that old ladies glare at you until you let them sit down. Even if they are only going one stop.

2. Having my hair ripped out when an older man decided he needed to stand directly in front of me and hold onto the two bars on either side of me and pulled my hair that was next to one of these bars as he would sway with the turns. [Maybe I need to draw a diagram]

3. Youths (Although hearing German kids do impressions of Italians was pretty priceless.)

4. Although everyone brings their dog on the tram, just watch out if you try to pet it. You will instantly have someone screaming at you