Guten tag from Germany!
I arrived on the Old Continent on Thursday and have related strongly to the Avett Brothers' song " A lot of Movin'" ever since then. Since then I have had several interesting interactions/thoughts:
- My first night I asked my grandpa in broad terms "What's up in politics in France?" which led to a very interesting discussion about immigration and the benefits of the legality of Burka-wearing or not in France. It was interesting to see how the "us"/"them" mentality and fear of the other is prevalent even in the most "liberal" of societies. I was surprised to find myself siding, for the most part, with the US version of freedom of religion rather than the French concept of "laicite". Partly I think I just don't have a strong national identity of any kind. Partly my default stance these days tends to be on the side of the minority immigrants and that's a hard position to shake, as un-fond as I am of Burkas. Your thoughts on the relative value of being allowed to wear a Burka in public would be welcome!
- Highlight of Brussels ( I had a 2 hour layover in the train station) was going to a traditional brewery and tasting greik and rasberry beer before noon. It's also always a good time surprising people with my brilliant English after having them pretty well convinced I'm French. Also, Belgium waffles rock.
- Germany, so far, is essentially just REALLY GOOD FOOD and very similar family dynamics to my extended family in France. Yesterday we spent over 4 hours and 4 bottles of wine at the dinner table (which also included AMAZING chocolate mousse) and today we hiked in the woods (where I found a brilliant blue beetle), walked around a castle (where I remembered that I'm really not all that interested in tours or the history of places in general, so much as just exploring around) and then went to an adorable little German town by the Mosel river to get some sausage and more deliciousness. This mornings' wake-up call was stumbling out of my pitch black bedroom into the blinding light of day to be greeted with my friends' beaming grandma's "Guten morgen!!" and trying to mumble, politely, that it was indeed a guten morgen but that I was headed to the bathroom and also, I'm mostly blind right now, sorry.
Tomorrow we got to church (in German), and this evening we head to Bern.
I'm currently reading "A Geography of Bliss" which I highly recommend to anyone who wants a light, humorous travel book.
That's all for now, folks!
Peace,
Jess
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