License plates

Not much to tell about today . . . walked with Fifi, another Australian student, to printmaking class and spent basically the whole day there.  Turned out a single aquatint plate at the end of the day, but it came out nice so I'd say it was worth the effort.

Tomorrow is May 1, which is a holiday in Germany.  Schools and businesses are closed and everybody gets the day off.  I asked a few people what the deal is with this holiday, and basically it just goes back to traditions of chasing away the winter spirits so that spring and summer will come.  Indra said that a lot of places do Maifeuer ("May fire") which is a giant bonfire that goes along with the old beliefs about the spirits.  Nowadays it's just an excuse to be crazy, I think . . . tonight is apparently a HUGE party night in Hamburg, so much so that people come from out of town for it, and tomorrow there are going to be demonstrations of some sort over in the Sternschanze neighborhood.

I think tomorrow sounds like a good day for me to stay home and get schoolwork done.

Since I have nothing else to report about today, here's some trivia for you.  I found out a while back how the numbering system on European license plates works.

Example of a Hamburg license plate, with a close-up of the seal

The country is identified by a little blue vertical stripe on the left-hand side with a letter "D" for "Deutschland" and the 12 stars of the European Union.  All the EU countries have this blue stripe with a letter/letters that stand for their country.  The next part is 1, 2, or 3 letters that stand for the city in which the car is registered.  Usually the biggest cities have single letters (for example, Berlin just has "B."  The abbreviation for Hamburg actually has two letters, "HH," which stand for "Hansestadt Hamburg" (this refers to its history as a member of the Hanseatic Trade League).  Lübeck was part of the Trade League as well, so its letters are "HL" for "Hansestadt Lübeck."  All the cities are coded this way, so each city has its own license plate abbreviation.  After that come two little round stickers on top of each other.  The yellow one on top proves that the car passed the vehicle safety test.  The one on the bottom is the registration seal, which varies from city to city.  In Hamburg, it has a white castle on a red background, which is the city's official seal that you see all over the place.  Then come 1 or 2 letters and anywhere between 1 and 4 numbers.  I started researching it online and found that European plates can be customized for an additional fee at registration, just like American ones can.  I also learned that certain letter combinations are forbidden because they have Nazi-regime connotations.  For example, it is not allowed to put "HJ" (Hitlerjugend, Hitler Youth), KZ (Konzentrationslager, concentration camp) or SS (Schutzstaffel, Hitler's notorious defense branch).  Who knew that license plate history could be interesting?

On another note, between dishwashing and printmaking (and trying to avoid catching all the colds that are currently going around), my fingers are totally dry and peely.  It's kind of unavoidable, but I'm getting tired of my hands looking and feeling so rough!  I've resorted to thick layers of lotion and Vaseline at night, with gloves when I go to bed.  So far it seems to be helping a little, but the next day there are more dishes to wash and more art classes to go to, so I think I'm fighting an uphill battle . . . and right now the dish soap and ink-remover scrub are winning.

Outdoor market at Eppendorfer Baum!

Today I got up, had a (late) breakfast, and then went to the open-air market northwest of the Alster.  Marni told me about it last night.  It goes all morning on Tuesdays and Fridays, and it's underneath the elevated train tracks on the U3 line (that's the line that runs by our house that I always take).  You get off at the Eppendorfer Baum stop and then walk across the street.  The market runs for a couple of blocks, and under the train bridge is a great spot because on sunny days (like today) it's not too hot, and if it rains nobody gets wet.

Our street today!  Notice all the GREEN!!!

I decided to go because I needed some groceries and I hadn't been to any of the open-air markets in Hamburg yet.  Plus it was such a nice day.  The weather's been great this week!  I walked down to the next station to get on U3 rather than getting on at my usual stop, because it was super nice out.  When I got off at Eppendorfer Baum, I was crossing the street and--lo and behold--there was Marni!  She had been out for a bike ride on one of the StadtRad rental bikes (these are kind of like the bike version of Car2Go--you pay by the minute) and was just then getting to the market.  I couldn't believe we both showed up at the exact same time!  Anyway, we had fun walking the length of the market and back.  Marni bought some spices and veggies, and I (deciding I would rather buy produce at Rewe, where it's more affordable) bought some basil gnocchi for 80 cents.  On Marni's recommendation, I also got a laugenbrezel mit kürbiskernen, which is a pretzel sprinkled with cheese and pumpkin seeds.  It was a good size so I ate a little of it today, and saved the rest for a school lunch tomorrow.  The whole vibe of the market was so cool!  I had my camera with me, but I didn't bother to try taking pictures because they couldn't have done it justice.  That's been one of the trickiest things for me, trying to describe life in Europe.  I really can't.  Photos, drawings, and even words only can capture bits and pieces.  You really have to be IN the environment--seeing it move all around you, hearing the trains and the street musicians and the different languages, smelling the smells and tasting the foods.  To me, it's the small things about each place I go, the simple differences in the way people live here versus how they live in the States, that really make it enjoyable.  The market today was just one of those little things.  Yes, we have farmer's markets in the U.S., but they generally don't have currywurst and old-fashioned variegated tulips and they don't usually take place under an elevated train track.

Spent the afternoon trying to get stuff done.  Did laundry (Mom, I finally washed my jacket and it worked!), read my Bible for a bit, and finally succeeded at booking everything for Prague! (Yay!) Also started on letters to my Compassion sponsor kids.

Made potato wedges for dinner, with a hot dog and salad to go along with them.  Super yummy!  After that I went to Indra's room because I wanted to braid her hair.  She has really long and beautiful hair.  We ended up talking for probably two hours (doing hairstyles and shoulder massages on each other while we were at it).  I didn't get any more drawing done, but it was a fun girls' night!

(Okay boys, you can just skip this last part.) Here are our masterpiece hairstyles for the evening:

My style on Indra: "The Mermaid" 

Mermaid hairstyle close-up . . . it was a fish tail braid

Indra's style on me: Medieval (inspired by a "Game of Thrones" hairdo)

You know winter is over when . . .

. . . when you buy sunscreen.

Which is what I did today.  It was so beautiful out that after I finished kitchen duty (took up about an hour and a half of my morning), I decided to go kayaking.  But first, I figured it might be a good idea to get sunscreen from Budni.  So I ran down the street and around the corner, bought some, and then came back and got a paddle and the keys to the boat yard from one of the guys on the canoe team in the next building over.  And I was off!

Good news, by the way--my back is feeling much looser, and I'm not walking like an old person!  Indra got it to crack a little the other night, and I think that helped a lot, because now I'm not having aches up and down my rib cage.  I walked and ran all over the neighborhood today, and I was able to do it without wincing or being stiff.  And I kayaked for probably an hour and a half total, plus taking the kayak out and putting it away.  So that's a praise report!

I did not take this photo, it's from Wikipedia, but it
gives you an idea of the green-ness of the canals!

The kayak excursion was so nice.  I did a loop from the Osterbekkanal (the one in front of our house) past the Stadtpark and then through one of the little canals back to the Osterbekkanal.  It was beautiful and warm, but not too warm.  Everything is so GREEN!  And a kayak is the best way to view all the bird life on the canals.  I saw swans preening, eating, and swimming (they are HUGE, by the way!  I wouldn't want to cross one--it could probably give me some serious nips with its beak!) and a ton of geese and ducks with all their fluffy little babies following them.  Geese go in formation, with one parent in front, all the babies in single file, and then the other parent in the rear.  Ducks just swim and their babies kind of straggle along behind in a pack.  Also saw a couple of other water birds (I tried looking them up, and one I think is a grebe, and the other ones look like a kind we have in California, but I'm not sure) on their nests, which were built out of sticks in the middle of the low-hanging branches at the side of the canal.  In a way, birds are a little bit icky to me (something about their droppings, feathers, and weird scaly feet), but at the same time I get so fascinated watching them.  Each species has its own habits and its own body structure perfectly suited to its environment, and it's really amazing to be close to them and see them go about their activities.  Water birds are especially neat to observe because they're not as skittish as other birds and you can get really close to them.  I wish I'd had a camera, but I don't like the idea of taking my camera with me in a kayak (for obvious reasons).

Tonight Indra and I showed Marni how to make Marklößchensuppe, the German marrow dumpling soup.  It was fun and delicious!  We also took a 15-minute stroll after dinner because it was still so nice out.  The days here are so long already!  I wouldn't have thought the latitude difference would be so dramatic, but I noticed right after Daylight Savings started.  It was like we made an immediate jump from winter to summer.  Already the light starts to come at 5:30 am and it doesn't get fully dark until after 9 pm.  The days are so crazy long . . . I'm actually getting confused on the time of day because it stays light so late!  It's like the "fall back" effect in reverse!  But it's awesome.

Working on booking a trip to Prague the second week of May.  Marni decided to come with me!  I have to say I'm really glad.  I honestly am just a teeny bit nervous about traveling alone again . . . though hopefully I will stay healthy on my trips from now on!

Didn't feel like Sunday, but today was awesome!

Today was odd because it was Sunday and instead of going to church, I went to class.  Weird.

BUT my Mezzotint class went better today--I gave up on my one plate and did a new one from the same drawing.  This time my girl thankfully did not look like Quasimodo.  Took most of the day, but I ended up with a nice print at the end.  Hooray!

Also trying to learn more German phrases so I can ask questions in class in German.  Things like "Can I print it now?" or "Should I close the window?" or "How do I do it?"  I could of course ask in English, because my teacher talks to me in English, but I'd rather ask in German if I can.  The word order is just confusing, and I'm sort of shy about trying to construct a sentence because I'm afraid I will say it wrong.  For example, the question "Should I close the window?" is "Soll ich der Fenster schließen?" which, if you literally translate the word order, is "Should I the window close?"  So it's a tad tricky.

Tonight was SO fun!  Marni, Indra, and I finished our marzipan and basically had a marzipan-and-chocolate party right in the kitchen.  We shaped the marzipan into all kinds of random things: a nose, a mouse, a snowman.  Indra even made one that was shaped like the Greek letter pi because she has a lot of math problems for her physics major that involve pi.  We dipped them all in chocolate and then put them in the fridge to harden, and Marni used the leftover chocolate to make hot chocolate for us to drink.  It was super rich, so she just made a small amount for each of us, like half a cup.  While she was doing that, I made myself a salad, to have at least something healthy.  But basically, we had hot chocolate and marzipan for dinner.  It was awesome.  We sat around listening to music, drawing, and indulging in our confectionary creations.  The marzipan tasted good on its own, but it was even better with chocolate on it.  And the hot chocolate was amazing too.  Marni is probably the best connoisseur of chocolate I've ever met.  She doesn't go for the cheap stuff--if she lived in the U.S., she would never eat Hershey's or Nestlé--and she likes the darker and less sweet kinds of chocolate, which I agree are the best kinds.  Neither the hot chocolate nor the marzipan were super sweet, and we purposely made them that way.  I even tried a piece of chocolate with a sliver of Parmesan cheese (it was a Ratatouille moment!), and it was really good too.  At first we thought there was no way we could finish all the marzipan.  But an hour or so went by, and just like that, it was gone!  Every last piece!

So . . . definitely not the healthiest dinner I've ever had.  And we all agreed that we could never eat that much marzipan or chocolate on a regular basis.  But just for tonight, it was absolutely awesome.

Have to say, a couple of days this week were a bit rough.  I had moments when I wished I could be home in California, and moments when I wasn't feeling great (my back was still out of whack and kind of sore, so I couldn't walk very well, and I'm still trying to get rid of the last of the crud from that cold I had in Kraków).  But today was so good.  I felt so blessed and so privileged to be living in Europe, in this apartment and this student house.  I am definitely going to miss the fun times of hanging out in our cozy little kitchen when I go back home!  Indra said tonight after Marni left, "I'm going to miss you so much when you're gone!"  I'm going to miss her and Marni a lot too . . . trying not to think too much about that.  I've got to do my best to enjoy their company while I have it!

Super excited for tomorrow night . . . we're going to make Marklößchensuppe (the marrow dumpling soup) again!  Better make sure to get some exercise tomorrow to burn off all these fancy foods we're making . . . yesterday and today I walked to school and back, which is about 5 km round-trip, but still, I've got to make sure I stay active each day!  Maybe a walk in the Stadtpark, or some kayaking on the canal . . .

Marzipan-Making Moments

Peeling the almonds (this was yesterday)

Yesterday: The finished marzipan paste

Today: Shaping and dipping the marzipan

Marni with her cuppa chocolate

Hot chocolate . . . YUM!

Me and Indra with our plate of marzipan creations

I was being silly, Indra was singing along to the music that was on

The snowman Indra made--he didn't quite look like the Frozen character, but we called him Olaf.

Marzipan mouse!

GUYS. WE ATE IT ALL.

Brain in knots

Today was challenging, at least from an art standpoint.  I was in mezzotint class most of the day, trying to figure out the method.  Revised my zinc plate several times, trying to get the image just right.  Currently the girl in my engraving looks like Quasimodo.  Hopefully by the end of tomorrow she will have a prettier face!

It was kind of a bummer to be in class today, only because it was Saturday and it was absolutely beautiful out.  Temp had to have been exactly 72 degrees F.  I did walk to and from class, which was really nice.

Marni came over at 6 pm and she, Indra, and I made marzipan!  Actually I ended up making my dinner, and they did most of the work, which was not very much at all.  Basically it was just soaking the almonds until the skin was soft enough to rub off easily, and then blending them with powdered sugar, rose water, and vanilla and almond extract in the blender until it formed a paste.  Once the almonds were soaked it only took about 15 or 20 minutes.  We liked how it came out, except that the blender got really hot and the paste acquired a slightly, um, roasted taste.  Tomorrow we are going to form it into shapes and dip them in chocolate!

Indra, Marni, and I spent a couple of hours drawing in the kitchen.  They were both trying to help me think outside the box with my art, because everything I do is so logical.  I can't think abstract, or even imaginative.  Art classes, especially the illustration class, have been tough for me lately because I've become so dependent on drawing from observation.  So Marni ordered me to use her watercolor pencils to do something that "didn't make sense."  I tried, but Marni and Indra said it was still too logical.  So Marni said, "Okay, now draw a completely different picture over top of the one you just painted."

I was like, "Noooooo!"

Marni said, "Come on, you've got to get out of your comfort zone.  You're afraid to mess up what you already did, and that's exactly why you need to do it."

I tried.  I think I failed miserably.  Right now I have a half-finished drawing over top of a half-finished painting.  And I hate all of it except the colors.  Brain is currently having a war between "enjoy this learning experience of totally wrecking something I really liked" and "be bummed out because you wrecked something you liked."  I also have an assignment from Marni and Indra to write a story from the perspective of a creature that is NOT human, because we were talking about stories and I said my main characters are always people.

Brain. Is. So. Tired.  Who knew being creative could be so mentally exhausting?

Art stuff

Today was book class and YAY!  My teacher approved of "The Rainy Big Wave Day" for my book project.  I'm so excited to do something that is connected with family and childhood memories!  It will be fun and hopefully really cute when it's finished!

It was a super nice day today--the perfect kind of spring-day warm.  Right now it's bedtime and I have the window open!  I had about two hours between classes, so I sat at one of the outdoor cafeteria tables to soak up the sun.  It's been a while since I did that . . . I've missed it!

Printmaking class was pretty easy--a lot of review of basics that I already learned in the other class.  The teacher briefs me on what we're doing in English, but for the most part she's speaking German, which is good for me.  I need to hear it spoken more if I want to be able to learn new words and phrases.  This weekend should be good.  Printmaking is fun--the lab is a pretty mellow place for the most part, and you sort of get lost in what you're doing as you go along.

By popular request (aka from Mommy), I'm posting some of my more recent artwork so you can get an idea of the stuff I've been doing.  I kind of categorized it by topic.

School stuff

Rainy Big Wave Day prototype illustration

My first etching--this was a big hit in my class!  I like it a lot.

My first monotype print

Ideas for illustration class . . . was thinking about illustrating a French poem, but ended up going with the "Rainy Big Wave Day" instead

More test illustrations for French poem that I probably won't use (at least not now)

Random sketchbook and painting stuff

Candid moments on the train

The view out my bedroom window!  I love this one.

"The Firebird," done in pen and beet juice!

Amsterdam

Bloemgracht Canal

Outside a weed shop (she was sitting across from the pizza place where I was)

Bikes!

Rijksmuseum Garden

Kraków

After Auschwitz

More Auschwitz-inspired sketching

Thankfully it was dry today.

Today I went to my painting class.  I was a little late because I didn't get up on time . . . it was one of those mornings where it took me 15 minutes just to get myself awake and out of bed.  Thankfully my teacher is chill (and thankfully I wasn't the only late one--lots of students here drift in late just like they do at CSULB).  This class for me follows such a weird pattern.  I feel like I'm fighting the paint and guessing at what I'm doing almost the whole class, and my painting always looks absolutely awful until the last 15 minutes or so when I somehow manage to pull it together and make it look like something.  Acrylics are super tough to work with . . . I chose them for this class because they're not noxious like oils, and they dry plastic, so they're essentially waterproof and flexible enough to roll up for when I have to transport them all back home at the end of the semester.  But boy, do they dry fast!  It's like a mental exercise just to figure out how to mix enough of the right color and get it on the paper before it all dries up.  Even the retardant that I mix into it doesn't always keep it wet long enough.  I've had trouble with color mixing too.  It's like the paint is controlling me, rather than the other way around.  Maybe by the end of the semester, I'll have finally begun to master acrylic . . . but I think I like oils a LOT better.

Thankfully it did not rain today, which made the walk to and from class much easier and more pleasant.  I like the rain, but it can be tough when you're carrying a bunch of school stuff and trying to juggle an umbrella (and keep all your stuff under the umbrella) at the same time!  I think my boots are finally dry after yesterday's downpour--I put them next to the heater last night to make sure all the dampness got out of them.

Didn't do much after class aside from running a couple of quick errands.  I decided to mail postcards and buy groceries today because I have a printmaking workshop all weekend.  This is a special class that runs one weekend of each month rather than meeting weekly.  This weekend we're meeting Friday,  Saturday and Sunday, so I will miss church, which is a bummer.  But the other weekends we meet only Friday and Saturday, which will be easier.  I think this class will be cool.  It's a mezzotint class, which will basically be more of what I'm doing in my other printmaking class but just with emphasis on a certain technique.  I liked the teacher a lot when we had orientation--she has a pretty smile and seems very nice.

At the grocery store I bought almonds (mandeln) and powdered sugar (puderzucker) so we can make MARZIPAN on Saturday night!  Indra found us a recipe, and Marni is going to contribute chocolate!!!!

Finally got around to listening to the rest of the songs from Needtobreathe's brand new album, Rivers in the Wasteland.  "Brother" is playing right now and it's making me smile!  I love it!

Been going to bed super late on a regular basis almost since I got here, but tonight I think I'll try to hit the sack at a reasonable hour.  I don't want to be late for class again, even if it's only by 10 minutes!  It's so much nicer to be able to walk to school at a relaxed pace and to not arrive all sweaty and out of breath!

It was a VERY wet morning.

Today I woke up, had a quick breakfast, packed a PB&J and an apple in my lunch sack, shoved my art stuff in my book bag, and took off for school.  It was overcast outside and looked like it could definitely rain, so I wore my boots and took my umbrella.  I wanted to walk to class rather than taking the train--it takes more time, but it's actually a more direct route (and of course more exercise).

Not surprisingly, it was drizzling when I went out the front door.   No problem.  I put up my umbrella and walked the first few blocks.  Then it suddenly started coming down really hard.  I kept going, but a minute later it was a full-on downpour.  People on bikes pulled over and waited under balconies or overhangs, and pedestrians were hurrying for cover too.  I didn't want to be late, so I kept going, but within five minutes my boots were totally wet and my socks were soaked.  It was so frustrating because I was trying to dodge the puddles, but I just couldn't avoid the water.  There was too much of it everywhere!  If only I had known it would pour like that, I would have brought my rain rubbers!

When I finally got to school, my hair, my feet, and the whole lower half of my legs were totally wet.  The raincoat and umbrella had helped, but I still felt like a drowned rat.  It was kind of a bummer because my book bag, which is vinyl, had rips in it and my stuff inside got soggy too.  I had to go all day at school with wet socks.  Lesson learned: Always bring rain rubbers along for a walk if there is even a remote possibility of rain!!!

Despite the wet feet, I had fun in printmaking class.  I stayed late for open lab time and made an extra zinc plate.  In the end, I turned out four prints today: two from each plate.  The first was an etching, and the second was an aquatint etching, which always takes a while because of all the steps involved.  But in the end it was worth the work--the prints came out nice.

My ribs have been really sore--I think they went out of alignment when I was in the hostel bed in Kraków--so I asked Marni if she would come over and try to crack my back. (I figured that between her, Indra, and Petra, she would use the most force.)  Indra came in the room too.  It was like a comedy of errors.  We didn't get my back to re-align, but we did have some good laughs!

Working on my illustrations for book class.  I decided to do a book that is a throwback to a story I wrote when I was 5 years old.  The original story was called "The Rainy Big Wave Day" and it was about the huge waves in Seal Beach during El Niño in the winter of 1997/98.  Marni gave me the idea. I was having trouble thinking of something I really wanted to do for the project, and she said, "Go back to your childhood.  What special memories do you have?  What things stand out to you from when you were a kid?"  I thought back to when I was young, and "The Rainy Big Wave Day" popped into my head almost immediately.  (My family will tell you, this little story I wrote is basically famous among the five of us, one of those classic things that went down in Stanley Family history.)  Anyway, since I started drawings for this idea, it's been way easier to work on.  It's something I'm passionate about, because it's a story about my family and my hometown.  In a way, drawing Seal Beach has helped me deal with the little bit of homesickness I'm starting to feel.  So . . . when I come home, I hope to have "The Rainy Big Wave Day" actually bound in a book!

Girls' day out

Today was fun!  Ivanna from City Light had her birthday last week, and she wanted to have a ladies' bowling day to celebrate.  So this afternoon I met her, Anja, Rebecca, and Elaine at the bowling alley near Hamburger Meile (this is the same one I went to with the international students the first week, and it's on the route I take when I walk to school, only about 20 minutes from my house).

We had a lot of fun!  At first we were all over the place, but by the end we were getting the hang of it, and there were actually a fair number of strikes and spares!  It was just a good hangout time (there was even chocolate!)

Anja and Rebecca had to leave at 5 because they had to get their kids fed and ready for bed before our Bible study later, and they live further away, in the north part of the city.  But Ivanna, Elaine, and I all live close to there, and we had more time, so we played an extra game and left a little before 6 pm.

I went home, made dinner (leftover curry veggies from last night) and then headed off to women's Bible study for Round 2 of our girls' day!  We studied Philippians 2 and had tea and more chocolate! (I've been really trying to avoid the candy, but it's been so tough with Easter and all that.  So far I don't think I've gained any weight, but I don't really have a regular exercise program and I don't want to test my calorie limit!  I can't wait till summer comes and it's warm enough to swim in the Stadtparksee--it's the only spot where you can swim without having to pay an obscene amount of money per session.)

Elaine and I just missed the S1 train back to Barmbek, and it was going to be almost 15 minutes.  So Elaine got out her phone to see if there was a "Car2Go" nearby.  I had no idea what she was talking about, so she showed me how it works.

This was the Smart-Car2Go

You can buy a Car2Go card for around 20 euros.   Elaine has one that she keeps in her wallet.  If you have a card and want to drive somewhere in the city (like when you miss your train, for example), you look on your phone to find the car nearest you.  The map will guide you to the car and tell you the license number.  This car was a Smart Car (I think all the "Cars2Go" are Smart Cars).  Elaine used her card to unlock the door by scanning a little box on the windshield, and then we got in.  There was a key in the ignition already.  Elaine typed in my address on the GPS navigator, and then drove me to my house, just like that.  She said that when she got home, she would just park the car and leave it there, and the next person who came along to use it would take it and drive it and then park it somewhere else.  Apparently they have this in a lot of cities, even a few in North American cities like Vancouver and Seattle.  This system would probably never catch on in California, but I honestly think it's genius, at least for cities where most people use public transit.  If you don't have a car and need one on occasion, it's the perfect system.  There are of course plenty of taxis that can take you where you need to go, but who wants to pay all that money for a taxi when you can buy a "Car2Go" card instead?  It's like instant car rental with no daily fees and no rental service breathing down your neck!

Also, for the record, it was my first time riding in a Smart Car.  And unless I ride in more of them here in Europe, it will also be the last time I ride in a Smart Car.  You couldn't pay me to get in one of those things in California, no way!  Not with all the Suburbans, F-150s, and semi-trucks on those freeways!

By the way, Smart Cars actually are perfect for the roads here.  They don't look dumb when they are driving, because all the other cars around them are small too.  That is one major difference between Europe and the U.S.: car size.  People here drive Volkswagen (of course), BMW, Mercedes, Audi, Citroen, Peugeot, Fiat, and a lot of other European brands, and even a few Asian brands like Toyota.  But the one thing they ALL have in common is that they are small.  Think the size of a VW Jetta, a Pontiac Vibe, or a Honda Civic.  No bigger than that.  They do drive vans, but here they really are MINI vans.  (By the way, Emily and Joanna, the vans almost always are those white ones with the tall tops on them.)  SUVs and pickup trucks--of any size--are nonexistent.  I think that when I come back to the States, the cars will look enormous to me at first!

April showers bring, well, spring flowers!

(Technically it's not May yet, but as I've said before, there are already plenty of flowers around.)

I stayed at home most of the day and worked on my room (straightening up, etc.) and on my illustrations for my book class.  Indra and I hung out and talked while we were doing things.  Today is Ostermontag (Easter Monday), which is a holiday for everyone as well, so we didn't have to go anywhere.

We did have a mild thunderstorm during the late afternoon though, and I took a walk in the Stadtpark after it was done.  I got lots of flower photos!  So now you can finally have an idea of the beautiful blooms I've been seeing.

Mom and Dad, do you recognize any of these?  I know some are fruit trees, and of course there are tulips and daisies and things like that, but a few were unfamiliar to me.

Here you go: A taste of spring in northern Germany!

EASTER!!!!!

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen ... if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have [physically died] in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable. But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have [died physically]. For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive ... 'O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?' The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
I Corinthians 15: 3-5, 17-22, 55-57

Had to share this verse for Easter because this morning it was the passage I decided to read at breakfast, and then at church Joey didn't turn to Matthew or John or any of the four Gospels to read the resurrection story.  Nope, he turned to I Corinthians 15!  I was like, "Yessss!" I love this chapter--it's so awesome!  (Technically most Bible passages are pretty awesome in one way or another, but this one is particularly good.)  The Bible study was about how the resurrection of Jesus changes our lives.  It changes our position before God and changes who and what we live for.  I'm so thankful that Jesus rose from the dead . . . that was the day He finished the work!  On Good Friday He defeated sin; on Easter Sunday He defeated death too.  So I am super thankful for Easter because it means I don't have to be a slave to my own mistakes and failures, and I don't have to fear death whenever it comes.

Here is one of my favorite Easter songs, "Jesus Christ is Risen Today."  It is an old hymn.

Today was perfect Easter weather.  Sunny with white puffy clouds, warm and breezy, trees bursting out with white and pink flowers everywhere!  I walked to and from church through the Stadtpark and it was absolutely gorgeous.  In the morning there was hardly anybody, but the afternoon was pretty busy, with barbecues and people out walking, cycling, and canoeing.  A saxophone player was performing at the café on the canal at the east end.  The sound was amplified by the water.  Absolutely perfect . . .  spring days don't get any better than this!

Actually, maybe they do.  I went to the Laieszhalle (Hamburg's concert hall) to hear a performance of "The Four Seasons" by Antonio Vivaldi at 8 pm.  It was in the Kleiner Saal, the smaller concert hall in the rear part of the building.  This hall was more intimate and really nice for the chamber music that was being played.

(Sorry, I am now going to lapse into classical-music-geek mode for a minute.  If you want to be spared the rant, skip down to the next paragraph.) Oh. My. Goodness. It was SUCH A GOOD CONCERT.  The first half of the performance was "The Four Seasons" with three violins, a viola, cello, and bass, and a harpsichord.  There was a guest lead violinist with a big smile and poofy salt-and-pepper hair.  I've always thought it would be really neat to hear Itzhak Perlman play "The Four Seasons" in concert, but when this guy started playing, he was so good that I was more than happy to listen to him and have him not be Perlman. It was like he played with the speed, dexterity, and dynamic energy of Vivaldi himself.  The audience encored him (the clapping went on for probably three minutes) and he played another solo piece, which was slow and really beautiful.  After that everybody got up and I thought it was time to leave, but a girl around my own age came up and asked me if she knew when the rest of the music was coming on.  She said the ticket had mentioned some Spanish music would be played as well.  I looked around and realized that everyone was standing around and talking, but nobody seemed to be leaving.  So I figured I'd better stick around.  Praise the Lord for that girl asking me the question, because if she hadn't, I might have left, and I never would have gotten to hear the second half of the concert!  This part was just as good.  It was the string quintet, minus the guest violinist and the harpsichordist.  They played a Mozart concerto, followed by some gypsy-sounding music and a couple of the "Hungarian Dances" by Brahms!  (There was one empty seat next to me, and I kept thinking, "Indra should have come!  She would have loved this . . . they're playing a bunch of her favorite pieces!")  After that they bowed and went offstage, but the audience encored them so they came out and played another song.  They got encored again after that, so they played another song.  And even after that, they got encored a third time!  It was all such beautiful music, and they were playing together so well.  The lead violinist (who had played second violin during the Vivaldi part) was so smooth and silky in his playing that it sounded like his violin was made of glass.  I didn't want it to end.  When they started their third encore song, I almost leaped in my chair because it was "Por Una Cabeza," the one Carlos Gardel tango that I actually know.  I have a recording of Itzhak Perlman playing it on a movie-music album, and it's really beautiful on violin.  I was so excited that I had a hard time holding still!  (If Itzhak Perlman himself had come out and played the theme from "Schindler's List," I don't think that concert could have been any better.)

It was a beautiful day and and an awesome Easter.  That's all I can say.

At last . . . the rest of the Kraków stuff!

Hehehe, just realized the Paul Clark video I posted yesterday was totally the wrong one . . . I changed it, so if you still want to listen to it, it's the correct song now.  Sorry for any confusion!!

Anyway, for anyone who's been waiting to hear, here is the rest of what Marni and I did in Kraków (or maybe by this point no one cares . . . none of it's as exciting as fainting and hitting my head . . . )

Note: If you don't have the patience to read all this, photos are at the bottom.

On Monday morning (before I got sick) we went to the museum at the former factory of Oskar Schindler (of Schindler's List fame--a lot of the movie was actually filmed in and around the Jewish Quarter).  The factory itself is gone now.  The site was converted into the contemporary art museum.  But the basic structure of the old office building at the front of the factory, though I think it's had some renovation, is still there, and they made it into a museum about the war years in Kraków.  It was a really great museum: very immersive, with a lot of rooms that had memorabilia, decorations, and even audio clips to help you get a feel for what it was like to be a citizen--and a Jew--in the city during the war.  Some of the exhibits were actually pretty intense.  One had a recording of a Nazi official reading an announcement to all the Kraków university professors telling them they were under arrest.  Another had a stairway leading down to a cell door, from behind which came a recording simulating prisoners' voices as they prayed and whispered the night before their execution.  Just upstairs from that was a prison cell block exhibit that contained actual photos of hanged political prisoners on the gallows. (Talk about gut-wrenching.) There were also some more lighthearted rooms that were really cool, like one that had images and sound effects of Kraków's main market square (including the bugler in the church tower) and another that looked like a subway station (with all the signs in German, not Polish).  I found it super interesting.  Until I went to Kraków, I never knew how large a role the city had played in the Nazi occupation of Poland and of eastern Europe as a whole.  This museum wasn't that much about Oskar Schindler, but to be honest, I was glad it didn't focus too much on him, because to me the other stuff was more interesting.  There is definitely a lot of history in that area of Poland.  Just from an educational standpoint, I'm really glad that Marni and I decided to go to Kraków, because this trip deepened my knowledge a lot as far as eastern-Europe WWII goes.

(I'm sorry, I have a ton of random areas of interest that cause me to go on rants.  Today it's the history-geek rant.)

After the museum we walked to the Jewish Quarter for a zapiekanka, which is one of the classic Kraków foods.  It's cheese and other toppings on a big open-faced baguette.  Marni and I got one with feta cheese and a bunch of vegetables, called a "grecka."  We split it because they are so huge.  It was really good!

An example of a zapiekanka

After that we went to a corner restaurant/bar/coffee shop called Alchemy.  It was really funky--kind of had a medieval/pub/Harry-Potter feel to it.  We drew there for a while, working on our book-illustration class ideas.  After that we went walking back to the main town square, at which point I was feeling very tired and cold.  It was still kind of rainy out, and just as we got to the square, it started to come down.  There were big dark clouds and Marni thought it looked like thunder.  Sure enough, we had no sooner taken cover in the arcade across from St. Mary's church when it started pouring and lightning flashed.  I was shivering (because I was getting sick), but I was so excited to be witnessing a good thunderstorm firsthand that I could mostly ignore how cold I was.  The thunder got louder and louder, and the downpour got heavier.  People were whooping and hollering and running back and forth across the square to get out of the rain.  Even though she'd just had tea at Alchemy, Marni went into the arcade café and got another cup of tea.  After maybe five minutes, there was an actual lightning bolt in the sky behind the cathedral and the thunder made a loud CRACK!  It was so cool!  We hardly ever have this kind of thing in SoCal!  The storm lasted probably ten minutes total, and I think I saw two bolts and a lot more flashes of lightning.  It was rad.  But after that, I told Marni that I was going back to the hostel, because I was really really cold.  I bought two postcards on the way out of the square, and then I went back to Mosquito as fast as I could, took off my wet rain jacket and my boots, got into bed because I was so tired and cold, and crashed into oblivion.  At this point everything is a blur in my memory . . .

Anyway, you've already heard the falling-and-hitting-my-head story, so I'll jump ahead to Tuesday night.  The doctor had come and said my head seemed okay, and I was finally feeling better, enough that I was okay with eating something.  Marni brought me a bowl of Chinese rice-and-vegetable dinner that the hostel staff had made, and I ate it all.  I kind of wanted cornflakes too, but I figured it was better not to overdo it!

That night, ironically, I literally did not sleep a wink.  I think I had slept so much the past 24 hours (and had such a bizarre experience) that I couldn't get my brain to shut off.  When Marni woke up exactly 4:53 am, I was already awake, waiting for the 5 am alarm to ring.  This night without sleep is what's been messing with me the past few days.  Totally threw me off.  (I still feel like a zombie as I'm writing this!)

The bus trip back to Berlin went by surprisingly quick.  Neither of us could believe it took 7 hours.  It was extra mellow because there were only a few other people on the bus besides us (almost all of them over age 60).  We made it back to Berlin without incident and walked to the Pergamonmuseum.  I was really hoping I'd finally get to see the Ishtar Gate and Pergamon Altar, but as before, Berlin managed to thwart my plans.  The ticket line was ridiculously long and we knew there wouldn't be enough time to see the museum before we had to catch our bus.  So we had to content ourselves with wandering around until we found a café to sit at.  (We popped into 2 different Starbucks so Marni could check her emails and update my family on what was happening with me.  Good grief, I hate Starbucks!  It's SOOOOO disgustingly American!!!!!!  Deep breath . . . regain composure . . . must not subject all my blog readers to my anti-Starbucks rant . . . )

We took a wrong turn coming out of the sub station on the way to the bus and ended up having to run again so we wouldn't miss it.  Must just be the traveler's jinx of Berlin.  But to be honest, I have a better opinion of Berlin now.  Yes, getting from A to B in Berlin drives me crazy, but the city really does have a lot of neat buildings, good museums, and interesting history.  And when we were there the other day, it was sunny and everything was green!  It was like a transformation from when we were there in March!  So I am making friends with Berlin.  (I think.)

Bus ride was uneventful.  We got back to Hamburg around 9 o' clock in the evening.  I was up until after midnight trying to console everyone on Facebook and answer all the emails from my family.  Hey, at least I know I have a lot of people who care about me!  Seriously, thanks to everyone who prayed for me . . . I heard there were quite a few of you, and I appreciate it SO much.  If I can ever get my sleep pattern back on schedule, I think I'll be 100 percent!

Today was a little frustrating as far as productivity goes, because my room is still a mess and I still haven't gotten laundry done.  I keep having activities with friends pop up.  Today Joey from City Light had his birthday, so he and Rebecca had an impromptu party for him at their house.  They live in the north part of the city, just one train stop away from Janos and Anja.  I went and hung out for a couple of hours.  It was small, like all our gatherings are, but fun anyway.  In contrast to yesterday, which was miserably cold with rain and even hail, today was sunny and breezy and fairly warm.  They did a barbecue in the backyard, and Rebecca made lemon meringue pie as a birthday cake.  Joey & Rebecca's two girls did an acrobatic show with one of their friends--splits, cartwheels, and all kinds of general tumbling.  It was definitely a good time.  Just so nice to be outside!

Then tonight Indra and I made chicken pot pie from scratch.  It took us probably 3 hours!  We started at 6 and didn't take the pie out until almost 9.  I had never made pie crust before, and we had to roast the chicken and make the gravy too, so it was a little tricky.  I think I put too much butter in the crust.  It was so heavy--partially because in Germany they don't make pies like we have in America, so they don't have pie pans. We had to bake it in one of those springform pans and the crust was way thicker than normal because I couldn't get it to fit very well against the vertical sides of the pan.  Also, I didn't have enough chicken drippings to make chicken gravy, so we used a powder that Indra had to make a darker vegetable gravy.  It was more like a deep-dish shepherd's pie (minus the mashed potatoes and beef) than Mom's chicken pot pie.  We both had small slices, but we were still really sleepy afterwards!

Tomorrow is EASTER!!!  And I'm also going to the Laieszhalle to hear "The Four Seasons" by Vivaldi!  Hooray!

Here are photos from Kraków!  (Note: they're not completely in order.)

Pierogi!  These were filled with either meat, potatoes & cottage cheese, or vegetables.

Giant bread loaves at Easter market in main square

The Barbican (medieval entrance gate with moat)

In medieval times, the knife warned against stealing.  Now, the security camera points the wrong way and the knife gets stolen every couple of months.

Easter galleria (indoor market)

Random statue of a head that was a gift to the city

University of Kraków, where Nicolaus Copernicus John Paul II attended

Marni elected tour leader

The oldest street in Kraków

Serious spring flowers on Wawel

I thought this was funny

Me at the palace on Wawel, the castle hilltop

The Wawel palace courtyard was once used for jousting!

Locks on the bridge railing during our walking tour

Walking tour of Jewish Quarter

The Nazis made the ghetto walls look like Jewish tombstones, sending a VERY clear message to the people inside.  Roman Polanski escaped from this ghetto.

Lovely afternoon on the river!

Main market square and St. Mary's church

St. Mary's and Easter Market

Dorm room in Mosquito Hostel

Mosquito Hostel sitting area

Funky mosquito decor

One of the hundred reasons to love this hostel: Lots of delicious FREE meals!

Art sale along old medieval wall

The (very cheesy) fire-breathing dragon of Kraków

Main square of what used to be the Jewish ghetto.  During the ghetto's liquidation, hundreds of people were shot and killed here, including children.   The chairs are a memorial design.

Main square during the big thunderstorm!

Me at Auschwitz I (the original camp)

Barracks ("blocks") at Auschwitz I

Cans that were used to store Zyklon B, the poison gas pellets for the gas chamber

Jewish tallit prayer shawls, which were once owned by the prisoners brought to Auschwitz

Braces, crutches, and other items that belonged to disabled prisoners (these people were immediately gassed)

Suitcases 

Children's shoes

Auschwitz I

Cremation ovens in the prototype gas chamber at Auschwitz I

The gate of Auschwitz II, aka Birkenau, from the outside

Inside Auschwitz-Birkenau, looking back at the gate.  Trains entered through the gate and then stopped for the prisoners to be unloaded.

Flowers on the French-language plaque at the Birkenau memorial

Marni at the ruins of one of the crematoria

How you know God is more powerful than man's evil: The flowers still bloom, even at Auschwitz.

Bunks in wooden barracks at Birkenau

Pit toilets in Birkenau

Marni with her new haircut

Me at the ghetto memorial square in Kraków