Settling in...

Hello again... in case you forgot in the TWO MONTHS I have not posted, I am the sometimes-annoying, always (I hope) entertaining blogger waxing on about his time in Europe.

Oh, you say... that Brett guy! Ha, ha... that is my "handle" (user ID) on a social networking group I organize events for as well... people never quite remembering who you were until someone would say "You know, that Brett guy, the one who organized the move event?" Ha, ha...

A lot has changed since July... I moved to the city (Frankfurt!) finally, on September 1st. It has already proven itself a great decision. For a single guy trying to meet new people, it is one of the better places in Germany to be I think... a cosmopolitan city that is 1/3 expatriate (not born German or living here from abroad), and more than 1/2 single...

While I know that some deride Frankfurt as "Bankfurt" due to all the commerical enterprise in downtown, or "Mainhattan" due to all the skyscrapers... it is a great city with several interesting, and unique neighborhoods. Frankfurt is also often referred to as the "smallest big city in the world" because it was cobbled together over time from several independent smaller towns... which have become those great neighborhoods today - Höchst, Bornheim, Sachsenhausen, Bockenheim, Nordend, Innenstadt-Altstadt, etc.

My German is better everyday... as before, every evening and on weekends I seek out people in various businesses (pubs, museums, book shops, asian bistros, cafes, trains, etc.) I am still having problems with the difficult German grammar("O mein Gott - die Grammatik!!), but although "der-die-das" and the cases & tenses still bedevil me, I am acutally getting complimented now that it is quite "good"... as in crappy compared to a long-time student of it or a native speaker, but quite decent compared to the vast majority of expats or tourists... I'll take it!

I have been here in Frankfurt for less than a month, and already I have been able to attend two different social networking events and met several great people... I love MeetUp! Of course, there is also Toytown, Yahoo groups, etc. With the aid of great groups like these, you should never really be bored in Frankfurt... worlds apart in options for a social life than tiny Griesheim near Darmstadt.

That is a nice town, but a place where it is very hard to meet new people... especially if you are over 30. There are a lot of places for the 18-25 crowd, but not much more and almost everything shuts down after 6PM! Here in Frankfurt, I have a cool streetside cafe and pizzeria (both open late on weeknights and open most of the day on Sundays! Then there are internet cafes, asian bistros, used book stores, an English-language theater with multiple (new) releases, etc. - all within a 10-minute walk! That is of course, unless you want to use the U-bahn (subway), whose above ground tracks in this area run down the main street (Eckenheimer Landstrasse) just a block from me... and yet, the street I am on is still very quite at night so you can sleep. AMAZING location.

I have to say I am still surprised that I am still single, though. Of course, a lot of the reason comes from living in small towns comprised mostly of 18 to 25 year-olds, married, or retired people... with few social options, internet-based or otherwise for people who don't already know somebody.

That said, Germany is not for the "I need to have social success quickly" kind of person... someone who needs to be dating someome and have a lot of friends they see often right away. It is "travel-difficult" to be sure, but also very much "travel-worth it" in the end. Often, the things that turn out to be the hardest are also the most rewarding... and sometimes also not - but we still try, and we don't let the "glass is half empty complainers" or naysayers who never really make much effort in the first place, dissuade us from trying.

You never know until you try - but you have to mean it when you say wou will try... not a half-hearted effort. The group events I attended the last 2 weeks were full of Expatriates... but out of more than 40 people combined, only 5 (including myself) were American, and only 3 were German.... a VERY cosmopolitan collection of people who probably represented more than 20 nations. The point of that is that there are a lot of people from around the world here in Germany, especially in a place like Frankfurt, and all are seeking to make their way, to integrate into this new society, but are finding it difficult at first... and we all need people in our lives, so... we seek out other travelers and expats making the same adjustments we are and learning from them. Eventually though, we will find I think that we all have more German friends and adapt easily (or much more so) to the differences in how people socialize here.

All this having been said - due to the expense of the new apartment and the many moves (my permanent Frankfurt apartment is the 5th place I have lived in since moving to Germany 6 months ago) - I have not been traveling! At least, that is, outside of Germany... that 24-hour sojurn in "country number 9" - Luxembourg - is the only exception. With Christmas approaching and the apartment unfurnished, it appears that I have to take the "long view" here (I am a resident, not visiting)... and start traveling my butt off in January of the new year 2010!

Then, it's all over the place... Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna, Bruges, Barcelona, Athens, Copenhagen, Dublin... you get the idea! Ha, ha...

Hope all is well out there on the grapevine... keep traveling!

Brett

36 Hours in Stuttgart...

Friends! Amigos! Fruende!

I hope all you travelers and expats out there are well... too bad tomorrow has to be Monday.

I just read a great blog by a friend of mine in Heidelberg about his trip to Poland... tough act to follow, but I will give it a shot.

I think more than anything, I love the doing, the journey, the exploration, involved in travel. Just rolling into a new town or city I have never been to before, and seeing "what's up"... that can be meeting a fine girl for a 1st date near the Königstrasse (King's Street), rocking out to a great list of CLASSIC American (and some German) songs at the appropriately titled "Classic Rock Bar" there, strolling into the EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL schlossplatz - famous throughtout Europe apparently, exploring the history of the state of Baden-Wurtemmburg in the Landesmuseum in the Alteschloss (Old Castle)... you get the idea.

What a great city... I liked it as much, maybe more, than the very underrated Frankfurt of Hessen fame! Of course, I have not been to Berlin, Munich, Nurnberg yet, so give me a break on that one guys. Both Frankfurt and Stuttgart share one common trait - beyond of course the great cultural and entertainment options, and that is HOT WOMEN.

O mein gott - Oh my God! It was CRAZY... must be more of what Joshua (all hail the Chief!) was talking about from Poland... I literally TURNED AROUND at least 10 times in those 36 hours to get a better look of someone I would never see again, and received a few snickers off to the side in return from bemused onlookers! Ha, ha... oh, well, the joys of travel.

COMMENT: guys, brush up on the #ol German... you never know when you'll need it, such as when you have a RESERVATION (Reservierung) for an ICE train seat (both ways), and each time someone is sitting there who looks at you with a "What?" look on their face and feigns ignorance when you point to your ticket and the number of the seat they're sitting in!

First time, I didn't make them move however... a kind older lady with a free seat let me sit there, and avoid the "international incident" that could have been brewing... I got to chat about English and learning German, her granddaughter who studied at Ithaca in New York, and other such niceties... all with the ever-present glances from those around us alway curious about what I am saying!

Side note, guys... some of the same games us guys from the USA are used to (and annoyed with), still face us from time to time - although less frequently - over here... last weekend in Darmstatd provided just such an enlightenment... got involved in the "battle handoff - handing off of the baton" thing with 2 girls at An Sibin, an Irish pub there.

The "less attractive" of the two, who I nonetheless wanted to flirt with as she seemed nicer than the "HOT" one, played along with the flirting game for a while... returning a lot of it too I might add, aided by a 3rd girlfriend of theirs that knew English. However GF#3 failed to educate me on the fact that "less attractive" girl was MARRIED... the ring on her RIGHT hand apparently means they are hitched back EAST, whereas in western countries it would be on the left... D'oh!

Oh, well... after licking my wounds in the backroom over a beer with my friend from the UK, I waded back in just to hang out at the bar where we had been... and the girl I had flirted with then - with a lot of confusing "make me guess what's going on stuff" (?) -set up the HOT girl to give me their number (hot girl was just visiting until the 30th) so I could ask hot girl out sometime... ha, ha! If you can follow all this, you're quicker than me, as it was all very odd and confusing in real life. I guess when the sexier girl doesn't get flirted with, she wants to know why and then suddenly gets interested in you... or rather, gets interested in giving you her number (she didn't return my interest after that to meet!).

Ahhh, life as a single guy - isn't it fun??

Can't we all just be "friends"... uh, I mean... can't girls just be straightforward once in a while?

Ciao!

Brett

Thick skin... on Day 80.

You know, for someone with some experience in living abroad (albeit not long term previously), I would have thought that I would have "thicker" skin than I do... at least as this point.

Maybe it's delayed "culture shock" to my integration into German society, I don't know... but a wee bit o' paranoia has crept into my psyche that many of the German citizens I pass on the street are about to (and often do it seems) almost "immediately" talk out loud amongst themselves "American... Amerikaner... die Vereinigten Staten... Englisch..." after I pass.

This is as if I am of bad hearing and will not hear them, or ignorant of the German language (although still limited, I am learning quickly)... OR, they really just don't care if I know or am offended.. and wish to belittle my making the attemp to fit in, or my decision to come here. Xenephobia in all its forms is almost always bad.

Normally, I would take it in stride and just realize that being from America is both a priviledge and a responsibility at times, and being an expat... sometimes a burden, in that you have to refrain from responding to every perceived slight. Most of the time, I certainly understand that people mean no real disrespect, and most often are interested in a good way - I do get that. However, I seem to encounter more and more those who wish to laugh at or make light of being American... or looking or sounding American... as if being one was a reason to be self-conscious or laughable.

I have experienced many great situations here already, and have often encountered very friendly German citizens who love America and Americans, or if they don't, certainly respect them and are civil. This other trend is a real test of the philosohpy I espouse to, and many world travelers do... to accept these things as what they are, people who do not know you merely making rash judgments on someone they don't understand, but have heard so much about in the media... that much of the time to react in a defensive, excitable manner would only serve to provide them proof of what they naturally ASSUME to be the correct version of Americans - loud, obnoxious, superficial, un-intelligent, ignorant of world affairs, warlike, and materialistic...

As an American ambassador abroad, and I am exactly that - as are other Americans abroad, like it or not... I have to sometimes internalize these things, and "let it go"... even when a response would be justified, knowing that real "victory" in such an encounter is to show them something they don't expect... an American who is culture-savvy and knows something of what they think they see in us, someone not overly defensive and ready to anger, and someone who tries to give them some "extra rope" in the hope that they will "come around" to the idea that I (and we) are much better people than we are so often given credit for.

I did in fact move HERE, and along with the fact that I have had mostly good experiences with Germans - having met for example 3 very warm, interesting, and respectful Germans (hiya Olaf, Sarah, and Jamc!) - I do have a greater responsibility to "fit in" and understand them, than they do to understand me... that said, we Americans who do end up going back to the USA (I personally plan to stay in Europe for some time) do take our "experience report cards" back home with us... if Germans (and Europeans in general) wish us to do more to get to know them and integrate into their societies - which I firmly believe in - then they need to return the favor and appreciate and acknowledge at least some of these efforts, if they wish Americans returning to the US to talk positively of their time in Germany and Europe.

Ciao, und schoenen Tag!

BT

The Little Things...

Friends often are the best critics, are they not? That trusted confidant can expose flaws in your writing and even sometimes in your character in ways both needed and inoffensive...

One such friend, a German who I had met along with his lady love at JFK International Airport in NYC before flying over to Frankfurt, gave me some good advice on my blog. He said that one thing which interested him was the "little things" or rather, the "little differences" I mentioned previously... the little differences between life in America for instance and that in Germany.

Of course, many interesting, profound, mundane, or puzzling differences could also be found for Expats from Japan, Argentina, Turkey, Norway, or Australia living in Germany too for that matter. This is truly a universal expatriate experience I believe.

I have often felt that one of the reasons I love travel abroad so much, and even more so living abroad, is the exploration and attempted understanding of just such differences - but, also, the surprising similarities. Both can amaze, confuse, and cause us to laugh out loud!

One of the most interesting and HUMOROUS differences for me has been the concept of "the DRAFT". No, not the one where everyone gets a nice green uniform and a piece of paper saying you're going to the combat zone... ha, ha... the other one. The draft that comes from the rush of wind by an open car window as you're driving, or from a strong breeze coming through an apartment window.

The one which many Europeans, and in particular it seems, Germans, DREAD. I have only discerned bits and pieces of the complete story, here, but basically I think they feel a rush of wind or breeze - especially if you are damp or wet for some reason - is automatically a ticket to an onset of a bad cold or flu!

Coming from such an Air Conditioning-loving culture as I do, this is a bit hard and puzzling to understand. So... what you're saying is, you WON'T leave a window open on a sweltering, burning-hot train or car, but you WILL ride down a hill on your bicycle at 30 kph, wind blowing in your face? I'm not sure I follow! Ha, ha... my new friends from Kosovo & Bulgaria steadfastly claimed that a little sweat (such as from hiking on a hot day) combined with a strong draft or breeze - well, how could I do such a thing, I'll end up in a sick bed! We all had a nice laugh on that one.

Then, we have my interesting new friends from Germany who experienced an over-heated hotel room in New York City. As Olaf proclaimed "the room was at about 25 degrees C (mid-70s Fahrenheit folks), and I could not turn down the heat in any way" (paraphrasing here Olaf!)... or rather, "the only way we could moderate the temperature was to turn on the Air Conditioning, which we HATE. Every time we have done that before we always got a cold the next day!"

While I don't doubt my new friends, it does raise a bemused eyebrow for this Yankee Expatriate... having grown up with beautifully air-conditioned movie theaters on sweltering hot July days, ice-cold Coca-Colas to quench the thirst from the heat, and cool supermarkets... the idea of getting a cold from a breeze is truly incomprehensible! That said, my fellow Americans (and I as well) could certainly learn to moderate our use of natural resources to power our Air-conditioned lives, but to our friends abroad we have to ask - could we PLEASE open a window? It's HOT in here!

This all goes to show how even small things are up for exploration and discovery abroad... some things that they (and we) took for granted growing up as normal, is considered quite the opposite somewhere else. I will never grow tired of it.

Of course, you will always find the surprising similarities as well - things you just assumed would be different, and really weren't that different at all, even in some quite unusual places... but then, that's the subject of another blog.

Tschuss!

Brett

Day 59 and counting...

I have noticed that certain habits that I used to take for granted as a part of the travel or "expat" experience have atrophied.

Take for instance the art of writing, or specifically, writing a journal. Remember when that was THE thing to do on the road in Europe or elsewhere? When a rainy day in the city cafe, Lenny Kravitz overhead on the radio, writing in your journal about the places you've been or people you've met... was the preferred way to immortalize your travel experience?

Ha, ha... I sure do. I keep trying however to "bail" on this tried-and-true method, and switch full-time to the 21st century (aka "my laptop computer"). However, I always come back to how cool it is to one day, years later, look back upon my handwriting from an earlier time... not some inantimate, non-emotional thing... but MY handwriting from a time long past. I always wonder, what was going on with me then... what was I thinking or worrying about, or wishing for, when I wrote that particular passage?

Things which might get lost however in writing the old-fashioned way are some details, which get lost when your "writer's cramp" sets in and you begin to wonder if I should just "sign off" now and go get another Pilsner!

Details like the look of intellectual curiosity about the learning of languages, discovering other places, and getting to know people of other cultures, that I saw in the eyes of two new friends today. I had met these two people, a 20-something guy from Kosovo and his 20-something Bulgarian girlfriend, on my way into the Schlossplatz (Castle Square) here in Schwetzingen... the two approached and in a very polite way asked in German "Wo ist die Schlossplatz, bitte?"

Having uttered a few of the German words I DO know at this point (give me a break though, it's over 200 by now), I was able to respond... but they quickly determined my origins (USA) by my accent. The guy is a fellow explorer and lover of languages... as is his girlfriend, and they were really trying to learn English! I of course am trying HARD to learn Deutsch... which they know very well.

As you do when in Europe, you quickly size up people and "flash-bond" friendships... and numbers got exchanged... a sort of "Well, if I don't get a method of contacting these very cool people, I will never see them again, SO..." moment. We've all had them over here.

That said, a trip the following week was made, 3 countries represented by the 3 of us, all of us Expats living abroad in Germany, to Heidelberg to explore with wonder the over-touristed but still amazing beauty of the Heidelberg Schloss (Castle) and the MAGNIFICENT views of Heidelberg spread out below like a pictue postcard.

This all occuring after meeting a really effervescent and humorous British couple of Expats the day before in the Biergarten... studying my German over Schnitzel or Apfelstrudel as always.

I knew I would enjoy this experience, as much and in some ways more than even my experiences in my 20s, but this truly is a joy, plain and simple.

Cheers to world travel! Stay traveling my friends out there on the road, and stay connected to the Grapevine. Represent. Represent well.

Tchuss!

Brett

Observations On Day 33...

Ha, ha... yes, I know, I'm still using the "new baby" method of marking time!

As time passes, I realize in pratical terms and otherwise that this trip is an entity unto itself, and while sharing similarities, is very different from past adventures abroad.

I am not backpacking through, or sleeping in youth hoselts - not yet, anyway, until I start my weekend travels and on vacation around Europe... this is drive in to work, work for the weekend, get into the daily life of Germany stuff.

Alas, I still have not received the household goods shipment! Although in the UK (and thus much closer now), I still do not have that elusive and dreamt-about chair to sit on!

Of course, I do need to do the "IKEA thing" German-style, but I was hoping to wait until the other things got here to know what I needed to buy... I cannot wait for simple household pleasure like watching TV, surfing the internet without going to an internet cafe, sitting in a chair to read one of my travel books, etc.!

That said, though... once my paychecks begin coming in on a regular basis, it's "out the door" most nights and weekends for yours truly - within reason, I am 38 now, not 23!

I just mean that on a sunny Saturday I will be in Bavaria or in Prague, not playing the latest Playstation 3 game at home in Schwetzingen - if I am there, I will be out exploring the Schlossgarten, enjoying a Pilsner while studying Deutsch in the town square (Schlossplatz)... all the things that make this part of Germany such a special place.

I am off to Frankfurt next weekend... and then Munich the week after that! I cannot wait to get out and begin exploring.

Enough of an update for now... bis bald (until next time)!

Brett

First REAL entry Part 2...

To say that I am excited about this priviliged opportunity to live abroad for the long term would of course be an understatement... anyone who knows me, knows how I feel about the chance to meet cool and interesting people from around the world, and to represent our great country, the United States, abroad.

Of course, there are many great countries and cultures around the world - and the seasoned traveler knows this. I believe mine is the best of the best, but many others could make strong arguments for themselves too.

Few things seem to bring a smile quicker than the memory of an old friend made on a train journey through Europe years before, or the thought of Espresso and bagel at a local cafe next to the schoolhouse in Siena... save maybe the current one of a Kaffehaus (Coffeehouse) at the Schlossplatz (castle square) in Schwetzingen in 2009!

A rainy Saturday often means the reinvigoration of the coffee society after all... and so, I trudged the 20-minute walk - car forthcoming at a later date my friends - to the Weldebrau Schlossplatz Cafe. Some three hours later, I was some 60 words smarter in German! Or, at least I hope so... don't ask me to remember them in a few hours.

It was a very cliched, cheesy, but ever-so-true "world traveler" moment as I have come to consider them... it all seemed so much like old times when I'd be filling out my journal - yes, I'm THAT old school guy who still manually writes travel journals... and keeps real CDs at home too!

The rain falling outside, the American pop music (Lenny Kravitz anyone?) overhead... it could have been 1994 in Amsterdam... but it was not, and it was not a dream or a memory relived. It was Europe III in 2009, and it is fantastic to be back. I am lucky to have this chance, and I will grasp it wholehearedly with both arms...

To my extended global friends and family - apologies for the wordy novelette, and thanks for stopping by!

Auf Wiedersehen!

BT

My REAL first entry...

Wow... can it really have been 11 Years, 2 Months, and 1 Day since that day January 26, 1998 when I flew out of London back to the US... back to await the beginning of Basic Training and a whole other adventure with the Army?

The passage of time, while seemingly straightforward, is truly a mystery at times... you think you are paying attention to the passing days, but then the hustle, hurry, stress, and joy of life takes over - and POW... you're saying, wasn't it just winter (in April)?

I never really thought I'd get the chance to do "this" again... EUROPE III (as I like to refer to this journey abroad) began with my arrival in Germany on Friday, March 27th, 2009. What was really just another Friday on the workweek countdown to the 48-hour "furlough" from the 9-to-5 for my family and friends back home... was a whole other thing for me. It was the beginning of another era you could say.

You know how in life there are times when you realize that a "moment" or a "crossroads" (C'mon guys, enough with the rolled eyes and such... I know it's cheesy, but it's real!) has come into your life? That's true for anyone, but I find it often even more so for world travelers, in particular that rare subset that gets to "deep dive" into the cultures of the world and learn it's subtleties, nuances, and depth...

Europe I was a study abroad trip to Tuscany in Italy (1994), and Europe II as I again cheesily like to refer to it... was a work exchange trip (BUNAC) to London, UK in 1997-98.

... and so, once again I try to replicate a 20-minute derived blog entry that did not take because the internet connection went down - YEAH!

... oh, yeah... and so once again my friends... I have returned! Ok, so that refers to a couple previous trips to Europe... a little dramatic, but true.

This first one will be brief (you may thank me later!) so that I can "test" the system to ensure it works...

Tschuss!

BT