Our last special Fulbright field trip was a visit to the European Central Bank in Frankfurt. The ECB doesn’t physically hold any gold or funds (the advisor to the Banks' VP who gave the lecture informed us that there is actually a discoteque in the basement but I cannot guarantee that as fact), but has more of an administrative role in communicating with all of the different countries that are in the “Eurozone” (which, by the way, I was surprised to learn is not necessarily a complete overlap with the EU). Because the ECB is a European entity and not necessarily a German one, we actually had to “leave the country” to enter the bank, and we needed our passports to get in.
Here are some pictures from inside/outside of the ECB:
A couple of weeks before the end of our language course, our lovely Sprachlehrer, Joaquim, invited our entire class to his flat for a traditional Hessian Autumn meal – Zwiebelkuchen mit Huhnchenbrust and Federweißer (onion “cake” with chicken breast – which looked and tasted kind of like a thin pizza, sans cheese – and a special type of young wine which becomes more alcoholic and less sweet the longer it sits...basically biochemistry in a bottle =D). They also served a quiche-type casserole made with leeks and goat cheese. Everything was absolutely delicious and it was a really nice thing for our whole class to do together.
<
Keeping with the theme of traditional Hessian dishes, the ten or so Fulbrighters who departed Marburg a little bit on the later side, celebrated our final evening together with one last meal of auflauf. Auflauf literally translates as “casserole,” but it seems to mean something very specific in Hessen, and almost every restaurant I ate at in Marburg serves it. Though it varies from place to place, it is basically a ton of veggies, noodles, rice, or potatoes and (optionally) some kind of meat or fish thrown into a individual-sized baking dish with some heavy cream sauce, covered with cheese and baked – and usually served right out of the oven. Essentially: macaroni and cheese, German style. It’s one of those dishes that just sits in your stomach and expands, so I have limited my consumption of auflauf and it’s probably a great thing that it probably won’t be an option for me here in Mainz. =) However, it is, of course, delicious.
My new home in Mainz is beautiful and a huge upgrade from the dorm. Below are some pictures of my room and balcony and the rest of the WG:
Some more pictures of my room and the balcony:
I basically could not be happier here. I love living with Germans (I will post some pictures of my roommates soon, too!) and I absolutely am thrilled about the kitchen. I love that I can cook full meals here and that there is always something going on in the house - it's so much better than living alone. Also, my German will be so much better by the end of the year, if only by necessity.
That's it for now - I start my research at Max Planck around Tuesday next week, so I should have some more specific details about my project by then.
Bis dann,
Ashlan
PS. See that big, red, comfortable couch? You are more than welcome to visit and utilize this spacious room of mine. =)
4 comments:
My GOD you have a huge room, Ash!
No, the Euro zone is not the same as the EU, and to make matters even more complicated there is also the Schengen zone, which is the zone where you can travel without additional visa once you have a visa for one of the Schengen countries. Switzerland, for example, is in the Schengen zone, however it is neither part of the EU nor the Euro zone. Many of those multilateral contracts have only been ratified by certain EU states or affiliated countries, therefore it is a bit confusing... however, that's how Europe works - if you don't get everybody to agree, you settle for something where most countries can agree and see what happens next.
As for the food: Auflauf is actually something you will find all over Germany, not only in Hessen. Traditionally, it used to be a 'leftover' dish. So if there was some meat, pasta and vegetables left over from the big Sunday lunch (lunch is the main meal in Germany), the next day everything got thrown into one pot, add some cheese and that's it. It then evolved into a separate dish and is very popular as it is very easy to make. For those who don't know it - imagine Lasagna, with random ingredients. I love it because it is so easy to make and you don't have to watch it while cooking - and still it rarely ever get burned! :-)
Zwiebelkuchen is my personal favourite. This one is traditional in many German and French regions that make wine, such as Baden, Elsaß, Lothringen, Rhein-Hessen and Hessen. Just to confuse you a little more: Rhein-Hessen is actually part of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, not of Hessen. And you probably have already found out that Mainz-Kastel is not part of Mainz (capital of Rheinland-Pfalz), but of Wiesbaden (captial city of Hessen), just across the river Rhein. We have to thank our American friends for that ;-). Actually, after Germany lost WW2 and was separated into zones, each controlled by one of the WW2 allies, they divided the French from the American and/or British zone along the Rhein river. Mainz was French (and still is very Frankophile and -phone as it has been occupied by Napoleon for some time), while Hessen was in the American controlled zone. They stayed until 1990, by the way - which is why my first memories of seeing soldiers actually were American soldiers! We saw them on the S-Bahn, on the way to school, almost everyday, whereas the German ones hardly ever left their bases :-) Many people tend to forget that Germany regained is status as a sovereign nation only after the 4+2 talks that led to the reunification.
Visiting = temmmmmpting.
Hi Ashlan,
Here ist Ghislain.....
Die Art, wie du deine Erfahrung in Deutschland zusammengefasst hast,lässt nur träumen...wow, really Amainzing!!!Außerdem sieht deine neue Wohnung in Mainz verdamt schön aus und ich knn mir echt nur vorstellen, wie du dich dort gemütlich fühle.
Hav a nice time in MAINZ!
Post a Comment