Ein typisches deutsches Wochenende

I can now say that I have survived my first weekend in Germany. On Friday night, all the students in the Sprachkurs crowded into a bar/restaurant that overlooks the Neckar (the main river that runs through Tuebingen). That's at least 25 people crowded around one table. As I looked over the menu, I saw a beautiful offering. One meter of beer. My first thought (scholar that I am) is that a meter is not a volume, but rather a length. I read on to discover the complexity of this conundrum. I learned that one meter of beer translates to 9 glasses of .3 liters. We actually ended up splitting this one meter of beer between 3 people, so that wasn't so much. Nevertheless, I have now set the goal for myself to drink one full meter of beer before I leave. A noble goal, I'd say.

After the bar we headed off to one of the two clubs in Tuebingen. It is called "Top-Ten." They had an amusing system of receiving a credit card upon entry, with which you then paid for all your drinks, and settled the tab at the end of the night. I found it a convenient system because it felt like I wasn't spending any real money. They found it a convenient system because no one feels like they're spending any money. I think that makes it a win-win. When I actually did go to the bar to order a drink and discovered that a beer cost 6 euros, I decided that I could do without. When I left and there was nothing on my tab to settle, the woman was very sad. I hope she'll get over it.

On Saturday night, I spent much quieter evening with my Mitbewohnern. We went to a small gathering upstairs, drank nice German wine, ate delicious hors d'ouvres, and spoke broken German. Among those present, we had people from Italy, the US, Germany (natuerlich), Spain, Turkey, Hungary, and Russia. There was no common language other than German, so this was a good learning opportunity. It was also a good learning opportunity for the food. The hors d'ouvres they had made were not quite what we would eat at a similar gathering. Instead of some kind of cheese spread on the crackers, liverwurst was spread over everything. Fortunately, I happen to like liverwurst, but it was a bit odd. One of the girls brought out homemade marmalade, given to her by her grandmother in Hungary. This might have been one of the most delicious things I have ever eaten.

Today I went to church in the old Stiftskirche (Collegiate Church, gegruendet 1470). The music was the main attraction, with an incredible organ and choir. The sermon lasted for 45 minutes, bringing the total length of the service to 90 minutes. I have a feeling this kind of service would not fly in the US. Afterward, we went to a breakfast place across the street and enjoyed their 9 Euro Sunday buffet. Delicious muesli, more marmalade, soft boiled eggs, and fresh bread. We ended up sitting their for about 2 hours, then walked around the Altstadt for about an hour. At 3 we met up with a larger group of students and walked to the Schwaerzlocher Hof, a country tavern/brewery about 30 minutes from the edge of the city. It was a beautiful walk through the countryside and up to this old farmhouse. Apparently, this place has been operating as a guest house for over 200 years, and brews several different kinds of its own beer, and almost all the food available on the menu is entirely from the farm. This includes all the meat, wine, beer, everything. We spent another few hours there, enjoyed one of the warmer days we've had so far (warmer = 40 degrees Fahrenheit). On the walk back, we passed a guy putting a bunch of stuff out on the sidewalk from his garage, and he told us that he was just putting it out for people to take and eventually to throw out the remainder. I didn't feel like carrying a lamp back to my dorm, but a few students now have miniature pool tables, jester hats, and kids tables for their rooms. Can't say I'm particularly jealous.

That brings me back home, where I now sit composing this fine work of literature. Hope you've enjoyed.