I flew in last night, traveling from Frankfurt to San Francisco and then continuing on to Burbank. It was so nice avoiding the mess that is LAX, and the transfer in San Francisco was so painless, that I hope to not go to LAX again for a long, long time. As it was, my flights were uneventful (which is good, of course), and we followed the sun all the way home.
I left Frankfurt at about 2 pm and arrived at 4:30 pm in San Francisco. I stayed awake the whole flight, even though I was tired, mostly because I felt crowded and all the windows were up so it was daylight. I finally made it home just before 9 pm, with the sun going down just when the sun should've been coming up for me. I'm a little tripped out, but slept very well last night and I think I'm adjusting all right.
I'm just very happy to be home. Now to catch up with everything that was left behind ... a lot of work (which is messy), and church stuff, and family stuff ... the garden needs care as does the sprinkler system, which isn't working well. Ah, everyday life ... I love it!
Showing posts with label germany. Show all posts
Showing posts with label germany. Show all posts
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Dinner Party
Last night I went to dinner with the ExoMars people. There were about 40 people in attendance and we had a wonderful time at a local German restaurant. The food was quite tasty and there was everything from a salmon wrap to white asparagus to wienerschnitzel to a delightful "homemade" chocolate pudding. I really enjoyed the meal, and I sat with a group of people from ESA with none of my NASA colleagues around. I'm really glad I did, as we had a great time laughing about the differences between our respective forms of government.
I was regaled with a story about how simple it is to get a drivers license in California compared to Germany where it costs a lot and strict tests are required. "You take a test, pay a small fee, and then you drive around the block with some guy ... in your own car!" The irony of the fact that you take your own car, which you presumably drove to the DMV, to take a test to receive a license so that you can drive your own car ... well, the deadpan delivery from the story-teller was simply hilarious.
We also swapped stories about healthcare, raising children, legal run-ins, crimes that have affected us (oddly enough they had far worse personal stories about legal troubles and crime in the United States than I did, even though I live there!), traffic, drive-through ATMs (Exasperated: "To get money, you don't walk to the ATM, you drive to it!"), and the space program. We laughed about how President Obama promised change, and that's exactly what we seem to be getting, for better and for worse.
The weirdest turn in the conversation occurred when one of the people made the connection between the fact that I don't drink coffee or alcohol and the fact that I grew up and went to college in Utah to the fact that I'm Mormon. Normally, I'd take the opportunity to tell people a bit about what we believe, but one of the people in our group jumped the conversation from me being a Mormon to talking about the Catholic problems with pedophile priests and the unfortunate "torture" that occurred at Guantanamo Bay. It sounded like, but I was never clear on this, that he had heard cases of Mormons also abusing children and participating in this torture, but the conversation was at times difficult to follow (between a noisy room and the accents). As far as I know, those connections do not exist (though, I won't lie and say there's never been a Mormon pedophile or a Mormon torturer), but I don't know what he thinks he knows, and I did not want to risk being perceived as confrontational.
So, I walked away last night having been identified as a Mormon, which I was able to clarify as a Christian religion, but not knowing what the others thought about that fact. It seems to me that Europeans are a decidedly unreligious lot, with a distrust of organized religion (the Catholic church, being the dominant church with which they have experience, in particular), and they didn't seem to want to linger on the topic.
The conversation did swerve to the terrorist problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the fact that there does not seem to be a very good solution. It was clear that they did not approve of the way that the United States dealt with the war in Iraq, and especially didn't approve of the fact that the U.S. started it. However, I was able to get them to think about it in ways that I don't think they ever had. In particular, one of them admitted that democracy is the natural enemy of authoritarianism, and that a "civilized" society is poorly equipped to deal with one that engages in terrorism.
We spoke about the challenges of dealing with these people that were captured engaging in acts of terrorism, and about how it isn't really clear if you should treat them as criminals or as war criminals, which they agreed should rightly be treated differently.
I shared with them the plotline of a book I'm reading right now, "The Man With the Iron Heart" by Harry Turtledove. It is an alternative history book, which explores what might have happened had there been an active Nazi underground resistance in the aftermath of World War II, which resorted to what we would now consider terrorist acts. It's very obvious that the author intended the novel to be a parable on modern times, and in it the author explores the challenges of dealing with an armed people that don't go by the "rules of war" and to whom human dignity is not universally applicable. I'm not finished reading it, yet, but I believe the resolution to the book will be that the United States will eventually pull out of Germany, not having the stomach to endure the continual additional deaths of our soldiers for a people that doesn't appear to want our help, leaving them to their own devices which will set the stage for a Nazi resurgence.
They were intrigued by the concepts I outlined, and I think we all agreed that there are no good civilized answers to terrorism. One approach would be to lay waste to the communities who harbor and support the terrorists, but that is not something that "western" civilization endorses, and would make us no better than the Nazis in the end. Education seems to be the key, but that takes time and patience, something which democracies do not excel in.
It was a very interesting night. I made some new friends and enjoyed the stimulating conversation, and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to be here and enjoy the hospitality of my hosts.
I was regaled with a story about how simple it is to get a drivers license in California compared to Germany where it costs a lot and strict tests are required. "You take a test, pay a small fee, and then you drive around the block with some guy ... in your own car!" The irony of the fact that you take your own car, which you presumably drove to the DMV, to take a test to receive a license so that you can drive your own car ... well, the deadpan delivery from the story-teller was simply hilarious.
We also swapped stories about healthcare, raising children, legal run-ins, crimes that have affected us (oddly enough they had far worse personal stories about legal troubles and crime in the United States than I did, even though I live there!), traffic, drive-through ATMs (Exasperated: "To get money, you don't walk to the ATM, you drive to it!"), and the space program. We laughed about how President Obama promised change, and that's exactly what we seem to be getting, for better and for worse.
The weirdest turn in the conversation occurred when one of the people made the connection between the fact that I don't drink coffee or alcohol and the fact that I grew up and went to college in Utah to the fact that I'm Mormon. Normally, I'd take the opportunity to tell people a bit about what we believe, but one of the people in our group jumped the conversation from me being a Mormon to talking about the Catholic problems with pedophile priests and the unfortunate "torture" that occurred at Guantanamo Bay. It sounded like, but I was never clear on this, that he had heard cases of Mormons also abusing children and participating in this torture, but the conversation was at times difficult to follow (between a noisy room and the accents). As far as I know, those connections do not exist (though, I won't lie and say there's never been a Mormon pedophile or a Mormon torturer), but I don't know what he thinks he knows, and I did not want to risk being perceived as confrontational.
So, I walked away last night having been identified as a Mormon, which I was able to clarify as a Christian religion, but not knowing what the others thought about that fact. It seems to me that Europeans are a decidedly unreligious lot, with a distrust of organized religion (the Catholic church, being the dominant church with which they have experience, in particular), and they didn't seem to want to linger on the topic.
The conversation did swerve to the terrorist problems in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the fact that there does not seem to be a very good solution. It was clear that they did not approve of the way that the United States dealt with the war in Iraq, and especially didn't approve of the fact that the U.S. started it. However, I was able to get them to think about it in ways that I don't think they ever had. In particular, one of them admitted that democracy is the natural enemy of authoritarianism, and that a "civilized" society is poorly equipped to deal with one that engages in terrorism.
We spoke about the challenges of dealing with these people that were captured engaging in acts of terrorism, and about how it isn't really clear if you should treat them as criminals or as war criminals, which they agreed should rightly be treated differently.
I shared with them the plotline of a book I'm reading right now, "The Man With the Iron Heart" by Harry Turtledove. It is an alternative history book, which explores what might have happened had there been an active Nazi underground resistance in the aftermath of World War II, which resorted to what we would now consider terrorist acts. It's very obvious that the author intended the novel to be a parable on modern times, and in it the author explores the challenges of dealing with an armed people that don't go by the "rules of war" and to whom human dignity is not universally applicable. I'm not finished reading it, yet, but I believe the resolution to the book will be that the United States will eventually pull out of Germany, not having the stomach to endure the continual additional deaths of our soldiers for a people that doesn't appear to want our help, leaving them to their own devices which will set the stage for a Nazi resurgence.
They were intrigued by the concepts I outlined, and I think we all agreed that there are no good civilized answers to terrorism. One approach would be to lay waste to the communities who harbor and support the terrorists, but that is not something that "western" civilization endorses, and would make us no better than the Nazis in the end. Education seems to be the key, but that takes time and patience, something which democracies do not excel in.
It was a very interesting night. I made some new friends and enjoyed the stimulating conversation, and I am very glad that I had the opportunity to be here and enjoy the hospitality of my hosts.
Meetings at ESOC
My meetings in ESOC have gone very, very well. I met with the Mars Express people and walked through some details of this new relay coordination system for which I'm responsible. We've concluded we want to take baby-steps to get them integrated with it in preparation for support of MSL.
My meetings with the ExoMars people have also gone very well. We spoke about a lot of how relay operations will occur between the ExoMars orbiter and any landers that get to the surface of Mars. Some details have been clarified while others are still open questions. Naturally there are things that the two sides of this partnership disagree about, but so far there's nothing that's fundamentally broken.
It is an interesting experience for me to learn how the Europeans construct spacecraft. They have processes that are certainly different from ours, but most assuredly not wrong, for managing spacecraft development, including in their reviews, documentation approach, etc. Truth be told, fundamentally their approach very closely mirrors ours, and mostly it's a matter of simply understanding how their activities map into what we do. I'm learning a lot and enjoying myself.
In other news, I'm glad I went walkabout the first few days I was here, because I've been indoors working ever since and even if I wasn't, it's been raining the whole time.
My meetings with the ExoMars people have also gone very well. We spoke about a lot of how relay operations will occur between the ExoMars orbiter and any landers that get to the surface of Mars. Some details have been clarified while others are still open questions. Naturally there are things that the two sides of this partnership disagree about, but so far there's nothing that's fundamentally broken.
It is an interesting experience for me to learn how the Europeans construct spacecraft. They have processes that are certainly different from ours, but most assuredly not wrong, for managing spacecraft development, including in their reviews, documentation approach, etc. Truth be told, fundamentally their approach very closely mirrors ours, and mostly it's a matter of simply understanding how their activities map into what we do. I'm learning a lot and enjoying myself.
In other news, I'm glad I went walkabout the first few days I was here, because I've been indoors working ever since and even if I wasn't, it's been raining the whole time.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Walkabout in Darmstadt
I spent the last day and a half walking around Darmstadt, and have really enjoyed myself. For the most part, there's nothing touristy about this place, and there's really nothing that jumps out and says, "You gotta see this!", but even so, it's been pleasant just walking around and enjoying the environment. "Downtown" is a pleasant place to walk around, with lots of shops; and nearby there are a few parks that provide the right amount of green.
Darmstadt, like many cities in Europe, got laid waste during World War II, so there aren't a lot of "old" buildings to speak of. I wasn't able to find any old churches, and even the local "castle" is modernized. What few "old" pieces of architecture I was able to find, and old statues, were fairly rare. For example, in one of the main squares downtown, I found this statue:
I have no idea who this is, and there was no plaque, and I struggled with it because it totally looks like Teddy Roosevelt to me. Apologies that the resolution is so bad; I only had the camera in my phone with me.
There were some more modern statues that I encountered, such as this:
Or this:
I found that this place is really quite green, though. The major park near downtown is lovely, and seems to be very popular with the students who attend the university right next door, and parents of small children:
In the park I did find this cool monument with this awesome, naked, Viking-looking dude:
Nearby was another "park", something called "St. George's gardens", I think, with a nearby church named, I think, "St. Elizabeth's":
It's really quite strange, though, the mix of architecture styles in the downtown area. One one hand, you have very traditional, European-style buildings, such as these:
But across the street, you get very modern type buildings, like this:
On the whole, though, it was a nice time just walking around town. My feet a little sore, my eyes a little bleary-eyed, I went back to the hotel content and comfortable with my surroundings. I'm still a little uncomfortable ordering food at restaurants, but I'll get over that eventually, too. I like this place, but I do look forward to going home.
Darmstadt, like many cities in Europe, got laid waste during World War II, so there aren't a lot of "old" buildings to speak of. I wasn't able to find any old churches, and even the local "castle" is modernized. What few "old" pieces of architecture I was able to find, and old statues, were fairly rare. For example, in one of the main squares downtown, I found this statue:
I have no idea who this is, and there was no plaque, and I struggled with it because it totally looks like Teddy Roosevelt to me. Apologies that the resolution is so bad; I only had the camera in my phone with me.There were some more modern statues that I encountered, such as this:
Or this:
I found that this place is really quite green, though. The major park near downtown is lovely, and seems to be very popular with the students who attend the university right next door, and parents of small children:
In the park I did find this cool monument with this awesome, naked, Viking-looking dude:
Nearby was another "park", something called "St. George's gardens", I think, with a nearby church named, I think, "St. Elizabeth's":
It's really quite strange, though, the mix of architecture styles in the downtown area. One one hand, you have very traditional, European-style buildings, such as these:
But across the street, you get very modern type buildings, like this:
On the whole, though, it was a nice time just walking around town. My feet a little sore, my eyes a little bleary-eyed, I went back to the hotel content and comfortable with my surroundings. I'm still a little uncomfortable ordering food at restaurants, but I'll get over that eventually, too. I like this place, but I do look forward to going home.
Monday, May 17, 2010
In Germany Again
So I'm in Germany again, this time not for a conference, as I was 2 years ago, but instead for a meeting at the European Space Agency's operations center (ESOC) in Darmstadt. I'll be visiting with some people from the Mars Express mission, and also, primarily, with a lot of people from the ExoMars 2016 orbiter mission. We're trying to figure out some of the details of what's what, as it is a joint mission between NASA and ESA, with general rules for division of responsibilities, and we'll be trying to crisp those rules up a little.
The flights over were pretty straightforward. I bounced through San Francisco, and even though my flight was 45 minutes late out of Burbank, which caused no small amount of concern on my part, we made it in plenty of time for me to catch the non-stop flight to Frankfurt. I actually was fairly comfortable in the plane ... ever since I lost weight, I fit in those little seats a lot better ...
I tried to sleep on the way, but sleep was elusive because the guy sitting behind me kept getting up every 20 minutes, and pulled on my chair to get himself out of his. The jolting back and forth was not conducive to a nice slumber. Even so, I managed to get a little bit of rest, and while I wasn't resting, I watched some of the in-flight movies (Desperate Measures and Invictus and ... um ... something forgettable). I also read a lot. I would've used my laptop for something more constructive, but I'm a little shy when there's somebody inches away who can see everything I type.
So, anyway, I got on the ground and turned on my phone (got it activated for international calling, thank heavens!) only to receive a text message from the ESOC visitor desk, who said there was a taxi standing by to bring me from the airport to ESOC in Darmstadt. I had asked about it last week, but hadn't heard anything, so I was totally planning on taking a bus (for 8 Euros), but I couldn't very well turn the guy away. It certainly was convenient, but I forked over 40 Euros for it. My inward miser groaned, but gratefully I'll get reimbursed for that through work. To top it off, he dropped me off at ESOC, not at my hotel, which he proclaimed was only 100 meters away. Uh huh. It was more like 300 (I looked it up)! Not a big deal, really, but I was hauling wheeled luggage over cobblestone, and it would've taken him, like, 30 seconds to drive me over there.
So, I got into the hotel and happily my room was available so they could let me check in early. It's about 11:30 am at this point, but to me it's 2:30 in the morning. I'm a little weirded out, but still moving, so after I'm dismayed that internet access is going to be 15 Euros per day (again, work will reimburse!) I head out to go find something to eat. It's a little weird walking around in the bright sunshine where you don't speak the language looking for lunch in the middle of the night.
Turns out that Darmstadt is really quite a pretty little town. It's industrialized, don't get me wrong. It's a city, after all, with the crowding and the crime (there's a lot of graffiti), but it also has all the fun things about a city -- a lot of places to shop (which would be better if, you know, I actually liked to shop), big buildings to look at, lots of people to watch hurrying along their way unknowingly telling outsiders a bit about their culture. So, get this, after one afternoon, I figure the following:
* The only people who seem to smile are those that are pushing little children in strollers.
* Most people with children appear to be of Middle Eastern descent -- it's true what I've read about how there's an identity crisis here because of the massive in-flux of Muslim people ... and if the birth rate among the Germanic people doesn't rise (don't hold your breath) ...
* The other people who smile are teenagers who are just goofing off.
* Speaking of the teenagers, it seems they will invariably be wearing black, have a tattoo, or have a body piercing somewhere. Many have all three.
* I think they hide all the kids that are in the in-between ages.
* All the stores open no earlier than 9 and close by 7. But the bars, of course, stay open quite late -- I'm absolutely positive that there's a correlation between those two sentences.
* I saw no obese people. Not one. I'm sure that's because they walk practically everywhere and eat less than we Americans do, even though it seems practically everything is deep fried.
* There are a lot of "pedestrian" cyclists with sturdy bicycles (and baskets!), who use them to get around town. I contrast this with back home where most cyclists have flimsy "street" bikes and ride recreationally. Back home some cyclists get pretty pretentious about it all, with their outfits and their attitudes, but here it's just a good way to get around.
* Far too many people here have a smoking habit. If one were to say "everybody" smokes here, from my observations, they wouldn't be too far off the mark.
A few other randoms:
* Here it is 9 pm and it still isn't dark outside. This "high" latitude thing is really weird, coming from Southern California.
* I had to go buy an electric adapter from an electronics store so I could plug my laptop/phone/razor in to the wall because the old adapter I had doesn't fit the standard outlet anymore (I bought it ten years ago, and things have changed here ...). In the process, I got harangued in broken English by the guy behind the counter because I didn't know what voltage my electronics require ... seriously, who just knows that off the top of their head?!
* I forgot my comb, so I have to go buy one tomorrow.
* I've been to McDonald's twice for meals, because I'm a little intimidated going somewhere else and having to order something when I can't even read the stinkin' menu!
* The hotel has an "Ironing Room" (no joke!) -- basically a closet with an old ironing board and an iron. I still need to go iron all my wrinkled clothes.
* I notice that it's really green here, with stuff growing anywhere that's not concreted or bricked (and even there sometimes). Explains why there's a lot of paving ...
Anyway, it's going to be an interesting visit. Tomorrow, I plan to go on walkabout again, to see what there is to see. I have a meeting at 3 pm with the Mars Express folks, and then dinner with my co-workers at 6:30 pm. Should be good!
I'll be waking up at 3 am to "skype" my family back home around dinnertime. It'll be good to see them.
The flights over were pretty straightforward. I bounced through San Francisco, and even though my flight was 45 minutes late out of Burbank, which caused no small amount of concern on my part, we made it in plenty of time for me to catch the non-stop flight to Frankfurt. I actually was fairly comfortable in the plane ... ever since I lost weight, I fit in those little seats a lot better ...
I tried to sleep on the way, but sleep was elusive because the guy sitting behind me kept getting up every 20 minutes, and pulled on my chair to get himself out of his. The jolting back and forth was not conducive to a nice slumber. Even so, I managed to get a little bit of rest, and while I wasn't resting, I watched some of the in-flight movies (Desperate Measures and Invictus and ... um ... something forgettable). I also read a lot. I would've used my laptop for something more constructive, but I'm a little shy when there's somebody inches away who can see everything I type.
So, anyway, I got on the ground and turned on my phone (got it activated for international calling, thank heavens!) only to receive a text message from the ESOC visitor desk, who said there was a taxi standing by to bring me from the airport to ESOC in Darmstadt. I had asked about it last week, but hadn't heard anything, so I was totally planning on taking a bus (for 8 Euros), but I couldn't very well turn the guy away. It certainly was convenient, but I forked over 40 Euros for it. My inward miser groaned, but gratefully I'll get reimbursed for that through work. To top it off, he dropped me off at ESOC, not at my hotel, which he proclaimed was only 100 meters away. Uh huh. It was more like 300 (I looked it up)! Not a big deal, really, but I was hauling wheeled luggage over cobblestone, and it would've taken him, like, 30 seconds to drive me over there.
So, I got into the hotel and happily my room was available so they could let me check in early. It's about 11:30 am at this point, but to me it's 2:30 in the morning. I'm a little weirded out, but still moving, so after I'm dismayed that internet access is going to be 15 Euros per day (again, work will reimburse!) I head out to go find something to eat. It's a little weird walking around in the bright sunshine where you don't speak the language looking for lunch in the middle of the night.
Turns out that Darmstadt is really quite a pretty little town. It's industrialized, don't get me wrong. It's a city, after all, with the crowding and the crime (there's a lot of graffiti), but it also has all the fun things about a city -- a lot of places to shop (which would be better if, you know, I actually liked to shop), big buildings to look at, lots of people to watch hurrying along their way unknowingly telling outsiders a bit about their culture. So, get this, after one afternoon, I figure the following:
* The only people who seem to smile are those that are pushing little children in strollers.
* Most people with children appear to be of Middle Eastern descent -- it's true what I've read about how there's an identity crisis here because of the massive in-flux of Muslim people ... and if the birth rate among the Germanic people doesn't rise (don't hold your breath) ...
* The other people who smile are teenagers who are just goofing off.
* Speaking of the teenagers, it seems they will invariably be wearing black, have a tattoo, or have a body piercing somewhere. Many have all three.
* I think they hide all the kids that are in the in-between ages.
* All the stores open no earlier than 9 and close by 7. But the bars, of course, stay open quite late -- I'm absolutely positive that there's a correlation between those two sentences.
* I saw no obese people. Not one. I'm sure that's because they walk practically everywhere and eat less than we Americans do, even though it seems practically everything is deep fried.
* There are a lot of "pedestrian" cyclists with sturdy bicycles (and baskets!), who use them to get around town. I contrast this with back home where most cyclists have flimsy "street" bikes and ride recreationally. Back home some cyclists get pretty pretentious about it all, with their outfits and their attitudes, but here it's just a good way to get around.
* Far too many people here have a smoking habit. If one were to say "everybody" smokes here, from my observations, they wouldn't be too far off the mark.
A few other randoms:
* Here it is 9 pm and it still isn't dark outside. This "high" latitude thing is really weird, coming from Southern California.
* I had to go buy an electric adapter from an electronics store so I could plug my laptop/phone/razor in to the wall because the old adapter I had doesn't fit the standard outlet anymore (I bought it ten years ago, and things have changed here ...). In the process, I got harangued in broken English by the guy behind the counter because I didn't know what voltage my electronics require ... seriously, who just knows that off the top of their head?!
* I forgot my comb, so I have to go buy one tomorrow.
* I've been to McDonald's twice for meals, because I'm a little intimidated going somewhere else and having to order something when I can't even read the stinkin' menu!
* The hotel has an "Ironing Room" (no joke!) -- basically a closet with an old ironing board and an iron. I still need to go iron all my wrinkled clothes.
* I notice that it's really green here, with stuff growing anywhere that's not concreted or bricked (and even there sometimes). Explains why there's a lot of paving ...
Anyway, it's going to be an interesting visit. Tomorrow, I plan to go on walkabout again, to see what there is to see. I have a meeting at 3 pm with the Mars Express folks, and then dinner with my co-workers at 6:30 pm. Should be good!
I'll be waking up at 3 am to "skype" my family back home around dinnertime. It'll be good to see them.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Philosopher's Walk
The last night I was in Heidelberg, a friend and I went and took a walk to the north side of the Neckar River. There's a walkway that runs for miles on the hills above the river called the Philosopher's Walk. There's statues of "famous" philosophers (I hadn't heard of any of them ...) and lovely views across to old Heidelberg.
(Image 3119)
The way up was a steep incline, troubled by construction in the road. We took the "lower" path, which was still quite high, but apparently had more expansive views. Certainly, it seems any "view" of Heidelberg includes the castle.
(Image 3120)
We also stumbled upon a little park up on the hill. We saw this fun-looking gizmo that seems to be a combination of a merry-go-round and a seesaw. The kids were having a blast on it, but I could totally see "lawsuit" written on the side of it. Wish I were younger so I could've kicked those kids off so that I could have played, and not felt bad about it!
(Image 3134)
We had been told that there was some sort of amphitheater up the hill. Rumor had it that the Nazis used to have rallies at this amphitheater, so my friend and I were curious as to what it was. We didn't find it, but we did find this funky tower.
(Image 3136)
We climbed up it and found a cauldron on the top. It was totally cool and filled the entire top. We were even more surprised to hear voices floating down from up inside. We couldn't see them, but some people had climbed up on top of it. They were insane, because the only way to get up there was to climb up the edge of the tower and dangle 80 feet off the ground to haul themselves up there. Wacky.
(Image 3136)
It's funny how climbing up is always a different experience from climbing down. We didn't realize until we headed down just how high up we really were.
(Image 3146)
Along the way, though, we saw some spectacular scenery. The following picture is perhaps my favorite picture of the entire trip. It's just so peaceful and reminds me of the remarkable serenity that I felt walking through the forest. The only thing missing? My wife on my arm.
(Image 3165)
The way up was a steep incline, troubled by construction in the road. We took the "lower" path, which was still quite high, but apparently had more expansive views. Certainly, it seems any "view" of Heidelberg includes the castle.
We also stumbled upon a little park up on the hill. We saw this fun-looking gizmo that seems to be a combination of a merry-go-round and a seesaw. The kids were having a blast on it, but I could totally see "lawsuit" written on the side of it. Wish I were younger so I could've kicked those kids off so that I could have played, and not felt bad about it!
We had been told that there was some sort of amphitheater up the hill. Rumor had it that the Nazis used to have rallies at this amphitheater, so my friend and I were curious as to what it was. We didn't find it, but we did find this funky tower.
We climbed up it and found a cauldron on the top. It was totally cool and filled the entire top. We were even more surprised to hear voices floating down from up inside. We couldn't see them, but some people had climbed up on top of it. They were insane, because the only way to get up there was to climb up the edge of the tower and dangle 80 feet off the ground to haul themselves up there. Wacky.
It's funny how climbing up is always a different experience from climbing down. We didn't realize until we headed down just how high up we really were.
Along the way, though, we saw some spectacular scenery. The following picture is perhaps my favorite picture of the entire trip. It's just so peaceful and reminds me of the remarkable serenity that I felt walking through the forest. The only thing missing? My wife on my arm.
The Heidelberg Castle
I've been home from Germany for several days. Getting back into regular life is complicated, but I'm very happy to be home with my family again (and they missed me, too!). As expected, I gave my family a little slide-slow of all the photographs I'd taken while I was there. One thing that my wife laughed about was that I had so many photographs of the castle itself. In hindsight, I think she's right, but what else could I do?! The castle was just so awesome and it really was the focal point of the entire town. So, here are some pictures of the castle that I wanted to share.
This was taken at the beginning of my river cruise of the Neckar River. The old medieval town is in the forefront.
(Image 2912)
This is the "front" face of the castle, as seen from the Neckar River, and is the most exquisite except for the one on the inside.
(Image 2924)
This is a shot of the front "patio" of the castle.
(Image 2837)
Here's a "great stone dragon", visible from the front "patio" of the castle. I have no idea what purpose it serves, and it's not in a place that it could be considered decorative.
(Image 2838)
This is the interior wall of the castle. One of the tour guides said that this wall shouldn't be in the castle because it was "too beautiful, too French". Notice that above the first level there's blue sky through the windows. No, it's not a ruin with the back having fallen off -- it was designed this way to give the appearance of grandeur on the inside, to provide place to put the meaningful statues (which meaning I, um, don't know), and to intimidate visiting dignitaries.
(Image 2831)
This is a massive wine cask inside the castle. It's not the biggest one, and that's nobody I know, but I took the picture while that woman was standing for scale. Can you imaging filling that thing with anything, let alone wine? What if it fermented badly?! In any case, the biggest one (around the corner to the left of this one) is big enough that they built a little dancing platform on top of it. Crazy.
(Image 2839)
Here's a shot of me off on the eastern wing of the castle grounds. The grounds went on forever and it was a great hike through some gorgeous forests.
(Image 2816)
Here's a photograph of the back of the castle. This turret has walls a dozen feet thick, but the French really wanted to destroy the castle, so spent an enormous amount of effort trying to destroy it. For this part of the castle, the best they could do was split it open and drop half of the turret down to the moat. Notice that the broken part is still intact, but has fallen and tilted.
(Image 2802)
This is a shot of the park across the river from old Heidelberg. This park stretches for miles along the river. The intent of the shot was to get the park, but look! There's the castle in the background.
(Image 2855)
One day I went with a friend up "Philosopher's Walk" on the opposite side of the Neckar River (another post to come on that). What did we see? Of course, the Heidelberg Castle.
(Image 3120)
This shot is from the "Old Bridge" looking up towards the castle.
(Image 3183)
Here's a view of Heidelberg itself from the castle. Great view.
(Image 2817)
This video is of the interior of the castle. It speaks for itself.
(Movie 2832)
It was an awesome place to visit.
This was taken at the beginning of my river cruise of the Neckar River. The old medieval town is in the forefront.
This is the "front" face of the castle, as seen from the Neckar River, and is the most exquisite except for the one on the inside.
This is a shot of the front "patio" of the castle.
Here's a "great stone dragon", visible from the front "patio" of the castle. I have no idea what purpose it serves, and it's not in a place that it could be considered decorative.
This is the interior wall of the castle. One of the tour guides said that this wall shouldn't be in the castle because it was "too beautiful, too French". Notice that above the first level there's blue sky through the windows. No, it's not a ruin with the back having fallen off -- it was designed this way to give the appearance of grandeur on the inside, to provide place to put the meaningful statues (which meaning I, um, don't know), and to intimidate visiting dignitaries.
This is a massive wine cask inside the castle. It's not the biggest one, and that's nobody I know, but I took the picture while that woman was standing for scale. Can you imaging filling that thing with anything, let alone wine? What if it fermented badly?! In any case, the biggest one (around the corner to the left of this one) is big enough that they built a little dancing platform on top of it. Crazy.
Here's a shot of me off on the eastern wing of the castle grounds. The grounds went on forever and it was a great hike through some gorgeous forests.
Here's a photograph of the back of the castle. This turret has walls a dozen feet thick, but the French really wanted to destroy the castle, so spent an enormous amount of effort trying to destroy it. For this part of the castle, the best they could do was split it open and drop half of the turret down to the moat. Notice that the broken part is still intact, but has fallen and tilted.
This is a shot of the park across the river from old Heidelberg. This park stretches for miles along the river. The intent of the shot was to get the park, but look! There's the castle in the background.
One day I went with a friend up "Philosopher's Walk" on the opposite side of the Neckar River (another post to come on that). What did we see? Of course, the Heidelberg Castle.
This shot is from the "Old Bridge" looking up towards the castle.
Here's a view of Heidelberg itself from the castle. Great view.
This video is of the interior of the castle. It speaks for itself.
(Movie 2832)
It was an awesome place to visit.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
My Presentation Today
Today was the big day -- the reason I am here in Germany. I presented my paper entitled: "Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter: Aerobraking Sequencing Operations and Lessons Learned". The audience was even bigger than I anticipated it would be. I had maybe 100 people in attendance. Granted, about half of those were people from my place of work, but I'll take what I can get.
Anyway, it went very well. I came in under time, but then fielded far more questions than most people do. It turns out that the European Space Agency is considering doing aerobraking as an end-of-life experiment for the currently flying Venus Express. They want to email me, and I told them they could. I don't know how useful I might be to them, knowing they don't pay me and there's about a zillion ITAR restrictions on what I can tell them, but hey, they can ask.
In addition, there's a proposal currently on the table for a future NASA-sponsored Mars mission that will likely want to do aerobraking, too, and they should be mindful of the information in my paper. Turns out one of their systems engineers knows they'll need a project system engineer in about a year if they get funding for their mission, and he said he'll keep me in mind. (** wink wink nod nod ** Yeah, sounds weird, but this truly is how business is done in my industry ...)
Needless to say, the audience was impressed, it seemed. One fellow that I've worked with in the past was so enamored (it's weird to use that word, describing my own work) by the presentation that he wanted to know who my immediate supervisor is so he could put in a good word for raises this year. I was quick with a response.
In addition, my manager two levels up was also in attendance, and he has repeatedly said that he really enjoyed my paper -- and equally enjoyed the presentation. It must be good, I guess, but whatever.
Here's a few pictures that were taken by a friend of mine.
(Image 2967)
(Image 2973)
(Image 2975)
And here's a picture of my celebratory dinner afterwards -- a German dish of white asparagus (a local delicacy) wrapped in ham and a crepe-like pancake covered in a creme sauce, and a salad on the side.
(Image 2985)
It was absolutely delicious.
Anyway, now that I'm done with that, I think I'll go hiking tomorrow ... ;)
Anyway, it went very well. I came in under time, but then fielded far more questions than most people do. It turns out that the European Space Agency is considering doing aerobraking as an end-of-life experiment for the currently flying Venus Express. They want to email me, and I told them they could. I don't know how useful I might be to them, knowing they don't pay me and there's about a zillion ITAR restrictions on what I can tell them, but hey, they can ask.
In addition, there's a proposal currently on the table for a future NASA-sponsored Mars mission that will likely want to do aerobraking, too, and they should be mindful of the information in my paper. Turns out one of their systems engineers knows they'll need a project system engineer in about a year if they get funding for their mission, and he said he'll keep me in mind. (** wink wink nod nod ** Yeah, sounds weird, but this truly is how business is done in my industry ...)
Needless to say, the audience was impressed, it seemed. One fellow that I've worked with in the past was so enamored (it's weird to use that word, describing my own work) by the presentation that he wanted to know who my immediate supervisor is so he could put in a good word for raises this year. I was quick with a response.
In addition, my manager two levels up was also in attendance, and he has repeatedly said that he really enjoyed my paper -- and equally enjoyed the presentation. It must be good, I guess, but whatever.
Here's a few pictures that were taken by a friend of mine.
And here's a picture of my celebratory dinner afterwards -- a German dish of white asparagus (a local delicacy) wrapped in ham and a crepe-like pancake covered in a creme sauce, and a salad on the side.
It was absolutely delicious.
Anyway, now that I'm done with that, I think I'll go hiking tomorrow ... ;)
Cruising the Neckar River
Last night I went with the bulk of the conference attendees on a cruise down the Neckar River. It was great. The boat we were on had a flat top, and two floors beneath. They fed us finger foods (lots of them), which weren't the tastiest -- they were typical German fare with weird (to me) cheese and meats. Aside from the bread and the fruit, I didn't really go for it very much. They also had a lot of alcohol, so most of the people on the boat were well liquored up, but not obnoxiously so -- these are professionals with their peers, after all, right?
Anyway, the trip up the river was spectacular. We didn't go very far, but it still took us two hours to go up and back because we were moving so slowly. Heidelberg is at about 49.4 degrees north latitude, so even though the cruise left so late (we pulled away from the dock at 6:50), it was still light out when we returned two hours later due to the Earth's inclination at this season. It was amazing!
What I really loved about the trip was just taking it slow and watching the ever-so-green scenery scroll by. There were houses on the hills that looked European (um, cause, they, like, are) and I could envision knights and kings and forest battles with swords and axes. It was beautiful. A few pictures follow:
People sailboating and paddle-boating on the river.
(Image 2904)
The "old bridge" that is just below the castle with the other of our tour boats in the foreground.
(Image 2910)
A steeple of one of the local churches with a lift up the mountain behind it.
(Image 2914)
The oh-so-smooth river.
(Image 2944)
A picture of the moon.
(Image 2946)
The castle on the hill, lit by the sinking sun.
(Image 2955)
Funny thing, though -- I'd been noticing odd things throughout the day. Many people were very late for the conference. Some people kept sunglasses on all day, even inside. Others sat around look melancholy and not conversing very much. I finally figured it out that all these people had hangovers! For a "rocket scientist", it sometimes takes me a while to catch on. All I could do was laugh.
Anyway, the trip up the river was spectacular. We didn't go very far, but it still took us two hours to go up and back because we were moving so slowly. Heidelberg is at about 49.4 degrees north latitude, so even though the cruise left so late (we pulled away from the dock at 6:50), it was still light out when we returned two hours later due to the Earth's inclination at this season. It was amazing!
What I really loved about the trip was just taking it slow and watching the ever-so-green scenery scroll by. There were houses on the hills that looked European (um, cause, they, like, are) and I could envision knights and kings and forest battles with swords and axes. It was beautiful. A few pictures follow:
Funny thing, though -- I'd been noticing odd things throughout the day. Many people were very late for the conference. Some people kept sunglasses on all day, even inside. Others sat around look melancholy and not conversing very much. I finally figured it out that all these people had hangovers! For a "rocket scientist", it sometimes takes me a while to catch on. All I could do was laugh.
The Palatinate Museum
Tonight I went to the Palatinate Museum, otherwise called the Kurpfälzisches Museum der Stadt Heidelberg. Their website is best viewed in German, but you can see an English version here. It was absolutely awesome. I'm very confident it would've been even better if I could read German!
As it was, I took off from the conference at about 2:30 pm and headed over there, expecting it to be a pretty short visit. I walked in to this little entrance and then went inside the front entryway. The woman sitting there didn't speak English very well, but I finally convinced her that I wanted to see the museum and paid her the 3 Euros to get in (a major bargain, I found out).
She handed me a little map of the place (which was badly designed, by the way) and then I started walking around. I was stunned. Inside this "little" museum, which I found spread around the entire courtyard behind the building all the way to the next block, on four floors, was material from a variety of different times.
In one section of the museum, they had an entire exhibit set apart to discuss the ancient inhabitants of the area. They had either the real thing or a replica of the jaw of Heidelberg Man. They had dioramas depicting guesses at ancient life with plenty of pottery, hunting tools, and diagrams of ancient living structures.
In the cool, dark basement they had ruins from Roman times - lots of wreckage of Roman construction, such as leftovers of the Roman bridge that used to span the Neckar River here in Heidelberg, with Latin written all over it. They also had complete statues of various historical figures (none were familiar to me, but again, I can't read German!), busts, and other distinctive rubble.
They had an entire exhibit on the ancient gods that the local people used to worship (primarily Jupiter and Mithra -- yeah, Mithra! They even had a replica of a mithraeum!). They had additional exhibits that spoke about the transitions in religion of the local population from this to Christianity, including lengthy discussions on the building of the local churches (Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist) and monasteries.
They had very full exhibits showcasing old painted portraits of the local kings, queens, and other royal family members. Art was all over the place, some in really good shape, others totally beaten up. They had one area where they had sketch drawings displayed in dim light that apparently they rotate in and out because the paper can't survive the bright light and the ambient conditions for long periods of time.
They had display cases showing coinage that was collected by local royalty over hundreds of years, dresses that illustrate the styles worn throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and more pottery and fine dishes than you can shake a stick at from periods all the way back to Roman times. I was very impressed with the dioramas showing the Roman legions invading town and the original paintings of the castle on the hill that show the castle in various stages of completion. They even had several complete sets of skeletons in their natural configuration that they transported from a nearby archaeological site and put under glass in the floor, with the relics that were found with the remains.
My visit to this museum was totally awesome -- my short visit turned into a 3 hour excursion, and I couldn't even read the signs on the exhibits! I'm a museum geek, and it frustrated me that they wouldn't let me take my camera with me. After I left, I really wanted to buy a book about the museum so I could have more information, but they didn't have any (even in German) that were complete enough for my taste. I was very disappointed. Nevertheless, I was grateful for the chance I had to go visit, and I consider this a true, hidden gem in little ol' Heidelberg.
As it was, I took off from the conference at about 2:30 pm and headed over there, expecting it to be a pretty short visit. I walked in to this little entrance and then went inside the front entryway. The woman sitting there didn't speak English very well, but I finally convinced her that I wanted to see the museum and paid her the 3 Euros to get in (a major bargain, I found out).
She handed me a little map of the place (which was badly designed, by the way) and then I started walking around. I was stunned. Inside this "little" museum, which I found spread around the entire courtyard behind the building all the way to the next block, on four floors, was material from a variety of different times.
In one section of the museum, they had an entire exhibit set apart to discuss the ancient inhabitants of the area. They had either the real thing or a replica of the jaw of Heidelberg Man. They had dioramas depicting guesses at ancient life with plenty of pottery, hunting tools, and diagrams of ancient living structures.
In the cool, dark basement they had ruins from Roman times - lots of wreckage of Roman construction, such as leftovers of the Roman bridge that used to span the Neckar River here in Heidelberg, with Latin written all over it. They also had complete statues of various historical figures (none were familiar to me, but again, I can't read German!), busts, and other distinctive rubble.
They had an entire exhibit on the ancient gods that the local people used to worship (primarily Jupiter and Mithra -- yeah, Mithra! They even had a replica of a mithraeum!). They had additional exhibits that spoke about the transitions in religion of the local population from this to Christianity, including lengthy discussions on the building of the local churches (Catholic, Lutheran, and Methodist) and monasteries.
They had very full exhibits showcasing old painted portraits of the local kings, queens, and other royal family members. Art was all over the place, some in really good shape, others totally beaten up. They had one area where they had sketch drawings displayed in dim light that apparently they rotate in and out because the paper can't survive the bright light and the ambient conditions for long periods of time.
They had display cases showing coinage that was collected by local royalty over hundreds of years, dresses that illustrate the styles worn throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, and more pottery and fine dishes than you can shake a stick at from periods all the way back to Roman times. I was very impressed with the dioramas showing the Roman legions invading town and the original paintings of the castle on the hill that show the castle in various stages of completion. They even had several complete sets of skeletons in their natural configuration that they transported from a nearby archaeological site and put under glass in the floor, with the relics that were found with the remains.
My visit to this museum was totally awesome -- my short visit turned into a 3 hour excursion, and I couldn't even read the signs on the exhibits! I'm a museum geek, and it frustrated me that they wouldn't let me take my camera with me. After I left, I really wanted to buy a book about the museum so I could have more information, but they didn't have any (even in German) that were complete enough for my taste. I was very disappointed. Nevertheless, I was grateful for the chance I had to go visit, and I consider this a true, hidden gem in little ol' Heidelberg.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Heidelberg, Day 2
Today is Sunday. I woke up at 9 am, which means I got nearly 12 hours of sleep last night. I am stunned, simply stunned, that I slept so long. I honestly can't remember the last time I slept for 12 hours. It's nuts. Even in Hawaii when I was on vacation with my wife, we didn't sleep that long. Well, clearly my body needed the rest after the 10 hour 40 minute flight yesterday and 9 hour time-shift. Looking in the mirror, my eyes are both totally blood-shot, my right eye especially. Maybe this second night's sleep will do me better, as I won't be sleeping too long or too short.
Anyway, as it was Sunday this morning, and as I learned that church doesn't start until 1:30 pm (that's, uh, 1330 military time, which everything is listed in around here), I woke up and had plenty of time to relax. I slowly took a shower, slowly had breakfast, slowly ironed my shirts (for the whole week!), and slowly had my lunch. It was one of the most relaxing mornings I've had in ... um ... well, a long time.
Just after noon, I left the hotel room and started walking. The church is about 1 1/2 miles from here (okay, that's about 2 1/2 kilometers around here ... everything's in metric! Do you even know how long a 15 centimeter Subway sandwich is?! It's the short one! *doh*). It took me almost an hour to walk it, but I took my time and enjoyed myself on the way.
The ward I attended was the English-speaking military ward. Apparently there's plenty of U.S. military people around here at the various mini-bases near town. Funny how it is, though, even in a military ward they practice Mormon Standard Time; church started about five minutes late and people were trickling in even after the sacrament was done.
Somehow, showing up a half hour early, I managed to pick the one spot in the entire chapel where all the families with little, noisy kids usually sit. In this particular ward, that'd be towards the back right of the chapel, when viewed from the stand. Kids were everywhere! The strange part is that the kids were all very young. It took me a while to figure it out, but most of the families are young families on assignment from the States. Their nursery was a zoo while their young men and young women meetings were a ghost town. It was strangely unbalanced. In addition, the ward was mostly composed of short-timers who were either on the way in or on the way out of the ward -- that's the way the military does it, though, and they were used to it. It seemed only slightly more stable than a student ward.
One thing I realized as I was sitting behind a little girl that kept giggling at me, next to two little boys who were fighting over Legos, and in front of a few little girls who kept crying, is that my experience walking around town suggests that kids are actually pretty rare. Most families I saw had one child, maybe two, but certainly never as many as most families in the ward had -- three or four or more.
To the typical German, it seems that kids are rare -- families are small. All the children I saw were accompanied by adults; their lives seemed to be miniature versions of adult lives. While it was true that most adults were interacting with their younger children, it seemed that the adults were basically dragging the children around doing the things that adults in the States do when children are not around. Very strange. And the teenagers? Never did I actually see them with their parents. And they were all over town. Double very strange.
So back to church. It was Mother's Day today (I've really gotta make it up to my good wife somehow ...) and the program was, of course, about Mother's Day. It seems that the military ward keeps all the same holidays as back in the States, the kids go to American-sponsored schools, and they interact almost exclusively with other English-speakers. That, too, was kinda weird.
So, uh, back to church. Sacrament meeting was pretty interesting. The whole congregation sang, and sang loud. There was one woman who was extremely warbly, screechy, and opera-y. At first, I suspected that the rest of the congregation sang so loud in an attempt to drown out this other women. Later in the meetings, somebody commented about the military drills they do, and it occurred to me that the men sang out so well because, well, they're used to hollering, "Sir! Yes, Sir!" at the top of their lungs.
The talks were very good. The youth speaker was a young woman who got up, chewing gum like a cow, and started making really dumb jokes. It was evident she wasn't comfortable up there, and she admitted that she had "googled" for material for her talk that very morning. Nevertheless, after she got down to the business of talking, it was quite moving to hear her as she described how her father had recently been killed in action, and that she was so grateful for her mother who has been helping her through this terrible experience. After she spoke, she went and sat down with her mother, who put an arm around her. I counted 5 kids, and there may have been 1 or 2 more I couldn't see.
The next speaker was the wife of the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric. She was very nervous, too, but gave a great talk about several good mothers in the scriptures. She started with Eve and described how it must have been to watch Cain and Abel go at it, and how difficult it must have been knowing that not all of her children would be saved; she was a truly brave woman who sacrificed so much for what she knew to be right. She also spoke about Ruth, to whom her future husband once said, "... all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman." Tough to beat that. Then she went on and spoke about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and what a remarkable woman she must have been. As she was carrying Jesus, she must have been somewhat of a social outcast, knowing the public circumstances of that child's birth.
Then she mentioned a few people I didn't know about, Eunice and Lois, the mother and grandmother of Timothy, of whom Paul the Apostle said, "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." It was by the amazing testimony of these good mothers that Timothy became the man of faith that he was.
The last speaker spoke of testimonies. He said that there's several ways to find out if the church is true. First, one can examine the "blueprints" of the church by reading the scriptures, examining the attributes of the church mentioned therein, and then comparing the known churches of the day to find one that most closely matches. Second, one can live the teachings of a church to find out how they work out. Third, one can inquire about the "deep" questions of life (where did we come from? what's the purpose to life? is there life after death?) and see if the received answers are satisfying enough. But at the end of the day, the speaker said that the thing that must truly occur is that one must be instructed by the Holy Ghost. Real truth is unchanging, eternal, and can be gained exclusively by the instruction of the Spirit. It was a pretty cool talk.
After Sacrament Meeting I went to Gospel Doctrine where they had a lively discussion on the Noah/Abinadi story. The discussion veered everywhere it seemed since there were some wild cards in the class, but the teacher did admirably pulling things together. One interesting question was posed about why Abinadi instructed them not to touch him lest they be smitten if it was true that Noah wasn't going to listen in the end, anyway. The answer? Somebody else was listening, and Abinadi wasn't done delivering the entire message. The first thing Alma did was write down all the words of Abinadi, and clearly there was something in the latter part of that message his people needed -- and that we need today. Good stuff.
The third hour I went to Priesthood Meeting where all the men were together. There were 8 visitors -- a very high number, even for their ward, apparently. By the time we were all done introducing ourselves, a third of that hour was over. After introducing who I am and what I do, the 2nd Counselor of the Bishopric pulled me aside and asked that I attend Deacon's Quorum with him. I agreed and went in and filled these 12- and 13-year old minds with all sorts of information about Mars, about the complexities involved with a Mars mission, and most importantly about how things in life can be hard (like getting to Mars), but we can look to our Savior for support. They're young, so I doubt it made any difference to them, but I sure had fun.
Afterwards, I took a walk along the Neckar River. Apparently, nearly the whole north bank of the river near downtown Heidelberg is given over to a public park. It was really neat walking along the river with people playing frisbee, soccer, volleyball -- even table tennis! Families were out for barbecues and tons of people were out sunbathing. Apparently, it's been raining for weeks and so the locals are just nuts about being out in the sun right now.
One strange observation I made, though, is that Germans don't smile unless actively amused. They don't smile to strangers, nor do they wave or nod their head in recognition. And they never say anything to anybody unless they intend to carry on a conversation. Maybe it's just me, but that's the way it seems. I smiled at people in my passing all day long, and received more double-takes than I can count! I think I'll keep doing it all week long! ;)
Anyway, so it's evening -- I need to crash soon. I missed calling my wife (on Mother's Day!) because I socialized too long with friends from home who arrived today when I registered at the conference center. She's at church as I type this -- I left a message and I hope they call me on "Skype" so I can say hello later tonight (they'll have to wake me ...). It's been a good day, though -- I think I walked over ten miles!
Anyway, as it was Sunday this morning, and as I learned that church doesn't start until 1:30 pm (that's, uh, 1330 military time, which everything is listed in around here), I woke up and had plenty of time to relax. I slowly took a shower, slowly had breakfast, slowly ironed my shirts (for the whole week!), and slowly had my lunch. It was one of the most relaxing mornings I've had in ... um ... well, a long time.
Just after noon, I left the hotel room and started walking. The church is about 1 1/2 miles from here (okay, that's about 2 1/2 kilometers around here ... everything's in metric! Do you even know how long a 15 centimeter Subway sandwich is?! It's the short one! *doh*). It took me almost an hour to walk it, but I took my time and enjoyed myself on the way.
The ward I attended was the English-speaking military ward. Apparently there's plenty of U.S. military people around here at the various mini-bases near town. Funny how it is, though, even in a military ward they practice Mormon Standard Time; church started about five minutes late and people were trickling in even after the sacrament was done.
Somehow, showing up a half hour early, I managed to pick the one spot in the entire chapel where all the families with little, noisy kids usually sit. In this particular ward, that'd be towards the back right of the chapel, when viewed from the stand. Kids were everywhere! The strange part is that the kids were all very young. It took me a while to figure it out, but most of the families are young families on assignment from the States. Their nursery was a zoo while their young men and young women meetings were a ghost town. It was strangely unbalanced. In addition, the ward was mostly composed of short-timers who were either on the way in or on the way out of the ward -- that's the way the military does it, though, and they were used to it. It seemed only slightly more stable than a student ward.
One thing I realized as I was sitting behind a little girl that kept giggling at me, next to two little boys who were fighting over Legos, and in front of a few little girls who kept crying, is that my experience walking around town suggests that kids are actually pretty rare. Most families I saw had one child, maybe two, but certainly never as many as most families in the ward had -- three or four or more.
To the typical German, it seems that kids are rare -- families are small. All the children I saw were accompanied by adults; their lives seemed to be miniature versions of adult lives. While it was true that most adults were interacting with their younger children, it seemed that the adults were basically dragging the children around doing the things that adults in the States do when children are not around. Very strange. And the teenagers? Never did I actually see them with their parents. And they were all over town. Double very strange.
So back to church. It was Mother's Day today (I've really gotta make it up to my good wife somehow ...) and the program was, of course, about Mother's Day. It seems that the military ward keeps all the same holidays as back in the States, the kids go to American-sponsored schools, and they interact almost exclusively with other English-speakers. That, too, was kinda weird.
So, uh, back to church. Sacrament meeting was pretty interesting. The whole congregation sang, and sang loud. There was one woman who was extremely warbly, screechy, and opera-y. At first, I suspected that the rest of the congregation sang so loud in an attempt to drown out this other women. Later in the meetings, somebody commented about the military drills they do, and it occurred to me that the men sang out so well because, well, they're used to hollering, "Sir! Yes, Sir!" at the top of their lungs.
The talks were very good. The youth speaker was a young woman who got up, chewing gum like a cow, and started making really dumb jokes. It was evident she wasn't comfortable up there, and she admitted that she had "googled" for material for her talk that very morning. Nevertheless, after she got down to the business of talking, it was quite moving to hear her as she described how her father had recently been killed in action, and that she was so grateful for her mother who has been helping her through this terrible experience. After she spoke, she went and sat down with her mother, who put an arm around her. I counted 5 kids, and there may have been 1 or 2 more I couldn't see.
The next speaker was the wife of the 2nd Counselor in the Bishopric. She was very nervous, too, but gave a great talk about several good mothers in the scriptures. She started with Eve and described how it must have been to watch Cain and Abel go at it, and how difficult it must have been knowing that not all of her children would be saved; she was a truly brave woman who sacrificed so much for what she knew to be right. She also spoke about Ruth, to whom her future husband once said, "... all the city of my people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman." Tough to beat that. Then she went on and spoke about Mary, the mother of Jesus, and what a remarkable woman she must have been. As she was carrying Jesus, she must have been somewhat of a social outcast, knowing the public circumstances of that child's birth.
Then she mentioned a few people I didn't know about, Eunice and Lois, the mother and grandmother of Timothy, of whom Paul the Apostle said, "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." It was by the amazing testimony of these good mothers that Timothy became the man of faith that he was.
The last speaker spoke of testimonies. He said that there's several ways to find out if the church is true. First, one can examine the "blueprints" of the church by reading the scriptures, examining the attributes of the church mentioned therein, and then comparing the known churches of the day to find one that most closely matches. Second, one can live the teachings of a church to find out how they work out. Third, one can inquire about the "deep" questions of life (where did we come from? what's the purpose to life? is there life after death?) and see if the received answers are satisfying enough. But at the end of the day, the speaker said that the thing that must truly occur is that one must be instructed by the Holy Ghost. Real truth is unchanging, eternal, and can be gained exclusively by the instruction of the Spirit. It was a pretty cool talk.
After Sacrament Meeting I went to Gospel Doctrine where they had a lively discussion on the Noah/Abinadi story. The discussion veered everywhere it seemed since there were some wild cards in the class, but the teacher did admirably pulling things together. One interesting question was posed about why Abinadi instructed them not to touch him lest they be smitten if it was true that Noah wasn't going to listen in the end, anyway. The answer? Somebody else was listening, and Abinadi wasn't done delivering the entire message. The first thing Alma did was write down all the words of Abinadi, and clearly there was something in the latter part of that message his people needed -- and that we need today. Good stuff.
The third hour I went to Priesthood Meeting where all the men were together. There were 8 visitors -- a very high number, even for their ward, apparently. By the time we were all done introducing ourselves, a third of that hour was over. After introducing who I am and what I do, the 2nd Counselor of the Bishopric pulled me aside and asked that I attend Deacon's Quorum with him. I agreed and went in and filled these 12- and 13-year old minds with all sorts of information about Mars, about the complexities involved with a Mars mission, and most importantly about how things in life can be hard (like getting to Mars), but we can look to our Savior for support. They're young, so I doubt it made any difference to them, but I sure had fun.
Afterwards, I took a walk along the Neckar River. Apparently, nearly the whole north bank of the river near downtown Heidelberg is given over to a public park. It was really neat walking along the river with people playing frisbee, soccer, volleyball -- even table tennis! Families were out for barbecues and tons of people were out sunbathing. Apparently, it's been raining for weeks and so the locals are just nuts about being out in the sun right now.
One strange observation I made, though, is that Germans don't smile unless actively amused. They don't smile to strangers, nor do they wave or nod their head in recognition. And they never say anything to anybody unless they intend to carry on a conversation. Maybe it's just me, but that's the way it seems. I smiled at people in my passing all day long, and received more double-takes than I can count! I think I'll keep doing it all week long! ;)
Anyway, so it's evening -- I need to crash soon. I missed calling my wife (on Mother's Day!) because I socialized too long with friends from home who arrived today when I registered at the conference center. She's at church as I type this -- I left a message and I hope they call me on "Skype" so I can say hello later tonight (they'll have to wake me ...). It's been a good day, though -- I think I walked over ten miles!
Heidelberg, Germany
Two (?) days ago, I flew from Los Angeles directly to Frankfurt. The flight was an exhausting 10 hour, 40 minute flight. It was cramped and uncomfortable and the woman next to me, though extremely pleasant, kept talking to me when I was trying to doze off. I did my best to sleep, but it just didn't work very well. Upon landing, it was 10:40 AM in Frankfurt, and I was already bleary-eyed. My eyes, even as I type, are completely blood-shot.
In any case, I got off the plane and had to face a long walk to the baggage claim. Happily, it didn't take too long, and I was able to go through "customs" -- actually an unmanned gate (this is certainly not the U.S. with all our paranoia) -- to curbside where I was able to pick up the shuttle that would take me to Heidelberg.
Before doing so, however, I had to exchange some U.S. dollars for Euros. Of course, being at the airport, the exchange rate was terrible (1.71 dollars to 1 Euro), but I had to pay the shuttle guy. I made the mistake of exchanging $140 of the $200 cash I was carrying there, as I later found out that the hotel I was staying at would exchange at a rate of 1.54/1. Ah, well, it's only money, right? :(
(Image 2742)
After the one-hour shuttle ride to Heidelberg, I was dropped off outside the hotel, where I went in and got settled. Even though I really felt like just laying down and going to sleep (it was 4 AM, after all, wasn't it?!), I decided to go walking. One of the sights I really wanted to see was the castle, so I just started walking in that direction. I'll have a separate post on that later.
Heidelberg is a beautiful little town. The area I'm in is the "old" part of town, and they really do mean old around here. Various versions of the castle itself has been on the hill above town since sometime in the 12th century. The roads are narrow -- some have been closed to cars -- and the buildings are typically European, stacked side by side with shops on the ground floor and residences above. There are many chapels and cathedrals in the area, which seem well-groomed but under-attended.
(Image 3189)
(Image 2752)
The people here are very nice. Nearly everybody I've had the need to speak to has spoken English. Interestingly, I've discovered that one really doesn't have a need to speak very much at all in general interactions. As long as you can pay people what you owe them, a simple smile and a head nod are acceptable. You'd be surprised how far you can get by using the following word: "Visa?".
Speaking of "Visa", apparently this little town, even though it is a big tourist town, doesn't really use credit cards. The reply to my "Visa?" inquiry was almost always "no." Only the bigger establishments are willing to accept them, and so it is that I'm stuck having to use cash for every little thing. I've been nickeled and dimed (do they call them nickels and dimes?!) so that I have maybe a third of my money left. This is not too alarming to me, though, as I'll be at my conference the balance of the week, and shouldn't have need to buy much more. I hope. I really hope. I might need to find an ATM ...
I really enjoyed walking around yesterday. I saw quite a few neat thing, and I'll post some pictures later. One funny thing, though, was that I ran into some Mormon missionaries here. Not just two, but a whole group of them. There were about twenty of them milling around the area.
Eventually, the missionaries congregated in front of one of the college buildings, where they lined up and began singing church hymns. It was fascinating to watch them. You can imagine 20 young missionaries standing in front of a statue of Robert Bunsen (they namesake of the "Bunsen" burner) singing with all their hearts while locals and tourists alike walk by with either curious expressions or a desire to get anywhere else fast.
(Image 2848)
Occasionally, someone would slow to listen, and one of the missionaries would peal off to go chat with them. I watched for a while, and while I was there, the experience was a resounding failure. Just down the street were street performers who were variously just looking funny, playing some rock music (which was very good), or attempting a bad form of Jazz. The missionaries' company wasn't exactly spiritually focused.
(Image 2759)
One street performer, a guy with a guitar, made the unfortunate choice to start playing right in front of the missionaries -- he quickly scooted once he saw what was happening. One man did have an interest in talking with them -- a rotund, old, bearded man with a book that had "Bible" written on the back with a bunch of other words in Germany. He basically took one set of missionaries aside and started reaming them. I have no idea what he was saying, but it was evident he was loud, rude, and very much interested in debunking what the young missionaries had to say. It was quite fascinating watching the two young Elders struggle to get a single word in, let alone try to answer any of his accusations.
Strolling the streets was sure a neat experience, though. There were so many people milling about and it felt very safe and secure. Even though it's a tourist town, I didn't feel any of the unease I usually feel in touristy places (Where's my wallet? Is anybody looking at me funny? I have to stay in crowded places. Are there any policemen around?!). There were a lot of Japanese tourists zipping around -- they don't seem to ever linger, but roll in on their buses, take a million pictures, then roll out. The locals, apparently, detest them.
One thing I'm still trying to figure it is what these people actually survive on. I went into several stores looking to stock up on some food for a few days, and from what I can tell, these people live exclusively on pastries, chocolate, and alcohol. They had the token fruit around, but one little row of fruit is nothing compared to a larger row of chocolate, and the three rows of alcohol. Very odd. Perhaps they just eat out all the time?
I haven't quite ventured into that realm, yet. I stopped at Subway and at McDonalds, and I will probably wait until I have a wing-man (a good friend is arriving today) before I try to order any "real" food at a restaurant. Food prices seem reasonable (though I wish they'd take Visa!!), which is quite welcome on the heels of my previous Hawaii trip where prices were not anywhere near reasonable.
Last night I forced myself to stay up until about 9 pm, then crashed. I blinked awake at 3 am and went back to sleep, and then woke up again at 9 am! I had slept for twelve hours! And my eyes are still blood-shot. I'm hoping I adjust or else I could be presenting my paper in a few days looking like a psychopath.
As for today, I'm going to church. The missionaries told me that there's an English-speaking ward (branch?) that is meeting today at 1:30 pm -- a change from their usual 9:30 am time-slot (why a change for this week only?!) and very different from what was on the lds.org website. Then I'll wander through downtown again, probably walking by the river towards the conference center where I can register tonight. It should be pleasant.
I'm having a good time, but I miss my family -- especially my beautiful wife, whom I wish was here so she could experience this, too.
In any case, I got off the plane and had to face a long walk to the baggage claim. Happily, it didn't take too long, and I was able to go through "customs" -- actually an unmanned gate (this is certainly not the U.S. with all our paranoia) -- to curbside where I was able to pick up the shuttle that would take me to Heidelberg.
Before doing so, however, I had to exchange some U.S. dollars for Euros. Of course, being at the airport, the exchange rate was terrible (1.71 dollars to 1 Euro), but I had to pay the shuttle guy. I made the mistake of exchanging $140 of the $200 cash I was carrying there, as I later found out that the hotel I was staying at would exchange at a rate of 1.54/1. Ah, well, it's only money, right? :(
After the one-hour shuttle ride to Heidelberg, I was dropped off outside the hotel, where I went in and got settled. Even though I really felt like just laying down and going to sleep (it was 4 AM, after all, wasn't it?!), I decided to go walking. One of the sights I really wanted to see was the castle, so I just started walking in that direction. I'll have a separate post on that later.
Heidelberg is a beautiful little town. The area I'm in is the "old" part of town, and they really do mean old around here. Various versions of the castle itself has been on the hill above town since sometime in the 12th century. The roads are narrow -- some have been closed to cars -- and the buildings are typically European, stacked side by side with shops on the ground floor and residences above. There are many chapels and cathedrals in the area, which seem well-groomed but under-attended.
The people here are very nice. Nearly everybody I've had the need to speak to has spoken English. Interestingly, I've discovered that one really doesn't have a need to speak very much at all in general interactions. As long as you can pay people what you owe them, a simple smile and a head nod are acceptable. You'd be surprised how far you can get by using the following word: "Visa?".
Speaking of "Visa", apparently this little town, even though it is a big tourist town, doesn't really use credit cards. The reply to my "Visa?" inquiry was almost always "no." Only the bigger establishments are willing to accept them, and so it is that I'm stuck having to use cash for every little thing. I've been nickeled and dimed (do they call them nickels and dimes?!) so that I have maybe a third of my money left. This is not too alarming to me, though, as I'll be at my conference the balance of the week, and shouldn't have need to buy much more. I hope. I really hope. I might need to find an ATM ...
I really enjoyed walking around yesterday. I saw quite a few neat thing, and I'll post some pictures later. One funny thing, though, was that I ran into some Mormon missionaries here. Not just two, but a whole group of them. There were about twenty of them milling around the area.
Eventually, the missionaries congregated in front of one of the college buildings, where they lined up and began singing church hymns. It was fascinating to watch them. You can imagine 20 young missionaries standing in front of a statue of Robert Bunsen (they namesake of the "Bunsen" burner) singing with all their hearts while locals and tourists alike walk by with either curious expressions or a desire to get anywhere else fast.
Occasionally, someone would slow to listen, and one of the missionaries would peal off to go chat with them. I watched for a while, and while I was there, the experience was a resounding failure. Just down the street were street performers who were variously just looking funny, playing some rock music (which was very good), or attempting a bad form of Jazz. The missionaries' company wasn't exactly spiritually focused.
One street performer, a guy with a guitar, made the unfortunate choice to start playing right in front of the missionaries -- he quickly scooted once he saw what was happening. One man did have an interest in talking with them -- a rotund, old, bearded man with a book that had "Bible" written on the back with a bunch of other words in Germany. He basically took one set of missionaries aside and started reaming them. I have no idea what he was saying, but it was evident he was loud, rude, and very much interested in debunking what the young missionaries had to say. It was quite fascinating watching the two young Elders struggle to get a single word in, let alone try to answer any of his accusations.
Strolling the streets was sure a neat experience, though. There were so many people milling about and it felt very safe and secure. Even though it's a tourist town, I didn't feel any of the unease I usually feel in touristy places (Where's my wallet? Is anybody looking at me funny? I have to stay in crowded places. Are there any policemen around?!). There were a lot of Japanese tourists zipping around -- they don't seem to ever linger, but roll in on their buses, take a million pictures, then roll out. The locals, apparently, detest them.
One thing I'm still trying to figure it is what these people actually survive on. I went into several stores looking to stock up on some food for a few days, and from what I can tell, these people live exclusively on pastries, chocolate, and alcohol. They had the token fruit around, but one little row of fruit is nothing compared to a larger row of chocolate, and the three rows of alcohol. Very odd. Perhaps they just eat out all the time?
I haven't quite ventured into that realm, yet. I stopped at Subway and at McDonalds, and I will probably wait until I have a wing-man (a good friend is arriving today) before I try to order any "real" food at a restaurant. Food prices seem reasonable (though I wish they'd take Visa!!), which is quite welcome on the heels of my previous Hawaii trip where prices were not anywhere near reasonable.
Last night I forced myself to stay up until about 9 pm, then crashed. I blinked awake at 3 am and went back to sleep, and then woke up again at 9 am! I had slept for twelve hours! And my eyes are still blood-shot. I'm hoping I adjust or else I could be presenting my paper in a few days looking like a psychopath.
As for today, I'm going to church. The missionaries told me that there's an English-speaking ward (branch?) that is meeting today at 1:30 pm -- a change from their usual 9:30 am time-slot (why a change for this week only?!) and very different from what was on the lds.org website. Then I'll wander through downtown again, probably walking by the river towards the conference center where I can register tonight. It should be pleasant.
I'm having a good time, but I miss my family -- especially my beautiful wife, whom I wish was here so she could experience this, too.
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