How to say goodbye

This is a picture of three industrial strength jumbo dandelions in Dresden.

Since Köln I’ve noticed that the departure ritual with Germans on phone or in person involves a bit more than we are accustomed to. I’ll take a moment to describe what happens with meetings and departures. For the first few meetings of my project group, the new folks entering the room made their way around with handshakes for all before they set their stuff down. Now, a simple double “hello” knock on the table, followed by double “welcome” knocks on the table is all we do. This double table knock is also used as a departure knock and is acknowledged again with the double knock from those who stay seated. This knocking seems to be some what informal; it is not used with professors. [Note: When professors finish a lecture or when students finish a presentation, it is customary to knock on the table for a few seconds to indicate appreciation.]

Perhaps my interest with the departure rituals is not because they are new and strange, but because through the language and interpretation, I have been led to take a closer look at something I normally do not analyze. I just got off the phone with Frau Busch, the secretary for Jens Ackermann, a member of the Bundestag. [Sidenote: Scheduled a meeting, I’m looking forward to that]. The last few seconds of the phone call were filled with departure pleasantries from both sides. “Danke, alles klar, bis dann, viel Spaβ, macht’s gut, tchüss.” (Thanks!, all is clear!, have a nice day!, have fun!, until then!, do good!, bye!”). The first few times I was aware of such long departures, I remember thinking to myself “Your welcome, okay, okay, no problem, I’ll do good, you too, that’s right, bye”. Naturally some string on more phrases than others. Hmmm. Well, I’ll mark this one down as another interesting insight through a foreign language.

Peace,
-H

Mathematics

This is a picture of a sign in a church in Dresden. “Ausgang” means exit but what about all the arrows and the box with the arrow in the opposite direction!? Either too much or too little thought was put into this exit sign.

I have wondered for a long time how Germans deal with numbers. Firstly, the seven (7) has the horizontal dash through the middle and the one (1) often looks like a capital “A” minus the horizontal dash through the middle and sometimes it looks like a seven. It’s a bit hard to get used to writing like that but I was more concerned with the numbers in college with which I spent my time: letters. The more advanced the mathematics classes got, the less numbers we used and the same was also true in engineering classes. Would F still represent force, though force is Stärke (or Stempel or Kraftgröβe) in German? Well friends, today, I have the answer.

My classes have been largely concept based and most of the concepts are not technical but rather how to implement technology and design in projects. Today we started talking numbers in my robotic motion class and we used several familiar terms. F still means force, g is gravity, the coordinate system is xyz, they use the right hand rule for moments (still m), and most surprisingly, the cog is the center of gravity. They have a word for this – Schwerpunkt (Heavy point) – but the professor said “center of gravity”. The only difference today was in the Identity Matrix, represented here by E, not I (E for Einheitsmatrix). Math, the international language.

Dresden

Looks like the Reichstag a bit, but it's a train station.

My host family was heading south for some sort of meeting with their colleagues so I decided to tag along, spending yet another three hours wedged between loud children. The Dresden adventure started near a Russian Church of some sort with those big bubbly rounded tour decorations. Dresden has about half a million people in the city and many more around it; I think it is roughly Portland Oregon sized. I walked north by northeast past the train station and followed crowds through a trendy looking new development area with new clothing stores and a variety of cafés and restaurants. I think Dresden was hit pretty badly in the war but they have done a lot to rebuild. It almost felt like Berlin in that respect; the contract between the new and old architecture was very present.


Not having any plans for the city, I walked into the tallest, most interesting-looking, and nearest building, the Kreuzkirche. This Protestant “Cross Church” is named as such because it had a splinter from Jesus’ cross at one time, and they found a black unidentified cross in the Elba river nearby. It’s also the biggest church in Saxony. I think it was blown up once but I know it burned down several times. The interior remains pretty cool. The walls are all white (except where original stone walls/arches still stand) but the texture is super rough so from a distance, it looks matte and has a nice effect. The inner architecture is also quite interesting, with the illusion of interesting arches.




At around midday, I climbed the 250 (+/- 3) stairs to the top of the tower and it provided a nice view of the city (and a better idea of what else I should see). As I was walking up the stairs past the old dusty bells, I thought I saw motion but when I turned around, I saw no motion and it was dead quiet. A second later, my watched interrupted the silence with two beeps. Another second later, I saw the HUGE bell coming down on the back swing. I uttered a small “o.” I could see it coming but what do you do in a situation like that? Ten feet away, thousands of pounds of metal were about to smash into each other, do I cover my eyes? Turn away? Duck? While all these thoughts were flashing by as I tried to interpret this new situation, it hit and it was LOUD. BOOONNNNNNNGGGG. I was essentially in a little stone hallway with entry and exits to left and right and the HUGE bell right in front so I got the full effect of the sound. It was fantastically loud and stayed that way for a few minutes. I could hardly hear myself yelling. It was noon.




After a delicious bratwurst enjoyed on a bench by the river, I ascended to the top of the Frauenkirche with an elevator, stairs, and a final spiral ramp that circumnavigated the interior of the cupola to the top viewing platform. Yet again, another fantastic view, featuring the bend in the Elbe river. The interior was also quite nice.



I stopped in the Dresden Verkehrsmuseum (Transportation Museum) for a bit and it was alright. They had a few cars, a few trains, motorcycles, some airplane stuff, and a ship section (with some neat old navigation equipment) but nothing that really blew my mind.

Panometer Dresden was real cool. The building was at one time a gas storage chamber so it is big and round. The interior has been redone and now houses a 360degree view of Dresden in 1756. There is a large tower in the very middle surrounded by a HUGE canvas or screen with a meticulously constructed images of the city. It was awesome. The image was created using a combination of sketches, photographs, and a lot of computer editing. It looks very very real though. The perspective is all very precise, the people in the streets are recent photographs of people wearing period correct clothing, the buildings have been reconstructed or restored to original appearance, there are birds, church bells, dogs barking, and general 18th century city sounds. I have often wondered what these old cities look like without all of the modernization in the streets, buildings, bridges, ect. It was EXACTLY what it would have looked like to look out from one of the towers in the city 250 years ago. The images were so good and in such high resolution that people bring binoculars to get a better look! I think the same people are also making one for Leipzig, Rome, and a rainforest.

I took the train back.

If you were a floor tile in the Kreuzkirche, this is what you would see all day. It's the ceiling and you can see the tops of the organ pipes in the bottom of the picture.

German Transportation

Lamborghini is actually owned by VW, so some say it's German.

Last weekend I took the train to Stuttgart to visit Festo for an interview. I think it went alright but it was my first interview in German and in Germany so I’ll hold off judgment until, well until I have been judged. This trip was a fine example of the European public transportation system on a couple of different levels. Firstly, I did it all with public transportation. I too a bus to the train station in Magdeburg, a couple of trains, a subway, light rail, and another bus to my final destination. I think the process is worth describing.

I bought my ticket a few days in advance and reserved a seat with no problems and a 2 minute wait until I reached the front of the line to talk with a real person. I arrived at the train station a few minutes before the train left, sat down, and read the paper. After a while the controller asked to see my ticket, he punched it, and that was my interaction with train personnel for the trip to Stuttgart. Every once in a while, someone would walk the isles with fresh coffee and pretzels but other than that, it was very quiet. A screen at the end of the car showed our speed (max 250km/h, 150mph). I had a few minutes ‘layover’ at each of my two stops and we were a bit late but it was an uneventful trip.

The return train was a bit late because it stopped to wait for passengers from a connecting line. Throughout the trip though, they conductor announced how late we were and called each coming station to ask if the connecting trains could wait a few minutes. All the time in a comfortable chair with more leg room than I could use, nice scenery, and that relaxing bob only a train can provide.

Contrast this with “Take your shoes off and empty your water bottle”, uncomfortable seats, unpredictable airfares and availability, and showing up an hour early. The train is not a bad way to go. It does take forever to get places though, and it’s not terribly exciting. After a while, the interesting scenery becomes interesting like a fire is interesting when you stare at it. It is a lot easier to get work done on a train than airplane though. HOWEVER, the highways in this country are also quite nice. Excluding personal jets and/or aerobatic planes (and maybe hot air balloons), I would put cars as the most fun way to get from here to there.


This is a picture of the Stuttgart train yard. If the plans are actualized, this will be very different and underground...

So Europe has a great train network and it’s a pleasant way to get places but Stuttgart has plans for a new train station explained in a multi-level exhibit in the train station tower. The project involves a complete re-working of the train station to expedite arrivals and departures, quick airport access, and provisions for a super high speed train between Paris and Vienna. The whole project was aimed at making travel, specifically air travel, through Stuttgart very convenient with public transportation. It seemed they wanted to make getting to and from the airport and train station(s) so easy, cars would be irrational. The motivation was environmental, and economical in the sense that it would bring more people through Stuttgart and the public transportation system would be better utilized. Looks like a good idea, definitely a step in the right direction. It was interesting to see what’s on the leading edge of European transport technology (other than the Airbus 380…).


This is picture of the Pagani Zonda. Its an Italian supercar with an enormous engine and lots of carbon fiber. I don't think they are allowed in the states but I saw one in a dealership in Stuttgart. Quite nice.
-H

Köln Poem

This is a picture of Magdeburg at sunset from the tip of a giant wood and cloth cone and technical museum.

I wrote this poem a while back, and then I left Cologne and forgot to post it. This one has a bit of German in it and once again is meant to be read a bit slowly. Some of the syncopation is a bit weird but I read it for my American colleagues in Cologne and they seemed to like it. A couple of words to know:
kleiner - smaller
Ampel - Traffic light
Brot - Bread
Grun - Green
Morgen - Morning
Nachmitag - Afternoon
Grundstuffe - ground level (language school context)
schön - Pretty, pleasant, nice
Schloss - Palace
ein paar Sachen - a few things
Okay, you're ready. Poem!


Here’s a little poem I wrote
About my travels thus far. I’ll note
A few things or ein paar Sachen
A trip to Bonn, a day in Aachen.
In eight weeks I’ve learned a bit
About German and just how to say sh*t
And that’s a literal revelation
Came from an awkward host family situation.

Two months is kind of long but short
You see a Schloss, see a fort
And see more things you’d like to see
If time would only let it be
So make a list, and check it twice
Come back when the weather’s nice
Because Köln’s been around a billion years
Chances are good it’ll still be here
The biggest change will be the people,
Who change more often than the steeples
Of the DOM we know and love
That towers……… Up above.
Groups are cool and this one’s great
I hope we meet up at some later date.

Not everything is quite so schön
Some observations of my own:
There are some things that grind my gears
And I’ll take this open forum here
To note things in a different way
Between Deutschland and US of A

Ampel is a problem word
I’m sure grundstuffe has also heard
“Traffic light” is the German bit
In English it’s the time I spend in front of it
Cause it’s the law or to set an example
I always end up following the Ampel
With the elderly who wait for Grun
Through Morgen, Nachmittag and Afternoon.
They stand and wait and scowl at those
Who walk on through and dare oppose
Authority in red and green
The little man in the machine.
I’ve reached a conclusion, I think it’s right.
People age faster at the light.

Bratwurst is problem number two
Just between me and you.
The country brought us Porsche and Benz,
BMW and the Carl Zeiss camera lens.
Precision accuracy and proportion
Void of failure and distortion.
Now let’s take a look at food;
We find it is somewhat skewed.
When we see the wurst and brot
We notice, on a sad note
That it exhibits no control
It’s like a square peg in a round hole
Simply put, it does not fit
But if they put their minds to it.
The Engineers could design a
Wurst that is a little bit kleiner
Make it fit inside the bread
It’s much better this way instead!

Of course there will be good and bad
And all in all I think I’ve had
An average of the positive
This is a place I could actually live.

The German Presentation

This is a picture of me standing in front of a sign that actually says "Eugen" but I stood in front of where the third 'e' would be so you would all think it says "Eugene". Oh. I blew it. This is in Stuttgart.

14. November 2008
I just returned from my first group presentation experience and it was quite different than what I had become accustomed to. The presentation covered the reasons and initial research for our product development. A while back, a gentleman from a firm came to the University and suggested a project, and I’m on the team that took it up. We’ve spent the last few weeks researching patents and similar existing devices, as well as defining what it is we wanted to create. Surprising to me was the amount of time we spent on what I would have deemed petty details: slide show layout, logo, and a whole bunch of non-technical administrative stuff that proved to come in handy.

The speaking was done by only two of the team members but we all submitted the information and prepared the slides. Some of the criticism was justified; having missed one of the meetings because of an interview, I wasn’t entirely sure what all was going to be in the presentation but they left some stuff out. A large chunk of the criticism was directed at the aesthetics of the slides and presenter mannerisms. These are all important aspects but the bluntness with which the various aspects were addressed was quite surprising. The professors spoke with all confidence and self-assurance that their word on presenting was law. They did have good ideas and I made many mental notes for subsequent presentations but I am a bit torn. On one hand, I wanted to say “Information conveyed. End of story.” but at the same time, there is some importance to making a presentation super slick and professional because that’s the way the professional world works. The people spent 10minutes talking about how the slides need to be organized so there is a subtle left to right, bottom to top trend to suggest progress to the subconscious thoughts of the viewers. Goodness. Afterwards I asked if that was typical, and the team mates said “Germans.” Excellent! Yet another German experience captured and stored!

The adventure continues…
-H

Wittenberg

This is a picture of me standing in a cemetery across the street from the Schlosskirche.

Since my trip to Amsterdam, my soul has been feeling a bit tarnished and heavy. I decided I’d take the German holiday to find a place to purchase some indulgences, see if I could exchange a few Euros for a clean soul. I decided to take the train to Wittenberg, about 100 minutes away and I left early Friday morning with a day bag and a peanut butter sandwich. While listening to a neat song my sister brought to my attention, I missed my change. Luckily, I found the train I wanted at the next stop and all went smoothly from there. Upon disembarking, I employed my usual strategy for entering new cities without preconceived plans: follow the groups. There was a little procession from the train station to the center of the Altstadt area and what do you know….there was a city festival! As it turns out, 491 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) in this very town! There went my chances of buying indulgences...





Front door of the Stadtkirche.

I went into a service at the Stadtkirche (City Church) and listened for about half an hour. They started it with lots of organ and choir music. The sign language interpreter did a sort of interpretive dance with her hands and arms to mimic the melodies and swelling chords of the organ. I thought that was particularly neat. The church does have a bit of history behind it. The first Protestant service in German was given here, Martin Luther also did a bit of work at the church. I think he also appealed for reconsideration to his excommunication at this church. It was relatively plain in the inside expect for the gilded and painted wooden tri-fold and a few other paintings. The pews were painted grey wood, the walls were white, the columns were plain white octagons and there was no ornate stained glass.



Front door of the Schlosskirche.

The more well known of the nearly neighboring churches in Wittenberg is the Schlosskirche. This church is a few minutes’ walk from the Stadtkirche (longer today due to festivities) and this one has the famous doors. The legend states that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the doors of the church on this day in 1517 but as far as I could tell, the doors were very metal and un-nail-able. Maybe he used a magnet. This building had was much more ornate than the other, with intricate vaulted ceilings, stained glass, and neat sculptures. After the service was over, I went in to observe and take some pictures. The also had the tower in the castle part of the church open for ascending (physically, not metaphysically).


The building had a real neat ceiling.



This is a picture of me standing in the pulpit.

I visited the Lutherhaus, currently a museum but once the house and workshop of Mr. Luther. The museum was very good; it was well organized and all of the books, paintings, and artifacts were well presented and explained in German and English.


This guy was pretty impressive. No valves.

The whole city was partying like it was 1517; anyone who had clothing of the 16th century style was sporting it. The period shoes, pants, belts, shirts, vests, hats, and beards were as abundant as the waterproof nylon and fleece in the streets. There were many dozens of booths for food, clothing, drinks, and crafts in presumably the Eastern German style. I also saw several wandering bands of musicians playing folk music and dancing in the streets.

I enjoyed my visit to Wittenberg. It was a nice day trip.



Behind the scenes: This is what completed prayers look like.



This gentleman means business.