Final week in Oldenburg

My parents visited me in Oldenburg during my last week there. They entertained themselves and explored my quaint NW-German college town by day (as I studied and took final exams). In the evenings we had dinner together at Oldenburg's various eateries. One night, I took my parents to eat döners [Turkish gyros] at the "Döner Haus" near my dormitory. This was my favorite local eatery during my Oldenburg tenure. The Döner Haus chef (see pic below) makes the most succulent, flavorful gyro sandwiches (with lots of spicy hot sauce, upon request) -- they're extremely addictive!

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Me & the Döner Haus master chef (photo by M. Townsend)
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At the end of the last week -- on the day before we flew out of the country -- the a cappella group I'd sung with throughout the semester, Jaco de Musio, presented on a combined concert with another Oldenburg group, Quintessence. My dad video-recorded a couple of our songs from the concert, over which I've superimposed the better quality audio recorded by Joe Dinkelbach (husband of our alto, Britta). I had difficulty uploading the videos to this blog, so I've uploaded them to my MySpace page here: www.myspace.com/scotttown (click "videos" below my picture in the upper left).

Homeless in Prague for New Years Eve

I arrived in Prague at around 4pm on December 30 and found my way to the hostel where I’d booked my first night (online). The lady at the reception looked through her list of reservations two or three times but couldn’t find my name. No problem, I thought. I had saved the online booking confirmation page when I’d booked it online. I pulled it up on my laptop for her to see.

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“Uhhh… do you see this line right here?” she asked, pointing at some very fine print. I read it silently to myself: You will receive an email confirmation, once this online booking has been confirmed by the hostel you have requested. In other words, this “thank you for your reservation” webpage I'd received and saved was useless… it meant nothing, unless I had received an email which would have been the actual confirmation of my reservation. Arrrghh!
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And thus, I was homeless in Prague. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a major catastrophe, since there are plenty of hostels and hotels catering to Prague’s thriving tourist industry. But this was the night before New Years Eve… and according to one tourist info person, 400,000 tourists were visiting Prague for the New Years festivities. The hostel receptionist called a couple of places where she thought perhaps there might have been available beds… without success. So I was on my own, trudging through Prague – my duffle bag over one shoulder, my laptop bag over the other – looking for someplace I could spend the night. On the way to the first hostel, I had passed a tourist office (i.e. hotel broker), so I headed back to request help. “Do you have any places I can stay tonight?” I asked, as tourist info woman opened the door to her office.
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“No – nothing,” she replied matter-of-factly. Then after I stared at her for a few seconds in disbelief, she said, “Well, I’ve got one place, but you won’t like it. Two different couples I’ve sent there today have turned it down, once they took a look at it.”

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“It’s much too cold to sleep on a park bench tonight, so I don’t really many other choices. I’ll take it.” She went on to tell me that there was a minimum 4-night stay, and it would cost €50 per night. It was an ugly situation, but I really didn’t have options. And I was exhausted and didn’t feel like pounding the pavement looking for other places (which probably wouldn’t be much better). I paid her, and she gave me a map and directions to my new home in Prague.

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This supposedly 15-minute journey by metro, followed by a ten-minute walk... took me three hours (remember that I’m a bit directionally impaired). And once I arrived, I agreed with her that it was, indeed, a gem of a hotel. There was short-pile, industrial carpet on the floor and all four walls… large black, matted-down stains all over the floor carpeting (making barefoot traversal a bit questionable/unpleasant)… a single bed, which was actually couch cushions lying on a bed frame, covered by a sheet... But hey, I was more than exhausted at this point and feeling a little ill, so I was just glad to be able to lie down -- finally.

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The next day, December 31, I headed back into town to check out Prague in the daylight. I saw the famous Wenceslas and Old Town Squares and the iconic Astronomical Clock Orloj; took a tourist bus tour; walked around the castle grounds; and generally wandered all day and evening on foot. Most of the city’s tourist attractions were packed shoulder-to-shoulder with holiday tourists.

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Prague street scene

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Old Town Square

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Old Town Square scene #2

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"Astronomical Clock Orloj" on the Old Town City Hall
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Entrance to Prague Castle

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View of Prague from Prague Castle grounds

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St. Vitus Cathedral on Prague Castle grounds

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Close-up of stained glass window in St. Vitus cathedral

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Once night fell, the partying started up in the city center. There was a large main stage in Wincelas square, and a smaller stage in the Old Town Square. The weather was cold but dry. I spent most of the evening walking back and forth between these two stages and listening to the music – trying not to get bored (but also walking to stay warm). There were a few decent acts on the small stage, such as a Beatles lookalike/sound-alike band. On the large stage were all of the “big name” Czech performers. Although I’d never heard of any of them, the crowd was wildly enthusiastic for them. The music was kind of schmaltzy (Celine Dion-style) pop mixed with chewing-gum pop – mostly pretty dull stuff, in my opinion, but it was interesting to get a taste of pop culture, Czech-style.

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A few hundred yards (meters) from the main stage, there was a large, mostly vacant area, where tens or twenties of individuals were setting off hard-core fireworks. Crowds of people stood on each side of the fireworks area to “ooo” and “ahh” at the lights, bangs, & booms. And I’m not talking about sparklers and snakes… or even bottle-rockets and the smallish fireworks my dad used to buy me in Tennessee (and then smuggle back into Kentucky for July 4)… these were professional quality fireworks… in the hands of amateurs. My sense of reality may have been affected by my worsening cold/flu, but the fireworks scene in this crowded downtown square seemed entirely uncontrolled and unsafe to my prudish American perspective. There were police standing at various locations throughout the square, but all seemed to generally be ignoring the chaos of firepower being set off by anyone and everyone. As red-hot debris and sparks showered the crowd, the police stood and watched, practically as spectators. I stayed in the city center long enough to see midnight turn over, but then I rushed to the metro and headed home to beat the crowds. I wasn’t feeling particularly healthy or lively, so I was anxious to get some serious sleep.

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Night view of Prague Castle & Charles Bridge across the Vtlava (Moldau) River

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Crazy New Year’s Eve scene in Wenceslas Square

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I got back to the hotel feeling dog-tired and a little ill, so I slept until noon the next day. Although I had already paid for one additional evening in my rat-hole of a hotel room, I decided that – given my cold and grouchy humor – returning to Oldenburg and sleeping in my humble but comfy bed sounded more inviting than staying put. When vacation stops becomes less interesting than "home", it's time to head homeward. I caught an afternoon train and was home in Oldenburg by midnight.

Krakow, Poland

On the bus trip from Lithuania, I sat next to a Lithuanian college kid named Justin. He had spent a year working a construction job in England, so he spoke English very well. Justin and his four friends were traveling to Krakow for a chess tournament. They all have chess scholarships at one of the Lithuanian universities and occasionally travel to tournaments in neighboring countries. We had an interesting conversation about Lithuanian culture and their stereotypes of other nationalities.

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A movie – “Along Came Polly” (Jennifer Aniston & Ben Stiller) – was shown during the first half of the bus ride. Something interesting about watching English-language movies in Lithuania: Instead of using subtitles or fully dubbing the language into Lithuanian, they turn the soundtrack down to about half volume and then use just one person to translate everything that’s being said (overlaid with a louder soundtrack). So you hear the English (softly), as well as the translator’s voice over-top. .

The bus stopped every 60-90 minutes throughout the night to let people off or on. And each time the bus stopped, half of the occupants filed off for a smoke break… so due to frequent interruptions and non-reclining seats, I didn’t get a lot of sleep on the bus ride. I arrived in Krakow at around 6am on December 27.

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I had booked a hostel online and (with a map and a little assistance from an info desk) was able to walk there from the bus station. I ate breakfast with several other hostellers before I took a four-hour nap. One of my breakfast companions was an American woman named Silvana, who is currently serving a two-year term in the Peace Corps in Romania. Around ten of her Peace Corps-Romania comrades were also staying in Krakow for a week – most at our hostel and a few at a different place. Since I had the Peace Corps experience in common with them, and since they were nice folks, we hit it off well and chummed around together for much of my Krakow visit.
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On my first evening in Krakow, I joined the Peace Corps crowd to a bar that one of their American friends who currently lives in Krakow recommended. It was great little pub with a back room, where locals played their guitars and sang their favorite folk songs and sea shanties. Some of the music was quite beautiful and haunting. Here’s a pic and a sample clip from the jam session (sorry, the sound quality is poor).

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Krakow musicians having a folk music jam

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On my second day in Krakow, I went with Silvana and a French hostel friend to visit the concentration camps at Auschwitz. It was sobering experience and one that I don’t regret having, but I think I would rather visit at a time when there were not quite so many tourists. There were huge mobs of people trying to see the site, so it was very noisy and bustling with lots of activity… it was, therefore, a little hard for me to feel particularly meditative or emotional about what I was seeing or what it represented. It was also nostril-hairs-bitter-freezing cold that day, so it was a little tough to think about much besides how cold my hands and ears were. But part of the plight of the camp prisoners was getting through the fiercely cold winters... so from that standpoint, I guess I got a more “realistic” taste of the camps than if I’d gone during a more comfortable time of the year.

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Entrance Gate to Auschwitz #1: "Arbeit macht frei" [Work makes one free]

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Bitter cold Auschwitz camp #2

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On my third day in Krakow, I wandered around the town alone, taking pictures, and then went out for dinner with the Peace Corps group. I had to leave early in the morning on a train for Prague, so I didn’t stay out late partying with them. The PC bunch was a really nice group of people, and spending time with them made my Krakow visit very enjoyable. Plus, Krakow is a beautiful city with a lot of charm and plenty to see, so I recommend it as a vacation destination. And the hostel where I stayed -- Flamingo Hostel – was also great, so I highly recommend it as well.

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Wawel Royal Castle in Krakow

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View of the Krakow from the castle wall

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Wistula River from the castle hill

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Indian food dinner with the Peace Corps-Romania crew (photo by Silvana Guberti)

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Krakow's Old Town at night
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Main square and stage where the New Years Eve festivities would take place (a few days later)

Lithuania

Lithuania map (+ marks Klaipeda)

We arrived in Klaipeda, Lithuania, sometime between 3 and 4am. I'm sure that everyone was as exhausted -- due to the late hour and the stress of "the accident" -- as I was, but since it had been a while since Flavio, Aushra (Flavio's wife), and their two boys had seen Brian, Clarice, and Dalia, everyone was more interested in talking, catching up, etc. than sleeping. Aushra prepared a nice meal for us -- beef and potatoes with (optional) locally made horseradish for dipping. I enjoyed the meal and participated in a toast with Lithuanian beer but needed to sleep, so at around 5am, I excused myself and went to my assigned bed (in the room with their now-sleeping boys), while the other adults stay up and talked for another hour or so.
On the next day, most of us slept late, and then there wasn't much left of the day. I tagged along with Flavio when he went to the local fish market, so I could get my first daylight glimpses of Klaipeda.

Klaipeda near Flavio's apartment

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Glimpse of the Baltic Sea from Klaipeda's port

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On Christmas Eve, I went with Clarice and Aushra to the "Akropolis", which is a gigantic American-style mall (including a movie theater, bowling alley, and indoor ice skating rink). It's huge, even by American standards. I was a "mall rat" for a few hours, wandering alone, while Clarice and Aushra did their last-minute Christmas shopping.

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In the evening, we all got gussied up in our best duds (dressed up) to go to Aushra's parents' house for the huge family gathering. This was one of the highlights of my stay in Lithuania -- it was really interesting and enjoyable to participate in the local traditions from within a family. The meal began with a ceremony led by Aushra's father. He passed out communion wafers (the flat disk-shaped, cracker-like things that Christian churches sometimes use for the communion ritual) to each head-of-household (ie. adult male). Then he stood, broke a piece off of his wafer and fed it to his wife, saying approximately: "I hope that you will have a wonderful year, full of happiness, by my side in 2008." Then he went to each of his children and their spouses and wished them individual, wishes of joy and success in the coming year. He also included me in this level of well-wishing, saying (roughly) in English, "I hope you will have a wonderful time in my house tonight and will feel as though this is your home. We all hope that your time in Lithuania will be filled with enjoyment and that you will take with you nice memories of your visit to our home." Each adult then milled around the room giving their children, spouses, and siblings (and me) warm wishes for the coming year (while breaking off and feeding a piece of their wafer to the other person).

Christmas Eve family gathering at Aushra's parents' apartment

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Traditional Lithuanian food (at least in this coastal town) is most composed of fish-related dishes -- pickled herring, caviar, fried fish, salty shrimp jello, fish relishes and casseroles. The other memorable additions to the meal were a thick, red, berry-tasting gelatin-like drink and baked potatoes with -- you won't believe this: cannabis topping. Apparently rope-making (with cannabis) has a long-standing tradition for shipbuilding in Klaipeda... and one day (perhaps hundreds of years ago), someone said: "I wonder what it would taste like if we dry some of this extra cannabis (left over shreds from rope manufacturing) and sprinkle it on our baked potatoes..." And so it became a tradition. Cannabis doesn't have a tremendous amount of taste, but it had a slightly salty, toasted taste that nicely complemented the taters. (And no, I didn't get high as a kite -- or even buzzed -- from eating this delicacy.)

Sample of the spread

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Cannabis is the brown powder in the bowl to the left of the potatoes
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After dinner, we sat around and watched a Lithuanian Christmas mass on the television, while drinking Lithuanian beer. A small group of us -- Flavio, Clarice, Brian, and I discussed various topics related to politics -- comparing and contrasting Lithuanian, Brazilian, German, and American viewpoints on the politicians, the Iraq war, crime, corruption, etc. Then the children of the family gathered the whole family to a back room for a family talent show. Each of the five kids gave four or five performances of some sort -- singing dancing, rhymes, stories (all, of course, in Lithuanian). Occasionally Clarice translated what was being said for me. Lastly, we went back into the dining room and opened presents. I was pleasantly surprised to receive several gifts of locally produced wine and liqueurs.

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On Christmas morning (back at Flavio's and Aushra's apartment), we opened presents again. The children were, of course, wild with excitement of their latest gadget, toy, spiderman-related contraption. And I was again surprised to receive two additional gifts: a calendar/diary book and a Klaipeda T-shirt.

Opening presents on X-mas morn

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At around 10am we rushed off to Christmas mass (Lithuanians are mostly Catholics). The service had a somewhat old-world traditional feel to it (from my American perspective) and reminded me of Orthodox Christrian services I've attended in the past, because the priest sang and chanted much of his text. This old-world feel was mixed, however, with the very modern "praise band" type choir, complete with electric guitars and drums. It was also interesting to see the inclusion of a lit and decorated Christmas tree in the front of the sanctuary -- just next to a nativity scene. And even more surprising: Immediately after the service, the priest left the building briefly and then quickly returned dressed as Santa, beckoning the children to join him for presents at the alter.

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Santa's gathering after the service (Santa is bending down to get presents, so he's not visible)

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After the service, we joined an even larger gathering of Aushra's family at her brother's apartment. There was another huge feast prepared, followed by another talent show from the kids (but this time, the adults were convinced to join in), and a final appearance of Santa with candy and small toys for the kiddies.

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Brian & I singing a rousing rendition of PDQ Bach's "Please, Kind Sir"

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On the 26th, Flavio, Brian, and I drove to Kaunas. The main purpose of the trip was to deliver me to the bus station, where I would catch the night bus for Krakow, Poland. Along the way, however, we stopped to see a holocaust-related mass grave memorial, had traditional Lithuanian food in the Kaunas mall, and walked around a fort/castle at dusk. I boarded my bus at around 11pm.

The Accident...

I spent almost two weeks in eastern Europe during the December holidays. Since I've got pics and tales from each place I visited, I'll segment the trip into four posts -- The Accident, Lithuania, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

On Dec. 21, I met my friends Brian (former Northwestern Univ. classmate), Clarice (Brian's wife), and Dalia (their 3-year-old daughter) in Braunschweig, a town 130 miles SE of Oldenburg. They live in Heidelberg and had decided to drive to Klaipeda, Lithuania, for Christmas this year. (Clarice and her brother, Flavio, grew up in Brazil, but their heritage -- three generations back -- is Lithuanian. Once the Soviet Union fell and Lithuania became an independent country, Flavio decided to connect with his roots and moved to Lithuania, where he married and has three children).
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Our route from Braunschweig, Germany, to Klaipeda, Lithuania

From my hopping-on point in Braunschweig, the road trip took around 18 hours of driving (not including breaks). We stopped for the night on the German side of the border with Poland on the first night. The hotel was beautifully renovated, grand old building, and each room only cost 45 euros. And the hotel put out an incredible breakfast buffet spread in the morning -- just for us four! Breads, cheeses, eggs, meats, jellies, relishes, fresh fruit, cereals, yogurt.

Much of the long drive time was consumed sitting in traffic jams in Poland. It seemed that everywhere we tried to drive, we encountered stand-stills and VERY slow traffic. Here is a photo I took from Brian's & Clarice's van as we drove along the highway through western Poland on this frosty morning.
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Frosty Polish morning
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At around 11pm, we entered Lithuania. Not long after this, the excitement began...

I was exhausted from weeks of far too little sleep, final exams, and my lingering cold, so I was dozing in the front passenger seat, while Brian drove the van. Clarice and Dalia sat in the back seat and tried to sleep too. At around 12:30, I awoke to a loud "THUMP" on the windshield in front of me and an exclamation from Brian: "Oh, my God! I just hit a man!" Clarice had opened her eyes at precisely the right moment to also catch a glimpse of the ghostly figure that apparently came out of nowhere and somehow collided with our vehicle... so she also became frantic. Brian slowed and pulled the van over into the right shoulder. It was pitch-black outside, as there were no street lamps or signs of civilization nearby -- just a dark highway in the middle of nowhere, Lithuania. Brian slowly backed up the van in the shoulder, but since he couldn't see anything in the rear-view mirror (gifts for Clarice's family were piled floor-to-ceiling in the back), he stopped after 10-15 yards. "What should I do?" Brian asked aloud. "We have to go back," Clarice advised. "Yeah, but you don't wanna run over the guy twice," I chimed in. Eventually, Brian decided to drive to the next exit and take the "cloverleaf" to get back on the highway going the opposite way. Once he was sure we had passed the point where the incident occurred, he exited the highway again and re-entered traveling in the original direction.

By this time, Clarice had called her brother, Flavio, on a cell phone and described the situation to him. Flavio then called the local police to report the incident. "What-if"s were racing in all of our minds. "What was that guy doing walking in the middle of the autobahn?" Brian asked aloud, exasperation starting to show in his voice. "What if Brian killed a man tonight?" I wondered silently. "How will this change Brian's life forever?"... "And what about Clarice's and Dalia's lives?"

Although I'd heard something smack against the windshield, as I awoke from my reverie, something didn't quite seem right about Brian's statement: If we ran over someone, there should've been much more noise (and probably multiple noises, as the person was forced under or over the van). But I only heard one relatively small bang on the right side of the windshield. "What if Brian and Clarice just imagined it? Is there anything else that might have just looked like a person?"

Brian drove slowly and carefully, as we returned toward the dreaded location. We drove for what seemed like an eternity, finding nothing. Then finally... in the distance, we saw a man. He was staggering around in the right shoulder of the highway. Brian pulled over and shined his headlights on the man. As two other cars passed, the man walked out into the road and held out his hand in an apparent attempt to hit the cars (or to stop them). Thanks to Brian's headlights, the cars saw the man and were able to veer to the left to avoid him. "He's trying to get hit," Brian said aloud. "He's either crazy or he's very drunk," Clarice added.

Then the man returned to the shoulder and finally seemed to notice our vehicle. As he approached, we could see that his right hand was covered in blood. He also had what looked like a few minor cuts on his face. "Lock the doors," I warned Brian. Perhaps I've seen a few too many Twilight Zone episodes and/or horror flicks, but it just seemed like a bad idea to give this guy access to the van -- even if we injured his hand. The man yelled through my closed window that we should open the door and take him somewhere (per Clarice's Lithuanian translation). He tried unsuccessfully to open my door and smeared blood across the side window. Clarice scolded him to stay out of the road. He seemed to understand her message and began walking forward, away from us. As another group of cars passed, the man repeated his attempts to stop them. Once again, Brian's headlights were sufficient to warn the other cars.

After around ten minutes, the man got angry with our bright light and began yelling at us. His body language was sufficient to understand what he was saying: "Either take me into town or move on down the road! Your presence is cramping my style and getting in the way of my objectives." When we didn't leave, the man walked across the four-lane highway and vanished into complete darkness on the opposite side. We waited for 45 minutes before the police arrived on the scene (from Flavio's call). Clarice explained to the policeman what had happened, so he and his partner crossed the median and began searching (with a flashlight) on the opposite shoulder. Finding nothing, they said there was nothing more they could do.

A few minutes before the police arrived, we noticed that the passenger side mirror of the van was now missing -- apparently the man's hand had taken it off (the "bang") -- it had apparently already been cracked and unsturdy -- so Clarice asked if the policeman could write a report stating the situation, in order to get the mirror replaced through the insurance company. Since they couldn't confirm that the reported man actually existed (or that he caused the damage), they couldn't help us. So we drove onward toward Klaipeda.

"There he is again!" Brian exclaimed. Sure enough, the same man was 100 feet ahead of us standing in the road with his right hand outstretched. Brian whipped the car around, crossed the median and raced back in the other direction to inform the policemen. He flashed his headlights at them as they exited the highway. Once they stopped, Clarice explained that we had found the man again, a little further ahead. We followed them, as they slowly drove along the highway -- another eternity -- and then finally pulled over into the shoulder. They had found him -- hooray! They discussed the accident with the man, who apparently claimed that Brian drove into the shoulder while he had been peacefully walking along the road, minding his own business. The policeman gave us two choices: (1) Go with them to the nearest hospital, where they would take blood-alcohol measurements for both the man and Brian (as our driver). If the man was determined to be drunk (and Brian not), then we could get a police report; or (2) we were free to go (but without the police report). Since it was now a little past 1:30 in the morning, and we still had 90 minutes to drive, we opted for the second alternative.

Global Warming Advice

A friend sent me a link to this Youtubevideo, and I think it's particularly well done. Clever and funny but provides rational, clear-headed advice for our civilization regarding the "global warming" issue. Is it real, or is it fiction? What if it's just a farce... What it's not? Just check out this video.

www.neutralexistence.com/blog/is-man-made-global-warming-real-or-fiction
(Please note: This link was previously incorrect, but I've corrected it - Apr. 7, '08)

Holiday Concerts

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My a cappella group, Jaco de Musio, gave a joint Christmas concert on Friday evening with another local a cappella group called Vocal Chords (original name, huh?). I was honored to have 17 of my 30 classmates and one professor in attendance at the concert. We will sing another shorter concert at the downtown cathedral, Lambertikirche (St. Lamberti Church), this evening. Then we have two concerts next week and one in the following week. No rest for the weary...

Berlin Trip

Things have been uncomfortably busy lately with schoolwork, so I'm only now finding time to post pics and comments about my sightseeing trip to Berlin (two weeks ago). I went with a group of around 50 international students from Oldenburg University on a bus on Friday, Nov. 23, and returned on Sunday. It was a whirlwind trip, with activities planned throughout, so I returned more exhausted than before I left. But at least I got a glimpse of Berlin. Here are some of the sights I captured on my camera:

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Berlin street scene

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Berlin street scene2

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Front of Kaiser Wilhelm Church. This war-damaged church has been left unrepaired as a reminder/memorial

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Ceiling of Kaiser Wilhelm Church

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Afternoon break for drinks

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Reichstag (Parliament Building)
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Brandenburg Gate

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Jewish Memorial from bus window

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Jewish Memorial from within
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Many signs like this are still place throughout the city

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"Checkpoint Charlie" - the former crossing between East & West Berlin

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A remaining section of the Berlin Wall (through the bus window)

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Avant-garde photo art near Checkpoint Charlie

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Ancient Babylonian edifice in Pergamon Museum
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Berlin dance club in the wee-small hours

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The "TV-Tower" in daylight

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TV-Tower by night

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Berlin at night from the top of the TV-Tower