English Autumn has finally arrived, and while you still have to look more closely to find all the colors and splendor, it is there somewhere – between the bushes and other vegetation on campus. Deutsch Der Herbst ist endlich angekommen. Und obwohl man immer noch ein bisschen suchen muss, kann man doch zwischen all dem Grün ein paar Herbstfarben entdecken.
EnglishWe went out e-biking, and the road took us to the riverside park nearby campus where we plopped ourselves in the grass and enjoyed the view. And enjoyed watching all the swimmers ignore the signs everywhere that say: No swimming! DeutschWir sind mit den Rollern losgezogen und es hat uns zu dem Park am Fluss gezogen, wo wir uns im Gras niederließen. Und es gab viel zu sehen. Nicht nur einen tollen Ausblick. Auch all die Schwimmer, die geflissentlich alle Warnschilder, die besagen, dass schwimmen verboten ist, ignorieren, bieten interessante Abbwechslung.
EnglishOur campus got new permanent residents this year, and it’s a bit more crowded now. I ran into this flock of birds at the nearby pond, and these chicks were busy picking. DeutschDer Campus hat seit kurzem neue permanente Bewohner, und jetzt ist hier noch ein bisschen mehr los. Kürzlich bin ich dieser kleinen Schar beim nahegelegenen Teig über den Weg gelaufen, und dachte doch gleich: Hier geht’s ja zu wie im Hühnerstall!
EnglishThe time with my friends is running out – they are about to graduate. So, we’re getting together as much as we can these days. And today that meant having a picnic at one of the green patches on campus. You may notice how much plastic is involved with a simple meal outdoors. But that’s the irony of things: While in Europe everyone is so conscientious about reducing plastic and all that, out here, cutting down on plastic is on no one’s mind. Every time I go shopping I find that every produce I want to get in the store must be wrapped in its own plastic bag. They’d never allow you to just put everything in one cloth bag that you bring from home for fear that you’d be cheating the store. It’s one of the sad parts of the culture here that people can’t be trusted to deal honestly. DeutschDie Zeit mit meinen Freunden geht schnell ihrem Ende zu – sie stehen kurz vor dem Abschluss. Darum versuchen wir uns so oft es …
EnglishI’m a nature lover by heart, and I can’t help myself – when I see something pretty, I have to stop and capture it somehow for my memory keeping. So, on my way to dinner, I just couldn’t help but smell the flowers (quite literally), and take a moment to enjoy the very temporary splendor. DeutschIm Herzen bin ich ein Naturliebhaber, und ich kann mir dabei selbst nicht helfen – wenn ich etwas Nettes sehe, dann muss ich anhalten und die Schönheit irgendwie festhalten. So ging es mir auch auf dem Weg zum Abendessen. Ich konnte einfach nicht anders als an den Blüten schnüffeln, und mir den Moment zu nehmen, die vergängliche Pracht zu genießen.
Anzeige (Enthält Produktempfehlung) / Advertisement (Contains product endorsement) EnglishSo, the deal is that every week the school is supposed to provide transportation into the nearby big city, so our colleagues can do shopping, or just get out of town. But the stipulation has been: We need at least 10 people in order for said transportation to be provided. The problem: Due to the covid situation, the number of the foreign faculty is down so far, there are never enough teachers to go. I’ve been trying for weeks to get to Ikea, because I wanted to get my hand on some of their gingerbread houses – while the season lasts. But every week it was the same story: the shopping trip is canceled. But finally, the office took heart and promised: there will be a trip, no matter how many sign up. And here we went. Funny, all of us that went had Ikea as their destination, so we made a group trip there. And I was happy to check out their Christmas section, and more …
EnglishA little addendum to the recent faculty trip: Going to the mountain for a little hike, we quickly realized: nature seems to be overrated around here. In fact, we spent most of our time that afternoon pushing forward with the crowds, who wanted to get up that mountain themselves. So much for hiking in the great outdoors! DeutschEin kleiner Nachtrag zu unserer jüngsten Fakultätsreise: Beim Wandertag wurde trotz der sch¨onen Landschaft schnell klar: von der Natur bekommt man nicht viel mit. Tatsächlich verbrachten wir den größten Teil unserer Zeit damit, uns mit den Menschenmassen voranzuschieben, die ebenfalls den Berg hinauf wollten. So viel zum Thema wandern in der freien Natur!
EnglishThe last day of our trip, we were taken to this beautiful mountain area, where we were allowed to roam the mountain for several hours. As is usual with almost any beautiful nature area in the country: you can’t just go for free. Tickets are required, and access is limited only possible from the official access points. DeutschDer letzte Tag unserer Reise brachte uns in eine schöne Berglandschaft, wo wir eine Weile herumstreunen konnten. Wie immer bei solchen Natursch¨onheiten hier im Land: sie sind nicht frei zugänglich, sondern erfordern Eintritt, und Zutritt ist nur über die offiziellen Wege möglich.
EnglishThe school regularly invites its foreign faculty on culture trips. And this month the journey took us a little south. As usual with such trips, the itinerary is jam packed, with the attempt to hit as many scenic spots as possible. After a late arrival the night before, I first stop was a lake where we visited different sights, and even did a little lake cruise. Note, even though the summer floods have been months ago, the lake is still fully flooded, with certain areas still completely submerged in water. DeutschDie Schule lädt ihre Fakultät regelmäßig zu Kulturreisen ein. Und diesen Monat führte die Reise ein wenig gen Süden. Wie gewöhnlich bei solchen Reisen ist das Programm vollgepackt bei dem Versuch, so viele Sehenswürdigkeiten abzugrasen, wie möglich. Nach einer späten Ankunft am Abend zuvor, war heute unser erster Halt ein See, wo wir uns verschiedene Sehenswürdigkeiten ansahen, und sogar eine kleine Seerundfahrt unternahmen. Auffallend war, wie sehr der See noch geflutet war, obwohl die Sommerfluten ja schon Monate zurückliegen. Aber manche Bereich waren noch fast …
EnglishFor days, I’ve been stuck with my friends. The other day I relocated to another city, but still no transportation to my town is going where the floods were more serious than around here. I’ve been trying every day to find train tickets, busses, private cars. Nothing has been going. The news is that streets are blocked, and that’s why not even busses and cars have been able to go. Uber services aren’t even working at all, the app has been useless these days. Only today, we were finally able to find a driver who was willing to venture out, and see if he can make his way to the airport, which is near our town. (Trains and busses are still not going.) Though he won’t take me all the way home, I jumped at the opportunity to make it back to my town, even if I have to take the taxi for the last leg. The price the driver offered was decent (considering there is a high demand, and he could have named any …
