This one will be much shorter than the last two, I promise.
So, I've arrived in Erlangen and my lodgings are quite sufficient. Very close to a nice part of town with many shops and produce stands and beer gardens. I couldn't ask for anything more. At the Institute for Medical Physics - the reason I'm here - I have a giant office with a window. This will spoil me ridiculously and make going back to my tiny desk in Madison nearly impossible. I'll have some pictures from London and Munich to post tomorrow.
Good things about Erlangen:
-Very bike and pedestrian friendly
-Cheap produce, bread, and of course, beer
-The upcoming Bergkirchweih
-The ease of catching a train to Munich and from there to nearly anywhere my heart desires to take me
Bad things about Erlangen:
-It took me forever to find some Olive Oil - really, I can't live without it
-The cheap Weiss Beer and the havoc that it wrecks on my stomach (hopefully I'll adapt)
-Me not speaking German - I feel like a complete ass, though I have mastered the German for "I'm sorry, I speak German poorly. Please speak slowly. Or, do you speak English?" At least that way I'm not a completely stupid American. I plan on remedying the situation shortly by taking a course in Everyday German
-The AWFUL, AWFUL fashion sense of most Germans. I recoil in horror occasionally as I walk down through the city. I don't know where to start, the ridiculous jeans, the ugly shorts, the incomprehensible pants/shirt color and pattern matchings, or the popped polo shirt colors. And that's not even mentioning some of the printed t-shirts such as a girl I saw wearing a shirt saying "Sexy, Dangerous, Intelligent" - she wasn't sexy, she obviously wasn't intelligent as she was wearing that shirt, and the only dangerous thing about her that I could determine was her lack of fashion sense. I'm too delicate to be assaulted visually like this everyday.
Oh, and a quick little note on my most recent album listening habits:
Amy Winehouse Back to Black - mix Lauryn Hill, Carly Simon, and sultry 70's soul with a hard drinking British party girl
Arctic Monkeys Favourite Worst Nightmare - still digesting this one, not up to the standard of their debut, but I'm giving it time
The Veils Nux Vomica - Outstanding Rock and Roll. Top Notch. Spectacular.
Elvis Perkins Ash Wednesday - In competition with Nux Vomica for the best album of the past 6 months - singer-songwriter stuff, with some excellent players backing him
Bloc Party Silent Alarm - a couple years old, but it doesn't get old
Arcade Fire Neon Bible - A close third to The Veils and Elvis Perkins for top album of the past 6 months and in my opinion far superior to their debut, Funeral
Mix in liberal helpings of Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, The Strokes, The Hold Steady, Regina Spektor, The Decemberists, Rufus Wainwright, Velvet Underground, Beck and Prince.
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2 comments:
You beer drinking bastard! I'm just jealous. Mark, you are right, Silent Alarm never gets old, but did you hear a Weekend in the City? It got great reviews and I'm trying oh so hard to like it but I think it's just crap.
Marky Mark,
I think I'm going to vomit, I'm so jealous of you. You've been to London AND Germany this week? You bastard. I can't believe it's been 7 years since I lived in London. OK, I'm off to cry myself to sleep now.
Brigid
P.S. If you need a translator, I'm cheap.
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