Unfashionably Random

On December 11, 2011May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany4 Comments

So about the fashion sensibilities here in Regensburg:

Skinny jeans are in fashion. So are Converse of all colors and materials. I’ve seen some really neat ones.
Among the younger set, the Justin Bieber haircut is very popular. I giggle quietly every time I see it.
Every so often, I’ll see someone wearing an outfit that would seem normal in New York or Miami and it makes me do a doubletake- track suits, New York Yankees ball caps on sideways, gold chains. You know the style. This made a lot more sense after I took a different route through the city one night last week and passed a “Thug Life” store. I can’t make anything that amusing up.
For the most part, people here tend to be pretty well dressed. So much so that I feel a little bit shabby every time I walk outside. I’m sure I’ll get used to it after a little while. Or maybe I’ll just start dressing better.

On the subject of clothing, and where to put it, I purchased a wardrobe yesterday at Ikea, the “Pax Lyngdal.” I paid a bunch of extra Euros to have it delivered and assembled here, but it will be worth it because that thing was heavy to even get up to the cash register- I don’t want to think about what a pain it would be to get it up a flight of stairs. And the front doors are frosted glass and aluminum- I’d much rather someone else do the heavy lifting and assembly on this one. The only down side to having them deliver and assemble is that I won’t have it here until the 22nd of December, but in my opinion, that’s totally worth the wait. My clothing can stay in boxes for another week and a half, no problem.

I went back to the Christmas markets last night with new friend Elena, and I wound up having bratwurst to counteract the alcohol in the Gluhwein. Blueberry this time, and it was delicious. I wanted to get the bratwurst with sour kraut, but I waited too long and they ran out, which was a shame because it smelled amazing. Instead, I had what the girl behind the counter called the traditional way. Spicy mustard, horseradish, and something else I can’t remember. I think she was just messing with me on the horseradish. It was damn tasty though.

I’m still not sure what to do with myself on Sundays here- it’s forbidden by law for businesses to be open on Sundays here. One of my friends told me that they’re challenging that law now, but I doubt it will change while I’m here. There are only a few exceptions. The business in the train station stay open because they’re ostensibly for travelers. The Arcade opens for a few hours in the afternoon- not the shops, just the restaurants. Lots of small business run on Sundays; call centers and the like. Emergency services like police and fire are on duty. And of course the bus system runs. It’s just the shops. If you need medicine on a Sunday, I’m pretty sure your only option is a hospital- the apothekes (sort of like a pharmacy, but not precisely the same) are never open on Sundays. My routine on Sundays now that I’m in an apartment with no Internet connection (Damn you Kabel Deutschland!) is to sleep in, then hop over to the Arcade for some tea and Internet time in the afternoon. I’ll probably wind up going over to the Cinemaxx today to see der König der Löwen, in 3D. I don’t know enough of the language yet to really follow everything, but I know the movie and the songs well enough to still enjoy it. Plus I really want to hear James Earl Jones dubbed in German.

A note on the Cinemaxx- they do some movies in originalfassung (original language) on Monday nights- I’m really hoping that the Muppet Movie makes it over here soon; I really want to see that one quite badly. Right now it’s Puss In Boots, which I have no interest in seeing. Come on, Muppets!

My street.

On December 9, 2011May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany11 Comments

At ninety-eight, we all rotate.

On December 9, 2011May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany4 Comments

This is a story about a revolving door.

One of the things that I see a lot of here that just doesn’t exist in Florida is the giant revolving doors that are in front of big stores, shopping malls, and so forth. Like this one. Well, exactly this one. There are regular doors on either side of the revolving section. That’s important in another paragraph or so.

Over the last few days, I’ve noticed that the shoes that I wear to work are starting to disintegrate. They’re cracking badly on the spot that creases when I kneel down and the upper bends. The damage is severe enough that my feet are starting to get cold from the extra air flow, so after work today, I decided to walk over to one of the shoe stores I’d seen in the Regensburg Arcade.

Whenever I walk over to the Arcade, I always decide whether to use the revolving door or the regular door based on a combination of where it is in the spin cycle, how crowded it is, and how much I’ll have to slow down when I get into the spin chamber. Tonight, I saw that it was just closing, so I angled to the door on the right instead. As I was approaching, I heard laughter from the other side, and when I looked up, the revolving part had stopped cycling entirely and had trapped one guy in a blue jacket inside.

I felt bad for this guy, trapped in the middle of the revolving door. Normally you can push them, but this one was motorized so it seemed to be locked in place. Anyone who’s known me for a while knows that it’s in my nature to stop and try to help people. I’m not a doormat and I won’t usually go out of my way to ridiculous lengths to help people, but on a night like tonight when I have plenty of time, I can’t pass up the urge to help.

Two problems: First, I don’t speak enough German to converse with everyone around me. Second, I had no idea who to tell if there was a problem with the door.

The first thing that I did was to walk the full circle around the revolving door, looking for controls, buttons, and so forth. By this point in time, the poor guy trapped inside had noticed that I wasn’t just walking by like the other shoppers, and we exchanged amused glances. Some people would be freaking out; this guy was cool as a cucumber. It didn’t take long to figure out that none of the controls were helpful- they were designed to open it fully for wheelchair passage when it was already moving. I did find a light panel near the top that showed that it was in a fault condition- it seemed to think there was an obstruction.

A helpful passerby, the only person to stop and help besides me, suggested that we try pushing. We had already done that, but we tried it again, without success. The new helpful person went off to the information desk (which I did not know existed) to tell them about the situation. As he walked away, I continued to try the different controls and levers and such on the door. After a few minutes, new helpful guy came back and mentioned that he’d told the management and they were on their way.

While we waited, the guy stuck inside the door realized that the center partition of the revolving door was also a door, and this allowed him to move to the other side, where he could have better access to the part of the door that I was trying to get open. Once he was directly opposite me, we managed to successfully turn the door just enough for him to slip out. He thanked me briefly, then was on his way.

Here’s the really funny bit. While all of this was going on, most people were just walking by. Unbeknownst to me, however, a group of four guys sitting at the restaurant just to the right of the revolving door had been following our little adventure, and when my blue jacketed friend finally slipped out of his revolving cage, a loud cheer went up from the table. When I turned to look, they had beer glasses raised in salute. I couldn’t help but laugh.

The trip to the shoe store was a success, too.

Father Christmas?

On December 6, 2011May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany5 Comments

Is this some form of Kringle that I’m not familiar with? When I walked by, the kid was reaching into his burlap sack, so it seemed like a Klaus variant.

I have an apartment!

On December 4, 2011May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany6 Comments

As of Friday the 2nd of December, I have moved out of the hotel and into my own apartment. I was in the hotel for three weeks, and the only thing I really miss about it so far is the Internet connection- I don’t have one yet in the new apartment. I’m still waiting for Kabel Deutschland to come install my blazingly fast Internet.

Finding an apartment here in Regensburg has been extremely, extremely tricky. I started looking online before I even travelled to Germany for the first time, but apartment-hunting online is always a challenge.

Here are some things that are different about apartments between the US and Germany:

In America, apartments are big managed affairs with a single leasing office- you walk in and choose a cookie cutter floor plan and just get the next available unit. Here, most apartments have a single owner and you’re renting from them.
An unfurnished apartment here typically has no appliances- not even a refrigerator or stove. If you want those items, you have to look for a unit with a built-in kitchen.
Apartments here do not have closets. This is why those big wardrobey things from Ikea with the sliding doors are so popular. And yes, I’ll wind up buying one.

I started to view apartments in person as soon as I could during my first week here. I had several problems right from the start. For one thing, I don’t speak German yet. This made a lot of things very confusing to me. There’s a line on the apartment search website I was using which translates roughly as “Rent without Bail.” This didn’t make any sense until a co-worker looked at it and explained that was a poor translation for a deposit.

My co-workers were an immense help to me during this process. They helped me figure out where things were. Several of them showed me listings and sent possible apartment info my way. One of them made phone calls for me and translated paperwork for me. Two of them actually went with me to look at apartments. I would never have been able to navigate this without them.

Every time I viewed an apartment, with only one exception, there were always two or three other people viewing the apartment at the same time. Apparently, the University changed their enrollment rules this year, so there are twice as many students enrolled as there normally are. They all started in September, about two months before I got here. And they all wanted one bedroom apartments.

This relegated me to using the services of an Immobilien, the rough equivalent of a leasing agent who takes a substantial cut. It nearly doubled the cost of getting an apartment, but that extra bump in price is the only reason the apartment I finally got wasn’t taken by a student.

The only apartment I saw that didn’t have several other people looking at the same time was a place a few kilometers from the city center, too far to walk to much of anything. It had all the appliances, inluding a pretty great cooktop and a washer, and it was huge. However, it had grey carpets and as soon as I walked in, I felt depressed. I’m pretty sure that’s why it was still available, to be honest. Which brings us to the apartment I finally rented.

The place I got is close to the city center, it’s convenient to bus and train stations, and it’s pretty much exactly where I want to be and the rent is very reasonable, now that I’m done with the Immobilien’s fees. It’s got a living room, pictured above, a separate bedroom, a bathroom with a stand up shower rather than a tub (which is my preference any way,) and a place for me to install a clothing washer. The floors are brand new in that light wood you see above. There is a small built in kitchen, open to the living room. It provides a stove and a half-height fridge, pictured below.

The apartment is mostly empty at this point- I moved in on Friday and it’s only Sunday. And Sundays are impossible days for getting anything done, because nothing is open here for shopping on Sundays. The one thing I did manage to get into the place before I moved in was a bed, an Ikea Malm:

I spent Friday night assembling it before I finally went to sleep. I may have to post my thoughts on Ikea another time. Maybe after I get one of those wardrobe things I mentioned earlier so I can actually store my clothing in some place other than my suitcases.

As an aside, posting here will be pretty light until I get the Internet connection hooked up in the apartment- even now, I’m sitting in front of the San Francisco Coffee Company in the Arcade in order to use the Internet connection. And have some nice peppermint tea.

Beats sitting on the floor in my completely empty living room, I guess.

Man, I need some chairs.