Down To Kempten

On February 4, 2012May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany4 Comments

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I took some time off work for my first solo overnight out-of-town journey by train since arriving in Germany.

It’s been pretty cold for the last few days, with the temperature staying well below freezing. This has the benefit of giving us more sunlight, though, so the train ride was populated by views like these- fields of snow, blue skies, and the occasional road or small town. I love the blue skies though-

Near the end of the trip, I was further south, near the Austrian border, and in the Alps- much more snow, more white, and more trees covered in white. At the start of the trip, however, there was a lot of green in the distance, as in this photo.

So much snow…

At the midway point, I had to change trains in the Munich Bahnhof, which is the central train station for the city. The Munich Bahnhof is, to date, the coolest thing I have seen in Germany. When I was walking between my trains, I saw all the trains lined up at their platforms and I couldn’t help but think that this place reminded me of spacedock from the Star Trek movies.

The stopover in Munich also gave me a chance to get a fresh butterbreze, or buttered pretzel. I am addicted to butterbreze- they’re my crack. One more train ride and I was in the little town of Kempten, down south. My purpose for the trip was a concert, but first I had to get to my hotel near the concert venue. Both locations were a little bit more than a kilometer away from the train station, so I went on foot. This allowed me the opportunity to laugh heartily at this store:

Apparently, the idea of “US Streetwear” here is synonymous with gangster rap- it was sneakers, sweats, giant hats, and gold bling. The entire store was unintentionally hilarious.

My hotel was roughly 150 or so meters from the concert venue, and both were across the street from a shopping mall- this gave me the opportunity to get some food before the show and to people-watch, which is always fun. The hotel, The Hotel Am Forum, is a nice place with a very friendly staff. When they saw me struggling with the German, they immediately switched to very good English. The rooms were clean and well maintained, and the hotel had a nifty floor structure- you go up a spiral staircase to get to your room:

But all of this is set-up for the reason I went to Kempten in the first place. I was there to attend a VNV Nation concert at The bigBOX Allgäu. I was originally not sure why they chose Kempten instead of, say, Munich for the show. However, the bigBOX turned out to be a pretty excellent concert venue. The bigBOX has an upstairs for super huge events, and a downstairs area for smaller shows like this one.

When I got to the bigBOX, a question I didn’t even know I had was answered right away- what do a few hundred concert-goers do with their coats during the show? In restaurants here, it’s not uncommon to have coat racks or hooks near your table for you to hang up your coat while you dine. In a place like the bigBox? There’s a garderobe (wardrobe) with an attendant- for one Euro, they will hold your coat and give you a numbered chit to retrieve it after the show. This is a brilliant and elegant solution- I had assumed I’d just have to hold onto my coat for the entire show, and I’m glad I was wrong.

I’ll conclude this post with three pictures from the show. VNV Nation puts on a great live show. They truly enjoy playing for their fans, and it shows. I’ve seen them about half a dozen times, but all the other shows were in Florida. This is more or less what they look like.

Nuremberg

On January 9, 2012May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Inside Germany3 Comments

Friday was a holiday here in Bavaria. It was Epiphany, a Christian holiday celebrating the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus. Since the office was closed, it seemed like a great day to take a day trip out of Regensburg. First stop- the train station!

The ICE (Inter City Express) trains here are amazing. They look a bit like Disney’s Monorail trains. They’re fast, quiet, and smooth as glass. The seats are incredibly comfortable as well, and it was actually very affordable.

The destination? Nuremberg! I’d heard that there was a toy museum there, and indeed there is- Nuremberg is apparently quite large in the toy community, and there’s even an International Toy Fair held there every year.

The train station in Nuremberg is significantly larger than the one in Regensburg, so we had to walk a bit to get out of it. This is in the center of it:

Once in Nuremberg, we were on foot, so it’s hard to miss things like this whopping great cathedral. I like the one in Regensburg better, but I think that’s just home-team pride speaking.

The goal for the day was to visit the Spielzeug, aka the Nuremberg Toy Museum. It was four stories tall and contained toys going back to the middle ages, including a great toy train section and an entire room full of creepy porcelain dolls. They also put ALF, Babar, Garfield, E.T., and some Star Wars figures into the same display case, so that was fun for me. Unfortunately, this picture is the only one I can show you, because they didn’t allow photography inside.

After we finished at the museum, we walked around the city for a while. Almost everything was closed for the holiday, with the exception of restaurants, cafes, and museums, but that didn’t stop the street musicians from trying- I’ve never seen so many accordions one any day that didn’t involve a Weird Al concert. We also saw people dressed in the appropriate costumes for the holiday, and we ran into some Mormon missionaries who, as amusing coincidence would have it, one lived in the town where our company’s Utah office is located. There was also this man, the bubble maker. He was fascinating to watch, and the second bubble photograph seen here is my favorite picture from the entire day.

I didn’t learn of Nuremberg’s famous castle until after we returned from the trip. (Note to self: When travelling in Germany, always check for castles. They’re everywhere here, like Starbucks back in the U.S.) I did, however, learn of Schöner Brunnen, the site of a rather amazing fountain surrounded by a wrought iron fence. There is a golden ring welded into the fence which is said to bring good fortune to those who touch it. Naturally, I had to see this one for myself…

That was pretty much it for the trip to Nuremberg though, except for lunch (average pasta) and dessert (amazing apple strudel). I really need to re-think the idea of traveling on holidays. It’s got to be much more interesting when things are open.

Now I need to decide where to go for my next trip!

Arrival

On November 12, 2011May 30, 2020 By StevenIn Life In Germany8 Comments

I got in earlier today, after being awake for nearly 24 hours. I’m too tired to write a substantial entry right now, but I wanted to jot down a few thoughts.

I really profoundly dislike the Dusseldorf airport. Lots and lots and lots of stairs. No ATMs or other means of getting Euros inside of the secured area. And I had to go through security *again* there after clearing passport control. (Still less annoying than Miami International though.)
I had no idea just how much of the land between Munich and Regensburg is farmland. According to the shuttle driver, much of it is hops. For Bavarian beer. I approve.
The cold isn’t what’s bugging me about the climate, it’s the absolute zero humidity. My skin has already dried out and I’ve been in country less than twelve hours. I’ll have to hunt down some moisturizing stuff tomorrow; I can’t stand this papery dry feeling on my hands.
I’m tickled to death at television here. I put on a station this afternoon and it’s played Big Bang Theory, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, The Simpsons, and Futurama- all in German. (And the voices in the German dub on Scrubs were spot on!)
I am ashamed to admit that my first meal in Germany was Burger King. I was tired and just wanted to grab food and get back to the hotel room, so I went with vaguely-familiar-and-easy. I’ll try to experiment more later, I promise.
I feel like I had a lot more to say here, but I’ve been awake for a looooooong time and I’m not thinking too clearly. Stay tuned for more!

Eleven Eleven Eleven.

On November 5, 2011May 30, 2020 By StevenIn International Travel - Europe, Life In Germany4 Comments

One week from right now, I’ll be on a plane that is nearing its final approach into Dusseldorf. I’ll land in Germany at around 7 AM local time, and I’ll have a nice breakfast in my new country while I wait for my connecting flight to Munich. I didn’t realize that I was starting my journey to Germany on 11/11/11 until somebody else pointed that out to me; it’s kind of interesting though. It’s an auspicious date to begin a new adventure.

In my mind’s eye, I picture that first weekend. I’ll get to the hotel in Regensburg on Saturday afternoon. I’ll check in, drop off my stuff, change to clothing that hasn’t seen three airports and two continents, and then go back outside. I’ll walk toward the downtown area or whatever strike’s my fancy, and I’ll explore. Finding an apartment is very high on my to-do list, but I won’t push that until the Monday after I arrive. On that Monday, I’ll get my bank account sorted out. I’ll go into the office and meet my new team. I’ll check out my desk, set up my new computer, get situated there.

This blog has been very quiet from the last post on the third of October. That isn’t a sign that nothing has been going on, it’s a sign that everything has been going on. I’ve inventoried my stuff, and sent it on its way. Eleven boxes of my clothing, linens, and kitchen goods are currently sitting in the Port of Miami. They’ll leave before me and arrive to Germany after me, probably clearing customs right around my birthday.

I’ve also done some basic cold weather gear shopping. I’ve lived my entire life in Florida, and I haven’t really ever experienced a true winter, let alone snow for more than a day. Luckily, there’s a ski shop nearby- yes, a ski shop in South Florida. They’re very knowledgable and very helpful. Over the last month, I’ve acquired a heavy multi-layer jacket, a pair of boots capable of handling snow and ice, some gloves, a pair of scarves, and some inner layer clothing for especially cold days. I don’t know what this cold is going to feel like, but I suspect I’ll need to buy a little bit more cold weather gear once I get into the thick of it. At least I’ve got a starter set of warm stuff though.

One week from right now, I’ll be arriving in Germany.

Whoa.

Whimsy. Tacos. The DMV.

Tag: travel

Down To Kempten

Nuremberg

Arrival

Eleven Eleven Eleven.