Feeling like a Foreigner

Today, I searched the web for an American blogger who had already published a few posts about their time in Germany. I wanted feedback for what I am going to expect next month. I will be living with two of my American friends for the first two weeks of the trip in Berlin. Then for the final two weeks, I will mostly be on my own. I am looking forward to this because it is something I have never done before. I see it as my ultimate freedom. A new country, new culture, new people with no constant iPhone and internet connection - just the freedom to roam the world.

The Resident on Earth blog is written by a woman named Jen who moved from the United States to Germany to live with her boyfriend, who she calls “The Mann.” I love her narrative style of writing and the subjects she addresses through her variety of posts on German movies, German food, German toilettes, and much more.

I want to share with you a post of hers, The Foreigner, that I really enjoyed and I thought pertained directly to my desire to prepare myself for a German life. She shares with her readers the experience she had returning back to the U.S. after a few months of living in Germany with The Mann.

German Architecture from Jen's blog.

At this point in Jen's life (on April 26^th, 2011), she is in a state of reverse culture shock. Although she was an American, who only lived in Germany for a few months, Jen felt that she was returning to her home country as a foreigner. The amount of high-pitched noises, different races of people, and bad fashion are a few of the things that shocked her as she entered the Chicago airport. She felt like an alien in her own country.

48 hours in Stuttgart

As I am continue my list of places to see and things to do in Germany, I stumbled upon this fabulous blog called the 48 Hour Adventure. I figured I'd use this opportunity to introduce this blog to you and plan my few days in Stuttgart with my wonderful cousin Ana Despina. She recently moved there to attend film editing school and I am lucky enough to be able to visit her for a fews days after my ART of dance program in Berlin. This post is quite appropriate for me because I will only have about 48 hours in Stuttgart with Ana Despina. I will not only use the information from the original 48 Hours in Stuttgart post, but I will also find new ideas and other places.

Hot Spots

Wilhelma Zoo

• Schlossplatz: Castle Palace & Garden 
• The Opera House for their world-famous ballet company 
• Wilhelma Zoo with its botanical garden & historic park 
• Mercedes-Benz and Porsche Museums
• State Gallery Stuttgart 
• Wine Village 

The Stare Challenge in Zurich

I want to share with you an attraction that's made Zurich's Hauptbahnhof train station a Hot Spot. Digital Buzz blog always has fun, short updates on the latest social and digital trends. They make you realize how technically advanced the world really is. As in previous posts, "Fast Lane" in Berlin and TUM slides in Munich, this project is a fun way to engage the public to make a happier world.

The Stare Challenge installation is not necessarily art related, but more technologically driven to promote a product and engage the public. The person's goal is to be able to stare at an image of the Samsung S4 for 60 seconds, without looking away. Your rewards is to receive a free phone of your own. Trouble is there are distraction, such as barking dogs at your feet, animated guitar players, arguing couples, motorcycle crashes, etc.  This is a creative and interactive campaign that involve personal and interactive events so that the product goes viral. It certainly will create a buzz on the new Samsung product and make travelers more likely to stop at the Hauptbahnhof station! I know I will!

I leave for Germany in four days!

"Fast Lane" in Berlin

I wanted to continue with my series on the contemporary public art in Germany’s Hot Spots, as I did with TUM slides in Munich. These fun art installations give culture to otherwise dull structures, such as university buildings or subway stations. In this post, I want to share with you Volkswagen’s Fun Theory. The project is dedicated to making everyone’s life as simple, as easy, and as fun as possible. They want personal, environment-friendly, and entirely different projects that will upgrade our lives. The award entries are truly fascinating and makes me wish I came up with the ideas myself. Most of their installations have been in Stockholm, Sweden with Piano Stairs, Speed Camera Lottery, and Bottle Bank Arcade Machine. All these projects promote good behaviors for the soceity in a creative way that compels you to do it. I love it!

TUM slides in Munich

A few months ago, a friend of mine shared this link on Facebook and she commented how she wished her college had an inner building slide to get from class to class.  Only recently did I realize that this installation Hot Spot is located in Germany. These giant four-story slides are in the interior of the Technical University of Munich (TUM). In 2002, the Munich-based artists, Johannes Brunner and Raimund Ritz, were inspired to make the slides look like a parabola due to their location in the Math and Computer Science department. The two “Parable” slides allow students to forgo the elevator or stairs and ride a tube from the top to the ground floor. It’s like having an amusement park in your university. Below is a funny video showing you the slides.

2 Cute Cafés in Frankfurt

I want to get back to touring German cities as a local. A good way to scout out the local vibe is to take a break at a coffee shop.  Recently, I’ve started doing my work at a few local coffee shops in Raleigh. I love the relaxed and welcoming atmosphere and don’t forget, it’s a great place to meet new friends.

To find local Hot Spots abroad, I highly recommend the blog Spotted by Locals. This blog lists many major cities in Europe so you can explore the wealth of Arts & Culture, Food, Theater, etc there. There is one blog per city that has a few local authors contributing to it, allowing you to get a well-rounded view of the city.

For this post, I have found two local coffee shops in Frankfurt that I thought seemed super cute. They have coffee, food, and culture all in one. Their actual websites are posted on the link I provide, but they are in German so good luck reading them.