Karli am Abend.

superquick update part 2

-my NEW DX3000 camera already arrived in the states! now my mom has to send it to me here in germany but hopefully i'll have a DSLR again soon!


-sarah and i are probably NOT going to amsterdam =(

- hurricane festival is in PRECISELY one week!

-i started working on my referat! Leipziger Jungendliche in DDR Fotografie.

bright side.

 Things are looking up since last post. I had a very... interesting... weekend, with some rather unexpected outcomes. I partied at a rave under a bridge (or, as Tracy aptly named it, a "Troll Rave")

Troll Rave DJ's.

Troll Rave Sunrise! 

The next day I partied at the Hochinstitut für Grafik und Buchkunst (in 2 words- art school.) The "HGB," as it's known, is a gorgeous building that looks like this inside, and like this outside. It's one of the oldest art schools in Europe, established in 1764. Their photography program is really super.

I had a class there last semester that I kind of stopped going to because it became apparent that I was at the time very much over my head in that I would have had to give a presentation (in German) on a DDR photographer. I could probably (maybe?) have done it this semester but now Tracy's gone I sort of lost the will.

Anyhow, on Saturday the students of the HGB held their annual shindig, and it was really super. The whole building was a great big partay. I hung out mostly with one of the Erasmus kids, Kaarle, and we had a grand ol' time.

 Both  Friday and Saturday "evening" ended around 6:30 or 7 the next morning. Hardcore party time. I couldn't agree more with that line in the LCD Soundsystem song called "North American Scum" about partying in Germany (well, namely Berlin but it really describes the whole country I think) "we can't have parties like in Spain where they go all night, or like Berlin where they go another night." However, although the parties generally DO go on for 2 nights in a row, I, being said North American Scum, am not quite accustomed to such debauchery. So six in the AM is generally enough for me. Despite my inability to party like a true German, ich hatte viel spaß gemacht. 


In other good news, I found out I should be soon to receive my TAP grant, and also a replacement for my DX3000. I feel like I'm missing an arm when I"m without my camera! It's painful. I have a little canon powershot digital elf, but once you've had your hands on a DSLR it's really depressing to have to go back. So I'm eagerly awaiting both of those things that will ostensibly improve my quality of life in my remaining time in Germany.

Also I've got loads of work to do for Uni, including a Referat (oral presentation) for my Konversation class. I decided my topic will be DDR photography, since I did attend that class back in the Fall, at least now I can make it count for something!

die füße

Florence

Ok, sorry all, but we're going to go back to March now.  I feel like I really should document this Italy trip a bit, in case someone is remotely interested.

Mom, Annika and I journeyed from Venice to Florence in a lovely little rental car, which ironically (despite our predictions that it'd be 1. manual transmission and 2. a Smart Car or a Pugeot) ended up being a very American Ford Fiesta. The journey across Italy from easterly Venezia to westerly Firenze took about 4 hours and cost SEVENTEEN EUROS on the Italian "Superhighway." Which, in my opinion, (corny joke alert!) is highway robbery. However, the drive was straightforward and I think my mom had a pretty good time navigating the Italian roadway.

We arrived in Florence at about 10:30pm, and finding a hotel room turned out to be much more of a hassle than we expected. After we parked the car in an underground car park, we found ourselves walking around the city with our heavy bags for hours and asking for a room at nearly every hotel we passed (many of which had reception on the 3rd floor and no elevators.) At one point desperation set in, and we decided we weren't even concerned about price and were willing to lay down as much money as was necessary just so long as we found a place we could also lay our bags and bodies down.
We ended up, panting and exhausted at around quarter to three in the morning, at the Hotel Argentina, which lucky for us was still a low budget but also very lovely place near the center of town. 

After settling into the room, Mom and I made hitting the pub our first priority. (It had been a very stressful night!) Luckily there was a little spot called Pub il Trip per Tre right around the corner (thank you exasperated-overnight-hotel-clerk for the tip) that turned out to be kind of an 80's hair metal bar. Which was AWESOME. The bar owner, Guiseppe, came over to the table where Mom and I were enjoying our pints of Guiness and offered us free shots! Why? I DON'T KNOW! But it was great. I was drinking Guiness and a free shot in Florence with my rad mom, surrounded by rough old dudes with scraggly long dyed-black hair and leather jackets, and Guns and Roses "Crazy" was playing on the stereo. I'm hard pressed to think of a better scenario.

Next thing I knew, my alarm clock was greeting me, so after about four hours of sleep I sank into a hot bath at about 7:30 in the morning. The significance of the bathtub is this: when you're traveling on a very very small budget, you usually end up in places that have shared bathrooms (ie:hostels) but since this was a hotel (albeit a very, very affordable one) we had our very own bathroom IN OUR ROOM which we hadn't yet experienced and wouldn't again throughout the trip. Obviously I needed to make use of this!

The day in Florence whizzed by, and we made it a plan to leave the city around 4 pm for the short drive to Pisa and in order to get there before dark. 

We headed first to a flea market in a park along the river Arno (kind of a disappointment save the yummy breakfast of olives and cheese we bought from one of the lone food stalls) then took the city's street car back into the center to see the various lovely churches and cathedrals, including Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, Baptistry of Saint John, Santa Maria Novella and Basilica San Lorenzo. 

Santa Maria Novella

The architecture itself was awe inspiring, but when one takes into account that the buildings are made of gorgeous green and pink marble, one's perception of the majesty of such structures immediately skyrockets. The artistry, the beauty, the luxury of the materials, the perfection in execution... it's simply staggering. Interestingly, the facade of Santa Maria del Fiore was dismantled in the late 1500's and it wasn't until the late 1800's that the current facade was designed and completed.

Santa Maria del Fiore

 

Baptistry of St. John

Baptistry of St. John

Unfortunately having only a few daylight hours in the city made it impossible to see very much, and so, regrettably, we missed the Uffizi Gallery (which houses some of the most important Renaissance art in the world,) Ponte Vecchio (the oldest bridge in Florence) and, very sadly, Michelangelo's David.

Train station

Wearing the driving vest... for safety.

Soon after arriving (far too soon, unfortunately,) we left Florence and were on our way to the next destination; Pisa!

Venice

     The quiet waterways, the calm cobbled streets where above your head someones pastel-hued bed sheets sway gently on a clothesline, the narrow corridors that lead you over tiny bridges and past icons of the Virgin Mary to open unexpectedly into ancient courtyards where no soul lingers, where dusky light sweeps over everything.

     The relentlessly gorgeous agedness of it all, the unforgettable, palpable sense of history and humanity humming along without really considering its own implications.

The impossible city refuses to be anything but deeply beautiful.

Happy Hearts Day

Yesterday was Valentines Day, and what a great day it was! As per usual, the minute my eyes opened I started checking my various social networking sites, and it turned out I got lots of lovely internet Valentines, so my mood was bright from the time I woke up. Next was lunch with Elli (breakfast for me... I wake up late,) which is always a nice way to spend some time. I decided after lunch that I wanted to walk around the city center for a bit, and I thought there was a market in the square so I walked over. There was no market. Barring that, I then decided I would visit the DDR history museum. Then realized, it was Monday. Closed.

I headed home to Stötteritz, picked up some fruit and veg from Rewe, checked Facebook (shocking I know!) and was reminded that Maps and Atlases were playing at UT Connewitz. The realization hit me that I could NOT afford to pay 13€ for a show (or any amount, for that matter) and so I woefully tweeted my sadness at having to miss the show. To my surprise, I got a tweet back from @mapsnatlases saying they'd put me on the guest list! How baller! And so my love for twitter grows.

I hadn't even heard those guys before yesterday but I listened extensively on grooveshark.com before the show, and I was really stoked about their sound. Those guys have made a loyal fan of me, that's for sure.




I brought my deutschebestie Elli along to the show with me, which was incredible. The band was totally awesome. They played their hearts out and were super-duper sweet and thankful throughout. Near the end of the set, the whole band climbed into the audience, ending with a little solo song by the singer, Dave.

 


I got a chance to talk with Dave after the show, and as soon as I mentioned I was from Buffalo he started chatting to me about Amy's Place. For those unfamiliar with Amy's Place, it's a vegan/vegetarian INSTITUTION in Buffalo, and a mecca for Sunday (or Saturday) brunch.

Dave then directed me over to Shiraz when I told him I'd been the one to be twitter-invited, and I thanked Shiraz for noticing my tweet and so kindly putting me on the list. The guys were all incredibly lovely to talk to, and I even geeked out and asked for a photo with the band (well, half of the band, anyway.)

Stoked much? Erin, me and Dave. Epic BEARDS.

Lots of other awesome things happened yesterday, too, including news of a new Radiohead release. An excellent day for music to be sure! 

As for keeping you updated on my life, I'm still (impatiently) waiting to move into Erin's old room in Connewitz and live with Elli and Nora, and also (impatiently) waiting for the trip to England to commence on February 28.


I'm starting to get a bit nervous again about going through immigrations as I still haven't gotten a visa. Actually there's no way I'm going to get a visa, but I think I can get a temporary for 20€ which will at least save me some hassle at the borders. Although I haven't had any hassle at the borders yet to speak of, and that is a good thing for sure. 


The other important news is that I'm "interviewing" for a babysitting job on Thursday. I really, really, really need this, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works out. 

Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone had as happy a Valentines Day as I did! 

This morning in Leipzig.

That's about what I remember from last night.

British Music Club. Also red lipstick club. But Elli isn't a member (yet.)

Despite the fact that I dragged my still-drunken self out of bed really early for brunch plans with the lovely Marina that unfortunately fell through, I'm having a really nice morning. I woke up at about 10, slipped out of my '2nd apartment' in Connewitz and hopped on der Linie 9. Wound up at Eco Cafe around 10.45, and to my surprise, it was closed. Marina was nowhere to be seen, so I waited around to see if she'd show up. She didn't (as far as I know. I left at 11.) But the plus side is, I was up, out of bed, walking, and taking photos. Which are all good things. Here's what I saw.

Good morning Connewitz.

Keep the REWE flag flying.

Parkschein Automat. Heir Parkschein lösen.

Want. It. 

 

Sometimes I feel like a plastic bag.

 

This reminded me of the Eiffel Tower. 

Waiting for the 4.

Augustusplatz in the distance.

(free?) radicals.

I dunno what that means.