München und Köln

29 May 2013

I climbed up a tower in the center of Munich with my cousin's partner which had a great view. We then went to my aunt's house for dinner and talked.

30 May 2013

I went to the Deutsches Museum with my cousin's partner in the morning. It is a large science museum with some really interesting exhibits for all ages. We then went to my aunt's house where we spent a few hours. We talked about family and I told her how big our American family is. We had dinner and it was a good evening. After that we went home and I packed for my trip to Köln. I realized how much there is to do in Germany, and all of Europe. There is so much to do over here that I want to see and it is so diverse, it is a little overwhelming. It would be easier to spend more time with family if there fewer other attractions and it would be easier to see everything else if I didn't have so much family here.

31 May 2013

Today I went to the train station around 9:00 with my cousin's partner after dropping my cousin off at my aunt's house. The train system in Munich is extremely efficient and useful. If I lived in Munich I wouldn't bother getting a car until I had children. I met a nice man (about 32) and we talked about all sorts of things. He was a Political Science/Economics major like what I am looking at and we compared the systems of Germany and the United States. One thing I am a little surprised by is that the ICE train doesn't go full speed because the tracks are not maintained well enough for 300 km/h which they are designed for, except in a few areas. I hope that in the next 5 years the German government will seriously look at improving the tracks so that trains can go at the speed they should be going. I am a little worried that the creation of freeways will replace the great train system here in Europe, but since they are purchasing more trains along with building more motorways I think this is fortunately unlikely. It is a very smooth ride and very comfortable. On my way back on Monday I am going to go on the slower trains which will probably be similar to the AMTRAK trains back home. The German countryside is very beautiful, and I am enjoying everything about this trip. Mainz looks like a very beautiful city that I would like to explore someday. When we were between Mainz und Köln a man who is probably my age came through in a straw hat singing for people and selling postcards for 2 Euros each. Who says Germans have no sense of humor?

I arrived in Köln a few minutes late and met my friend, her boyfriend, and two of their friends at the train station. We went up into the Köln cathedral which is magnificent, the second largest cathedral in the world! We climbed to the top of a spire and looked out at Köln which is a great city. We took the train to where my friend lives with her boyfriend and then went to a restaurant in Frechen where we had some food. Northern German food and standard "American" food is almost identical. We came back home and talked about whether my friend and her boyfriend should move to the United States. I love my country, but given how they have inexpensive health care and education here, made sure they were aware of some changes they are not prepared for that Germany has set up. Would I ever say to a friend to move to the United States? If the person is European, probably not given the difference in distribution of wealth between Europe and the United States and how health care is statistically speaking of the same quality in the US but a lot more expensive, which when I explained the types of costs associated with health care at home they were shocked. When I explained how my university will cost $8000 for tuition alone and they pay €3600 a year for the same thing here, they need to keep it in comparison that raising a family might be easier in Germany. Of course this is comparing apples and oranges for the same career and one has to make careful planning to maintain his/her standard of living in a new country with a different set of rules. I hope in the future I won't have to be such a spoil sport, given how I have a good bit hanging on the fate of the USA. I shared some statistics with her boyfriend on distribution of wealth in relation to income so they can decide whether it will work for them and their particular situation. Only time will tell. It is really good to see her again.

A Farm

On Monday I spoke with an old friend who speaks German and Georgian, but not English for about an hour. I haven't seen her for 10 years. Her husband is ailing, and a really kind man. I told them how my family is doing and other things. At the end I went with their American granddaughter-in-law to have some ice cream and to an art show at the University of Georgia for her aunt. It was good art, and some pieces were quite striking. I then met my friend's (the one I am staying with) parents outside, picked up her mother-in-law and then drove up north of Tbilisi to see one of their friends who lives on a farm. He used to be a doctor, but three years ago had a revelation and now dresses in Orthodox priest clothing and is a very kind man who makes food for the refugees and other people who need help. He has a nice sized yard half an hour out of Tbilisi and will have people move in to the old structures on his property that are falling apart after years of not being used. When I come back I will visit him. I met a nice Georgian soldier who worked with the US Army in Afghanistan and we talked about things, since he was the only person there I didn't already know who spoke English. We got home at Midnight and I am finally rested!

A Birthday Party (#1)

On Sunday I had a quiet morning, and went to my friend's parent's house around noon. We got ready for the birthday party there and then went with the people who own the summer house in the hills above Tbilisi Georgian style (as in four people in the back seat that is designed for three). We got up around four and people came in over the next two hours. I talked with a number of people while I was there, one of whom is studying law at Yale, and a friend who is looking at investment banking and is an American like me, and danced with people in one room. It was a really great night. We left around 3 in the morning (way past my bedtime) and went to have some dinner of Khachapuri at a restaurant in Tbilisi. Getting home at 4 I collapsed as soon as I arrived. I woke up four hours later and hope I make it through Monday! My flight to Germany is tomorrow.

Gori

Today I went on a road trip to Gori with an old friend who moved to Georgia from my homestate about 10 years ago and her friends, a 6 year old girl and her parents. Gori is about one and a half hours west of Tbilisi. We left home around 11:00 and drove through Mtsketa and then onward to Gori. It was really beautiful seeing the Georgian countryside. We went to the Uplistsikhe Complex which is an ancient city (about 3000 years old) that was abandoned in the 19th century that was on the silk road. When I realized I was standing right on where the Silk Road passes I got goosebumps all over. It was an absolutely stupendous place that can only be described when you stand on the same spot where people had lived for thousands of years, longer than most cities exist regardless of location. King Tamar of Georgia was there, one of the greatest Georgian Kings (who was in fact a woman). We then went south to a church that was being rebuilt after an earthquake south of Gori. This church was pretty, and very crowded. The villages we went through were better off than the villages I saw a week ago going to Tavkavta fortress just 20 km west of Tbilisi. The road was well built, and the church was really crowded and extremely Orthodox. We went back into Gori and drove to the very center of the town where Gori fortress is. We walked to the top and the top was surprisingly empty. I could see evidence that there used to be buildings inside the walls (which were shorter than they used to be for sure) but got an amazing view to all directions. I could see South Ossetia and visualized the Russian invasion five years ago and imagined what it must have been like for Russian soldiers to be crawling through the city I was in. Gori is a nice place, and I hope to return someday.

We then drove back home and went to my friend's house. I saw her husband and two children who are quite young. We had dinner and then went to her husband's grandmother's house, who I hadn't seen for 8 years. I saw her, her husband (who I had never met before) and their son (who I also had never met). Her son and I had had an interesting conversation talking about economics (he is a stock broker) and talked about what makes America so different from Europe, which I blog about here. It was a great day.

Thursday and Friday

On Thursday I spent time with my friends Mom and brother. We walked around Tbilisi, had lunch and went home. For lunch we had kinkhali which are best described as Georgian dumplings that taste delicious. At home I learned some Georgian from my phrase book with his mother and great-aunt. I went to my friend's brother's English teacher who teaches in a way similar to Rosetta Stone  and had been doing it for about twenty years. An amazing person! I then went home and had a quiet evening.

On Friday I went to the phage therapy center with my friends grandmother and said bye to some patients who were leaving. We went to the Georgian national museum which is one of the best museums I have ever been to. The exhibitions of the great purge and ancient artifacts were stupendous. After that we went home to rest and then went back out to meet two Russian friends from Saint Petersburg I hadn't met before. They were here for a conference. We had dinner and they were really nice.

I leave on Wednesday night and I already miss Georgia.

Art and walking

Today was good, I talked to some Canadians who were here for phage therapy who are going home tomorrow, so I won't see them again, unless if they come to Washington or Oregon to talk to some naturopaths I put them in touch with. I went to see some Georgian treasures at the National Museum which were absolutely amazing. Some were as much as 800 years old, and mostly religious artifacts made of gold and ivory. My friend's grandmother and I walked through town and had lunch, and got home around 6:00. It was a good day.

Old friends in Tbilisi

23 May

Yesterday I went to the Eliava Institute where my friend's grandmother works, and saw an old friend who moved to Georgia from my homestate about 10 years ago. I helped her with translating some Italian (I took some Spanish and they are very similar) and am working on some Romanian. We then went to the Georgian National Museum and looked at the art. There were some very beautiful pieces of art of the Georgian countryside that I enjoyed seeing. We had lunch with her husband and another friend who works at Eliava, and I had some khinkali, Georgian meat in bread, which is absolutely amazing and a must have when you are in Georgia. We went to a supermarket (Goodwill) as she got her food, and Georgian supermarkets are extremely similar to American supermarkets. We went home and I watched some Doctor Who because I am behind and want to see the last episode which everyone has told me is amazing, but since I am traveling I have fell behind by a few weeks. In the evening I went for a walk with my friend's grandfather who I am living with, ran into a new friend from the past weekend, and then ran into my friend I am living with and his aunt who we went home on a bus with.