In fairness, however, I was away, and not on vacation "away", but at a Summer Institute on Law and Culture at the Universität Osnabrück. "Summer Institutes", for the uninitiated, are like adult nerd summer camps. You go away from home, you sleep over, there's a program, you learn stuff. A lot of stuff.
This Summer Institute was in Osnabrück, Germany, which as far as I could tell is not near anything. Seriously. It's three hours from Berlin, three hours from Amsterdam, and a couple hours from Frankfurt. Ah, but it is only 30 minutes from Münster. As it turns out, it didn't matter that we were in the German hinterland. We were far too busy learning stuff to do much else.
This Summer Institute focused on Law and Culture, with a focus on culture, rights, and identity. I know: cool, right? The organizers and conveners were terrific. To top it all off, the other participants in the program were top-notch and great fun. We came to refer to ourselves as The Family. I think this was partially because we felt a bit alienated from all the townsfolk who did not speak much English and often seemed grouchy, especially the bus drivers. Or maybe they just sounded grouchy. Or maybe we formed a little organized crime unit while there. Or maybe the shared experience of living in Hermann-Ehlers-Stiftung (an old-style dorm at the edge of town, in a wooded area) brought us together. After all, it's easy to bond when you have co-ed bathrooms and a shared bewilderment at the angry signs about toilet paper.
Here are some pictures of us studying Law and Culture:
And now here are some pictures of us recovering from studying Law and Culture.
Did you know that the word for "mojito" in German is "mojito"?
Here are some things I liked about Osnabrück (or The Brück, as we affectionately call it):
The vending machine in the basement of our dorm sold beer: 500ml for 1 euro. The only downside is that I assumed that everyone knew about the beer vending machine. Sadly, this was not the case, and my failure to disclose its existence and location nearly caused a small riot on our second last day.
Child-free zones, or at least what I perceived to be child-free zones, as evidenced by this sign:
If I had a kid and we saw that sign, I would totally tell the kid that I had to leave him behind. "Sorry, kid. That's the law. See the sign? No mommies and kids allowed. You have to stay here." Heh heh.
It's probably good that I don't have kids.
A lingerie/coffee shop called Cup & Cups. I like anyone with that sense of humour.
I have often thought to myself whilst lingerie shopping, "What I need right now is a lovely cup of coffee!" Germans really are all about efficiency: get your lingerie and caffeine in one stop. Love it.
Bowling.
Yes, bowling!
Who does not love bowling? FYI, I bowled a 117, which is not bad considering that I still have a broken foot and considering that I have broken both the thumb and index finger on my right hand (which really messes up your hand, by the way). If I lived in Osnabrück, I bet a German team would invite me to join their ranks as a secret ringer. I'd say yes, but I wouldn't join the secret drug program. Steroids are bad.
The Universität Osnabrück's Schloss, where we had a number of our classes and lectures. The Schloss was once a palace. The grounds are beautiful. And the building itself is, er, very...orange.
I know what you're thinking. "Who paints a Schloss palace orange (or possibly yellow or yellowy-orange)?" I'm not sure. But I do know that it would be SO easy to have pizza delivered. You would not even have to know your precise address. You could just say, "Bring the pizza to the yellowy-orange Schoss Palace on the main road!" The pizza guys would definitely know where to bring your pizza. They're not going to mix up your palace with the palace of some other guy who painted his palace a respectable blue or off-white. Nope. Your Schloss will always stand out.
Mostly, though, I liked the people in the program. I say a hearty "THANKS" to Peter, Sabine, the conveners and the students involved in the program delivery and a very special thanks to my fellow participants. They're good einhörnchens, if you know what I mean.
