Tackling German Recycling

Those of you who know me well know that I'm a little lazy when it comes to recycling.  It's not that I don't care about the planet, it's just that I'm lazy and easily distracted and back in the States that meant that I was pretty good about recycling glass and that's about it.  I'd recycle paper if I had a huge chunk at once but I didn't have multiple trash cans for various kinds of refuse and certainly didn't sort through my trash to dispose of it properly.

Well, good ol' German thoroughness has cured of me this.  I realized I'd fallen hard for the system here as I caught myself literally going through every trash bin in the house to separate out paper and plastic packaging.  Not because I think the German system is particularly inspiring or easy - it's actually a frustrating pain in the ass - it's just that I fear of reprisals from angry German neighbors is a great motivator.

According to various military documents, the biggest complaint Germans have about their American neighbors here is improper disposal of trash.  I already feel like a bumbling idiot most of the time here, and I really have a fear of pissing my neighbors off from the get go, so since we moved in I have been trying to recycle properly.

Problem is, this takes a degree of information that generally can only be found in German on German websites if you can even figure out how to search.  Thank god for the Internet and Google Translate, but it's still been a few months to figure out the whole system.  Let me see if I can break it down for you:

Glass bottles must be taken to a neighborhood recycling bin, which are relatively few and far between.  Mine is 4 blocks away.  There, you separate green, brown, and white glass into the bins.  You can't do this after 10pm or on Sunday, because it's too noisy.

Oh!  And if your glass bottle is the kind you paid a pfand (deposit) on, you instead take it to the store where you can either put it in a machine or have it tallied up by a person, and are given about 5 cents a bottle.  This is generally for beer bottles, but also for wine bottles over 0.75 liters.  And sometimes some other kinds of glass bottles.  How do you know which ones?  Sometimes it tells you on the bottle, but sometimes not.  Be careful - there are some bottles that have a pfand that will not be accepted by certain stores, if the store does not carry that brand.  Confused yet?  Oh, it gets better.

Paper and cardboard are put into a bin at your house or apartment, pretty similar to the U.S.  Except milk cartons.  Milk cartons are considered "packaging" and are sorted into the bane of my existence:

DER GELB SACK (aka "the yellow sack")

Gelbsackzeit is the most beautiful time of the month.

Instead of another bin for all plastic, some metal, all foil, and occasionally some paper-composite packaging, the Germans have concocted a system where you put all those items into these special yellow sacks which are picked up...once every three weeks.  Why every three weeks?  Who knows?  But I was pretty excited when I found a website that told me the dates of gelb sack pickup.  Because if you miss your gelb sack deposit, that packaging really starts to add up.  Let's just say that my "pantry" has been more of a trash holding center for the last couple of months because I hadn't figured out how to do the whole gelb sack thing yet.

Where do you get the gelb sacks?  Some people's landlords are nice enough to provide them to you, but not mine.  You can also get them from your garbage collectors, if you catch them (I never do).  A website finally told me I could get them at my local apoteke (pharmacist) of all places.  So today I filled up four gelb sacks and now they are picturesquely piled on top of the mounds of my neighbors' gelb sacks, in ordnung.  Which is cool because that means that this week the only refuse I have to deal with is ... glass (both types) and filling up the paper bins again with cardboard from IKEA purchases.  Which, while being proper trash disposal, probably isn't endearing me to my neighbors either.

After you've caught up with all that, everything else goes in a regular trash bin.  I guess some people compost, but I don't have a bin and frankly, I don't have the time.  Next time someone asks me, "What do you do all day?"  I'm just gonna say, "Oh, I recycle."

Trip Report: Strasbourg

I am a terrible blogger.  Of this there is no doubt.  Since our last trip report, we've been to three major French cities and one German one, and there's always stuff we're checking out locally.  We're busy, but I have no excuses!  So let's just get on to the pictures.

Strasbourg is the capital of Alsace, which is famous for it's own cultural sensibility and regional cuisine.  Having been controlled both by France and by Germany throughout it's tumultuous history, what remains is a unique character that's neither specifically French or German but obviously has elements you can identify from both.

Situated on the Ill river, just across the border from Germany, Strasbourg is a convenient 100 minute jaunt from Stuttgart on a high-speed TGV train.  This was our first time taking a TGV train and it was a pretty pleasant experience, even if the magenta, orange, and purple color scheme seems a bit jarring.  We arrived mid-morning and were able to check into our hotel, located right across from the train station, roughly a 15 minute walk to the old town.

One constant I've observed for cities in Germany and France so far is that the old town is always where the cool European-lookin' stuff is that us American tourists crave so much.  But Strasbourg is really set apart in just how very medieval it is.  Narrow cobblestone streets wind through ancient homes and quaint storefronts.  It's ridiculously romantic, without seeming precious or cutesy.

Undoubtedly, the focal point of the old town is the Notre Dame cathedral.  Yep, they've got a Notre Dame too!  Turns out a lot of churches use the same names.  And honestly, now that I've seen the famous one in Paris, I have to say that the Strasbourg cathedral is actually the more impressive.  I can't convey how breathtaking it is and I'm afraid my pictures don't do it justice.

One of the coolest things about Notre Dame is the glorious rust color the local sandstone gives the structure.  This is even more amazing in the late afternoon, when the setting sun illuminates the west facade to the point where it almost seems to glow.  I won't go on too much about the technical details or the history: what's important to know is that it's one of the finest examples of high gothic architecture and for a time was the tallest building in the world.  Thanks, Wikipedia!  For those who don't know, the Gothic style, which came about in the Middle Ages, is essentially reminiscent of the thin spires and "airyness" that you can see in this photo, as contrasted to the previous style, Romanesque, which was far more massive and "blocky".  (I should've paid more attention in art history class, ja?)  Needless to say, Gothic is my favorite style, due to the stylish intricacy that is typical.  Notre Dame in particular is decorated with a stunning amount of statuary and bas-relief depicting in many cases some of the weirder and more gruesome aspects of the Bible.  It's hard to get bored looking at this building.

This is an example from the west door frame.  Those scary-lookin' ladies represent virtues and the pitiful creatures they're spearing are vices.  Above them are scenes of martyrdom.

The inside is really cool too, with towering stained-glass windows and loads of cool features that I don't know that much about.  Nor did any of my flash-less interior photos turn out very well.  It's worth reading about the crazy astronomical clock inside.

You can also climb to the top of the cathedral, although they don't tell you uh, how far up it is.  Let's just say that had I known in advance I probably wouldn't have done it.  Endless spiral staircase from hell.  But the view from the top was more than worth it.  Even if it made me feel kind of sick.  Honestly I could just go on about the cathedral all day, it's just that amazing.  And adjacent to the cathedral is a building that houses a lot of the original statuary, which is even more impressive up close.

But it wasn't all old statues (the one to the right is from the 14th century though - doesn't that just blow your mind?) and God stuff.  Strasbourg has a vibrant food culture that highlights one of my favorite ingredients of all time: foie gras.  I'm not going to get into the ethical issues in much detail, except to say that anyone who judges me for eating foie gras while eating factory-farmed meat (i.e. 95% of the meat available in the U.S.) can kiss my ass.  It's doesn't matter, anyway, because the hand-wringing about the supposed brutality of foie gras production - made by fattening the livers of geese and ducks, sometimes via a short force-feeding process - is really only a big deal in liberal cities in San Francisco and Seattle.  Nobody in Alsace seemed vaguely aware that this delicacy inspires heated protest in some parts of the States.

I got my proper gorging on my beloved liver at the famous restaurant Chez Yvonne.  It was a pricey lunch, relatively speaking, but man oh man was it worth it.  Chris had some sort of organ meat dish, but I went for an all-foie gras plate, which included 5 different preparations, all equally delicious and way too rich.  Even though it was only an appetizer I could barely finish it.  It was also served with a very surprising and light Alsace version of sauerkraut.  Alsace is also known for it's Rieslings and Gewurztraminer wines, which we certainly indulged in.  The setting was super traditional and rustic, complete with photos of all the various politicians and celebrities who frequent what is apparently a Strasbourg institution.

We had so much amazing food, and honestly I didn't take notes at the time so it's hard to remember.  Fantastic crepes served by a surly chef across from Notre Dame.  Warm roasted chesnuts from a stereotypically French and flirty vendor in the square.  An innovative, if not particularly memorable 3-course meal at Goh Restaurant.  And pictured, a delightful and amazingly cheap meal of flammkuchen/tart flambe which is essentially a savory, crispy pizza, traditionally made with ham and local cheese.  We enjoyed it at Académie de la Bière, which has over 70 beers and ciders on tap, many of them Belgian. While I do appreciate the quality of German beer, getting a large variety of types to choose from is not particularly easy to do in Stuttgart, which made La Académie a wonderful and very atmospheric stop.

There is, of course, more to Strasbourg than the cathedral and food, but our quick trip was just an overnight one, so we didn't have time to do much more than stroll around the old town.  But we were certainly enthralled with this often overlooked city and can't wait to return.  We have lots more pictures up here, so be sure and check them out!

He-He-Heidelberg!

Dear Faithful Readers (aka our parents),

We apologize greatly for the huge gap in our blog entries. There's no excuse for it really, it's not like we really haven't had the time in the last month to post a few pictures and words up, it's just that we're lazy. And since most of the planned entries are about traveling, it becomes a lot harder to remember what the name of that one Romanesque cathedral in Tuebingen was or whatever, which makes the process of updating more tedious, because I have to look it up. Anyway. Let's slog through some pictures of Heidelberg, which we went to like, more than a month ago!

Puttin' on my tour guide voice now. Heidelberg is a famous University town because it was German's first university town. Although it's located in the present-day state of Baden-Wurttemberg, like Stuttgart, historically Heidelberg was the former location of the Electoral Palatinate, and we still haven't quite figured out what that means, but it had something to do with the dizzyingly complex politics of the former Holy Roman Empire. As far as I can gather, unlike Stuttgart, Heidelberg is not part of Swabia and culturally and historically is more associated with the Rhineland, which is also nebulous geographically and culturally. The city was founded in the 12th century although settlements existed before that. The University was founded in the early 1400s, and the city became the center of the influential German Romantic movement in the beginning of the 19th century. So you can thank Heidelberg for Byron, sort of. It is also next to the town of Mannheim, of the steamrollers.



Heidelberg's main landmarks include this bridge over the Neckar river, the University, and it's castle up on the hillside. The old town consists of the largest pedestrian zone in Germany, and is full of shops, restaurants, historical parts of the University, and churches.




This is the Knight's House from 1592. It's pretty.


The "Schloss" (which is German for castle or palace) in Heidelberg is a mishmash of styles, since people have basically been building and adding to it over the course of centuries. This is the Fredrichsbau, built in the early 1600s. The figures are the family Wittlesbach counts, and they trace their line from Charlemagne, who is represented as well.



The castle also includes a ginormous wine barrel, straight out of my most fevered dreams. Legend has it that the court jester died as a result of drinking the entire barrel. They have a monument to him, which is fitting. Chris does not believe this actually happened.



Since the schloss is on a rocky outcrop above the city, it provides amazing views. Also they provide hot spiced wine in to-go cups for touring the palace, which is pretty thoughtful of them.


The schloss courtyard


The castle is under renovation, and huge parts of it are ruined, thanks to the French destroying it with cannons on more than one occasion.


Another view of the city.

Heidelberg has three beautiful and historic churches, but none of my pictures of them turned out particularly well. Unsurprisingly, Heidelberg also had a large Jewish community at various times throughout history, and many taught at the University, although various anti-Semitic laws often prevented Jews from being full professors. The Nazis re-introduced those rules after a century of tolerance, and during Krystallnacht the old Jewish synagogue was destroyed. A memorial is there today.



Being a university town set between forested hills and students on bikes, it doesn't feel unlike Berkeley, if Berkeley had a big river and tons of 18th-century buildings. Ok, so it's not really like Berkeley, but there are chaat places and more international cusine and hip bars than you generally find in historic German towns. The fact that Heidelberg is the warmest city in Germany and has quite a few Mediterraneans plants and orchards gives it a lush air, or so I'm told. It was February when we visited!



All in all it was a lovely place to visit with a host of museums we didn't get to check out, so we're looking forward to returning and enjoying the famous warm weather later in the spring.  You can check out a lot more pictures at our gallery here. And now I leave you with: a monkey.

Esslingen Part 2: The Revenge

Unfortunately, in the time I've been too lazy to update this blog, our little visit to Esslingen seems far past, as we've gone to Heidleberg, home to Germany's first University, as well as Strasbourg in France. Returning to finish our posts on Esslingen seemed slightly anti-climatic, as charming as it was. But I will soldier forth.


This photo isn't related to medieval architecture or history. It's just some weird, weird German advertisting. Is it a dentist's office? Ads for a fruit-based sequel to "Little Shop of Horrors"? Who knows?


It is frustratingly difficult to get information about Jewish history from the information centers, so we hadn't realized we stumbled upon the site of the former Jewish ghetto from the 1500s until Chris noticed the street name "Judengasse" ("Jews' Alley"). Although it now feels central, at one time this "suburb" was outside city walls.


Speaking of city walls, this is the "Wolf's Gate" and is the only remaining tower from the walls that used to protect the city. It was constructed in 1268.


Being the uh, athletic types we are, we walked up the hillside (with the intention of finding another historic building that I didn't realize was at the top of the hill) and stumbled upon the park in front of Esslingen's "castle." It wasn't a residence for princes, but rather the fortification for the city. The tower is called "Dicker Turm" which means "fat tower."


The tower houses a restaurant - booked that day for a wedding party full of unruly kids - and boasts an amazing view of the city.


The old city hall dates from 1420 and includes a moving clock, like so many important German civic buildings. In front of the building is a monument to the local people who died in World War I.




Esslingen has 3 important churches, the largest of which is St. Dionyus, seen here. It's now Protestant.


The Romanesque "Women's Church" just a few blocks away is notable for the detailed outside decorations, including scary gargoyle animals like this owl.


This decoration at the Women's Church of Judgement Day seemed pretty impressive, but just yesterday I was at one of Europe's great cathedrals, Notre Dame De Strasbourg, which is just breathtaking. Still - Esslingen was my first introduction to medieval churches and all three are lovely.

Coming VERY soon: Heidelberg and then Strasbourg!

Esslingen Am Neckar

On Saturday we were greeted with a (relatively) gorgeous day - sunny, with highs in the mid-40s, and a light breeze. After literally weeks of snow, drizzle, and clouds it looked and felt amazing. We decided to take the opporunity to visit a gem right in our own backyard, the largely preserved medieval town of Esslingen-On-The-Neckar, just 15 minutes from downtown Stuttgart via S-Train.



Most of the town's streets look like this: narrow and paved with cobblestones, filled with half-timbered houses from the early 14th century, as well as more magnificent baroque buildings and several important gothic churches. The town existed prior to 777, when it was first recorded in Catholic church records. It was an important trading post when Stuttgart was barely more than a village, a stopover on the route from the Rhine valley to Italy.



This statue tops a fountain dedicated to the "Postman Michael", and relates the 15th-century legend of a postman who found the signet ring of a local rich man on his travels.



He mistakenly shows off the ring at a tavern in Esslingen, unaware that the man to whom the ring belonged was very rich and recently murdered, with the killer unknown. Unsurprisingly, he is charged with the murder and confesses after horrific torture. On the way to his beheading, he passes the relative of the rich victim and realizes that he is the killer, but no one heeds him. He's killed, but every year he torments the real killer, blowing his postmaster's horn and riding around with his head cut off, until the true killer not only confesses his misdeed, but also donates his ill-gotten fortune to a fund to provide all travellers through Esslingen with a small donation.



Next to come is part 2 of Esslingen: The "castle" and the amazing churches!