Loving Leipzig

I went to the former-east-German city of Leipzig this weekend to visit my sister Katja, who is enrolled in a master's program at the university there. It was so great to spend time with her, meet her friends, and get acquainted with the city she calls home (well, for now, at least). We walked around the downtown area, ate currywurst, rode the street cars, and for a mere two euros heard the Boys Choir sing in the famous Thomaskirche, where Martin Luther lectured, Mozart played the organ, Wagner was baptized, and Bach served as cantor in the 18th century. Again, amazing and impossible to grasp the history and influence of places such as the Thomaskirche.

On Sunday we went to an old cotton mill now converted to galleries, studio spaces, and offices for creative agencies (architects, designers, furniture makers, etc.). While the exhibited artwork was hit or miss, the architecture, neighborhood, and creative energy at the Spinnerei were fantastic.

How YOU doin'?

When people answer the phone in Germany, instead of saying "hello," they say their last name. Since there are two Neubauers in our household and there's been some confusion, I answer the ringing telly with my full name. Of course I say it using the German pronunciation, because, hey, this is Germany. So, it sounds roughly like: Yool-y-ah Noy-bow-ah.
When Nina calls she pretends like she didn't hear me and makes me say it again. When Quasim called he said I sounded "so German" (or something like that).
Anyway, so the other day I answered the phone as normal, but I guess I said "Julia" really fast, so it sounded like "You-ya." Nina was on the other end, waiting to ask me how I was, and she in turn said "How You-ya?" It was funny. It doesn't sound funny now as I type it, but you gotta trust me on this one. Nins, it was funny, right? :)

Yum....internship

I had my first interview in German, for an internship at a packaging design firm (yes, people, an internship. I'm back at square one on more things than you know!). They do really cool work for things I love, namely chocolate, cookies, and ice cream. Two examples below -- yes, Melissa, that's your beloved Shoko & Keks! Even though I stumbled through the interview in my subpar, heavily-accented German, I got the internship. I'm not sure if our scheduling/hours needs will match up or whether things will work out, but at least I have some German interviewing practice (and one that ended in a positive result).


It would be so cool to work at the firm, though, and be part of the brainstorming sessions, the design process, food styling, photo shoots, and of course the tastings! (Hey, the outside has got to match the inside :).) We'll see.

Most Likely To...

With spring blossoming across the city, it's easy to see why Hamburg is the greenest city in Germany. In almost every neighborhood I venture into, large trees are sprouting leaves and public parks with fresh grass appear at seemingly every corner. In fact, 22 percent of the city is landscaped or offered as recreational space, making it no surprise that the Japanese have nicknamed Hamburg "the city with the green roof." It really is especially beautiful this time of year, as all the "green" makes its debut.

Aside from being the greenest city in Germany, I've come across some other superlatives for the hanseatic city of Hamburg (HH).

R.I.P
This is kind of an odd one to brag about, but Hamburg has the largest park cemetery in the world. My maternal grandparents and extended family members are buried at this 988-acre resting place (as a reference, Central Park is 843 acres).

London Bridges Falling Down
Although it's not readily apparent, I've known that Hamburg has more canals than Venice. But I didn't know that Hamburg boasts more bridges than Amsterdam, London, and Venice combined.

International City of Mystery
Hamburg is the world's second-largest consular city behind New York, with more than 90 consulates. Who knew?

Hot off the Press
And, this is a good one for my personal career interests -- Hamburg is the media capital of Germany, producing over half of all the newspapers and magazines sold in the country.

Happy Monday

After a two week break, it's finally back to school. Things kick off with drawing, which I desperately need help with.

I hope you all have a good start to the work week. Happy Monday!

Lessons from the Anti-Tourist

During Quasim’s short two-day visit, I learned that our high school had offered video editing and production and AP art history (what? Are you sure we went to the same high school?), that I can up my cool quotient by name dropping things like Pavement or Harput’s or simply associating myself with people who name drop, that electrical engineers make the world run, and something about tv towers, signals, magnets, and three forms of light that I’m still fuzzy on.

In return, I took him on the “un-touristy” tour of Hamburg (minus Speicherstadt, which he insisted we go to), tried to teach him some German vocab and pronunciation (it’s döner not doner), and only laughed a little when he referred to Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” as “The Tick Tock Heart.” (To his credit, the impetus for his Poe reference was a loud ticking clock and he did correct himself almost immediately.)

Together we learned that St. Pauli’s beer is from Bremen; dined in Sternschanze, Hamburg’s version of DC’s Adams Morgan/14^th St.; discovered the hipster Karolinenviertel (this is where Quasim totally upped my cool quotient by name dropping the adidas store in San Francisco, Harput’s, to the owner of a retro adidas/sportswear clothing store that offered, among other things, a terry cloth one piece tank-top/shorts tennis jumper); walked along the Elbe (walking is a favorite pastime here); went out for coffee; and generally talked about life, music, architecture, cities, blogging (he insists his blogging days are over), traveling, etc. It was a good time.

Quasim, safe travels and best of luck in the States.

Itinerary Confirmed

After many non-committal emails (just giving you a hard time, Q :)), Quasim is including Hamburg on his European itinerary and is on his way as I type. I'll meet him at Hauptbahnhof at 15:55. Another visitor to my new hometown -- yeah! Let's see what we'll pack in in the next few days. We'll keep you posted.