Once again I've not been off traveling the country this weekend, so I'll just share with you some of the interesting things I've seen this week...actually, mostly today, since I've just come back from a very pleasant bike ride.
I decided earlier this week that I would plan a nice bike ride for my weekend, since I wouldn't be going anywhere and I don't particularly like carnivals, (Heinerfest, the biggest carnival weekend in Darmstadt; it actually runs Thursday through Monday and they close up most of downtown! It seems mostly to be fair rides and music and food/beer vendors though, so not to exciting to me; I may visit on Sunday just to see what it looks like.), and I didn't want all you back home thinking I'm sitting on my hands all weekend. :-P
Anyway, turns out Darmstadt is actually pretty close to the Rhine. We'd seen the Rhine from the the train on the way to Köln; the river was quite pretty so I thought it worth a bike ride. Actually, I went to the AlteRheine, a loop of the Rhine tha has been cut off from the main river (whether by man or by nature I'm not sure).
This was my original route. This is where I actually went!
Obviously you can see that I had a bit of an adventure figuring out exactly where I was going! It was fun though. It turned out to be a beautiful day for a bike ride, about 60-70 degrees F, cloudy, but only raining briefly once.
I packed a small lunch (bread, fruits and nusspli, like nutella, but actually better if you can believe that!!), my camera and a book, and resolved to have a picnic by the banks of the Rheine. I was hopping I could make it to the main river, but was unsure of how far I could reasonably travel; I probably could have made it if I knew the right path there the first time!
The trip was quite a success and I may have to repeat it another free weekend and see if I can get further now that I know my way better. The scenery was lovely; I think I finally came across a piece of the Germany that was in my head before I left. I took a few photos:
This is downtown Eschollbrücken:
The grain fields:
Anyway, the pictures don't do a great job of capturing it, but this rural setting just had the feel of what I'd held in my mind when I thought of Europe in general and especially Germany. It's good to know I wasn't entirely making things up. But it was a rather small view of the country.
Another very interesting experience: on the way back, on the more industrial side of Darmstadt, I passed a "Real-" which I though nothing of until I saw this sign:
Unfortunately, it's difficult to read, but it says something to the effect of "Wal-mart is now Real-, Expect more." and gives the opening date. Wal-mart is everywhere! Obviously I had to go inside and check out what the German Wal-mart looks like.
It was packed. Seems everyone was in there buying something. The store had the usual diverse selection from electronics to toys to clothes to groceries. It was an odd experience. My initial reaction to the thought of a US megastore in Germany is to crinkle up my nose. It doesn't seem right, my Germany has been shopping from small grocery stores and bakeries; it seems a horrid thought that German culture would become as generic, buy-everything-at-one-mass-market as the US has become. I 'm generally a fan of free market, bringing cheaper prices and more convenience, but it feels like an export that doesn't belong here, like it will squash the things I admire in the culture here.
But still, even in "Real-", Germany shows through: there is a large section of the store devoted to wines an beers and the shopping carts actually have a special metal tray for holding the 24 bottle crates that are so common here. The store felt like a truly international experience, I saw some of the most diversity of faces and languages I've encountered locally; the store was an easy place for people who don't know the ins and outs of there environment to get what they need. A collector for a wide variety of people; it was a bit of a muddle, a bit impersonal, but still an interesting blend. For myself, I'm enjoying trying to learn what the small stores in my area offer, and actually getting familiar with the people in the bakery I often visit on my way to work; I value the small sense of community I get from shopping in these places and it actually encourages me to buy more simply. I have enough to buy what I need for healthy meals; I don't need it to be cheaper, there's nothing more I need the money for. But I suppose, that I can share my Germany with the international superstores too, they each bring a different piece to this interesting place.
Well, That's about all I have for today. If you want to see the rest of my pictures from the ride you can go here(there's only a few more):
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| AlteRheine trip |
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