October 3rd: Augsburg

Hallo!

Time for a little update on my week! And PLENTY of pictures, I assure you.

The week started off with the entire family going to a little Japanese-esque garden. This place was kind of in the middle of nowhere. It was pretty neat, though. We all, as a family, slowly walked through the paths and pointed out things that were pretty or cool and enjoyed the crisp, autumn weather. Based on the construction and atmosphere, it seems that the stuff is all handmade. Some of it was a little crudely made (compared to how a professional's might look), but that is what gave it a nice charm. And you can tell that this guy really loved what he did and worked hard. At the end (which was also the beginning), the owner had a little cart set up with a bonfire and lots of seats. He had a table with some food stuff and a cooler with drinks. He offered us some hot rice soup. I will admit, the soup was really good. We all got one except my host mom--who might not be a fan? I don't know.

Fall seemed to come very quickly. But maybe that is just my perception after leaving Indy on a day in the high 80's and landing in Germany where it was maybe in the 50's or 60's. The leaves are beginning to change and the air is starting to smell like autumn. I mind the cold, but I don't really mind the fall. This change in season put me in a pensive state and I found myself putting on my coat, grabbing my camera(phone), grabbing my mp3 player, and going on a long walk. I listened to music, walked, and reflected on life. The past. The present. The future. Real heavy stuff, people. But I found some beautiful spots along the Donau where I sat on a bench and looked at flowers or the sky or people or the river. I did this a couple of times and rather enjoyed it, so this will probably became a common event, despite the cold.

I found out earlier in the week that Thursday is a national holiday in German. It is the anniversary of when the Berlin Wall fell and Germany was reunited. My host mom said in terms of scale and importance, it is quite similar to the 4th of July. And Wednesday night, I learned of plans that my host family was going to Augsburg (a pretty big city between Ulm and Munich) for a birthday party of a family friend. Since I did not know them and would feel pretty out of place without speaking German, they invite me to tag along and to spend the day exploring Augsburg. I thought it was a good idea, so I accepted. We went by car, which was neat because I got to ride on the Autobahn. One thing I never thought about, but my host mom pointed out, is that there are no billboards and advertisments on the Autobahn like in the States. She said, very wisely, that when people are driving that fast, there shouldn't be big billboards to distract them.

When we arrived at the Hbf (kudos if you remember what that is) by car, Michael was leaving immediately by train to go to Berlin. They were having a big, free concert in Berlin that he wanted to go to. So he went by himself and the dad left after the birthday party to join him and they will be spending the weekend in Berlin. My host mom was kind enough to pop into the bookstore at the Hbf and bought me a guide to Augsburg in English. This had a map and some buildings and monuments that are a MUST see and gave a lot of history about these places.

So the rest of the family departed for the party and I took to the streets armed with a traveler's book and my mp3 player. I visited the beautiful Rathaus (city hall) first. It sustained big damage during WWII bombings, but was obviously restored and it looks very nice. It is a very classical looking building. Next I went to quite an interesting place called the Fuggerei. It is, apparently, the oldest social housing complex in the world. People that meet certain standards of poverty and welfare can live there, with government assistance, for about 1 Euro a year. A year. And it has been this way since it was created. Beneath it, a bomb shelter was created right before the bombings in WWII. The shelter is open and serves as a little museum with some artifacts, photos, and history. It was a strange feeling walking through there. Knowing that years ago, people were right where I was standing, cowering and fearing for their lives from falling bombs.

I then visited a couple of gorgeous churches and some monuments and statues and beautiful, old buildings. I went to where Mozart's relative lived and took a picture. Wandered the streets just taking pictures. At one church, there was a man playing the organ the whole time. I will try to put a short video I took of the music in this blog post.

Augsburg was a beautiful city and my feet hurt from all of the walking, but it told me that I did well in seeing as much as I could. And now, lots of pictures!

A little pond in the Japanese garden.

A nice yellow bridge (probably handmade, but quite sturdy) in the Japanese garden.

The path had a sign saying that in this garden, you should travel slowly and not be in a rush.

How zen-like.

A nice scene on my walking path along the Donau.

A bench in a beautiful rose garden in Ulm.

Note: I purposefully put my leg and foot in the picture so you would understand that I am lounging.

Obligatory flower picture.

I stared at this sight for longer than I care to admit.

Some nice autumn colors.

My travel companion.

The Rathaus (city hall) of Augsburg. It was hard to get the whole thing in one shot.

A nice clock tower right next to the Rathaus.

Some stuff in the bomb shelter at Fuggerei.

These markings were made on the wall in the bomb shelter. It just felt so real and powerful to me seeing it so clearly and directly.

The entrance to the bomb shelter. A little creepy, I will admit...

One of the "streets" in the Fuggerei. 

Note: Those doors are all apartments. Apartments that are still occupied and used.

The first church I visited, Der Hohe Dom (short for a really long name).

I paid 50 Euro cents to light a candle, just like at the Ulm Munster.

Some gorgeous stained glass. There was a lot of it.

The main hall.

Mozarthaus! Apparently it is a little museum-esque place, but it was closed for the holiday.

Mozart's father, Leopold, was born in Augsburg (though not at this location).

The former residence of Hans Georg Mozart, the great-grand-uncle of Mozart himself. 

What an honor.

Selfie in front of the Hohe Cathedral.

Maximillian Street. A beautiful, old street lined with cool buildings. And it had a couple

of neat fountains and statues, too. But I didn't want to upload a bunch of pictures of one street.

The next church, St. Ulrich and Afra.

A nice scene upon entering.

Don't worry, I paid another 50 Euro cents to light another candle. 

The organ that was pumpin' out some jams.

I will admit, I messed up recording. I forgot that in a video, it doesn't automatically flip. But it's not about the visual, it's about the audio....so focus on that.

The main altar with some ornate "high altars," as I learned they are called. These high altars

depict the stories of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost.

Another selfie. This time in front of a fountain on Maximillian Street.

An old gate/fortification that watched over a major road in Bavaria.

Another cool tower tucked behind the trees and river.

As always, I hope you enjoyed the post and the pictures. I try my best to capture what I can in photos and stories. Obviously I can't convey it all, but I try to at least be entertaining and informative. Thanks for the support!

This Saturday, I take to the trains again (hopefully not as packed as Oktoberfest) to Freiburg. Freiburg is in the south-west part of Germany and is right on the edge of the Black Forest. So I am hoping to see some beautiful sights and enjoy a pleasant stroll through a new, German town.

Until then, I leave you with this quote.

"Autumn is a second spring where every leaf is a flower." - Albert Camus