They have red tape in Germany too

No pictures this time, guys. I do need to take pictures of where I live...maybe once I actually decorate the walls.

Germany has been hectic lately (and I should be doing something productive right now...but no). I've been getting health insurance/visa/bank account stuff straightened out or attempting to anyway.

Here's what I've been dealing with:
Went to the bank to get an account -> Able to open an account but find out it's frozen til I get my visa -> Go to get visa, find out can't get visa because I have to have x Euro/month -> Present bank statement from US to prove I have enough money to survive in Germany -> Find out German government doesn't trust me with my own money so I have to wire all my money to Germany and then have the account block so I can only take out x Euro once a month -> open a second account so the x Euro/month has somewhere to go -> Find out x Euro doesn't automatically get put into second bank account and I'll have to go to the bank every month and transfer it myself -> Wonder if being in Germany is worth the hassle.

Other than that, just been practicing my Deutsch and hanging out in Flensburg. I am very content with the abundance of pretzel bread here :D.

Flensburg and Glücksburg

So Germans like to walk...a lot. And today we did lots of walking, as we took a walking tour of Flensburg.

Here are a few pictures:

Nordermarkt

Flensburg Harbor

Südermarkt - The market here is every Saturday and Wednesday, we also toured the old church in the background

After our walking tour we took a boat to the nearby town of Glücksburg. Glücksburg has an old castle that dates back hundreds of years to when Northern Germany was part of Denmark. The castle was a vacation place for the Danish royal family.

German Naval Academy, as seen from boat to Glücksburg

The Castle

Sailboats in the sea, the part where the land dips down is the Danish border

I'm sure I will sleep well tonight...it was a lot of walking.

PS: I had to change my layout, because you couldn't see the pictures clearly on the old one. Maybe at some point I'll try and find another cool one that works better.

A Humble Beginning

So, I finally arrived in Germany...and started a blog. I suppose the old adage is true, location doesn't change who we are and I am, at heart, a procrastinator.

To be fair, even though I arrived on Saturday, I've had internet access for less than an hour. German proxy servers and Macbooks do not mix.

So, highlights since Friday:

- The international terminal at O'Hare has NOTHING, and of course you have to arrive even earlier.
- Flight to Amsterdam arrived about a half hour earlier than expected, which gave me a nice 7 hour layover instead of 6 and a half.
- Amsterdam airport is nice, but there is NOWHERE to plug in a laptop. And internet costs 3 Euro for 15 minutes. Also, the airport is huge!
- Speaking of the Amsterdam airport, after arriving from your international flight, you will have to pass through passport control and then through security. If you attempt to keep your passport with you, and it is one of the new electronic ones, it will set off the metal detector, Dutch TSA will snatch it from your hands and put it through the x-ray machine and then frisk you. Part of the frisking process will involve putting their hands in the waistband of your pants.
- I was picked up in Hamburg by a Flensburg student who works at the international office. She had her parents with her because they were returning from vacation. They were very nice, but it was awkward.

Since then, I've been hanging out in Flensburg, getting to know the town and the other international students, everyone I've met thus far has been great. Flensburg is beautiful. Pictures will follow soon!