Bis Bald, Deutschland

Today, I will be bidding Germany farewell yet again as I leave for the environs of France at just shy of 10 in the morning. A longer update will be posted once I'm situated in my new country.

Farewell, Germany; good-bye, BASF. It's been fun. When will I be back? Who knows. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Copenhagen and Chemistry

Wow, it's been a month or so since my last update. Meaning a lot's happened.

First up, the Denmark trip that I had been planning for long time finally happened about two weeks ago: I left on the 30th by night train to Copenhagen and spent three days there. And Copenhagen's really nice, I must say. It's very easy to get around, there's a lot of pretty sights and things to do, and the weather was extremely cooperative. However, there was a major downside: Copenhagen's really expensive, sometimes moreso than Switzerland (shocking).

Remember how I mentioned a 1½ litre bottle of soda was about CHF 2 (then, about €2/$2.50)? In Denmark, you're lucky if it's less than 20 Danish kroner (€3, $4), not including the deposit of 3 kroner. McDonald's is surprisingly cheaper than in Switzerland, but still pretty high at about 55 kroner (€8/$11) for a meal. Public transport ticket... well, the basic ticket is a one-hour pass for 24 kroner (€3.50/$5), but you can buy a one-day ticket valid for the Greater Copenhagen area (a lot, trust me, and it comes in handy for a trip to Elsinore, home of the castle featured in Hamlet) for 130 kroner (€18/$26). A part of it is due to the 25% VAT on pretty much everything, the highest VAT in all of the EU (and the only VAT that comes in a single rate) and the high wages paid to the average Danish worker. But, fortunately, I was able to minimize the damage, and I had an awesome time.

Also, when one's in Copenhagen, there's another country just 30 minutes away (Sweden). So I went there too, namely to a little city called Malmö. It's a rather cute little city, marked by a lot of charming buildings and streets, plenty of trees, and the highest density of restaurants in Sweden. But it was a good few hours for roaming in the area.

Other excursions, of course, have occurred. Namely a trip to the Wurstfest in Bad Dürkheim. If you've been to a German Fest, though, you know that these are not the run-of-the-mill fairs that you find in the US: these are rather massive events, with beer tents, rather extreme rides, Bratwurst galore, and lots of different types of alcohol (and not just beer). They're pretty impressive, all in all, and this one was sufficiently large. It made me happy.

And the science is getting done as well. It's not too much different from the usual, just running some tests and generating the graphs, but I hope to do some cooler stuff before I leave... no explosions, mind you.

In any event, it's a bit surreal that I leave for France in... two and a half weeks. And this comes at the point when I'm falling madly in love with this region of Germany. People assure me that I'll love Auvergne, and I don't doubt it either, but I just don't want to leave Germany right now.

In any event, have a good remainder of your week. Or something vaguely approaching such.

Two Day Service

About a month ago, I went through the process of acquiring a German residence permit (Aufenthaltstitel). It was, in a way, a bit hair-pulling considering I needed that permit to apply for a French visa but also because I really didn't hear any feedback on my application until I got the notice of approval, and it took about three weeks to accomplish. So, naturally, since the visa I'll have to travel to France serves as a residence permit, I was expecting similar processing times. As stated in the previous post, I specifically went to Switzerland because, normally speaking, the visa process takes several weeks.

I was wrong with what I had assumed. For me, it took two days.

Yesterday, I headed up to Frankfurt am Main rather early in the morning and got to the consulate well in advance of my appointment. I had directions, but I really didn't know where I was going. Surprisingly for me, the U-Bahn put me out on Zeppelinallee, the road that the consulate was situated on. And it was a very quick walk up the road to my destination, a rather unassuming building distinguished by the French flag and the emblem of the French Republic.

I headed in, greeted the guard in French and, after a quick bag search, I went back to the visa section, a small office. I was served rather quickly by a lady who spoke some English (which helped out a bit) and, after being fingerprinted and photographed and all the papers I had were sorted through and sorted, I was given a receipt and told to return the next day with my passport. This isn't what I thought would happen...

I otherwise accomplished quite a bit of sightseeing and exploring in Frankfurt, despite the rain, and headed back to Ludwigshafen, still confused. What just happened... did she really say I could return tomorrow? Adding to the fun was that I had only taken a day off work for the visa appointment, expecting a much longer turnaround. So, I formulated a plan.

Today, I headed into work and explained to one of my coworkers that I needed to run to Frankfurt. He, fortunately, understood, so I headed almost immediately to the train station. About an hour later, I was in Frankfurt. I made my way back to the consulate and the person who had served me the day before, upon recognizing me, indicated that she would help me after she was done with the person ahead of me. Once she was finished, I walked up, gave her my passport, and, after printing off the visa sticker and getting it signed by the Consul, I walked out of the visa office with a shiny visa de long séjour valant titre de séjour. Score.

So, yeah. A process that takes a lot of people several weeks took me two days here at Frankfurt. And I have no idea why it got approved so quickly. But, ultimately, you just take it with a smile and walk on.

Swiss Vacation... and French Paperwork Hell

Last week, I decided that I really wanted to go to Switzerland. And here I am, writing this from Zürich.

To elaborate further, the main reason for this trip, other than wanting to go to Switzerland and take lots of pretty pictures, actually arises from the fact that I go to apply for my French visa on Tuesday. While my application is being processed, however, the consulate probably will have my passport. The processing could take a few days or a few weeks. And, while they have my passport, I won't legally be able to leave Germany to go elsewhere in the Schengen zone, even though there aren't any immigration checks. Accordingly, I figured that getting a quick trip in before I lose my passport is probably not a bad idea, in the long run.

Like the last time I visited, Switzerland is very pretty. And the number of Swiss flags in the streets and wherever you go is pretty impressive, particularly since German flags are not very common where I've lived in Germany. Only drawback to the trip, though, is that everything is expensive... and even moreso now with the much stronger Swiss Franc. As a comparison, when I went to Basel in 2009, it was CHF 1.50 per euro (CHF 1.06 per dollar) and, now, it's CHF 1.07 per euro ($1.30 per Franc). For example, McDonald's meals run about CHF 15 (EUR 13, USD 20), a 1.5 litre bottle of soda is about CHF 2 (EUR 1.90, USD 2.50) at its cheapest... regardless, though, while I'll take my usual travel "precautions" (avoiding restaurants and taxis as much as possible), I'll do my best to avoid letting the rather high prices get to me.

Today was mostly reserved for getting here and lots of wandering around (yes, lots of pictures). Tomorrow will probably feature more wandering, a trip to the Zoo (Zürich Zoo is very renowned) and possibly a few museums, and acquiring souvenirs that people I know might want. Like chocolate. And I'll be out of here on Sunday morning.

So, yeah, that's it from here. Another post might be coming soon-ish. And have a good weekend.

Falling into Place

Everything's all falling into place with the paperwork and such. Which makes me happy.

For one, I'll hopefully have my Aufenthaltstitel (residence permit) on Thursday. All I have to do is go to the Foreigner's Office, pay them € 50 (~$70), and I'll have a pretty sticker in my passport.

The other thing is that some of the paperwork I'll need for my stay in France is coming! In order to work as a language assistant in France, I need a visa, and this visa requires a work contract. The work contract is on its way to me right now, and I'm aiming to apply for my visa in the middle of August. The visa's free of charge, but I have to personally go to Frankfurt to apply for it (they don't accept applications by mail). Accordingly, I'll just turn my consular visit into a day of sightseeing in Frankfurt, a city that I'm not too familiar with save the airport. But, regardless, I'll be working at both a lycée (high school) in the city of Clermont-Ferrand and at a collège (middle school) in a suburb called Gerzat. I presume I'll find out more later, probably after I contact the people in charge of the schools. Also, this means I should probably start looking for housing and accommodation (but not too hard yet, as one of the schools might have arrangements... and I don't yet have my visa).

Also, I figure a few pictures are in order. Clockwise from the bottom, we have scenes of the Speyer Dom, a very large cathedral in Speyer (30 minutes from Ludwigshafen) and the resting place of several German kings of old; a random church along the Rhein; and the Wasserturm in Mannheim, a rather prominent landmark with pretty gardens. (Yes, I like flowers.)

And... that's pretty much it for now. Have a good remainder of your week.

Two weeks in Germany

Yay, Germany! I arrived here about two weeks ago and I've been working for a week, so here's a rather quick update as to the goings-on.

Arrival

So, unlike all of the other times I've headed abroad, getting over here to Germany was quick and painless, no layovers required. It was a direct flight from Charlotte-Douglas into Frankfurt, but, due to thunderstorms threatening the airport, we were 2 hours late leaving Charlotte. Not a problem, though, as I had no layovers to deal with, so I could arrive in Frankfurt whenever I wanted.

Once we landed, I made my way to immigration, expecting to be asked a few questions. When I went through Switzerland two summers ago, I had a rather extended line of questioning... why I was there, where I was going in Germany, how long I was going to be there, what I would do once I was done in Germany, etc... and the officer on arrival in Iceland at least asked how long I intended to be there both times. Not a word this time, though: the officer took my passport, scanned it, typed some information into a computer, stamped it, and gave it back to me without a single word spoken. Seemed rather strange, but, hey, every country's different with that. After that, I went down, grabbed my bag, walked out through customs, and made my way to the nearest shop to purchase an Orange Fanta.

Shortly thereafter, I hopped on a train into Mannheim and, by noon, I had purchased groceries and was settled into my flat. It's a rather cozy place: it has everything I need, there's rather easy access to public transport, and the area is very quiet. Apparently, the story behind this is that my landlord's daughters moved out and he had a spare room available, so that's what I'm renting from him. That's also why all the utilities are included, as is the use of his garden for relaxing. The interesting thing about the garden is that there are a lot of odd plants: grapevines, raspberry bushes, an apple tree, and a few other things I wouldn't expect in a garden. In all, though, I'd say it's rather nice.

Work

A week after arriving, it was time to get to work. I'm at BASF through the end of September, and it's been a rather interesting time so far. The first day consisted of all the formalities required with employment, and they're not entirely over yet: in just over a week, I'll need to go to the Ausländerbehörde to officially apply for my residence permit. Since what I'm doing isn't legally work, I'm fine for now, but I'll be here in Germany for more than 90 days, so I need that extra permit.

So far, though, at work, I have learned/confirmed the following things:

1.) Microcalorimetry, which is what I'm doing, is very twitchy and takes a long time to run an experiment. Since the measurements are being taken on very small samples (microlitres), one has to run experiments for long amounts of time to ensure that the measured heat comes from the sample being studied rather than the machine or any physical disturbances.

2.) Germans, in general, take mealtimes seriously. Lunch is about an hour, and there is at least one coffee break during the day.

3.) Germans also take vacation-time seriously. They will use all the vacation time allocated to them.

4.) Germans are very friendly.

Life in General

It's true, Germany is an expensive place to live in, and it's not just for tourists. It takes a bit of getting used to with the cost of living and how much things cost, but there are definitely ways to make sure that one's getting their money's worth.

1.) Food: Fresh vegetables, fruits, and pasta (even tortellini) are not particularly expensive, unless they're the more exotic kinds or are imported from outside the EU. Meat, however, can be rather costly, especially fresh meats. Bread is rarely expensive, and bakeries can be found almost everywhere (bread is a ubiquitous part of the German diet). Prices are slightly higher than in the US, but, if you time it right, specials can make things much more affordable.

2.) Drinks: A stereotype of Germans is that they like beer. This is very obvious: beer is plentiful, widely available, and cheap. It's not as cheap as water, but some varieties come rather close. Soft drinks, however, are rather costly (going price is about €1.25-€1.65 for a 1.5 litre-bottle of Fanta, not counting deposit). And the drinks are smaller at restaurants: a large drink at a German McDonald's, for example, is 0.5 litres (16.9 ounces), while a standard drink at a US McDonald's is 22 ounces (650 ml). It does take a bit to get used to.

Wine and spirits aren't expensive (as compared to the UK), but they aren't as cheap as beer.

3.) Tobacco Vending Machines: They're plentiful. Germans, however, normally sell cigarettes in packs of 19 for about €5 a pack (about the same price as in Wisconsin, thereabouts). And a lot of people smoke here.

There are cigarette vending machines. However, they're normally locked, and you have to scan an ID card or driver's license to unlock them. (The smoking age here is 18, so the ID cards will unlock the machine because they have encoded the person's age.) Also usable are certain types of prepaid cards with chips that have age information encoded: those can also unlock the machines.

4.) Transportation: Germans seem to have attachments to their cars, but driving is expensive (€1.55 per litre for gasoline, or around US$8.45 a gallon). To compensate, though, a lot of Germans ride bicycles or use public transportation, and the latter is especially noticeable in cities. However, it's not cheap (€5-ish for a day ticket in Mannheim/Ludwigshafen), but it's definitely cheaper than driving if you're by yourself. For long distances, the trains are excellent (but also not cheap!), particularly the ICE trains.

And that's about all from here. I hope to post a bit more regularly, especially with my trip to France coming up soon...

Paperwork Hell

With about 10 days left before my departure, one of the things I've been working on taking care of, other than the various things that I want to do on this end, is getting some of the paperwork ready for the stay(s) abroad. Unsurprisingly, it seems both the German and French governments love inordinate amounts of paperwork. At least in Germany, though, the paperwork doesn't seem to prevent things from being accomplished with the usual level of German efficiency.

Most of the stuff that needs to be taken care of in Germany has to be done in that first week before I begin work. And it's not a small amount of stuff, either:

1.) Resident registration: That has to be practically the first thing before I can take care of anything else, and that's because most places require a document called a Meldebestätigung, a document certifying that I completed registration formalities. To do this, I have to find an Einwohnermeldeamt, an office where I can complete this registration.

2.) Residence permit: Since I decided that staying in Germany for about 4 months was what I wanted, I have to get a residence permit, or Aufenthaltstitel. Legally, since what I'm doing isn't classified as work, I have to have it within 90 days of entry. Functionally, however, I have to have it before I can even begin work because my internship is longer than 90 days! Hence, that has to be gotten before my first day on the 16th.

3.) Bank Account. This probably requires the former two to be accomplished so I can receive the stipends from all relevant sources.

Oh, and I also need to start preparing for going to France. Whee! But the reward once all of the paperwork has been taken care of will make it all worth it, I'd imagine.

And maybe getting my driver's license is somewhere in there.

And, with that, enjoy the rest of your weekends.