The Art of Wandern: In the Footsteps of Strangers

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Black Forest, Black Forest Hostel, Found, Freiburg, Germany, Hiking, Morning People, The Art of Wandern, Wandern

My experience helped me realize that sometimes experimentation can go wrong.  Yes, of course it is good to try new ideas, but it is also important to look at what people have done before you.  Sometimes, the well-worn path really is the better option.

I already knew that, of course.  I was homeschooled until high school, and I interacted a lot with adults as a child.  Because I enjoy being with people, I didn’t mind listening to the stories that elderly folks wanted to tell me, and they were happy to share wisdom with a younger person.  I usually internalized their lessons and think about them even today.  Despite my independent streak, I value the experience of those who have already gone ahead.

A view of Oberau (a section of Freiburg)

But my “failed” climb helped drive all that home in a very concrete way.  Sometimes self-made paths end up being dead-ends.  Sometimes the cost of picking up the pieces afterwards just isn’t worth the thrill of “my way.”  I felt a little stupid.

But as I continued walking along the more defined path, I resolved that my hikes didn’t always have to end with some sort of amazing find or epiphany.  My climb wasn’t a failure: I still learned something, and I still had time to hike a bit more.

I eventually found a plaque.  I took a picture and resolved to look it up later. 

Dr. Hoffmann’s plaque

After nearly two years, I finally did so last week.  At first, Dr. Christian August Hoffmann was not easy to find.  The only Google result that seemed to match was a Christian August Siegfried Hoffmann who lived about a generation prior to my commemorated friend.

But finally, I found an article in the local newspaper about the man, the journalist’s attempt to track him down, and her eventual contact with his descendants in America.  I shortly also found his descendants’ account of the interaction, which verified the journalist’s story.  In the descendants’ detailed description of Dr. Hoffmann, I noticed pictures of two buildings connected to him.  I actually recognized them!  I was astounded.  Even though I had had no idea who he was, I had come across his plaque and walked past his granddaughter’s house.  Because this realization encompassed my present time learning about all of this history, my past time in Germany, and the first half of the 19th century, I was somewhat overwhelmed.  I had partially walked in the footsteps of this stranger and his family who lived two centuries ago.  The story that is Me is so very small, a thread in the larger quilt.  And as humbling as that realization is, it’s also comforting.  It’s nice knowing that others have gone before you, leaving behind their words of wisdom to guide your way.

A shy red squirrel

The Art of Wandern: A Road Less Traveled

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Black Forest, Black Forest Hostel, Explore, Freiburg, Germany, Hiking, Lost, Morning People, Photography, The Art of Wandern, Wandern

If my previous post lead you to believe that success is always at the end of a journey, I must hasten to warn you that it is not.

As you may recall, my fellow Stetson students and I arrived in Freiburg and stayed in a hostel while we waited for our dorm to open for the semester.  Our first night there, I tripped down the stairs and sprained my ankle.  Although I wasn’t seriously injured, I had to be careful the following week how I put pressure on my foot.

With a full night of sleep and morning-person superpowers, I woke up just after dawn on the third day of our stay in Freiburg.  Matt and Sarah were still asleep, and after years of sleep-over experience, I knew they would be for many more hours.  The world outside lifted a finger of chirping birds and beckoned.

New Flowers

Fully bundled, I trudged outside and up a steep flight of steps.  The sudden hints of green were like the first full breath you take after being asleep.  It seemed as though spring had arrived overnight.

My entire time in Kandern, the trees had been brown and leafless.  I honestly was a little disappointed, since I had heard so much about the Black Forest, and it seemed much drabber than I had expected.  But now, seeing the green buds on trees and flowers on vines, I realized I was completely silly.  If I had a dog, I would have informed him that we weren’t in Florida any more.  Here was a strange world with dramatic seasons.  Usually people who move to Florida say that they miss the fall colors.  I had no idea that Florida just couldn’t capture spring colors, either.

Anyone care to identify these flowers?

My ankle hurt a little bit, but if I walked on it correctly it wasn’t a problem.  Exhilarated with the new world to discover, I decided to be more adventurous.  The main dirt path continued in front of me, but a narrower, grassier path curved up.  I could hear people nearby, but not in the direction of the path.  Robert Frost’s oft-quoted poem, “The Road Not Taken,” captured my thoughts exactly: the second path had “perhaps the better claim/ Because it was grassy and wanted wear.”   Though the trail was steep at times, I once again decided to not turn around until I found something exciting.

Stubborn, I pushed my way up, sometimes grabbing saplings for leverage.  Finally, I reached a rock face, and the path disappeared.  I was disappointed.  After my experience in Kandern with the castle, I expected every path to have something interesting at the end.  I wanted the less-traveled paths to yield secrets that only the brave few could share.  But here I was on the steep slope of a hill; I would have looked ridiculous if there was anyone around.

Finally, I gave up, partially because I didn’t want to try anything risky alone and with my ankle weakened.  I made my way back down.  At the steepest parts I had to sit on the ground and inch, careful not to slip on loose stones.  I was a little worried and mainly embarrassed.  “Geez, Jenn,” I muttered, “sometimes roads are less-traveled for a reason.”

A gentler path to take.

Freiburg, a Time Travel Series (Pt. 3)

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5K, Black Forest Hostel, Freiburg, Freiburger Muenster, Globalization, Photography, Travel Companions

Because our beds were on the east side of the hostel, the sun entered our room bright and early.  I woke up the third day around seven, and since I knew Sarah and Matt wouldn’t be getting up for a while, I decided to go for a hike.

But Jenn, I can hear you saying, your foot was still injured.

Yes, I know.  But nothing was broken, and I was dying to go exploring.  I was careful!!

…Spring started to open her eyes

Even after a decent hike and a relaxing shower, Sarah and Matt took another two hours to wake up.  I busied myself with typing up a blog post about Basel and reading a book, but still felt impatient.  I’m usually a fairly patient person, but when there’s something to do (places to see, plans to fulfill), I get very, very restless.  I had to remind myself that Matt and Sarah were still battling jet lag, and that most people aren’t morning people like me anyway.

Once Sarah and Matt were up and ready to scout out food, we hit the town.  Because it was Sunday, the streets were fairly empty.

Well…except for the giant 5k that snaked through town.  Not only were there massive amounts of runners, there were think rows of people lining the track, cheering, playing live music, and making merry.

The runners went all around the greater and inner parts of the city, and the run lasted for hours on Sunday

To enter the Innenstadt, we had to cross the track in front of an onslaught of runners.  We carefully timed our crossing so we wouldn’t slow any of them up! (though I suspect we would have simply been trampled…those runners were fast!)

We then climbed the tower of the Muenster, or cathedral.  This was perhaps one of the most terrifying things I did on the trip, because the stairway is so narrow.  It’s a spiral staircase, so the steps are very thin on the inside curve, and which is where you have to walk if people are coming down.  The inside curve also has no railing, and really nothing to hang on to, so at one point, while Sarah and I stood still and let people come down, I was stuck clinging to nothing while looking out over the city of Freiburg.

Great view, though!

Yeah, my fear of heights didn’t like that one.

But, we were able to buy some cool postcards, visit the bell tower (the bells actually rang while we were there; it was deafening), and climb to the top platform.

Made it!

I love how organic the Muenster feels. It’s not polished or whitewashed. It’s gritty and rough, and yet still out-of-this-world beautiful. Kinda like what God does with our lives. He makes even our imperfections beautiful!

We then joined Matt in the sanctuary, since he opted out of the climb.  We ate some yummy food at a restaurant nearby, and bought linens for our soon-to-be dorm beds.

Back in the hostel to drop off our purchases, Sarah and Matt decided to return to the Innenstadt for dinner and some bar hopping.  I was worn out, however, and my foot wasn’t feeling all that great.  I opted to stay in the hostel and rest.  While there, I ran into a gentleman I had met when I first checked in to the hostel.  He was originally from Egypt, but had been living in Germany for years.  He was actually staying in the same 21-person room as me, and he invited me and a girl from South Korea to join him for a dinner in the hostel kitchen.  The three of us had a fun time learning about the different reasons we were in Germany and in that particular hostel.  The girl from South Korea loves art, and is here to study it.  The man from Egypt has kids and an ex-wife here, and he’s staying in the hostel until he can get back on his feet.  Despite the troubles in his family, he was optimistic and grateful for the company at dinner.  We reflected on how important it is to eat with others; it makes the food even tastier!

Also, the conversation was mostly in German.  It was so refreshing to finally be practicing with other people.  I had no idea how much German would help me communicate with people from all around the world, not just people from Germany.  Although the man from Egypt knew English, the girl from Korea didn’t.  If I hadn’t known German, our conversation would have been really hard to participate in with everything constantly being translated back and forth.

People back home would often ask me “Why German?”  Since I live in Florida, it seemed much more practical to learn Spanish.  But really, my time here has only underscored the importance of learning ANY language, be it Spanish, German, Latvian, Mandarin, isiZulu, or whatever it is you’re interested in.  Any language, whether or not it’s practical, or common, will help you build connections with other people.  And in a world that’s more and more globalized, these connections will help us truly understand one another.

An American, a Netherlander, and a Bulgarian walked into an Irish pub in Germany…