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Written 7/29/2003

Hello!

I am back from my trip to Poland and almost on the way to Kiel. For all of you who do not know yet why I am going to Kiel, just click here.

Some more words about Poland. I was traveling around there with Justyna and dropped by at Agnes' place (in Wroclaw or Breslau for all germanophones). We went to Warsaw (where Justyna lives), Gdansk (Danzig), the beach in Hel, the teutonic knights' castle in Malbork, to Poznan (Posen), Krakov (Krakau), Oswiecim (Auschwitz!), and Zakopane (a beautiful tourist city in the Tatra mountains).

Unfortunately, I still belong to a generation who grew up during a time when there was the Iron Curtain between the eastern and western part of Europe (at least the first eleven years of my life). Thus my knowledge about central (not to forget to write this, dear Polish friends) and eastern Europe is - frankly spoken - not very profound.

Poland is most known in Germany by many Polish jokes making the inhabitants potential pickpockets. For all who like the Polish jokes. Sorry, but I was able to keep my purse and everything else I brought there. And I haven't found any of my stolen bikes neither.

So what was my impression?

Poland offers a wide diversity of geographical sights with the Baltic sea in the north and the mountains in the south. There are some extremely beautiful inner cities in Gdansk, Krakov and Warsaw, whereas the surrounding areas are still dominated by the communist buildings in 60s and 70s-style. Surprisingly the high unemployment rate is not visible on the streets. For western tourists the prices are more than reasonable. You can sleep in a student dormitory for 5 Euros and buy a good meal (including something to drink) for 3 Euros. In addition, I never had to be careful concerning the food (such as it would perhaps be the case in Mexico). English is not as widely spoken as in Germany. For me this was no problem because I had my personal Polish translator. But I think holidays in Poland should even be possible without a deep knowledge in Polish und without somebody who translates (as long as you have two hands and a face). My trip gave me a lot of appetite to come back to Poland or to see some other central and eastern European countries.

Unfortunately, I am to lazy to scan in all the fotos. But feel free to pass by and to have a look at them personally.

Chris

Written in April 2003

To all who have not visited me yet in Strasbourg. There is some time left. I will at least stay there until the middle of June. Well, if you are not able to pass by, you can come to Kiel sometime between August 2003 and May 2004. What? Where? Why?

How´s life in Strasbourg?

To put it in a nutshell: GREAT.

• University: well, to all French who study at the Institut d´Etudes Politiques (IEP) as well, I apologize for your inconvenience when you have to read the word university in connection with the IEP. From an organisational point of view I study at the Université Robert Schumann (Strasbourg III). But the Institut d´Etudes Politiques is not just an ordinary university. What then? Well, it is Sciences Po. Students are selected on a highly competitive basis. Only every tenth applicant is accepted. But Sciences Po is not comparable to studies in political sciences in most other countries. It is basically a combination of different subjects such as history, sociology, economics, political sciences, and law. Everybody has to study in a foreign country during his third year. In the fourth year a specialisation is possible. The level of the courses is very different depending on the professor.
• Erasmus-life: For all outsiders. Erasmus is a program of the European Union. It guarantees that tuition fees do not have to be paid. In addition, a little scholarship is paid. But to simplify life a little bit, every foreign student is called an Erasmus. Our task: get to know as much as possible from the French and many other cultures in this world. Our preferred means: party, party, party. To get to know the real Erasmus spirit, watch the movie "Auberge espanole".
• The city: Strasbourg is one of the two self-declared European capitals. Many European institutions such as the parliament, the Council of Europe and the Court of Human Rights are situated there. Consequently, it´s an Eldorado for everyone who is interested in European politics. Discussions concerning various European topics can be found quite frequently.
• Appartment: I share an appartment with three girls. One of them is not very talkative. But in general the atmosphere is good.
• Traveling: Geograpically, Strasbourg is in the center of Western Europe. I already seized the opportunity and traveled to Freiburg (Germany), Bern, Basel, and Zürich (Switzerland), and Colmar, Munster and some other small cities in Alsace (France). Other cities will follow.
• Culture: Well, I am in France. Everything is a little bit more "chaleureux" (warm-hearted) than in Germany. To say hello "bises" are usual. And food is not just the necessary stuff to prevent starvation. Even the university restaurant is more delicious than the one in Nuremberg. There is no lack of cultural offers such as cinema or theatre. All American movies are shown in original version with French sub-title as well.
• Shopping: Everything is available in Strasbourg; as you know France is no Third World country. But for basic needs such as milk, bread, orange juice and wine the shops in Kehl (border city in Germany) are much cheaper. Thus, I regularly follow many Frenchmen and -women to Aldi in Germany.
  Enough information for now.

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