Went with Eileen to visit the main University of Würzburg campus, while Tracy struck out to go shopping in the city alone. The campus is satisfyingly ugly. I say satisfyingly only because my adventures in Germany thus far have been much like a fairly tale – of exotic, majestic, and dreamy sights and sounds. Seeing a normal campus helps brings things back to perspective.

In the afternoon, Tracy, Eileen, and I went to the United States Army Base. While inside, we stopped at the all-American Subway, mainly because Eileen had not eaten a sandwich from there in about half a year. After eating lunch, we watched Sweet Home Alabama in a movie theater on the base. The tickets were only three dollars.

Being on a United States Army Base is much like being in the United States, unsurprisingly. It is like a miniature country within the boundaries of another – the language is English, the currency is the dollar, and the people, well, they’re all American citizens. It is strange, but there is also a certain sense of relief and comfort while being on a base. Perhaps because things are once again familiar.

At night, Tracy and I went to the House of 150 Beers to have wonderful appetizers such as hot mozzarella sticks and fried cocktail mushrooms. Tracy sampled the beer on the tap and remarked that it was much better than the beer in the US or in Spain.

Took a day trip to one of the oldest communities in Germany, the thousand year old city of Bamberg, by train. Bamberg is often described by many as the ‘dream city’ and has earned the nickname of the ‘Second Rome’. Its hilly landscape, medieval architecture, beautiful countryside, meandering Regnitz River, and towering church steeples all make it easy to see why. It is one of the few cities that were spared serious damage during the war. We went to visit the historic Dom (Cathedral) located across the river in the city. After exploring, we took a short break to drink hot chocolate and cappuccinos at a local coffee shop. We returned to Würzburg at night, and I took a lonely stroll throughout the city.

We went on a tour at the Residenz, a palace for prince-bishops during the Enlightment, with Eileen. The inside of the Residenz is beautiful; it is a miniture Versailles, with majestic staircases and stunningly artistic rooms. The outside contains an expansive garden with amazing statues and fountains. Pictures are not allowed inside the Residenz.

After our tour, we ate lunch at an Indian restaurant. Eileen had to go to the library, and I took a nap. Eileen made us a traditional German dinner, consisting or various German sausages and potato salad. I got a little cold and Eileen made me apple tea.

Tracy and I took a romantic trip to the Mainfränkisches Fortress (Festung Marienburg) by foot, located beside the scenic Main River. We got lost on our way, and the moment we pulled out a map, a very friendly old man approached us and asked us, in English, if we needed directions. His English was quite good, with only a tinge of German accent, and before long, we arrived at our intended destination.

After exploring the fortress, our stomachs began to whine. Anxious, we toured the city for a nice place to have a lunch. We were afraid that we would not be able to order food on our own. Eventually our hunger got the best of us, and we settled on a smallish restaurant along the Alte Mainbrücke Bridge. Our waitress was really nice and procured a menu in English for us. She also spoke a fair bit of English herself and even made a genuine attempt at translating the German Daily Special’s menu for us. Tracy decided on Bratwurst and Sour Kraut with brown bread and mustard. I had Wiener Schnitzel with potato wedges and a salad with yogurt dressing. Shortly after, we returned to the apartment to rest.

At night, Tracy, Eileen, her friend Chandra, and I went by bus to a bar known as the House of 150 Beers.

For lunch, Eileen made us delicious stir-fry. I dropped by the ATM to pick up some money. We went shopping for groceries in the afternoon at a nearby store called Kupsch. The stores here are much smaller and carry fewer goods than the grocery behemoths of the United States. You must also bring your own shopping bags. In addition, an atypically large number of places do not accept credit cards.

Recovering from jet lag, Tracy and I took a long nap when we returned. In the evening, we went to the Christmas market, located in the center of town, shopping for various Christmas presents, drinking hot glühwein (glowing wine), and munching on roasted almonds. Eileen left a little early to go to her photography class. When she returned, we went to visit Chris and Sarah, for dinner. We chatted and had chicken fajitas and cake. After dinner, we returned to the apartment to relax and watch a movie before heading to sleep.

Tracy and I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany, at seven in the morning. After passing through Customs, we met Eileen at the gate. Eileen goes to school here at the University of Würzburg, and is majoring in Political Science and German. She has graciously provided us with a place to stay for the duration of our adventure. She also has excellent German language skills, which is a huge plus, primarily because Tracy and I have none whatsoever.

After purchasing tickets, we left for Eileen’s apartment, located on Göbelslehenstraße, via the Intercity (IC) train. Carrying the entire luggage was an exhausting feat. We quickly got settled in and walked to Schönborn, a nearby cafe located approximately half and hour away, in downtown Würzburg. It appears that almost everyone in the city walks or uses public transportation to travel around the city; we were certainly no exception. In addition to sidewalks, there are also dedicated bicycle paths on most roads.

In Europe, the tip is included in the price of the meal and you generally round up to the nearest dollar or fifty cents. Diners don’t tip unless the service is exceptional. For this reason, most waiters are highly rude and obnoxious. The friendly service is one of the things that Eileen misses from the United States. For lunch, I had a warm cup of Heiße Schokolade (hot chocolate) and Pizza mit Schinken (ham), Ei (egg) und Zwiebeln (onion). Tracy had Pasta Rigatoni mit Champignons (mushrooms) und Spinat (spinach) in eine Sahnesoße (cream sauce). Refills aren’t free. Everyone smokes. At night, we joined Eileen’s friends, and went out to eat at a nearby Chinese restaurant, China Palast (Palace), by bus. The group consisted of: Tracy, Eileen, and I; Sarah, her boyfriend Chris (temporarily visiting from the United States), and another Chris, all from Davidson College; and finally, Daniel, Irene, Patricia, visiting from Spain. The evening was, in many ways, a melting pot of language, with German, English, and Spanish.

When dining in large groups, it is customary for most European restaurants to provide a shot of liquor to each of the diners after the meal, on the house. We were given what appeared to be apple schnapps.

Germany is a Socialist state. Basically, this means that they don’t have any homeless people. It also means that everyone pays 1.4 cents per minute for Internet access (through Telekom, a virtual monopoly) to accomplish various tasks such as updating their journals. Such is life.

Nicky dropped me off at the Atlanta airport slightly before lunch. An uneventful plane trip led me to Detriot, where I would join a connecting flight with Tracy to Frankfurt, Germany. Tracy was waiting for me at the gate. She had picked up a copy of People magazine for Eileen, because apparantly it’s hard to find such things in Germany. Germans are weird like that. Soon after, we boarded the plane for Frankfurt. The flight was a good seven hours, with standard issue airplane movies, music, and crying babies. At least I had a window seat.

I’m this (makes waving hand motions) close to withdrawing from school. I took my Computer Architecture final exam. I have an amazing ability to completely blank out during comprehensive finals. And while doing this, I realized that I absolutely, positively hate Georgia Tech. I need a term off.

Took my Circuit Analysis final exam today. It took the full three hours to complete. That leaves two more exams to go: Computer Architecture and Statistics and Applications. I finally turned in my CS1322 time sheets. Better late than never, I suppose. I also discovered an interesting Economics site called the Library of Economics and Liberty, with all sorts of useful information.

I spent a larger part of the day studying for my Economics final on Tuesday – everything from aggregate supply and demand to macroeconomic controveries to fiscal and monetary policy. Such is the mundane life during finals week. Adam and I took a break and watched Futurama (5×03 The Route of All Evil). Nicky and I made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.