Greek Food - It's the Best in Germany

Mmmmm.... Greek food. Before traveling to Germany, I had never really had Greek food before, but pictured above is the best meal I had in all five weeks abroad. I think I mentioned earlier that a bunch of us went to - oh no, I forgot the name, but it was a Greek restaurant that started with a "P." I blame Criminal Law for my lack of brain cells this evening... I had to make room for 52 pages tonight... I guess the name of the restaurant was pushed out : ). Anyway, we loved it and wanted to share it with others. So we did. What I ate they called Gallos.

Here is Andrea, me, Denise and Trent at dinner that night. There were two bottles of wine instead of one and lots more Ouzo. I was bad off at the end of the evening...
We invited three professors out to dinner with us that night. Luckily I only had one of them for class, Prof. Carroll. He taught Internet Law. Above is the director of the program, Prof. Brauneis. With him (and Deanne, on the right) is Germany's version of a bachelorette. Instead of just an evening out with the girls, these would be brides have to work for their wedding. They go from venue to venue, U-Bahn stop to U-Bahn stop selling little things to make money for the wedding/honeymoon/home. They sell items like breath mints, gum, condoms, whatever. It can get pretty funny. It looks like Prof. Brauneis isn't going to participate : (.

The next morning, all hung over, I dragged myself to the European Patent Office, and subsequently got sick... from all of that red wine and Ouzo - blah. But really, that was an experience in itself. How many can say that they got sick at the EPO right in the middle of a lead examiner's long (very long) lecture?? No worries, I made it to the restroom : ). By that evening I felt tip top again and was able to work on one my papers.

Many folks left that same morning (some as hung over as I) for various places throughout Europe, including Rome and Amsterdam. For me, I was planning on going to Rome with Tom and felt the need to work a little bit. I stayed in Europe an extra week while other students were planning on heading back to the States and knew I wasn't going to work on any papers the last week I was there. I was strolling through Marienplatz that weekend in solitude and stopped to listen to these muscians. This was nothing unusual. There were always musicians somewhere, and they were good too. Quite unlike the NYC subway crowd : ). Okay, better go crash - work AND two classes tomorrow - I'm back - ugh!

Get on the Bus!

I just finished the last paper of my summer career and am about to send it off. Back home, back at work, back to the relationship, back to the friends, and soon back to school and the stress that comes with it. A large part of me feels a little lost, and that lost part of me wants to go back to Germany. But who knows, if I was still there, I might be longing for home. Funny how the grass is always greener...

But this blog will go on, because I'm only on weekend no. 2! So, I will get to remember and relive, if just for a little longer.

Above is the Castle Neuschwanstein. Beautiful, isn't is? Too bad it was never finished and really never lived in. King Ludwig II was claimed insane, and they hauled him out of this very castle. He was found dead in Lake Starnberg the next day, the shallow part of the lake. He was a great swimmer.

Here's me on the way in to the Castle! It started to rain, again, right after this picture was taken.

Another beautiful shot of the Castle. It kind of resembles the Disney Castle here, doesn't it? This picture is currently the desktop of my computer. I need to remember good times as I sit down to Con Law next Friday : (.

Okay, off-roading time! We were waiting for the train to take us back to Munich (the castles were two hours away in Fussen), and all of a sudden a woman comes out of the station and notifies us that the train will not be coming! There was something on the track and we all had to get on a bus to take us to a station where the train would arrive. All of a sudden a mad rush of us, other Americans and Japanese tourists running to get on the bus. By passing a couple of pushy people five of the six of us found that were the last allowed on with standing room only. Hmmm... did I say five of six, oh yes, I did. One of party decided not to get on the bus and let others push past him. Hello?! Just get on the bus!!

The ride was a trip! We went off-roading in a coach bus! We traveled down little dirt country roads, so narrow a BMW had to back up to let us pass. No two cars could travel down the road at the same time!! Finally, we made it to the train in the pouring rain and traveled for another hour until we reached Munich. Fun times : ).

This is a picture of the Max Planck Institute where all the magic happened ; ). Our classes were held here. It is a really nice building. I took this picture before a group of us met to go to a reception at the law firm of Bird & Bird.

Now that I'm home, in my messy apartment, I am feeling the urge to straighten it up. I miss living abroad, it was so much cleaner in my apartment there!!

Quiet

Most of us are gone, a few remain. Final exams are finished, final papers are not. Unfortuately I fell for the paper scam. I have two to complete. So today I did research for most of the afternoon. It is slow going.

It is quiet here, as most students left this morning. The few of us that are here traveled up to Schloss Nymphenburg, one of Germany's largest baroque palaces, and then to Hirshgarten, to finish the evening with some hendl and apfelschorle. Sadly enough, nothing is novel anymore and it is shame that tonight at Munich's largest beer garden, a couple of us didn't even have any beer, and we all headed home before the fireworks. As is becoming the pattern tonight we said goodbye to another friend. This will repeat itself tomorrow and maybe the next day. Sad really. Most of them traveled from D.C. and are already making plans to see each other again. I am the only student from Minnesota.

But enough of that! Maybe if I shut off this Yanni (what the heck?!) that is streaming over my online radio I'll be able to pull out of this mood. As James would say, I am being way too "emo" : ).

Above is what we all looked like after Session I finals: happy, with beers. This is the Seehaus Beer Garden, and my favorite beer garden so far. From left to right, me, Andrea, James, C.J., Trent and Kate.

That evening, was Munich's 850th Birthday Celebration. Pretty much everyone in the program enjoyed some part of the celebration/festival that night. If you scroll down, I've posted some videos of my experience. Above is the giant ferris wheel you could take a ride on. Right down from the ferris wheel was this crazy band, Chicks on Speed... and that is exactly what they sounded like .... I didn't get too close ; ).

The next day a bunch of us traveled to "the castles", Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. It is a day trip and two hour train ride but its worth the ride. Above is Schloss Hohenschwangau, King Maximillian's family castle.

Here it is, the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, from afar. This picture was actually taken from Hohenschwangau. 'Mad' King Ludwig commissioned this castle and watched it being built from Hohenschwangau. He actually hired a set designer rather than an architect to design th castle. He was in love with Wagner's operas (and perhaps Wager himself?) and wanted to build a fairytale castle to make the fantasy world of his operas come alive. Walt Disney fashioned the famous (and trademarked) Cinderella Castle after Neuschwanstein.

After visiting Hohenschwangau, you have the option of walking or taking a horse drawn carriage up to Neuschwanstein. Here are Denise, Corrina, Andrea and C.J. starting up the long and steep path. Notice the smiles... they were gone when we reached the top. I think we all burned off a couple of beers that day! I have more pictures of the castle trip, but they will have to wait. I am tired and am picking up Tom at the airport early in the AM : )!