Edinburgh and Carnoustie

So Tuesday we arrived in Edinburgh, got set up in a Hostel, and did a lot of walking. Edinburgh is a rather impressive city, and I was glad I got to spend time there. But now I am in Carnoustie in Angus on the East coast, and I am happier here, I think, away from the bustling (and often confusing) metropolis. As much as I liked and felt comfortable in Berlin, I think a lot of it had to do with the anonymity that comes from not being fluent with the language - a sort of security when you can't eavesdrop on conversations, where you don't understand a lot of the media without considerable thought, where your goal is to blend in with the local culture. In Edinburgh and here in Carnoustie, it has been a hard switch going back to speaking English regularly. I have really been unable to stop myself totally from saying certain phrases in German, naturally leading to somewhat uncomfortable social situations. While in Edinburgh we visited the Scottish National Party headquarters to renew my membership, and along the walls were posters depicting various programs, slogans, and reasons for supporting the SNP; I was significantly reminded of my last Semester at The Indiana Academy where I had an Independent Art study making a series of pro-Independence posters for Scotland. An unrelated but welcome surprise here was the weather; it is definitely much, much warmer here - more temperate - than on the Continent, and I am enjoying the Fall breeze.

Berlin to Jena to London to...

I compose this message while on a train from London to Edinburgh... The following is the message I wrote to my host in Berlin the night before we left to head to Jena. Following is an approximate English translation. // 18.10.07 Liebe Eva, Es gibt viel zu sagen, und dieses Buch ist nur so groß. Aber ich kann doch natürlich versuchen! Vielen, vielen Dank für alle. Es war sehr nett, wann ich zurückkommen würde, und Du warst immer freundlich und großzügig, sogar wann ich nur am Morgen zurück kam. Frühstück war immer schön und leicht mit Dir, und ich lernte eigentlich viel von Dir hier. Ich werde unseres Unterhalten vermissen. Auch werde ich andere Dinge vermissen, aber so geht Leben. Ein paar Dinge tun mir ganz Leid: zum Beispiel war ich am ersten Tag so spät! Ich hatte zu viel Wasser auch benutzen, das ich weiß. Aber ich versuchte damit besser zu werden, und ich hoffe, dass Deine Rechnung nicht so groß ist. Aber sie sind negativen Dinge, und hier sollen wir an guten Dinge sprechen, und ich glaube, dass sie nicht so schlecht werden, wann Zeit vorbei ist. Ich war und bin dankbar jeden Tag für die Croissants – sie waren gut für meinen Hunger! Ich danke Dir für das Bett, das Dach, die Frühstücke, und so weiter, und so weiter, und so weiter! Ich war glücklich, Dir für meine Vermieterin/Gastgeberin zu haben. Ich hoffe, dass ich in Jena und in Wien Gastfamilien so wie Dich haben werde. Ich hoffe auch, dass Du mir schreiben wirst. Meine Addresse bei meiner Uni ist so: (Addresse) Ich hatte eine tolle Zeit bei Dir. Ich wünsche Dir total Glück und Spaß mit allen, den Du machtest. Vielleicht darf ich, nächstes mal ich in Berlin bin, Dich besuchen. (Ich hoffe, ,,Ja wohl.”) Bis dann! Mit herzlichen, dankvollen, freundlichen Grüße, Ian T. Cross, ,,Der Iv” // 10/18/07 Dear Eva, There is a lot to say, and this book is only so large. But I can try, of course! Thank you very, very much for everything. It was very nice, when I would come back, and you were always friendly and generous, even when I came back in the morning. Breakfast was always nice and easy with you, and I actually learned a lot from you here. I will miss our conversations. Also will I miss other things, but that’s how life is. A few things I am very sorry for: for example, I was so late on the first day! I have used too much water, too, that I know. But I tried to get better with that, and I hope that your bills are not so large. But those are negative things, and here we should speak about good things, and I believe that they will not be so bad when time has passed. I was and am thankful every day for the Croissants – they were good for my hunger! Thank you for the bed, the roof, the breakfasts, and so on, and so on, and so on! I was lucky to have you as my Landlady/host. I hope that in Jena and in Vienna I will have host families like you. I also hope that you will write to me. My address at my University is thus: (Address) I had a great time staying with you. I wish you complete luck and fun with everything that you do. Maybe I may visit you next time I am in Berlin. (I hope for “yes.”) Until then! With hearty, thankful, friendly greetings, Ian T. Cross, “The Ivf” // Jena was also very interesting, if busy and at times heavy. We saw Jena, Leipzig, Weimar, and the Buchenwald Concentration Camp, where the fog was unbelievable and the desperate feeling of sadness and hopelessness was palpable. I have to admit that I find the former DDR (East Germany) citizens, lifestyle, and culture much more likable and alluring than what I have witnessed from the West. Still, Aaron and I are finally in Scotland, and hopefully our plans will work out at the same time that we are able to relax and recuperate. I am also looking forward to heading back to Wien.

Mein Geld ist Schon Weg

Yesterday, Friday, Aaron and I went to the Hauptbahnhof in Berlin and after consulting our options and some people, we decided that taking a train was the best and actually cheapest option for our journey to Scotland. Using our tickets as guides, here are the plans. On October 22, Monday, we'll leave Jena and travel to Berlin; from Berlin we go to Brussels; from Brussels we go to London; from London, Edinburgh. The total time for this leg is a little over 20 hours. The following Monday, we leave Edinburgh and travel once again to London; this time we go to Paris next; then a train to Munich; and finally a train to Vienna. Altogether it was certainly the most money I personally have ever spent at one time in my entire life, but Aaron and I figured it was probably the best option, considering flying entailed lots of flying and hotels and such, as well as motion sickness, medicine, anxiety, luggage check, and so on. I am happy with the decision, even if it was pricey. I am very excited to go to Scotland, although I did consider Poland and Italy as well. Scotland is very special to me, and I feel an almost mystical connection to it. Since we left in 2005 I have been anxious to return, and it will also be good to stop by the Scottish National Party office and inquire about the status of my membership; I also want to spend time in Edinburgh, seeing the "hidden gem of Europe" and perhaps researching some for my novel. There are also plans to spend time with some relatives of mine, and perhaps also spend some time in the Highlands (naturally my true calling). Before all of this, though, we first have most of a week left in Berlin; on Friday we go to Jena to spend a weekend there and hopefully gain further insight into the lives of East Germans before and since the fall of the Wall. In the week before we leave Berlin I must spend time researching for my Ethnographic Project; so far the plan is to study the Kinderspielplätze (Playgrounds) in the vicinity of my apartment, talking to Germans about the safety concerns and such. Today Max and I went around Berlin and saw such sights as the Brandenburger Tor, which was hosting a political rally at the time, the Siegersäule, and the Mac House im Schloß, who suggested I wait until Wien to get my CD drive fixed because of time constraints (I also bought a protective case for my iPod).