Saxony, land of cake and mountains

The second part of our trip was through the German state of Saxony, to Dresden. We planned some extra days on this part, because I didn't want to bicycle non-stop and I was looking for an excuse to use my German.

The food has been very good on the trip. I'm with someone whose culinary tastes roughly coincide with mine, which means he's willing to walk a bit further for a good restaurant or stop for beer at opportune times. Even more importantly for me, more than half of the restaurants we saw had at least one vegetarian option, which was a delightful change of pace from the situations I encounter in Madrid. 

I had realized it would be asparagus season in Germany, which is a really big deal here. Most restaurants had a special asparagus menus. The most innovative dish we had was a chicken burger overlaid with large white asparagus stalks and hollandaise sauce.

We had time for several hikes with excellent views. There is a huge national park that spans the much of the area. It's unique both for its sandstone formations, but also because of the huge swaps of dying spruce trees. They have a bark beetle invasion and the foresters have decided to let nature take its course, so that the native birch will replace the planted spruce.

One additional transportation system- a train that travels from suspended rails up a mountain. R has a special place in his heart for trams, but my favorites were the ferries.

As A noted on the last entry, we had great weather. Its probably best to do something like this in the shoulder season when it's not too hot or cold, but we had been prepared for a lot more rain. My opinion is that cycling in rain isn't too bad if you know you have dry clothes and a hot shower when you arrive.

I think the Germans make really good cake and torte, so it had been my request that we eat cake every day that we were in Germany. I am happy to say that we achieved our goal.

Czechia

 Sorry, no Spanish posts on this trip...

The trip from Prague to Dresden is 225 km, over about six days. We have added a few days on each end and one in the middle to stretch it out to almost two weeks.

Our requirements for choosing that location were that the route did not have mountains but did have good beer. Czechia (a name that is now an acceptable alternative to Czech Republic) and Germany have certainly delivered. There was one terribly steep hill the first day where I required multiple rest stops, but the beer has been uniformly excellent.

The path follows two rivers, the Vltava, and later the Elbe. We are mostly along the water, but sometimes go through small villages. I feel like we are doing a tour of alternative transportation options, as besides the bicycles, we have hiked, used trams, ferries, buses, and a cable car. Yet to come is the train.

Towns are safer from marauders at the top of a hill, but that makes them more effort to reach at nightfall.

The tour company booked our hotela, provides the bicycles, and transports the luggage. I would definitely choose this option again. Not only do I appreciate not carrying my luggage, they choose nicer hotels than I would on my own. Here is my bedroom with a 16th century vaulted ceiling. 

Vacation// Vacaciones

La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.

My summer vacation will be early this year. I need to renew my visa and I´m not allowed to leave Spain during the renewal process, which is probably includes July and August. (Honestly, it might also include September and October - government bureaucracy is real and byzantine here.)

So that´s the reason my summer vacation is happening now. My friend R arrived from the US yesterday, and today we are going to Prague. From there, we will travel to Dresden on bike. Two years ago, R and I did a similar trip in Pennsylvania. This time we´ll be traveling in luxury, because a travel company has booked our hotels and will transport the luggage each day. I am excited about bicycling and seeing castles, but equally excited to drink excellent beer and eat a lot of German torte.

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Mis vacaciones empiezan temprano este verano. Necesito renovar mi visado este año y no puedo salir de España mientras esté esperando la renovación, que en principio será en julio o agosto. (Sinceramente, es posible que este periodo también se prolongue durante los meses de septiembre y de octubre — la burocracia gubernamental es bizantina y deja mucho que desear).

Por esta razón, mis vacaciones están comenzando ahora. Mi amigo R llegó de los Estados Unidos ayer. Hoy vamos a Praga e iremos de allí a Dresde en bici. R y yo, hace dos años, emprendimos un viaje en bicicleta similar en Pensilvania. Esta vez, viajaremos de lujo porque una empresa organiza los hoteles y transportará nuestro equipaje. Tengo tantas ganas de montar en bici como de ver castillos; también, de beber buena cerveza y de comer mucho pastel alemán.

Languages, again // Idiomas, otra vez

La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.

Classes are over for the year. My final exam grades show that I am really good at reading and talking, and sufficiently good at writing and listening. Europe uses a standardized level system for all European languages, non intuitively labeled A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. I am now a B2.2, which means I am halfway through the fourth level. I am planning to take more courses this summer, and get close to finishing level four, but after that I want to take a break before I get completely sick of studying.

In the past year, I have ignored German completely. In fact, I unsubscribed from podcasts and quit reading blogs on the language because I mix up the two languages when I try to study them at the same time. But as soon as I finished my exam, I quit thinking about Spanish completely and went back to German, so that I can refresh it before an upcoming vacation. Part of an upcoming trip will be spent there, and I'm trying my best to avoid the situation of going to a German cafe and accidentally asking them, "¿Podrías tener un café con leche, caliente?"

It has been a joy and a relief to slip back into German. Although I have not used it in many years, my passive vocabulary is still very large, and I can remember pretty complex grammar. So I was able to pick up a novel in German and start reading it for fun, something I cannot yet do in Spanish. But I admit that I dream of the day when that is possible.

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Mis clases terminaron y ya no habrá más durante este semestre. Mis notas avalan que soy realmente buena leyendo y hablando; también que soy suficientemente buena escribiendo y escuchando. Para ilustrar, Europa tiene un sistema estandarizado para determinar el nivel que adquiere cada persona, para ello, utilizan etiquetas concretando cada nivel A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 y C2. Ahora estoy en el nivel B2.1, lo que significa que hice la mitad del nivel cuatro. Tengo en mente hacer más clases este verano, pero después quiero descansar un poquito, o me cansaré de estudiar.

Durante el año pasado, ignoré el alemán. Concretamente, dejé de leer blogs o de escuchar pódcast en alemán porque confundo los dos idiomas cuando intento estudiarlos al mismo tiempo. Por consiguiente, cuando terminé mis exámenes, dejé de estudiar en español y regresé al alemán, para revisarlo después de mis vacaciones. Uno de mis destinos de mi próximo viaje será Alemania, y cuando llegue quiero evitar ir a una cafeteríia y preguntar, “podrías tener un café con leche, caliente?”

Me hace feliz y alivia volver al alemán. Aunque no lo he usado durante muchos años, mi vocabulario receptivo aún es amplio y recuerdo gramática compleja. Gracias a esto, cogí una novela en alemán y empecé a leerla sin problema, es algo que no puedo hacer aún en español. A pesar de todo, tengo ese sueño y sé que algún día será posible cumplirlo.

Competitions // Concursos

La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.

I recently visited a rose garden. It is now spring, almost summer and everything was blooming there. They were having a competition featuring new rose varieties, and people could vote for their favorites. I didn't participate, because choosing your favorite rose seemed somewhat like choosing your favorite child- they were all beautiful.

But spring isn't just the season for flowers, it's the season for Eurovision! This is the biggest music competition in the world, even though almost no one in the US has heard of it. It's more or less like the Super Bowl- people get together to watch it on TV, eat, and to discuss everything that they're watching*. I watched one of the semifinals with a friend at his apartment and the final competition with a group of friends in an Irish bar. It was fascinating to me to learn about the the politics embedded in this competition. For example, a part of the scoring is based on public vote. Usually, Spain votes for Portugal, and Portugal votes for Spain, regardless of the quality of their actual musical acts. This year, no one voted for the UK - apparently there's not a lot of love lost on the UK from Europe right now.

I am not at all a pop music fan, but I really enjoyed Eurovision. It's got music, dancing, costumes, and international drama. I hope to repeat this every year!

*I won't bore you with the history or the rules - you can read more here if you want.

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Visité un jardín de rosas hace pocas semanas. Ahora es primavera, casi verano, y las flores están floreciendo. Hay un concurso sobre 24 variedades de rosas bastante desconocidas en el que la gente puede votar por su favorita. No participé porque no fui capaz de escoger solo una rosa, me fascinaban todas.

¡Pero la primavera no es sólo la temporada de las flores, es la temporada de Eurovisión! De hecho, es el concurso de música más grande del mundo, aunque casi ninguna persona en los Estados Unidos lo conozca. Es más o menos como la Super Town en los EE. UU.: las personas se reúnen para ver el espectáculo en la tele, hablan y comen. Siguiendo con el fenómeno de Eurovisión, vi una semifinal con un amigo en su piso y la final con un grupo en un bar irlandés. También, fue fascinante aprender un poco sobre cómo la historia y la política envuelven y afectan al conjunto de este programa en su totalidad. Por ejemplo, una parte de la puntuación proviene del voto público. Normalmente, España vota por Portugal, y Portugal por España. Otro ejemplo bastante evidente de esta dinámica es que nadie votó a Reino Unido este año. Parece que Europa no siente un gran aprecio hacia Reino Unido en la actualidad.

Actualmente, no tengo un gran interés por la música pop, pero este concurso me divirtió mucho. Hay música, baile y disfraces. ¡Espero repetir esto cada año!

Many people, from many countries, enjoying Eurovision. // 

Mucha gente de muchos países disfruta de Eurovisión.

Cultural events / Eventos culturales

The Second of May // El Segundo de Mayo

La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.

One of my friends  enjoys learning about the history of the city as much as I do, which gives me opportunities to be a tourist in my own city. On our weekly language exchanges, R and I often do guided tours or visit museums. I have learned a lot on these trips and in this entry I'll talk about a few of the most recent ones.

R´s union organizes tours, and sometimes I get to go along. A few weeks ago, we boarded a bus to go outside of the city and visit a military base, which houses the Museum of Military Pharmacy. (I do not know the difference between military pharmacy history and regular pharmacy history.) The guide was super interesting and passionate, but I was exhausted after two hours of highly technical Spanish explanations. I didn't know anything about this topic before, and unfortunately, three weeks later, I don't remember anything that I learned there. But it was still a great trip!

The Second of May is a holiday in Madrid, where they commemorate a battle in 1808 a battle in 1808, when the citizens fought against Napoleon Bonaparte's soldiers. Unfortunately, Madrid lost, and Napoleon's brother Jose ruled for several years. The Madrid History Museum had an exhibit showing scenes from the battle using Playmobil figures. The scenes were super detailed and as realistic as one can be using something like LEGO, and they were accompanied by explanatory texts about how the citizens fought the French soldiers with scissors, shovels, and anything they could get their hands on.

Another recent "holiday" was the 23rd of April, which is International Book Day. (It may be international but I had never heard of it before.) There are open-air book markets and theater events all over the country. That was the day that we visited the house of Lope de Vega, who is a poet and playwright as famous as Shakespeare in the spanish-speaking world. The museum gave me a free book that day, but its written in academic Spanish, which means I need a few more years´ study. to read it.

(Pictures below.)

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Frecuentemente, mi amigo de intercambio, R, y yo hacemos visitas guiadas o visitamos museos. Hasta ahora, aprendí muchísimo participando en este tipo de encuentros culturales. En esta entrada describo algunas de nuestras visitas recientes.

El sindicato de R suele organizar algunas visitas y, a veces, R me invita. Hace varias semanas, fuimos en autobús afuera de la ciudad para visitar una base militar, donde se ubica el Museo de la Farmacia Militar. La guía fue interesante y apasionante, pero yo estaba agotada después de dos horas de explicaciones técnicas en español. No sabía nada sobre la historia de la medicina ni de la farmacia , y lamentablemente, tres semanas después no recuerdo ningún dato de lo que aprendí.

El 2 de mayo fue un día festivo en Madrid,día en el que se conmemora el Levantamiento del 2 de Mayo de 1808, cuando los ciudadanos lucharon contra los soldados de Bonaparte. Resumidamente, los madrileños perdieron y el hermano de Napoleón, José, gobernaba desde hacía algunos años. El Museo de Historia de Madrid tenía una exposición de la batalla con muñecos de Playmobil (un juguete como Lego). Mostró tres escenas detalladas. Fue interesante porque en los textos se detalla todo sobre la batalla.

El 23 de abril se celebra el Día del Libro con mercados de libros en plena calle y con eventos como las obras de teatro. Ese día, visitamos la casa de Lope de Vega. Lope de Vega fue un poeta y dramaturgo tan famoso como Shakespeare en el mundo hispano. Recibí un regalo de un libro gratis del museo, pero el nivel de español es muy alto. Espero poder leerlo después de algunos años más de estudio.

The Military Pharmacy Museum //El Museo de la Farmacia Militar

As a joke, every scene had an anachronistic figure. My Star Trek friends will appreciate seeing Spock here, I think. // Como broma, cada escena tiene una cosa que no se corresponde totalmente con la realidad. No creo que Spock. el Vulcano de Star Trek, haya estado en la batalla.

Lopa de Vega´s house// La casa de Lope de Vega

Bicycling // El ciclismo

My new bicycle // mi nueva bicileta

La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.

My biggest disappointment by far in Madrid has been the bicycle situation. When I visited in 2019, I didn't ride bicycle very much so I didn't realize that the cycling infrastructure here is basically a disaster compared to other European cities. My visit to Valencia demonstrated that it's possible for Spanish cities to have incredible biking opportunities. But in Madrid, the majority of cyclists belong to two groups: either they deliver food for places like UberEats, or they are sports fiends whizzing by in Lycra on racing bikes*. Obviously, I don't fit in either one of those groups.

It's rare to see bicycle lanes here. Instead, they have lanes in the street that are intended for vehicles traveling 30 kph or less, for bicycles or slow cars. But of course the cars travel much faster and it is dangerous for cyclists. Bus drivers and car drivers aren't expecting to see bikes in the streets,  which makes it dangerous enough that the people don't ride in the streets, and the cycle continues.

There are bike lanes in Parks outside of the city center, but they don't go anywhere. For that reason, I've decided I'll only be cicyling for exercise, and that I can't use my bicycle for errands or just getting around town like I did in the US. I finally bought a bike a few weeks ago, and have begun to explore.

*In English, they are pejoratively known as MAMILS, or middle-aged men in lycra, and are negatively stereotyped as being roadhogs and hating both cars and other bicyclists who are not as serious as they are.

The options in Madrid // Hay dos opciones en Madrid.

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Para mí, la mayor decepción de Madrid es el mal estado de su infraestructura ciclista. Cuando lo visité en 2019 yo no iba en bici, y por esta razón no me di cuenta de que ir en bicicleta es una catástrofe en comparación con otras ciudades de Europa. Mi visita a Valencia demuestra que es posible para las ciudades españolas crear oportunidades increíbles para el ciclismo. Lo cierto es que la mayoría de ciclistas de Madrid pertenecen a dos grupos: repartidores de comida que trabajan para empresas como UberEats o fanáticos del deporte que se ponen licras y van rápidamente en bicis que son ultraligeras. Evidentemente, no me sentí parte de ninguno de estos dos grupos.

Los carriles para bici son raros. En cambio, hay carriles en las calles para vehículos que viajan a menos de 30 km/h, para bicicletas y coches que circulan lentamente. Claro que sí, los coches circulan a más de 30 km/h y es peligroso para los ciclistas. Los conductores de coches y autobuses no esperan ver bicis en las calles, y por el peligro que representa esa falta de costumbre la gente no va en bici; es un círculo vicioso.

Existen carriles bici en parques y fuera del centro de la ciudad. Debido a esto, decidí que podía ir en bici para practicar deporte, pero no para hacer rutas a cualquier parte de la ciudad o llegar con la bici a destinos útiles, como hacía en los EE. UU. Compré una bicicleta hace algunas semanas y empecé a explorar.