DEUTSCHLAND! Or, the trip from copenhagen to germany

I have a traveling companion now who is a first year grad at MIT. We traveled to Bremen and then to Bonn. There wasn't a lot of sightseeing since we were both tired, but we did take a few photos, including one of a statue of the Bremen town musicians. My German is very very bad, but has been somewhat helpful. At least now I can ask someone if they speak English first before just speaking at them.


The train from Copenhagen to Hamburg boards a ferry. Sehr kuhl.



The train from Hamburg to Bremen was very full and we sat for the first hour in the compartment basically between trains. Very loud. Then figured out we could sit in the reserved seats if we were there not during the reserved leg of the journey.

Food in Europe *is* better. So is the coffee. And, man-- the bread is awesome. Also, Americans are fat. All the Europeans I've seen are pretty slim, or a little pudgy, but no one is 300-500 pounds and oozing over their seats on the train.

And! No handicapped-accessible anything. Do they all move to the US? I have not seen a single person in a wheelchair, and if I did I would stop them and ask how they get around.

The Danes more universally spoke English than where I've been in Germany. I wonder how the tourism of the two countries compares.

Our room here is bigger (by a lot) but about 30 minutes by bus from the university. I am surrounded by so many mathematicians (250 or so?) that the applause (quiet and polite) after each talk is thunderous.

Two of the other people at the workshop and now this conference do Tango so I will probably dance at some point in Bonn and danced twice in Copenhagen.

Lunch is 3 hours and it doesn't seem like quite enough :) Oh, and the student cafeterias here and in Copenhagen are really really nice. Nice salad bars, especially. Europe isn't so bad as a vegetarian (if you're careful).

Aside:
I am so incredibly happy I have a traveling partner. All this alone would have been a bit much. I feel so foreign surrounded by people not speaking English, and I'm a lot more shy/unassertive than I would be in, say, Chicago .