On Monday I see Herr Kuehne, the guesthouse manager and tell him how much I enjoyed Speyer because I remembered he lives there. He tells me that the cost of housing is lower than in Heidelberg and the weather better. He also thinks “the people are more friendly because they are happier”, a very interesting concept; I don’t think that the people of the Napa Valley are either happier or friendlier! Spent much of the rest of the day having the outside mirror replaced on my VW Golf, which was demolished a few nights ago when someone sideswiped my car. I drive to the VW dealer, Bernhardt Volkswagen Zentrum, Heidelberg on Hebelstrasse close to the railway station and Yalcin Sezar the Serviceberator (Service Advisor) spends almost as long making sure that they have the proper parts in stock and completing the paper work as the mechanic spends installing it. The dealership is huge, taking up the equivalent of a city block with many salespeople, service people and other personnel. The estimate is €130 and it will take an hour. I catch a #33 bus at the stop outside the door and spend a couple of hours riding around the town. At Piccadilly, the local English shop I buy “Shakespeare” by Bill Bryson as a paperback for €13 and have a bite of lunch. Back at the dealer, the car is ready and the total bill €115.43 or about $170; I believe considerably less than in the States. In the evening, on TV, I watch a German dubbed B & W movie with Frances MacDermond (the woman from ‘Fargo’) and the guy from ‘Sopranos’. It’s probably an early Cohn brother’s movie, which takes place in Santa Rosa and Sacramento.
Tuesday in class; Manuela and I spend most of the time on the German synopsis of Frau Ohne Shatten in the program. The story is very obtuse, the language obscure and we both have a terrible time getting it straight. I also get some help from Wikipedia.
At the next class Manuela brings in a couple of different local newspapers, which she had used in one of her other classes. We look through ‘BILD’, a tabloid similar to the English ‘Daily Mirror’, which has a nude picture on the lower half of the front page, every day. Manuela says this paper is not delivered to homes and can only be bought at newsstands; it costs €. 60, while the ‘Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung’ that I buy almost everyday costs €1.10.
In the evening I go to a lecture sponsored by the ‘Hochschule fur Judische Studien’; it’s as esoteric as they come! Dean Philip Bell, visiting professor from ‘Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies’ in Chicago is speaking on “Early Modern Jewish and Christian Relations in Central Europe: The Context of Environmental History”; luckily he speaks in English. Philip Bell is the author of several books on Early Modern Jewish subjects including “Sacred Communities, Jewish and Christian Identities in 15th Century Germany” and “Jews in the Early Modern World” published 2008 by Rowman & Littlefield. I know that you all will want to get your own copies of these! The early modern period of Jewish history is from 1400 to 1700.
Oh, I also get a parking ticket for €15, my first one. I show it to the desk clerk at the hotel and she explains that I fill it in with my bank account details and the bank pays it direct. Since I don’t have an account here, I go to the local bank pay them cash plus €2 service charge and they pay the ticket – clever!
Photos:
Professor Philip Bell 3#041
Heidelberg 3#003
Heidelberg 3#027
Bicycles at Hauptbahnhof 3#043
Tuesday in class; Manuela and I spend most of the time on the German synopsis of Frau Ohne Shatten in the program. The story is very obtuse, the language obscure and we both have a terrible time getting it straight. I also get some help from Wikipedia.
At the next class Manuela brings in a couple of different local newspapers, which she had used in one of her other classes. We look through ‘BILD’, a tabloid similar to the English ‘Daily Mirror’, which has a nude picture on the lower half of the front page, every day. Manuela says this paper is not delivered to homes and can only be bought at newsstands; it costs €. 60, while the ‘Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung’ that I buy almost everyday costs €1.10.
In the evening I go to a lecture sponsored by the ‘Hochschule fur Judische Studien’; it’s as esoteric as they come! Dean Philip Bell, visiting professor from ‘Spertus Institute of Jewish Studies’ in Chicago is speaking on “Early Modern Jewish and Christian Relations in Central Europe: The Context of Environmental History”; luckily he speaks in English. Philip Bell is the author of several books on Early Modern Jewish subjects including “Sacred Communities, Jewish and Christian Identities in 15th Century Germany” and “Jews in the Early Modern World” published 2008 by Rowman & Littlefield. I know that you all will want to get your own copies of these! The early modern period of Jewish history is from 1400 to 1700.
Oh, I also get a parking ticket for €15, my first one. I show it to the desk clerk at the hotel and she explains that I fill it in with my bank account details and the bank pays it direct. Since I don’t have an account here, I go to the local bank pay them cash plus €2 service charge and they pay the ticket – clever!
Photos:
Professor Philip Bell 3#041
Heidelberg 3#003
Heidelberg 3#027
Bicycles at Hauptbahnhof 3#043
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