A Willkommen Fit for Royalty (or just the new bourgeoisie)

I made it!!

The flight was alright. We were flown economy class (of course) and it lasted almost eight hours, so of course it could’ve been more comfortable. However, Lufthansa started offering food and drinks basically as soon as we hit cruising altitude. I took the very first opportunity to have a glass of wine, and that was a very good choice. I was pleasantly surprised by my first transatlantic flight.

Arrival was very strange. There was no sense that I was in a new place. Sure, the signs were in German, but there was an English translation available directly below. That didn’t sßeem odd to me—maybe it’s because it’s an international airport and also had signs in Chinese and various other languages. Once we got out of the airport, things were a little different. The first thing I noticed was the atmosphere. It’s currently summer, which, to Americans, means sunny skies, humidity, and endless heat. Frankfurt was a bit different. We arrived at 8am and it was very cloudy and about 18 degrees Celsius. Luckily, I had worn a sweater on the plane.  On our way out, I started noticing other things, like the fact that all the taxis were Mercedes-Benz. I saw my first German dog, which was a Schnauzer.

We didn’t spend any time in Frankfurt, instead hopping immediately on a bus to Budenheim. On the bus, they told us that we would be staying at Schloss (castle) Waldthausen for our first night. Apparently it was built in the late 19^th century by a wealthy member of the new bourgeoisie. Nowadays, it serves as a place for bankers to meet and train.

The Schloss itself.

It’s actually a little strange—the outside looks like a castle, but the inside looks like a very typical office building. The walls are white plaster, and the floors are a modern-style laminate. On the property, there are little buildings that act as hotels. I had a room in one of those little buildings, and it was really nice. My own space with my own bathroom, free food and endless coffee... what more could I want?

My room!

Ravioli for lunch on the first day. Basically heaven.

Bread for breakfast the second day. Jealous yet?

One word: Spätzle.

The next two days were spent discussing the program in more detail (now referred to as PPP, not CBYX) and relaxing. One thing that I did not expect was how much the Germans stress recovery and relaxation. It seemed like everything we did was paired with coffee and a break, and our hosts asking us how we were doing. It was incredibly nice--most of the day was spend doing nothing in particular, but that's exactly what we all needed after an 8 hour flight and a 6 hour time difference. This starkly contrasts the American way of doing things. Everything in Georgetown seemed very GO GO GO when it really didn't have to be. That's how most things are in America: go go go, use the restroom if you need to, the go go go some more. I don't think I can live that way again after knowing what rest is like. 

In short, I think I'm going to like it here.