It
all started with the ICFPAM conference that was held at the University of
Pretoria in 2010… This conference was held between 22nd of May until
the 27th of May 2010. It was at this conference where one of my
dreams came true…
I
was offered to work on my Master’s degree at the Leibniz-Institut f
Since
a little kid I always wanted to experience Europe. Experience their lifestyle,
and especially the snow… The enormous cloud of “smoke” coming from one’s mouth
while speaking… the thrill of riding on something in the snow… etc...
I arrived in Dresden just after 10:00 am
(Approx. 1 hr. flight from Frankfurt) and to my surprise, it was snowing!! For the
first time in my life I experienced real snow! The fragile structure of a snow flake amazed me. A chunk of snow is as light as a feather and I noted that when it is too cold, one cannot make snowballs. The temperature was -17oC,
but the apparent temperature was actually -26oC. The snow felt like dust in my hand, it felt soft, but was flowing like sand through an hourglass. And when one is walking on it, it made an unique sound. Fortunately the
temperatures inside the buildings and houses are approx. 18oC (thanks to nuclear energy available
in Germany) which makes it nice to visit the shops and to take a break from the cold weather. I took a train (BAHN) and Tram to Alexander-Puschkin-Platz where I
finally met the family who I’m staying with for the next 6 months.
On
Sunday, 5th of February, I travelled with my supervisor and friends to
a town called Seiffen which is known for their wood carvings. The craftsmanship
of the people living there is extraordinary. Some of the known goods they make
are the famous nutcracker doll, incense dolls that puff and also pyramids which turns when a candle is placed underneath. Seiffen is definitely a town one should visit when one is in East Germany. The main purpose for the visit was to go snow sledding. It was quite an experience.
The hill is
about 300m long with an angle between 25 degrees and 30 degrees. The speed that
is achieved is between 30km/h and 40km/h… which is fast if it is your first
time! After about 3 hours of sledding and trying to push my limit to the ultimate, I realized I wanted more!! That is when I saw in the distance people doing cross country skiing. Unfortunately we were to many people to go skiing, so we extended the idea for another weekend....
Most of the people are asking me whether it is difficult to find one’s way in Germany
without speaking…My answer is "YES!". The people in East Germany are friendly. And
when you try to speak German, those who understand, will help you to improve… I
find it not so difficult to learn German… It is not an impossible task, but it is a
really good challenge!! Off course it will take time to learn all their grammar, etc, but it took me two days to be able to have a conversation with the cashier when I go out to buy some groceries.
We
will meet again after the next adventure….
Bis
später
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Picture info:
1st picture => Shutter Speed: 1/60 sec
Apperture: f/4
ISO: 640
2nd picture => Shutter Speed: 1/1500 sec
Apperture: f/4.8
ISO: 320
3rd picture => Shutter Speed: 1/1200 sec
Apperture: f/8
ISO: 200
4th picture => Shutter Speed: 1/125 sec
Apperture: f/5.6
ISO: 250
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