And now for a brief message from the editorial board:
JEM
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
And When We Looked Up ... He Was Gone!
And now for the anti-climactic conclusion of Obama's visit to Dresden ...
Massive jets carrying an army of shiny, bulky, black American SUVs and sedans and even two helicopters (who knew you could transport a helicopter in an airplane?) landed in Dresden days before the President himself did. Dresden's two most luxurious hotels were emptied — to the fury of their wealthy guests — to house the president and his entourage for one night. The city's public transit system was completely scrambled starting a couple of days before his arrival to ensure that the high security areas would stay secure while he was here. Naturally, the city's police force was pushed to its limits trying to keep the most powerful man in the world safe under their watch. I never realized what it took for an American president to travel. Wherever he goes, mountains must be moved. The American taxpayers do some of the moving, but a great deal of it is also done by the host. I've heard it estimated that Dresden spent something like €15 million in anticipation of Obama's visit.
And amazingly, it was all done with a smile. The city was plastered with "Welcome Mr. President!" signs and decals on every tram, and all of downtown was cloaked in red, white, and blue in anticipation of his arrival. To be entertaining its first American president was exciting enough, but to be entertaining Obama, easily Germany's favorite U.S. prez since JFK, was almost more than could be borne. Even though it was clear that his time in Dresden would be short and that, in fact, no public address was planned, the media couldn't help but pre-emptively quote Obama as reprising and revamping JFK's beloved line: "Ich bin ein Dresdner!"
The Man of the Hour flew into the Dresden airport from Cairo at about 11 p.m. on Thursday and within 12 hours he was gone. Jake and I had foolishly decided to meet for lunch downtown to see the circus, but by noon the crowds had vaporized, the barricades were being taken down, and all that was left were a few sort of sad little reminders that he was even here at all.
"Free Amerikaners for everyone!" Amerikaners are a German baked treat that I think are an attempt at a frosted sugar cookie, although, to be sure, I've never seen anything really resembling an Amerikaner in America.
"'YES WE CAN' 20% off everything only on June 4 and 5 'IT'S OBAMA'S DAY'"
To be honest with you, the most exciting part of Obama's visit to Dresden for me, was seeing Tom Brokaw interview him in the courtyard of the Zwinger (one of my favorite places in the city) the next day on the Nightly News.
I suppose I'm glad that my president isn't wasting any time. He has a lot of work to do, and it appears that he's fully aware of that. But as a resident of Dresden, I can't help but feel just a little heartbroken that he didn't have time to stand before the people of Dresden for 2 minutes and say, "You've got a real nice city here. Thanks for putting me up. Hope. Change. Yes, we can."
I suppose I can settle for this politically significant press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Dresden's famous Grünes Gewölbe, or Green Vault treasure museum:
JEM
Massive jets carrying an army of shiny, bulky, black American SUVs and sedans and even two helicopters (who knew you could transport a helicopter in an airplane?) landed in Dresden days before the President himself did. Dresden's two most luxurious hotels were emptied — to the fury of their wealthy guests — to house the president and his entourage for one night. The city's public transit system was completely scrambled starting a couple of days before his arrival to ensure that the high security areas would stay secure while he was here. Naturally, the city's police force was pushed to its limits trying to keep the most powerful man in the world safe under their watch. I never realized what it took for an American president to travel. Wherever he goes, mountains must be moved. The American taxpayers do some of the moving, but a great deal of it is also done by the host. I've heard it estimated that Dresden spent something like €15 million in anticipation of Obama's visit.
And amazingly, it was all done with a smile. The city was plastered with "Welcome Mr. President!" signs and decals on every tram, and all of downtown was cloaked in red, white, and blue in anticipation of his arrival. To be entertaining its first American president was exciting enough, but to be entertaining Obama, easily Germany's favorite U.S. prez since JFK, was almost more than could be borne. Even though it was clear that his time in Dresden would be short and that, in fact, no public address was planned, the media couldn't help but pre-emptively quote Obama as reprising and revamping JFK's beloved line: "Ich bin ein Dresdner!"
The Man of the Hour flew into the Dresden airport from Cairo at about 11 p.m. on Thursday and within 12 hours he was gone. Jake and I had foolishly decided to meet for lunch downtown to see the circus, but by noon the crowds had vaporized, the barricades were being taken down, and all that was left were a few sort of sad little reminders that he was even here at all.
"Free Amerikaners for everyone!" Amerikaners are a German baked treat that I think are an attempt at a frosted sugar cookie, although, to be sure, I've never seen anything really resembling an Amerikaner in America.
"'YES WE CAN' 20% off everything only on June 4 and 5 'IT'S OBAMA'S DAY'"To be honest with you, the most exciting part of Obama's visit to Dresden for me, was seeing Tom Brokaw interview him in the courtyard of the Zwinger (one of my favorite places in the city) the next day on the Nightly News.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
I suppose I can settle for this politically significant press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at Dresden's famous Grünes Gewölbe, or Green Vault treasure museum:
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
JEM
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Now with Subtitles!
OK, here's the video with subtitles, courtesy my darling husband. Enjoy!
And to answer your question, Livia, the news team found us through this blog. Apparently when you google "American Dresden", it comes up for some reason.
JEM
And to answer your question, Livia, the news team found us through this blog. Apparently when you google "American Dresden", it comes up for some reason.
JEM
Thursday, June 4, 2009
As Seen on Television
Everybody, real quick go to this link —http://www.tagesschau.de/multimedia/video/video507596.html — to see Jake and me on the German news before they take it down. In the meantime, we'll try to figure out how to download it and put it up permanently.
Dear Germans, I apologize for slaughtering your language.
JEM
Dear Germans, I apologize for slaughtering your language.
JEM
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
An American President in Dresden
Guess who's coming to Dresden next week?
That's right, our president is coming to visit us. Presumably, he'll be wearing a shirt. Though all bets are off on the suitcoat.
The city of Dresden appears to be quite stoked about the whole (rather baffling) situation, as evidenced by this photo on the city website of our mayor smiling with her TEETH!!!
The enthusiasm is also made evident by the site's "craft corner", which offers several high resolution print-offs that can be turned into little flags so that we can all greet the American president in the manner to which he's accustomed (thanks for the tip, Adrienne):
Reports say he won't be here on state business and won't be stopping by Berlin to shake hands with Angela Merkel (much to her party's chagrin in this election year). This article in Der Spiegel says it's a "personal trip", in part to visit the Buchenwald concentration camp, which is not far from here. The president's great-uncle served as an American infantryman in this area during World War II and took part in the liberation of one of Buchenwald's smaller satellite work camps.
Other reports say that the President also plans to visit locations in Dresden particularly significant to the 1945 firebombing of the city, including the Frauenkirche. Some suggest he may make a statement in Dresden "acknowledging German suffering in World War II", which has apparently infuriated some Americans, who feel that doing so would not only be an apology, but would also somehow validate Nazism. (Take your pick from the raging blogosphere here.)
I'm far from an expert on WWII or the bombing of this city, but I know enough to know that tens of thousands of people died that night in a truly horrifying fashion. I'm not going to say that it was right or wrong. War is hell, as the saying goes, and we certainly know that the German Luftwaffe took scores of lives in the exact same manner in Great Britain prior to the bombing of Dresden. Military strategy aside, however, I know that most of the people who died on Feb. 13, 1945, in Dresden were civilians, including women and children, and many were refugees. I don't know how many of those were Nazi sympathizers, but I do know they were all human. And I can acknowledge that they and their families suffered. I don't think doing so diminishes the crimes Nazi Germany committed or my own American patriotism.
If the rumors are true about the statement Obama will make here, I'm glad. I think it's a nice gesture, and a good reminder that our enemies, no matter who or where they are, are all human. And they suffer, too. Just like Americans.
Herzlich willkommen in Dresden, Mr. President. I hope you enjoy your stay.
JEM
That's right, our president is coming to visit us. Presumably, he'll be wearing a shirt. Though all bets are off on the suitcoat.
The city of Dresden appears to be quite stoked about the whole (rather baffling) situation, as evidenced by this photo on the city website of our mayor smiling with her TEETH!!!
The enthusiasm is also made evident by the site's "craft corner", which offers several high resolution print-offs that can be turned into little flags so that we can all greet the American president in the manner to which he's accustomed (thanks for the tip, Adrienne):
Reports say he won't be here on state business and won't be stopping by Berlin to shake hands with Angela Merkel (much to her party's chagrin in this election year). This article in Der Spiegel says it's a "personal trip", in part to visit the Buchenwald concentration camp, which is not far from here. The president's great-uncle served as an American infantryman in this area during World War II and took part in the liberation of one of Buchenwald's smaller satellite work camps.
Other reports say that the President also plans to visit locations in Dresden particularly significant to the 1945 firebombing of the city, including the Frauenkirche. Some suggest he may make a statement in Dresden "acknowledging German suffering in World War II", which has apparently infuriated some Americans, who feel that doing so would not only be an apology, but would also somehow validate Nazism. (Take your pick from the raging blogosphere here.)
I'm far from an expert on WWII or the bombing of this city, but I know enough to know that tens of thousands of people died that night in a truly horrifying fashion. I'm not going to say that it was right or wrong. War is hell, as the saying goes, and we certainly know that the German Luftwaffe took scores of lives in the exact same manner in Great Britain prior to the bombing of Dresden. Military strategy aside, however, I know that most of the people who died on Feb. 13, 1945, in Dresden were civilians, including women and children, and many were refugees. I don't know how many of those were Nazi sympathizers, but I do know they were all human. And I can acknowledge that they and their families suffered. I don't think doing so diminishes the crimes Nazi Germany committed or my own American patriotism.
If the rumors are true about the statement Obama will make here, I'm glad. I think it's a nice gesture, and a good reminder that our enemies, no matter who or where they are, are all human. And they suffer, too. Just like Americans.
Herzlich willkommen in Dresden, Mr. President. I hope you enjoy your stay.
JEM
Friday, May 15, 2009
Out, About
In no particular order, here are a bunch of photos taken by Jake and myself over the last month or so. They're all in Dresden and most are within walking distance of our apartment.
I can't believe I live here.
JEM
I can't believe I live here.
JEM
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Numbers
I thought my biggest number problem here would be that Germans express a lot of the numbers backwards. Here I'm not twenty-five years old, I'm five-and-twenty. But, as it turned out, there were all kinds of strange number situations that took getting used to. Case in point:
— Everywhere that decimals are used in numbers back home (fractions, prices, etc.), Germans use commas, and everywhere commas are used back home, Germans use decimals. For example, here the number 1,000 is shown as 1.000 and the number 1.5 million is 1,5 million. The price 5.99 is shown as 5,99. And the price $3,000.25 (are you ready for it?) would be expressed $3.000,25. Sorry for just BLOWING YOUR MIND.
— Germans use the 24-hour clock. So a meeting at 3 p.m. is at 15 o'clock instead. I just recently stopped requiring my fingers to determine the correct times for things. And I'm still pretty much baffled by time expressions. "Half-10" means 9:30, as in half-way to 10. And "three-quarters 10" means 9:45.
— When Americans write a date numerically, it always goes month/day/year. Here it's always day/month/year. (And they express it with decimals rather than dashes, which I think looks sharp. And single digits in the date are always expressed with a zero in front of them.) Also, on the topic of dates, Germans like to express them numerically verbally, as well as in writing, as in, "We'll meet on the tenth fifth (May 10)." And they'll express it like that even if it's in three days. I find I think in days of the week and they, more often than not, think in exact dates.
— In German many of the number words are similar, hundred is hundert, thousand is tausend, and million is million. But billion is milliard.
Hopefully we'll talk again soon. I'm thinking 15.05 at around 20 o'clock or maybe half-21, if that works for you.
JEM
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
