Pfingsten
So we are currently in the middle of a long weekend here in Germany to celebrate the religious holiday of Pfingsten, which is apparently the same as Pentecost in English.
However, it's not really the same thing, because when the Germans celebrate a religious holiday, everything shuts down. Almost everything is closed right now (except a few restaurants and the movies) and will be until Wednesday. Of course Sunday is a closed-shop day anyway, but the beauty of Pfingsten is that it lasts two days beyond Sunday -- there's Pfingsten Monday and Pfingsten Tuesday. This means that all the shops are closed FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW.
Man, I love Germany.
This also means that the university did not hold classes today (Pfingsten Monday) and won't hold classes tomorrow (Pfingsten Tuesday). So no Philosophy for me this week. We also did not have Philosophy last week because the professor was in China. So I haven't thought much about philosophy in a few weeks. It will be tough to go back.
After last week's train experience, I decided to forego travelling for a weekend and stayed on campus. Mostly I've been doing reading and watching movies the whole time. After staying in and doing work most of the day today, I decided to go out for a run (the gym was also closed today for, yup, Pfingsten Monday). Germany stays light until at least 9pm in the spring so I left for my run at 8pm, knowing that it would be light when I came back. In a way I almost wish it had been dark. Every single group of people I ran past started laughing as soon as I ran by.
I'm not kidding. I also know I'm not being paranoid because it happens all the time. I mean I know I'm no raving beauty but I don't think I look that funny in my running clothes and baseball cap. I don't run with a limp, I'm not really gasping for air, and my shoes are not untied. Of course there was no one else out there running because people don't really do that here, so when they see someone huffing down the sidewalk it must look hysterical to them.
I'm amazed no one runs here. How they stay so skinny without exercise is beyond me (we Americans have a theory it's because they smoke so much). But really, going out for a jog on the normal sidewalks here (which are lovely and wide ... Los Angeles could learn a lesson about how to do sidewalks and bike lanes from the Germans) is not fun. Strange looks, snorts, and snickers. Good thing I can just put on my iPod and (kind of) drown them out.
Another reason it will be nice to end this madness and just go back home...
Happy Pfingsten! (Ugh.)
However, it's not really the same thing, because when the Germans celebrate a religious holiday, everything shuts down. Almost everything is closed right now (except a few restaurants and the movies) and will be until Wednesday. Of course Sunday is a closed-shop day anyway, but the beauty of Pfingsten is that it lasts two days beyond Sunday -- there's Pfingsten Monday and Pfingsten Tuesday. This means that all the shops are closed FOR THREE DAYS IN A ROW.
Man, I love Germany.
This also means that the university did not hold classes today (Pfingsten Monday) and won't hold classes tomorrow (Pfingsten Tuesday). So no Philosophy for me this week. We also did not have Philosophy last week because the professor was in China. So I haven't thought much about philosophy in a few weeks. It will be tough to go back.
After last week's train experience, I decided to forego travelling for a weekend and stayed on campus. Mostly I've been doing reading and watching movies the whole time. After staying in and doing work most of the day today, I decided to go out for a run (the gym was also closed today for, yup, Pfingsten Monday). Germany stays light until at least 9pm in the spring so I left for my run at 8pm, knowing that it would be light when I came back. In a way I almost wish it had been dark. Every single group of people I ran past started laughing as soon as I ran by.
I'm not kidding. I also know I'm not being paranoid because it happens all the time. I mean I know I'm no raving beauty but I don't think I look that funny in my running clothes and baseball cap. I don't run with a limp, I'm not really gasping for air, and my shoes are not untied. Of course there was no one else out there running because people don't really do that here, so when they see someone huffing down the sidewalk it must look hysterical to them.
I'm amazed no one runs here. How they stay so skinny without exercise is beyond me (we Americans have a theory it's because they smoke so much). But really, going out for a jog on the normal sidewalks here (which are lovely and wide ... Los Angeles could learn a lesson about how to do sidewalks and bike lanes from the Germans) is not fun. Strange looks, snorts, and snickers. Good thing I can just put on my iPod and (kind of) drown them out.
Another reason it will be nice to end this madness and just go back home...
Happy Pfingsten! (Ugh.)
posted by Jennifer at 12:38
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