Septemberfest.

Those with even a passing interest in Germany and things German will know that they like their beer and they like a good singsong.  The word "Oktoberfest" will probably conjure up images of Munich, tents, lederhosen, women in Dirndls with "viel Holz vor der Hütte" and of course, Beer, lots of beer.  All of these images come to mind because they are, broadly, true.  What people (including my good self) sometimes do not realise is that the majority of the festival occurs in September (The Bürgers of Munich, being practical types, moved it because the weather was better) and that there are Oktoberfest celebrations all over Germany, including (luckily for me) Konstanz.  So, having been told about Oktoberfests every year in school and in Uni and each person pointing out that it was at a very awkward time for us it seemed rude not to stroll on down to the tent which had been erected on the edge of the Bodensee to house the Oktoberfest am See (an international festival as the very near by Switzerland shares this event, along with may others).  

Bu·reauc·ra·cy

noun, plural bu·reauc·ra·cies.

1.government by many bureaus, administrators, and petty officials.

2.the body of officials and administrators, especially of a government or government department.

3.excessive multiplication of, and concentration of power in, administrative bureaus or administrators.

4.administration characterised by excessive red tape and routine.

 

Yes, I've got to that stage where I feel the need to write a blog post not only explaining the empire of the Beamte but also to recount my experiences with them, which hopefully will not turn into too much of a rant and might even serve to forward people yet to arrive in the Bundesländer.  

European Integration

So, after two years of European Studies modules, a few trips abroad and 2 weeks as a (nearly) registered German resident I've been struck by one or two things. 

The most interesting has to do with a european culture, something which many people (including yours truly) are sceptical about and which some people would dearly like to create (broadly, the EU).  Many argue that Europe is too diverse to share a culture and they have a compelling case (which the rest of the time I would probably agree with).  However, I think there are indeed things that are shared between most, if not all, european countries:

• Italian restaurants
• Irish Pubs
• German Beer

There are several things that can be said about this: superficial? - maybe; indicative of how I've been spending my time? - definitely; a potential model for the EU? - well...

Those reading outside of North America will probably be aware that the EU has 3 main branches: 

• The Commission (which writes the rules, enforces them and broadly speaking, does things), 
• the European Parliament (oversight, approval of the Commission, occasional veto, debate and representation)
• the Council (meetings of the ministers of the governments of the member states).  

Now equate these to the above:

• Italian restaurants = the Council - the few getting around a table and working things out and coming to a conclusion
• Irish Pubs = Parliament - a big group of people disagreeing loudly and frequently about what everyone else is doing and whether they agree.  Usually the biggest group wins.
• German Beer = The Commission - everywhere, efficient, high quality with strict rules about production.

Now that sounds like a system that would work.  I'm sure Hollande and Merkel could agree over spaghetti Lady and the Tramp style and the British would be driving their kilograms of potatoes in kph if there was beer in it for them.  And the Parliament? No work needed you say? I couldn't possibly comment...

Top Form

So today is Friday, I arrived in on Monday, that's 5 days.  In that time I'm pretty sure I've filled out a dozen forms, written my address at least once on each of them (the current record is 3 seperate entries) and signed my life away more times that I care to think about. 
Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into an anti beauracracy rant - in fact you could consider it the opposite.  It is in fact going to be "thank goodness for the EU".  That's becuase most of my friends here are from outside the EU and thus need to do about double the paperwork and a special bank account for wich the details need to go to the immigration ministry.  So thanks to the EU not only am I annoying the Daily Mail (which can only be a good thing) I also have a couple more hours free of forms.

Arrival and the learning curve

So after two fantastic weeks in Switzerland getting Sunburned, soaked, up and down some alps and snowed on I did my change around and am now in sunny Konstanz.  I've met a few people and learned quite a bit too.  Here are some of the highlights:

• Beer by the liter is great, more than one however, probably isn't.
• I can impress people with my German
• The accomodation leaving all the crap in in it from the last owner is pretty handy - buying your own pots and pans and odd flavoured teas is a drag
• Just buying a sim card isn't that simple
• Even if you didn't when you went to uni, or to another continent for months it is still possible to get homesick.  I'm not usually one for it but this is quite a different type of 'on your own' than either of those, and its a bit odd.  

Thats all for now, today is the beginning of the long induction course so I'm sure I'll have much more to reflect on.