Exploring Magdeburg, part zwei

Long-time Magdeburg residents call the city a "town" and tell me I will quickly get bored of what Magdeburg has to offer, but this weekend I found plenty more new things to entertain myself. For the first time, I ventured into the mall. This hub of activity is not exceptionally large, but really very much like an American mall. It happened to be some sort of anniversary of the mall's opening that day, so unbeknownst to me, I went on a day when it would be guaranteed to be absolutely packed. There were all the usual mall things available, like bookstores, clothing stores, electronics stores and cell phone stores. Not only do Germans stand too close behind me in line, but they also walk too closely behind for my American personal-space bubble. In Germany it is the "in" thing to try to sell products by using English words and phrases. One store I enjoyed was "Clark Kent Clothing," and another was unceremoniously titled "Outfits." I looked inside, and indeed they were selling outfits. Also, when I bought Sophie cat litter, the brand name itself was "For Fur and Fun." Maybe they didn't know what the cat was going to do with the cat litter when they named it that...

One thing that even the pessimistic Magdeburgers can't deny is that Magdeburg is a very green city. There are many parks here, some so large they give the impression that one has left the city entirely. Since I still try to go for a run many days, I was hoping to find a park near my apartment to run in. I had tried running on the streets, but the dangers of bicycles and trams and pedestrians with canine companions were greater than they had been in Kent. I had noticed a stone wall surrounding what appeared to be a very lush park just a tram stop away from my apartment, so last week I walked over to look at what was labeled, "Neustaedter Friedhof." The first thing I came to was a small building that seemed to be a florist and I though how very strange for there to be a florist actually inside of a park. But when I walked just a little farther, I remembered what a "friedhof" is in German: it is a cemetery. I could just imagine if the Germans looked at me a little askance for running on the streets, the looks I would recieve for tearing through a cemetery. In my defense, this cemetery is more sylvan and densely foliated than any park I have ever been in. I don't know if this is standard for German cemeteries or if this one is unusual, but it was very different from any burial place I have seen. There were rows of graves, but each had it's own plot of land that was expertly tended. I assume the friends and families of the deceased designed the mini-gardens and cared for them, but the work invovled to cultivate the beautiful sites must have been pretty extensive. There were tiny fences and well-trimmed hedges along with fully blooming rose bushes, and every other type of plant imaginable. While I probably won't be going for a run there anytime soon, it was a very pleasant place for a quiet walk, and what better way to remember our loved ones than by growing something alive and beautiful in their memories?

Another way I have been exploring the city is though meeting more people and trying to make friends in both English and German. Last week I went to what the Germans refer to as a "Stammtisch" which is just a regular meeting of people. Usually there is some common insterest among the regulars; they might all be business majors, or all like to scuba dive etc. The stammtisch I attended was for anyone who wanted to speak English. The regulars were from a variety of countries: Ireland, Ukraine, The Netherlands, and of course, Germany. Already in a new part of town, at a new bar, talking to new people, I adventurously ordered "Alster," the name for the strange German concotion of Sprite and beer. Surprisingly, it was good. I don't know if it is something to run home and try to replicate (I am unsure what kind of beer they use or what the percentages are), but it might be worth a try. A college student studying English offered me a ride home because she lives near my apartment and I accepted thankfully (I wasn't sure how to get home from the bar because the trams run differently at night). She also was taking two of her friends with us, and when they got in the car one of them exclaimed, "We want to play Cash Cab!"  Without missing a beat, the driver responded, "You're in the cash cab! I'm Julia, the host of Cash Cab--a game show played entirely from the inside of this cab. Answer questions right to win cash; get them wrong and  you're back on the street!" A fan of the American version of Cash Cab, I followed this exchange and laughed. So we played, and fortunately, we were good at it so Julia didn't have to kick us out of her cash car. 

In addition to meeting people, of course I am also meeting animals. This week the elephant keeper took me to meet his two girls, who were each nearly forty years old and weighed in at around 10,000lbs! I had no idea I was going to meet the elephants actually; I had followed Michael through the back hallway of the elephants' house as he explained about the new building that will be constructed specially for their herd. We passed a concrete doorway (no door though) and as I passed, a trunk started to feel its way around the frame, and I discovered there were two elephants within reach of the hallway. One dipped her head down to look through the doorway at us, and Michael introduced me to them by handing me an apple. The trunk came through the doorframe and quite gently lifted the apple out of my hand and then quickly returned to search me for any more produce. Finding none, the elephant turned back to her hay and I gawked. I had never touched (or been touched by) an elephant. (Is that the name of a show: "Touched by an Elephant"...? No, I guess not) This place is full of firsts for me.