Back with more updates! Lots is going on, as usual. Since my last post, two additional courses have started up - handball and German!
Handball is one of two sports classes I'll be taking this semester (the other is ultimate frisbee, which starts this week). While the sport is pretty much nonexistent in the U.S., lots of Germans are either handball fans or players, including one of my host brothers. I had no idea what handball consisted of before I took the course, so I had to head to YouTube for some demonstrative clips. Check it out! It's a fast-paced combination of basketball and soccer. So far I've taken to it pretty well, scoring a few goals each week during our scrimmages.
Second, I'm taking another German speaking course to further develop my skills. German class has been a great way to get to know even more international students from countries like the Czech Republic, Poland, Korea, Italy, Switzerland, France, and, of course, the U.S. - there are two other Americans in my class, one of whom is from California as well. But you won't catch us speaking English to one another!
On Friday, October 24, our German class split into groups and went out all over Berlin to check out different destinations and report back what we saw. My group headed to Pfaueninsel (translation: Peacock Island), a small island on the outskirts of Berlin with lots of nature and, as the name suggests, peacocks.
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| The island's gardens were designed in the early 1800s, but the island's history goes back farther than that |
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| Peacocks on the loose. They only show their feathers when the weather is warm enough to lay eggs. Since it was about 40 degrees that day, it wasn't warm enough |
At first, the island was only inhabited by rabbits. Then Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II decided in the late 1700s that the island would make a nice summer day trip destination for him and his lover, Wilhelmine Enke. Accordingly, he had peacocks from India brought in to make for a more romantic atmosphere and also had a small castle built. Once the castle was completed in 1797, though, he died. His successor, Friedrich Wilhelm III, used the island and its castle as a summer getaway for himself, his wife Queen Louise, and their 7 children.
Later in the 1800s, a menagerie with 900 exotic animals was constructed, and the public was allowed to go to the island for the first time. Given that this was many people's first chance to see animals like an elephant, it was wildly popular.
These days, the island only has an aviary, the peacocks, the castle, and a whole lot of nature to hike through. It's also only accessible by ferry.
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| Our project group, featuring myself and students from Italy and France |
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| The castle was painted to look like it is made out of stone, but it is all wood |
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| It was a little cloudy when we there, but the King had this nice view from his castle |
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| The dining hall in the small castle. The walls look like they're made out of marble, but once again, they're just wood. The wood floor is original |
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| As part of our project, we did a tour of the castle in German and interviewed some German visitors |
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| I've never seen a rooster with so many feathers that even his feet are covered. Then again, I haven't seen that many roosters |
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| Water buffaloes were brought to the island just a few years ago. They act as natural lawnmowers |
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| Back on the mainland, this road takes us home |
That does it for Pfaueninsel. More updates from this latest weekend very soon!
