Juliana L Holm

I'm beginning to gear up to visit Germany for two months next year (probably
October-November 2005.)

It's a kind of Sabbatical for me, and I'll spend the time studying the German
Language at the Goethe Institute.

After doing some research, I've decided taht the four cities above are the
best cities for me to study in; the classes I want are available, the
residential area has kitchens, which is important to me, and it is not in
an area (like Munich, Rothenburg) where there is so much English spoken that
I will be tempted to break out of my language immersion experience.

Locations I am looking at are Bonn, Bremen, Dresden, and Prien.

So I can either take an 8 week class in one location or two 4 week classes in
two different locations. I'm leaning toward the latter, though it will cost
a bit more.

So which of these locations would you choose?

Keep in mind I can travel on the weekends from Noon Friday through Sunday, so
good weekend trips in German speaking countries is important.

I am leaning toward Dresden as one location.

What do you think?

Julie

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
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Gregory Morrow

Juliana L Holm wrote:

    > I am leaning toward Dresden as one location.


I vote for Dresden. It's a charming city in a nice region - there is
much on offer to investigate. Besides, since Germany has only been
reunited for 14 years, there still exist some fascinating historical
dichotomies between the new Germany and the old DDR that I know would
interest you.

--
Best
Greg

Juliana L Holm

Gregory Morrow <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Juliana L Holm wrote:

    >> I am leaning toward Dresden as one location.


    > I vote for Dresden. It's a charming city in a nice region - there is
    > much on offer to investigate. Besides, since Germany has only been
    > reunited for 14 years, there still exist some fascinating historical
    > dichotomies between the new Germany and the old DDR that I know would
    > interest you.

So that's one. What would you recommend for the other?

What would be different from Dresden?

Bonn, Bremen, Prien

Does Bonn have interesting history also? (How far from wine regions is it?)
Prien may have access to Austria? Would the accent be so much different from
Northern Germany?

What other considerations?

Thanks for the help. I probably have a year or so to plan before making
a commitment, but it's a big thing, two months off, so I want to take my time.
--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Tim

"Gregory Morrow" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Juliana L Holm wrote:
    > > I am leaning toward Dresden as one location.
    > I vote for Dresden.

Yes, so do I.

(Normally it doesn't make sense to just post in agreement
with someone else, but in this case I think it is helpful)

tim


It's a charming city in a nice region - there is
    > much on offer to investigate. Besides, since Germany has only been
    > reunited for 14 years, there still exist some fascinating historical
    > dichotomies between the new Germany and the old DDR that I know would
    > interest you.
    > --
    > Best
    > Greg

Oxygene2002

Here is a list of non-smoking restaurants in Germany
http://www.smokefreeworld.com/germany.shtml

Wolfgang Schwanke

Juliana L Holm <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > Does Bonn have interesting history also?

Not as interesting as Dresden. Bonn is just your average mid-sized town
with the usual history such towns have, like its famous sons (Beethoven),
and old castle etc. What makes Bonn interesting is post-war history. This
is where Adenauer, Brand and Kohl stepped, where the politics of current
Germany were shaped at a great deal. (But the latter also stepped in
Dresden

    > (How far from wine regions is it?)

It's in the middle of one. Bonn also has some fantastic scenery in its
vicinity: the Rhine valley, Königswinter etc.

    > Prien may have access to Austria? Would the accent be so much
    > different from Northern Germany?

Yes

    > What other considerations?

Bremen is close to the sea. It can be a base for exploring the coast, the
northern flatlands, the islands. Which are, all things considered, more
spectacular than some steenking Rhine valley. (ducks

Personally I'd choose between Dresden and Bremen as the Alps and the Rhine
are not my cup of tea. But that's just personal taste.

Regards

--
Listen very carefully, I shall say zis only once


http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Juliana L Holm

Wolfgang Schwanke <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Bremen is close to the sea. It can be a base for exploring the coast, the
    > northern flatlands, the islands. Which are, all things considered, more
    > spectacular than some steenking Rhine valley. (ducks

    > Personally I'd choose between Dresden and Bremen as the Alps and the Rhine
    > are not my cup of tea. But that's just personal taste.

Fortunately, I can do 4 weeks each in two locations. Almost certainly one
would be Dresden, sounds like I want to decide between Bremen and Bonn
for the other half.

Thanks all!

Tschuss!

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Douglas W. Hoyt

Dresden would be interesting. Bremen has character, and the comment about
trips to seacoast and islands (as well as Hamburg, Luebeck) are good ones.

Prien is small. But Bavaria is terrific, with more folksy/earthiness,
beautiful mountains, an hour to either Salzburg or Munich by train, GREAT
hearty food at rustic local places that have real, non-yuppified character
(at very good prices). A car would really serve you well in Prien and give
you the full range of opportunity to seek out great cheap food and rare
out-of-the-way towns and churches. But even if it's foot, bus, train, and
the occasional ferry to the islands in the Chiemsee, Bavaria is still the
real thing as German culture goes. Traditional--but not just
high-cost-renovation traditional. It can be modern too, but in a
laptop&lederhosen sort of way.

Markku Grönroos

"Wolfgang Schwanke" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > "Douglas W. Hoyt" <[email protected]> wrote in
    > news:[email protected]:
    > > Bavaria is still the real thing as German culture goes.
    > You are aware that you're offending a lot of people with statements like
    > that? It's like saying "Texas is the real thing as US culture goes".

You are right. Bavaria and Texas are unreal.

Wolfgang Schwanke

"Douglas W. Hoyt" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > Bavaria is still the real thing as German culture goes.

You are aware that you're offending a lot of people with statements like
that? It's like saying "Texas is the real thing as US culture goes".
Admittedly, deep down we imagine all Americans wearing cowboy hats and
carrying lassos ...

Regards

--
Ideology is the science of idiocy.

http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Juliana L Holm

Actually I have been to BAvaria, more than to any other area in Germany
(not totally on purpose, my daughter had appendicitis in Munich in 2000,
and I spent an unexpected week there to care for her).

My concerns about Bavaria are twofold, first my experience is that so many
people know English in Bavaria and speak it if you try german with an American
accent (which I no doubt have) that it would challenge my resolve to stay
in German alone for 8 weeks.

SEcond is that the accent in Bavaria is significantly different from the
rest of the country.

However, my experience of Bavaria has been largely the Romantischestrasse,
the Alps and Munich; Prien is clearly in an area I have not been.

Julie

Douglas W. Hoyt <[email protected]> wrote:
    > Dresden would be interesting. Bremen has character, and the comment about
    > trips to seacoast and islands (as well as Hamburg, Luebeck) are good ones.

    > Prien is small. But Bavaria is terrific, with more folksy/earthiness,
    > beautiful mountains, an hour to either Salzburg or Munich by train, GREAT
    > hearty food at rustic local places that have real, non-yuppified character
    > (at very good prices). A car would really serve you well in Prien and give
    > you the full range of opportunity to seek out great cheap food and rare
    > out-of-the-way towns and churches. But even if it's foot, bus, train, and
    > the occasional ferry to the islands in the Chiemsee, Bavaria is still the
    > real thing as German culture goes. Traditional--but not just
    > high-cost-renovation traditional. It can be modern too, but in a
    > laptop&lederhosen sort of way.



--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

Juliana L Holm

Wolfgang Schwanke <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Bremen is close to the sea. It can be a base for exploring the coast, the
    > northern flatlands, the islands. Which are, all things considered, more
    > spectacular than some steenking Rhine valley. (ducks

    > Personally I'd choose between Dresden and Bremen as the Alps and the Rhine
    > are not my cup of tea. But that's just personal taste.

One additional question, climate wise, would Bremen be warmer than the others
in November? Not sure that it matters a whole lot, but I know that coastal
cities are often more moderate. As I have lived in Upstate New York in the US,
I suspect I can handle the German late fall, but it is worth asking.

Your note on Bonn, thought intruiges me; I do like the Rhine, and I am an
afficionado of German wines.

But it looks like if I choose Bonn, I should spend a weekend or so in Brement
just to see it.

Thanks,

Still thinking (I have a long time to decide)

Julie
--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm

S?nke Tesch

Juliana L Holm wrote:
    : SEcond is that the accent in Bavaria is significantly different from the
    : rest of the country.

If accent is really one of your concerns, then avoid Dresden at all
costs, or to be more exact: avoid the whole south-east. Not only do
people have a strong accent, just like Bavarians, it's also sort of
the accent of the Stasi, the hated state security department of the
communist GDR. Whenever you see a stupid GDR official in a German
comedy, he'll use that accent

However, you'll surely learn plain German at the Goethe institut and
it should be noted that Dresden is not as bad as the area between
Leipzig, Erfurt and the Czech border.

In any case, it would be best to choose two locations, one in the
south, one in the north, even if just to avoid getting the opinion
that only Bavaria is Germany..

    : Douglas W. Hoyt <[email protected]> wrote:
    : > Bavaria is still the real thing as German culture goes.

Jesus, the Bavarian empire strikes back :>

Regards,
soenk.e

PS: I'd replace Bremen by Hamburg.

Wolfgang Schwanke

Juliana L Holm <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

    > One additional question, climate wise, would Bremen be warmer than the
    > others in November?

Milder probably (snow comes later in the year), but more dull & rainy.

    > Your note on Bonn, thought intruiges me; I do like the Rhine, and I am
    > an afficionado of German wines.

I didn't mean to advertise for Bonn, but one has to remain impartial.

Regards

--
It's The Economy, Stupid

http://www.wschwanke.de/ usenet_20031215 (AT) wschwanke (DOT) de

Juliana L Holm

Sönke Tesch <[email protected]> wrote:
    > In any case, it would be best to choose two locations, one in the
    > south, one in the north, even if just to avoid getting the opinion
    > that only Bavaria is Germany..

As my sister in law comes from Peine, outside of Hanover, and a dear friend
from Goslar in the Harz mountains, I am already aware that Bavaria is not
Germany. That said, I am aware that it is a part of Germany as much as TExas
is a part of the US.

But I surely don't make that mistake.

    > PS: I'd replace Bremen by Hamburg.

Hamburg is, unforunately not an option. The classes I want are not
taught there.

--
Julie
**********
Check out my Travel Pages (non-commercial) at
http://www.dragonsholm.org/travel.htm