Schützenfest

Over the weekend I attended my 2nd Schützenfest (loosely translated to "shooting club"). I have since been trying to comprehend how I would begin to describe this festival. I still am a bit worried that I will not do it justice, but here goes.

I first should note that this did not take place in Stuttgart, but in Tobi's hometown of Dülmen. This is in Northern Germany, where the Schützenfest tradition is quite common.

Every year each town holds their own Schützenfest. This is a week long celebration for it's serious members, while for the rest of the town there are 3 main days. Saturday is the first evening of celebration and by far the biggest. Everyone from the town will meet in a huge tent in the woods where the festival is mainly held. Beers are sold 10 at a time and there is always a live band playing German drinking songs. This evening is so important it felt like if you live in Dülmen and miss this party people will talk about you for weeks. You drink and dance until you can do neither anymore, then everyone stumbles home in the wee hours of the morning.

The following morning everyone rises and meets in the town square for a parade (sleeping is a word that everyone must forget to survive Schützenfet). This part, I know will sound a bit odd, but I have come to realize it is just part of the experience. All of the active members of the Schützenfest are dressed in uniform and lined up by company. The Colonel (which happens to be Tobi's father) shouts out commands and addresses each company. They then march around the town square and to the war memorial where there is a dedication. From there they march on through the town and back to the tent, where more festivities begin. Directly after the parade, the men of the club are invited to shoot at a wooden bird. This bird is sacred to the people of Schützenfest and is handcrafted especially for this occasion. This is by far the biggest attraction of the afternoon. You see, whoever is accurate enough (or just buys 20 shots in a row) to bring the last piece of the wooden bird to the ground is crowned King of Schützenfest. This is considered a huge honor and is treated as such. The King is hoisted into the air and paraded around the party for all to see. After picking his Queen they are both officially announced and crowned. However, I still have a hard time understanding why anyone would want to do this. Other then the reputation of being King, there really are no benefits. In fact, as King you are expected to pay the bill for the beers! But, I supposed if clout is what you are after in Dülmen, becoming King is an immediate way to get it.

After the new King is crowned, everyone goes home for a little break. Within a couple of hours people start heading back to the tent for night #2. This is much like the first night, except this evening almost everyone who attends is a member (just for the record- I am officially a member!). The band plays until 2 or 3 and the beer is constantly flowing until the King decides to leave, thus officially ending the evening.

Just when you think you can handle no more, there is day 3. Thank God for me, in the morning there is a "Men Only" meeting in the tent, where prizes are given out and there is mass consumption of pig, cheese, and yes, beer. At quarter to 1 the women begin to gather at the gate of the forest, waiting for the men to officially open the gate and let them in. The women bring the Queen in, circle around the King and Queen and sign funny German songs to them. After that, you guessed it, more drinking. Although by then I felt like my entire body was going to shut down, so I opted to steer clear of alcohol on the final afternoon.

The Germans find it a bit odd that I like this festival so much, but it is the most authentic and fun thing I have yet to experience in Germany. I have yet to understand the true meaning of this, nor do I think I ever will. But, I do know that it is something I look forward to more and more with every year I attend!

The Beginning

So the time has come for me to start a journal. I have been debating on if I should for some time now and today is the day. I assume that the rumors have been flying about by now on what exactly is going on. I would like to take this opportunity to tell everyone that, yes, I am staying here in Germany. I came here in June with the intention of taking a summer intensive German language course, but have since applied and was offered a job. Since my German is less then adequate at the moment I had to find a job that revolved around the fact that I was fluent in English. Surprisingly, this was not a tough task at all. I updated my resume and delivered it to a language school I knew was seeking a native English speaker. The following day I received a call from them wanting to set up an interview. 2 weeks and 2 interviews later, I was offered the position and was given a letter making it possible for me to apply for my residence and working visa. I don't think it has really hit me yet that I will be staying. I know I am and I talk about it everyday, but I was originally planning on being here until September, so nothing really feels all that different. I suppose it will hit me one day. I hope soon.

The Stuttgart Opera House

With that said, Stuttgart is actually starting to feel a little bit like home to me. I have been here for about 2 months now, and can say that I have enjoyed every single day here. I am able to get around town and downtown via public transportation, am becoming more familiar with the driving rules and autobahn, and thoroughly enjoy the ice cold beverages Germany is infamous for! ;) Many friends and family have not ventured to this side of the Atlantic yet, and I can't urge everyone enough! The lifestyle is completely different, but for the better. In my experience people seem more happy and satisfied here. People are much less materialistic and greedy, and think much more realistically then Americans (generally speaking). Here I feel like it is more about the quality not quantity, whether you are talking about life or buying a pair of jeans. People have nice things here, but are not overindulgent. People enjoy the same things we do in America, such as nice houses and nice cars, but at the same time never seem to be over the top. I have yet to see a one family home here where there are more rooms then there are people living in the house, or where a family has a yard big enough to fit 2 more houses on it. Germans seem like very practical people who do not spend money on unnecessary things. This attitude is kind of a comfort to me; it reminds me of my Grandpa who is always thinking in practical terms and never buying more then what he needs. I admit it is hard for me to think like that sometimes, but I think I have come a long way in the short time I have been here. In America I would go shopping whenever I felt the urge to have a new shirt of pair of jeans without thinking twice. Not that I needed any new clothes, but just because I thought it looked nice and wanted it. Now, it is a totally different train of thought when I am in a store. The clothes here are great and I would love to just be able to walk into H&M or Zara and buy a new wardrobe. But, now instead of buying something just because I like it the question, "Do I really need this?" always comes into play. Now, more often then not I come home empty-handed. Probably surprising to most of you if you know me, but I swear it is true!

My German course has been going very well and I feel that I am learning a lot! I was pretty nervous about the course before it began. It is a summer intensive course that is taught entirely in German, which totally freaked me out at first. But, after having 6 weeks of classes I absolutely love it. German is a pretty difficult language to learn I think, but it is so important for me to learn now that I am going to be staying here. Unfortunately I won't be able to continue on with the program during the next session since I will be working, paying everything off in America, and getting situated here, but hopefully the following session I will be able to work something out so I can attend.

The Paris TV-Tower

The past 2 weeks I have had summer break from my German course. Tobi and I traveled to Paris for 5 days and then Switzerland for another 5 days. They were very different from each other, but both absolutely amazing. Paris was a bit overwhelming; there were so many things to see and so many people everywhere. We visited Notre Dame, The Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and my favorite the Eiffel Tower! I remember growing up the Eiffel Tower is probably one of the first things you recognize as a foreign symbol. It was so great to actually be there and see it in person.

Heidi's Backyard

Switzerland was exactly how I thought it would be. The mountains, lakes, little villages, cows... it sounds very stereotypical, but it REALLY is like that there. It was a much more peaceful and relaxing vacation in comparison to Paris. We went hiking in the mountains, visited Zurich, and I had my first ever cable car ride! I really enjoyed being in the mountains and doing a little hiking. We are not too far from the Swiss border, so hopefully we can go hiking more frequently. Both vacations were something that could only be experienced here in Europe. I can't wait for more to come!