OF MONSTERS AND MEN

There's nothing like living with about fifty 18-22 year-olds to catch up a bit with youth culture.  For example, this old fellow had never heard of One Direction, apparently one of the largest stars in an ever-expanding music universe.  One ditty that I enjoyed hearing Sam and other students play and sing is below - again - had never heard of the song or the group, but as you will note, the video has had over 83 million views. 

"Little Talks"

Hey! Hey! Hey!
I don't like walking around this old and empty house
So hold my hand, I'll walk with you, my dear
[Video version:] The stairs creak as you sleep, it's keeping me awake
[Live version:] The stairs creak as I sleep, it's keeping me awake
It's the house telling you to close your eyes

And some days I can't even trust myself
It's killing me to see you this way

'Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Hey! Hey! Hey!

There's an old voice in my head that's holding me back
Well tell her that I miss our little talks
Soon it will be over and buried with our past
We used to play outside when we were young
And full of life and full of love.

[Video version:] Some days I don't know if I am wrong or right
[Live version:] Some days I feel like I'm wrong when I'm right
Your mind is playing tricks on you, my dear

'Cause though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Hey!
Don't listen to a word I say
Hey!
The screams all sound the same
Hey!

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Hey!
Hey!

You're gone, gone, gone away
I watched you disappear
All that's left is the ghost of you.
Now we're torn, torn, torn apart,
There's nothing we can do
Just let me go we'll meet again soon
Now wait, wait, wait for me
Please hang around
I'll see you when I fall asleep

Hey!
Don't listen to a word I say
Hey!
The screams all sound the same
Hey!
Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Don't listen to a word I say
Hey!
The screams all sound the same
Hey!

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

Though the truth may vary
This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore

h/t  dom

GLÜHWEIN

 

Last Christmastime in Heidelberg, I learned of Glühwein, and quickly became a fan, finding it particularly enjoyable on a cold, snowy evening.  

Recipe from Food.com, and having given it a try, I recommend it highly!

Ingredients:

Units: US | Metric

3/4 cup water (or orange juice)
3/4 cup white sugar (or less to taste)
1 cinnamon stick
1 orange
10 whole cloves
1 (750 ml) bottle red wine

Directions:

1  In a saucepan, combine the water, sugar, and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer.
2  Cut the orange in half, and squeeze the juice into the simmering water. Push the cloves into the outside of the orange peel, and place peel in the simmering water. Continue simmering for 30 minutes, until thick and syrupy.
3  Pour in the wine, and heat until steaming but not simmering. Remove the clove-studded orange halves.
4  Serve hot in mugs or glasses that have been preheated in warm water (cold glasses may break.).

 

This Year's Heidelberger Weihnachtsmarkt Mug

FOR THE LOVE OF HEIDELBERG

The Heidelberg Year In Review - 2012-2013

What an amazing year and truly a wonderful group of students.  In my parting comments, I bid them Farewell, but more importantly, my wish for them is to Fare Well.

WANDERWEG - KÖNIGSTUHL

Click on image to get a nice enlargement.

Photos by Douglas A.

Along the path to Königstuhl

Here is a view from the top

 

WEIHNACHTSMARKT HEIDELBERG



VOLKSTRAUERTAG



Today is Volkstrauertag in Germany, and a special service was held at Peterskirche, the University of Heidelberg church, to commemorate all of the professors who were forced out of their positionsby the Third Reich and suffered great hardships including being sent to concentration camps.  A rough translation from various websites is this, with a more detailed description here, in Deutsch.

This Memorial Day is a state memorial in Germany and is one of the "silent days". Since 1952 it is celebrated two Sundays before the first day of Advent, and commemorates the war dead and victims of the tyranny of all nations.

The primary memorial ceremony is held each Memorial Day at the German Bundestag. Generally there is a speech by the President in the presence of the Chancellor, the Cabinet and the diplomatic corps, with musical performances including playing the national anthem and the song I Had A Comrade.

After the service which included reading the biographies of several of the professors, the university leadership led a recession outside to the courtyard shown above where two wreathes were placed in remembrance of both the professors who were purged as well as students who were also expelled.

In Silence, Remember

HEIDELBERG NEIGHBORHOOD

Here are some pictures of the neighborhood close to Moore House. Click on the image for an expanded view. Most of the homes are at least 100 years old, but there are a few new ones interspersed among the more traditional residences. Many of the places are so large that some have been converted into multiple residence units - and at least one is a fraternity house.  The Heidelberg Schloß is also close to the Haus, and I will write a separate post about the castle.

A View From The Faculty Apartment

Moore Haus - A View From The Street

A Typical Garage & Entryway With House Up The Hill

Residence Close to Moore Haus

A Modern Residence Among The Traditional

A Lovely Condo Complex Overlooking The Neckar Valley

Up The Hill From Moore Haus

Nestled In Among The Trees

Burgfreiheit Restaurant Close To Moore Haus

Group Dinners Are Here On Tuesday Evenings



HEIDELBERG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

On Wednesday evening, we enjoyed a concert by The Heidelberg Philharmonic Orchestra at the Stadthalle.  The evening's program was:

Jean Sibelius - Finlandia − Symphonische Dichtung op.26
Edvard Grieg - Konzert für Klavier und Orchester a-Moll op.16

Carl Nielsen - Symphonie Nr.2 op.16 »Die vier Temperamente«

Klavier-  Lauma Skride
Musikalische Leitung -  Jorma Panula

I am familiar with the first two pieces but did not know the Nielson - it was quite nice.  The orchestra is very good, playing with both technical expertise and emotion.  The guest pianist for the Grieg piece was also competent and emotive.  The acoustics of the hall are very good and it was amazing how quiet the German folks are for such performances - they even held their coughs for the time between pieces!  The Grieg and Neilson are linked above, but because Finlandia is definitely a favorite, here are two videos - one orchestral and one vocal that uses the familiar melody from the latter part of the orchestral version.  Enjoy!





This is my song, oh God of all the nations,

a song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;

but other hearts in other lands are beating

with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,

and sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

This is my song, thou God of all the nations;

a song of peace for their land and for mine.



EMBL

I am going to temporarily skip over the recent Educational Field Trip to Vienna [that will be a long one] and make a brief entry about the European Molecular Biology Laboratory [EMBL] located here in Heidelberg.  Some of you may know nothing about molecular biology but still recognize the unique principle building on the EMBL campus.

To see EMBL's location in relationship to Pepperdine's Moore Haus, look at the map here [satellite view] and follow the winding roads to the north and look for Johannes Hoops Weg.  Follow that all the way through the woods until the left turn on to Klingenteichstraß, which then crosses Neueschloßstraße/Graimbergweg where the Moore Haus is located.  I walked this route once and not counting the wrong turn, it takes about 1.5 hours, and I jogged it once in about 45 minutes.  That's each way.  Fortunately there are some bus routes that go there!

Utilizing the bus, I visited the labs today, for seminars on Aneuploidy in Cellular Adaptation, Drug Resistance and Cancer and Systems-Level Effects of Aneuploidy on Yeast Cell Biology and the Evolutionary Adaptation of Fungal Pathogens to Their Hosts.  I can provide links to the abstracts if you want more information :-)  Also happened to meet the fellow who runs the flow cytometry facility, Alexis Gonzalez who is Cuban.



MOORE HAUS

1906	The Haus at Graimbergweg 10 was built by Prof. Endermann
1920's	After World War I it was home to the Schmitthelm family
1940's	During World War II, the Haus was inhabited by families from nearby Mannheim who were displaced by the war.
1950's	After World War II, the Haus became the property of the United States Army. It was used by the CIC (a precursor to the CIA) for interrogations and to monitor Communist party activities.
1963	Heidelberg, Germany was established as the first international "Year-In-Europe" program site at Pepperdine.  Students participating in the first two years of the program lived in hotels and pensions in the Alt Stadt (Old Town) of Heidelberg and attended classes at the Amerika Haus.
1965	Pepperdine purchased a permanent site for the program under the leadership of J.C. Moore Jr.
1966	In the fall the site was named Moore Haus after Mr. Moore, and the program moved into its present day location.
1980	The "tower annex" was added to the house, allowing room for 6 additional students
2001	In September Freunde von Heidelberg was establishedFreunde was set up to provide services to alumni and organize reunions in Germany, to provide historic restoration to the Moore Haus, and to support and encourage the current Pepperdine students spending the semesters in Germany.
2006	In May, the 100 Year Anniversary Celebration at Moore Haus took place inviting past residents, faculty and friends back for the festivities

I will now make a confession - most of these photos were shamelessly copied from Steve Rouse's blog, taken when he was the Malibu campus faculty person in Heidelberg.



View From The Street - Many Steps!!



The Gate At The Street

Note all of the buckeyes on the landing!

Ohio-Native Rhonda would love it.

 Climbing The Stairs

And this would be after a long walk up the hill from town!

The Second-Level Landing



Second-Level Lobby

Stairs go up to student quarters and door is to stairway that goes down to first-level offices, kitchen and dining/study/lounge area



Another View Of The Second-Level Lobby

The door on far left leads into the library/computer room; the double doors in the middle lead into the reception room; the door on the right leads to the faculty apartment.



The Reception Room

For studying, piano and guitar playing, and gatherings such as house church.

The Reception Room

The Reception Room



Faculty Apartment

The kitchen is the first room after entering the apartment.  The bathroom is off of the kitchen, to the right of the sink.



Living Room

This is the second room, adjacent to the kitchen.

Living Room



Bedroom

Off of the living room, with windows facing toward the city.

Bedroom

Faculty Apartment Patio