Wandern in den Alpen (Hiking in the Alps)

The short week went by fast because I was finally getting into more work. Work is finally getting more interesting since Armin has more time to spend with me now that his obligations for the conference are over. I got a tour of the IPP's fusion reactor. The whole thing is pretty overwhelming; there's so much technology in there. You can find a picture of the IPP's fusion reactor (ASDEX Upgrade) at Garching here. I didn't get to go in the reactor like in the picture (for some reason I didn't have clearance???) but I did walk around it and see all of the contributing parts, which you don't see in the picture. Basically, the IPP conducts fundamental research for a future fusion power plant. Fusion, the fusing of two light nuclei to form one larger nucleus, is the process that powers the stars (including our Sun) and physicists have long dreamed of harnessing its power. Unfortunately, the process only happens at extremely high temperatures (millions of degrees). To sustain such a high temperature fusion reactors employ magnetic fields to control the super hot plasma. Currently, the world's largest fusion reactor is being built in France (as a combined international effort). The reactor, known as ITER, is the focus of a lot of the research being done at the IPP. Just to let you know...


Just a normal 2-day weekend this time.

On Saturday I took the train to Tegernsee. It's an hour ride from Munich, with a round trip costing only 15 Euros. I spent the day hiking in the mountains around the lake. It was the best hiking I've ever done (Stupidly I wore pants because I thought it was supposed to be colder and a cotton t-shirt...needless to say I was drenched in sweat after trekking all day). I think the pictures do a better job of explaining than I could by writing anything.










Sunday was a pretty lazy day for me. I didn't really do much. I slept in until 11 then spent a few hours watching the news, catching up on sports and eating. I ended up biking into Munich and found out and wondering around the Englischer Garten for a while until I got to a lake. It was really pretty...too bad I forgot my camera. I decide to go to the train station to ask them about a German Rail Pass and found out that I could buy a Eurail pass there. So I think I'm going back tomorrow to buy one, I just need to figure out the best way to maximize my money. On the way to the train station I came across a quintet playing a variety of classical music just outside the Marienplatz. They were really good so I stopped and listened for a half hour. On the way home I stopped in the Englischer Garten at a small vendor and got a Weißbier (wheat beer), possibly my favorite and enjoyed that while I sat next to the lake under a tree.

That's all for now.

PS Birthday shout out today for Ms. Michaela Ails!!!! The big 2-0!

Meine erste Wochenende

I'm back with more from Germany...

My first weekend here turned out to be a long one....literally. Monday was a holiday in the Catholic regions of Germany. The holiday, Whit Monday, is a celebration after the Pentacost (which was on Sunday). Anyway, I got the day off. So I had three days to explore.

Saturday, I took the train into Munich. It's about a 20 min train ride from Garching into the center of the city and the train drops you off at the Marienplatz, a Füßgängerzone (pedestrian only zone) in the heart of old Munich. This is where you can find the Glockenspiel, the Neues Rathaus, most famous of Munich's churches and the Viktualienmarkt, an open air market teeming with fresh fruit, vegetables, German food, and Biergartens. It's a huge tourist zone so I tried to get away from there as quickly as possible.

I hopped on another train (speaking of trains Germany's public transportation system is super efficient. Many people in large cities don't own cars and choose the easier and chearp alternative: trains and busses. You could literally set your watch by German trains. Needless to say you can get anywhere in Munich using public transportation. For only 7 Euros I got a ticket that was good to go anywhere in Munich all day.) to go towards the Deutsches Museum. The Deutsches Museum is the world's largest technology museum...it's like the Smithsonian on steroids. You could spend an entire month going through the history of every technological advancement in the world, from the world's first automobile to glassblowing. There are a ton of science exhibits as well. I only had a few hours. Definitely worth the stop for science/history buffs.

The real reason I went into Munich on Saturday was for the UEFA Champions League Final being held in Spain, against Inter Milan

and Bayern Munich (mentioned in the last post). Awesome environment to watch a game! European soccer fans are the best. Bayern Munich's home stadium, the Allianz Arena, sold out and the game wasn't even being held there! I ended up watching the game at the Hofbräuhaus. Although its a typical tourist trap, it has great food and serves the best beer by the liter. Anyway, the Biergarten was full of crazy Bayern fans. Unfortunately, we lost 2-0.

Sunday, I was back in Munich. This time I road the IPP bike into the city along the river Isar. Its about a 10 mile ride on a dirt path through the forest. Much more scenic than along a busy road. I spent the day riding around and exploring the city more or less riding around aimlessly. I probably easily road 30+ miles for the day. Towards the end of the day, I road into the Marienplatz because they have a public water fountain and I was super thirsty (and too cheap to buy anything). When I got there I was totally blown away...the entire Marienplatz was filled with Bayern fans and blaring music. There was no room to move. During the week leading up to the event the team owner/president/whoever had promised the city 15,000 free beers if Bayern won. Despite the loss, he decided to give the free beers anyway in thanks to the fans for being so great over the course of the season. It was awesome to see. Unfortunately, I didn't stay for the beer because I still needed to ride home and it was getting late and I was hungry. A picture and a video of the scene are below. In the video you can hear Bayern's coach talk about who the team beat on the road to the final...basically just cheering on the crowd. The whole team was there too so it was awesome to see world famous players in person....Franck Ribery is even more ugly than I thought haha...If you don't believe me look him up on google.

Monday, I spend the morning/afternoon by the local lake, Garchingersee (AKA Garching Lake) on a real bike ride (with my racing bike). I road about 35 miles, down into Munich and then up to Freising and then back to Garching.

This week I've finally gotten more into the physics besides just reading literature. For those of you interested, my mentor, Armin Manhard, and I are researching the diffusion of hydrogen into Tungsten and seeing how this diffusion is related to the material structure of Tungsten, i.e. whether it has been annealed at low temperatures or at higher temperatures, allowing it to recrystalize. My main job will be sample prep and charicterization, although Armin is letting me be apart of and see everything. I'm learning so much physics! If you have any questions just let me know.

At the end here I'm posting some pictures of the scenery around Garching. If you have any requests for more pictures of my room or those that I've taken in Munich let me know.

In the woods near the Isar River. It's great to run on trails back here.

A look from right outside of town near a local park.

For now, wiedersprechen.

Here comes the sun...

So, I've got some new to report...

First and foremost, my flatmate came in on Tuesday night when I was sleeping. It must have been after midnight because I think that's when I fell asleep. His name is Norman, he's 31 and he is studying at the Max-Planck Institute. He speaks little English and my German is just enough to get by, so we are doing the whole Post-it note thing; write the word for something in German and English and then put the post it on that thing. For example, for a table we'd put the words "table" and "der Tisch" on the post it. Anyway, he helped me find my mail because I had no idea where or how to get it.

On a good note, the institute had promised on Monday to give me a bike. I didn't expect to get this.....

That's good because that's not what I got. I got this:

Despite it's looks it's been great having it. It cut my commute time to work by 2/3. What took a half hour now only takes 10 min. Plus it makes going to the grocery store and running errands much quicker.

You maybe wondering about the title. Well, the weather here has sucked of late. It's not uncommon for it to rain in Munich this time of year but it is far colder than normal. Yesterday it was only 45 and today only 50 with rain much of the day. I went on a six mile run yesterday and for some reason I waited until the rain peaked. Needless to say I was a bit cold when I got back. It's kind of a weird thing running here because each time I go I have no idea where I am going. It's a good way of exploring. I ran along the Isar river yesterday and through the woods. It's beautiful, I'd send pictures but the camera and the rain don't get along so well.

This weekend it is supposed to be nice and sunny with weather in the high 60's and low 70's. I'm hoping to take advantage of the weather and get out into downtown Munich. On Saturday I'm going to go to some Museums and things that I missed during my last trip in Germany and then I'll post up at a bar, pub or restaurant for some dinner, good German beer, and the Champions League final. For those of you who don't know the Champions League is more a less a tournament of Europe's best soccer clubs. Luckily for me Bayern München (Munich's team) is in the final against Inter Milan. There should be a great environment for the game.

On Sunday, hopefully I'm going to run into the city along the Isar river and through the famous Englischer Garten. Then who knows what I'll get into. Monday I'll take my bike from home out for it's first spin. I found a good 30+ mile ride out past a lake and back. If the weather cooperates I'll take some pictures.

Time for bed. Guten Nacht von deinem Freund.

Willkommen!

Hey everyone. Day 3 in Germany and finally pretty much settled in. Unsuspectingly it's pretty cold here. When I flew in it was only 45 degrees. The flight wasn't too bad...I almost missed my connecting flight in London because the Brits told me to get in the wrong security line. I didn't sleep the entire was and I was so tired Sunday night that when I washed my face before going to sleep, I washed it with shampoo.

My flat is pretty nice, I've got a big room to myself. I'll upload pictures soon. I have one other flatmate but I have no idea where he is...I haven't seen him yet but I do know that he has a cat. I don't think he'll be back for a few days because he left out 6 bowls of cat food.

I'm surprised how quickly my German is coming back to me, although I'm not nearly fluent. I was able to open up a bank account today only speaking in German, so I feel pretty good about that. It's amazing how well people at the Institute speak English. They know all of our sayings and even some slang. I wish I could speak German as well as they speak English.

Anyway I've gotta go cook dinner for myself and I have no idea what I am doing.

Bis Später.