Osnabrück

So we have been in Germany for nearly two days now. Yesterday we left Amsterdam bright and early to drive up north to Katwoude, where we toured the Henri Willig cheese factory.  It was our third company tour, and the third disappointment. This tour, like the previous two, was nothing but a front to sell is their product. We got a 5 minute spiel from a woman dressed in traditional Dutch garb, then we were treated to a 20 minute video that was so poor it felt like it was buffering on Netflix, and then we got the privilege of shopping in their cheese store. Lots of people bought lots of cheeses. There were some good ones there, but I remembered that I'm from Wisconsin. I'll have plenty of opportunities for better souvenirs. 

The best part of this visit was actually climbing the dike across the street and seeing the whole Markermeer Sea laid out in front of us, a good 3 meters above the level of the farmland. You have to love the Dutch and their tenacity in keeping the sea at bay. 

Then we hopped back in our charter bus and took the A1 all the way out of the Netherlands for my first trip into Germany! We arrived in Osnabrück in the afternoon and got checked into our very nice four-star hotel, the Steigenberger Remarque. I went to dinner with the other two grad students, Peter and Rebecca, and with Olivia, one of the undergrads. We chose a Spanish cafe, where I ordered Italian food (lasagne). The cafe was outside on the market square, and it started pouring near the end of the meal. Everyone was very considerately squishing their tables and chairs together to let people in out of the rain. 

After dinner we met with a professor at the local university who does historical tours part time, and he gave us a wonderful dusk walking tour of old Osnabrück. We got to see much of the many centuries of history still remaining in the town in one fell swoop. At the end, he opened the stairs to the church belfry and we got to climb the 193 stairs to the top for some breathtaking views of Osnabrück at night. My iPhone doesn't take dark pictures well, but here's a general idea. 

This morning we piled on the bus at 8am and headed south to Harsewinkel to tour the Claas factory. I had never heard of Claas, but they are a worldwide manufacturer of agricultural machines, in direct competition with (and proclaim to be larger than) John Deere. This tour was the first one to be completely worth the time. It was extremely professional, they seemed genuinely interested in having us there, and were much less interested in selling us their product than they were in convincing us to come work for them. The tour guides were both retired R&D engineers with intimate knowledge of the operations. The factory tour was up close and personal. There were no hard hats, no safety railings, and no barriers. We were led directly through the entirety of the assembley lines, to the point of frequently getting in the way of the workers on the line. We were able to see, smell, and touch everything in the factory.  We were not allowed to use our cameras on the factory floor, but here is one of their finished products on display in the front showroom. 

I did have quite the scare after the tour. I ducked into the restroom after we turned in our vests and walkie-talkies, only to come out a minute later and find everyone gone! I searched the entire area, and there was no sign of anyone. Also, the charter bus was gone. Convinced they left me behind 30km from our hotel, I spent the next half hour searching the internet on my phone for train routes from Harsewinkel back to Osnabrück! Before I actually left, however, I was relieved to see my peers come out of a nondescript door- they had been quickly ushered into a theater for a presentation on the company. I was sad to have missed the presentation, but quite relieved to not have to find my way across Lower Saxony on my own with my rudimentary German. 

After returning to town, we went to the Hochschule in town, or the University of Applied Sciences. We had lunch in the student cafeteria, then met with some local students and faculty for a few presentations on student life abroad and on the politics of the European Union, which is holding their elections this weekend. 

Upon return to the hotel, we were free for the evening. At 6:30 I wandered into the town center on my own for a food-gathering adventure. I found a local food court with a little traditional German food bistro. I had a bratwurst with a roll (they aren't served on buns here), potato salad and a Coke. I ordered the meal in German, which provoked laughs from the nice gentleman at the counter (who was helpful and spoke English, but was amused by my terrible pronunciation). 

After dinner we met up with one of the local grad students and a few of his German classmates and went down to a favorite bier garden for drinks and conversation. We were there nearly three hours, and met some nice people. The place was packed with a hundred people by 9pm, and they were all local. Osnabrück is not in any way a tourist town. 

After drinks, around half of us braved the late evening and went to a local dance club. It's quite different from clubs at home, featuring several DJs and a very techno-style music. Also, nobody even shows up before 1am. We arrived at midnight and were the only patrons. By 1 the place was filling up quickly, and when we left at 2 it was packed to the point nobody could move. Apparently the clubs here stay open until dawn. 

Now I'm going to get very little sleep tonight, but getting that local experience was priceless. I hope it's worth the exhaustion tomorrow!