We could use an ICE from Basel SBB to Freiburg, but didn't. We got on a local train there and changed trains at Basel Bad Bf. There were three kinds of national railways in the city and it was really confusing. We asked people here and there, and managed to come back to Freiburg at about 15:00. I would have liked to have stopped over at a small station on the way, but we had an appointment at 16:00 at Colombi Hotel in Freiburg, so we got back early. The scenery on the way was beautiful under the clear sky.
I met an acquaintance and his co-worker at Colombi Hotel for the first time in five months. I won't write his name here, but he was a member of the friendship mission from Freiburg. He was a staff member of Freiburg University. The detail is written in this entry; http://kumo.typepad.jp/weblog/2009/04/visitors-from-1.html
His co-worker was able to speak English and Japanese along with German, and it was so useful for our communication. My acquaintance treated us to nice cakes, but I was sorry to forget to take pictures. I don't remember the exact name but, my cake was SchwarzwŹ«Łldertorte and Yuri's was Waldbeertorte. Both were typical cakes in Germany and delicious as we expected. Especially, Yuri told that she had never eaten such a delicious cake. We chatted about Freiburg and around, and it was very useful for us. The price of commodity and average salary of workers in Switzerland, the population outflow to Switzerland, the terrain of Alsace, a dormant volcano,,,. I was particularly surprised to hear about the lack of medical doctors and care workers. They seemed to work in Switzerland to get more money, while living in Germany, where the tax was lower than in Switzerland. My skill as a general surgeon, majoring in the surgery of the stomach and colon, must be useful also in Freiburg, and I was interested in living in Freiburg, but the decrease of income wasn't acceptable. As for Yuri, she was mainly listening to our conversation, but she got to thinking about living and studying in Freiburg. I knew that the security of Freiburg was as good as our hometown. I asked them how to apply for courses of the university. I could get valuable information from them. Yuri might be in Freiburg at this time next year.
(Vocabulary)
typical 代表的な
price of commodity 物価
commodity 商品, 生産物
agricultural commodities 農産物
population outflow 人口流出
out migration / population drain / population exodus
dormant volcano 休火山
inactive volcano / silent volcano
Wow, how exciting for your daughter! She speaks a little German, right? Or, am I thinking of Korean... Anyway, sounds like you have had a fantastic trip at this point and it seems that some of your questions are starting to be answered! That's great.
Posted by: Sarah | Oct 27, 2009 at 09:39 PM