Trivia#14: The first Oscar for the best male lead went to the German actor Emil Jannings (in 1929).
You know what? University is crammed with Italians and Americans right now. Wherever I go, all I hear is Italian and English. Like, in the bus to university: all the Germans are silent and grumpy and think of their warm bed whereas the Italians and Americans are filling the whole bus with merry chatter. XD Don't know where they get the energy from that early in the morning. Well, I barely understand the Italians but it's nice to listen to the Americans and how they perceive life in Germany. I wonder if they think that this university is very empty, because almost everybody (except for some miserable souls like me) is on holiday.
I also wrote some postcards to you already, but I don't know when they'll arrive.
About today: After four years of living in Rgbg, I finally managed to go to the Walhalla. It's a kind of temple built by King Ludwig I. During the last 2 years I've come to admire this particular king. I barely knew him before. He gets overshadowed by his grandson, but... I think he was interesting too, and he shouldn't be neglected because his hairstyle was much cooler. tWell, so the Walhalla is a super awesome building that houses busts of famous people "of the German tongue".
Quoted from wiki: 'As being "of the German tongue" was the main selection criterion for the original 160 persons representing the 1,800 years of German history, the King included persons from, or who had been active in, modern-day Sweden, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Russia, Switzerland and the Baltic States.
Whereas the Valhalla of Norse mythology was home to those gloriously slain in battle, Ludwig's Walhalla was intended not only for warriors but also for scientists, writers, and clerics, and specifically included both men and women. Decades before the German Empire was founded in 1871, "German" was understood as "Germanic". Included were Gothic, Langobardic, Anglo-Saxon, Dutch and Swiss German figures, as well as persons who had gained fame mainly in other countries or for non-German governments.'
It was a wonderful, sunshiney day! I took the bus from Rgbg to Donaustauf. Then I found a tiny path (coincidentally, because I was distracted by a church on a hill) through the forest, something like a steep short-cut, much like the path up the Capuchin Hill. There were no people, just the glitter of the Danube shining through the trees. It was wonderful and was too short. I could have climbed up there for hours. Maybe it's time to admit that I'm not human. I was born a chamois. Did you know the First World War broke out because someone was so stupid as to shoot a white chamois although he knew there would be a curse?! Really... People are dumb.
Ah, where did I stop? Oh yes. I climbed up there and then there was the Walhalla, it appeared quite suddenly, which is surprising for such a massive building. It's very impressive! It was quite crowded there, though. Lots and lots of German tourists. Speaking the weirdest German dialects. And 3 euros is quite pricey for a hall full of heads. Anyway, the view from up there is the best thing! Windy, though. The Danube is all glittery and the Dungau looks endless, stretching out to the horizon. I'm missing the mountain, though. So in the end I went back to Rgbg, wishing I could go climb some mountain soon. Oh, and today's some kind of special Sunday in Bavaria, all the shops were open and many, many people were in the city and running into me. Well, shops were open and had special offers and food was 10% off. Oh. So I went to hoard chocolate and tea. XD
Anyway, back to the Walhalla. I bought some postcards since I had no camera AND I bought that "Amtlicher Führer" thing which cost me incredible 4 euros but it really is quite interesting and has a lot of info material.
And I elected winners too! :D That was fun, what a pity I was the only person in the jury. So there are 128 busts and 65 plaques. Of course I could only elect winners among the busts.
And the winners are:
★ Scariest eyes: Mozart
★ Best looking female: Katharina II. von Russland (Russian Empress Katharina II)
★ Best looking male: Scharnhorst A Prussian! And I had never heard of him before...
★ People with their mouth open widest: Goethe, Heyden (I assume they mean Haydn), Mengs
★ Funniest facial expression: Schubert, Mendel
★ Hair that looks most like candy: Dalberg
★ Most tragic expression: Schiller
★ Looks like someone else entirely: Goethe (I swear they must have switched his bust!)
★ Best tiny alien: Kant
★ Looks most like my priest at home: Schelling
★ Best Highschool-teacher looks: Radetzky
★ Nicest jug ears: Moltke
★ Sculpture looks like it was done by himself: Einstein
★ Most shocked look: Jean Paul
★ Looks most like marshmallow man: Jakob Fugger
★ Looks most like a ghost: Stifter (his writings are amazing), Röntgen, Eichendorff (my beloved!)
★ First place gay: Carl Maria v. Weber (never heard of him either...)
★ Most British: Wilhelm III. (obviously)
★ Sexiest: The angel striking a sexy pose between Edith Stein and Heine.
★ Scary all over: Heine. (Not only does he look scary, he also has a fissure running through his chest and half his face. Is it meant to be a symbol?)
★ Most touching: Edith Stein.
Uhm, I figured that not everyone can be all familiar with these names/places, so I added wiki links to anything and anyone that I think might not be known worldwide. I even linked Mozart... just in case, you know?
Something else that I just want to write down - Last Saturday, I attended my first wedding as an altar girl. Not at my home church but at the Abbey. I didn't know who got married on this day and I was quite surprised when I realized the bride used to be a school friend of mine. We even received our First Holy Communion together! We haven't seen each other since 1996! Fourteen years! And to meet her again at her own wedding... somehow it was so great. And I don't even know if she recognized me. Maybe not? I went to congratulate her afterwards and all, but I'm not sure if she really realized who I am and where she knows me from. Well, it doesn't matter, it's not like we'll see each other again very soon, now that I live in Rgbg.
It felt a little weird, though, because we are of the same age and we were both dressed in white - just that she was in front of the altar next to the groom and I was behind the altar, next to the priest. I think it symbolizes the difference of the path we walked during those 14 years very well and maybe it means even more than that. It felt very, very right to me. We were both in the right place.
Btw, I didn't know you get money if you do altar service at a wedding. Nice surprise!
Anyway, this Sunday I volunteered for altar service and I think it was the very first time I made no mistakes.