Home is such a relative term.

I saw someone today who reminded me of someone I haven't seen in at least ten years -- if, of course, the other person looked exactly the same today as they did ten years ago, which is highly unlikely. In any case, it put me in a reminiscing frame of mind, which is never a good thing when you're by yourself and far from home. Don't worry, though, I'm not getting homesick yet. Tomorrow I'm actually getting quite close to my former "home away from home": I'm going out to dinner with the brother of my German host family from high school, Marc, who happens to now live in Stuttgart. I am excited to catch up with him and get the local scoop on life in the city.

Today was an interesting day at work because I had a chance to meet one of Japan's top leaders in life cycle assessment (LCA), who was on a tour of LCA groups all throughout Europe. We sometimes have a strange notion in the U.S. that other countries' research, especially in the East, does not measure up to research conducted in the West, i.e. in the United States. While access to information does vary, given equal opportunity, research conducted in other countries can be just as interesting and robust as research conducted in the U.S., even if our biased instincts tell us otherwise.

Anyway, the work week is over. My plan for the weekend consists of dinner with Marc tomorrow night, trip to the art museum on Sunday to see the Otto Dix exhibit, and grocery shopping somewhere in between. Maybe something else will come up in the meantime, too. I haven't strayed very far from the center of the city yet. I've been thinking about hopping on the subway and getting off at a random station, just to see what's there. You never know what you might find.

Inaugur-what?

None of my co-workers were nearly as excited as I was to finish work today and watch the Inaugural address. The event was on the front page of the FAZ, Germany's equivalent to the New York Times, but that was the only time I saw or heard it mentioned all day. Oh well. I am definitely a U.S.-American in a foreign land.

Enjoy the days of celebration, Mr. President, and then please get to work on policies that create a stronger union for everyone. How about renewable energy, strengthening the economy, and bringing our troops home for starters? Show the world you truly deserve that Nobel Peace Prize. We're rooting for you.

Watching the livestream on my laptop.

Top 5: Stuttgart Surprises

Here is a list, in no particuar order, of some things that have most surprised me so far:

1. Smoking. While there are more non-smoking spaces than there used to be, the scene isn't changing nearly as quickly as I had expected. So far, I have found one restaurant and one cafe where I can actually breathe. Cigarette vending machines are still on the streets, as well as at the check-out counter in the grocery stores. The check-out counter is just poor design. People have to reach over one another to get to the awkwardly placed machine and inevitably end up delaying the line. None of this seems to deter smokers, not even the large-print health warnings on the outside of the packages.

2. Kehrwoche. Apparently this is a Schwäbische thing, Swabia being the region in which Stuttgart is located. Apartment residents are expected to take turns cleaning the communal areas, including the basement, steps, and entryway, as well as the street and sidewalk directly outside the apartment building. Um, what?!

3. Steps. I already mentioned the steps in my previous entry. They are everywhere in Stuttgart and sometimes quite steep. You don't always have to use them to get to your destination, but they usually reduce the walking time considerably. Of course, if you are traveling a long distance, taking the S-Bahn, U-Bahn, or your personal car is probably a better option.

4. Supermarkets. My experience in Germany and Austria up until this point has been that grocery stores are small, offer one or two brands of each product, and rarely ever carry everything on your list -- sort of like ALDI's, which originated in Germany. I don't know if this is just the case for Stuttgart (and maybe major cities like Munich, Frankfurt, and Berlin), but there are grocery stores everywhere now, and most of them are really supermarkets with a wide range of produce, milk products, deli, prepared foods, and of course the bakery. On Friday, I even stumbled across a small, reasonably priced, German version of Whole Foods, called "basic", which made me extremely happy. The only downside to this variety is that you're not forced to buy traditional German or European products. Heck, I've even seen peanut butter here. I still prefer the smaller stores, but it's nice to know that if I'm looking for something decidedly not-German, I might have a chance at the larger supermarkets.

5. Structure of the weekend. This one might sound silly compared to the others, but it did surprise me.   My flatmate asked me if I wanted to go out Thursday night with some friends. I was really tired and wasn't feeling that great, so I declined, and we agreed to definitely do something together next time. Friday came and I was feeling great, so I thought I'd go into the city and maybe to the art museum. Ha! The city was deserted. Everyone apparently goes out on Thursday night, not Friday. On Saturday people go shopping and on Sunday, when everything is closed, people stay home and relax. While I was out yesterday (Saturday), I picked up several cultural events calendars, so I can start planning some weekends more carefuly, including a few train trips to visit other cities.

First three days of the post-doc

Wednesday was my first day of work as a post-doctoral researcher, i.e. post-doc, in the Life Cycle Engineering Department of Germany's Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics. Those of you in the LCA community know this department by the software they developed, GaBi.

In honor of my first day, Stuttgart graced us with a surprise snowstorm Tuesday night. By Wednesday morning, the city was covered in a thin blanket of white fluff. Nobody was phased by the snow, however. Schools started on time and trains ran (more or less) according to schedule.

The typical commute between my apartment and work averages 25 minutes: 8 minutes to walk to the train (S-Bahn) station at Schwabstrasse, +/- 3 minutes to wait for a train, 7 minutes on the train, and 7 minutes to walk from the train station Österfeld to the engineering park where I work.

Stuttgart is built in and around a valley, or "Kessel", as the locals call it. Österfeld is located on an upper side of the valley and overlooks a large portion of the center of the city. The next few photos were taken from the Österfeld train station.

Snowy train tracks

Overlooking Stuttgart from the Österfeld train station

Autobahn clear Wednesday morning

While the city's shape and slope(s) create breathtaking views, these features also present some logistical challenges and quirks. For example, many streets are layered on top of one another, similar to the way highway interchanges are typically layered. The difference in Stuttgart is that these are small roads, not major highways, and getting from one layered road to the next usually requires climbing steps built into the many hills throughout the city. Google Maps is hopeless here. (Hint to Google: revising the current Stuttgart map would make for an awesome team project.)

As I mentioned earlier, my office forms part of an "engineering park", the idea behind which is to group approximately 100 engineering and technology organizations together and offer just enough services within the park to make it feel like a community. Services include a full cafeteria, a bakery, coffee shop, dry cleaner, barber, fitness studio, spa, and travel agency. With a grocery store 15 minutes away by foot, people joke that employees never need to leave the area.

Engineering park where I'm working

My office, shared with two colleagues. I have the window seat on the right.

Far more important than any individual perk are the people with whom one works. My colleagues and department are exceptional in this respect. Everyone is invested in one another's success and in the success of the group. The amount of camaraderie and mentorship I have already received has been amazing. The only downside to working with such a passionate group of people ... is that we're a passionate group of people. We are so interested in the subject matter that we get wrapped up in deep conversations fairly easily. Thank goodness we often eat lunch together and have regular tea and coffee breaks for short chats. (The amount of espresso consumed in the office may also influence the rate of idea exchange.)

All in all, my first (half-)week of work was quite the success. I look forward to Monday and Tuesday being just as interesting and rewarding.

Here I am again. Here we all are. I have been in Germany for twelve days now: long enough to have (somewhat) settled in, short enough to have barely scratched the surface ... of anything. Luckily, I have time to explore.

There are 5 W's to understanding this blog:

Who: Me, your blogger otherwise known as Briana.
What: (Academic) Doctor of Sustainable Engineering embarks on two-year post-doc with one of the world's top life cycle assessment (sustainability analysis) research labs. Could also be described as German-speaking U.S. citizen living the expat life.
Where: Stuttgart, Germany; Southwestern Germany near the Black Forest.
When: January 2013 - January 2015
Why: So many reasons! Mainly to learn all I can from my engineering colleagues, to publish new sustainable engineering research, and to use the post-doc as a crucial stepping stone to launching my scientific career. Not to be overlooked, of course, is the opportunity to improve my German in the finest of settings!

What about the title, you ask? "Wander by Design" comes from the fact that I am an expert in finding opportunities to combine work with wandering, otherwise known as travel. You could say it all started with my last semester of high school as an exchange student in Germany. From there, I spent a semester and then a year in Austria, another semester in Brazil, a few project work weeks in Honduras and later in Uganda. As often as I find opportunities, they have a way of finding me. These cultural exchanges have, in no small part, created who I am today.

So what will I write about? Everything from daily life in Germany to global and local current events to sustainability essays for my fellow academic geeks. Be prepared for discussions on the Schwäbischen dialect, diatribes on the evils of German bureaucracy, and perhaps a few too many photos of landscapes. Of course there will be touristy travel entries, too.

What do I want from you? Leave me comments! Please. It's nice to know when people actually read what you write. Share the blog address: wanderbydesign.blogspot.com. (Those of you in or near Germany might get redirected to blogspot.de. That's okay. You should still be able to read the blog with either address.) Leave me links of travel blogs that you enjoy. Tell me if there is a particular topic you'd like me to cover. Tell me if you get tired of a topic. Above all, read and enjoy.

Bis demnächst,
Briana