A Night at the Opera

Yesterday, we did not have class, but instead had to go for breakfast in the morning with all our class. It was our last day together, so breakfast was a way to celebrate! We got there a little late, because we all had to sign the card that we got for our teacher and tutor, to go along with the chocolates and flowers and wine for Antje. After breakfast (I ate so much food that I really didn't eat the rest of the day, because I was so full!) we all had a little break before having to meet the bus to head to Stuttgart for the night. Our first stop was the Mercedes-Benz museum!

Here's the museum!

We were all dressed up for the opera later!

This is the elevator that took us up to the top, from which we curved our way back down.

Hannah with her headset!

Beautiful Jake.

Me and Hannah!

The first floor consisted of a horse. Kind of obvious Mercedes-Benz...

Some early automobile type thingys.

Who wants to buy me one and be my driver?!

The first modern automobile. It was pretty high tech for its time.

Racing trophy won by a German racer during the Third Reich.

 I thought that it was really interesting to read all about World War II from the perspective of Mercedes-Benz, as they did get involved in the Nazi's rule. They were trying to be objective in their little plaques and stories everywhere, but I remember one plaque said that they did get caught up in it all and that they apologized and paid for damages, etc...

No timeline through history would be complete in terms of achievements without mentioning Charlie Chaplin.

I loved this, they had Jesse Owens, who kicked butt at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin!

Transportation automobiles.

THE BEATLES! "Europa im Beatles-Fieber".

In case you wanted to know the German word for test-tube baby... it is "Retortenbabys".

This reminded me of Speed Racer, so I had to take a picture!

I feel like Batman should drive this... but maybe not. Maybe I should!

Mercedes-Benz works with universities to develop new models of cars, which apply art and technology to create these models.

Another example of cooperative car modelling.

After the museum, we headed further into Stuttgart for the opera. We had about two hours free time before we had to meet again, so I headed off on my own to shop around and just relax. First of all, it was freezing! Yesterday was so cold, today actually too, but it was also windy! So my walking was limited and I was forced to walk into more shops that I would have liked to.

Fountain at Stuttgart's main square.

As I was walking through this main square, a guy was standing and it looked like he was asking for money or something. He was talking to me, but I resolved to ignore him. He then grabbed my arm, not hard, but enough to sort of freak me out, so I shook him off and walked away faster! I do not like being grabbed or smacked with briefcases, thank you very much!

We met back up for the opera at 6:30. They passed out the tickets to everyone in my group. I was standing right next to all the other Americans when they were passing them out, but somehow I got a ticket for a seat way off at the end all by myself. First of all, I already feel excluded enough in everything else... it definitely didn't help having to sit alone at the opera. Thank you universe for making me feel like crap.

It also didn't help that the old woman next to me, although very nice and easy to talk to, smelled like a combination of B.O. and perfume. So the whole of the some two hour opera, I was drowning in this lady's mixture of smells! It was really too much, and by the end I had a big headache.

The opera itself was amazing. We went to see La Traviata, which if you've seen Moulin Rouge, you would understand this opera. The singing was amazing, and the music was just wonderful! After the opera was done, the actors came on stage to take their bows, and then left the stage, and then came back one by one, and then left again, and then all came back with the conductor, and then left again, and then came back, and they dropped the curtain, and then they rose it, and then they bowed again, and then they dropped the curtain, and then they raised the curtain, and then they bowed again...... I am not exaggerating at all either! They must have bowed like twenty million times. Their going to have to go see a chiropractor, because they spent most of the night bowing it seems like. 

After all of the excessive bowing, and after like fifteen minutes of straight applause, we headed back to Tuebingen, where I went right back to my room and fell asleep!