This entry is PART 2(4) in my A Month In Europe series. If you haven't, check out PART 2(3) here.
Hallo!
So far, in Germany, aside from staying in Giessen, I had been to Frankfurt, Marburg, and Wetzlar. Every city offered different sights and their own unique experience. However, in my third week in Germany I began to feel the pressure of not having meaningful physical social interactions. Of course, I had my daily discussions with Dr. Bianca and weekly meetings with Prof. Markus but those were strictly during office hours. There weren't any students that I could hang out with. I began to feel an unironically foreign sense of loneliness.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not the type of person who goes abroad for a few weeks and then gets homesick and misses Nasi Lemak or Teh Tarik or whatever petty stuff. In fact, I relish the opportunity to escape from my routines at home to do new things and gain as much as experience as I can. What's more, I have always been on my own in doing my work, so I didn't mind not having friends or classmates. But the fact that I was so deeply alone with my thoughts and the intensity of research manifested a horrid sense of loneliness; a longing for a meaningful conversation with a close friend.
It hadn't gotten to the worst point yet so I got through it and the daily Twitch streams that I watched provided a great distraction and solid entertainment to get my mind off of unnecessary distress.
I didn't visit another city in that third week. Instead, I decided to walk down Ludwigstrasse, one of the main roads in Giessen. The road led to many places, such as the university's main building, the beautiful city park, the city center, and the old cemetery for notable locals.
Staying in Germany made me very grateful of nature and just being outside. As I'd mentioned before in previous entries, people don't really walk to get around in Malaysia. It's a shame because there's actually a lot to see once we just go out for a walk and take different turns every time.
On my walk that day, I revisited the city park that I had been before with Dr. Bianca but this time around, I came across a path I hadn't been on before.
I didn't have anything else planned for the day so I just started walking along the path. It was a very beautiful path, surrounded by trees and the sound of the Wieseck slowly flowing along. The sun was out, the sky was clear and the wind was gently blowing to provide some air flow to counteract the heat building up in my sweater.
I walked along that path for around an hour before the fear of getting lost started to creep in. I walked a little bit further before taking another route back to the park. which took me another hour.
It was a very calming walk and I was glad I had decided to go out instead of stay cooped up in my room. I didn't take many photos, though. It was a scenic view of vast fields of grass, yes. But I didn't have much of a story to tell with photos of grass and trees.
But then again, some photos of grass and trees would've been okay, too.
Hallo!
So far, in Germany, aside from staying in Giessen, I had been to Frankfurt, Marburg, and Wetzlar. Every city offered different sights and their own unique experience. However, in my third week in Germany I began to feel the pressure of not having meaningful physical social interactions. Of course, I had my daily discussions with Dr. Bianca and weekly meetings with Prof. Markus but those were strictly during office hours. There weren't any students that I could hang out with. I began to feel an unironically foreign sense of loneliness.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not the type of person who goes abroad for a few weeks and then gets homesick and misses Nasi Lemak or Teh Tarik or whatever petty stuff. In fact, I relish the opportunity to escape from my routines at home to do new things and gain as much as experience as I can. What's more, I have always been on my own in doing my work, so I didn't mind not having friends or classmates. But the fact that I was so deeply alone with my thoughts and the intensity of research manifested a horrid sense of loneliness; a longing for a meaningful conversation with a close friend.
It hadn't gotten to the worst point yet so I got through it and the daily Twitch streams that I watched provided a great distraction and solid entertainment to get my mind off of unnecessary distress.
I didn't visit another city in that third week. Instead, I decided to walk down Ludwigstrasse, one of the main roads in Giessen. The road led to many places, such as the university's main building, the beautiful city park, the city center, and the old cemetery for notable locals.
Not as impressive as the old towns of Marburg or Wetzlar, but I liked it nonetheless
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen main building
The lake at the city park
Grave of Wilhelm Konrad Röntgen, discoverer of the X-ray
Staying in Germany made me very grateful of nature and just being outside. As I'd mentioned before in previous entries, people don't really walk to get around in Malaysia. It's a shame because there's actually a lot to see once we just go out for a walk and take different turns every time.
On my walk that day, I revisited the city park that I had been before with Dr. Bianca but this time around, I came across a path I hadn't been on before.
I wonder where this goes
I didn't have anything else planned for the day so I just started walking along the path. It was a very beautiful path, surrounded by trees and the sound of the Wieseck slowly flowing along. The sun was out, the sky was clear and the wind was gently blowing to provide some air flow to counteract the heat building up in my sweater.
Would've been cool to do a photoshoot here
Just a guy going for a run at 2.30PM
It was a very calming walk and I was glad I had decided to go out instead of stay cooped up in my room. I didn't take many photos, though. It was a scenic view of vast fields of grass, yes. But I didn't have much of a story to tell with photos of grass and trees.
But then again, some photos of grass and trees would've been okay, too.
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