Fun in Flensburg
My journey to German began with a flight from BWI to O'Hare, to Frankfurt, to Hamburg, and culminating with a 2 hour drive to Flensburg on a rainy Thursday. At Flensburg I stayed at the Marineschule, the closest equivalent to our Naval Academy in the German Navy. For the duration of my stay there I attended classes on navigation, pilotage, radar, and other nautical things taught in German. Most of the other students of the 1.Inspektion were between the ambiguous German rank of "midshipman" and LTJG-equivelants.
Although I was only in Flensburg for 3 weeks, I was able to do plenty when I was there, thanks to the hospitality and generosity of the friends I made at the Marineschule. Some of the highlights included: going to diskos, attending a rock concert in Hamburg, going to a German sauna for the day, spectating an American football game, watching the dragon boat cup, tasting plenty of good German food and beer.
The American football game I saw with one of my Marineschule friends starting on O-line for the Flensburg Sealords.
The annual Flensburg Dragon Boat Cup. Despite the poor weather, there was a great turnout of spectators, and local businesses and organizations participating in the races whilst donning ridiculous costumes.
The picturesque view of downtown Flensburg. My first month in Germany has been amazing and I am looking forward to my next 4 months here.