The Adventures of the Artist and the Scientist: The Duality of the Brain's Hemispheres (aka my trip to Germany)

I got the chance to go to Tubingen and Stuttgart, Germany, to visit a friend and fellow RIC student, Irina for the second half of my fall break. We are about as similar as Italy is to Germany, but it made for a really fun and  exciting trip! Irina is studying biochemistry, and I am studying art, which require use of different hemispheres of the brain entirely, so I expected to not have much in common with her but I was surprised. There really is a strong connection of science and art, especially in the way we see the world; through careful observation of our surroundings. This was specifically evident while at the Wilhelma Zoo, but I will get to that in a bit.

Before I say much I have to admit that I didn't feel much "culture shock" when I arrived in Florence. Maybe this was because I have studied the city for a while and sort of knew what to expect, or perhaps I was just filled with too much excitement to notice or care. Landing in Stuttgart was sort of a different story. Florence is filled with buildings and architecture from antiquity, and technologically speaking it is far behind from the rest of the world.. Things are much simple here. The buildings are extremely old and the entire city has been designed in unity, so everything is fluent and aesthetically pleasing. Stuttgart was my first taste of what it will be like to venture back into reality when I have to come back to the States (Do I really have to?) It was almost alarming to see the modern architecture and subway system. It felt like New York in comparison to Providence. I didn't know what to expect but I was certainly surprised!

Tubingen on the other hand was more along the lines of what I thought Germany would be like. What a charming little town! I got a lovely tour courtesy of Irina of the surroundings, of the castle and center of town. I loved the architecture of the apartment buildings here, they had so much character and were so warmly colored. I was particularly excited to see the churches, and the foliage, considering it's still in the 70s on average in Florence and there's no indication of fall whatsoever.

We also got to see St. George's Church and the Rathaus (City Hall) Very cool structures, again much different from our Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio!

The food here was delicious!! It's very heavy though, I don't know if I could eat it all the time if I lived there. Since it is so different from Italy's I figured I would post it!

Marrow Dumpling Soup 

Jagerschnitzel with noodles 

Butterbreztel!

My absolute favorite part of Germany was the Wilhelma Zoo and botanical gardens. This zoo was much bigger than any one I've seen at home and had a much more diverse range of animals, including gorillas!

Funny that my first time seeing California Redwood Trees is in Germany

I only got to stay for a short amount of time but I really enjoyed Germany. As happy as I am that I got to go there and experience a culture outside of Italy I feel like Florence is my home! 

Thanks to Irina for hosting and showing me around!