We spent our Search class in the morning talking about the reading assignments. One of the readings was "Lieutenant Gustl," a short story. It was a good story, one of my favorite so far. It was very strange though, the stream of consciousness style was really bizarre in the way it showed the protagonist completely overreact to everything. It was pretty comedic though, obviously a mockery of the whole system of honor of that time.
Our second reading however was one of Freud's texts, "Civilization and its Discontents." It was not my favorite. It did relate back to what we'd been learning in Search though, particularly Nietzsche's text.
After Search, we had an excursion to the nearby toboggan site, where you get in a cart and slide down a metal track.
Our second reading however was one of Freud's texts, "Civilization and its Discontents." It was not my favorite. It did relate back to what we'd been learning in Search though, particularly Nietzsche's text.
After Search, we had an excursion to the nearby toboggan site, where you get in a cart and slide down a metal track.
The toboggan site was at the top of a hill on the opposite side of the valley to the Akademie.
It was a holiday, so the Akademie did not get us a bus, and we were told we had to walk there. It was a very long walk. We trekked about an hour along the side of roads close to the highway. When we finally got there, Jonas was nice enough to pay for our first ride. Then some of us went on a second ride and then had a bite to eat at the café up there. And then we had to walk back.
Thus began what I have chosen to refer to as the "Death Hike."
Thus began what I have chosen to refer to as the "Death Hike."
We should have known we were in trouble when it was referred to as an actual hike and not just a "leisurely stroll" or a "bit of a walk." No, on the way back we tried to go a different route so we wouldn't take the same dangerous path we had walked on the way there. We ended up hours later still walking, pretty much lost in the woods with a small splinter group having disappeared into the trees in a bid to make their own way home. No one had water left except me, and I had finished it off early into the walk. We walked for hours trying to find our way home, and by the end of it we had walked around the entire valley instead of making a straight shot through. But hey. I got to see a deer while lost in the woods. We saw some cows too while walking by the fields trying to find the Akademie again. We had to ask for directions - the man whom we asked later drove by us again to ask if we needed any further help or if any of us were in bad enough shape that he needed to drive us to where we were going. Even though I'm pretty sure we were all starting to feel the symptoms of heat exhaustion (and were developing serious sunburns), Prof. Kronenberg made the right decision to not pack some of his students into the backseat of a stranger's car.
We finally got back late that evening. We were meant to have a German class, but it was cancelled due to everyone having had a terrible, terrible few hours. At least it was a bonding experience of sorts.
We finally got back late that evening. We were meant to have a German class, but it was cancelled due to everyone having had a terrible, terrible few hours. At least it was a bonding experience of sorts.