Mercedes Benz

By Francisco Merayo

Mercedes Benz is a well-known automotive company with headquarters in Stuttgart. Last week we visited the museum. The museum is a not very tall building that changed the shape while going up. It was covered with black glass, which gave it a nice contrast with the aluminum that was around the windows.

After went inside the museum and went through security we took an elevator that took us to the eighth floor and the guide started his job. He told us about the first engines Karl Benz designed first and the imperfections that they had. Later on we walked next to the first models produced and we could see the change with a timeline made with cars.

The second big room was about the classic luxury cars. These cars were huge and designed to be in the back seat instead of driving. In this room we saw the progression into the three points star. For the brand the detail is important not only because the importance of a symbol like the Mercedes star also because now we all can identify the brand with the symbol.

The next two rooms were focused on the after WWII designs and the progression of the brand in the first half of the twentieth century. The following room showed sports cars. They have a 1954 300 SL which is one of the more famous cars if we focus on the history of the brand. The 300 SL had a very special look, I like this car because many reasons but one of the most important ones is the leather color. Red is not a very good color for the interior of a car, but the exterior design I don’t know why made the leather looks in perfect balance and harmony. It was the first time I saw one in real life in my life and the experience to see something so pretty that have survived so many years and still looking like brand new talks very good about Mercedes Benz.

Another interesting room was the competition room. Mercedes Benz won two years in a row the World Formula One Championship with Fangio as the driver. But after some fatal accidents the brand wanted to stop relating themselves with dead people for the racing. They showed the silver arrows in a timeline that looks like a circuit. We were told about how Mercedes Benz formula one team ended up with a silver car and was a very interesting story and a very sharp way to avoid the weight problem by taking the car paint away.

In general the museum told the story of a company that through the years knew how to do well. I am sure that in the future the company will get bigger and we will be able to enjoy their fantastic cars. We saw a room about electric cars a hybrids, that is the future of the automotive industry.  That’s why this museum was good because we saw how the industry started how they developed the present of the brand and a little part of the future.

Heidelberg Service Learning

By Ylda Sellers

"Eine halb tasse de kaffee bitte" the gentleman said as he motioned towards the coffee machine for me; "Mitt milch?" I asked while pouring his cup of coffee. When he realized he had a shocked look on his face, he quickly changed it to a smile and with ease replied, "ja."

I understood the man's confusion the ladies who normally worked at Manna we're telling everyone that I didn't speak much German. So when I was able to comprehend and reply to the gentleman's request in German I would not have expected him to act any differently! Now the ladies clearly were not telling everyone who came in that I didn't speak German in order to make me seem inept, rather for them to know that I most likely would be having a little bit of difficulty understanding. Having a preconception in regards to Manna from other students that had previously gone, when we arrived I was nervous. I had been told that the people that went for breakfast were not the friendliest group of people; from my own experience I have a very different opinion. The folks that came were some of the nicest Germans I have ever met.

Back home I tend to do a lot of community service with all the different organizations that I am involved with but also because to graduate from UIW one most have completed forty five hours’ worth of community service in order to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. Know this sounds as though I only do it because I have to, and to some respect if I did not have it as a requirement or it being part of my obligations to my organizations I probably would not. Now this also does not go with saying that when I do perform community service I love doing it. So going to Manna was great, it really helped put me in my place. Like everyone it is so easy to get caught up in miniscule details of life that really have absolutely no grander matter of importance than the moment we are living in. Going to Manna I was put into perspective and made me truly grateful for what I have, not only the materialistic objects in my life but also the grand love I have waiting for me back home, and the fact I have a home to go back to.

Most of people that came into Manna that morning were not necessarily homeless but some of the folks were. Now back in the states when I have gone to soup kitchens to serve, the homeless folks back are very different from the folks here. The folks here are very nicely dressed to the point that if you did not know this person you probably would not realize that they are facing any kind of hardship financially at least. Also back home the majority of folks that would come into the soup kitchen would act as though we owed it to them to serve and give them food, while at Manna the folks were absolutely grateful that they were getting treated nicely. All in all the  main lesson I learned from going to Manna was that no matter what walk of life someone comes from everyone wants the same thing and that is to be treated with respect. 

International Food Night: PB& J Sandwiches

By Brandon Knight

This week I had the chance to attend something that many people never get to go to. I went to one of the International week days at Heidelberg’s own SRH. The SRH is one of the largest private institutions in the country, and known for its rigorous academic standards and unique was of teaching. For example, at my stay at SRH University their 5-week teaching method was explained to and after an initial feel of indifference I actually like this different approach to teaching a college course.  Essentially this process is self-explanatory, instead of 2-3 months for a course one at SRH may be taught for five weeks but much more frequently and rigorously. Also in these courses the conceptual knowledge behind everything being taught is very important. They aren’t just teaching you, so that you fulfill a requirement the staff at SRH genuinely wants it’s students to learn and master what they are being taught, and this I believe gives students learning here a little edge in the job market. I was truly nearly sold on this school, If I was a freshman interested in going to school abroad it definitely would be one of my top choices.

Moreover, now that I’ve gotten some brief history and facts out of the way, the event that I attended was called SRH International Week. International week is a very prestigious event that students from all over the planet come and take week long engaging courses and get to know someone. At the event there was people from New York, to here in Germany, all the way to seeing some students make the journey from Japan. For anyone considering going, my advice is stop considering and just go. It is well worth it. You will also be paired up with world class professors from around the world. These professors will actively and vigorously engage you on a topic of your choosing. Most of the topics were pretty interesting, for example I had Turkish Relation in the European Union and a friend of mine had a class dealing with start-ups. Though the work is pretty light on purpose, the way the class is taught will engage your mind to a degree where you will learn a surprisingly lot about what is being taught.

          

  There are also several events that are held throughout international week to give you a chance to bond with students. There are excursions that you could go on, though the Heidelberg Program covers most of them already. Though it never hurts to do something again, sometimes it’s more fun and then you can concentrate on interacting with your peers. The event I went was the International food night. I didn’t want to go at first because the first day was so long but I decided to go anyway. I’m glad I did as every represented school makes a dish there was plenty to try. So I suggest go on a near empty stomach if you want to sample all it has to offer. The most surprising thing to me though was the dish my school contributed. We made peanut butter and jelly, and back in the States it doesn’t get anymore basic than that. At first I was almost embarrassed since I was sure everyone had before and it lacked that exotic appeal. However, I kid you not, there were less than 8 people who had eaten it before at the whole event I counted. I was literally amazed so few people had tried PB&J outside the U.S. I guess you never know until you venture out and learn. I learned that it is very important to put oneself out there and try something new. So overall I’d highly recommend anyone that has a chance try the SRH International Week.

http://www.hochschule-heidelberg.de/de/internationales/international-week/international-week-2013/
  

Remembering

By Crystal Wilson

It was cold and dark standing in the void room in the Jewish Museum. I spent the day learning about the Jewish culture and their history in Germany. Jew have an interesting and complex history in Germany. From the beginning, Jews were always persecuted in this country.  They were either forced to wear a sign so that people knew that they were Jews, they were not able to live in the city and were forced to live out of town. It was explained that Jews stopped wanting people to categorize them as Jewish but wanted people to see them as Germans. A large amount of people converted to Christianity because they thought that they would have full right and privileges as a citizen. It did not work as well as they would have liked because people viewed Jews as a race and not a religion. This made it difficult for them because regardless of what they did they were not able to escape the fact that they were Jewish.

Standing in that room made me think about all things that the Jews of Germany had to go through and their outcome. Many stood in a cold dark room before they died and that must have been terrifying. I thought of them as stood there and what they had to go through as group of people and what they have lost. The time in the void was about reflecting on their life and tragedy. Another, touching moment for me was when I walked on the faces. It was a quiet moment of thinking about Jews and hearing the sound of metal clashing as you walk towards the darkness. I was sad as I walked through the area because it represented the people that were lost due to the Holocaust. I thought about who they were… they were mother, fathers, brothers and sisters and they were brutally murdered and that made me extremely sad.

I found this experience to be very informative and touching. I was glad we were able to learn about this material. It was a great cultural experience because I was able to gather more details about the Germans that were Jewish and their life in this country. I got a better understanding of what they had to go as a people. It was very educational because I learned information that I did not know and I gained a lot from going to this excursion.  Personally, I was very happy that I was able to go to the Jewish Museum because I wanted to learn more about the Jewish religion and the struggle that they faced while they lived in this country. This excursion really made me think and reflect on the lives that were lost and the wrong that can never be righted. As I walked around the museum I wondered at how much history would never be known and stories that would never be told. This was a great experience that enlighten me and furthered my education on the Jewish culture. 

Heidelberg Fussball Watching

By Nick Wigert

                 

                Usually I am not the kind of person who enjoys planning things for a group of people. Thinking of a spice essay topic was something that I did not think would be very easy for me because of this.

Last night I had been looking at fussball games that would be on this upcoming week. Turns out that tonight was a big night for Champions League and that was when it came to me. I knew I wanted to watch the game, so why not get a person or two and go out to find somewhere to watch it. That is what I did.

                Matt and I went to Destille, which is a bar off of the Haupstrasse that I actually enjoy going to. It is a very small, almost cozy feeling place with a tree in the middle of the bar. I had just assumed that since Borussia Dortmund would be playing Arsenal that most bars in the town would be playing that game because it involved a German team. I was right. When we first arrived at the bar it was not very crowded, which was something that I was not really expecting. Destille is always extremely packed; at least in the times that I have been there or just walking by there. I also made sure we left the ESC early because I wanted to make sure we got a seat at the bar. This takes me off on a bit of a tangent, but since we have been here in Heidelberg I have not really gotten to sit at the bar in any of the places we have gone because they are always so crowded and we always go out too late. Aside from that, I have always wanted to become a regular at a bar. This means being someone the bartender recognizes anytime you walk into the bar. That aspiration really stemmed from watching the show How I Met Your Mother, which is one of my favorite shows. Anyway, we got a seat at the bar and of course as I had expected about 20 minutes or so into the game the place became a mob seen. The night as a whole was something I really enjoyed. I was able to do something I loved to do while planning it myself. I was glad that I was able to put the night together and actually follow through on something that was planned.

                This experience really made me feel like I was a real part of German society. I feel like there is nothing that immerses a fussball fan into a new culture than sitting in a local bar with a bunch of rowdy local fans watching a Champions League game. It is experiences like this that really make me thankful that I am here in Germany. I came here not to be an American in Germany and act like an American while here. I really truly wanted to attempt to be more German in any way possible. This night was one that I really greatly enjoyed and hopefully I will be doing it again sometime in the near future.

ESPN. (2013, October 23). ESPNFC. Retrieved from ESPN.com: http://espnfc.com/fixtures/_/league/uefa.champions/uefa-champions-league?cc=5739

Hambach

By Sean Garfield

            The Experiential Learning Group ventured to Hambach this week to visit the famous Hambach Castle.  This area holds special significance to Germany, since it was here where the first democratic movement in the county began.  Our group was to visit the castle in order to gain a better understanding of this particular part of German culture as well as to take in the fantastic sights around the castle.

            We journeyed to Hambach via bus.  When we arrived at the city after a rather uneventful drive, we all stopped for a second and noticed something.  The town was remarkably small.  Unlike many other areas we have visited that were in cities and the like, the small town of Hambach nestled in the German Palatinate is home to only about 750 residents.  We all wondered how such a small place could be of such historical significance to the country.

            The ascent up the hill to the castle was a bit unnerving due to the narrowness of the roads.  When we finally arrived at the castle, we all took a look at how high up we were.  It was as if we were at the peak of a mountain, looking at the town below and acres upon acres of meadowlands.  The castle sat a bit higher than I anticipated, but I was stunned by the beautiful scenery nonetheless.  Eventually, our tour guide arrived to describe the castle.  Evidently, the castle constructed as a series of repairs and updates.  Most of them came from a medieval update to the then Roman fortress-style, and then a large-scale repair effort was made to repair half of the structure after a war damaged it.  We also noticed a much more recent style on the outer wall of the castle.  A restaurant was made here overlooking the Palatinate, with all new building and interior design.   When we entered the castle, we were surprised to see that a lot of the interior was similarly new and modernized.  The main hall looked more like a fancy town meeting hall than a castle interior, as did many of the other rooms.  The guide explained that many different events are carried out in the castle, like political meetings and even weddings, so that a new style was adopted to accommodate for them.  I thought that it looked really cool and high-tech for a centuries old castle of all things.

            Next, we headed upstairs into the museum.  It featured a lot of different period pieces from the 1830’s like clothing, pamphlets, and mechanical devices.  This is where I learned the true significance of Hamburg and the castle.  In 1832 an event known as the Hambach Festival took place in the castle.  Here, many German, French, and even Polish people met to hold political discussions and demonstrate against the ruling German governments who were increasing their taxes and censorship in Palatinate areas.  The people revolted against this tyranny and demanded that the government give them more rights.  Events like these were not rare in Europe at the time.  After the defeat of Napoleon, many monarchial families returned to power in their homelands formerly ruled by the French.  As such, they taxed the people more heavily, liquidated many provincial governments, and increased the amount of censorship within their lands.  Their people, who grew accustomed the rights they enjoyed as French citizens, would not have it.  This was especially true in countries like Poland whose borders were being taken by many different countries bit by bit.  We also saw relics like the important printing presses of the day, political pamphlets, and even the original black, red and yellow flag adopted by the Federal Democracy of Germany. 

            In the end, I was surprised by how much I was able to learn from our trip to Hambach.  I would’ve never imagined that such a small town could hold such historical importance to a country as large as Germany.  I suppose it goes to show that the place at which the seeds of democracy are planted does not matter so much as much as the growth of the ideal itself.

           

           

              Documents - Government and Administration: Confederation or Nation-State? In German History in Documents and Images.  Retrieved from http://www.germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_document.cfm?document_id=238

Trying Something New

By Jennifer Dall

            Before I came to Germany, I never drank alcohol and was never interested in doing so. Getting drunk never appealed to me so I stayed away from even tasting drinks like wine and beer. If you asked any of my friends or especially the people on my freshman floor, they would tell you that I was even a little closed minded about the topic. 

            Now, deciding to go to Germany changed all of that. In the country that gave birth to the world’s largest beer festival, was I going to still block out drinking? Was I going to deprive myself of experiencing something that is so culturally significant to the country that I will be staying in for four months? The short answer is no. The long answer involves me sitting in my bed trying to reevaluate my life decisions but eventually, still comes out to a solid no.

Too long have I been stubborn about something that really is not a big deal. I have come to the realization that drinking is not a 0 to 60 phenomenon. Just because I decide to drink one glass of wine or one mug of beer does not mean that I will wind up in the bathroom an hour later puking my brains out. I consider myself a very responsible person and I refuse to let my fear of losing control hold me back from having the best experience possible while studying abroad.

The wine tasting excursion is the perfect example to prove my point. The old me would have been annoyed by the mere fact that an event focused on alcohol was worked into the schedule. I would have immediately cast the excursion aside as pointless and dreaded that impending day that it would arrive. But now, after pushing myself to be as open as possible to new experiences, I embraced the wine tasting. I even looked forward to it. It was the perfect opportunity to test my new frame of mind.

By being so open, I learned to appreciate wine making as a family business and as a passion. The woman who guided our tasting is part of the ninth generation of family working continuously to make Adam Muller wine. When she spoke about her family and the wine that she presented to us, I could tell that she was extremely proud of her family’s work and its long rooted history within the town of Heidelberg. Between her passion for wine making and the quaint living room setting of the tasting, I felt comfortable enough to indulge myself in drinking each glass of wine.

During those couple hours, I kept thinking back to freshman year and how far I have come since

then. Not only was I mentally ok with sipping on wine, but I was in the company of friends and teachers doing the same thing. Nothing bad happened to me or them and I was able to enjoy another side of Heidelberg that is somewhat off the beaten path. This experience has definitely encouraged me to continue my efforts of keeping an open mind to new things I may come across while studying abroad and during life itself. I greatly enjoyed the wine tasting and am looking forward to more positive new experiences down the road!

Why Study Abroad?

By Ryan Snope

            I decided to study abroad in order to experience an entirely new culture as well as to have as many new and exciting experiences as possible during my time in college.  College is one of the only times that I will be able to live in another country and experience a different culture for an extended period of time.  I hope to learn how to adapt to new environments during my time abroad, as this is an important skill to have in my professional as well as my personal life.  In addition to these reasons, my major also requires that I study abroad, which is a very good part of the program, as it forces students to venture outside of their comfort zone.  However, even if it had not been required, I still would have chosen to do so.

            I chose to study abroad in Germany for several reasons.  First, our school set up the program here, which made the logistics much simpler and will also allow me to take classes for my major while abroad.  The second reason is that I have a good friend who was born and raised in Germany who helped steer my decision.  He taught me about many aspects of German culture that seemed very interesting and also said that Heidelberg is one of the nicest cities in Germany.  The third reason is that Germany is the most important economic center in Europe and has the third largest economy in the world.  Since I am interested in economics and finance, this will allow me to learn a great deal about the European economy, which will give me a huge advantage while applying for and working at a job in this field.  Heidelberg’s proximity to Frankfurt, which is the financial capital of Germany, also makes it an ideal location to study these topics.  Also, Germany is located pretty much in the center of Europe, which will allow me to travel to other countries during my time here.

            During my time abroad, I wish to improve myself personally by being able to open my mind to different lifestyles without being judgmental or thinking one is better than another.  For example, Americans stress working very hard for many hours a week, while Europeans often live a more relaxed lifestyle with more time off from work, which Americans may view as lazy.  However, this lifestyle can contribute to greater happiness and leave more time to spend with family and loved ones.

           In order to have a successful study abroad experience, I wish to come home with a greater understanding of German and European culture and economy, make new friends from other countries, and have the most fun of any semester in college yet.  I am sure that there will be times when I am homesick, but I have only a short amount of time here while I have years to spend with my family and friends at home, so I will try to make the most of my time here.

Berlin

By Loretta Vieger

            Do you know the feeling of loving something so much, then having it offered to you for free? This is how I feel about coffee. Upon our arrival to Berlin, or as I like to call it Bearlin, and getting to the hostel there was a table of free coffee waiting for us. I was so thrilled I wanted to drink 5 cups but I had to restrain myself – I didn’t want to take advantage and sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad. Regardless, I knew that this was going to be the start to a very good weekend.

            Having been on an abundance of tours the past few months, I honestly wasn’t expecting much from this tour. However, the tour turned out to be my favorite part of the weekend. Obviously it was because of the tour guide. She was extremely outgoing and knowledgeable. And the way that she described events or art made me feel something and that is one of the most important parts of learning in my opinion. Especially on walking tours. If the tour guide can make you feel something and make you imagine yourself living in the time of the history, then I think that makes for a really excellent tour guide.

            First and foremost is the history behind the German and the French. I am the worst person at remembering history and I often times can’t remember whose friends and who isn’t. The Brandenburg Tor represents that the German always have an eye over the French. This relationship is also represented in the Gendarmenmarkt where the German and French cathedrals are located. It’s crazy to me how much deeper architecture and statues go other than being something extremely beautiful.

            Another memorable site is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. I like how it’s left up to the interpretation of everyone much like “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. However I didn’t like this concept because often time I just see things for what they are and not much else. My favorite interpretation of the memorial is one of a young boy – that it represents hope because no matter where you are in the memorial you can always find a way out.

            Professionally, this exhibit gave me some perspective on a budgeting aspect for large projects. The tour guide informed us that the memorial was way over budget and actually was not constructed as well as it should have been seeing as how pieces of the blocks are starting to crack and can eventually break off. This isn’t good for some of the blocks reaching 15 ft in height.

            If it’s free, I’m all about it aka free continental breakfast. Not only is breakfast my favorite meal of the morning, but when it’s a buffet that makes it so much better. So after eating a very hearty and filling breakfast on the second day, and continuing with the theme of Judaism, the group headed out to the Jewish Museum of Berlin. In my opinion this tour was interesting because the museum had a lot of underlying meaning to it as well as the paintings and exhibits. At first I wasn’t particularly interested in Jewish history because nobody in my family is or has ever been Jewish but after this tour and some explanations from our tour guide I began to sympathize with them and what they’ve been through. Life wasn’t easy for Jews 60 years ago but they powered through it and are still a lively force in today’s world.

            Day two ended with dinner at a really nice restaurant for Azeala’s birthday. The restaurant was outrageously expensive so I only got a small pumpkin soup but it was surprisingly really delicious. I have noticed from living in Germany and not being presented with my usual choices of food like burgers and chicken strips, I’m beginning to branch out a bit more and try different foods that I wouldn’t normally and I quite enjoy it! I feel like I’m becoming more cultured in the food world and I might even make this a habit and start trying more different foods back home.

            The last day was my second favorite out of the three days we were in Berlin. Starting off by filling myself up on delicious breakfast and coffee then heading out to the German Parliament I was upset because it rained earlier and the ground was muddy which got the bottoms of my jeans dirty. But I figure I couldn’t let that ruin my day. The Parliament, which is basically just a meeting place for the politicians, is actually a really beautiful and symbolic building. It’s also extremely modern except for the front and the 4 corners, which resemble the old castle like style from centuries ago. The best part was getting to go up into the top dome and look out across the whole city. I enjoyed the audio guide a lot and I think it kept the tour interesting and kept us involved.

            After the Parliament, the group split up and we were allowed free time. Emily, Kelsie, and I took a look around some souvenir shops and stopped at a Kebab restaurant. The Kebab I ate was literally the best Kebab of my entire life. I would go back to Berlin just to eat another one. Something about the sauce and the meat mixed together with perfectly toasted bread was so delicious I didn’t want to stop eating it. After having lunch, we made our way over to the East Side Gallery.

            The East Side Gallery is an open-air gallery that runs along the Spree River. It consists of painted pieces of the Berlin Wall and runs about 1.3 km long which for reference is a little under a mile. The wall was painted in 1990 but today most of the paintings are covered in graffiti (Barwick, 2013). More or less people just wrote their names or small sayings all over the paintings. I think this is disrespectful to the artists because now some of the paintings cannot even be seen in their full glory. Anyway, walking along the wall I could tell that the paintings were beautiful and controversial. One of the pieces of the wall had “PEACE” on it and I thought this was plain and simple but got the point across with no confusion. Another piece of the wall said “Politik ist die Fortsetzung des Krieges mit Anderen Mitteln” which translates to “Politics is the continuation of war by other means”. This is more of a profound saying but I think anybody can understand the point the artist was trying to get across.

            All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Berlin. I learned a lot about the history of the Berliners, the Germans, and different Street art as well as having a good time and bonding with some ESC students. I would go back any day.

Reference

Barwick, I. L. (2013). East Side Gallery. Berlin Guide. http://berlin.barwick.de/sights/the-berlin-wall/east-side-gallery.html

The German Recipe

By Leah Martindill

            One of my goals of studying in Germany is to go home recognizing every day, useful German words. I do not expect that I will be able to pronounce or spell them all correctly but if I can just know what is being written or said I will be satisfied. I figured a good way to learn a few household terms in one go would be to follow a German recipe. Not necessarily German food but a recipe in German. I decided I was going to do this and then the recipe was literally just handed to me.

            Over the weekend I went to the red-tape event in town. During it, there was a women standing on the sidewalk handing out samples of toast with a pesto spread on it. I tried it and it was absolutely delicious. They also told me that it was vegan and could be stored for up to half a year if refrigerated. It did cost nine euros, which is a bit over my budget so I did not buy it right away. I thought about it and decided it was a worthy investment. It was now two days later and I had to wander around a bit to find the store again. It was quite the walk and I arrived sweaty but excited. Then as I was checking out the women handed me a list of recipes to make with the spread. I was headed to the grocery store afterwards anyways and decided to see if I could find the ingredients I needed.

            I went to the Penny grocery store, which is near Bismarkplatz because it was on my way home. I tried to match up words for the ingredients with the words on the sign at the store because I did not really know what any of them meant. I did know that I was trying to make pesto mashed potatoes though. The recipe I was following is called “Barlauch-Kartoffelpuree-mit pilzragout.” Literally the only word I knew was kartoffelpuree, or mashed-potatoes. So I headed to the potatoes first. Then something interesting happened. This girl from Scotland was looking for lactose free yogurt and asked for my help. I, of course, had no idea where to look for that but I helped anyway. Then I had her helping me try to figure out the recipe. We never did find her yogurt but we were able to a lot of the stuff for me.

            I needed muskat which is nutmeg, shiitake pilze, or shiitake mushrooms, sojamilch, which is soymilk, and I did not figure that out at the store so I just ended up with regular milk, and sahne or cream.

            The recipe itself basically was to make mashed potatoes and add all this extra stuff into it so I didn’t have to translate too much to do it. I got the words for mix, stir, pour, boil, etc. so it was a pretty cool experience.

            The mashed potatoes turned out pretty good but I do not think I will often go through the effort to make them again, but maybe. I accomplished my goal of figuring words out and although I am sure I will not remember them all I hope I will be able to recognize a few of them here and there. This is definitely something I am going to try again. 

Chocolate Love

By Sumaiya Rahim

            I chose to not attend the Wine Tasting excursion for religious reasons, and instead, decided to make chocolate mousse. Some may say that my obsession with chocolate is a little unhealthy. I then, would have to completely agree. I am obsessed. I love chocolate. Dark, white, and especially milk, the kind with the nuts in it (not the one with the fruit though), as long as its decadent, creamy, melt in your mouth chocolate, I am happy. My favorite however, would have to be chocolate mousse. When made right, it is airy and fluffy. It isn’t too heavy or overpowering and if you have it with coffee, maybe something bitter, or on top of a dark chocolate cake, I promise your mouth and taste buds will thank you.

            I was craving chocolate cake in Germany but was having so much difficulty finding the kind of chocolate cake I have back home. However, I did come across many places that served black forest cake, and also, chocolate mousse cake. I found that buying these German delicacies was becoming more and more expensive and as the euro to dollar rate is at a 52 week high of 1.38, I really could not afford to keep buying chocolates, and cakes!

            I made a much-needed trip to ReWe and bought a mix with instructions on how to make chocolate mousse! The directions were in German, but with a little help from google translate, asking the cashiers on the ingredients needed, and then with the help of some more goggle translate, I knew everything I needed to make “Mousse au Chocolat!” The directions when translated said, “Give 250ml of cold milk into a tall mixing vessel. Add the contents of the bag and mix well with an electric hand mixer on the lowest level. Then strike the highest level about three minutes.

Pour the cream into dessert glasses or a glass bowl and set at the minimum 1 hour in the refrigerator. It tastes best when the cream is very honored immediately afterwards. They should not be kept longer than a day in the fridge.” Though the translator definitely said things in a strange way, it was easy to understand.

            Simple right? Even I was shocked! I was sure that there would be more to it, but there wasn’t! I did have to make another trip to Lidl because on the tram back I realized that I hadn’t picked up milk while picking up the other groceries on my list! I came back to the ESC though and happily and whisked away until I thought I had the perfect mixture of Mousse mix and milk.

            After an hour in the fridge, I tasted it, and it was delicious. I was hoping for more of an “airy” texture, and my mousse turned out to be more pudding like than mousse like. I learned that I liked the “Ruf” brand, and I am very open to trying out the other brands of Mousse I saw at the market! Anja, Gerard and a few other people tasted my mousse and loved it. It was definitely the perfect after-dinner dessert that I can have over and over and over again. Chocolate wins again.

Darmstadt 10k

By Gerard Tyrrell

           My first independently planned trip in Germany was a 10k race in Darmstadt. Over the summer, a friend of mine from home who currently studies in Berlin had told me about the first time he ran this race, two years ago when he was living with a host family in Darmstadt. He wanted to run it again this year. Because I was going to be in Heidelberg, we made plans to meet up, stay with his old host family and make a weekend trip for the race. We’d arrive in Darmstadt on Friday, run the 10k on Saturday, and then on Sunday we could travel around the city and hang out. Everything seemed perfect: Darmstadt wasn’t too far from Heidelberg, we’d have a place to stay, we’d get to hang out for a weekend, and I’d be running my first official 10k in another country. As an avid runner, I was particularly excited by this opportunity, and in addition I hadn’t seen my friend much since he moved to Berlin so I was excited to be able to hang out and catch up.

            However, things did not go exactly as smoothly as planned. Shortly before arriving in Germany, I realized my study abroad program had three planned excursions the same weekend that I had planned to stay in Darmstadt for the 10k. As I looked through the semester calendar in disbelief at how many other open weekends we had, I was frustrated that the one weekend that I made plans for had not one, not two, but three excursions. However, I was determined to make this race work and I saw a small window of opportunity; we had our trip to Frankfurt on Friday and trips to Schwetzingen Palace and Speyer on Sunday, but Saturday, the actual day of the 10k, was still free. Frankfurt is not too far from Darmstadt, and I thought that maybe I could go on the excursion to Frankfurt, and afterwards go from there straight to Darmstadt. Then I’d travel back to Heidelberg Saturday night after the race so that I’d be able to make it to our 8:00 am departure to Schwetzingen Palace on Sunday morning. Sure, I’d be reducing my weekend in Darmstadt to only one day and cramming four trips into three days, but that was my best option.

            After a long day in Frankfurt, I split up from the group to go find the Frankfurt train station. As I grabbed my bag and got off the bus, I couldn’t help but question how much I wanted to do this. Here I was, fatigued and finding my way alone in an unfamiliar city to the train station, while everyone else got to relax on the bus and enjoy a peaceful ride back to Heidelberg. However, I knew it’d be well worth it the end, and so I took a deep breath and made my way to the train station. Eventually I met up with my friend, and he introduced me to his host family. I was instantly taken back by their warmth and kindness, which was well appreciated after a long day. I could tell that they were intent on making it a nice, albeit short stay for me: I was delighted to receive home cooked meals, and the family showed me around their city Saturday morning and afternoon before the race. It had a very interesting history, and I was surprised to learn that Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, the last Tsarina of Russia, was born in this little, unassuming city. I was so appreciative of their hospitality that the race seemed more like just another part of the trip rather than the main highlight.

            I learned a lot from this trip. First of all, I learned to stick with my plans and try to make them work even when circumstances aren’t exactly the most cooperative. Even though I was totally exhausted by the end of the weekend, I was still so glad to have had that experience. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I’m currently looking into running another 10k before I leave. I also really enjoyed meeting and spending time with the host family. Not only did this increase my knowledge of German culture, but provided a great opportunity for me to practice my German language skills, which is a huge goal of mine during while studying abroad.

Sources

Gelardi, Julia. (2005). Born to Rule: Five Reigning Consorts, Granddaughters of Queen Victoria.             New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 5.

Das Bier: Oktoberfest

By Amanda

When I think of Oktoberfest, the first word that comes to mind is: beer. In Hyde Flippo’s book, When in Germany, Do as the Germans Do, he goes into further detail of the history of beer. The word “beer” comes from the Anglo-Saxon word barley, “baere” denoting back to the 5^th century (Flippo, 2002).  Beer was an important drink in ancient cultures for the Egyptians, Incas, Sumerians, and Chinese (Flippo, 2002). These cultures used beer for religious practices and curing sicknesses as well as an upscale drink for bartering trade (2013). Centuries ago, beer was solely made out of barley, hops, yeast, and water (Flippo, 2002). In today’s culture, beer is typically made of the same ingredients, including the original barley and hops with additional ingredients such as fermentable carbohydrates (maize, wheat, rice etc.) and other natural ingredients to create a vast variety of flavors (2013). This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to attend Munich’s 180^th annual Oktoberfest on opening day.

           

There are fourteen large tents set up indoors and outdoors for Oktoberfest which serve over six million people during the sixteen day festival period. Over seven million liters of beer are consumed which equates to each person to approximately drinking one full liter of beer (an entire stein). A rectangular blue and white sign is framed at the top of the entrance reading, “Willkomen Zum Oktoberfest”; this was the moment I had to pinch myself to realize I was not dreaming.

I had reached the Hofbräu-Festzelt tent (which is the biggest of all fourteen tents) at eight o’clock in the morning. The crowds were growing by the minute, but at least our group of four was only a couple hundred feet from the entrance. However, once the clock struck nine, the gates opened and people stampeded for the entrance like nothing I have never seen before, worse than any Wal-Mart Black Friday video I had ever seen. People were jumping on tables, running and shoving through the crowds to make way for a spot at a table. That’s the gist at Oktoberfest: if you don’t receive a spot at a table, you will not be served alcohol in the tradition style. It was pertinent to find a space, so as soon as I burst through the crowds, my friends and I ran to the back as fast as we could.  We were lucky enough to grab a table and meet up with another one of our friends, but we still had another three hours to kill before the keg would be tapped. The opening of the keg signifies the start of the festival and no alcohol is served until that joyous moment.

In anticipation for the opening ceremony, marching bands of local townspeople and children

paraded the tent. Everyone in the beer hall was singing until the mayor came out to give the opening speech. During the final ten second countdown, all I could hear was thousands of fans cheering in excitement for the first rounds of beer.

Once the first keg was tapped and the beers started coming out in one-liter frosted mugs, everyone in the hall just got a little bit crazier. At least every minute there was a new group yelling “PROST!” and clinking glasses while standing up on the tables. Some brave souls chugged beers with a support system of fan groups cheering them on from all the way to the back of the tent. The hall was buzzing with incessant laughter and jokes; simply put, it was a huge party and everyone was just looking to have a fun time. There was something electrifying in the air though, the influx of energy in the room was indescribable and everyone had a smile on their face.  It was one of the most sensational events I have ever experienced, certainly a big check off of my bucket list.

It was hard when it finally came down to leaving the festival at the end of the day. My last sight of the day was of the rainbow, vibrant colored lights, rides, with everyone classically dressed in dirndls and lederhosen flooding the streets. I could not have asked for a better experience, Happy Oktoberfest!

References

Flippo, Hyde. When in Germany, Do as the Germans Do: The Clued-in Guide to German Life,    Language, and Culture. (2002). 50.  Chicago: McGraw-Hill.

Beer Academy, The Beer Education Trust. (2013) What is Beer? Retrieved from             http://www.beeracademy.co.uk/beer-info/what-is-beer/

Frankfurt in so many words

By Azalea Silva 

            When we arrived to Frankfurt we went directly to the central bank of Germany. There we met with our tour guide that would give us a presentation about the goals and reason of existence of the bank. The bank its self looked like any other bank on the outside but we quickly learn that it was not the case. The central bank caters to governments and other banks rather than the public and businesses. The main goal of this central bank was to regulate prices, they do not want prices to go to far down and  to rise very high. My guess is that Germans and everyone is fearful of their money becoming so depreciated that it is better to burn it for warmth than buy actual wood with it.

            After the presentation we went to the money museum. There the first thing that greet it us was a cow to represent the bartering system. After a short information on how the museum is set up, we where free to go around it. There was a section that was devoted to coins and money from the past and present, in that section there was two gold bars to represent the gold bars that the central bank of Germany had in its country and in different places around the world. The gold bar was very impressive, since I had never seen one before, one's worth was around the millions and the other around the thousand; but that was not the most impressive part of the coin collection. There was a coin from when Greece was the most powerful place in the world, it was one of the smallest coins and the tour guide told me that during that time women used to put their money

in their mouths when they went shopping. That made me remember the story or myth about how the Grecian people believed that a dead person could not cross to the after life if they did not have two gold coins inside their mouth. There was also a very impressive coin of when Julius Cesar got assassinated by the republic on the steps of congress. I cannot remember exactly if it was to commemorate this time or it was done during that year. It was just very impressive to have in front of me so much history, like that coin there where many other coins of different nations and eras. Another surprising thing that the museum had was the security codes that the Euro has. It has many and very different from the U.S dollar but to be truthful they remind me of the money in Mexico, it has many of the same security for their money. When I mention this to my dad he said it was because Mexico helped with the security of the Euro. I do not know this for sure and even though I have research it, nothing about the design of the Euro has come up.

            Posterior to the tour in the bank we went for a tour of the city. Frankfurt in my opinion has a different

feel to it, it is not like a normal city in Europe, it does not have many old buildings everywhere and there is only one height allowed. It is a combination of olden times with modern, all the old looking buildings where built after the war  but the important part is the new building. The new buildings look like buildings in any city of the world, they are amazing in their architectural structure but also they are pretty. The are not the eye sore many old buildings are, they are beautiful and some how in a strange way flow with the old buildings. They do not fight for attention but rather share it, that is the beautiful part of Frankfurt, you could be so rounded by old building and you turn the corner and be in the shopping district with a building that has a hole in it. The shopping district has many of the beautiful buildings, starting with the one that has a skylight in the middle of it, or the one next to it that is a shopping mall but looks so modern and beautiful. The buildings are not the only thing that are beautiful of the shopping district. There is live musicians every where playing different types of music, it is just beautiful, it kind of reminded me of the movie Enchanted.

            Frankfurt from what we learned has many different cultures that influence it and it happens to be a year of Brazil right now in the city. Which tells me how open to new things, and new art the city is, it quickly has become one of my favorite cities of Germany and would go back there in a heart beat.

What to Say about Italy!

By Neel Desai

 Oh, do I have a lot to say about Italy. It was absolutely amazing. It surely was different than Germany, and that made me miss Heidelberg. I had some really great experiences, but also many that made me skeptical of Italy. I met some really great and helpful people, but also a handful of not so friendly people. Overall, it was an experience of a lifetime and I learned some great things about myself, history, and a new culture.

            First, the trip started in Rome, a beautiful city full of lots of history. The hostel I checked into was basically a hotel, which was a great start to the trip and city. The first day was tiring, so I stayed around the area of my hostel and went to a local restaurant and bakery. Obviously the first thing I had to try in Italy was pizza. It’s hard to explain the difference of regular pizza compared to pizza from Italy, but I guess the best way to say it is that you HAVE to eat pizza from Italy with a fork and a knife. There is a lot of sauce and cheese and basically impossible to pick up at a slice, but that’s what makes it so amazing. Throughout the trip in Rome, I visited the Coliseum, Roman Forum, Vatican City, The Pantheon, St. Peter’s Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Trevi Fountain, and a few more. I was really happy that we were able to see all of these historical sites in the four days we had in Rome. My two favorite events would have to have been being able to see the Pope at the Vatican and Trevi Fountain. Even though I am not Catholic, it was amazing to see a man with so much respect. In the few minutes I was able to see him going around the crowd, I understood why this great man has so much respect. He went throughout the entire crowd, shook hands with viewers, took babies into his arms and blessed them, and spoke to others. He took his time speaking to the people who love and respect him the most. The Trevi Fountain was just something amazing to see and to learn that it was made so many years ago makes it even more amazing. The intricacy in the architecture was something I have never seen before.

            Next, I took a train over to Florence where I stayed in a hostel that was much different than the last in Rome. It was more of a house that had rooms being rented out. The owner was very personable and helped me with my trip planning. The room was not as nice, but the owner made up for it in the helpfulness. While I stayed in Florence I was able to see the Uffizi Gallery, Florence Cathedral, Ponte Vecchio Bridge, a copy of the The David, The Duomo (which was literally a 2 minute walk away), and a few others. I really enjoyed most of the and again learned a lot from each and every one. I really enjoyed seeing the Duomo. It was a clean white Cathedral that the light came perfectly on. I was able to go to the top of it and overlook the entire city. Although the history of Florence was great to see, the one thing that stood out to me the most was a bar that I found. The owner was such a nice guy, the food was absolutely amazing, and he let me taste a least 5 beers from around the world. He had beers from around the world in a showcase and beers from Czech Republic, Germany, USA, and much more on tap. He let me taste all of them to see which I would like the best. Out of the 4 days I stayed in Italy, I had 5 meals from that bar. The owner remembered me after the first day and knew exactly what I wanted to order. He even customized my order to my liking. The owner of the bar is someone who I will never forget and his bar is the most memorable place in Italy.

            Lastly, I made my way to Venice. I was really excited to go, but it really didn’t meet my expectations. It was really cool to see the canal and the water streets, but the buildings were really dirty. It was a bit of a sketchy city and people there took advantage of tourists. Servers at restaurants would try and get anyone walking by to come to eat there, charge extra for “complimentary” bread, and give big bottles of water and soda without asking. I was able to make my way to another Island in Venice called Murano. It was an island for glass making. All the shops there were shops where they blew their own glass. I bought a lot of souvenirs for myself and my family there. I am going to mail it to my family as a surprise. Overall, the experience was great. It was a few downsides, but I learned a lot about how I deal with certain situations and deal with a high stress environment. I’m glad I made a trip to Italy and would love to go back in the future!

The Questions You Should Ask . . . 

By: Liam Walsh

             The first article I read from “When in Germany, Do as the Germans do,” is titled “Questions you should ask – part 1.” In this article it proposes three questions you should ask yourself before you leave for Germany. I found this article to be ironic but eye opening because I read it after I already left, but it gave some insight to activities that I already performed without thinking much about it.

            The three questions that the article asked were: 1) Will my credit card work in Germany? 2) Will my cellphone work in Germany? 3) How about electricity and appliances? The reason that there are important question to think about before leaving is because European and more specifically German standards of living are much different then those found in America.

            The article breaks down the questions one-by-one and gives us their answers. For question 1, they say that most major credit cards are accepted in restaurants and shops that take credit cards; however they do note that not all stores accept credit. For question 2, they wrote that phones from North America won’t work Germany, but phones from England will. Lastly, for question 3, they say that German electricity comes in 220-volt, 50-hertz variety, which will destroy most North American 110-volt appliances without a converter.

            After reading the article I thought about my experience with my first week in Germany, and how this questions applied to my stay so far. For the credit card, I know that I can take money out of the ATM near by, which I might be doing often. It’s rare that I see a store that takes credit cards at all. I think REWE does and Sports Arena does, but my theory is that they only do so because they are major chains in a touristy area. For the second question I already dealt with my phone before I left. I called Verizon (my carrier) and let them know I was going abroad. So my phone can make calls and send texts because I’m on the Vodafone network. However, I should note that I don’t use the phone unless I am connected to Wi-Fi. As for the third question, I have a converter plug to use for my phone and laptop, however I don’t have a transformer so my alarm clock that I brought won’t work.

            Throughout the text I found that the article’s questions and answers are mostly correct. The only reason I say mostly is because with IPhones 4s and 5 you can have international usage, so through a technicality I can use my phone, but I still choose not to so I don’t have a major debt when I get back.  The lesson I learned from reading this article and thinking about how it relates to my first week here is that before you travel anywhere, outside the country or to another part of town, you should always think of how different it can be, similar to how in New Jersey you can’t pump your own gas, yet in New York most gas stations are self-service.

Traveling Abroad

By Ewa Szyszko

On my first stop of my almost two week long adventure exploring Europe, I visited the country of Belgium. I was excited to visit this country for two main reasons. One, this would be an amazing personal and cultural experience. And two because they are known all around the world for their world famous waffles!

            On my first day in Brussels Belgium, I got to experience my first taste of waffles. My friends aunt, who we were staying with, was kind enough to take us to one of her favorite waffles spots in the heart of the city. This was the moment that I had been waiting for since long before this trip had even been planned. This moment had been very high on my personal bucket list, to eat real authentic Belgian waffles.

            We entered the restaurant and seated ourselves before a waiter came around to drop off some menus for us to peruse. The moment I opened that menu I knew I had come to the right place. In the menu they had two type of waffles offered on their menu. They had the world known Brussels waffle and the Liège waffle (europeancusines, 2013). The time was right, the menu had a wide selection of toppings for my waffle and the price was right. At a whopping price of 8 euros I had struck gold. Looking at the menu and all the listed toppings available for my choosing, it soon became very difficult for me to agree upon. But lucky for me, on the back of the menu there was pictures of combinations the creators of these waffles had made up to help customers like myself decide on something.

            I had decided upon the chocolate, whip cream and strawberry waffle. This would be my first waffle I ate in Belgium and the point where I could cross this event off my bucket list.

            I placed my order along with my friends that I was traveling with. I waited patiently for the moment I would get my waffle. I could smell my waffle before it arrived at the table. Placed in front of me along with my glass of apple juice, was my plate of strawberry, chocolate and whip cream covered waffles. Looking at the amazing food placed before me I could not wait to take my first bite.

            Staring at my waffle I did not know how to attack my food. There was so much chocolate and whipped cream on top of the freshly chopped strawberries. I decided that I would start from the side of the waffle and make my way across. The first bite of my Belgian waffle was amazing! It was better than I had expected. The combination of waffle and chocolate and strawberry and whipped cream to top off the first bite was world changing. I could not believe that for the first twenty years of my life I had not had a waffle as good as I had here in Brussels. I have had waffles back in the states and even here in Heidelberg, but either had come remotely close.

            Being able to travel abroad and have the opportunity to experience foods of different cultures is amazing. Not only had I had the chance to experience a culturally significant dish, I got to check it off my bucket list!

           

Reference

Duane, Diane. Morwood, Peter. 2013. The Owl Springs Partnership.

http://www.europeancuisines.com/Belgium-Belgian-Waffle-Recipes-Liege-   Waffles-Brussels-Waffles