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.

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!

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

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.

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

Frankfurt

By Ashley McKenna

            The Frankfurt exclusion was a trip I originally underestimated before coming here. I imagined it as an urban and rustic financial city. However, driving into the city, I was completely astonished by the modern buildings and electrifying buzz in the air. There were men in business suits walking over for the preparations of the Frankfurt car show which many students chose to attend that weekend. The streets were lined with cobblestone giving the city an older feel to it.

While walking around, I noticed several (small) skyscrapers and buildings.  Along with the bustling walk of life, the city of Frankfurt actually reminded me a lot of Boston as well as New York City. I worked in New York City this summer so Frankfurt gave me a taste of home which I was very happy about. Our tour guide was from the town of Frankfurt and lived there for about 15 years. She gave us some background about the city and how 90% of the town was destroyed during WWII. It seems as though that the main church of the city wasn’t destroyed because supposedly it was a landmark for finding the city and bombing the rest of the area. While observing the town, there were several architectural styles that sparked my interest. Some buildings were from the 50’s when they were rebuilding parts of the town.  However, many of the locals were upset that they were trying to make the town modern so they rebuilt parts of the city to represent German’s history including the colorful side by side walls. Regardless, I appreciated both past and present designs. 

            What stood out for me the most, was the Eiserner Steg Bridge. Also known as the “Love Lock Bridge,” this iron beauty has been transformed with “love padlocks” making it one of the most recognizable landmarks in Frankfurt. Every year, hundreds of couples come to this bridge and attach locks – usually inscribed with their names and date. Once the lock is bound to the bridge, the couple throws out the key into the river symbolizing a promise for their eternal love. Fascinated by such colorful locks, I couldn’t help but to imagine how many lovers came to this bridge. I found it not only romantic but also a creation of art. Every lock tells a story behind a couple that step foot here, and once these locks are affixed, it transforms this iron bridge into an ‘emotion.’  Just like a bridge links two sides together, these love locks are a concrete symbol that forever bind the people that made a promise to each other.     

Ich bin ein Berliner!

By Matt Mislan

          As John F. Kennedy once said, “Ich bin ein Berliner!” Although he actually stated, “I am a jelly donut,” the notion of being one with the people of Berlin still makes its way through time. This is precisely how I felt during the time we were in the historic city. With history being my favorite subject, and World War II being one of my favorite events to study, a three-day trip to Berlin was exactly what I needed to experience. There are so many places to visit and so many sights to take in that I had no idea where I would begin! I could not believe I would be getting the opportunity to walk along the roads where tanks patrolled and where the wall ran through the city. My excitement over what laid ahead was one of the main things that carried me through the trials of a six-hour train ride…and of course a little bit of sleep could not hurt either.

            With the train ride over, the next thing for us was to travel hostel that was actually less than a minute away from a tram stop. As per usual, Jason led us in a circle around our destination and we ended up right where we began. Finally, we arrived at the hostel and my first impression was that it was going to be incredibly difficult to actually leave and experience all that berlin had to offer. With a bar, billiards and foosball tables, basketball court and soccer field outside, how does one expect anyone to leave this place? However, with our guided walking tour beginning soon, we were forced to leave sooner rather than later.

            As I anticipated from the start, walking around the great city of Berlin was breathtaking. Traveling alongside the cobblestone strip that defined where the wall once stood, I truly felt what it must have been like for the Berliners during the Soviet occupation. It was difficult to truly put into perspective what it must have been like for family and friends to be separated by the overnight building of the wall. However, after seeing the cobblestone path where the wall once stood and then the remnants of the wall itself, I began to feel what it would be like for my own town to be separated in two and not be able to associate with some of my best friends and family members. How terrible it must have been for these people to endure this struggle for twenty-eight years. I felt as one with the citizens of Berlin during their time of trouble. This feeling was brought up again following the tour when we went to listen to a German by the name of Rainer Schubert, who for three years smuggled citizens, or prisoners, from the East Berlin side to freedom. His “crime” landed him in prison for nine years, with two of those being in solitary confinement. I was in awe of the way he conducted himself during the daily questionings he received. With a disciplined military background, he knew exactly how to handle himself and keep his spirit from breaking.

            Following a fantastic night of sleep, I was ready to witness all that the Judisches Museum had to offer us. Being world-renowned for its meaning, as well a the architecture, this museum is a must-see for anyone traveling to Berlin. With his family decimated during the Holocaust, architect Daniel Libeskind proudly presented a design for the building to the Berlin Senate and eventually won the opportunity to make it a reality. In Daniel Libeskind’s words, “It thematises and integrates for the first time in post-war Germany the history of the Jews in Germany, the repercussions of the Holocaust and spiritual displacement. It is also just a museum with exhibits on the walls” (Berlin.de). The material spans the time between the Romans until the present, covering over two thousand years of history. As great as the exhibits were inside, my favorite part of the experience was the actual architecture of the building itself. Each of the three passageways, or axial routes, has a specific meaning. No hallway or corner in the museum is there by chance. The first axis leads to the Stair of Continuity and the permanent exhibition; the second leads to the Garden of Exile and Emigration, and the final one leads to a dead end known as the Holocaust void. As I traversed through this architectural masterpiece, each turn I encountered enhanced the experience that much more. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there and walked away with newfound knowledge of the Jewish people in Berlin aside from the Holocaust and respect for a modern architectural marvel.

            Of course, this was the just the beginning of my favorite day of the trip to Berlin. And, of course, we were desperate to find a nearby doner place following the tour. Being the home of the doner in Germany, it was necessary to compare one from here to the adaptations we have had in every other German city we had been to. It certainly did not disappoint, and soon enough we were getting off a tram at Alexanderplatz. Jason wanted to meet up with Anja and some of the other girls, as Azalea apparently wanted to do some “base flying” thing from the top of a building in the area. After killing some time walking around, we actually stumbled to the front of the building in which this thrill was taking place. We watched in amazement as one person after another free fell from the peak of this forty-story building. Somewhere during the time we spent watching, I had half-jokingly and half-seriously said that I wanted to do this. No sooner did a woman from the company that sponsored fall come over to talk to us about it. The usual price to participate was out of my price-range, but I guess it was our lucky day because it turned out that they were running a fifty-percent off special that day. At this point, it was beginning to become difficult to say no, and Francisco and his friend decided that we would take part in the thrill of a lifetime.

            It still had not hit me yet about what we were about to endure. Yes, falling off a building sounds scary in itself, but the reality of actually doing it had yet to sink in. Naturally this feeling did not last too much longer once all the paperwork was finished and we had reached the top of the building. Immediately, the scenery around me brought me to that reality that I had been trying to put off in my mind. Many questions of why in the world I was about to fall off a forty-story building rushed into my head. No! I told myself that I was going to do this and I was surely not about to back out now. The anticipation was certainly a killer, so I decided that when it was our turn to go I would be the one to fall first. This time rapidly approached, and before I knew it, I was strapped into my harness and given a preview of my “flying position.” Well, my time of reckoning was now upon us, and I nervously, but proudly, made my way to the ramp that led to the end of the ledge of the building. I mean, I already made it this far, so all I had to do was just do the fall. The cable, or “seat belt” as Kevin called it, was strapped onto the harness and I was raised. My feet were raised up behind me next, and I was now looking down at the city of Berlin. This was the absolutely most terrifying part of the entire experience, and possibly of my life as a whole. After a thumbs-up to my friends watching from the ledge and a deep breath, I was released. The rush was incredible! No drink that could be drunk or drug that could be smoked could ever compare to the feeling I had while traveling through the air at free-fall speed. And then…it was all over. The cable tensed up and my fall was gradually, but also very quickly, subdued. With the aid of the attendant at the bottom, I was once again standing on flat land. It still took a few moments to truly understand what I just did. Never would I have thought that I would have gone through with doing something as incredible, and possibly insane, and free-falling off a building in the middle of Berlin. If not for the event itself, I will never forget this moment as it should show that regardless of how nervous or scared one may be to go through with something, he or she may be missing out on one of the greatest experiences of their life due to fear. Berlin will forever be in my memory for more reasons than one, but this will certainly be the first thing that comes to mind when asked about my time in Berlin, and possibly my entire time in Germany.

Bibliography

Emery, D. JFK: 'I am a Jelly Donut' ('Ich bin ein Berliner'). Retrieved from urbanlegends.about.com/cs/historical/a/jfk_berliner.htm

Judisches Museum. Retrieved from www.berlin.de/orte/sehenswuerdigkeiten/juedisches-museum/index.en.php

A Visit to Schwetzingen: A Spring Student's Perspective

Written by Spring 2013 student, Christine A. Sandoval

On Wednesday, April 17, 2013, the European Study Center took an excursion to Schwetzingen led by Lena.  This was an interesting trip to say the least.  Schwetzingen is located southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. 

First of all we were late leaving the European Study Center so by the time we got to the Heidelberg train station we only had like 5 minutes to get something.  I just said I’d wait for the bus and pass on getting something for fear I would running late and miss the bus, not that anyone has ever missed the bus.  Well, some of the other still decided they wanted to grab something before getting on the bus and then they told Isabella they would meet her at the door.  Well we were waiting for Isabella on the bus and then she never came and the bus left without her.  She was waiting at the wrong door, poor thing, I felt so bad for her.  So someone finally calls her and tells her that the bus left without her, and then she gets mad at Shane when she talked to him on the phone.  Personally, this was not my best excursion because earlier in the day I had gone to the dentist to get some dental work done and the doctor said I needed to be on painkillers every 8 hours.  Well, the whole time I felt like a drunk person, which is odd because I don’t drink and I’ve never been drunk before.  What’s worse is that after the tour we had free time so I decided that I would get the bus a little earlier to be able to go back to the ESC and take a nap to sleep off the medicine.  Well, when I got on the bus it was the one going in a different direction, I was heading towards Speyer not Heidelberg.  As I finally get on the right bus we get to the stop that left us at Schwetzingen and I just see the whole gang getting back on the bus. 

Now the tour of the palace was really interesting.  Our tour guide spoke great English and I could understand everything he said and what made it better is that he was really engaging and knowledgeable and I think that’s how I survived the tour.  In the palace we saw all the rooms that were used as bedrooms, meeting rooms, lounging rooms, rooms for visitors, and we even got to see one of the bathrooms.  The design of the palace was really beautiful; every room had different furniture and different curtains that were of very high quality.  The palace belonged to Karl III Philip who was forced into marrying his cousin due to the fact that they wanted him to have a male heir with a certain bloodline.  It was apparently a very unhappy marriage, it took them 17 years to have a child and when they did it was a tragic story.  The baby, who was a boy, was sick and died and the mother would never be able to have children.  But Philip did have children although they would never see royalty; his wife was now expected to be fine with accepting 7 children that he had with other women.  I honestly didn’t expect to learn this very historical story of a royal family, but the way the story was told, you couldn’t forget these details. 

After the tour ended we were able to go out and see the gardens which resembled a smaller version of the gardens at Versailles.  The gardens were beautiful although only after taking a few pictures that’s when I decided to leave back to the ESC.  

Spring 2013 Student Writing: The European Parliament

Written by our Spring 2013 student, William Bradshaw

            The European Parliament was a trip that I had been excited about since hearing about the European Study Center program. I was very thrilled to actually see were the Euro Zone decides its legislation and where they deal with the massive issues clouding the European Union. It was even more interesting when one factors in that the issue with the Cypress banks had just occurred shortly before we arrived at the European Parliament building.

            The first thing that I really noticed about the European Parliament building was the construction and architectural details of the building itself. I was a very impressed with the design of the building. The first area that we came to was a circular tower where most of the offices for the Parliamentary administration were located. The circle was lined with murals indicating historic moments for the European continent. After viewing the office complex, we met our tour guide who led us into the building that contained the seating area for the European Parliament. The building that housed the European Parliament was totally glass, in keeping with the theme of governmental transparency, and hugged the enormous tower structure. At its center was a ball shaped room that held the legislative heart of the European Parliament. When we entered it really dawned on me how large the building was. I have seen the congressional building in Washington D.C., I have also now seen the Reichstag, but the European parliament building was just so much more massive. We all sat down on a viewing platform above. Our tour guide then began to tell us about how the European Parliament works. I had done a short report on the Parliament so I already had a rough idea of how the parliament worked. However, she explained it in person in a way that made me understand the inner workings far better than the sources I had read did. We talked at length about the current issues surrounding the European Union and what measures the European Parliament was doing to turn the crisis around. After we toured the rest of the room, which did not take long, we left the parliament ball and bid our tour guide farewell. On a funny note when we arrived at the gift shop, I was able to purchase a Cypress flag. As stated the drama in Cypress was just heating up. So as we left the European Parliament, I lifted the flag in the air and waved it over my head. The security guards at the entrance both pointed and laughed. That was definitely a warm end to the excursion.

            All in all I felt that I gained a lot from the European Parliament. Personally, I feel like I gained a lot from learning about the European Parliament. I feel that as an American I do not pay enough attention to how other democracies work and operate. I feel that I most certainly gained in that respect. As well academically, I feel that I learned a lot about the Euro Zone and how it operates.

Impressions of Heidelberg

by Kristine Garza, one of the students who came to visit in March, 2012

I visited Heidelberg, Germany with a class for Spring Break 2012 and it was the most beautiful, enlightening, and amazing experience I’ve ever had. The few days I spent in Heidelberg were too short to even begin to discover everything this beautiful city had to offer. I absolutely loved the accessibility of everything from walking down Haupstrasse to hopping on the tram to take a stroll on the Philsophenweg. The experience was so awesome especially meeting German natives and learning the differences in our cultures just by having a simple conversation. The food was delicious and exciting to experiment along with the different types of drinks. Overall it was an amazing experience and has squashed any previous fear I had of studying or visiting abroad. I am studying International Business and currently a senior MBA student so I may not be able to spend a semester abroad but if I had a chance I would definitely visit Germany again. 

Kristine Garza and Louisa Espinoza (Sitting overlooking Heidelberg on Philosopher’s Way)

UIW students come to visit!

Yesterday a group of students from UIW participating in a short term study abroad stopped by our campus for a quick tour. Our director, Thomas Leibrecht, regaled students with stories from the history of our campus followed by coffee and cake and a short tour. We were very pleased to welcome familiar faces back to our campus, as well as meet some new enthusiastic study abroaders. Thanks for stopping by!