Author Archives: clr5346

Weltmeister

Germany has done it! They can officially add a fourth star to their national jerseys and I was in the heart of Berlin to witness it. The only way I can explain the atmosphere is comparing it to a football weekend at Dear Old State: 

-the atmosphere was electric (literally it was pouring rain with ridiculous thunder and lightning storms) 
-every citizen of Berlin that I saw was decked out in black, red and gold 
-facepaint, flags, banners, soccer scarves and the like were being sported everywhere I turned 
-no one was in a bad mood, they were all too nervous to be 
So it was exactly like a football weekend at Penn State, except this time, the entire world was watching and it was for national pride that the Germany team played. 
Normally I try to include one or two pictures with a post to bring you all with me, but there was something about last night that didn’t permit pictures. No matter how excited everyone was, how crazy their outfits were or how many fire works were let off, no one was taking pictures. They were all simply there. So I followed suit and put down my phone and was just here in Berlin during the final game of the 2014 World Cup. I didn’t regret any of it. I got to talk to some Germans who were explaining the rules and intricacies of the game to me and people accepted the group of us that weren’t on our phones as one of their own, just being curious about the game. 
This taught me something about passion. How many places do you go and you see people glued to their phone screens?: museums, sporting events, parties? I think an appropriate answer would be a great majority. What I felt last night wasn’t about being connected to the internet or any of my social media outlets, it was about connecting with the raging heartbeat that had arisen from Berlin. So this fall when I stand in Beaver Stadium for the final time as a student, I won’t be on my phone, I won’t be trying to capture the moment on camera, I will just be. 
Until Next Time, 
Casey R 

Location: Berlin, Germany

How? How is it already July?

Hello everybody! 

I know I’ve been behind on posting, but I have midterms today and tomorrow, so I’ve been preparing myself for those. Along the way though I have discovered something about Germany that makes me never want to leave: every corner I round, every street I cross and every building I come across seems to have been taken out of a fairytale. 

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 I’ve been to two places specifically that appear as though designed for a fairytale: Sans Souci (literally French for “without worries”) and the town that surrounds it, Potsdam. 
So Potsdam has a loooooong history of being the royal getaway for the Kings of Germany. Frederick the Great built the place as his summer home. Yep – he just spent his summers here. Don’t worry though, he never got lonely, he would house his friends in his numerous summer apartments surrounding the area, some as far as about a mile away. He spared no expense when building it, which resulted in a completely lavished, Versailles-inspired palatial complex fit for numerous Kings; although only used by one. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside of the palaces, so pictures of the outside will have to fuel your imagination… 
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My favorite spot in Berlin is one that I’ve visited numerous times already, but had yet to properly photograph it. Its a little patch of grass sandwiched in between the Altes Museum and the Berliner Dom on Museum Island called the Lustgarten. 

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 Here is the perfect expanse of grass that locals and tourists alike gather on to play games, drink, people watch and be around others. I was lucky enough to get to climb the Berliner Dom (way higher than I’d imagine from looking up at it all those times before) and try to conquer my fear of heights. While I am not completely cured of my fear, I was rewarded with a completely breath-taking panorama of Berlin from a very different vantage point.
The marrying of old and new, tourists and locals and the quiet roar that I hear in Berlin everyday are just a few of the things that will make this city hard to leave at the end of this month…but as always…
Until Next Time, 
Casey R

Location: Berlin, Germany

Successfully Surviving the First Full Week

I did it…without losing anything, getting lost in the u bahn or s bahn, and I haven’t run out of money yet (knock on wood on all three counts)… A tiny petty part of me was also ecstatic when someone asked me which platform they had to wait on for a specific train and I was able to answer them in German. 

Last week I was a little nervous about nailing the language, navigating myself around the bustling heart of Berlin as well as balancing going to school and being a tourist. This week I am happy to say that because of the kindness of the people I’ve encountered out and about in Berlin, I have no more nerves. People are more than willing to be patient with you and even realize that you are learning the language, so they’ll respond to you in German (which is a definite surprise as I’ve only encountered people abroad that will immediately start speaking English back). Navigation has been no issue – the public transportation here is incredibly easy to follow and very accessible to all manners of people. The last one proved a little rocky at first – being a student and a tourist. 
When I first heard I was coming to Berlin this summer I thought I was going to be travelling almost every weekend. Then I realized that in my short 6 weeks here, I’d be lucky to cover 75% of what is on my “to do” list for this city. So docking the weekend trips was a tough decision, but I still will be able to travel a few weekends here and there, just not the 5 weekends away that I had planned (my bank account was also instrumental in this decision…). 
Aside from that – I have been doing all of the lovely tourist-y things one should do in Berlin – seeing the Brandenburg Gate, eating pretzels, getting lost in the pandemonium that is the World Cup and visiting Checkpoint Charlie (to name a few). I can’t say that I have a favorite spot in the city or that I enjoyed one thing over another, because I’m slowly realizing that it isn’t necessarily the sights I’m seeing or the language I’m speaking, but my fellow students and peers who are quickly becoming my friends, who make the experiences truly worth it…Until Next Time, Casey R

Location: Berlin, Germany

Arriving in Berlin…

Checklist for the night:
-school bag ready for round 2
-charged phone
-charged camera
-outfit picked out 
-shower
-teeth brushed
-toilet cleaned 
-shower wiped down
-any unnecessary electronics unplugged (lamps, nothing charging that doesn’t need to be)
If you can answer yes to all of these questions, then you are ready for bed in Germany. Yes, even the part about cleaning the toilet and wiping down the shower (after you use them of course). There are so many little things that I’ve learned here and it is only my second full day of living with my host family. I’ve learned in my short 48 hours that Germans are very eco-friendly. Moreso than anyone in America that I have ever seen. But at the same time, they are some of the cleanest – which I found odd, seeing as I don’t want to waste water, but need to get everything clean after I am done using it. I know it will just take a little more time to get used to everything, but once I do, I know that everything will fall into place.
Another part of everyday life in Berlin is the use of public transportation. The U-bahn (Untergrundbahn/Underground), the S-bahn (Schnellbahn/quick line) and the Tram are so efficient, clean and relatively easy to follow that I am able to navigate the system by myself after just two days worth of being in the city – of course I carry a map with me, but hey, ya never know…plus, anyone on the line is willing to help you if you look lost enough, so using my German knowledge and other peoples kindness, I am not only able to get to my classes, but…
…I’ve also spent my fair share of being a tourist – getting a bratwurst, drinking a beer, getting yelled at for walking in the bike lanes, etc. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,

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 because this view of the Brandburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate, right image) as the sun was setting is completely priceless. Dividing the east from the west in Berlin was part of this monument’s tasks, now it is a majestic reminder of Germany’s rich cultural past. There is a lovely square in front of it that was (surprisingly)  devoid of tourists when I went and filled more with German-speakers than anything. From this Platz there is so much to do – the Reichstag Building (government building) is a 5 min. walk to the right and then off to left another 5 mins. is Potsdamer Platz and I can’t wait to check those out another time.
Another one of my favorite spots in the city is the ever-famous Museum Island. An art historians dream and so much more…I just think that each        building is architecturally unique and holds so much history (and I haven’t even been inside any of the 5 museums yet…). 

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There is, however, one building on the island called the Berliner Dom, and it is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen (see left)… I have a sneaky suspicion that this will become my favorite sunny spot to study at. 
Until Next Time, Tschuss! Casey R.
      

Location: Berlin, Germany

Who? What? When? Where?

To kick off this GeoBlogging program – an introduction is in order…My name is Casey Repasy. I’m currently a senior (ah!) majoring in Art History, with a concentration in Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo art, and I am pursuing a dual minor in Architectural History (with a concentration in Meso-American architecture) and German. As you can imagine, there are many factors that have influenced me and drove me down this multicultural path. For starters I live in a small town about 45 mins. outside of Philadelphia, PA. I have been lucky enough to travel multiple times to Mexico and Europe (that’s me in Rome over spring break!) in my life and am proud to say that I am about to embark on my most exciting journey yet – studying in Berlin, Germany for 6 weeks during the summer. IMG_0043.jpg

Although I am nervous, I’m not taking this journey alone: from Penn State there are a total of 8 of us going to Berlin. One of them being my best friend – so far we have planned everything we can, and now I find myself packing and getting ready to go off. My program starts on June 10th, however, before I go to Berlin, I’m making a pit stop in Istanbul, Turkey. 
Yes, Turkey. This is what makes me tick: I want to see as much of the world as I possibly can while our great monuments are still standing. I want to explore the great cultural connections that have followed and plagued societies since our conception as a race. This includes what I am studying – art, architecture and language. Germany is the perfect place for me to study as a great deal of art is housed in Germany, specifically about an hour away from where I will be staying in Berlin at something called Museum Island. An art historian’s dream, Museum Island is exactly what it sounds like – an island with 5 museums housed on its shores. 
But for now, I’m dreaming of the Islamic art and architecture that I’ll encounter in just two short days when I touch down in Istanbul. From there, I hope to take some of what I learn about the architectural techniques of the Mughal Empire and find some sort of connection (as far-fetched as it sounds) to the great German Kaisers that built the Germany we know today.
 
I hope to use this GeoBlogging opportunity to document the cultures I will encounter this summer within the city limits of Berlin, as well as beyond the borders of Germany. I hope to take everyone with me and be able to inspire someone to think critically about how important cultural diversity is in our world today. 
Until Next Time, 
Casey R

Location: Paoli, Pennsylvania