Tag Archives: Germany

Pre-Departure Disbelief: I’m Going to Germany?!

I have always been a pretty heard-headed and stubborn person, and I rarely change my goals once I’ve gotten them in my sights. That side of me was surprisingly turned upside down when it came time to apply for study abroad programs. If someone would have told me a year ago today that I would be leaving to study abroad in Germany for 4 months, I would’ve laughed them off. I had given next to no thought about studying in Germany and was positive that the only place I would be going was London.

Since I was little, I always knew that I wanted to study abroad, and I always knew where I would be studying abroad: London. I have always loved British culture and history, and London was always the place that I wanted to go, and the place where I still want to live one day. So how on earth did I get to Germany?

When I got to Penn State, I chose German as my language. I had never liked learning Spanish in high school, and learning French didn’t really appeal to me, but German seemed like a good fit. I have German ancestry, and Germany always seemed like a place interesting to visit, so I figured 3 quick semesters of German would fulfill a language requirement and give me a couple phrases in German to have under my belt.

I really enjoyed the German classes that I took, yet as the semesters went by and my study abroad deadlines grew closer I still wanted to go to London. However, the logical side of me couldn’t deny that studying abroad in a German speaking country would be practical, interesting, and vastly improve my language skills. My family continuously pushed me to look into studying in a German speaking country, as we had traveled to London the summer after I graduated high school, and they knew that deep down inside I would love to experience somewhere brand new. I looked into German cities with abroad programs, but found most to appear gray, graffiti-laden, and modern (sorry Berlin). So to compete with London, I chose Vienna, Austria as my secondary destination. Pretty and posh, it seemed like a good competitor. Yet I still yearned for the drizzly, foggy streets straight out of a Dickens novel, picnicking in Hyde Park on a spring day, and walking by Westminster Abbey on my way to class with Elton John or the Beatles playing in my earbuds. London was still the clear frontrunner.

As study abroad applications began to open and deadlines got closer, I decided to visit the study abroad office, making meetings with Whitney and Scott, the advisors for England and Germany/Austria/Switzerland, respectively. My first meeting with Whitney went so well that I told her she would definitely be hearing from me soon, and I felt like walking out without heading next door for my second appointment. When I met with Scott, I asked him to convince me to go to Vienna, to which he replied “Why would you want to go there?”. This was not the life changing argument I was hoping for. Instead, he gestured to a poster on his wall. “have you ever heard of Freiburg?”.

The poster showed quaint cottages, window boxes overflowing with flowers, lush green forests, and clear brooks running through the streets. Freiburg– which I had never heard of before– seemed pretty ideal. That night I sat on the computer for hours, telling my roommates in disbelief how perfect this place seemed, and how the programs to Freiburg offered me all that I could ever have asked for in a study abroad experience. After speaking with my academic advisor, it was clear that the Freiburg program would fit perfectly into my schedule.

Also during this decision time, I had begun research for what I hope will become my undergraduate thesis; looking at themes of eugenics and how they played out in propaganda and politics in the rise of the Third Reich in Nazi Germany. Freiburg just seemed ideal; perfect for my research, perfect for my personal interests in history and politics, and the European Union program even included a field trip to London! Unbelievably, my mind was changed. I was headed to Freiburg.

My study abroad decision making has been more back and forth than a rusty old roller coaster at the shore; a lot of back and forth, and a LOT of plans that turned out nothing like I had originally envisioned! My stubbornness has already been challenged by study abroad and I haven’t even left the country yet! I am looking forward to sharing my adventures with anyone reading, and extremely grateful to family, friends, and my abroad advisor Scott Runner for all the support they have given me within the past few months. For now, I’ll get back to packing and cuddling with my pups as much as I can before I have to go!

Location: Great Meadows, New Jersey

29 Days of Spring Break across Europe

3 weeks. 1 backpack. 9 cities. Possibly the most liberating thing I have ever done. Amongst the 4 of us (on the PSU program), we organized the entire trip with every sight and travel all on our own. We were together for the 1^st week of cities and then I followed a roommate (Aviva) to Barcelona to join her family and then left to fly to another roommate (Joelle) in Italy.

In this post, I want to give my overall to-the-point blunt impressions and experiences in each city. I use a scale of 1-5

1: When do I go back?!

5: Don’t recommend ever coming.

And details are to come in my next blogs about specific places and events that stood out. With that:

SPRING BREAK 2015

Innsbruck, Austria (1 day): 3. perfect amount of time, most scenic city in the Alps as mountains soar into the sky around the entire town. We took the Nordkettenbahn (gondola) to the top of the Alps for the breathtaking views and in one day were on the next train to our next destination. Visiting once is enough for Innsbruck as it is a relatively small and expensive city, but the views are unparalleled.

View from the top of the Alps in Innsbruck

View from the city center of Innsbruck.

Salzburg, Austria (2 days): 4. home of Mozart and “The Sound of Music”. We spent Palm Sunday in a cathedral that played Mozart, visited the old and cute shopping street Getreidegasse and the Hohensalzburg Fortress overlooking the city. Most of the movies’ filming locations were scattered outside of the town and “Sound of Music” bike tours were highly reviewed/advertised to take to them. However since we came during the tail-end of winter, the tours hadn’t started yet. Otherwise, Salzburg was just another small European town; one day would’ve been plenty.

The hills are alive….

Vienna, Austria (3 days): 1. gorgeous, ready to visit again! Visiting around Easter, the city was peppered with Easter markets full of treats and trinkets. The streets were lined with regal and grandiose architecture – including the opera (where Jo and I scored the 3 euro standing tickets to see Swan Lake at the Vienna State Opera – talk about once in a life time experience). Favorite museums were the MOMA (modern art museum – saw some Andy Warhol) and the Albertina (gorgeous exhibit from the private stock rooms of Musee d’Orsay – Degas, Cezanne and Seurat). Schoenbrunn Palace tried to compete with Versailles, and although it had gorgeous gardens the visitor very quickly can tell who really won.

Vienna!

Viennese Easter Markets – bring on the painted eggs!

Andy Warhol in the MOMA!

Also, this was our 2^nd stay at a Wombat’s Hostel and their hostels are excellent! True social hostel experience packed with Viennese info/recommendation packets lying across the lobby around the lounging travelers.

Prague, Czech Republic (4 days): 1. go go go, would definitely visit again. Plus, AFFORDABLE; from the beer (0.50 euros/ bottle) to the food. Reminded me a lot of Eastern Europe. Visited the creepy bone church – Sedlec Ossuary – decorated with between 40,000 – 70,000 bones. Very fun, friendly, and quirky city. “New Europe Free Walking Tour” is a must. Awesome tour guide, Chris, who entertained us with history and stories of Prague for three hours through the windy and freezing day. The tour guides merely ask for tips at the end and to “pay only what you think the tour was worth”. This way you are ensured to have a great tour as the guides work for their penny. We learned the history of the city and some helpful hints for our stay.

Prague and it’s bridges

Sedlec Ossuary – shield of bones

Barcelona, Spain (4 days): 1. Can I say LOVE? Barcelona was one stop on our Spring Break that I didn’t have to plan or research as I joined the Doery family, so I was completely surprised by the Catalonian capital. It actually felt like this was the REAL vacation (maybe that’s why planning trips is so hard…). Barcelona is the relaxed, fun-loving vibe that just literally envelops the entire city. (I saw people just rollerblading through the tiny alleys of Barcelona with a pizza) I’ve never seen such a vibrant life-filled beach city. The city is peppered with art and architecture by Barcelona’s beloved Antoni Gaudi – the mosaicked Park Guell – the cathedral the Sagrada Familia still being built. The markets, the tapas, the warmth – GO BARCELONA.

Park Guell

Sagrada Familia – natural light flowing in

Rome, Italy (3 days): 3. hot and full of tourists (even in the off-season at the beginning of March). Rome holds the Vatican City, the Pantheon, and the Colosseum but the rest of the city didn’t impress. The people aren’t nice, the public transport is awful, the city is not walk-able, and I can’t stand large crowds of people. All in all, not a fan.

Collosseum

interior of Colloseum

Florence, Italy (2 days): 2. A smaller walk-able Rome with better transportation and less tourists. Took a fun bike tour and loved the leather-store lined streets. Home to the Duomo and Michelangelo’s David. Took a half-day trip to Pisa for pictures. Cute little homey city.

463 steps later – Top of the Duomo!

view of Florence

Michelangelo’s David

Florence

Cinque Terre, Italy (2 days): 2. Post-card colored pastel houses perched on the rugged coast of the Italian Riviera. The 5 water-side towns were a lot smaller than I expected, merely just a street you can see in an hour. You could also tell some of the houses needed a paint face-lift. However, we stayed at 5 Terre Backpackers Hostel, which was by far the best hostel we’ve ever stayed in. The owner, Francesco, formally introduces himself and welcomes guests upon arrival and is available for any help you need during your stay. From daily home-cooked family style meals to evenings playing Jenga on the back porch overlooking the Italian Mountains, it was like staying at a distant relative.

Cinque Terre

Of course, I could say more about each city, but my blog doesn’t do my trip justice. I was liberated, driven, and learning. Seeing a new place every day was just remarkable and doing it all on my own was ridiculous fun. Through visiting every destination, I found my favorite cities to be Vienna, Prague, and Barcelona. I’m so glad to have seen every destination and it sure makes a story I can look back on proudly.

Switzerland for the Night

We got a call from a new classmate saying Basel in Switzerland is having a Museum Night where all of the its museums are free. She asked us if we wanted to join her and her friends. YES!! We were going to SWITZERLAND for a night! My one friend, Aviva, couldn’t get over how cool it was we could just hop into another country!

As soon as we’re on the train, all of the Europeans are pulling out apples, sandwiches, cupcakes, chocolates, thermoses with coffee, and even wine! They all were offering each other and us tastes of snacks. We quickly learned: always carry food on the go. Maybe it’s a European thing, but it would explain why my European mom is always prepared with basically an emergency picnic.

In an hour, we were in Basel and it was raining. Everyone was un-phased by the weather and the museums still packed. I felt that in the States bad weather means smaller crowds – but in Europe I haven’t seen anyone fearful of some bad weather, they just pull out umbrellas, rain coats (and cool rain cover-up pants our one friend ripped off once in the museum) and go. All of the city trams were free that evening so we hopped between several museums and awed at works by Gustave Courbet, Peter Doig, and Alexander Calder (originator of the mobile). Unfortunately no snapping pics in the museum but we had so much fun meeting some new classmates and seeing the gorgeous works. We caught the train home sleepily with lots of Freiburg-er’s and were all home by 3.

Life around Freiburg

Not only did I hop over to Switzerland, the next weekend I was in France within 40 minutes. I made a daytrip to Colmar and Strasbourg. Upon arriving, I kind of forgot that I have absolutely no French and resorted to “merci” and the language of hand gestures.

On the streets of Colmar, France

For now, I am working on improving my German language. Last week I apparently mixed up an order so badly that for a tuna sandwich without cheese, I somehow ended up with a cheese sandwich…surprised on the first bite. But actually laughed. Otherwiseee, I’m practicing my German in the markets and saying, “Wie sagt mann” (how do you say) for the words I don’t know yet and want to learn. It really helps to pick up words and phrases!

Light snow along river outside of Freiburg.

Freiburg streets

To Come

I’m heading to Berlin this week! A friend and I are organizing our trip and we found our 7 hour train ride tickets for 37 euros each, with some research and time. I can’t get a cheaper 3 hour bus ride to Penn State for that. Basically we will spend under 200 euros for 4 days in Berlin, saving for other things! Can’t wait to share details!! (P.S. Paris booked in 3 weeks too!)

Location: Basel, Switzerland

Auf Wiedersehen USA – The Schlussel to Germany

My name is Maya Jankowska and I’m a sophomore in biomedical engineering. I’m studying abroad this spring in Freiburg, Germany on the University College Freiburg Exchange Program! My departure is just around the corner and I will be writing and updating a blog throughout my entire experience. As this is my first post, I want to start from the beginning:

Why I’m Studying Abroad

I stood in the hotel lobby with my family. “Oh, wir brauchen den Schlussel!”, I replied with an excited tone even though I had nervously rehearsed the phrase about 10 times right before saying it. Did I say it right? Did she understand me? She turned to grab the key for our room and we were set.

Asking for a key to a hotel room two years ago with my family isn’t a big deal and not the reason I’m going to Germany for the semester. Speaking in the hotel lobby, I felt just a little uncomfortable. As we traveled more on our trip, I chimed in with locals continuing to get that subtle nervousness. But somehow, I liked the feeling and kept looking for more. I wanted to be thrown into an unknown surrounding again and learn to make a new home. Now, I want to struggle with my German with the cashier at the local supermarket and make a friend along the way. I want to take initiative of traveling and organizing the trips I want to go on. Plus, I want to take care of myself. I want to sort out my own affairs and take the “college experience” a step further (over the Atlantic Ocean). I’m ready to learn, adapt, immerse, and become independent in Europe.

Secondly as an engineer, gaining global experience will help me in all of my career paths. Country borders are coming down and career opportunities will place us anywhere in the world. It’s important to understand other cultures and adjust to new surroundings allowing us to network with the world. It shows initiative, resourcefulness, and adaptability to different environments. Ultimately, my new friend Rick Steves summarized why I think a global experience is important:

” Americans who want our next generation to be hands-on with the world — grappling constructively with international partners against daunting challenges that ignore political borders, working competitively in a globalized economy, and having enthusiasm rather than anxiety about other cultures and approaches to persistent problems — can get on board with the movement to help our students get a globalized education.” (Full article)

My blog will ultimately reflect on my travels but also the details and experiences advisors and students don’t tell you. (ie. How to plan 4 year graduation with study abroad, conversations with locals, etc.). The roadblocks/issues, unique facts, and food and drink (yes, the beer too). There will be ups and downs, but through it all I want to end up with life lessons from my experiences.

T-Minus 1 Day Until I Fly Out

“Are you excited to go?” The first question I get. Yes, I am ecstatic! It still seems pretty surreal that I am leaving but I know once I am on the plane and in the apartment, it’ll officially set in. Although it’s new now, I don’t want to forget why I am going abroad, which easily can get lost in the midst of becoming familiar with my new home.

TIP: I’ll keep a notecard that I want to read every morning reminding me why I am here. I want to keep myself safe but “uncomfortable” with new challenges. Here’s my little mantra:

So, tomorrow’s the flight and I’m packed (I think). Here comes the first week (wooooo) and I’ll be posting an update once I’m officially settled in, we’ll see what the week brings…

Until then, auf wiedersehen and see you in Germany,

Maya

Location: Philadelphia

Settled in and ready to travel

Finally here is the second part of my first official post. The second and third week was a little less hectic than the first. I really started understanding where everything was in the town, which is a lot larger than I anticipated. After settling down and exploring Marburg, I started taking day trips to different areas. The school provides us with train tickets that make it free to travel within Hessen. (And with the student ticket grocery stores, some restaurants and museums all offer student discounts.)

A group of students and I traveled to Wartburg which was three train rides away and hiked up to the castle. The castle is where Martin Luther translated the bible into German and hid out from the Romans. We also went to Frankfurt for the day and Heidelberg. Although Frankfurt is not an extremely pretty city, it is fun to walk around and see the historic district. There is music playing everyway and farmers market selling cheese and bratwurst.

Heidelberg also has a castle but it is mostly in runes. Although it is a beautiful, lively city, I am happy just to visit because there is a lot of tourism. The streets were completely filled and I heard at least five different languages while I was there. With tons of shops, art galleries, restaurants, the city is also host to a university.

I have reached the part of the semester where all the course work piles up. I have six hours of classes each day and this includes a four-hour language course and a two-hour cultural course. Every Friday I have a test on the German language and I have four essays for the cultural course spread out until April 15. This is a lot more work than I expected; yet I do appreciate the intensity because I am finally starting to understand German.

Here are a few differences from the United States I noticed in the past few weeks:

Jay Walking: Germans don’t do it… at least not in Marburg. When waiting at a cross walk, the Germans will wait for the pedestrian light to turn green if there are cars coming or not. We talked with one of my teachers about this and she said that it is true. Whenever she is with Americans she gets left behind on the sidewalk because she waits for the light while the Americans just walk.

Smoking: I smell like an ashtray and I don’t smoke. People can smoke cigarettes almost anywhere and the people do. All my clothes reek of cigarette smoke constantly.

Well I have to go catch a train to Amsterdam!

Tschuss!

Location: Marburg, Germany

Willkommen in Deutschland

Hallo! So I am finally in Germany! After almost two and half long months of waiting, I arrived at 5 a.m. on Monday February 24.

These past two weeks has been extremely overwhelming and much has happened so I decided to break my first official “I’m in Germany” blog post into two parts: one part about the first week and the second part about week two.

From the moment I arrived in the Frankfurt Airport, I’ve been on the go.

Right when we got off the plane and through immigration, the fellow Penn Stater and I grabbed a train into the heart of the city while lugging our huge suitcases (mine was 22 KG, one KG over the weight limit.) On the train we muttered apologizes in a mix of broken German and English (even some French) to the unfortunate people who had to deal with us blocking the isle.

Once in the center of Frankfurt, we grabbed coffee and watched the sunrise over the beautiful train station that puts Grand Central to shame. After wandering for an hour or two we figured out how to buy train tickets and headed to Marburg, which is about an hour North of Frankfurt.

Marburg has many faces. To my surprise the city is not small. I would not describe it as big but when I pictured Marburg three weeks ago it was a quaint, cobblestoned hill with a castle and medieval looking houses.

Although there is that, there is so much more.

The Oberstadt, which is the hill part of the city, possesses cobblestone streets, adorable buildings each completely unique and each probably older than the foundation of our country. There are also bars, restaurants, little shops, a Game Stop (this amuses many people) and a beautiful castle that overlooks the city. During the day the streets are filled with vendors and people shopping. Musicians play the piano, the violin, the accordion and the saxophone to Bob Marley songs.

Through this section of Marburg, there are aesthetics that correlate with the Brother Grimms Fairy Tales including a wolf waterspout, seven stone dwarfs along the walls and giant metal flies next to the clock tower.

The area of the city around the Oberstadt has a small-city feel with tons of restaurants, shops and movie theaters. The buildings are a mix between modern and medieval architecture. A river, where students can study and eat next to, breaks through the city and a giant church called Elisabathkirche serves as a focal point of the city and the university.

The school is spread out between these two areas with classes both in the castle, the giant Elizabethkirche and glass buildings through the streets. Within the past weeks I have managed to gets lost multiple times but never felt nervous or scared. It’s an adventure and I am learning my way around. Everyone I have encountered here is very friendly and willing to help.

I have hiked almost everyday without ever really pre planning it. Last Saturday, I climbed up a tower that inspired the story for Rapunzel. The other day, fellow study abroad-ers and I just started following paths and eventually crossed through forests and fields and found ourselves in residential areas. Every time this happens, we always eventually figure out where we are and make the trek back to a bus stop to go home.

Classes started on Thursday February 27 and will be everyday for the next six weeks. I have a four-hour language course then two-hour cultural course everyday. Admittedly I was a little shocked with the course load but I have come to appreciate it. Knowing German would help this experience a lot. Almost every German person I have encountered speaks English very well but I have noticed there is a certain amount of respected given to those who try to speak German. When I talked to a German man about this he said that many times the Germans would help you along if you try to speak the language.

The school held our hands through the whole student Visa paperwork and anything else that was required to be in the country. I thought this was extremely helpful and convenient since I heard other students in other programs had issues with this.

Location: Marburg, Germany

Still in New York…

The next time I take a class at Penn State I will be a senior. A SENIOR.

This realization scares me. In a year I will be looking for a job… not just a job, a career.

Well before I go on a rampage, let me introduce myself.

My name is Lucie Victoria Couillard. But since I am going to Germany. Ich hei�e Lucie. Ich komme aus Westchester, New York.

I am a New Yorker. I am turning 21 on March 5 therefore I am a Pisces. My major is Print journalism and I have minors in anthropology and international studies. My dream would be to write for National Geographic but I am not opposed to working other places and expect it will take a very long while for me to work my way up to National Geographic.

I decided to study abroad because I want to see the world and see how other people live. Although I am excited to see amazing, interesting things that only Europe can offer, I really want to see how an average German person’s life is different from mine but also notice the similarities.

Having what my parents call “the travel bug,” I have always taken opportunities to go places but the most I have been truly away from home is two months and this was because I was at school in Pennsylvania.

This past two weeks I have been in Honduras and by the 12^th day I was ready to go home. I had an amazing time and can’t wait to return but I was homesick.

This frightened me. How can I be homesick after 12 days when I will be in Germany for four months with no way to return home.

On February 23 I will be flying out of JFK airport with one other Penn Stater to spend my semester in Germany. I will be attending Philipps University in Marburg where the Brothers Grimm went to school. Apparently it is a small, beautiful college town.

Honestly right now the trip seems still very far away and very unreal. I still have a lot to do to prepare and I am having somewhat of a packing dilemma.

Since I don’t leave for a while, I will be bouncing around between Penn State and visiting friends and family. Feel welcome to keep up with my blog, I’ll probably be posting pictures and posts about my life pre-trip including fun photos from Honduras and newly learned packing tips. But the true travel blog will start February 24 after a long plane ride.

Cheers,

Lucie

Location: Armonk, New York, USA

Some Updates

Since the last post, a decent amount has happened. Even since before the previous post I neglected the posting of some potentially interesting details…

The TU Ball (Technical University) As international students with IES, we were cordially invited to take part in the Viennese ball put forth by the Technical University. It was held at the Hofberg and lasted the entire night. I realize that, by American standards, all night really means more of a 7-12 pm event, but in Austria this is seemingly not the case. The ball did not begin until nearly 9 pm and continued deep into the night and early morning hours (5 pm). It was truly a new experience. It was straight out of a fairytale with the escort of the men and women in the gown and garb at the beginning, the live orchestra providing the music, and the beautiful people.

The palace was massive and in each of its ball rooms there was a different band playing a unique genre of music to dance to. I had the opportunity to dance salsa, swing, waltz, and folk specials all in one night! Truly marvelous!

Video of entrance

Daus des Meeres Last Wednesday night we took the evening to visit the Haus des Meeres in Vienna. This is a zoo of sorts; it was very similar to the aquarium located in Baltimore, Maryland only not so immense. They had ocean creatures, fresh water creatures, a tropical rain forest room where the bats flew freely about to and fro. There were also monkeys in this portion. They were adorable and surprisingly tame. They descended their rock walls and abandoned the safety of their trees to investigate the strangers in their habitat (us)…some of the ‘strangers’ were more interesting than others apparently.

In addition to the wildlife, the zoo was also a phenomonal view of the city from its 11^th floor (12^th floor in America). This building was originally constructed early 1900s to serve as an anti air strike base, but was later renovated and converted into a zoo. It was a cool place. Mental note: I must go back some point during the semester, there is a museum of medieval prison and torture right next door to the zoo. It looks very interesting, plus it is underground – automatic win!

Germany Trip We are currently undertaking our conquest of Germany. We departed from Vienna early Saturday morning (after finishing our intensive German finals the day before). We drove for nearly four hours to get into Prague, Czech Republic. This city was truly breathtaking with all of its gothic architecture and mystique. We all want to go back later and spend more than two hours there.

While walking, my roommate and I had a run-in with members of the KGB. We were pretty nervous at first, but once we discovered their game, we followed suite – so as to avoid looking too suspicious and therefore drawing the attention of the spies in the immediate vicinity. The agents told us that we had become “persons of interest,” and then proceeded to ask us if we had any knowledge about the KGB or communist situation in the area. We explained the situation to them, and they allowed us to leave without too much more hassle than that. I feel like I am always the one to experience these crazy things.

We arrived in Dresden, Deutschland only two’ish hours after leaving Prague. This is also an amazing city. It has been remodeling and restoring ever since it was bombed to pieces in WWII. The Germans (and those who aided) have done a wonderful job at the restoration.

-The Patriots are losing so far in Superbowl to this point, I am kind of hoping this continues…and the halftime show was kind of a disappointment also, but what else is new-

Later today, we will continue on with our trip to Leipzig for lunch and the afternoon, then on to Berlin! Will be fun!

Location: GuestHouse Mezcalero Dresden, Germany

A Lack of Preconceptions

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I’d never really thought about going to Germany until I found myself in front of a computer, booking a flight to Berlin a few weeks ago. Although I can think of a vast amount of historical associations with Germany, I had no preconceptions as to what it’s like today. And I think that’s why I loved Berlin.

Brandenburg Gate

The tempo of Berlin is much calmer than the (occasionally) frenetic atmosphere of Paris. It didn’t feel like everyone on the road was in immediate danger of death by erratic motorists. Almost everyone spoke English, and they didn’t seem to resent having to do so (as my German skills are extremely limited and practically nonexistent).

Gendarmenmarkt

Berlin was completely ravaged after the two World Wars and its years under the Nazi and Communist regimes. The country just finished paying off the reparations from World War I a few weeks ago, about 90 years later. Whole sections of the city were simply gone, and the ones that survived the bombings were cut in two by the wall. The city is now a strange combination of the strikingly new with an undercurrent of its long and painful history: the architecture mostly dates back to the last half of the twentieth century, even though many buildings were made to appear older. Berlin is marked by the past and a strong sensitivity to it. We took a walking tour that showed us the bunker where Hitler committed suicide, now under a parking lot for an apartment building. There’s a small sign that was just put up recently, because there was a lot of debate about whether marking the spot could possibly perpetuate or glorify him, or draw Neo-Nazis.

Berlin Wall

The walking tours we took were extremely informative; we saw monuments in both East and West Berlin, from the Brandenburg Gate to the Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, the Wall, the East Side Gallery, and the former Stasi headquarters. The Holocaust Memorial was haunting. It’s a large space just down the street from the Brandenburg Gate, filled with thousands of rows of concrete blocks resembling a cemetery. When you walk through the rows, the ground begins to slope down until you’re twenty feet down in the shadows, surrounded by the dark columns for hundreds of meters in each direction. There are no plaques, no words, no markings to explain the monument. The number of graves, 2711 I believe, has no meaning to highlight the utter absurdity and incomprehensibility of the scale of the Holocaust. Although the monument is controversial, I think it’s appropriate – it makes you experience something that will be engraved into your memory rather than just looking at a statue or reading a plaque.

Holocaust Memorial

Location: 35 Bredowstrasse, Berlin, Germany

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