Dessau/Leipzig, Germany

 DESSAU/LEIPZIG, GERMANY

GEOGRAPHY FASCINATION:

LEIPZIG 

I found the downtown very interesting.  I felt like the Ringstrasse was more noticeable in Leipzig than in any other city we visited, even Vienna.  The old city walls were torn down after 1815 and replaced with a promenade, the Ringstrasse. Inside the Ringstrasse is the old city with its crowded, narrow streets. Outside are newer sections and suburbs, with broad streets, modern buildings, and industrial districts.  This was so obviously and unique to me.  Leipzig was easily one of my favorite cities (even though my purse was stolen here….). (:

DESSAU 

As for Dessau, I really enjoyed visiting a city that is similar in size to my hometown.  What I did find interesting, was although it was a decent sized city, it seemed to be extra silent.  The streets were silent, and the roads were almost empty in the downtown area.  As for my hometown, the streets are always busy and it’s definitely far from silent.  The buildings even seemed almost vacant, at least in the city section I walked through.  I enjoyed this, however, and it was a small culture shock because of the silence.  I also noticed that most of the streets were cobblestone.  This was extra charming and I was jealous that we do not have it in my hometown.  

FAVORITE ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:

 Between Leipzig and Dessau, my favorite academic experience was visit St. Thomaskirche in Leipzig.  This was the first academic event we did in Leipzig, coincidentally.  It was a very cool feeling being in the same church where Johann Sebastian Bach was a cantor, teacher, and musician.  He was one of the greatest musicians, and to think that some of his best pieces were performed and composed in the same place I was standing and on the organ I was viewing was very cool to get my head around.

 FAVORITE EXTRA- CURRICULAR ACTIVITY:

I honestly did not do any extravagant "extra- curricular activity".  I really just loved to walk around Dessau after touring the Bauhaus and having a group lunch.  It was fun: we stopped in cute random shops on side streets, and had delicious gelato (of course) on our way back to the train station.  The lady who gave us our gelato could not speak English at all.  It was very interesting trying to communicate with her on the flavor we wanted, whether in a dish or cone, and how much we had to pay. We relied on only shrugs, thumbs up, nodding our heads, and other forms of communication similar. Good thing she was willing to cooperate; she was very patient and nice to us as non German- speaking young adult Americans.

FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT:

I loved eating at Ertes Dessauer Kartoffelhaus before touring the Bauhaus.  I had quite the hangover, and the spinach egg omelet hit the spot! (: I tried potatoes from other plates, and other salads that others ordered; they were all delicious.  Not only was the food awesome, the entire restaurant was very uniquely cool.  It had such a homey feel: with the pictures everywhere (including on the ceiling), the country feel, and little antique pieces placed all over the restaurant.

From what i've heard, this was one of the most favored restaurants of the whole trip! I would definitely recommend eating here next year, as I am sure the CETS 2014 students will love it also.

 

 

Berlin, Germany

BERLIN, GERMANY 

GEOGRAPHY FASCINATION:

Berlin was my first ever experience with European public transportation.  Because of this, the overall aspect of the U and S Bahns along with the trams was so fascinating to me in a broad way.  I remember being so amazed with the timing of the transportation.  It was impeccable and very reliable.  The overall geography of this was very crazy.  It was weird thinking about how we were underground and at so many levels.  I definitely had to get used to thinking in such a strange dimension.  One of the funniest aspects of transportation was the stop and go “men”.  I miss the men… much cooler than our hands.

FAVORITE EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITY:

 My favorite extra- curriculat activity was visiting Berlin’s East Side Gallery. The Berlin Wall East Side Gallery is a 1.3km-long section of the wall near the center of Berlin. Approximately 106 paintings by artists from all over the world cover this memorial for freedom and make it the largest open air gallery in the world.  I loved seeing this, and it’s definitely worth a check off the bucket list.  My favorite part was seeing one of the most famous paintings on the Berlin Wall, depicting Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev kissing his East German counterpart Erich Honecker kissing. 

FAVORITE ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE:

My favorite academic experience in Berlin was the visiting the Jewish museum.  The museum was nothing like anything I had ever seen before.  The building’s architecture and structure made it much most moving to the viewer and it added a lot to the experience.  It was in a zigzag pattern to portray how the Jews felt in the Holocaust.  It was such a strange feeling.  I felt like it portrayed to us as an audience effectively it’s purpose. The overall museum was amazing, but my obvious most fascinating part of the museum was seeing Memory Void.  It was so beautiful.  Over 10,000 faces covered the floor to all innocent victims of war and violence.  The void was empty besides these heavy faces sitting on the concrete floor.  It was such a moving experience.  In the void it was silent; however when you walk on the faces and even pick them up, the sounds of iron clinking together echoed through the whole space.  I was the only one in there for the most part, and that really made it extra moving to me- to be amongst all these empty faces in such a silent and simple place.  My mind felt blank and consisted of nothing but those beautiful, yet frightening faces I was stepping on, viewing, and touching.  

FAVORITE PLACE TO EAT:

I really enjoyed out last group dinner in Berlin at The Prater Garten.  I had duck with cabbage and dumplings and it was delicious!  The evening was beautiful to eat outside, although a bit windy, but that added to the enjoyment!  I think I enjoyed it so much because it was so unique to Berlin.  It had a lot of German character so that was definitely a plus.  The beer was also super good… I would recommend the lemonade beer.