Vier Museen
Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam The Vincent Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam was extraordinary. It is so often that you hear about amazing artists such as Vincent Van Gogh, but it is rare to really experience and see an enter collection of beautiful work. Van Gogh has a unique style that is ingenious. I liked the set up of the museum because each section explained what was going on in the life of Van Gogh and then showed the paintings from this period. From gaining insight into his life, I was able to have an understanding and visually see how his...
read moreAbandoned Iraqi Embassy
I met with a friend one sunny Saturday afternoon to go to an abandoned Iraqi Embassy. Basically, when the Berlin Wall still stood, Iraq had 2 embassies in Berlin. When the wall, separating East Berlin and West Berlin, came down in 1989 Iraq decided to completely abandon their Eastern residency. They did not care about any of the files, furniture, and other items left in the building and on the property. The building at this point, in fact, has trees growing through the roofs. The building is over grown, and obviously it has been walked...
read moreMy Keiz
Keiz: Wilmersdorf, Berlin, Germany Location: Former West Population: 94,113 Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf In 2001 Berlin underwent some reconstruction; there had been over 25 “Keiz,” but under new law many were combined. This is when Wilmersdorf was merged with Charlottenburg to create Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf; most of the excitement of the area happens in Charlottenburg, here you can find sights such as the Charlottenburg Palace, Museum Berggruen, and Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtinis Kirche. Wilmersdorf I, however, spent most of my...
read moreNobody Cares
It is not out of the norm to see trash laying around in Berlin. There was one day where I sat on a bench in Volkspark along with some Germans. As we sat and talked I found myself distracted by a McDonald’s paper bag that was laying on the ground in front of us. This bag had obviously been laying there for a couple of hours because it was wrinkled and beginning to tear. Nearly every dog that passed was immediately attracted to the smell; children and some adults 🙂 on bikes jumped at the chance to smash the paper while riding by; runners...
read moreBerlin Expectations
Before getting to Berlin I had certain ideas about the city, but I was still uncertain of how exactly it would be. I was aware of the former separation between east and west Berlin, the wall, and everyone kept telling me how different Berlin was compared to the rest of Germany. For Berlin I also expected a fair amount of tourists, as well as a wide variety of inhabitants from other countries....
read moreJudisches Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum in Berlin was interesting and throughout provoking. The museum contains a vast variety of information about the history of Judaism. The exhibitions in the museum are divided by themes covering all of German Jewish history. A lot of the museum gives specific details on people’s lives, and it shows the differences between German and Jewish lifestyles. Each level of the museum gives extensive knowledge and information about being a Jew, what it means to be Jewish, and the lives of German Jews. The...
read moreExpectations: Munich, Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Dresden
Munich Before arriving in Munich I was especially excited to see the city. Previously I had done a project on the Marienplatz and therefore I was a little familiar with the area. I expected to see traditional German outfits such as the Lederhosen and Dirndl. Among these things I looked forward to the beer and Bavarian food! Salzburg Before going to Salzburg, I was not very familiar with the city. The only things that I knew of were it being the birth place of Mozart, and Salzburg is where the Sound of Music was filmed. I expected to see a...
read moreThe Freiburg experience auf Deutsch.
In Freiburg lerne ich Deutsch, aber ich besuche auch viele Orte in Deutschland und die Umgebung. Aber zum Glück hatten wir bisher jeden Tag schönes Wetter. Zuerst habe ich Frankreich besucht. Ich bin nach Colmar gefahren, und dort habe ich die Stadt und eine Weinkellerei mit meiner Professorin und den anderen Studenten besichtigt. Hier haben wir auch leckeres Essen gehabt. Zum Abendessen haben wir Flammkuchen gegessen, und wir haben Wein aus der Gegend getrunken. Diese Flammkuchen waren die besten und die appetitlichsten Flammkuchen, die ich...
read moreaufschlagen
Since being in Deutschland I have learned many new words. One particular word, aufschlagen, caught my attention while in Heidelberg at the Heidelberger Schloss. The meaning of aufschlagen is broad and includes: to pitch or to serve (a ball), to set up or to pitch up (a camp, a tent), to break or to crack (an egg), to open (a book), to impact or to strike or to hit. In regards to opening books, this word has been used in a specific phrase dating to around the 1200s; “Schlagt eure Bücher auf.” Currently this phrase is used by teachers to tell...
read moreKäsespätzle
Käsespätzle is a specialty dish of Schwaben region in Germany. The dish is a German version of mac ‘n cheese. The noodles, however are a little more dense and the dish also has fried onions. Spätzle has a long history and it is not completely clear who the originators where. I believe Spätzle has been around for longer but evidence dates it back to at least 1725. The first Spätzle is said to be formed by hand or with a spoon to make small pieces of dough. There are at least two ideas on how Spätzle received its name. The first was that...
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