Insel Rügen

The Island Rügen. Located in the former East and found in the Baltic Sea. The Island itself has several cities on it, and we stayed in a hostel in Sellin. Staying there for a weekend was fun while my classmates and I got to know each other a bit more personal as we journeyed through the Island.

The only train to get to other cities on the island

We traveled up to Binz using the train shown in the picture, and to say that the train was full would be an understatement. We all got to the city in one piece, and we spread out to explore.

We took to the city center, about a fifteen-minute walk from the train station, and from there we went ahead and looked at little gift shops, and we picked up something to eat. Naturally, since it was a fishing island, they had local fish. But since I don’t like seafood, a few friends who weren’t up for fish and I went ahead and found a crepe shop. The fish at the shop did not taste good, so score one for Ian.

Naturally, since we were on an island, we headed to the beach. My friends and I went out into the water and enjoyed ourselves while some others stayed behind and laid out on the beach. One cultural shock that we all experienced was the fact that there were fully nude children on the beach. We commented about it and found it weird, but it is a different culture, so I guess it is normal here. Some performers came on and distracted us from the sight we beheld.

As the sun started setting, we began to rendezvous with our professor for dinner. Dinner provided us with an excellent opportunity to learn more about each other as well as bond as a group. I am so glad to have a good group to go to Germany with this year, and I would very much love to keep in contact when back on campus. Until next time.

Refelction: Beer Consumption in Germany

Coming to Germany, one thing I have noticed is that there is a different way of thinking about alcohol compared to America. People in Germany like to savor the taste of the alcohol and will drink it for over an hour while alcohol-free beer is a popular option as well as further emphasizing taste over drunkenness. Back in America, people will probably be finished with a beer bottle within ten minutes. People also can get themselves home safely from my observation in Germany by taking taxis or having people walk/drive them home.

The drinking age for beer in Germany is 16 and 18 for liquor while it is 21 for any alcohol consumption in America. And from some of the international European friends that I have made here at Leuphana, they typically have a glass of wine with dinner starting at 10. In that way, alcohol is treated more like a cultural thing. From there, the intention is to drink for taste and not for mere intoxication.

Back in America, there is a problem with people binge drinking. The problem is not limited to only college students, but also middle-aged adults as well. There is not as strong of cultural background to support controlled alcohol consumption; people shun alcoholics rather than give them the support they need for their addiction. In Portugal, when they decriminalized the use of all drugs, drug addiction went down significantly). This is an epidemic that America is facing now, but I do not think that it will be solved by taking a page from our European cousins. I believe that we will probably have to find an alternative method of which would be the use of recreational marijuana.

P.S. I was in the hospital Thursday and had surgery and was discharged Saturday night, and now I have a cold, so I am feeling estatic :^) At least I got to Skype my good boy after I got out of surgery.

Berlin!

The capital of the Federal Republic of Germany and the former German Empire is too big and has so many historical events that it would be a crime to try to condense it down to one blog. So this is more of an overview of what I did while I was there for the weekend.

I also happened to be there during the Fridays for Future protest. While it did hold up traffic, it was surreal to go no more than two hundred meters and watch them march. They chanted slogans in German protesting a variety of things from fossil fuels to Boris and Trump.

We went on a tour throughout the city and learned about the history of Germany: from Prussian times through the Nazi and communist-era to today. We saw some neo-classical buildings and concert halls, state buildings, former Nazi and later DDR buildings, and even checkpoint charlie!

Underneath is the bunker in which Hitler killed himself

We even visited a chocolate shop that had replicated buildings of those in the city made of chocolate. They had some really good chocolate too!

Saturday we went to the Holocaust memorial located near the American embassy. Walking through the high columns that provided an unsettling shade sent chills down my back. Reading more about the Holocaust and also reading personal accounts from people enlightened my knowledge of the tragedy and put faces onto the six million.

Soviet soldiers writing their names on the wall after capturing the Reichstag

We visited the Brandenburg gate and had lunch there as well as watched a street party. From there we went to the Bundestag and toured the parliament building. We learned about the building’s history, as well as some of the functions the rooms and ministers serve.

What Jewish practitioners had to put on their door if they wanted to keep their practice

Sunday, we visited the Jewish museum, and it personified the Holocaust even more by showing us accounts of more people. We saw items that they brought with them when they fled their country, and we learned more about what was happening to Jewish people shortly after the Nazis took power.

Berlin was an amazing experience. Can’t wait to go back in November!

Hamburg: The Port City

Hamburg is a city that I have heard about a lot but never got to see until recently. Before I came to Germany, I thought that the city would be further west than it currently is. It has been a trading city for centuries starting in the 14th century. Today it is a prosperous city, one in which my roommate thinks is the best city in all of Germany. Then again, he is from Hamburg.

Ferries going throughout the city on the river(s)

The city is beautiful my roomie has that going for him. The mixture of contemporary and modern buildings being built along the river creates an aesthitic fit for tourists to swarm there in flocks.

American flag made out of oil flowing in the wind (3D computer art)

My professor gave us a brief history of the city from the Hanseatic League to the 18th and 19th centuries to the war and post-war period. Hamburg is rich with such historical culture with musicians and poets such as Heinrich Heine getting their start in the city. The church was severely burned from allied bombings, and the choice not to renovate it and have it be a symbol of what has happened in the city proves to be convincing. Being inside a courtyard that used to be a house of prayer back in the 15th century was surreal to think about.

Freighters coming in and cruise ships ready to sail out

Once our professor left us, my classmates and I decided to explore the city for ourselves. We decided to have dinner at an Indian restaurant – we had Vietnamese food the night before we passed by an Indian restaurant in Lüneburg and said that we would have to get it at some point- what a stroke of luck. I have never had Indian food, but it was so good. So good that it triggered my coughing spells from my bronchitis, and I had to go to an Apotheke. But from where the restaurant was located, we saw many people of color there eating at Dönner and the Indian restaurant. It was interesting to see people of color there, especially those of African descent because there are not too many back in Lüneburg other than the international students, so it was nice to see them.

Once I got my medicine, we headed back to St. Pauli at night, and it looked completely different than it did in the day. Sex shops and kinos were open, escorts were out in the open, and clubs were full of people drinking and dancing. Seeing the scene in Hamburg at night made me realize that what the man on my plane from Frankfurt to Hamburg was true; I can see how people spend 19 million euros at one ATM a year. While there were some upsides in the St Pauli district, there were also some downsides. My friends and I were trying to make a train (that me made within five seconds of it leaving), and a fight errupted on our train in which a child was crying. The polizei arrested the two men at the next stop, and after reading what goes on in the district that is normal behavior was depressing.

The trip to Hamburg was an educational experience as well as a cultural one. Once we get our Nidersachsen ticket, we’ll be able to go to and from Lüneburg for free. We will be back!

Es: Kapitel 2 and the Night Life in Hannover

Hannover: the capital of Lower Saxony. I had a great time in Hannover, but I wish that I had more time to explore the city, but a friend of mine (Johnathan) gave me a quick tour of the city center before we went to see Es: Kapitel 2 (It: Chapter 2) in English.

Volkswagon tower as well as a poster of Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Poster telling you to watch after your valuables. Did not find that as much of a problem in Hannover as I did with Hamburg

Starbucks: where they sell my Venti Mochas with two shots of expresso

Major City Bahnhofs are like malls there are so many stores inside

The city center was bustling with people. We stayed in the Bahnhof for about an hour, eating at a hipster cafe. I ate yogurt and a latte macchiato (mochas are not as offered much as they are back in the States). From there, we talked about global politics, from what China was up to, to the matter of Greenland’s ice sheets melting at a rapid pace. Johnathan did give me some insight into the elections in a former East German state in which the AfD made more gains than people thought. Johnathan, being from the former East, shared to me the grievances that East Germans felt after reunification. There is a brain drain to the West as young people think that there are better opportunities there, leaving an older population to reside there. The people feel as though the government is not listening to their grievances, so they are voting in officials who they think will listen to their concerns. I know that back from political circles in America, the image that we see of the AfD is that they are Neo-Nazis. However, the people voting them in may not necessarily be Neo-Nazis, but they want their voice to be heard. A similar parallel can be made back in the States concerning the 2016 election and how people who did not feel the gains of the recovering economy. The term “drain the swamp,” as well as Candidate Trump, being a Washington outsider propelled him to the White House because he came off as the candidate who would listen to the people. I believe that going forward we could take lessons from this to address the needs of the people and healthily resolve these grievances.

City Center outside the Bahnhof

Johnathan and I walked around the mall to sightsee, and we went into different stores to check them out. The store pictured above reminded me of Hot Topic, and it piqued my interest for me to go inside. The store had things like band t-shirts, tv show items, and video game figurines. Since IT Chapter Two came out that day, I went ahead and bought a shirt. We also went into Gamestop and looked at games that were coming out soon (Modern Warfare), and the atmosphere seemed to be more relaxed than the Gamestops in America. I do not know if the workers are treated horrendously as the ones in America, but the customers seemed to be patient.

Johnathan and I saw IT: Chapter 2 in a theater downtown that had the movie in English (much to my appreciation). Fortunately, we bought our tickets days in advance since the ticket booth line was extremely long. The line for concessions was longer, but at least Johnathan and I were able to figure out what we were going to get: a medium popcorn and a “small” (it would be considered large in America) along with candied popcorn. We went to the theater, and we saw some adds, some of which I found to be hilarious, such as the trailer for the upcoming Rambo movie being dubbed in German. Speaking of hilarious, IT: Chapter 2 was more of a comedy, but Pennywise upped his kill count from the previous film.

A pitcher of Kilkenny which is better than Guinness in my opinion

Johnathan and I went to an Irish pub where a copious amount of Brits hung out, so it was excellent talk to a few of them. We talked about Trump, Boris, the 2020 election, and Brexit. It was nice to get a perspective about Brexit from British persons themselves. The only problem was that I missed my train and the next one did not come until 6:40, but Johnathan kept me busy by showing me around the city at night.

We went to an English pub and hung out there for a couple of hours. While there, we ran into a group of older German men. One thing that I have noticed is that people assume that I am British until they hear me speak, which is both odd and exciting. After hearing Johnathan and I talk, one of the older men asked if I spoke German. I responded in German that I knew a little, and he told me that he could teach me more. “Trump, schlect oder scheiß?” (Bad or shit) I responded with the latter, and we all roared with laughter. From there I talked about American domestic issues, and the first thing that was brought up was the three mass shootings that occurred within a month, and I had to explain how the NRA has a powerful hold on members of Congress and senators which is why gun control legislation never gets passed. I then talked about the situation on the border, and they were surprised about the horrid conditions that migrants were living in and asked why we (the American people) have not impeached and removed him from office. I went on a spiel about what I think that the Democrats are going concerning Trump and 2020. The guy then went on to talk about the recent elections in a former East German state and how the AfD made gains. Being a History/Political Science major, I found this night to be very instrumental in knowing more about European politics and how the States are viewed in Western Europe.

Rocker!

The red light district was cool I suppose; it was how I imagined it, and I had no interest in it. We passed by a few clubs where men and women were dancing together and couples were getting intimate in the streets. Johnathan did take me to a club named Rocker, and it was perfect for me. It was a club that played metal and rock music such as Korn, System of a Down, and of course, Rammstein. The people there were really nice. I met a couple in which the guy was in the military, and the girl bought me a shot. I learned that when taking a shot, you look at one another in the eye before drinking it because it is an old German custom to see whether or not the alcohol has been poisoned. Another guy who I’ve been talking to bought me a Mexikaner which tasted good compared to other liquors as it tasted like straight hot sauce. I had a great time, Johnathan and I were dancing with guys and girls as well as hopping into the mosh pit. Time flew by so fast despite us staying there for four hours. I had a great time, and I hope to go back there again.

Lüneburg!

Well, I’m here! Lüneburg, the place I will be residing for the next four months, and to be fair, I already love it! The city is tiny compared to other cities, and pedestrians are more prevalent than cars. Cars are nothing compared to the fleet of bicycles in the city. They even have a parking garage full of them at the Bahnhof (train station)!

Speaking of the Bahnhof, the train ride to Lüneburg from Hamburg was smooth, quiet, and only took about an hour. It would have been faster had it not been a regional train, but that is the beautiful thing about it, smaller cities can be connected to a train network than spans across the entire EU (through connections though, but still)! And each of these cities has a bus system that goes to every small town (at least here) to where the use of a car is seldom needed which is why not many people have them compared to the States. The US should really implement this. 🤔

The city itself also seems to be of medieval architecture, and the roads in the city center are made of cobblestone rather than asphalt pavement. The repurposing of the old buildings for modern-day stores shows a great blend between past and present. The river also enhances the beauty of the city, and it is one reminder of many of the prevalence of nature in the city.

My classmates and I meeting up McDonald’s

Nature is very much prevalent here in Lüneburg, and I heard that it was for the rest of the country as well. There are many protected areas in the city. Even when I am walking to campus, I take a pedestrian route, and I also walk along the river for one part of the trek. I come across spiders and some unusual plants while walking there; I am looking forward to the fungi that will be growing soon. And there is even an apple tree in my back yard in which I ate a couple of apples from it.

Where couples go to show their love is eternal

Parts of my walking path; the university is on the top right

So far, my study abroad trip has been great. Lüneburg is excellent, and the people are friendly and courteous. I have only been here for two weeks, but I can already feel the enriching experience that studying abroad has brought me.

Going/Arriving in Germany

Germany: what was once a dream became a reality. I am finally here in Germany, and needless to say, the whole trip was exciting. I had already packed all my things a few days before, and I was going over the last touches of what I needed to pack — simple things such as toothbrush, combs, meds, etc. I, fortunately, weighed my items before I went to the airport because I was way over the weight limit. I spent an hour just filtering out clothes for which ones I would take and which ones that I would back in the States. I packed mostly for winter since my professor told us that it would start getting cold starting in September.

After we got that all out of the way, and I finally got my suitcases within the weight limit, we headed to the airport. I drove to the airport since I knew how to get there by heart since our GPS was acting spotty. We finally got there an hour before my flight was to depart, and we went to the International side of Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. From all the times that I have flown out of the domestic side of the airport, the international side seemed utterly different than the domestic side. Like a separate and brand new airport. Going through TSA was quicker than going on the domestic side, and afterward, I went to the neatly kept F gate.

I lined up to get on the plane, and the attendants that were checking us in wished us a safe flight. After a few hiccups (there was a thirty-minute delay because a thunderstorm came out of nowhere), we were in the air flying. The plane was big and had six restrooms for their economy and premium economy customers, and Lufthansa cared about their passengers, unlike other airlines. The pilot was speaking in German first then English as well as the flight attendants. The flight was eight hours long, and they tried and did, to make us as comfortable as possible.

The crazy thing is that I was able to drink on the plane while in American airspace since the aircraft was registered to Germany. As the flight attendants were coming to ask us what we wanted for dinner, I told them the latter choice of chicken and rice. I had a glass of wine, and I got my first taste of European culture. The French couple behind me were talking excitedly, and some German kids were asking their parents pointless questions, and when their parents would give an answer, they would ask “Warum?” (why?). Glad to see that this is a transnational thing.

I think that one of the most surreal things was that I was flying through so many countries.

Once I landed in Frankfurt, I met up with my friend who also flew in there; we got our passports stamped with a tourist visa, and went to try some of the local cuisines. The usage of Euros was different due to the one and two Euro coins as well as the fact that Euro bills get more massive the higher the denomination is. Germany is a country that I could get used to.

Cheers!

Will have an update on my doggo who is living with my sister this year

German Pre-Departure Video

I leave for Germany Friday, August 23rd, and I must say that I am both excited and nervous. I came up to Colorado for a few days to meet a few of my friends (as seen in the video) since some of them will graduate. When Americans first think of Germany, immediately the image of Nazis pop into their head. A few others are the Lederhosen, Oktoberfest, and the pronounced German accent as seen by Richtofen in Black Ops Zombies series, or Roger imitating Klaus on American Dad (which can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvJxj3VmF6U).

Germany is so much more than that. They have a rich history and culture, from the confederation of German states in the Holy Roman Empire to the birth of Protestantism, to the two German Empires at the time, Austria and Prussia, playing an essential role in Europe’s balance of power system that lasted until the first world war. Germany has also been an essential player as being the mediator for Europeans to engage in dialogue with each other. Starting with the Congress of Vienna – Austrians considered themselves to be German until after the second world war, or the Berlin Conference -which was a way for the Europeans to divide Africa for colonial ambitions without fighting each other over it.

Germany remains a mediator and a negotiator as they provide a conscious to the Americans and Russians for avoiding a war in which would see Europe devastated far worse than the second world war. Despite its shortcomings, Germany has risen from its past to be the economic powerhouse today. Germany will be the key to deescalate tensions between Russia and the West, and finally bringing Russia into the European Union.