This summer was amazing! I still remember when I first heard about it at Calvin; I called up Dad and said, “Dad, guess what- I’m going to Germany this summer”. There was never a dull moment for the past six weeks. If we weren’t busy with class or homework, we were out exploring the city or some other part of Germany. The very first week we stayed at Calvin and crammed as much class in as possible in each day so we could have more free time in Germany. The first week end in Germany we stayed in Berlin; we saw the Berliner Dom, the Brandenburg gate, the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, the Technical Museum of Berlin, and just in explored the city in general. The second weekend we took a train to Heidelberg- my personal favorite- spent a morning in Koblenz, and then explored Koln before taking a train back to Berlin. The next two weeks were spent in Bremen and Wittenberg respectively. While we were left to fend for ourselves most of the time, once a week we would have a nice group dinner in a traditional German restaurant. German food is so good! I’ve had pork knuckle, all different kinds of sausage, many different schnitzel, potatoes, coleslaw, bratwürst, döners, and really good bread! I can’t decide which one is my favorite!
They twenty-nine of us who went got to know each other quite well. Because the course was short there was a number of homework questions given each day due the next day. But, we were all in the same boat so there were always fellow students around to help each other out on the homework. And even the professors were right there as well to answer any questions we had. The first half we learned about statics- how to analyze static structures like bridges and trusses, and the second half was devoted to dynamics- how to analyze moving structures like cranes and trains. In the German class, not only did we improve our German skills, but we also went on the occasional excursion to museums and the Olympic stadium!
It was a summer well spent and I am glad I was able to participate!