Author: Connor Lubberts

My time in Germany was an experience that I will never forget. I’ve seen so many amazing things and learned so much about how things work outside of America. Every trip I took I saw something that amazed me or intrigued me. I was lucky that I got to experience all of this while taking classes and getting to experience what it is like top be a student here. I’ve gotten the chance to get to know 16 amazing people that definitely made this whole experience better. It was fun to learn about the culture here and pick up on some german slang that I would have never learned in a classroom. Overall this trip has been something I will remember my whole life and makes me want to not only come back to Germany but to also travel to more places around the world.

The Köln Cathedral was definitely a highlight of the trip. I was in constant awe because of how big it was and how detailed it was. We got the chance to climb up to the top of it and look closer at the details. After we got down we had to take a picture in front of it and even had to take a few steps back just to get the whole Cathedral in the picture.

During the first week we went to the University Mensa to get lunch and found a cool rooftop place. But we soon realized that the food was not that cheap if your not a student so we took our money off the cards pretty fast. Now we have just gone to street stands or restaurants around town for lunch where we can get authentic food for a lot less money.

A few of us took a day trip down to Munich to watch Fc Bayern Munich play RB Leipzig in the Supercup final. While it was a long day it was definitely worth it to see soccer at this level. Even though FC Bayern lost it was still something that I will never forget and could never get in America.

The Köln Cathedral high mass was definitely an experience that I’ve never had before at church. Throughout the service, I was never really sure what was happening which was probably mainly because it was all in German but the service didn’t have the normal order I was used to. It was interesting to see how everything works and try to figure out what was happening. I liked how beautiful the church was from the inside and it was interesting to think about how people could build something so massive and intricate way back in the day. Im not sure if I can pick out a part of the service that I like most because it all kind of felt the same but over all it was and experience that I won’t forget. I was surprised by how many people were around the cathedral during the day. It felt weird to walk out from the service and have a bunch of people watching you and waiting to go in but I knew that we were about to do the same so that made it less weird.

My first week in Germany I definitely noticed tons of things that were different than home. The first day we arrived it was 90 degrees out so the first thing I missed was AC. But it soon cooled down and hasn’t been too bad. Another thing I noticed is how green Berlin is compared to American cities of the same size. Even downtown there are trees and small patches of grass which I think made the city look nicer. Also, I noticed that the streets were cleaner than American streets even though there are very few public trash cans. One big thing that we use everyday is the massive system of public transport in Berlin. Between the busses and trains you can get anywhere in the city. One small thing that I’ve noticed about Germans is that everyone keeps to themselves in public which and and introvert is a dream come true. I have seen tons of little things around Germany that I wish we had in America like shopping cart escalators and 88 cent Red Bulls. So far I am really enjoying my time here and might just “miss my flight” home.

In the past few weeks we have visited both the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and a holocaust museum, both of which were very eye opening. When walking through the holocaust museum and reading all the stories I learned alot that I didn’t know before. In my head the holocaust was a long time ago but seeing that there are lots of survivors still alive made me realize that it was really not that long ago. I found it very interesting to listen to survivors stories and to read what the camps were like. As I walked into Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp I could feel the weight that the place held. I was surprised by the amount of thought and planning that went into the layout of the camp. Everything had been thought through to ensure that nobody got out and that the purpose of the camp was achieved. It made me wonder if the people that designed the camp were proud of what they did. While listening to the info of the camp and walking around it sunk in how bad the conditions were. I learned about the concentration camps in school but it was completely different to be in one and see everything. Between the holocaust museum and Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp I learned a ton about the holocaust and the events that took place in that time. I could see that Germany was ashamed of their past but not trying to hide and more learn from it.