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When I first stepped out of the train station I was in utter shock. The “little church” Prof. De Rooy was telling us about was anything but that. It was unmistakable, as the steeples seemed to almost touch the clouds. I was not expecting that nor was I expecting we would actually have the honor to worship within the walls of this historic landmark. The next day we all headed to the “little church” and again I was mesmerized by the architecture, the stained glass windows and especially the floating organ. As the service begin, clergymen or priests, (I am unsure of their positions), walked up and down the isles swinging incense as they pasted. When they began singing, I realized I was not familiar with most of their hymnals and it did not help that it was all in German too. I have never experienced such starkly different rituals at a church before. It was definitely eye-opening, but it also made me homesick for my church back in Grand Rapids. As interesting as the service was, nothing could beat my home church. None the less, I learned a lot more about the Catholics traditions and got to partake in what an everyday service looks. When we walked out of the service, roughly a 100 people were crammed packed outside the entrance waiting to get let in. I was not expecting it to be so popular and I was unsure as to why those people were not allowed in. I could see that maybe they only want people whom are there to worship to take part in the service, instead of tourists just being there to sight see and take pictures. Overall, this was a very fascinating service to witness and be a part of.

This was one of the most moving experiences of my life. When I began my journey through the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp, I did not know then how much ignorance I was still carrying. As I walked adjacent to a quiet forest trapped inside by vengeful walls, I soon realized I still had a lot to learn and more importantly, experience.

Entering through the heavily armored gates felt wrong. I imagined the people forced to march through the unforgiving entrance and yet I freely walked upon the very ground they suffered on. It was hard to grasp and I still do not think I have fully realized what I have witnessed. As my journey continued, a small sense of childish innocence and faith in the world diminished. This is not something I view as negative, but of having the utmost importance. I feel that if given the chance, everyone should take part in this vital remembrance of history. It is one thing to read about the Holocaust and the dehumanization that occurred, but to stand on the same ground and see the instruments of torture used, calls the mind to process and accept these horrible crimes in their full weight. I would not have traded this trip for anything else. Afterwards, I found I had a hardening of my heart towards the terrible capabilities of humankind and adversely a widening perspective of humankind’s amazing ability to persevere through the most unthinkable sins committed against them. Truly this experience has continued to shape my thought processes as our program continues to travel across Germany. This part of history is not to be forgotten, and to be remembered for the sake of the future generations to come.

This photo was from our group trip to Bremen as we were walking past shops and restaurants to the heart of the city. We saw cool architecture and statues before enjoying a boat tour and a loaf of bread. In Bremen we had dinner at a restaurant serving German food, and our weekly group meals are always very memorable.

This picture is of our room getting boba tea while in Koblenz. I’ve had a wonderful time on this trip getting to know and become good friends with my roommates. We have gone climbing, watched movies, and tried lots of delicious food together. I am very grateful for our dynamic and they all make this trip so fun.

This picture was from one of our Thursday excursions with our German professor Christoph. There was an ice cream and slushee stand that had Dino cups so it seemed like a natural course of action to get one. That day we also walked around East Berlin and learned the history while noting the differences between it and West Berlin.

Köln was our final city last weekend after Heidelberg and Koblenz. When we arrived at the Köln train station, Professor DeRooy told us there was a small church just outside and by that he meant the most massive cathedral any of us had ever seen. It was the most spectacular man-made thing I had seen, giving me the same awestruck reaction as seeing the Grand Canyon.
At home I attend a mega church but it still doesn’t compare to the size of the building that is the cathedral. It is also non-denominational so the rituals of the catholic service were very different than what I was used to. The seating arrangement at my church also makes you more proximal to others and to the stage so I felt like a member of an audience at the cathedral rather than a member of a congregation. This idea was reinforced by the mass of tourists at the back of the church that we saw as we were leaving. Once I realized that the church and service felt like we were part of a museum exhibit but it was still a very interesting experience that I am grateful to have had. I really liked the organ music during the service as it resonated throughout the whole cathedral and looking at the art and architecture while inside.

Visiting the Sachsenhausen Concentration camp was a very heavy experience. It showed me the reality of all of the horrors of the Holocaust that I’ve learn about in history class. By seeing the watchtowers over the huge triangular prison, and standing in the place that thousands of humans took their last steps, I was filled with sadness and a truer understanding of this horrible history. Some other things that touched me the were the living conditions that prisoners had to withstand, and the actual foundation of the building where so many were killed. Seeing these things truly opened my eyes.

Something else that I realized about this horrible history is how the German people deal with it. Even though they could ignore it completely, they don’t, and instead they are open about it being a terrible part of their past. They don’t try to justify it or act like it never happened. Overall this was a experience that I would highly suggest, it is real and recent history.

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.