Tag: BlogQ8

Elevator Speech

Germany was a wild adventure. It was a lot of fun to live in a big city without having to live in a big city full time. Berlin is a lot bigger than Grand Rapids, and that came with some perks such as learning to use public transportation to get everywhere. I feel like I got to know Berlin really well because we explored a lot of different areas of the city as we went out to eat or went to class. On the weekends, we would travel to other parts of Germany, so I got to explore the rest of the country as well. My favorite trip was when we went to Heidelberg, Koblenz, and Köln. We got to explore the ruins of a castle as well as climb a cathedral, both of which were very fun. One weekend, the Calvin students went from Lübeck to the Baltic Sea so we could swim, and that fun because we didn’t have a lot of beach days in Berlin.

During the last week of the trip, we had the option to choose where we traveled, so my parents and I went sightseeing in Venice and then backpacking in the Dolomites. Comparing Venice to Berlin was fun as the cities are very different. Venice is much more aimed for tourists, and the food is different because you are in Italy. Hiking in the Dolomites was a lot of fun because the mountains were gorgeous, but also very different from the mountain ranges I’m familiar with in the United States.

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun and I have made so many good memories. Someday I would like to go back to Germany, but probably not for a while!

This summer was my first time staying long term in a big city, which was a cool experience that I am happy to have had. Taking public transportation, walking everywhere, and everything being so close together is so different from the town where I live. I was very busy constantly, with class, weekend trips, and doing other things like going out to eat and doing laundry. SMH where we were staying had no AC so it could get very hot there, but at least the breakfast was good. 

My favorite weekend trips were Heidelberg and Cologne. Seeing Ludwig Castle was really cool, and we got a tour that explained the history to us. Heidelberg also has the longest pedestrian walkway in Germany and it’s very picturesque. The Cologne cathedral is an amazing piece of architecture and worshiping there and climbing up were both highlights of the trip.

Every Thursday our German professor Christoph would take us around Berlin and show us some cool stuff and talk about the culture. One time he took us to a place where people store their super nice cars, and we got to walk around and see all of them. Another time we went to the old airport and walked through it.

For lunch, we would go to a nearby bakery, the Mensa, Doner, or something else. After classes we would all get together in the cafeteria at SMH and grind out the homework. For dinner we would either have the group dinner or eat something we bought from Edika on the way back.

In my last week, I went with some other people to Italy where I spent a few days in Venice, Florence, and Rome. Rome was definitely my favorite, seeing all the ancient Roman buildings and ruins was incredible. Vatican City was also breathtaking to explore. Going through the museums, seeing the sistine chapel, and st peter’s cathedral were amazing. We saw works from famous artists like Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Vincent van Gogh, etc.

Overall, the trip to Germany was an incredible experience. Getting to know everyone on the trip, experiencing a different culture, and visiting all the historic places were unforgettable.

Germany was great! As someone who has never left the United States before (and who likes cars) Germany is a great place to visit. The biggest challenges I would say was school there and the language barrier but many people (more so the younger demographic) can speak English just fine. Getting there was a hassle! We flew from Grand Rapids to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Berlin. While we were there we got around on public transport (busses, trains, and subways). The public transport in Germany is much better than in America but I would prefer a car because I’m American and I need the best all the time. While we were there we were provided breakfast at the hotel we were staying at but lunch and dinner were up to us. Most days I would visit a grocery store and put a meal together. 

While we were there we visited an array of places in Germany. The country itself is quite small (about the size of Montana) but it is packed with beautiful and historically significant places. One of the most beautiful places (in my opinion) that we visited was the Heidelberg castle. It is a castle built in the 1500’s that is way up on a hillside overlooking the river and city below. One of the more historically significant places we visited was the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. This camp was used in WW2 and by the Russians after the war. We got to see what it was like there and some and it was much worse than you would think. The last week was a free week and we got to go wherever we would like. I was in a group of 10 people that decided to go to Italy. We went to Venice, Florence, and Rome. They were all beautiful cites but very hot coming from Germany. 

I would definitely recommend visiting Europe if you have any desire at all to go. It will give you a better understanding of the world and how much people are alike. 

So how was Germany?

It was great! It was really an experience that I will never forget. We had a great time in a lot of ways, from traveling to bonding over bad homework assignments. We got there and were super tired, but then adjusted to everything kinda quickly, because we started our classes at the Berlin Technical University that same Monday. We saw a lot of cool sights the first couple days, from the Berliner Dom (the berlin cathedral) to the Berlin Wall and Brandenburg gate. We spent most of the weeks just doing classes, running to the store every afternoon, then doing homework until late. We would watch movies or hangout in the evenings!

So where did you travel?

During the planned “course” time, we went to Heidelburg, Wittenburg, Lubeck, Bremen, Koblenz, Cologne, Orienianburg, and then we traveled to Hamburg on one of the “off” days. Most of the trips were pretty planned, but we had free time to also explore the city. My Favorite was Koblenz, or Hamburg, just because they were the coolest/ we had the most fun there. In Koblenz, we sat in a square for a while and tourist watched and listened to music and had good pasta, and in Hamburg we saw Minatur Wunderland and had Hamburgers.

What about your travel at the end?

We went to Venice, Florence, and Rome for a week. It was a lot of travel, and I am glad we went, but I was exhausted by the end. We saw most of the cool must-see sights, so there was a lot of sightseeing and things there.

Thats great! Are you going to go back at some point?

Hopefully, but not for a while :), 6 weeks was a lot, but totally worth it!

*Elevator opens and I run away*

My time in Germany has been the most enriched and relatively fun month and a half of my summer. Living life in a city with such a high focus on public transport was quite interesting at first. The culture difference there is why I was curious about going on this trip in the first place. The public transport wasn’t too much of a bother to figure out. Soon I even used it to go up north and get a cheese cake to celebrate my birthday with the rest of my group. The cultural education was intriguing and the food was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip. The schedule for the classes and excursions were easy to understand. My favorite city excursion was when we visited the city of Heidelberg. There I had the best pasta I have ever had and it was one of the first cities we saw that really showed off that traditional German architecture.

It’s funny—when I think back to when I first toured Calvin, I was adamant on never studying abroad. Alas, here I am on the final week of this trip. I remember having a teams meeting with Professor Michmerhuizen, taking notes, and going, “hey, maybe that would be a fun time…” Although it took a lot of convincing (thanks, Mom), I had a blast on this trip and I’m extremely glad that I took the opportunity to study abroad this summer. 

I didn’t know what to expect coming into this trip, but it’s something I really will never forget. It was a whirlwind at first, with some jet lag and adjusting to the time difference. Sharing a room with four other people was nerve wracking to say the least, but I now see them as a little family. It was a bonding experience from start to finish, from the first hot humid night to endless laughter and late nights. We shared many movie nights, charcuterie nights, tears, homework sessions, and memories in that room, and I have a feeling I’ll be homesick for it when I’m back home. 

It was refreshing to have a change of scenery to learn in. I’ve never had a class that was structured the way 202 was, especially with the long lectures, and although the days felt long, the weeks were short. The class itself flew by, and the challenge of completing a chapters worth of material or more a day was a welcome one. There were days I didn’t really want to do homework, but knowing that I had 17 other people who could be in the same boat helped a lot.

I feel a lot closer to everyone on this trip now that I’m at the end of it. Every day was a new adventure, and being able to explore Berlin at will was so cool. There were a lot of mundane, every day things that I found exciting, such as going to the grocery store or working out. Everything felt like some sort of experience, and I’m going to miss that excitement. I thoroughly enjoyed the planned weekend trips, as well—seeing different parts of Germany was equally as fun as exploring Berlin. 

The homesickness was there, but not as bad as I thought it was going to be. We were so busy that I didn’t have much time for myself, which wasn’t the worst thing. I miss my people, and now that we’re wrapping up, I’m excited to go home and have some time to wind down. 

Some of the most exciting and interesting things about this trip were navigating public transportation, open water swimming in various lakes, an impromptu trip to Amsterdam, group dinners, trying new food and drinks, various walks around St. Micheals Heim, the breakfast every morning, ampelmann, communicating in a new language, and the overall adjustment to life abroad. 

All in all, I had a blast on this trip, and I feel so blessed and grateful to have had this experience. 

This trip to Berlin has definitely been the highlight of my college experience so far. Being immersed in a whole new culture – language, food, transportation, and more – has been an amazing experience and I’ve learned so much throughout my time. Some highlights were our weekend trips where we travelled to places like Köln and Bremen and got to see lots of architecture and history, and our time exploring Berlin as a group. I made a lot of new friends and enjoyed our time as a group!

Our normal day looked like waking up around 7, eating a breakfast of bread and meat, then leaving to catch the bus to class around 8. We had engineering class every day at 9, then we had a German class in the afternoon. Between classes, we explored and found new places to eat, and myself and others also took advantage of a gym nearby. After classes, we stopped at supermarkets to get dinner, then returned to the hostel to eat and do homework. Lastly, on weekends we had our trips around Germany!

I would encourage all engineering students to do this program. There is no better way to do a class like this than taking it in a foreign country!