Author: Topher Leys

Today we went to Wittenberg where we were given a couple hour tour of the small city. Our tour started with the Castle Church where Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church. The original door had burned down years ago but it was still cool to see a replica that was dedicated to Luther’s story. We then went inside of the Castle Church where we got to see where Martin Luther is buried as well as another important professor of Wittenberg. This was a really cool experience seeing the grave of someone who I’ve learned so much about growing up and have studied heavily.

Next, we walked towards the city square while our guide told us more about Luther’s life. Mostly about his relationship with his wife and how much money they made tougher. Luther owned multiple houses in the city of Wittenberg. In the city square, there is a large statue commemorating Luther and the legacy he left behind.

Close to the town square is the Saint Marien Church where Luther gave over 2,000 sermons over his life span. It was amazing to see the exact place where such an important theologian worked and preached to the citizens of Wittenberg. In the church, there were many murals and paintings of Luther showing the type of man he was and the life he lived. The most interesting painting to me was a painting for the students of the university. And the students signed on either the left side or the right side depending on if they passed or failed. Those who passed went to heaven while those who failed descend to hell.

Finally, we went to the university square where Luther’s house was located. Outside of the house was a gift from his wife that was very common in that time period. The university square continued to grow as Luther’s fame grew. What started as one building then became an entire square where students came to learn from Luther.

Wittenberg was a very cool experience and probably one of my favorite cities. It was very small and had a home like feeling to it. Learning more about Martin Luther’s personal life was very interesting.

Recently at a local bar, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with a local Germany bartender. He was probably in his early twenties, similar age to most of us on the trip. Our conversation started when I walked through the door with a couple friends and he somehow immediately knew to speak to us in English rather than German. He knew right when we walked in the door that we were Americans and this was very interesting to me. So after ordering a drink and sitting down, I decided to go back up and talk to him about some of the differences between European, specifically German, and American culture.

I asked him first, “how did you know we were Americans right when we walked in?” He said he knew we were Americans because of the way we greeted him. The bartender said Americans always greet the employees and are very excited and happy about everything and ask questions, whereas Europeans usually just come and find a seat and don’t make much conversation. This was news to me because I thought how I acted was a normal thing across the world, but learning it was only an American way of going places was eye opening.

Next, I asked if there were any other social triggers that made you know “oh yeah, they’re American”? The bartender then said the other main factors was how loud and kind of uncaring towards other people we were. He said not in a bad way, but it’s just different from how Europeans enter places and greet people. I have noticed this too throughout the trip as, especially in Germany, that many of the local citizens talk and walk much quieter. Even those in large groups don’t make nearly as much noise as us Americans. This was also very strange to me and made me think how I never really think about how loud I am being and if my loudness is impacting others and their days.

I really enjoyed my conversation with this bartender because he was super nice and was actually interested in the conversation as well. Learning more about these differences has helped me try and fit in more with the European style and not seem like an average US tourist. I am trying to view this trip from a pilgrims perspective, not a tourists perspective.

Visiting the Munich Steelcase location was a highlight for me so far this trip. Steelcase is originally based out of Grand Rapids, but has multiple locations across the globe. We visited the “Learnig + Innovation Center” in Germany.

Upon arriving, we were greeted and treated with lots of respect and Steelcase was very welcoming to us. They made me feel at home inside of their workspace. Klaus Pronaf gave us lots of background on he facilities and then provided a tour for the entire group. The Steelcase location in Germany has three different buildings, each with specifically designed floors that are personalized to the employees that work there. Unfortunately because of time, we were only able to visit 3 of the 5 floors in the main office building.

The most fascinating thing to me about the building design and office workspaces, was how different it was from my presupposed view of what an office looks like. For example, they removed cubicles and personalized desks for each employees and replaced them with open working areas where dialogue and conversation is more common. There’s only one section of the building where there are personalized offices, and that is the leadership floor. But Klaus explained the leadership only stop in their offices in the mornings, then are in meetings the rest of the day. Another thing that caught my attention was how open and bright the workspace was. Klaus said this is because sunlight and open space makes space for more creativity to flow and for the employees to be more efficient. One example of this is Steelcase changed the original staircase the building had and replaced it with a wide and open staircase that made the 3 middle floors all feel like one large floor. This allows for easier and faster communication amongst the workers.

I really enjoyed my visit to Steelcase because they showed me there are many ways to create an office environment. Each company needs to find and create an environment that fits their field and their employees. I enjoyed seeing all of the innovation and ideas that Steelcase is coming up with.