Weeks 3 and 4: Hamburg and Brussels

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Hello!

It’s now been one month since I’ve come to Germany. I am becoming more and more familiar with the city of Berlin, and the overall German culture and language. In this blog post I will tell you about my last two weekends, spent in Hamburg and Brussels.

The weekend before last, some friends and I got on a bus after Thursday night classes (our last day of classes for the week) and took the three hour drive northwest to Hamburg, Germany. It was exciting to be visiting a new city and to have a couple days to wander around. We did not get checked in to our hostel until after midnight on Thursday, but Friday morning after breakfast we got moving and headed into the city. We first visited the Hamburg Rathaus, walking around it and trying, to no avail, to get inside. But it was amazing to see the old architecture and all of its ornate stone carvings close-up.

After this we went to the nearby St. Petri Kirche. This church was built in 1195 and has been a Protestant church since the Reformation. I was standing too close for this picture and wish I had taken a better one, but here it is from the front:

We would continue to see architecture and churches like this all around Hamburg, and also in Brussels. After walking around the city a while longer, we walked away from the center, towards an open park on a small lake, where we walked along a long lakeside path and back up towards a different part of the city. For a late lunch we found a restaurant in a Portuguese Quarter and ate some really tasty fish. After this, we finally made our way down to the large harbor of Hamburg, and took in all the activity on the River Elbe. This was a very neat place to be. It was also such a different atmosphere than what we are used to in Berlin. Towards the evening we walked over to the new Elbphilharmonie, and we could ascend to the observation deck for free, but we could not get into the concert hall itself. There was going to be a concert in a couple hours, and it’s become such a famous venue that all of the events there are sold out through the middle of the summer. But it was cool to see the city and harbor from up in the building.

The next day, Saturday, we took a transport ferry a ways down the Elbe and got off on a large residential island. This place turned out to be very eerie; there were uniform houses throughout, and there was no one out walking around. No cars or movement at all. After a walk through the cobblestone streets we left creepy island, catching the ferry back to the main city. We then walked towards the altstadt – old city – of Hamburg, found fish sandwiches for dinner, and walked back up the main street in front of the harbor and all the ships. Later that evening we explored the night life a little bit before heading back to the hostel. Our bus back to Berlin left early Sunday afternoon, getting us back with enough time to finish schoolwork for the next day.

This past weekend, a group of friends and I flew out to Brussels, Belgium early Friday morning. Brussels, like Hamburg, is a very different city than Berlin. It’s neat to see a good mix of city atmospheres. On Friday, we walked around all day long. We went without a solid plan for the first day and just wandered, which can be a nice way to see the city. The weather cooperated for the most part, with a mix of sun and hail. We found good sandwiches at a small cafe for dinner and eventually made it back to check in to our hostel. Our room was little more than a closet with 6 beds, 3 stacked on each side. Sort of like on a train or ship. But that’s okay because we only slept there and it is very cheap!

The next day, Saturday, we had a plan to go to the city center and see the places that Brussels is famous for. We took the public transport and walked to the main town square, which is called the “Grand Place.” It was a fascinating view, being surrounded by huge, magnificent, aged buildings. The picture at the top of this post and the one below are from the Grand Place:

For lunch, we found one of the many restaurants that serve waffels, because we could not visit Belgium without eating a genuine Belgian waffel. They were as good as we expected. If Brussels is famous for three things, it’s their waffels, breweries, and chocolate. In those realms, they produce some of the best in the world. We found a very touristy, yet famous bar that brews famous Belgian brands and offers over 2000 different varieties of beer from around the world. And out on the street, at least in the city center, chocolatiers are literally every other shop, or more. Belgian chocolate is even better than German chocolate, and there are more chocolatiers per square foot in Brussels than anywhere else in the world. So put it on your list, if you’re into that.

Yesterday morning, Sunday, we checked out of the hostel and flew back to Berlin in the early afternoon. I do not have any travel plans for this weekend or next, because this weekend I need to work on a couple projects due in my history class, and next weekend we are going to a soccer game at Olympiastadion. But I am currently planning for Spring Break, which covers the next two weekends after that. More details, including where I am going for Spring Break will be in the next post! That’s about all for now. I wish everyone back at MLC a blessed Spring Break, with safe travels, and God’s blessings on EFE experiences, choir tour, and all other activities.

Tschüss,

Collin

Weeks 1 and 2

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Hello from Berlin!

It has been 12 days since I arrived in the exciting and historic capital of Germany, and the experience so far has been incredible. Having gotten over the jet lag, acclimating to the new culture, and becoming familiar with the transportation system, I am finally beginning to feel “moved in.”

The first week was filled with orientation activities, which included hours of meetings, but also guided walking tours of parts of the city, where I got to see the historic district with the Brandenburg Gate and various governmental buildings.

It is so cool to finally be in the city and be able to visit famous sites whenever I want!

This past week was my first week of classes. Everybody in the program has German language instruction from 9-12 each morning. This is longer than I am used to, but we get a break halfway through which helps it move along. The first sessions of my other classes, music history and 20th century German history, also went well. Both are areas which I think I will very much enjoy studying. For the music class, the requirements include visiting various orchestra concerts in the city and writing critiques. For the history class, we will be visiting some of Berlin’s many museums outside of class.

A few days ago after German class some friends and I went to the remains of the Berlin Wall, called the East Side Gallery. Though it once divided Germany, today it is left standing as an international memorial to freedom.

There is still so much more of the city to see.

My host family has been extremely nice and helpful. I think it will be a great experience living in a home-stay, gaining the opportunity to really learn the culture of a German home life. My “host parents'” names are Hermann and Heike. They both know English well, but we speak German when possible. I am looking forward to seeing how my German progresses from now to the end of the semester. I occasionally watch soccer on TV with Hermann – Berlin’s team in the Bundesliga is called Hertha BSC. They play in the Olympiastadion, the home of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. I will have the opportunity to attend 2 games there during the semester!

The apartment, in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district of Berlin, is about a 40-minute transit from the Freie Universität. To get to campus, I take a combination of the U-Bahn (underground rail) system and a bus. Here is a picture of the street I live on:

The general architecture of Berlin is one of my favorite parts of the city so far. It is so completely different from what I am used to in the United States. The food is also great, natürlich. I bought a döner the other night, and maybe it’s just because I was really hungry, but it might have been the most delicious thing I’ve ever eaten. Outside of my mom’s kitchen, of course. If you ever go to Germany, you HAVE to try one.

Next weekend, some friends and I will be going to Hamburg, which is in the northern part of Germany. The bus ticket and hostel fee for the weekend is cheap compared to what it would be in the United States, which makes traveling easy! I look forward to seeing the famous Hafenstadt – harbor city – whose port is the second largest in Europe, and also the newly completed Elbphilharmonie, an $800+ million concert hall project finished last month. A picture from Google images:

That’s about all for now! Many more pictures will be posted on my Facebook page throughout the semester, and blog updates will continue every couple of weeks.

I thank God that I have arrived in Berlin safely and that everything has gone smoothly so far. I am beyond thankful for this life-changing opportunity.

Tschüss,

Collin

A Final Irish Blessing

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Hello family and friends that we haven’t talked to in awhile!

Well, it has been over a month since Fedd and I have been back in school; you could say we are over the “honeymoon” stage of reverse culture shock and more into the “ups and downs” of the good and bad days.

Overall, it was a hidden blessing that we came back at Christmas time; it was a time to look forward too, see numerous family members, and then be excited to come back to friends at school. Both of us have occupied our time with basketball (me) and softball (Erin) practices, along with being able to drive places on our own (no bus!!!) and hang out with our friends at MLC whom we missed so dearly while gone!

We’d be lying if we didn’t say we missed Ireland and wish we were back there. We miss being able to travel to a new place every weekend and only having a few homework assignments to do over the period of the semester. We miss our Irish friends and the relaxed Irish culture. But, we don’t miss the 20 minute walk to class every day, nor the weekly trips to the grocery store (thank you MLC cafe). We don’t miss the Skype dates or the 6 hour difference from family and friends.

So, in the end, I guess you could say that it all evens out. And in the end, we are beyond thankful and blessed to have had such an amazing experience. 10/10 would recommend.

If you are interested in hearing more about our trip rather than the usual “Amazing!” we say, we are doing a presentation on our study abroad experience in Ireland at MLC on February 15th at 11 and 12! We would love to have you there and answer any questions you might have about our travels and schooling over there! If not, I am going to try and record the presentation for others to view when able; so, we’ll see how that turns out.

I made one final video of some European Craic (fun) if you’d like to watch a little wrap up of all our adventures: HERE

Thank you again, for all your support, love, and prayers while we were abroad. Continue to keep Collin Wenzel, one of our classmates studying abroad in Germany, in your thoughts and prayers as he ventures around!

And with that, I will leave you with an Irish Blessing.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

#theluckofchrisandfedd