Last Day

Today the students split up into two groups. One group (the largest) went to Sachsenhausen. The other group (three students and the professors) went to Lutherstadt Wittenburg. Lutherstadt Wittenburg is the birthplace of the protestant reformation. The small group visited Martin Luther’s house. It was very interesting. It had lots of information about Martin Luther’s life, focusing on his contributions to the protestant reformation, and how the Catholic church reacted to his teachings/writings. There were also exhibitions of Luther’s writings and Bibles from the period. The group had an awesome lunch near the city hall, and then tried to go to the Church where Luther preached. Unfortunately, it was under restoration and closed to the public. The group then went to the house of a student of Martin Luther. The way it was presented was not the best, and there was much less information there than at Martin Luther’s house. There were however some interesting flags and books from that time period. After that house, the group went back to the train station and from there to the hotel in Berlin. The group that went to Sachsenhausen was able to compare this Concentration Camp to the Dachau Concentration Camp, which the entire group went to in Munich. Sachsenhausen was very different and yet similar to Dachau. For example, Sachsenhausen’s museum seemed to be more vivid and blunt in their descriptions of what went on in the concentration camp than Dauchau. Both concentration camps were in large areas and at one point had many buildings for many purposes, but today only a couple of the original buildings were still up. Both entrance gates said, “Work brings freedom” and both provided visual and descriptive information about this time period. Since today was the last day in Germany, the entire group (including the professors) went to dinner at a very typical German restaurant. The food was great, but the best part was hearing the professors tell us that our group was the best one they have ever taken to Germany. Also, we all went around the table and shared what we learned while studying abroad and it was really cool to hear what everyone took out of this trip! Auf wiedersehen!!

Leipzig to Berlin

Today we traveled from Leipzig to Berlin. It was about an hour train ride; therefore it was the shortest train ride of this trip (therefore the shortest blog). Many of us worked on our blog posts, and our journal entries. After a long treck through the crazy levels of the Berlin train station, we finally arrived at our final train stop. From the stop we hiked (dragging our luggage with us) to the hotel. We had to carry our heavy luggage (40lbs+) up many levels of stairs, which made arriving to out hotel the highlight of the day. However, when we arrived to the hotel our rooms were not ready so we had to kill three hours. Several of us went to eat lunch and some of us hung out in the lobby of the hotel. We walked the streets of Berlin and went sightseeing. The neighborhood where our hotel is located is very hip and modern.  We found a nice authentic Italian restaurant where we had lunch and then at three came back to the hotel, checked in, and settled in the hotel. The study abroad group decided to go watch a movie, “Bad Neighbor” because we learned that a nearby theater was going to play it in English.  We left the hotel at around 9pm and took two trains to the movie theater. We got a very large drank and tub of popcorn. The movie finished after midnight. We took the trains back to the hotel and had a goodnights sleep. The best part of this day was when Zack Effron took off his shirt. It was a magical moment. His abs and arms were absolutely perfect and glowed in the sun. He had the most perfect six pack and every girl drooled a little when he took off his shirt.

Berlin Wall, Stasi Prison, and Jewish Museum

     

No man's land between the two sections of the Berlin Wall (left) and the guard tower (right).

Berlin Wall

     

Brush machines from Papa Weidt workshop (left) and staff photo of the blind Jewish workers (right)

                                          

Visiting Otto Weidt's workshop was so amazing to actually see the shop where an individual along with his colleagues was able to hide Jews and save a few lives. Papa Weidt went against the odds to protect and provide shelter for individuals in his workshop. We were able to tour the place where Papa Weidt hid a family behind a closet door. This put into perspective the book that we read in German class because we were able to see the size of the rooms and see how people had to live and what kind of mind set they were in being in such cramped corners. Learning more about Papa Weidt, helped me and hopefully my fellow classmates learn that sometimes civil disobedience is needed to do what is right and just and humane. 

   

Stassi Prison

   

Stasi Prison room (left) and the door peek hole into the prison room (right)

  

Stassi Prison room (left) and the interrogation room with our tour guide (right) 

The Stasi Prison was quite a unique experience for us. Instead of having a historian as a tour guide, we had an actual prisoner as our tour guide. He was able to share how hard life was in the prison, including the mental torture that he had to endure. It was awesome to hear his stories and it gave us a first hand learning experience that a historian would not have been able to capture. 

  

Rabbi who wrote all our names in Hebrew at the Jewish Museum (left) and an artful memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

The Jewish Museum was the highlight of my day and walking on the "screaming" faces was super surreal. The sound of the metal reminded me of chains and all I could think of was the horrors the Jews went through during the Holocaust. The faces also looked like they were screaming as you stepped on them. The entire Jewish Museum was a very deep and touching experience.

-Written by: Felecia, Kim, Arianna

BMW!

Guten Tag! Today we went to the BMW plant. BMW stands for Bavarian Motor Works. We went on the premium tour, which was three hours, and three kilometers long. During the tour, we learned about the history of BMW along with many interesting facts about the company. The three-hour tour included the museum, BMW World, and the plant. We learned a lot about how BMW is committed to sustainability. We had the opportunity of witnessing a couple of the steps that take place in the production of their vehicles and we learned that BMW goes as far as recycling sprayed paint that came off of cars. One of the unique features that BMW World provides for its customers is the opportunity of actually picking up their cars at the company as soon as they are ready. The employees have a really neat way of making this experience a memorable one for their customers. They have spotlights on the car as it slowly turns in a circle; they do this when the customer walks down the staircase to see their car for the first time. After BMW we also went to the Olympic park, and went up the Olympic tower, which is over180 floors high. Finally, the group split up and some people went souvenir shopping while the rest of the group stayed and explored the Olympic Park. Some people even swam in the Olympic pool! Overall, it was a great day, and as usual we learned a lot.

Leben herein Leipzig

St. Nicholi Church

DDR Museam

The DDR

SFA and German Girls ;)

We began our day with a trip to the University of Leipzig to give our second round of presentations about Texas to the B2 English language class (Students who were fluent in English, but still have a bit to learn, however, their English is MUCH better than our German). We discussed the differences between Germany and Texas; we were both surprised by some of the differences and similarities. After the presentation the students joined us for lunch in the school’s menza (our version of cafeteria, but with considerably better food). Every one was excited when we saw that chicken was on the day’s menu!

After lunch we joined the German students for a tour through a museum depicting the rise and fall of the DDR, the former East German Communist regime. The exhibit walked us through the early beginnings of Communism, showing the everyday life of East German citizens in comparison to West German citizens. The museum even had a special exhibit focusing on the American influence on the German revolution.

We then visited the Nikolaikirche church, which is one of the main churches in the city of Leipzig. The church contained a special exhibit on the events currently happening in Ukraine and their efforts to provide support.

That evening we attended Vespsers in Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) for a special performance by the Leipzig Thomanerchor. This is a boys choir comprised of boys as young as five who perform weekly for the public. The group is so popular that we waited in line outside of the church, with the line wrapping around the building, as the audience filled the church to capacity.

That night we were joined by several German students for dinner and enjoyed a lively conversation, making new friends in the process. After dinner the students escorted us to an artistically decorated area where many concerts and other events are held. After a long and eventful day we rounded things off by enjoying ice cream with our new friends.