Vocational and Volunteering Centers (and a Gyro)

This morning we were up again and headed out to a vocational training center for youth that didn’t do well in the public schools. Many of these youth are from minority backgrounds and maybe didn’t even know German very well when they dropped out of school. It was an inspiring place to visit because this place trained the students in everything from TV and video production to hairdressing to being a chef or server. After this visit we stopped by a volunteer coordinating office. This office is one of the major organizations that tries to increase volunteerism in the country by training volunteer organizations to do a better job. The really fun part of the day started when we stopped by a really nice residential part of the former west Berlin. We stopped for lunch and also some shopping up and down some very pretty and very European streets. You can see me with my gyro sandwich below.

A Jammed Elevator

Next we headed to the Internationaler Club for lunch with a top German official in the Culture and Communication office. This club was “Member’s Only” and we had to trade our passports for an ID badge. We even got to ride this old elevator to the top floor. This elevator though was a bit different because it was like a belt system in that you jumped on without it stopping. It was an open front elevator that never stopped, you just jumped in. I guess these were popular in the past in Germany. So, Sarah (a teacher from California) and I timed our jumps and hopped in. Everything was fine until a person from our group (I will not name names!) hit the stop button at the entrance out of confusion. So, a buzzer went off and the elevator stopped midfloor. We were stuck! We could see the floor above us, and the floor below us, but we didn’t know if we should jump or not, for fear the it might start up right as we were jumping. Finally, after about 15 minutes and much debate I jumped down and then Sarah did as well. Well, it was quite a story to be told later by all involved. The Germans were just as stunned I think by the stopped elevator, and some even thought the smoke alarm was going off! Nothing like some American tourists to mess up an afternoon! You can see me below by the elevator right where I jumped down.

After a very ritzy lunch we headed out to the concentration camp that was situated just outside of Berlin. We rode 30 minutes to get to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and amazingly enough it would have been closed on this day, except that they kept it open for us. So, we watched a video about the camp and then toured it at our leisure with the audio tours. This camp was one of the first concentration camps, and was the headquarters for all of the other camps. It was used for Jews, Russian POWs, and any other group that the Nazis hated or feared. Hundreds of thousands were brought here, and thousands and thousands died here from murder or starvation or just the rough treatment. It was a grim reminder of the past history of the 1930s and 1940s. I have a picture below showing the main gate from the inside of the compound.

After the visit to the concentration camp we drove back to the hotel and changed for a pizza dinner and to watch the big soccer match between Germany and Austria. The European Cup is going on right now and all of Europe is following it with great interest. Since Germany played tonight in a very big game for them, we had to be a part of it. So we watched the game and saw Germany win 1-0. Then, several of us stayed out later looking for partying Germans (and didn’t find any) and just got back to the hotel.

The Bundesrat

This morning we started out at 8:30 AM after a nice breakfast in our hotel. The sleep was very much needed, but I slept through the night and now am very much over any jetlag. We headed out to the Bundesrat today. The Bundesrat is the other house of the German legislative branch. We visited the Bundestag yesterday if you remember. We had a very nice guided tour of this building and then even had a chance to stand at the podium where the leaders stand. I am trying to look like a German leader in the picture below:
Then, we posed for a group picture as well:
After this morning tour we had a sit down with an expert official with the Bundesrat. We had a nice question and answer session before moving onto our next location: The Federal Foreign Service. The German Federal Foreign Service is much like the State Department here in the USA. They are in charge of diplomatic relations, foreign traveler services, and relations with other E.U. countries. We had Weerd Borner speak to us about his office, and about the relationships that Germany has with other countries around the world.

Around Berlin on No Sleep!

We met and headed out on foot to explore Berlin with our guides. Our hotel is located so nicely that we could walk to all kinds of important places very easily. It was also good to walk because going to bed is what most of us want to do! We saw lots of important city landmarks like the Neptune Fountain and the last communist statue left in Berlin--In the photo below I am sitting with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, two developers/leaders of socialism/communism.

We visited the oldest protestant (Lutheran) church in Berlin as well, and that is shown below. Notice the bicycle event that is streaming by…we weren’t sure what it was about.

We walked to the famous Brandenburg Gate that used to separate East and West Germany. This area was the site of the famous President Reagan speech, “Tear down this wall!” (In this picture we were actually on the East German side of the gate—Reagan spoke from the other side.) We also had lunch at a very nice restaurant right beside the gate.

We then headed to the memorial for the Jewish Holocaust victims, and we crossed what used to be the site of the Berlin Wall. It is now mostly a paved brick line that still runs through the city (see below). After WWII, Berlin was separated with the West side of the city being free, and the right side of the city being communist. This tragedy continued on until the wall finally came down in 1989, and the country was unified in 1990. It’s hard to believe that this was once the dividing line for the cold war. Berlin has come a very long way in just 18 years.

Next we came to the Reichstag (pictured below). This is one of the main government buildings in Germany, hosting its Bundestag. The Bundestag is like the legislative branch of our federal government. We got to tour the inside of the building, including the amazing room in which the Bundestag meets (2nd picture below), and the glass dome on top that both serves as a beautiful top, but also as a light and ventilation source for the building. Students: try Googling "Reichstag" to read about a very long and rich history of the several buildings that have been called the Reichstag in Germany. This was an amazing building to visit.

A rain storm broke out just as we were leaving the Reichstag, so we were lucky we weren’t going to do any more walking. We ran to our bus and had a slightseeing trip around Berlin on the bus, including several sites that I hope to visit on my own later on. We even saw some still-standing sections of the Berlin Wall. So, now at the end of my 29 hour day, I am going to go to bed early here to get over any jetlag that I might be having right now.

In Berlin

After what seemed like a long 7.5 hours because of the cramped legroom (I wasn’t able to secure my usual exit row seat) we did land in Munich about an hour late. However, we still had an hour to clear passport control, security, and get to our gate for our flight to Berlin. We easily made it and had a quick one hour flight to Berlin. Our two German guides Evelyn and Gerrit met us at our gate and loaded us onto a bus for our hotel. We checked into our very nice hotel right in the center of Berlin, and had an hour to get situated before heading out at 10:30 AM. At this point we have been up for about 22 hours. You can see my nice hotel room on the 23rd floor below, and my great view of Berlin, including the (formerly) East German TV Tower.

Cruising over the Atlantic Ocean

Well, our flight pushed back from the gate nearly on time, but then a storm blew into Washington DC and that kept us sitting on the plane for about an hour or so before we did finally get a clear window to take off. Then, it was time to settle in and watch some movies and eat dinner.

Ready to Fly

This morning my group got checked-out of our Washington DC hotel and then had a couple of hours of German language instruction at the Goethe-Institut, along with some final instructions before we fly this afternoon. This is certainly a well planned program by a very well run institution. Then we took a private bus to the airport, had lunch, and now we are waiting to depart on our 8.5 hour flight to Munich, Germany. We then have a two hour layover in Munich before a short flight to Berlin. We will arrive early on Sunday morning ready to begin our sightseeing. Below you can see our group loading up outside of the Goethe-Institut (the building with the green banners across the street) to head to the airport, and you can see a picture of the Airbus 330 airplane that we will ride over the Atlantic.

A City Walk and Program Orientation

I did go for a quick jaunt around the Washington DC by foot before my orientation this afternoon. I just headed towards the center of town and kept running into important landmarks all over the place. I saw Ford’s Theatre (where Lincoln was shot), the FBI Building, the IRS, DOJ, EPA, National Archives, the Capitol Building, the Washington Monument, Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, and a few others as well. I didn’t make it to the mall or the White House because I ran out of time and needed to find my way back to the Goethe-Institut. It was certainly hot and sticky, but it was still fun to walk around. Once I made it back we had several hours of programming to get us ready for our two week trip. We got to know each other, met our coordinators, learned about Germany, and got some instructions about the trip. We then had a nice Mediterranean-style dinner. We also received our flight information for tomorrow. We fly from Washington Dulles to Munich and then onto Berlin. We leave at 3:20 PM tomorrow on Lufthansa and get into Berlin at about 8:35 AM (2:35 AM on Sunday local time). So, it will be a very long day since we will fly all night and still have a full day of sightseeing ahead of us tomorrow. We have some more orientation tomorrow in the morning, and then our flight, so I should be getting to bed. It may be more than a day before I post again because of the flight and time difference. The pictures below are of Ford’s Theatre, The Capitol, and of Stephan teaching us about the German educational system at the Goethe-Institut.

In Washington DC

I did make it to Washington DC this morning. My flight was quick at just over an hour from Indianapolis to Ronald Reagan National Airport. It was neat flying in because I saw the Pentagon, Jefferson Memorial, and Washington Monument (It has been more than 17 years since I have visited this city.). This airport is certainly close to the city because you really swoop around the Pentagon before then landing at the airport which is right next door. I took the DC Metro into the city and followed my directions and map to my hotel. When I popped out of the metro exit, I was greeted with a familiar sight from my travels last year—Chinatown!

So, now I am just getting set here in my hotel before heading back out to the Goethe-Institut. It is only a few blocks away, so it should be a quick walk. I do know that I will walk right past the National Public Radio building on my way, so that might be nice to see. We will have a few hours of orientation, and then dinner before heading back to the hotel. It will be fun I think to meet my fellow travelers since I will be spending quite a bit of time with them over the next two weeks. I will post again this evening after my activities for the day are finished. Enjoy a picture of my first glimpse of Washington DC from the ground!

School is out

It seems crazy, but another school year has ended. This was the end of my seventh year of teaching, but summer still seems strange when it does finally arrive.
I am busy with errands and preparations to leave on Friday for Washington DC, and then on to Germany on Sunday. There never seems like there is enough time, but I am sure I will be ready.

Just eight days of school left. . .

Students,

There are only eight days of school left for you, and nine for me. What are you most looking forward to over the next two weeks of school, and this summer?

I'm going to Germany!

I just received a letter today from The Goethe-Institut in Washington DC awarding me a trip to Germany this summer in June. Needless to say I am very excited about this opportunity to visit a country that I have only barely seen before. It should be a great two weeks this summer to study and tour Germany!