Right, Berlin and Prague:
I was really excited to go back to Berlin for a few days. I had a fantastic time there last summer and couldn’t wait to share the city with some of the people in the program. Unfortunately, Berlin was under siege of the coldest winter in 30 years. Generally I scoff when people complain about the cold, because you know, I live on the tundra. But it was real cold. Most of the kids who came from warmer areas of the country were pretty much totally unmotivated to leave the hostel unless they had to, lest they get stranded on the streets at night and die of exposure. In addition, the Mitte area of Berlin, while very pretty, is a bit touristy and there is not much to do at night.
Nevertheless, we were forced to venture out each morning (in dress clothes. Dress pants are not warm.) to go to various meetings around the city to learn about the European Union. My group met with some representatives of the legal office that handles EU directive compliance, we went to the German automotive lobby, and then a member of German Parliament who was on the EU affairs committee. It was interesting to hear about the effect of the EU on all these institutions (I got a lot of information about the auto industry from them and might do my research paper on that) but also to note that Germans are, for the most part, generally for the existence of the European Union, even if they are skeptical about certain features. This was not the case in the Czech Republic.
Other highlights of the Berlin trip:
- There was this old building behind our hostel which was taken over by artists and other riff-raff after the fall of the Wall (Mitte is in former East Berlin) that the government never really bothered to take back. The whole building is covered in grafitti and there is a small theater and a few galleries inside, as well as a pretty excellent bar (Cafe Zapata). It is a very unique place that would certainly never exist in such an organic, unintentional form in the states.
- Beer and Doner Kebap are both much cheaper (and possibly better) there than in Freiburg.
- Staying out until 6 am at the Astro Bar in Friedrichshain with our new German friends, Sasi and Julia, who have offered a standing invite to stay at their flat should we want to go back to Berlin.
- Re-taking the pictures that I accidentally erased.
So after a pretty whirlwind romp through the capital city, we hopped the train for Prague. I was anxious to visit a country where I can’t communicate, but Prague is supposed to be a fantastic city and so I thus resigned myself to just being a tourist and enjoying the sights. The moral of the story in Prague is that everyone should probably visit. It is unique to the region in the respect that it was never really bombed during the War, so most of the old buildings are still basically their original structures with some face-lifts. I took some pictures, of course, and put them on facebook, so go check them out on my profile, but i might post some at the end of the post. Anyway, Prague is absolutely gorgeous. There is a wealth of perfectly preserved history and it can only really be done justice by exploring it in person, so go. Also, the food is FANTASTIC. Czech food borrows a lot from the surrounding countries as well, but it’s really hard to go wrong with anything on the menu. that and beer is easily found for the equivalent of $2 and under at bars and restaurants. We had much more free time in Prague, which is good because it was a little warmer and easier for everyone to get around. I did a lot more sightseeing there than in Berlin and then we went to the biggest club in the region, which is 5 floors and right on the river, next to the St. Charles bridge.
The meetings here were not as enjoyable for me. The Czechs are much more Euroskeptic than their German counterparts and our presenters weren’t really all that spectacular. We met with an economics professor, an editor of one of the major newspapers, and a politician in the office of the President (we only saw him for a disappointing 15 minutes because there was some diplomatic meeting going on in the Presidential palace where we were).
All in all, I really enjoyed revisiting a favorite city and finding a new one, but we were all pretty tired and ready to head back to Freiburg. We all made the joke that we were homesick; not for home, but for Freiburg.
Since the trip we had our first full week of school, which was pretty uneventful, but my classes seem interesting so I’m excited to get into more content as the semester goes on.
Also, yesterday some friends and I visited Colmar, France for the afternoon. It’s a picturesque Alsatian town and we just wandered around the cobblestone streets and ate pastries. Win.
Okay now I have to do some homework, so….bye.
Sean
