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Vienna Excursion 2014

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Here are excerpts of what some of the Dickinson-in-Bremen students said about our recent trip to Vienna.

First dinner with the group

First dinner with the group

Margaret:

What I enjoyed the most of the activities on my own was visiting the Kunsthistorisches Museum, or the Museum of Art History. By virtue of studying abroad for a full year, I’ve been to almost more museums than I can count throughout the past months. Yet the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna was one that definitely stood out in its singularity. My plans to only spend half the day there were quickly forgotten when I spent the entire morning in the single Kunstkammer wing, a twenty gallery-exhibition similar to a treasury, holding hundreds of years worth of Hapsburg possessions and collections where the unique diversity of the artifacts matches the depth of decades from which they span. I saw busts, paintings, porcelain figures, shimmering gems and jewelry, tapestries, clocks, carved ivory chests, oddities the likes of which I’ve never seen before (such as a giant drinking goblet made of an ostrich egg and carved jade), and countless more treasures I’ll likely never see an equal to. In addition, the museum houses the art collections of the House of Habsburg, filling almost the entire second floor. As someone who likes to take their time through art museums and give attention to each piece, imagine my struggle upon walking into spacious galleries where almost every inch of the tall walls were covered with paintings. Despite the near impossibility of laying eyes on every single piece, the stunning collections still imparted a lasting impression of the country’s vast cultural heritage.

The Habsburg Crown - made of chocolate and marzipan

The Habsburg Crown – made of chocolate and marzipan

Devon:

One of the most surprising moments for me was the realization that one of my favorite parts of the trip was the opera. I am very uneducated in opera and have only ever been to one in my life. But our evening at the opera was by far the best experience I had in Vienna. The fact that the script was posted on screens that flanked the stage was extremely helpful, considering I know very little (read as: absolutely zero) Italian. Furthermore, the text did not seem extremely difficult, but I certainly understood more than 75% of the words and I knew what was happening throughout. It was certainly a point of pride for me and I felt much more confident in my speaking and understanding of German following the opera.
My time in Austria was well-spent. I saw many sights, many museums, and many animals. But more than anything else, I think Austria strongly benefitted my German. I spoke more in those 4 and a half days than I had since my language-intensive course ended. By the end of the trip, I felt extremely confident in my language and some of my trepidation to speak in public was relieved. It certainly gave credit to the oft-given advice that the best way to improve your language speaking skills is to dive right in; try your best to ignore the voice in your head telling you how wrong you may be or how afraid you are and just speak. More often than not, you’ll do better than you expected of yourself and that is the easiest way to improve your confidence and furthermore, improve your speaking skills. Austria did a wonderful job and that, and the impression it left upon me, won’t soon be forgotten.

At the National Library

At the National Library

Lucia:

In my free time in Vienna I chose to visit two art museums: Hundertwasser Museum and the Belvedere. After taking interest in Hundertwasser’s style and life philosophy in a German course a few years ago, I was eager to see his architecture in person. The Hundertwasserhaus is a perfect example of the architect’s style– colorful and organic in design while maintaining functionality. Moving on to the Hundertwasser Museum just around the corner, I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of his works on display. The museum features Hundertwasser’s paintings coupled with architectural plans/models all scattered throughout quotes and information about the artist’s life. The building itself is also one of Hundertwasser’s own design. The floors are uneven and small nooks allow plants to grow up the sides of the walls. I was truly intrigued by the progression of his artistic style and different ideas for functional structures. In contrast, the Belvedere is a lavish museum/palace housing a great variety of art. I had chosen to visit the Belvedere with hopes of seeing some of the Viennese artist Gustav Klimt’s works. Stepping onto the grounds, I was first amazed by the size and grandeur of the museum. Seeing a few of Klimt’s pieces in person (and in such a grand setting) was certainly a memorable experience. Overall I quite enjoyed the differences between the museums and would have loved the chance to spend more time in both.

A Fabergé egg as exhibited at the Kunsthistorisches Museum - only this one is one is entirely edible

A Fabergé egg as exhibited at the Kunsthistorisches Museum – only this one is entirely edible

Joan:

We began Tuesday with a visit to Schönbrunn Palace, the former imperial palace in Vienna. It was a beautiful palace and quite interesting to wander around and learn about the different Kaisers who lived there, especially Kaiserin Maria Theresia. After the audio tour we went behind the palace, through the gardens, to the stunning gloriette where we ate at the café there and enjoyed the beautiful day. After that, Anna, Lucia, Paul, Sean, Shuwei, and I headed to the Hundertwasserhaus, an apartment building designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. I remembered learning about Hundertwasser in my 201 class, but I forgot that some of his buildings were in Vienna, so when I learned they were nearby, I made sure to go see them. We then walked a few blocks to the KunstHausWien, another building designed by Hundertwasser that houses a lot of his artwork. Going through the museum, I never realized what an environmentalist Hundertwasser was. He reminded me of a 20th century artist version of John Muir. The great thing about KunstHausWien is that the building was designed by the same artist whose artwork is on display, so there is a real continuity between the art and the building. The only thing that threw me off was on the top two floors were an exhibition of large, mostly black and white photographs. It was a nice exhibition, just the stark contrast with the rest of the building made it hard for me to get out of the Hundertwasser mindset while looking at very different art. On the first floor of the museum was a vegetarian restaurant (also designed by Hundertwasser) where we had dinner. Afterwards we went to the Wien Konzerthaus and were able to get student tickets to see Bach’s “Johannespassion.” Our seats were right in the front middle of the balcony, so we could see and hear really well. There was an orchestra, four main singers, and a boy’s chorus. All in all, the concert was great!

Touring the State Hall of the National Library

Touring the State Hall of the National Library

Paul:

One thing that was immediately apparent to me during my visit to Vienna was how intentionally the city itself was structured. This intentionality was manifest in the regularity of the buildings, their almost overwhelming whiteness, and in the way they were honeycombed around the Habsburg edifices. The place really looked like the seat of an empire.
I think that these observations helped me to appreciate my favorite Vienna experience – my visit to Kunst Haus Wien, the Friedensreich Hundertwasser museum – even more. Don’t misunderstand me, the dominant rococo and baroque architecture was beautiful and impressive; but Kunst Haus Wien, which Hundertwasser himself designed, exhibited the same level of intentionality while preserving the organic beauty unique to Hundertwasser’s artistic and philosophical outlook. I had heard of Hundertwasser in classes at Dickinson, and I had also seen a number of his prints, all of which I thought were really beautiful and unique. It turned out that some of the other Dickinsonians had as well, so we decided to visit the museum. The building’s face is divided into irregularly shaped, colored blocks. Its pillars and entranceway are littered with varying mosaics. When one walks through the door, he is struck by the fact that the floor itself is not flat. Instead, its clay exhibits undulations and repeats the mosaic motif. A sign on the wall indicates that Hundertwasser made this choice because the earth’s unadorned crust actually presents us with the same sorts of rises and divvies, and further because they can serve as a source of excitement for the feet. So, even on the first step through the door, one sees (and feels) Hundertwasser’s back-to-nature, organic vision. Kunst Haus Wien often presents the organic world even more directly: the place is a veritable forest. And then there are all of Hundertwasser’s incredible paintings, woodcut prints, and architectural models. The models represent more ambitious imaginings of the themes expressed in the museum’s architecture. Hundertwasser had planned whole communities with his ideals in mind. In these communities, the line between artifice and nature is constantly blurred. Streams and roads take similarly meandering routes around homes constructed in hills. Trees abound. The windows and walls that one does see have the color and irregularity of all of Hundertwasser’s work. This might sounds like chaos, but I was really struck by how functional and logical these communities looked. Utopian ideals are often accused of impracticality, but I’d have a hard time lodging this complaint against Hundertwasser. His work didn’t look contrived or forced, but rather exhibited the same kind of beautiful regularity we find in the natural world, in tree rings or spider webs or even frog spawn. And I appreciate this kind of regularity and beauty much more than the silk, gold and marble of Schönbrunn.

Touring Stephansdom

Touring Stephansdom

 

Sean:

Two places I chose to visit in the allotted free time were the Kunst Haus Wien and Belvedere Palace. Both were important destinations for me because of my love for Friedensreich Hundertwasser und Gustav Klimt, whose works were displayed in the two locations respectively. Kunst Haus Wien had an incredible amount of work by Hundertwasser and a unique layout and floor plan that made the experience even more interesting. Most notably was the unevenness of the floor. Hundertwasser wrote that:

 “An uneven and animated floor is the recovery of man’s mental equilibrium, of the dignity of man which has been violated in our levelling [sic], unnatural and hostile urban grid system. The uneven floor becomes a symphony, a melody for the feet and brings back natural vibrations to man. Architecture should elevate and not subdue man. It is good to walk on uneven floors and regain our human balance.”       Hundertwasser, April, 1991

The second place I visited was Belvedere Palace. Belvedere Palace was a great experience for two reasons: the location was incredibly interesting and rich with history and the palace also housed several of my favorite paintings. After spending a considerable amount of time wandering the palace admiring the works of art from different eras, I ended in the Gustav Klimt room. I have been a fan of Klimt’s for some time, especially of his most famous work The Kiss (Lovers). Never before was I unable to look away from a painting for so long. Klimt managed to capture an amazing moment of intimacy in the painting, which elicited a response in me I haven’t experienced with a painting before. Overall, it was an extremely rewarding experience.

Guided tour of Vienna

Guided tour of Vienna

Shuwei:

Our trip to Vienna was amazing! We’ve been to many great places, including Stephansdom, Schönbrunn, Mozarthaus, National Bibliothek, etc. What interested me most is the music culture and history in Vienna. Before going, my impressions about Vienna were all about music. It is the city where many masters of classic music had worked – Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn… We visited Mozarthaus in which Mozart lived for three years, and two of his most famous musical operas, “Don Giovanni” and “The Marriage of Figaro” were written during this time. The museum displayed many original musical scores, documents and also furnitures about Mozart, trying to show Mozart’s personal life and musical compositions in Vienna. Although some details are vague today, I can still imagine how Mozart was enjoying his time in this house. There’s also many documents showing Mozart’s close friendships with other musical masters in Vienna. Reading through these documents, it’s not hard to imagine the prosperity of music in Vienna during that time. After visiting Mozarthaus, we went to the Theater an der Wien for his opera “Don Giovanni”. This is probably the best live opera I’ve ever seen. The music, the singers, the setting of the theater and even the audiences were gorgeous. No seats were empty, and thinking of the other two nights when we had concert and drama, the houses were also full. It surprised me how Vienna people enjoy going to concerts and theaters. Through these music activities and experiences, I felt really close to this city and learned more about its culture and history.


Vienna Excursion 2015 – Part I

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From March 1 to March 6, the Dickinson-in-Bremen program traveled yet again to beautiful Vienna. The current group of students all wrote about their respective favorite activity. In Part I, read about the Austrian National Library, Modern Art in Vienna, The Hundertwasser Haus, and a theater performance we saw during the excursion.

 

The Austrian National Library
by Rachel Schilling

My favorite activity in Vienna, the one where I never stopped bouncing up and down and smiling during the course of it, was visiting the Austrian National Library. On the morning of the third of March the group headed over together to the Hofburg, the palatial complex that was the residence of the Austrian monarchy. While the entirety of Hofburg was beautiful, the library and its connected museums were heaven for a bibliophile like me. We started with a tour in the Prunksaal, the court library founded by Emperor Charles VI that was finished in the 1730s. The Prunksaal contains books from the very beginning of printing in the 1500’s. The library itself was beautiful with grand book shelves and beautiful ceiling frescos. We were shown some old books on flowers and allowed to smell them (for those that love the scent of old books as I do) and were told that we would be allowed , after buying a day library card, to have one of the books pulled from the shelves for us. I especially loved seeing the amazing hidden doorways that the workers use to shelve books and hearing about the current digitizing of the collection.

Rachel image (8)We also got the chance to see some of the library’s archived books including some enchanting pop up books and miniature books which I was absolutely obsessed with. We looked at old lesson books which included an alphabet with three different types of S’s. We peeked into the very active current national library and saw the lift system that they use to transport books from the archive to areas where the public can use them.

Rachel image (11)Later that week, Ezra and I returned to Hofburg to also visit the museums that are a part of the larger library system, namely the Globe Museum and the Esperanto Museum, both extremely unique and interesting museums. The highlight of the Esperanto Museum was the modified Pac Man game that helped us learn a little Esperanto, the language that people once hoped would bring the entire world together under one language. The Globe Museum was fascinating. We were able to catch a glimpse at how people perceived and misperceived the world (including a few maps where California was an island completely detached from the US).  The entirety of the Vienna excursion was beautiful and fun, but getting to see the collections of the National Library was the biggest treat for someone that studies literature.

Rachel image (16)

 

Modern Art in Vienna
by Adrienne Brown

Vienna, Austria is quite the destination for art enthusiasts. There were more art museums than I could visit in a week, and that is before one even starts to consider the special galleries and smaller art exhibitions. As a part of our Dickinson planned excursion in Vienna we had the opportunity to explore the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Art History Museum) and the Upper Belvedere art museum. Which, between the two of them, showcased some big-name artists like Rubens, Durer, Klimt, and Matisse, among others.

MuseumsQuartier

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image source: Nicole Spies – Flicker

While I enjoy all kinds of art, the month I spent living in Berlin turned me into a lover of all things modern and contemporary. So I decided to branch out a bit and visit the MuseumsQuartier in my free time. MuseumsQuartier is located right in the heart of Vienna’s center city and it is far more than a museum. According to Google, MuseumsQuartier is the 8th largest cultural center in the world. It consists of four museums, an institute for modern/ contemporary dance, and a few bars. I had the opportunity to visit two of the art museums at MuseumsQuartier, the Kunsthalle Wien (Art Hall Vienna) and MUMOK. The other museums were, unfortunately, closed the day I went to visit.

Kunsthalle Wien – The Future of Memory

image source: Lorenz Seidler - Flicker

image source: Lorenz Seidler – Flicker

The exhibition “The Future of Memory” is a good example of a challenging art exhibit. Some of the installations made me uncomfortable, others forced me to think critically about memory, identity, and technology. The mediums exhibited varied widely. As one entered the space there were sixty watches laid out on the ground in a perfect circle. I learned the hard way that one must pay more attention to the floor in art museums these days. In one corner a baby swing propelled itself back and forth in a never ending rhythm that was more than a little disconcerting. In another corner an empty projector flipped through the slots where the slides should have been. I stood in front of the empty projector for a good while wondering if any sort of image would eventually pop up, and then it dawned on me that the projector was in fact empty. On the back wall of the exhibition films about the connection between memory and identity played over and over.

One of these films was a short documentary about how countries in south-east Europe, such as Croatia, are currently struggling with a disconnect between identity and memory. Due to their recent history, they are disillusioned with their current identity and are trying to create a new one. However, there is a general feeling that they lack the role models necessary to build a new identity. There has been some debate among artists, but currently numerous statutes are being built in tribute to foreign role models such as: Bill Clinton, Rocky and Bruce Lee. Other artists, however, are trying to remain honest and deal with the identity crisis by taking it on rather than running from it.

As one might understand, I needed some time to processes what I had just seen in the Kunsthalle Wien, so I decided to get a coffee and a cupcake in the cupcake cafe. Which may be a shameless plug, but I don’t think any art-complex is complete without a cupcake cafe.

Once I digested everything, I was off to go take in some more art. This time at the MUMOK museum, which was featuring the exhibit “Ludwig goes POP!”

Ludwig Goes Pop!

image source: Lorenz Seidler - Flicker

image source: Lorenz Seidler – Flicker

“Ludwig goes Pop!”  featured some really big names in pop art. Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol mostly, but also a few cool artists that my art professor is obsessed with. The most striking part of this exhibit was just to see those artists we are always hearing about in real life. I mean I’ve seen so many pictures of Warhol’s “Campbell’s Soup”, but seeing a print in real life is kind of magical. It’s also weird to see the little name plate next to Warhol’s name that reads “Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania” and think I came all the way to Vienna, Austria from Carlisle, Pennsylvania and here is art from a Pennsylvania artist…

All in all, Vienna was wonderful and I want to go back to visit the other two museums at MuseumsQuartier, among others.

 

The Hundertwasser Haus
by Katherine Mooradian

My favorite part of the Vienna Excursion was easily the Hundertwasserhaus and Museum. I had seen pictures of his architecture in previous German classes at Dickinson but I never knew that he was also an artist. Not only that but he was a true visionary. I found the experience very inspiring.

He has designed four buildings in Vienna, three of which I saw on site, the Hundertwasserhaus, Hundertwasser village, and the KunsthausWien. His last building in Vienna is a heating plant. In his architecture he strives to create a harmony with nature which I found intriguing. All of his houses were filled with plants, a major part of his design was always green roofs, covered in grass or trees. He advocated for more beautiful building styles rejecting stark horizontal and vertical lines, which almost exclusively is found in man made creations.   Katie01

Katie02My favorite part of the museum was the uneven flooring. This technique is found in the majority of Hundertwasser’s architecture. Throughout the museum there were quotes and writings by Hundertwasser which added congruence to his life work on display.

Katie03​The artist himself has an extremely interesting history and personality. He is known for being an environmental activist and opposed the EU. He advocated for strong individualism and a reconciliation of humans with nature.

“It is disgusting to see what is understood as freedom now. When you stroll through the city you get the feeling that you are walking through a prison: ruler-edged windows, ruler-edged buildings, the people as identical as if they wore prison uniforms. It is a self-made prison. What the people now take to mean freedom is no longer a jail which they are forced into but rather one which they themselves obediently enter. For they have already learned the taboos and prohibitions by heart.” – Real Freedom, 1966

Hundertwasser’s art spoke to me for this reason. He was not afraid to break the rules. He lived for himself, and in realizing his vision he created, and designed practical solutions to real world problems, such as sustainable living communities with his classic green roofs. Furthermore by being free to really express himself, and actualize his dreams he inspires others to do the same.

“Art exists only in an enslaved society like ours. In a free society “art” exists neither as an undersupplied commodity nor as spiritual edification. Art is as omnipresent and natural as the grass and trees, which grows wherever there is water.
The attainment of this goal is the artist’s holy commitment. He alone possesses a sure instinct for the coming disaster. And so he simply cannot keep still as he watches the society in which he lives, sink into subjugation.” -Real Freedom, 1966

 

“Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert!”
by Madison Alley

Vienna is rich with history. I thoroughly enjoyed our tours through various Habsburg estates, resting places, museums, and treasuries, but the most impacting experience I had during our time there was at a small theater directly next to our hotel. The play we saw is entitled “Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert!” (Friends, Life is Worth Living!). It follows the lives of a Jewish doctor and poet, Fritz Löhner, and his two Jewish friends, as well as his non-Jewish driver, beginning at the rise of Hitler and ending, as so many lives did, with their respective deaths in a concentration camp. The driver in the story, Prohaska, is an aspiring poet, but lacks the skill that Löhner has with words. Later, Prohaska joins Hitler’s force as a Nazi and becomes famous by forcing Löhner and his friends to write songs for which he takes credit.

MadisonIf I had to describe the play with only one word, it would have to be “shocking”. The brutality with which Jews were treated during this time period is not a surprise; however, seeing these intense situations acted out – in Austria, and in German – left me breathless by the end of the performance. I was constantly surprised throughout the play, taken aback by the bluntness and the very straightforward and heartbreakingly honest way these incredibly sensitive scenes were portrayed.

For whatever reason I was simply not expecting such a dynamic and dramatic representation of the events captured in this play. It was, literally, breathtaking.

Vienna Excursion 2015 – Part II

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In the second part of our Vienna Blog, read about the Wiener Schatzkammer, the Marionette Theater and a performance of Mozart’s Magic Flute, the Sisi Museum, and the Albertina.

 

Wiener Schatzkammer
by Ezra Sassaman

One part of Vienna which I enjoyed immensely was the treasure chamber, or Schatzkammer. This is one area in which the United States does not offer much: back at home for me, it would be impossible to find this amount of royal adornments or anything at all from this far into history. The treasures in the rooms were like something I had only ever seen in books or movies and I couldn’t believe they were real at first— I felt like I was in the storage room of a theater.
Included in the cache were huge portraits of former Austrian royalty, the Habsburgers, resplendent garments, bejeweled crowns and swords, and even some things I had never imagined, like a much too intricate cradle for a baby Habsburger and an amazing pitcher for the official baptism of royalty.
Among the portraits was a painting of Maria Louise, one of Napoleon’s wives. Of course, we hear about Napoleon, but I have the feeling I did not fully grasp that he was a real person— it had always seemed like a story from the past that we did not have much connection to in the present. In the Schatzkammer, however, seeing these portraits and treasures which belonged to these people from so long ago was simply different than seeing pictures or reading about historical events— these figures of history began to come to life for me.
Toward the end of the tour, I needed to ask a question. We often see criminal masterminds trying to break into exhibits like the Schatzkammer in shows like Sherlock or movies like National Treasure. I asked the tour guide what kind of security measures the Schatzkammer used, and if there had been any attempts to steal the priceless treasures. “Well, of course I can’t tell you exactly what kind of security we use” laughed the tour guide — “are you trying to steal something?” She said that there had been no break-in attempts at the Schatzkammer, but a painting had been stolen from a neighboring museum during construction. The thief had tried to blackmail the museum, but they had caught him.

Rachel image (15)

 

Magic Flute Marionette Theater at Schönbrunn Palace
by Santiago Princ

During our excursion to Vienna we were taken to multiple theater plays and different kind of performances, one of them being a rare Marionette depiction of The Magic Flute” (“Die Zauberflöte” in German); a two-act opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
What I found most remarkable about the experience was the amazingly honed skill that the puppeteers had to control the marionettes. This play normally performed by human beings lacked no fluidity or expression while being performed by the stringed dolls. The movements of the dolls were perfectly synchronized with their dialogs, every scene flowed smoothly and the fact that these were puppets being controlled instead of humans made “special effects” such as Papageno quasi-flying great addition to the play’s fantasy.
We were also given some insights on the art of puppeteering. According to the professionals in the theater every single action of the puppet such as walking, waving or striking a pose can take years to master, and becoming proficient at puppeteering can be as demanding as becoming a professional instrument player. During the intermission we could also see how the design and making process of the marionettes develops and after the play we were invited by the puppeteers to see how they operate from behind the scenes.
I found this to be a very peculiar and hilarious experience!

 

Sisi Museum
by Cassandra Blyler

A few of us chose to visit the Sisi Museum, which is located in part of the Hofburg Palace.  The museum was organized into two sections; the first being a collection of silverware, plates, and other household items made specifically for the Habsburgs. I found this part of the museum to be impressive due to the sheer quantity of various items; for example a collection of 200 golden plates only occupied a tiny section.
The second half of the museum was dedicated to detailing the life of Empress Elizabeth (Sisi) who was married to Franz Joseph. This part of the museum was very interesting because it provided us with so much information about Sisi’s personal life.  It included excerpts of poems that she had written along with dresses and other articles of clothing she had worn in private as well as to important historical events. I was amazed by the circumference of her waist and the corsets used to further exaggerate its smallness. It was also noteworthy to see the highly popularized paintings of Sisi in their original form. It was interesting to hear about the daily life struggles of someone in the royal family; hearing about these struggles makes her more relatable, especially with her depression following the suicide of her son.

Sisi

 

Albertina
by George DeRosa

“For about six hours, entranced, S. A. Powers had watched thousands of Picasso paintings replace one another at flashcut speed, and then he had been treated to Paul Klees, more than the painter had painted during his entire lifetime. S. A. Powers, now viewing Modigliani paintings replace themselves at furious velocity, had conjectured (one needs a theory for everything) that the Rosicrucians were telepathically beaming pictures at him, probably boosted by microrelay systems of an advanced order; but then, when Kandinsky paintings began to harass him, he recalled that the main art museum at Leningrad specialized in just such nonobjective moderns, and decided that the Soviets were attempting telepathically to contact him.”

After four days of travelling around Vienna, coffee was no longer a tasty pick-me-up but rather a necessity. After touring the Belvedere Palace and Museum, the rest of the afternoon was free and I eagerly retraced my steps through the city towards my bed. Along the way, I was remarking to myself how odd it is seeing buildings and cathedrals from the 12th century directly across the street from ultra-modern boutiques selling handbags and skin creams but sleep was the only relevant thought on my mind. As I pulled the door handle of the hotel expecting entrance into my own personal nirvana I was snapped back into reality when the door wouldn’t budge. I was locked out. Santiago had the keys. Scheiße. With no means of contacting Santiago, I quickly surveyed my options and did the only rational thing left to do: I took the nearest subway in a completely random direction. Upon exiting the subway, I found myself in Schillerplatz and the accompanying park memorializing the life of German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright Friedrich Schiller. After a tour around the park I found myself outside of the Albertina Museum and decided to view their exhibitions.
That lovely excerpt from Phillip K. Dick’s, A Scanner Darkly, was my first exposure to what would be considered “High Art” and whether it was Synchronicity, the Russians, or the fact that the Albertina Museum is home to over 1,000,000 prints and over 65,000 drawings (one needs a theory for everything), I was pleased to find that one of the first paintings I had chosen to spend time with, upon further inspection, was Amedeo Modigliani’s Young Woman in a Blue Shirt. Seeing Modigliani’s name conjured up memories of that particular passage from Dick’s text and gave me a sense of familiarity and connectedness in a completely foreign city and country. After spending another 10 minutes trying to unlock the secrets hidden behind her solid blue eyes I moved on to the rest of the museum. I was greeted by works of artists with familiar names such as Monet, Picasso, Kandinsky, and works by artists less familiar to me such as Redon, Delvaux, and Giacometti. The Albertina is one of my fondest memories of Vienna not only because of the events leading up to it but also because after leaving I felt ever slightly more cultured.

Albertina

Office Hour on July 1

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The Dickinson-in-Bremen office hour will have to be canceled on July 1. If you have any questions, please come to the office hour tomorrow (June 24) or on July 8.

Dickinson-in-Bremen students donate money to local refugee organization

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The current Dickinson-in-Bremen students decided to donate money to a refugee organization in Bremen. Read here the accounts of two of them:

Rachel:

After receiving some cash back from their health insurance company, the Dickinson Students in Bremen sought to give back to the community that has hosted them for the last nine months. Their search and hearts led them to the non-profit organization “Fluchtraum,” housed less than twenty minutes by foot from the students’ apartments. Fluchtraum works according to one simple ideal, all people deserve guidance and companionship, and works with the Bremen community to bring guidance and companionship to those who need it the most and are denied it quite often; minor refugees without parents or other guardians. The nonprofit’s main goal is connect those youth refugees with the service and mentors they need, often picking up where the state can no longer provide. They work together with the centers that house the young refugees to connect those refugees in need of help, especially with legal matters where the minors cannot sign for themselves, with a Mentor. The mentor can help the child or teenager with a wide range of issues and will do activities together such as visiting museums and exploring the city. Above all, Fluchtraum strives to help these young people feel like members of the Bremen community, from their mentorship program to getting the kids together for a round of football (soccer) to connecting the refugees with language programs.

“Like all refugees, these minors are searching after protection from war, persecution, forced migration, hunger, natural catastrophes, human rights violations, and violence, or simply are searching for a humane life” states the front page of the Fluchtraum’s website. Around 550 minor refugees without guardianship arrived in Bremen alone and this number is 14 times more than in the year 2010. The centers are over capacity. When we sat down with Fluchtraum to discuss their program and its goals, they told us there are around 800 young refugees currently in Bremen whose parents died, disappeared or are unreachable. The organization simply wants to show these children and teenagers that they are welcome here in Bremen and they are not alone. Fluchtraum would love to grow further in their mission by expanding the artistic and cultural activities offered and by working on training former participants in their program to be mentors. The money donated by the Dickinson students will help these new members of the Bremen community find a new safe home, whether it is here in Bremen or a city somewhere else along the road. We hope that this bit of luck will be the start of a strong relationship between the Fluchtraum and the Dickinson-in-Bremen program.

Fluchtraum

Ezra:

My fellow Dickinsonians-in-Bremen and I received a pleasant surprise in the mail: our health insurance company had decided we would get extra money. Enclosed in the envelope was a check for 100 Euros! We reported this to our coordinators, Janine and Verena. Was it a trap? Did the money belong to us or to the Dickinson-in-Bremen program, which had set up our health insurance? We came to a compromise. The students who had received the money would come up with an appropriate way to spend it. After much discussion, we put it to a vote. We would donate half the money to a good cause and use half for cultural events. Now how to donate the money to the best cause? We came up with the idea of using the money to help refugees. There even happened to be an organization called Fluchtraum within walking distance from our student apartments. We organized a meeting over email, so we could see exactly what would happen with our money and learn more about Fluchtraum.

I went with two other Dickinsonians-in-Bremen to visit this organization. The administrators we met at Fluchtraum were extremely excited to receive our donation, because they were in the midst of applying for money from the state and unsure if they would be officially funded in the near future. They talked to us about their main mission: pairing immigrants with volunteer guardians or mentors. They said refugees are often young men from Africa between the ages of fifteen and eighteen. A guardian/mentor had many benefits for a refugee. They could help them learn German, show them around Bremen, and/or serve as a legal guardian to sign important documents (for example, for education, housing, or health services), increasing the refugees’ integration into the city.

Where would our money go specifically? Most of the money would be spent on campaigns promoting information and training sessions for future mentors. This organization also provided new shoes for refugees (normally teenage males), who loved soccer (or as it is known in the rest of the world, football). I liked the idea of my money going to fund this specific cause, because it represented a physical object (the shoes) but so much more as well: enabling the refugee to have fun playing a sport after troubled times at home and an extremely long journey to reach Germany (one administrator mentioned that one of her mentees had been away from home for over two years before finding a permanent location to live in Germany). I had the feeling that teenage refugees who come to Germany often do not have the same luxury of being a child and a teenager as I did in America; in many countries, there is no time to “hang out and play sports.” The shoes also represented making friends and connection in the refugee’s new home in Bremen, Germany. I played many pick-up games of soccer in Germany, and is it a great opportunity to meet people from all over the world— everyone in the whole world loves soccer (except silly Americans like me). I saw soccer as an important tool for the integration of refugees in Bremen; giving a refugee Fußball shoes granted them an opportunity to play more comfortably with other refugees or native Germans, allowing them to build connections within the Bremen community.

Unfortunately, this year’s Dickinson-in-Bremen program is drawing to a close. Working together with an organization like Fluchtraum would give future Dickinson students in Bremen the opportunity to be a mentor for a refugee. I believe this to be an important experience, as a Dickinsonian-in-Bremen could help a refugee with English and German (learning German together) and discover German cultural events together (one future goal, mentioned the administrators, involved incorporating more cultural experience in their mentor programs, such as visiting museums, galleries, or concerts with refugees). I recently saw a video online where the speaker challenged the audience members to “engage with someone with whom you have very few shared experiences.” Work as a mentor would accomplish exactly that for Dickinson students during their year abroad. I would definitely be a win-win situation: the refugee would gain a friend and important connection in Bremen and the Dickinson student would also gain a friend and the opportunity to help someone less fortunate than him- or herself. Being a mentor would represent an important step on a Dickinson student’s path to becoming a global citizen.

Thanksgiving Dinner 2014

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On Saturday, the 30th of November, the “Deutsch-Amerikanische Club” invited us again to their Thanksgiving Dinner in Atlantic Grand Hotel Bremen.

We celebrated a great party with them with live music, dance, and a quiz.

Left: President Neil van Siclen  Right: Fize-president Hans-Joachim Semig

Left: DAC President Neil van Siclen
Right: DAC Vice President Hans-Joachim Semig

Of course there was also a big turkey and a lot of other delicous and typical american dishes. It was a nice and traditional festival which we enjoyed.

Some of the OSAs visited us there and celebrated with us.

 

Rachel, Ezra and George (from left to right)

Laura Böhm (former OSA), Verena Mertz (Program Coordinator) and Janine Ludwig (Academic Director) (from left to right)

Santiago, Janine Ludwig, Ezra, three guests, Lara, Rachel, Laura, George, Katie, Cassie (from left to right)

“DICKINSON IN GERMANY” TURNS 30

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“And they celebrated for three days and three nights.” This is not only typical for fairy-tale endings when the prince and his bride are happily married, but it also happens in the city of the famous “Bremen Town Musicians” when an American college and a German university commemorate 30 years of a wonderful and strong partnership.

In order to duly celebrate the anniversary of their exchange program, Dickinson College sent a delegation to the University of Bremen in early June which included: President Nancy Roseman, Vice President Joyce Bylander, Director of Education Abroad Samantha Brandauer as well as Sarah McGaughey and Jerry Philogene, professors of German and American Studies. They were warmly welcomed by their partners at Uni Bremen and by our Durden Bremen Program staff (Academic Director Janine Ludwig and Program Coordinator Verena Mertz) who had organized several festive events in that first week of June.

Signing of the Renewed Cooperation Agreement, June 3rd

President Roseman and Rector Scholz-Reiter (right)  © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

President Roseman and Rector Scholz-Reiter (right)                                                © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

On June 3rd, 2015, Nancy A. Roseman, President of Dickinson College, and Prof. Dr.-Ing. Bernd Scholz-Reiter, Rector of the University of Bremen, are happy to sign a renewed cooperation contract that extends the fruitful collaboration for another 5 years into the future.

 

 

 

The Third Dickinson College Public Lecture, June 3rd

In the evening of that day, the third annual Dickinson College Public Lecture was delivered in the prestigious venue “Stadtwaage” to an audience of about 100 attendees from the University and the city of Bremen.

 

Joyce Bylander (left) and Yasemin Karakaşoğlu © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

Joyce Bylander (left) and Yasemin Karakaşoğlu
© Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

After Rector Scholz-Reiter and President Roseman welcomed the audience, Prof. Dr. Karakaşoğlu, Vice Rector for Intercultural and International Affairs at the University of Bremen, introduced her colleague, VP and Dean of Student Life Joyce Bylander who gave a speech on “Delivering on the Promise of Diversity in Higher Education.” The topic and the lecture strongly resonated with the Bremen audience who participated in a lively discussion after the talk and during the following reception. The event is traditionally co-organized by Neil van Siclen on behalf of the Carl Schurz German-American Club Bremen (CSDAC).

Dickinson Graduate Geo Nikolov ‘14, now a Masters student in Málaga, Spain, asking a question after the lecture

President Roseman with current Dickinson-in-Bremen students Ezra, Katie, Cassie, George, Adrienne, Madison, Santiago (from top left to down right) as well as Academic Director Ludwig and Program Coordinator Mertz (far right, 3rd and 2nd row). © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

President Roseman with current Dickinson-in-Bremen students Ezra, Katie, Cassie, George, Adrienne, Madison, Santiago (from top left to down right) as well as Academic Director Ludwig and Program Coordinator Mertz (far right, 3rd and 2nd row). © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alumni Meeting With Unveiling of “Dickinson Chairs,” June 4th, 2015

Alumni meeting in Bremen. © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

Alumni meeting in Bremen. © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

Aside from current and former professors and staff who are or were involved in the program, more than 30 former students came from all over Germany and even from other European countries to the alumni meeting on Thursday afternoon. The altogether 60 attendees watched a delightful and funny picture presentation given by Matthias Ziegfeld, the very first Bremen student who studied at Dickinson College in 1984-85.

Vice Rector Karakaşoğlu, President Roseman, Mr. Sodemann from Community e.V., and former Rector Müller (from left to right), unveiling the first “Dickinson Chairs.” © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

Vice Rector Karakaşoğlu, President Roseman, Mr. Sodemann from Community e.V., and former Rector Müller (from left to right), unveiling the first “Dickinson Chairs.” © Harald Rehling, Uni Bremen

Later, in the most beautiful sunny weather and over the traditional German “coffee and cake,” they rejoiced in memories of their time at Dickinson and the Uni Bremen. It was amazing to hear from many how the abroad experience has stimulated and influenced their lives. Eventually, the champagne bottles demanded to be opened for the ceremonious unveiling of the first three “Dickinson Chairs.” This Uni Bremen fundraising initiative honors the 30 years of cooperation by setting up Dickinson-like Adirondack Chairs on their campus which are donated by various sponsors. 10 such sponsors – including Pres. Roseman for Dickinson College and former Pres. Durden as well as former Uni Bremen Rector Wilfried Müller – had already pledged a donation before the campaign was even officially launched.

Festive Dinner, June 4th

Front, right: Erika Harjes-Badawi, former head of the International Office at Uni Bremen, behind her: professors Hartmut Koehler and Lothar Probst, across from them: Neil van Siclen and Dickinson students. © Verena Mertz

Front, right: Erika Harjes-Badawi, former head of the International Office at Uni Bremen, behind her: professors Hartmut Koehler and Lothar Probst, across from them: Neil van Siclen and Dickinson students. © Verena Mertz

The day was concluded by a celebratory dinner in the restaurant “Meierei” to which Dickinson College invited so many of the colleagues and friends who have made vital contributions to the program over the last decades.

Other events included a tour through Bremen’s historical center and UNESCO world heritage site, a dinner in the medieval quarter “Schnoor”, a visit to Uni Bremen’s unique Drop Tower, and many work meetings in which members of both institutions forged plans for future projects to further intensify this great cooperation.

First week in Bremen: Orientation!

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Day Four of orientation week:

After all the introductions, lectures, and discoveries at the university, we needed a time-out and some relaxation. Thus, on Thursday night, we had a small celebration to which we invited the new students along with Bremen-in-Dickinson and Dickinson-in-Bremen alumni. Together we watched the soccer game between Germany and Ireland which was one of the qualification games to the European Championship to take place in 2016.

The “offside rule” with a bunch of gummy bears

First, some of the Germans explained the soccer rules for the Americans, and maybe also for some Germans, e.g. the offside rule, based on gummy bears. Besides that, we ordered pizza,  there was a big  choice of snacks and drinks. Although Germany lost to the Irish, it was a nice party and we had a lot of fun. After all, we still qualified!

Before the game: Anna, former OSA Philipp, Janie, former OSA Laura, Phoebe, Carol, Helen, Lea (intern), Ira, former spring student Nicholas, former spring student Daniel (from left to right)


The Annual Thanksgiving Dinner of the CSDAC

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02aEvery year, the Carl Schurz Deutsch-Amerikanischer Club hosts a wonderful Thanksgiving Dinner. This year, it took place at the Atlantic Grand Hotel in the city center of Bremen. The red carpet was laid out at its entrance in the Böttcherstraße to welcome the many guests.

Our current Dickinson-in-Bremen students were joined by Janie Feldman, who spent a year in Bremen in 2013-2014 and has returned to Germany on a Fulbright teaching assistantship, and Philipp Schott, OSA at Dickinson in 2014-2015.

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07After the welcome reception, the evening entailed a quiz, musical acts, and of course an amazing Thanksgiving dinner buffet that was accompanied by live piano music. What a wonderful way of starting into the holiday season!

00All photos are courtesy of the Carl Schurz Deutsch-Amerikanischer Club and were taken by Raju Gurung. For more photos by Raju, please click HERE. For additional photos, please follow the link to the Thanksgiving Dinner 2015 photo album on the Facebook page of the CSDAC HERE.

 

Berlin, Berlin, wir fahren nach Berlin!

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Meeting with Hans Modrow

Our Berlin excursion began with the exciting and unique experience to meet the last Premier, or Chairman of the Council of Ministers, of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Hans Modrow! Herr Modrow’s fascinating history includes living through four different political and social regime changes in Germany, and he is currently the honorary Chairman of die Linke Party (the Left). Most fitting to our theme of German Reunification was his detailed description and explanation of the political transition in East Germany from the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9th, 1989 to official reunification, nearly a year later, on October 3rd, 1990. We asked questions about his involvement and opinions on this time and the time since for the better part of three hours. In turn, we received a very interesting perspective from the side of the GDR, a typically lesser known part of recent German history than the West. >Helen Schlimm<

Modrow_1

From left to right: Verena Mertz, Janine Ludwig, Ira, Carol, Hans Modrow, Phoebe, Helen. © Frank Schumann

As part of our Berlin trip, we got to meet several political figures from the former German Democratic Republic. We met with Hans Modrow, who was the second last leader of the GDR. We had a long discussion about life, politics of East Germany and the fall of the Berlin Wall. He painted a picture of how the integration of East Germany into the West could have gone and how things would be different for it. Later in the week we had the opportunity to meet member of the Bundestag, Gregor Gysi, who is a leader in the Left party in the Bundestag. With him, we also discussed East Germany and the fall of the Berlin wall. We also learned about the current political climate surrounding the former GDR, such as the debate about whether or not the GDR was a nation built upon the rule of law. From both of these meetings with influential political figures, we gained a much deeper understanding of the politics that surrounded the fall of the Berlin Wall and the ramifications of German unity. >Ira Lauer<

Left: Dr. Gregor Gysi. From front: Janine Ludwig, Carol Rynar, Ira Lauer, Phoebe Allebach

Left: Dr. Gregor Gysi. From front: Janine Ludwig, Helen, Carol, Ira, Phoebe.  © Verena Mertz

 

Meeting at the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt)

Auswärtiges AmtOur group also got the fascinating chance to meet with a member of the Transatlantic Coordinator’s Office at the Federal Foreign Office! We were lead through a tour of the unique space that was also the National Bank for the Third Reich and the Central Seat of the Socialist Unity Party of East Germany, take (unofficial) press photos, and even got to ride on a Paternoster lift! We had a lively talk and discussion of our questions relating to the American-German relationship in the past, present and future. Themes included the Office’s strategies to inform more Americans and Germans of their program and the importance of the relationship between the two countries, the upcoming presidential elections in the US, and stereotypes of both cultures and how or if they can be changed in the future. It was an extremely interesting meeting and tied in very nicely with our class this semester taught by Janine: Kultur heißt Vergleichen- USA/Deutschland. >Helen Schlimm<

Julian Assange & the BStU

When I first learned that a mass Skype-call with founder of WikiLeaks Julian Assange was on the schedule for the day, I had two initial reactions: firstly, one of excitement that I was to be given an opportunity to be in attendance during a critical contemporary dialogue led by one of the most influential whistle-blowers of the modern age, but secondly one of surprise as well. After speaking with two relevant German political icons earlier that day, the last communist premier of East Germany, Hans Modrow, and the last leader of the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in East Germany, Gregor Gysi, I was curious to see how listening to the ideas of an Australian journalist would fit with our excursion’s overall theme of the division and unification of East and West Germany. What this Skype event quickly helped me to realize, however, was that there really is an incredible amount of thematic overlap with what is happening in the world today and what was happening behind the Wall not too long ago, particularly concerning the right to access information, the notion of privacy, and the necessity of recognizing and spreading the truth. These ideas constituted the theme of the night’s conversation with Assange, titled “The End of Democracy.”

Julian Assange warned us in his speech against the power of technology and of the unchallenged authority of the Silicon Valley. He told us of Google’s geopolitical aspirations, of its closely-established relationship with the United States government, and of its frighteningly-powerful surveillances capabilities. He called us to arms in the fight for justice for a world of clarity and truth, to expose the reality that we are livingBSTU behind our own virtual “Wall,” while being watched by our own kind of Stasi, an overlord we ourselves have chosen and support both through our dependency on technology and our compliancy to resist the implementation of a severely-limited sense of freedom in today’s world. These ideas were still fresh in my mind when the Dickinson group visited the BStU (Official German Stasi Archive) the next day. >Carol Rynar<

We went to Hohenschönhausen in Berlin, the former prison for the East German Ministry of State Security, the Stasi. A former prisoner, who had an amazing and moving story of imprisonment, gave us a tour. We saw rooms where prisoners stayed which were comprised of a wooden bunk and a bucket for a toilet. We saw a reproduction of a Chinese torture apparatus, in which water was slowly dripped on the person’s forehead for an indefinite amount of time. I was surprised to hear that 90% of the prisoners in Hohenschönhausen were innocent of the so-called crimes they committed. Our tour guide was imprisoned for helping others escape over the wall. The second time he tried himself to escape, he was captured. His best friend was shot and killed. He was put in solitary confinement for 3 years. When he was released, he continued to help people escape into the West. Because of his intense, life-long fight against oppression, he isolated his wife and children, leading to a long estrangement. He told us this with a shaking voice and teary eyes. At this point, the language barrier didn’t matter. I could see and sense his pain, but could only imagine how much he hurts. I couldn’t help but wonder how difficult it must be for him to walk through the halls of the prison daily. Has he numbed himself to the painful physical and emotional memories? Or perhaps in informing others of his difficult plight, he is given strength; there is a renewed purpose to what happened. The tour through Hohenschönhausen was a moving experience and I learned a lot. I would definitely recommend a visit.

During our free time, Helen, Carol and I went to the Museumsinsel and visted the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery), which presents a collection of 19th century art. We saw pieces by Adolph von Menzel, Claude Monet, Max Liebermann, Auguste Renoir and our personal favorite, Caspar David Friedrich. It was really cool to see art that we studied in “German Cultures!” The museum itself was stunning, modeled after the Acropolis of Athens. Afterwards, we walked over to the Berliner Dom and for an afternoon, we enjoyed being surrounded by beautiful architecture. >Phoebe Allebach<

From left to right: Janine Ludwig, Carol, Phoebe, Ira, Helen, Verena Mertz

From left to right: Janine Ludwig, Carol, Phoebe, Ira, Helen, Verena Mertz

Happy Holidays!

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IMG_2957IMG_2945This year’s Christmas celebration served as a meeting place for current and former Dickinson-in-Bremen students as well as future and former OSAs, altogether a group of almost 20 people. We started off with a round of Secret Santa, followed by building one’s own gingerbread house – in miniature. See for yourself:

IMG_2943

Helen, Phoebe, Carol, former OSA Laura, former OSA (from left to right)

Uni Bremen Yearbook Featuring Dickinson

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On February 23, 2016, the University of Bremen proudly presented its Yearbook 2015 and celebrated it with a reception. Since the focus of this yearbook is “cooperation,” it highlights Dickinson College as one of the most esteemed partners and as an example of very fruitful cooperation. Please find the article on the Dickinson Durden Bremen Program here:

UB Jahrbuch 2015 Dickinson

And here, you can read the entire yearbook:

UB091_Jahrbuch2015_komplett_WEB – Kopie

Additionally, a film was presented at the reception, which entails interviews with the most important partners of Uni Bremen – and Dickinson is featured here as well, in interviews with the student Madison Alley, with President Nancy Roseman, former Rector Wilfried Müller, and head of the International Office, Annette Lang (starting at 6:15):

 

Fußball: Dickinson-in-Bremen at the Weser Stadium

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Helen and Ira

On February 27, Dickinson-in-Bremen went to see Werder Bremen play against Darmstadt 98 (an ascender from the second league). Let’s say, the game was a little unfortunate – only a draw of 2:2… But we had fun nonetheless!

For the last couple of seasons, Werder has been having a somewhat bad streak in the German league called Bundesliga: Right now, we are on the so-called relegation spot, which means # 16 of 18 teams. The last two teams will be directly relegated into the second league (in exchange for their top two), and the 16th will battle the 3rd of the second league. Of course, we do not plan on doing that, but stay in the first league for sure. After all, Werder Bremen has a long history and tradition in the Bundesliga and is, in fact, the second best team in the all-time table!

"Lebenslang Grün-Weiß"

“Lebenslang Grün-Weiß.” The green # 14 is our beloved Peruvian striker Claudio Pizarro.

Vienna Calling – Excursion 2016

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Schönbrunn – Sehr schön indeed!

Whole group Schoenbrunn

From left to right: Ira, Phoebe, Carol, Helen, Janine Ludwig

We were really lucky to experience the Schönbrunn Palace on the sunniest day of our excursion! Only a twenty-minute train ride outside the city center, this absolutely stunning palace and gardens really lives up to its name with an unbelievable self-guided tour through the regal halls and rooms of the summer home of the Hapsburg Emperors and Empresses, most notably Maria Theresia and Elisabeth “Sissi”. From finely enameled wallpaper and portraits to bejeweled mirrors, chandeliers and furniture it was really exciting to experience the wealth of the empire and imagine living in a time where one might actually attend a ball in the great hall. The gardens and grounds were also gorgeous and provided an awesome view of the city from the short hike up the hill! >Helen Schlimm<

4 students in Schoenbrunn

Schönbrunn Gardens: Ira Lauer, Helen Schlimm, Carol Rynar, Phoebe Allebach (from left to right)

 

The National Library

One of my favorite experiences on this trip was our visit to the national library. Thanks to Austrian National Libraryour program, we were given this unique opportunity that we would not have otherwise had, had we just visited on our own. (It was incredibly satisfying to be ushered behind a red velvet rope to an off-limits section of the library for a closer look at the books while normal tourists watched jealously on.) We were given a private tour by a very knowledgeable and friendly professor, who gave us a thorough history of the library building as well as of the books. We began outside the doors with a description of the library’s impressive exterior before we headed up the Stiege (a new regional German word was learned on the way up the stairs) and I was able to use the same key Maria Theresa used during the 18th Century to open the large library door into one of the most beautiful and priceless rooms I have ever seen.

Students looking at Luther Bible

Students looking at an original Luther bible from the 16th century, adorned with paintings from Lucas Cranach the Elder!

We learned how to read a bit of the symbolism painted on the impressive ceiling fresco before we had the opportunity to actually read (and handle!) two texts from the Habsburg collection from the 16th Century. Vienna is a city full of history, that fact can be grasped easily enough just by walking down the street, but to actually hold in your hands a document so incredibly old and so carefully cared for helped me to appreciate how valuable such history is and how concerned Vienna is with conserving it. From the Schatzkammer to the Kunsthistorisches Museum even to the Kaisergruft, it is obvious the Habsburgs liked to collect priceless artefacts, but I think it is safe to say that the Nationalbibliothek contained Vienna’s most impressive collection. >Carol Rynar<

One of the best experiences of my time in Vienna was our city tour. Vienna is such an old and beautiful city with nearly 1000 years of history. Walking through the city’s streets lined with architecture from Baroque to Art Nouveau was out of the world and will be a life-long memory. >Ira Lauer<

Academic substance

The Habsburg Crown - made of chocolate and marzipan

The broader theme of this excursion is German-Austrian history and culture from the middle ages until today. In three introductury lectures, I lead the students back to the origins of what is “German,” (an umbrella term coined by Tacitus) and why we are named after different tribes in other languages, like “Allemannen”, a.k.a. Swabians or “Deutsch,” stemming from “theodisk” which actually means belonging to the people / folk-like. From the defeat of the Romans in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest through the migration period, we follow the emergence of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, from Charles the Great (800) to its dissolution after the Napoleonic conquests (1806) using historic maps and documentaries. At the same time, we track the rise of the Habsburg dynasty from 1273 until 1918 and the overlapping of the Austro-Hungarian k.u.k Monarchy, later the Austrian Empire (1804-1918) with the German Empire (1871-1918). Backed up with this information, the students can better understand the museum exhibits and grasp the importance of Vienna as a former political and cultural center of Europe. And additionally, we indulge in the imperial glamour and the culinary abundance of this beautiful city. >Dr. Janine Ludwig<

Poland Excursion March 2016

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Art exhibition along the city wall of Kraków.

Art exhibition along the city wall of Kraków.

Kraków Old Town

Our Dickinson-in-Poland excursion was very diverse and well-planned. The schedule provided us with friendly and knowledgable Polish tour guides who made sure we were not walking through the old and historical cities without knowing what we were walking past. I found the group walking tour of Krakow to be especially interesting and also helpful. Thanks to the tour, we were given a good overview of the different areas of Krakow and we never needed to use a map in order to refind those places to which we wanted to return. Despite trekking through the one day of not-so-great weather, the tour introduced us to the most beautiful and most historical of Krakow and I enjoyed every minute. Ultimately, despite having spent only a few days there, I felt as though I received a good sense of how the city was shaped by hundreds of years of history and tradition, an understanding that cannot be neglected if one is to really feel as though any foreign city has become a temporary home. >Carol Rynar ‘ 17<

The Wawel Castle

One of the highlights of this excursion was the beautiful, historic centrum of Kraków, the Old Town Market Square or Rynek Główny. One of the largest historic market squares in Europe, the unique and lovely spot contains an underground archeological museum, the ornate and awe-inspiring St. Mary’s Basilica, a line of shops and carriages, hundreds of flocking pigeons, and the Jagiellonian University class where we had our interesting lecture series. We were especially lucky to experience this vibrant city around Easter with a charming Easter and spring-themed market on the main square. >Helen Schlimm ‘ 17<

Gdansk

One of our first days in Poland, we visited the city of Gdansk, which involved a three-hour train ride from Warsaw; a far but worthwhile journey. We met with our tour guide outside the train station, who led us towards the shipyards where the Solidarity movement grew its roots. We walked under the gate where Lech Walesa shared the news that a deal had been made with the communist government in 1980. We entered the museum to learn of the events that led up to that critical moment. Through interactive dioramas, props and photographs, we learned about the struggle against communism and martial law and the numerous political uprisings that took place because of that struggle. We saw the original 21 demands of the 1980 shipyard demonstration handwritten on old plywood, which led to the creation of the first trade union. I learned a lot about Polish history and am really appreciative of the opportunity to have seen this great historical city. >Phoebe Allebach ‘ 17<

The famous Gate No. 2 at the Gdansk Shipyard.

The famous Gate No. 2 at the Gdansk Shipyard.


Welcome Back With Fulbright!

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Herzlichen Glückwunsch to Rachel and Ezra!

Rachel and Ezra happy.

by Dr. Janine Ludwig

As we learned today, two of the students who had spent the academic year 2014/15 in Bremen, will return to Germany on a Fulbright scholarship: Rachel Schilling ’16 and Ezra Sassaman ’16.

Congratulations! Herzlichen Glückwunsch!

We look forward to seeing you again in Bremen…

This announcement continues a long line of successes our students had with applying for this prestigious scholarship as well as for the renowned DAAD scholarships.

 

Poetic Alumnus

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by Dr. Janine Ludwig

Last week, I attended a Dickinson Resident Directors’ Meeting in Málaga, Spain, where the directors of several European Dickinson programs and staff from the CGSE met to engage in fruitful discussions and exchange experiences.

Geo reading from his poems

Geo reading from his poems

To my surprise, this business trip brought about a completely unforeseen, coincidental reunion: Former Dickinson student Geo Nikolov ’14 gave a presentation at the cultural café “The Shakespeare,” where he was introduced by Prof. Eva Copeland, Director of the Dickinson in Málaga Program. I have known Geo since he had spent the academic year 2012/13 in our Bremen program, and I also knew that, after his graduation in 2014, he completed a master’s degree in Málaga. But little did I know that he also wrote poetry in Spanish (and English, too) and would be back in Málaga in order to present his first book: “Paseos marítimos” (Beach Promenades).

Nikolov Geo

Geo Nikolov ’14

One has to know that Geo is a linguistic genius, speaking 4 languages (Bulgarian, English, German, and Spanish) at native-speaker level. And if that was not extraordinary enough, here is a geology major who writes poetry and will soon go on to work at a publishing company.

How nice to see a former student again in such circumstances!

Proud.

Portada-Paseos-marítimos

Walk
I come back from my walk
along the water
smelling as if
I have been sitting in front of a fire.

Nikolov, Geo: Paseos marítimos. Málaga: Mitad Doble ediciones. Ediciones del Genal, 2016. Coordina: Jonatan Santos. 95 pgs. ISBN: 978-84-16626-10-6. Precio: 9,95 €.
http://www.mitaddoble.com/paseos-maritimos/

Wir sind Werder Bremen!

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by Helen Schlimm

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Ira, Carol, Phoebe, Helen (fr. left t. right)

I don’t believe that a true German study abroad experience would be complete without attending a real soccer game and finding oneself in the middle of the beautiful madness that is this nation’s most beloved sport. The spirits were certainly high, and the stakes were even higher at the recent Werder Bremen game against Stuttgart, with a loss guaranteeing a drop into the second league for Bremen. Despite signs protesting Monday-evening games, excitement, tension and anticipation amongst the green and white fans filled the entire stadium. The next 90 minutes were action-packed, astonishing and thrilling as Werder flattened Stuttgart 6-2, and no Bremer could have been happier! Strangers were hugging strangers, everybody was cheering, chanting, singing and proudly holding their Werder scarves high! It was such an incredible atmosphere and a really fun game of Fußball to follow. The entire city was united by this win in that stadium, and it was so exciting to be a part of the soccer culture that is so fundamentally German. Werder Bremen Olé! Lebenslang grün-weiß!

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“Stoppen” – from left to right: Janine Ludwig (under the “O”), Ira (under the left “P”), Carol (betw. the “Ps”) Phoebe (under the right “P”), Helen (under the “E”)

P.S.: Eventually, in the very last game of the season, on May 14, 2016, Werder secured its continuance in the 1st league / Erste Bundesliga (“Klassenerhalt”) by winning 1:0 against Frankfurt. Hooray! “Nie mehr Zweite Liga!”

Annual Report 2015-16

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by Dr. Janine Ludwig

Another year has gone by. Another group of students has spent a year in Bremen and has gone back to Dickinson for their senior year. Please find our program report on what we did in this past academic year here:

Durden Dickinson Program – Annual Report 2015-16

Emigration Museum: an Adventure Through Time and Genealogy

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by Kate King

Most people familiar with the German Department at Dickinson are aware that in Bremen full year students take one Dickinson course taught by Dr. Ludwig, better known as Janine, our academic director. The course is a cultural comparison of Germany and the USA. In our first few classes, we discussed emigration from Germany to the USA, which began in the late 1600’s and continued, usually in waves depending on what was going on in Europe, for the next few hundred years.

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Kayla, Yvonne, Meghan, Caroline, Lee (fr.l.t.r.), back row: Janine, Fynn, Zhen, Siyun

IMG_0336To learn more about this, we took a field trip to Bremerhaven (the second city of the Bremen city-state) to visit the Deutsches Auswanderer Haus, or German Emigration Center. Bremen bought Bremerhaven in 1827 to replace its inland ports that were at risk from sediment deposition and it quickly became a hot spot for emigration due to the quick access to the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean.

Me, Kate

Me, Kate

Now if anyone reading this knows me, you probably know that I am a double science major and I minor in German for the language skills – I do not enjoy museums. I am like a three-year-old child in museums: if you don’t keep my attention with interactive things, I get tired and hungry and just want to go home. This museum catered to my inner toddler. Upon arrival, we were all issued boarding passes with the name of an emigrant of Germany and another name of an immigrant that came to Germany.

 

Caroline before departure

Caroline and friends

We started the tour by entering a replica of the waiting hall, which was part of the original emigration office that millions of people went through to leave Europe.

We were then guided into the next room to the docks where heard farewells from families. The next room, the Gallery of the 7 Million, allowed us to hear the personal stories of our emigrants. We then climbed the stairs of the ship seen from the docks and entered the ship to begin our voyage.

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Caroline and Meghan

Kayla

Kayla

We ended up walking through different points in technological developments. The first had a small room, close to a double dorm room on Dickinson’s campus, with most of the room being built up into a bed with hay, a bucket, and no electricity. The room would have been shared by multiple families. The next stage had more of individualized bunk beds and a bathroom. The final stage had individual beds with proper sheets and an attached dining room with windows, all with electricity.

Ship in rough sea...

Ship in rough sea…

 

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Poor emigrants: Meghan, Zhen, Kayla, Kate (fr.l.)

Caroline and Lee emigrating

Caroline and Lee emigrating

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Everyone at the dinner table of the steam liner

After we enjoyed our dinner with the passengers, we arrived in the New World. We were taken to Ellis Island where we were tested to see if we could enter the country. If we passed (Lee did not), we could continue to New York City to Grand Central Station. At Grand Central we listened to the end of our emigrants’ stories. Mine emigrated to Brazil and opened a tea company and the descendants still meet up regularly.

Several Bremens in the USA

Blue dots = Several Bremens in the USA…

The seminar group at Grand Central Station

The seminar group at Grand Central Station

After leaving Grand Central, we crossed the bridge and became immigrants into Germany. This area had replicas of different shops that were opened by immigrants in the 1950’s-70’s. There was an ice cream café, hair dresser, camera shop, book shop, department store, kiosk, and cinema. The cinema showed films about immigration in Germany, but they were showing a feature while we were there that looked at relationships between Turks and Germans.

Katie's possible ancestors

Katie’s possible ancestors

My favorite part of the whole tour was the family history room at the end. You could look through their computer records and find your family members. A few of us came prepared with names. I had photos of a genealogy book that someone in my family had put together not too long after I was born. So I went to the oldest name I could find and traced it back another two generations. The book I had said that he came from Switzerland, but the information I found through the ancestry.com portal said that he was born in Zweibrücken, which is close to where I lived when I did my exchange year in high school, and his father was born in Hannover in 1681, which is right next to Bremen. It is definitely something that I want to investigate further. Hopefully, I can find some living German relatives.

Animated photo show:

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