Of the five university classes I'm taking at Freie Universität, I definitely think Kulturelle Orientierung in Berlin will be my favorite. This class promises an overview of the history and cultural evolution of the city we're in, and is exclusively aimed at exchange students just like me. It's been a great place to meet others from all over the world!
Last Saturday, we took the learning process outside and went on our first excursion as a class through Berlin.
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| The Church of the Franciscan Monastery dates from the middle of the 13th Century. In 1945 the church structure was badly damaged and left as a ruin |
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| Fun fact - you can tell it's a Gothic structure since the windows, doors, and other arch-like shapes all end in a point at the top |
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| These buildings were built right up against the city wall when it was still standing, hundreds of years ago |
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| One of the very few remaining sections of Berlin's medieval wall. Walking around Berlin, one does not notice very many historical buildings or structures. Many were destroyed since it was thought the space could be put to a better use. As our professor told us, Berlin is a "Stadt der Gegenwart" - a city of the present |
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| Märkisches Museum, on the banks of the Spree River |
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| St. Marien Kirche (1232) again |
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| The Berlin TV Tower is the tallest structure in all of Germany |
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| Classmates from Poland, Greece, Turkey/Belgium, Czech Republic, Iceland, Mexico, and South Korea |
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| The Knoblauch family of craftsmen and architects lived in this house for 170 years, starting in the 18th century. This is what the living room would have looked like while they still lived here |
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| This art is made of hair! Weird |
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| St. Nicholas Church is Berlin's oldest building, circa 1230 |
Some additional facts we learned from our professor: Perpetually cash-strapped and in debt, Berlin is one of the poorest Bundesländer in Germany! At only 800 years old, it's a relatively young city. And finally, Berlin has so many waterways that is has more bridges (around 2,000) than Venice!
One of the major drawbacks and disadvantages of living in Berlin, and all of Germany, really, is the winter. Since I've never lived in a snowy environment longer than 5 days, I'm not really sure how I'll handle it. Already, every day grows darker and cloudier than the one before. So last Sunday, when we were graced by a cloudless sky, I knew it was time to head out with my host parents to walk around the city and snap some pictures.
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| The line of bricks in the foreground is the Berlin Wall's old route |
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| The Gendarmenmarkt, built in 1773, features two cathedrals and a concert hall, all destroyed during WWII of course. Today it's one of the finest squares in Berlin |
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| Inside a cathedral built by the French Huguenots, who had fled persecution in France, in 1700 |
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| The statue is of German poet Friedrich Schiller |
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| Fire dancers have no real cultural meaning but made for cool pictures |
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| The Festival of Lights was happening for the final time this year |
That's it for now!
A quick note - my Flickr portfolio is also now completely up to date since the addition of 127 of my best shots since July. Viel Vergnügen!
