The first week

My first week in Germany has been very eventful, starting with the plane rides over to Germany. The first flight I was on unfortunatly got cancelled, but the flight in Dallas to Frankfurt was delayed so I was able to make it on that flight. Luckily another student was on the same flight with me, it made the wait much easier in the airport. Once I arrived in Frankfurt and made it through customs, My aunt met us and helped us to make it on the train to Bonn. We met Olaf at the AIB and he took us to the dorms that we were to use while in Bonn. Olaf was very nice and made great eggs for breakfast. On the first official day of the program we had our first lecture by Jürgen Weiland over the history and evolution of homeopathic method. I learned quite a bit about homeopathic medicine. My previous view had been of quacks who discouraged the use of modern medicine because it was modern. Also that day we were givin a city tour by Rainer Zäck. Olaf took us out to experience the night life of Bonn later that night. We visited a traditional German pub to try the local beer then headed to a cuban bar. Here we where able to get more flavorful drinks. I enjoyed going out with the others and getting to know them better.
The next day we visited the House of German History, this focused on the history of Germany from post war times to the present. I saw and learned many things that i had not known about the German people. The slow progression of the entire country after the war was a real eye opener. Also the differences between the East and West was astounding. A trip to Cologne was next on the list. We travelled by train to the city. the most amazing sight in the city was to be found just outside the train station. The Cologne Cathedral was a beautiful masterpiece of architecture. I was in awe of the sheer size of the cathedral and its two spires. The walking tour of the city was givin by Andre Fischer, a native Cologner. He was a fountain of knowledge for the history of Cologne, or Köln as the germans call it. After the tour we visited a local beer house with Andre and got a round of the local beer. I left the beer house with Lauren and we travelled back toward the cathedral for some shopping and to get some food. In our wandering we found a very nice little cafe called Eic & Cafe. They had delicious crepes and coffee. Our last day in Bonn was on New years eve and sadly we had to leave Olaf at the dorms. To celebrate new years eve Olaf brought Berliners from the local bakery. The first lecture by Dr. Wasser was givin at the AIB before we left for the Airport to fly to Berlin. This is where the trip got interesting, it turns out that our seats were not reserved on the plane to Berlin. So we were unable to fly that day. It was arranged that we would take a train to Cologne then catch an ICE to the Berlin train station. Fortunatly we were able to make it to the New Years celebration at the Brandenburg gate in time for the coundown. Through sheer will a few other students and I were able to make it right up to the gate for the countdown. It was an amazing sight and made all the trouble getting there completely worth it. I think that was the best possible way to experience berlin for the first time.
New years day was a considerable amount less hectic. The entire day was free to do whatever I wanted. I decided to visit the Schloss Charlottenburg with Dr. Wasser, Amanda and Asher. The palace and grounds were considerably destroyed during the second world war, but thanks to pictures and furniture form other Prussian palaces, the original way of the palace in Sophia Charlottes' time was able to be recreated. I also enjoyed walking among the garden and being able to walk on the pond, which was frozen over from the cold weather. I took advantage of the rest of the day to relax and read.
Today was my first chance to see most of Berlin, a tour bus picked us up at the hotel. It took us past the Charlottenburg palace, the main shopping street in west Berlin, and then stopped at the T-4 victims memorial on Tiergartenstrasse. It is very humbling to realize the nazis persecuted not only the jews but even Arian people bacause they were not normal and worthy of life. We also visited the memorial to the burning of the books in Berlin and Humbolt University. Something that I found interesting was that the red marble inside the main hall of the University was recycled from Hitlers chancellory. Overall the trip so far has been amazing and I am very happy that I am able to see and learn the history of this country.