For me, Germany was all about history. Today, Germany is an environmental pioneer, a paragon of social services and an example of a highly developed, democratic nation. But how different all of that was only half a century ago!!

Traveling around Germany, and I really tried to see as much of the country as I could, and Munich and Berlin in particular, were so paradoxical. It was a weird tourist experience, in that I would see something so beautiful, like the BerlinerDom, this fantastic and awe-inspiring cathedral... and then go inside and see pictures of what it looked like after WW2 -- that is, almost completely destroyed. And then I know I'm not standing in the original, but a restored version that is only 50 years old, not hundreds. Even when looking at sites that weren't meant as memorials to the war or as museums, most landmarks have taken on that quality through virtue of their restoration. Almost no part of Germany that I saw (and I went to Dusseldorf, Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munster), had been left untouched by the war and it still shows today.

I wouldn't say in any way that my experiences were tainted by the constant association with the horrors of WW2, I think instead they were given a new meaning and a profound depth. The history of a place is so important to a true appreciation of it, I think. Just in Germany the difference was how RECENT this history was, and how tragic.

I admire the German nation for not trying to forget, sweep things under the rug from such a dark chapter in their history, but I don't know how someone can live right beside the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. Dachau is a suburb of Munich, and the concentration camp there was the first of its kind in Germany, built in 1933 (6 years BEFORE WW2), and served as the model for all concentration camps built afterwards. Dachau is the only camp memorial which still has the original crematorium on site, all others were destroyed by the Allies and then reconstructed for the purposes of educating those who visited. Dachau was special, in that the prisoners, upon being liberated, stopped the Allies from tearing down the crematorium. The prisoners themselves!! Because the wanted the world to know what had been done to them, they thought that leaving it standing, in all its evil, could teach visitors something. And it did. I can't even begin to describe what standing in that crematorium felt like.

And this memorial was juxtaposed in a sleepy, family suburb. Leaving Dachau and heading back into Munich was a difficult transition, and you don't have much time to make it.

Germany showed how a nation can heal after something so devastating without ignoring it, which is inspirational, and also showcased the depth of human evil, which was so utterly shocking -- at some of these memorials, and in some of the museums, I could feel something in the core of myself shift. It's so difficult to describe - it's knowledge that will never be erased, its a new perspective on humanity and what we are capable of. It gave history a new immediacy, and altered by perception on current events, some of which I could definitely call genocide. And now I link these news stories with my experiences in Germany, and wonder why all the memorials said "never again", if those who made them didn't really mean it.

Time to analyze, and dig a little into the more subtler changes and learnings that I've had here in Bonn and travelling around Germany.

First off, everyday life in Bonn... I think not speaking the language has had an impact on how I interact with others (how could it not?), but I know that I could definitely handle it better. I don't say anything when I'm buying food at the grocery store, I just mumble 'danke' (thank you) as I grab my change. Instead of smiling, saying hello and asking how the cashier is like I do in Canada. My friendliness factor is far lower in these everyday interactions where I feel kind of uncomfortable. And I DO know a few basic phrases, I could say hello and smile, but I find I'm so insecure about sounding dumb, as everyone here speaks some English so my trying to speak their language and failing seems worse somehow as we could talk in English. But at the same time, I'm in THEIR country, and feel presumptuous assuming that they can converse in my language, so I don't say anything. When someone talks to me in German I freeze and my automatic repsonse is 'Sorry I don't speak German.' Whereas I could ask them, in German, if they speak English. I sometimes plan to try and say something in German and then I chicken out at the last second or the words just come out in English. This language insecurity has been a struggle through learning french as well, though I'm getting more comfortable speaking French... I've only been studying it since grade 4...

So this is an area I need to work on. Just bite the bullet and speak some German! And smile. Even when you don't speak the language, a smile will get you far...

Something I've noticed travelling around Germany a bit is that when someone does something nice, I'm surprised. I suppose coming from Canada, when I'm IN Canada I don't notice the small things, like how people try and get out of your way on a crowded sidewalk, or hold the subway doors for you when you're running and about to miss a train, or when a server comes back to ask if you like the food. Occurrances like that are rare here, and I find my mannerisms are changing as well. In a crowded shop for example, if 2 friends are talking and blocking the aisle, and you need to walk down it, you can stand there waiting for them to move for 5 minutes, or you can say excuse me 3 or 4 times and see if they acknowledge you, which doesn't even always work. The personal space concept here is a bit confused. And when you squeeze by them, in Canada I would say, if I were blocking the aisle, 'Oops sorry' and try and make myself as small as possible to let the other person through. Here they ignore you for as long as possible (I'm not sure if its on purpose or not...) and then shift about a millimeter for you, and look both irritated and surprised that you have pointed out that they are not the sole occupants of the store aisle. And I find myself doing the same thing. It's like my spatial awareness is slightly altered. I don't move for people when I'm in the way until they ask me to, like my Canadian radar for being an inconvenience to someone else has turned itself off or something.

More superficially, the way that I dress hasn't changed, though I so seem more out of place than in Toronto. Style here is different. Very different. And maybe it's beacuse I am in a smaller city that is more conservative, but on hot days when I'm sweating in my smallest, shortest summer dress, most other people are still wearing jeans or long skirts. Not as many women wear noticable make-up, I have't seen one pair of fishnets... the style here is just a little more, tame I guess than inToronto where my weird style actually fits in while simultaneously standing out. People notice, but no one cares in Toronto. Here, people notice and seem to disapprove. But maybe that's all in my head. Maybe I'M uncomfortable beacuse I always seem to be wearing the shortest skirt on any given street, and the most makeup, andthe most accessories... But this hasn't changed how I dress - I don't have the money to buy new stuff that I will never wear in Toronto!

All in all, I think that I have had experience that have changed my perspectives (such as Berlin), and made me think in new ways. I have had to break out of my comfort zone just to get around here, which has been really good for me, as a previously painfully shy individual. (And this is years ago that I was so introverted, but its still with me I am just better at ignoring it). I think many of the changes and things that I have learned have been very subtle, and I might not even realize some until I get back to Canada, but I will continue to think about it and post more as they come to light!

BERLIN and FRANKFURT

Berlin was an absolutely amazing experience. I went there last weekend, for 4 days (my boss was nice enough to let me work overtime so I could have a couple days off to go!), and it was INTENSE. I haven't seen anywhere close to everything that Berlin has to offer, but I think I made a pretty good start. And I took a crazy amount of pictures, so I thought I would post some of them to share Berlin with anyone who is bothering to read my blog.
This is the Wall Memorial, left standing with the "Death Strip" intact (the area behind the Wall, between East and West Berlin where, IF someone was able to get over the Wall, which would be a feat in itself, they were met with guards, dogs, trip wires, barbed wire, and the list goes on). It was pretty easy to understand why so many died in the attempt to escape East Berlin. They were in process of building a new memorial and museum to commemorate those who did give their lives in an attempt to find freedom.
This is the East Side Gallery, a 1.3 km long stretch of the Wall left standing and restored to showcase graffiti art from artists around the world. It is the longest open air art gallery in the world, and it has some pretty outstanding art on it. I took so many pictures of it (1.3km is quite a long stretch to get on film, especially when everything was so great I wanted close-ups!!)
More of the East Side Gallery, here someone offered to take a picture of George and I, and took this one by accident which I like better than the posed one.
The start of the East Side Gallery.
The graffiti art in other parts of the city were amazing as well. This one apartment building has dozens of portraits like this one painted on it. What I loved was that graffiti seems to be encouraged in Berlin, it is seen as a form of true art and as enriching to the city and its culture / subcultures. I wish Toronto saw it that way, I think it adds character... I know I would rather walk by portraits like this one than by plain cement walls.
This is one of the views off the top of the Reichstag, the German parliament building. The construction going on in Berlin was never ending, there were cranes everywhere, as this picture shows. It makes sense, Germany has only had 20 years to try and rebuild a city that was devastated by war, trying to recreate and preserve some things, and build meaningful memorials for others.
This is the top of the Reichstag, the centre looks down into German parliament and the mirrors that run up the column in the middle are angled so that the German parliamentarians can look up and see the people in the dome, apparently to remind them who they are working for - the people.
Another view off the Reichstag.
The inside of the dom... the architecture was amazing. It was crazy to have this modern glass and mirrors dom on top of the historic parliament building.
The Holocaust Memorial.
The Brandenburg Gate, a Berlin landmark! The gate stands at the entrance to PariserPlatz (yes, as in Paris). I was wondering why Berlin had its most prestigious square named after Paris, given the historic animosity between Germany and France, and I found out that the Germans have a rather wry sense of humour. The statue on top of Brandenburg Gate is of the Goddess of Victory, and so she stands, Victory over Paris, her eyes looking towards the French embassy which stands across the square, resembling a bunker more so that an embassy.
The Berliner Dom, a magnificently restored cathedral on Museum Island.
The view from the top of the Berliner Dom (so many stairs!) You can see the TV Tower which dominates Berlin's skyline, it was built by the Soviets while Berlin was split. They wanted to build it to showcase their technological superiority, and to demonstrate to the world how advanced and awesome life in East Berlin was.... but they didn't even have the technology to finish building the Tower. They had to secretly fly in Swiss engineers to help them get the dome on the top... I thought that was kind of an amusing story.
This is from the Aqua Dom, which was a million gallon aquarium with an elevator that runs right up through the middle of it. Very cool.
This is another piece of the Wall, and behind it is an exhibition called the Topography of Terror, becuase this is where the SS and Gestapo headquarters were located. It was bombed to the ground during the war, and when excavation begun to build something in its place, the foundations of the HQ were unearthed, including their holding cells and torture chambers. So they left it the way it was, a standing testament to the horrors of WW2.
This is another memorial, to those who lost loved ones during WW2. It is a scupture of a mother holding her dying son, a soldier. A powerful piece of artwork.

Berlin was an educational, humbling, and inspirational trip. I varied between awestruck by the architecture, inspired by the artwork (the graffiti as well as the Museum of Modern Art and the Dali Museum), and shocked to my core by what I learned. The Jewish Museum had a special exhibition on medical experiments during WW2, including the forced sterilization program for "undesirables" - words completely fail me to describe what I learned and how I felt in that Museum and looking at certain parts of the city, such as the Wall Memorial, Holocaust Memorial and the Topography of Terror. I will never forget what I learned, saw and experienced in Berlin, there was so much beauty, and so much hope that was channelled through the restorations of this glorious city, and yet so much history of a dark era for the entire world. I admire and appreciate the effort of Germany to try and remember instead of forget, and offer what reconcilation they can through this acknowledgement of wrongs done and horrors perpetuated. Berlin represents the variances of humanity and history - war and peace, right and wrong, hope and destruction.

FRANKFURT

I was in Frankfurt a couple weeks ago for the weekend, and though I had to delete many of the pictures to make room on my camera for Berlin (I was an idiot and didn't upload them to my computer before going to Berlin). But I will be back in Frankfurt for a day in a week or so, I am going to retake some of them!
This is a rally against Iranian President Ahmadinejad in front of Franfurt's City Hall. There were similar rallies, organized by Amnesty International, happening in Berlin, starting on July 4th and continuing every night until some sort of resolution which respects human rights is reached.

Lots of anti-Ahmadinejad posters, you don't have to speak German to know what this says.

I was glad to see rallies and protests against both what looks like blatant election fraud and the suppression of a people through violence. I know these demonstrations are happening around the world and, I hope that goverments listen to the voices of their people. As Iranians around the globe show solidarity with Iran's people, not its government, I was honoured to stand with them.

This is Munster, a small city just a couple hours from Bonn, in Westphalia. I went to Munster for just 24 short hours, but I loved every minute of it. Small city, tons of bikes, tons of history, tons of trees... this seems to be a pattern in Germany. The combination of old and new, of history and nature is incredible, so unlike Canada.


So here I am in the Hall of Peace, where a large part of the Treaty of Westphalia was negotiated to end the Thirty Year's War in Europe in 1648... I actually wanted to go to Munster especially for this... and it was worth it! It was amazing to stand in the room, in front of the 37 portraits of delegates, in the space where our modern day state system was created... and yes, I realize that I am a huge IR nerd.The Hall of Peace again. I took so many pictures in there, and it is not a large room by any means, but I wanted every detail! I had to wait through 2 presentations in German so the room would clear out enough for me to get some unobstructed shots.The Hall of Peace from the outside.

Organ, magnificent organ in St Paul's Cathedral, the largest church in Westphalia. I wish I could have heard it being played. Organ music is like the bagpipes, they are both such moving, dramatic, expressive instruments.The inner sanctuary of St Paul's... this was definitely one of those places that my photography skills can't capture. The sheer size and architectural artistry of this cathedral was magnificent.

The towers of St Paul's.
This is one of the markets I was writing about, this one in Dom Platz in front of St Paul's. I was there the night before and the entire Platz was deserted and empty, and the next day BAM! People and stands everywhere!
St Lambertii's Church, a gorgeous Gothic building. The top of this spire still has 3 metal cages attached to it, where Baptist priests used to be held as punishment for, well, being Baptist.
Prinzipmarkt at night, one of my favourite pictures. If I just imagine away the cars it is like being back in time!
Munster is known as the bike capital of Germany, and The Promenade is why. It is a bike and walking trail which runs the circumference of the city and around Lake Aasee, in place of the city walls.

Yes, I am taking a ridiculous amount of pictures. Yes, I am a tourist. And I'm totally ok with that.

Normalcy or Novelty?

Blog Assignment number 2.... Time to set the scene!

I've now been in Germany for almost a month, and there are things here which seem so normal to me now, but are such a novelty when I think about Canada! For example the open air markets that are in every Platz big enough to hold them... selling produce, knick knacks, antiques, and meat. SO MUCH MEAT. Some of my friends told me I would have a hard time being a vegetarian in Germany, and I shrugged it off, saying 'Germany doesn't have fruit or vegetables??' Of course, Germany DOES have food that is meat-less, but it IS harder to find. Eating meat here (especially duma, a sausage and sauce combo that is sold on the street like hot dogs) seems like a more entrenched way of life than in Canada, where vegetarian and vegan restaurants are available. In the markets I have to be careful which rows I walk down, I once found myself faced skinned pigs hanging upside down inches away from my face, and Patrick once asked for chicken on his pizza and was told his only option was sheep's meat, revolving slowly on a spit behind the counter. So I am still doing my vegetarian thing, but it seems strange and out of place here... I don't mind though, it just makes ordering in restaurants difficult, I feel like such an idiot, pulling out my phrase book to try and decipher the menu, asking 'Does this have meat in it?' to servers who may or may not speak English, and usually look at me like I have 2 heads or something... If only I spoke more German - I should try and learn the names of every random kind of meat possible so I can stop pestering the servers! So I am always a little concerned when my food comes, depending on my confidence in the clarity of communication with the server. I asked once in a supermarket if someone could tell me which kinds of soup had no meat, and the guy working there looked at me like I was crazy and told me I was in the wrong kind of supermarket. But there doesn't seem to be a RIGHT kind of supermarket for a vegetarian, they all carry the same stuff!

So the food here is not really what I am used to. I can't find cheddar cheese anywhere, although they DO carry my favourite kind of frozen pizza! But what is really killing me the price of chips. I am a chip addict. And here everything is either sour cream and onion (not my favourite) or paprika flavoured. Seriously, I had no idea that there would be this obsession with paprika, or that a small bag of chips would cost 3.5o euros!! That's over 5 bucks for a teeny bag of chips!! So I must get my chip habit under control or go broke... But I see why people in Germany seem to be so fit, everyone bikes everywhere and avoids junk food since it is too expensive!

And the bikes! They are everywhere! I am more in danger of being hit by a bike than I am of being hit by a car. Drivers are so considerate, there are pedestrian crosswalks with no lights, and as soon as I even look like I'm considering stepping onto the street what little traffic there is grids to a halt, including buses and streetcars. In Toronto I would never dream of not looking twice before crossing the street, and even then it can be risky business. Here I'm sure I could step out onto the street and wander around blindfolded and never get hit (don't worry Larissa, I won't try it!) But car culture is very different here, it isn't nearly as prolific as in Toronto and Canada.

Finally the atmosphere! The places I have been so far, Bonn and Munster, OOZE history, it seems as though every building has a story to tell. Wandering the streets of Munster at night, through the old part of the city when no one was really around was like being in a different time, everything is restored from the war and looks the way I imagine it would a couple hundred years ago and more. This is something which Canada does not have, this deep character that comes with a long history. I love Toronto, but the gray concrete and skyscrapers have nothing on a church built in 1230, and our dirty sidewalks lack the charm of cobble stoned streets.

Some more pictures are on the way! Though I don't love whipping out my camera every 2 seconds (does anything scream tourist louder than that?) I am comfortable enough with my foreigner status to snap pictures at will - I want to remember this journey! And I would love to improve on my photography skills, since I seem to be artistically challenged when it comes to painting and drawing, maybe one day I can take good photos! So forgive my sometimes sad attempts at photography, I don't quite seem to have the knack yet of capturing the beauty around me, but some things don't translate as well into photos - they need to be experienced, breathed in. However, I hope they give some idea of my experiences here in Germany...

I think it's about time...

...I wrote about my internship! Patrick and I are the first to ever intern for the African Youth Foundation, so I figured I should offer up some info! So, a day in the life of an AYF intern starts at 8 or 8:30 am (so early for my brain, but I drink tons of tea and the walk to work helps wake me up most mornings). I unlock the office, and spend about a half hour or so trying to get the internet to work (depending on how finicky it decides to be on any given morning). Once that is up and running the day can truly begin!

So far, I have been working on one major project with Patrick. We are designing a detailed and comprehensive outline for a 5 day entrepreneurship training seminar which will be held in Ghana this coming October. We are in the final stages of preparation and should be submitting our proposal and outline this week. It has been a challenging assignment, as someone who is NOT business-minded, to compile a 5 day long seminar which introduces youth to the fundamentals of starting a successful small business was kind of intimidating. Since this was a topic area which I didn't know too much about, the research has been extensive, but I have learned so much. I am excited that this is a project which can actually have an impact, as entrepreneurship is so valuable to economic success, and the benefits definitely are felt by entire communities, not just individuals. It feels great to be participating in something so worthwhile.

I have also written a report on the ABEN dinner (see below for details, I posted a picture and short blurb on it last week sometime), which will be published on the AYF website.

That is my internship so far! I wish I spoke more German, every time I amswer the phone I almost have a panic attack that someone won't speak any english and I won't know what to say or where to transfer their call, but so far almost everyone speaks at least some english.

Once this project is complete, I will let you guys know what I am working on next!