I Heart DT

This blog post has been a long time in the making-- and while that mostly means that I was not diligent enough in blogging throughout the trip like I was supposed to be, I think it will still be a worthwhile read for whomever may still be lurkin' on this webpage, and above all else, a good way for me to wrap my head around the amazing experience I just finished.
Okay so rewind to almost 3 weeks ago now, when we were still fresh off the airplane and stumbling around Munich like the drunken toddlers we arguably still are. The city was to us a labyrinth of pastel colored store fronts, baroque facades and monstrous classical monuments. Was it, in the barest of descriptions, incredibly amazing? You betcha. But was it also overwhelming, congested, and did I on multiple occasions choke on the unexpected smoke of an offending cigarette? Yes. That's why visiting the Alps both on my birthday, and later when we stayed in Garmisch-Partenkirche, was such a welcome relief from city life. It's a complete cliche, but returning to the slow and simplistic side of natural, country living brought a much needed detox from the tight schedule we were running in Munich. And while Berlin, the next gargantuan city we visited, was crazy amazing, I found myself wishing for a quiet Alpen refuge I could escape to.

But I can't complain too much, because Berlin was a whirlwind/hailstorm/tornado/category 5 hurricane of epic adventuring. In our in-person reflection, I talked about Berlin as the city where "History is everywhere and nowhere", and I think I will try to elaborate a little more eloquently on that topic here. And I mean eloquently in the most generous of ways--basically it won't be me stuttering nervously through a bullet pointed list of my unaffecting, asinine observations.

Because Berlin was significantly destroyed in World War II, much of the city is fairly modern. It's once elaborate storefront facades have given way to flat faced bauhaus apartments, and the fishing village it was founded on can no longer be located on a map. Berlin does not rely on it's pearlescent, romantic European architecture or hundreds-year-old monuments to convey its status or its wealth of history--it can't. Rather, its past has fed certain aspects of Berlin life that have given us the evolved Berlin we have today. We see the history and evolution of German guilt and absolution in unmarked, repurposed, or dilapidating Nazi buildings; in expansive museums dedicated to Jewish history and the holocaust and in small golden steins with the names Terezin, Auschwitz, Treblinka; in the waves of immigrants pouring into Berlin's diverse boroughs, and in the commentary of many theatrical productions. We see Berlin history in the way the former Berlin Wall is completely unmarked, denoted with cobblestones, or has become a living, breathing work of art. We see Berlin history in bunkers that have become Art exhibitions and  in abandoned and decaying DDR era warehouses, prisons and shanties that are now hotspots for East Berlin night life. We see Berlin history in the strong, alternative, anti Neo-Nazi presence among not just the youth, but their parents as well, who remember all too acutely life before the Iron Curtain dropped.  Berlin isn't pretty like Prague or Budapest. But it's got a past that's easy to see and feel if you take the time to look, and a character to it that is unique among Germany, and even all of Europe.

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Kristin Cimmerer

Post-Trip Reflection

I can't believe it's over! As we all kept saying, it felt like the trip lasted both 2 seconds and forever. Here are some of my final thoughts.

For me, a lot of this trip became about re-evaluation. I re-evaluated my own preconceptions, my initial reactions, and my thought processes. As I shared with the group during our reflecting session, this direction for my train of thoughts was started near the end of the trip when a few of us visited the Jewish cemetery in Berlin. This place, seemingly so focused on the deaths caused by the holocaust, turned out to be one of the most peaceful places I have ever been. Instead of being a symbol of war like I had assumed it would be, it turned out to be a place full of nature, life, and rest.

That experience prompted me to think more closely about what other aspects of the trip turned out to be different than what I had expected. This included many of our tour guides who, instead of being vessels to get information from, were characters who had unique viewpoints. Many theater shows took on a whole new meaning when I thought about them again days later. The art that we did as a group seemed to be above our skill level, yet after we let ourselves make mistakes, real art was created. These are only a few of examples of things on this trip that I re-evaluated in order to come to more informed conclusions and realizations.

Overall, this trip has caused me to think about experiences not once or twice, but over and over again until they hold a much larger amount of meaning. Talking and discussing with the other people on this trip was also a huge asset in guiding me towards reflection and appreciation for all of the theater, art, and sights that we experienced. I will forever be grateful to every individual (shoutout to Janet) who made this trip an incredibly fulfilling experience for me.

And also, it was TONS OF FUN!!!

Over and out,
Franny

Our study trip is officially over but please stay tuned for more posts from the participants! I'm so grateful to my collaborator, Kristyn, and to this fine group of UM students! I would like to take time to intersperse the students' posts they will be adding to the blog with photos to give you an idea of what our journey has been like, starting with a photo from May 4 at our on-site orientation meeting, where we reviewed expectations, logistics, and the program itinerary. It is hard to believe that that was just three weeks ago! We have accomplished so much in that short time. It feels as if we have all grown so much since the meeting that day! There is nothing quite as special as experiencing an adventure with others, witnessing growth, and sharing experiences.

May 24 reflection

Never in a million years would I have pictured myself on this trip painting in the alps, painting right here in Berlin, or even just painting period. Painting, drawing, sculpting, and theater, all of these activities have never been part of my meticulously detailed 8-year plan of science, logic and problems with solutions (and a little bit of music on the side). I'm often asked why I took this course and sometimes I ask myself the same thing too. But sometimes there is no algorithm; I simply felt as if I had a place in this program regardless of the title of my major or my "career goals." 

Before the trip I was given the tools to develop my own creativity with acting and to experiment with my physical presence. During this trip, I've been given the opportunity to explore a new place, and doing it with a creative mindset has opened up a new world entirely. Suddenly gloomy train stations became places vibrant with color, and passing glimpses of tired, strange face became canvases filled with their own dynamic stories. Depth, lines, angles, movement, and color all make up our visual world, subject to our individual perceptions and distortions. Mine are just now being discovered.

In our classroom, whether at the bottom of the alps, in a museum, at a market in the city, or early this year on stage, I learned about the principle of appreciating and producing art. To me this has been key to being able to explore my surroundings with a new, more open perspective. 

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Mary Elizabeth Zinn

Dresden & The Slaughterhouse

     We started our first full day in Dresden with the most amazing breakfast spread I've had in Germany thus far (and I do feel that deserves mention). After loading up on that, we all headed to what turned out to be a rather unorthodox tour that was roughly centered around Kurt Vonnegut's novel "Slaughterhouse Five". Our guide was a really interesting guy. He used to be a school teacher but had recently been doing some independent work; I believe these tours are one of those things.
     He was extremely knowledgable about Kurt Vonnegut, wartime in Germany/Dresden, and the content of the book itself. What he said left a rather strong and interesting impression on me, and definitely forced me to consider various aspects of my life, county, and the historical/political context of it all. One can tell almost immediately that our guide was someone who spends a lot of time thinking about things that don't even occur to most people. I admired him for that.
     Later we went on to a museum that concerned the history of the military, not only in Germany but all around Europe as well. The building was designed again by Mr. Liebeskind, who I now realize has been very busy what with also designing the Nuremberg document center and the Jewish history museum in Berlin. He makes excellent buildings that are both easy to navigate and significant in metaphorical meaning. The military museum was amazing; we got another great tour there and got to see and learn about a lot of interesting things. It was definitely a place I could've stayed at for several more hours.
     After all that we had a delicious group meal in a sit-down restaurant by the river before retiring to our hostel to prepare for the last leg of our journey: Berlin.

The Surprise Trip

     May 6th, 2016: we looked at our calendar itinerary and saw the activities for the day were cryptically titled "surprise daytime activity. Meet at the train station". We spent some time the night before speculating but didn't come up with anything nearly as awesome as what we ended up doing.
     10am: we're on the train headed to a little town called Kochel. As the ride went on we saw beautiful forests, calm lakes, and...mountains! Janet and Kristyn finally told us the plan for the day. We would be visiting the Franz Marc art museum and then do a little casual painting in a field of wildflowers, one way a view of the town below, the other a majestic mountain face.
     The goats and sheep nearby were friendly and adorable. I think they have a good life there in the mountains, chewing on grass and baaing at passersby.
     We all ended up with very unique and equally lovely paintings. I have come to appreciate individual interpretation and personal artwork much more through German theater and this trip than ever before. I am consistently impressed by the inherent artistic talent of my classmates; all perspectives are special. Many of our works were inspired by painting from the Franz Marc museum as well as the unbelievable landscape. I really enjoyed reading the comments made by Marc's peers upon his death at the museum...they were all consistent in his sensitivity and appreciation for animals, nature, and art in general, which I feel was also made apparent by his paintings. I wish I could have met him, and it's a shame that he and all others in general fell victim to war.
     After our painting adventures we had a nice meal at a place in town and headed back to Munich for a bit of rest and relaxation. This day was great; everything planned worked out perfectly and it was an indescribably cool experience to have.

Please excuse typos. Sent from my phone.

Thanks RC + CGIS