In the summer of 2012, I traveled to Europe for the first time and had the pleasure of exploring Germany, France, and Spain for a few days. While in Germany, I was able to see the cities of Munich, and Heidelberg. Both cities were beautiful and full of history and culture, and ever since I have been dying to see more. Although there were many incredible trips offered this D-term, the historical element of this trip really pulled me in. Although, I study English, I love to learn about the history that a lot of my literature is based on. The fact that we will be traveling to different cities than I have seen before is also exciting, I am so grateful for the opportunity to see even more of Germany!
Particularly, I am really looking forward to seeing more castles, and cathedrals. On my previous trip, we were able to see Neuschwanstein and the Heidelberg castle which were both beautiful and full of interesting stories. It will be very interesting to see more historical spots in Germany, like where Luther supposedly pinned his theses, and the concentration camp. I have read a lot of literature on both these subjects and I think that as a future educator, it is important to understand the places you read about. This is a great opportunity to do so, and it will be interesting to make a historical connection to my literary ones.
Dr. Wolf has also mentioned that we might take optional evening trips, such as a visit to a classical music concert. I really enjoy the emphasis that Dr. Wolf has already put on exploring the cities as much as possible. I think it is very important to not only see the historical monuments and castles, but also to visit every day cultural aspects of a city. While seeing historical sights is an incredible thing, to really understand a culture it is important to visit restaurants, museums, theaters, ect. These are the places that citizens visit every day, so to truly understand the modern culture, it is necessary that you visit these places. I will be very excited to have this mix of historical and cultural immersion within this short trip.
I really hope to learn more about the German culture, and more about its history. As a future educator, I am hoping that I will learn more about the dynamics of different cultures and how to incorporate this information into an English literature classroom.
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| Neuschwanstein castle in Munich, Germany |
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| A view of Heidelberg, Germany. |
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| Our tour guide told us this shop had the best cake in Heidelberg! |
