Written by Kathy and Jordan
As our trip comes to an end, we want to reflect on the whirlwind of the last three weeks and share what we've learned through the process. We learned more by going and doing than we ever could have by studying and reading. Immersing ourselves in new cultures gave us a new perspective on the countries we visited and made us really examine where we come from and what it means to be a globally aware citizens. Traveling the world was and experience we would not have traded for the world. These were a few of our favorite things;
In London we really enjoyed the British Museum. It was a good start and we didn't expect all the different ancient cultures represented by the artwork. Our first assignment of reflecting on one piece got us in the right mindset for the rest of the trip. We found that rather than floating through museums trying to retain every bit of information, we tried to focus more on learning about specific parts that we were interesting to ourselves, which was an approach to museums that we hadn't really tried before. At British Library we thought it was really interesting to see old works, but we were disappointed that the Magna Carta was absent. We hadn't expected to really enjoy the Churchill War Rooms, but we wound up really getting into the WWII history. The Winston Churchill museum was cool to understand more about his life and we really liked how interactive it was. The BBC was our favorite media tour and our tour guide was really funny and engaging. Fleet Street was disappointing because we expected there to be more remnants of the past. We had studied how it was the hub of the printing industry back in its heyday, and now there is really nothing special about it. While we thought that Sky had great tours and we loved the facilities, we didn't get to see much of Sky News, but it was really interesting to us because it was a demonstration of how the news never stops, coverage is 24/7.
In Berlin we loved the Kaiser Wilhelmina Church and thought it was really interesting how they didn't repair the church to remind people of what war can do to and how it ruins more than political buildings, it can ruin culture and people's way of life. Our Berlin walking tour we learned so much from out very knowledgeable tour guide, even thought the weather was miserable. Holocaust memorial was very moving and in a small way prepared us for the somber experience of Dachau.
In Prague we found Radio Free Europe to be underwhelming; we thought there would be a lot more going on in the newsroom. We learned about their really low budget and learned just how serious they are about having most of their correspondents in the field. The Jewish Quarter was small and reminded us of just how hard Prague was hit when Hitler took power. We loved Renata, our guide for the Prague castle walking tour and we found the Pinkas synagogue, with all the names of Prague Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, to be quite numbing. The Museum of Communism and Wenceslas Square were kind of underwhelming. We had studied so much about the Prague Spring and its affect on the people and how it was the seed of the Velvet Revolution, and when we got to the museum, we found that they didn't really talk about it very much at all. When we were studying it in the fall, it seemed like it was a very big deal at the time, but there wasn't a whole lot commemorating what happened there.
Nuremberg offered us a glimpse into the past but also showed us the direction in which that very progressive country is moving. Nuremberg was one of our favorite cities because of the charm of old town and the history we learned there. Our walking tour guide, Jason, was very knowledgeable and we liked his wit. t was interesting to learn about the history of the Nazis and the importance they placed on the city. We also thought it interesting to see that some of the Nazi buildings were simply refurbished into buildings that the government uses to this day. We also learned a lot about Nazi propaganda.
Munich was disappointing. Visiting the old Olympic sites just made it seem kind of dated, and there wasn't a whole lot to see at the village. We learned a lot about the events that transpired there in 1972, but actually visiting the apartments was anticlimactic. Exploring the city of Munich before taking the train back to Nuremberg was a lot more exciting. We found our way to the Hofbrauhaus, a famous beer hall, and we had fun sampling German dishes and listening to the traditional live music. In Frankfurt, our last destination, we really enjoyed the walking tour of the city led by our sprightly guide, Rosa. She showed us around and taught us a lot about the cities history and informed us on the reconstruction of the city. We also enjoyed the film museum in Frankfurt much more than the one in Berlin. They had a really nice set up and the exhibits were a lot more interactive and engaging. I felt at the Berlin one that I wasn't going to gain anything becasue I hadn't seen all the films they talked about, but the Frankfurt museum was interesting without me having an extensive knowledge of classic film. Our day in Mainz was fun and the Gutenberg bibles were amazing to see in real life,and we really enjoyed the demonstration of the printing press. However, we weren't very impressed by our tour guide, who seemed to be selling the greatness of Germany rather than informing us about the life and times of Gutenberg.
In conclusion, we thoroughly enjoyed our time spent in Europe and we learned so much about the impact communications had on events that changed the course of history.
As our trip comes to an end, we want to reflect on the whirlwind of the last three weeks and share what we've learned through the process. We learned more by going and doing than we ever could have by studying and reading. Immersing ourselves in new cultures gave us a new perspective on the countries we visited and made us really examine where we come from and what it means to be a globally aware citizens. Traveling the world was and experience we would not have traded for the world. These were a few of our favorite things;
In London we really enjoyed the British Museum. It was a good start and we didn't expect all the different ancient cultures represented by the artwork. Our first assignment of reflecting on one piece got us in the right mindset for the rest of the trip. We found that rather than floating through museums trying to retain every bit of information, we tried to focus more on learning about specific parts that we were interesting to ourselves, which was an approach to museums that we hadn't really tried before. At British Library we thought it was really interesting to see old works, but we were disappointed that the Magna Carta was absent. We hadn't expected to really enjoy the Churchill War Rooms, but we wound up really getting into the WWII history. The Winston Churchill museum was cool to understand more about his life and we really liked how interactive it was. The BBC was our favorite media tour and our tour guide was really funny and engaging. Fleet Street was disappointing because we expected there to be more remnants of the past. We had studied how it was the hub of the printing industry back in its heyday, and now there is really nothing special about it. While we thought that Sky had great tours and we loved the facilities, we didn't get to see much of Sky News, but it was really interesting to us because it was a demonstration of how the news never stops, coverage is 24/7.
In Berlin we loved the Kaiser Wilhelmina Church and thought it was really interesting how they didn't repair the church to remind people of what war can do to and how it ruins more than political buildings, it can ruin culture and people's way of life. Our Berlin walking tour we learned so much from out very knowledgeable tour guide, even thought the weather was miserable. Holocaust memorial was very moving and in a small way prepared us for the somber experience of Dachau.
In Prague we found Radio Free Europe to be underwhelming; we thought there would be a lot more going on in the newsroom. We learned about their really low budget and learned just how serious they are about having most of their correspondents in the field. The Jewish Quarter was small and reminded us of just how hard Prague was hit when Hitler took power. We loved Renata, our guide for the Prague castle walking tour and we found the Pinkas synagogue, with all the names of Prague Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust, to be quite numbing. The Museum of Communism and Wenceslas Square were kind of underwhelming. We had studied so much about the Prague Spring and its affect on the people and how it was the seed of the Velvet Revolution, and when we got to the museum, we found that they didn't really talk about it very much at all. When we were studying it in the fall, it seemed like it was a very big deal at the time, but there wasn't a whole lot commemorating what happened there.
Nuremberg offered us a glimpse into the past but also showed us the direction in which that very progressive country is moving. Nuremberg was one of our favorite cities because of the charm of old town and the history we learned there. Our walking tour guide, Jason, was very knowledgeable and we liked his wit. t was interesting to learn about the history of the Nazis and the importance they placed on the city. We also thought it interesting to see that some of the Nazi buildings were simply refurbished into buildings that the government uses to this day. We also learned a lot about Nazi propaganda.
Munich was disappointing. Visiting the old Olympic sites just made it seem kind of dated, and there wasn't a whole lot to see at the village. We learned a lot about the events that transpired there in 1972, but actually visiting the apartments was anticlimactic. Exploring the city of Munich before taking the train back to Nuremberg was a lot more exciting. We found our way to the Hofbrauhaus, a famous beer hall, and we had fun sampling German dishes and listening to the traditional live music. In Frankfurt, our last destination, we really enjoyed the walking tour of the city led by our sprightly guide, Rosa. She showed us around and taught us a lot about the cities history and informed us on the reconstruction of the city. We also enjoyed the film museum in Frankfurt much more than the one in Berlin. They had a really nice set up and the exhibits were a lot more interactive and engaging. I felt at the Berlin one that I wasn't going to gain anything becasue I hadn't seen all the films they talked about, but the Frankfurt museum was interesting without me having an extensive knowledge of classic film. Our day in Mainz was fun and the Gutenberg bibles were amazing to see in real life,and we really enjoyed the demonstration of the printing press. However, we weren't very impressed by our tour guide, who seemed to be selling the greatness of Germany rather than informing us about the life and times of Gutenberg.
In conclusion, we thoroughly enjoyed our time spent in Europe and we learned so much about the impact communications had on events that changed the course of history.