J.P. Mappes: German Travel Grant 2016

Arrival

I arrived in Germany around noon German time after not having slept the whole time. That was not a good choice. This was my first international travel, so I had had no previous experience with travelling for so long. I was greeted by my host brother and host father, Nicolas and Bardo. I was extremely exhausted to the point of delusion. The head first dive into the German language was almost like a dream because of how drowsy I was. My host family lived in Eltville, which is west of Wiesbaden and right on the Rhine. The drive over there took about 30 minutes, and on the way the fact that I was in Germany really sunk in. The first thing that I noticed was the sheer amount of grape fields in Eltville, which is the white wine capital of Germany. It just looks like the earth is combed with grape vines. The extremely old architecture along the Rhine was also amazing with the multitude of castles and churches along the countryside:

I arrived at the house in Eltville and was greeted by the mother, Janice, and the older son, Noah. Janice is from New Jersey, so the family wasn’t too curious of the American lifestyle. I tried my best to stay awake and essentially passed out when nighttime came. One thing felt familiar though even in a foreign country: the gratuitous amount of portions, which made me feel truly at home.

My host family. Nicolas, in the navy blue, was my host brother.

Daily Life

Nicolas and I did not have the same interests, but we got along well enough. We warmed up to each other pretty quickly. We would have to get up about 6 am and eat and go to the train station by 7 to catch the train to Wiesbaden. For all the efficiency and punctuality that the Germans brag about, the train was late a couple of times. From the Wiesbaden train station we would either take a bus or walk to school. School was interesting because we had three hours worth of German class in the mornings and then the rest of the day we stayed with our host brothers. German class varied from reading about a grown man stealing money from a child to watching Two and a Half Men in German. Occasionally we found time to go into the city to explore, which was amazing because Wiesbaden was not bombed during WWII. According to my host mother, it was because the Allies had spies in Wiesbaden, which makes sense because there’s a huge American air base there. There were three main churches in Wiesbaden that you could see from about anywhere in the city. The more physical attractions had to be the the food such as the currywurst and bratwurst, which was amazing no matter where you went.

Main churches of Wiesbaden

The Euros were going on in Europe, so that meant that every other night there was a soccer game to go and watch in a public viewing area or in a restaurant. We would always have at least ten people at every game, and Nicolas wanted to go to every one. He was extremely energized for every game and lost his voice nearly every night. I was never really attracted to soccer, but due to these experiences it really grew on me. It was almost entertaining enough to watch the Germans celebrate after a win.

The most extremely shocking thing for me, never having been to Europe, is that they firmly do not believe in air conditioning. So the days there were some of the hottest and most humid days that I’ve experienced. But I eventually got used to it, even though it took some time. What did help was the pool that was on the large hill in a part of Wiesbaden called Neroburg.

The weekends were usually pretty mellow. On Saturdays we would usually go to a public viewing with friends, and Sundays were just relax days. Nicolas and I would sometimes play soccer together, but he would destroy me every time.

The MBA guys also took a trip to Mainz, and we saw the Gutenberg Museum and some incredibly old churches. One church was even built in the 5th century. It was almost completely made out of stone and marble, with multiple statues with latin inscriptions. Apparently it was one of the first Catholic footholds in Germany.

St. Martin's Cathedral in Mainz

Munich

The train to Munich went by quickly. We only changed trains once, and the second train that we were on went 300km/h, darting us through the countryside. The closer we got to Munich, the more hops we would see growing on the country for the beer that they make in Germany. There were just fields of them, similar to how there were so many grape vines. We took a tram to the hostel, and since it was Sunday, none of the stores were open. In Germany it’s mandated by union laws that businesses cannot be opened on Sundays, aside from private businesses. We just walked around Marienplatz for a while and then met for dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. The Hofbrauhaus is huge and can sit up to 1300 people on these long benches. It’s also a very photogenic place. We had some Schweinshaxe, which is something along the lines of pig joint. It was surprisingly good for something that seems so disturbing. We had a lot of free time in Munich, so we could wander around and explore the city. What was probably the coolest part of Munich was the English Gardens. It was a nice cold stream going for more than a mile where you could relax during the hot summer days. You could also just relax and play soccer on the banks next to the river. Floating down the river was extremely relaxing and cooling. I also had my first Leberkaese, which was actually very delicious for its name. We watched the Euro Cup Final in a public viewing, and I had some of the best pretzels ever.

Hofbrauhaus

In Munich, we also went to the concentration camp Dachau for a couple hours. It’s almost indescribable how I felt walking through that place, seeing how the prisoners slept and how the Jews were exterminated. It was just very impressive in a sense that it will leave a deep impression on my life just walking through that place and trying to imagine what pain and torture those who were there experienced.

Monument at Dachau

We also saw Olympia Park from up high, where the 1972 Olympics were meant to take place but never occurred. We also got to see BMW World and Museum, which was very impressive in scale and detail.

Olympia Park 

Vienna

Vienna was probably the most beautiful city that I saw on my German Travel. It was a city rich in culture and architecture. The main church, the Stefanskirche, was amazingly huge, and took a while to get to the top because there’s no elevator. Vienna is also the home of Mozart, and there’s a real emphasis on Sisi, the Austrian Princess who was the wife of Franz Joseph I, the man who turned the Austrian Empire into the Austro-Hungarian Empire. We went to Schoenbrunn Palace, which was the royal residence of the Hapsburg. We couldn’t take pictures of the inside, but it was massive in scale. We spent one whole day just walking around the city and going to the parks and just taking it all in. There was almost too much to take in on Vienna. The Architecture was probably my favorite, along with the small little authentic German restaurants that were out of the way and hidden.

Stefanskirche 

Schoenbrunn Palace

This experience was unlike any other and will probably be unlike any other in my entire life. I know that I probably won't get a chance to make such connections as a did this past Summer. The cultural and sentimental value of this trip was immense, beyond measure. I got to see more of the world than even my parents have seen, as they have not even been to Europe. I am incredibly blessed to have been able to have this opportunity to share this experience with other people. This is an incredible opportunity that reminds me ever more that MBA is an amazing institution that emphasizes not only learning but enjoying learning. Learning German in Germany is something that alone is impressive because not everyone can say that they were granted to do so. Thank you so much for this once in a life time experience.