Class Time…with Show and Tell!

Classes have started this week, and so far, things are going well.  For now, all I have is my Integrative Seminar on the EU and my German class–since the focus of this program is on the EU, I have the seminar for 3 hours/day and German for 1 hour/day. The seminar is generally interesting, but not terribly intellectually stimulating.  We’ve spent the last few days covering the history and development of the EU, which I learned ad nauseum last semester. But, I expect the class to get much more interesting. And if not, at least it’s taught by a wonderfully funny (in the way that only the British can be) professor…so that’s always a plus!

I’ve learned in all my EU classes thus far that the average citizen of Europe doesn’t really know that much about the EU. This is something that is only now beginning to sink it. While I understand (esp. after reading pages of EU treaties) just how complex and obtuse the EU is, one would still think that citizens would have some working knowledge of such a salient institution. For all the hype about how complicated Washington is, most Americans seem to have a basic understanding of who the major figures are and how the government (basically) works…the same cannot be said for Europeans with regard to the EU.  This is something that I cannot seem to fathom! Maybe it’s the political scientist in me or maybe it’s the EU academic, but I think everyone should know the basics of how their government works. What I find even more perplexing is that very few Freiburgers seem to know this general information! For any of you not familiar with European politics (which is totally understandable), Freiburg is a VERY highly educated city and is located in a region that generally shows strong support for the Union. This is definitely a topic that I’m going to pursue with my Mitbewohners when I have the chance.

Now, on to the show and tell portion. On Sunday I had the opportunity to go explore Titisee and the Black Forest. The weather was absolutely phenomenal–50 degrees and clear skys! After a quick 30 minute train ride (which was totally free with a regional transport pass), I ended up in the quaint Black Forest tourist trap of Titisee. The town and the (at this point completely frozen) lake for which it is named were completely gorgeous, don’t get me wrong….but it was a tourist trap if ever there was one. After hanging around the town for a bit and admiring the Cuckoo clocks, we took a 4 km (roughly 2-ish mile) hike through the Black Forest. At this elevation, there was still snow covering the ground, so the forest was absolutely surreal. There was ice everywhere, and some of the group took some spectacular falls (thankfully, only prides were injured). After the hike, we went to this small cafe for Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cake) where we got to enjoy authentic Schwarzwaldkuchen (Black Forest cherry cake). You couldn’t really taste the cherries in the cake, but you could clearly taste the alcohol they had been soaked in. We also got to try some classic German food…i.e. lots of meat and potatoes.

Next week, I leave the beautiful city of Freiburg to go galavanting off to two European capitals–Berlin and Prague. Definitely excited for the trip, but I’m going to miss the unseasonably warm weather we’ve been having. It’s supposed to be COLD in both cities (and I have 3 hour-long walking tours in each city). But, I do get to go tour the Bundestag (German parliament) and the Hohenschönhausen Memorial. For those of you that don’t know, Hohenschönhausen was the prison were the Stasi imprisoned, tortured, etc. all the people they arrested. It’s definitely not a happy-go-lucky place, but I’m looking forward to it all the same. I will try to make another post while I’m there, but I’ve got a pretty packed schedule on this trip…so no promises.

~ by bsmith72 on January 18, 2011.