Prelude to Berlin

So why Berlin? You might be thinking, "Will, there are plenty of cities to choose from in Germany. Why did you choose Berlin?" Good question. When I applied for this grant from the DAAD, the service asked me to request 3 different cities where I would like to study. One was Berlin, the other was Dresden, and I can't recall the third. Maybe Frankfurt or Freiberg. Nonetheless, Berlin was my first choice, and Berlin was the city I got, and I am extremely excited.

I wanted to go to Berlin for many different reasons. Historically, Berlin has one of the richest pasts that I can imagine. There are so many different layers of history that one can identify in this place. Recent history draws attention to things like the Berlin Wall and the Cold War. Berlin was left in veritable ruins following World War II. It served as the capital of the Third Reich during the 1930s and 40s. The politics of German unification unfolded here. Notable figures like JG Fichte, the Brothers Grimm, GWFH Hegel, Karl Marx, Felix Mendelssohn, and many, many others studied in Berlin. Its 700+ year history has so much to offer and so much for a young, strapping, budding historian like myself can get excited about.

Along with the history, the culture of Berlin stands out as vibrant and attractive. Berlin offers so much to music, art, architecture and literature that it might be marginally overwhelming. Lucky for me, Berlin is one of the foremost developers of techno music. Hooray. Now I can finally grab some glow-sticks and shake it to some brain-melting bass. After flipping through various travel books and searching through sites online, the diversity of architecture that Berlin offers is incredible. It also supports museums for everything imaginable--there's an island between Berlin's two rivers called Museum Island. I can only imagine what is there.

The prospect of being in Germany is really thrilling. Having been to places like Vietnam and India, I always find travel exciting, but never before have I had so much invested in the country I am visiting. This is the place that I want to study for a living, and now I finally get to go there. I will be talking to the people I study and walking where they walk. I think there are so many things that I want to do and so many things that I want to say that it's difficult to communicate. I don't really know where to start.

Ultimately what I have to say is that I'm super pumped. I've been thinking about going to Berlin for some time now, and it is actually happening. I get to pack up my things and head to the beer gardens and soak it all in. The beer and the atmosphere. And the classwork. Of course, I cannot forget the classwork.

So I leave you today with a little dip into Berlin's culture with a video from Berlin's own band, Jeans Team, and their single, "Oh Bauer" (Oh Farmer). I promise you'll want to dance.

Deutsches Wort des Tages:

Angeragt--Excited