Today we had the opportunity to be a part of a live German television morning show on the major German channel, ZDF. I was originally apprehensive about being on TV, however it turned out to be a pretty cool experience. Seeing how the cameras move around and how the anchors interact with them was interesting to me personally because I have absolutely no production background. It was all new, exciting and glamorous to this Advertising and PR major.

Ironically however, after today’s presentations from Wulf Schmiese at ZDF as well as Christian Rowekamp  and Michael Kappeler at Deutsche Presse I started to rethink my major, quite honestly. The way these men talked about journalism, on two very different fronts, with such passion was inspiring to me. The way Mr. Schmiese had just the perfect metaphors to describe his profession and the way Mr. Rowekamp and Mr. Kappeler exuded passion for their news wire service sparked something in me that I definitely want to explore more. This is something I can not only see myself doing, but see myself loving. Mr. Schmiese described journalism as a way to stimulate and maintain a well-working democracy, which is something I am very passionate about changing in the US. This was definitely my favorite and most stimulating day of visits so far. It is unbelievable to think that these hugely successful people and media outlets have been so accommodating and excited to tell us about what they do and I feel privileged to be a part of it.

After the visits, the group took a tour of the Reichstag building where we listened to an audio guide while climbing up a spiral shaped dome with an amazing view of Berlin. At the top, was a place you could lay back and look at the sky through an open skylight. It was fun to sit back relax and spend a little down time with the group. I feel like we are getting to know each other better, which is making this trip even more unforgettable.

To top off a wonderful day, a few of us went out to a little restaraunt and bar called White Trash (a sort of unfortunate name, but one of the most fun places we have been so far). We had some delicious burgers (my first in about a year and a few months and Richelle’s first EVER) and a blast dancing to some good American music at this quirky little hole-in-the-wall. I would recommend this place to anyone traveling to Berlin and would love to go back!

Until next time! Ciao!

Michelle

Today was a new day, as most days are, and equally filled with the promise of learning.

To start off our day, the group headed to the East Side Galley this morning to look at the remains of the Berlin Wall. It was a surreal experience to say the least. I don’t know if it was my mindset and immersion into the history that made it feel so real to me or the fact that this area was steeped in so much hatred, but I felt the difference between East and West, which I will try my best to explain.

The West side of the wall sits right in front of a major road. It is loud and bustling and feels lively as well as populated. The East side, on the other hand, backs up to a sparse and empty field. It was quiet other than the wind which was blocked on the other side. Eerie because I was colder on the East side, much as it was when the wall was erect. It was odd to think that if this was the Cold War, I would’ve been standing in a place that would have found me shot by guards in a heartbeat. The hatred was still palpable to me, as was the angst with the idea that a government could actually inflict such atrocities on its people. Not to say I’m naive, I understand that this type of thing happens all the time, but my idealistic brain has trouble comprehending how people do horrible things to each other.

For our media visit today, we met with Fabian von der Mark at Deutsche Welle who told us all about the publicly run broadcasting station. The most interesting he mentioned was that Deutsche Welle, at it’s inception, was comparable to the Voice of America at the time. It was not meant to be a PR arm for the government to fix the reputation issue post World War II,  but a way to show the rest of the world what German culture is and reach people with little access to information. That seemed like a very noble and objective cause that I could identify with. Mr. von der Mark was such a warmhearted man who seemed quite excited that we were visiting, not burdened at all, which made the visit all that much more enjoyable. He even took us to the roof for a panoramic view of Berlin. Another amazing experience, in an amazing place.

I decided to stay in tonight. Honestly in real life, I’m kind of boring. My 90-year-old-woman-stuck-in-a-19-year-old’s-body self has not reacted well to all this activity and I was ready  for a nap and some alone time to reflect. All-in-all a good day.

Until next time.

Michelle

In my lifetime, I have never needed sleep so much. Having cleared my system of cramped airplane seats, flight delays and travelling, I felt ready to greet the day and see some more of Berlin

In other great news, our suitcases arrived today! Ironically though, I ended up wearing something that I had in my carry on but I was, nonetheless, excited. After getting ready, having breakfast, and exploring the most delicious coffee machine that might be my favorite part of the trip so far, we headed off by metro to Freie University to meet with Dr. Elfriede Furich to take a tour of the university and learn a little more about the German media landscape

My main takeaways from what Dr. Furich had to say about German media were eye opening. Their abundant consumption of radio and lack of consumption of Internet (at least compared to the US) was of particular interest to me considering I, and I would wager, most other Americans, actually never listen to the radio and consume the most media through the Internet. Another striking difference between our two nations’ media landscapes was that Germans still love their books. Not just reading, but physical books. Bookstores, although in slight decline, are still thriving in this German environment full of people who still value face-to-face communication. It seems they also value traditional forms of media like books, newspapers and radio much more than we instant-gratification-seeking-Americans do.

After that visit, a few of us took a trip to the Check Point Charlie Museum. This very detailed museum presented the horrors of the East quite poignantly, with many real historical artifacts and tons of information I was unaware of. It is definitely a must see for my fellow friends interested at all in Cold War history. Then it was off to the Brandenburg Gate, a little touristy but very impressive to see, followed by a couple of us that hadn’t eaten heading back to the Sony Center for dinner.

That’s all for now! I’ll be back with more of what tomorrow has to bring.

Tschuess!

Michelle

Somehow, some way, I, a slightly delusional, totally sleep deprived, Michelle Graessle am laying in a bed in a hotel in Berlin writing this right now.

Honestly when our flight to Paris was delayed, I figured it would feel like days until I reached this moment, snuggled in my clean sheets in this chic hotel. I tallied it up and I have been awake for a solid 34 hours, give or take a couple periods of trance-like-pseudo-sleep on the plane, knees in my chest, crammed in the window seat. To top off that joyous adventure, I arrived in Berlin to find that the airline, while rerouting us to a new flight after we missed our connection in Paris, had also lost track of many of our bags. This happens to be one of my great fears in life, and combined with the fact that I will be away from home, out of the country in EUROPE for two weeks made for one anxiety filled afternoon… until I met Berlin.

Walking out of the airport I would sum up my state of being as death warmed up. I was hungry, cold, tired, irritated, anxious (mostly because of the luggage fiasco), all of which was putting a serious damper on my day. When we finally packed into the bus and began our brief tour of Berlin and I saw some of history’a most storied locations right before my eyes, my mood softened. As I mentioned in my intro, I’m somewhat of a history buff/nerd/enthusiast, and I became as giddy as one seriously sleep deprived person can be as the tour progressed. We got to see the Reichstag building, the cobble stones that mark the location of the Berlin wall, a striking and thought provoking Holocaust memorial and many other landmarks of German culture and history that so intrigue me. It could have been in the elaborate exhibition of a history and culture so different from the one I’m used to, or, at the same time, the striking similarities to home that so drew me in. Either way it was safe to say I liked Berlin from the  start, maybe even loved it.

After a much needed power nap it was off to a delicious welcome dinner, my first full meal in 24 hours, a little more exploring and now here I am, snuggled in my bed, typing this blog, wondering why it is that I’m not even tired anymore. Maybe it’s the jet lag, or maybe it’s the little bit of magic that seems to exude from this city’s core that are keeping me thirsty and eager for what tomorrow brings.

Until then, goodnight, Berlin. It was nice to meet you and I’ll see you in the morning.

Michelle