First Day in Munich

May 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

We had a very early wake up call this morning. I woke up at 5, because we had to be down in the lobby at 6 so we could catch our flight to Munich at 8:15. I had little to know problem waking up this morning. I just had to gather the rest of my belongings so we could be on our way to the airport. I grabbed a croissant at breakfast and then we were off. Security went really fast an before you knew it were were boarding the plane. I take medicine for my flying anxiety and thanks to two pills, I passed out before take off (which is the hardest part for me) and I didn’t wake up until we landed. That was the best plane ride of my life, considering that I was not conscious.

After dropping our stuff off at the hotel, we went on a brief walking tour of Munich. We walked to Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel. I love Munich’s Glockenspiel and Marienplatz. You know why? So much shopping! They have three of my favorite German store, Pimkie,  in that area and I can’t wait to shop til I drop.

After our tour we made our way to the Munich tourism office where we learned much about many of the sites in Munich. We also learned about the departments within the tourism office. I was very surprised to learn about so many. We were given a folder with several tourism things in it, which I feel will really help us during our stay here.

After the tourism office I took a short nap in our hotel before dinner. Dinner was nice, I ate almost all of what was on my plate. I’m just not a fan of white sausage of breakfast sausage, so I left those. After dinner, I slept some more. I’ve been so tired lately. Right now it’s pouring down rain so I’m not too disappointed that I didn’t go out. Tomorrow we go to Dachau. I’m excited for that.

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Alexa’s Blog – Day 6

May 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

The following events transpired on 5/17/13.

The day started bright and early. I’ve never been as tired as I was today. We were up at 4:30 am this morning for a very early flight to Munich. As soon as we got to Munich we were had met our new tour guide, Arnoud, and took a bus tour of the city before arriving at our hotel. We followed Arnoud to Marienplatz and lunch nearby. My first impression of Munich is that it is stunning. The architecture and atmosphere is exactly what I thought a European city would look like. In other words, what I thought was missing in Berlin. Not that I didn’t like Berlin, I just find Munich to be what I was expecting.

After lunch, we met back up in front of the Glockenspiel with the rest of our group and went to the Munich Tourism Office for our first Munich media visit. I liked hearing about the variety of attractions that the city has to offer. It’s all up my alley – sports, theatre, museums, music – it’s perfect. I would have loved to be here for Oktoberfest or the Long Night of Music. I think that everything here is so compelling to me. I was intrigued that the X-Games are going to take place in Munich for the next three years. Isabella had a lot of interesting things to say about working with tourism and public relations. I was impressed that she is doing such an important job a young age.

I had been pushing Carson in her wheel chair for most of the day and was getting pretty confident in my abilities. But a blow to my ego came when I tried to cross traffic and get her onto the next street: I didn’t hit the curb in the right place and she flew out of the wheelchair with all of her papers and belongings! Luckily she was able to react and stay standing but I felt so bad! Imagine if we hadn’t been that lucky. That was when I knew that I was 100% done with the day.

Our free time consisted of catching up on missed sleep. I left the hotel an hour before we were supposed to meet up for dinner to look around for a bank to exchange my American money. I wanted to put everything on my debit card but my parents recommended cash. I wish I had just done things my own way, because it has been a pain trying to find such a place. I got some money from the ATM to hold me over until Tuesday but I will have to be quite thrifty this weekend. It’s a holiday weekend and all of the banks will be closed until Tuesday morning. Arnoud has tried explaining where to go to exchange money but I have no idea what he’s talking about. I basically need someone to physically take me to get this done.

We went to a café in Marienplatz for dinner and had an assortment of very strange meats. I could handle most of it but there was a strange substance resembling spam that I couldn’t quite bring myself to eat. And naturally there was beer.

The one thing I have noticed about Munich is that it is very difficult to navigate if you want to go to specific places. Getting to Morienplatz on my own was easy but when I tried to find a certain shop or street I was completely lost! What are you doing to me, Munich?! I don’t like this feeling! It’s my one and only complaint about the city so far, but I’m sure I’ll get over it in a few days.

Also, the wifi in the hotel is sketchy. Just throwing that out there.

Reporting from the Z floor,

-AB

Filed Under: Alexa Blanchard, Blogs · Tagged: , , , , , , , , ,

5.17.13 Munchen

May 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

5.17.13 Munchen

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As our journey through German Media continues, our location changes. We find ourselves leaving Berlin bright and early, around 5:30 am to catch our 8:30 departure on Berlin Air to Munich. We sadly say goodbye to our wonderful and spicy tour guide Lorena. She instilled us with much knowledge of the vast city and was very patient with our group. Once in Munich we met our new tour guide. Arnod, which is pronounced like Arnold without the “L” and with the German pronunciation of “D” which makes a “t” sound.

We quickly check into our new home away from home, Europascher Hof. Then it was off to a walking tour through the center of Munich’s tourist area, by our new guide. This area features shopping, both traditional Bavarian, Modern European and tourist shops. The middle of the walkway is lined with stands selling fresh produce and other products.

Sadly we did not have time to do any shopping today but we did get the chance to eat at a lovely restaurant where I finally got potato pancakes, something that I have been looking forward to the entire trip.

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After a quick bite to eat, we were off the Munich Tourism Office to hear about their Public Relations. As we arrived a young woman who didn’t look much older than us greeted us. She ushered us into a conference room with a long table lined with Munich Press Kits. Isabella Schopp the young women who greeted us, then introduced herself and described the packets we were given and what her job was at the tourism agency. One of the first and what I think is the most interesting thing that we learned about Munich, during this lecture, was that if we wanted to film or photograph in the city and then use those photos for our website and or portfolios we needed a permit. This wonderful young lady secured these permits for us before we arrived so we needed not to worry.

 

Isabella informed us about the city as it is today and of its past while describing how the tourism agency sets up Press trips for journalists. Journalists arrive at their hotels to find press kits similar to the ones we received already in their rooms. The agency then gives the journalists tours and helps them with anything else they may need like the permits we received.

 

After the media visit we had a short break to go to the hotel and freshen up before dinner. For the second time today we went to a traditional Bavarian restaurant. Here we were fed sour krout, pretzels, German potato salad and a variety of meets including white sausage and something that happened to look like spam. The braver of us students tried a little bit of everything but I think the consensus was that we all enjoyed the pretzels the most.  Of course these interesting flavors were washed down with various types of beer, which seems to cost about the same price as water here in Munich.

 

Now the majority of us are off to bed as we are still tired from the early morning and flight from Berlin

 

Guten Nacht!

Filed Under: Blogs, Johnie Freiwald ·

Day Six: Wilkommen to Munchen!

May 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

uOkPFoVb0q39Ll2J0OoecFcTXWh5xLm1Q_G2oBuJSwURemember when I thought 5:30 was bad? Well, today’s wake up call blared into my ear at 4:30 a.m. As in, it was still yesterday in America when I started today. We ate our final breakfast at the Suite Novotel in Berlin and headed to the airport and on to Munich! I was surprised that some of the streets looked quite familiar from last year’s visit. After a brief struggle of elevators vs. luggage, we headed out for a walking tour from our hotel by the main train station (the Hauptbanhof)  toward Marienplatz, learning as much about churches and historical significance as one can on an empty stomach. We saw the tallest church in Munich, which towers above everything, not just unintentionally, but by law. Munich was actually founded by monks, and the religious significance is honored in this way. Then, we were unleashed for a quick lunch where I tried spatzle, kind of like a cheesy potato pasta, and it was excellent!

We reconvened for a visit to Munich’s tourism office, where we met with Isabella Schopp, a member of the PR department for a quick look into what they do to market the city of the biergarten and the weiswurstl. I was surprised to learn that she is only one year older than I am and already in such a high-influence position. We got a little bit of background on Munich and what makes it such a draw for tourists, namely Oktoberfest; surprising, no? But they do host quite a few other festivals throughout the year, as well, one called Music All Night, which I would love to attend. She also told us that 80% of the locals in Munich have bikes and use them as their main mode of transportation, which is visually represented in the hundreds of bikes that are chained up along the windowstreets. Some decorated, most with baskets. They also chose to market Young Munich as a main point for this year’s strategy. Although it is a town steeped in tradition, it is home to about 104,000 students and the nightlife is a big draw, as well.

We all met again for dinner at the Cafe im Marienplatz, where I tried a platter of meats that I would never have expected myself to. Also, the décor was intriguing in that the stained glass windows on the walls all depicted scenes of prostitution, so that was interesting. I also tried a Rus’n, which is the wheat bier mixed with lemonade and is DELICIOUS.

As you can imagine, by that point, we were completely exhausted and went straight to bed…

Filed Under: Richelle Szypulski ·

Hello, Munich.

May 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Today, we hopped on a plane and jetted off to our final destination in Munich. When we arrived we took a bus into the city and checked in to our hotel. After that we had a walking tour of the city center and ate lunch before heading to our media visit at the Munich Tourism Office. When we arrived, we were greeted by Isabella Schopp who works in the PR department of the office. I was very interested in this presentation because it was the first one that actually dealt with my major.

Isabella is involved with communicating with journalists and media outlets interested in writing stories about Munich as a tourist destination. The office offers many resources and amenities to journalists to facilitate the spread of information about and interest in Munich to increase the number of tourists each year. She mentioned that events like Oktoberfest and The Christmas Market are popular events they spark interest in journalists and even showed us some of the articles that she and her team helped to get created.

Although I am more interested in promotions and advertising, it was interesting to note that there are more outlets for PR than I had originally thought of. This trip has opened my eyes to the idea that this field has so much to offer and I am excited to be a part of it. Her job was very behind- the-scenes, similar to Deutsche Presse. That is very appealing to me.

After our visit, it was off to a VERY traditional dinner of multiple types of meat and potatoes. It was a little adventurous for me but I tried it, although didn’t really enjoy it to be honest. German food is heavy and my body is just itching for a green salad. After dinner I came back and relaxed a little before getting a much needed, good night’s sleep to prepare for our first off day!

More tomorrow,

Michelle

Filed Under: Michelle Graessle ·

Let’s Fly Away to Munich

May 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Friday May 17, 2013

 

At this point in the trip I have lost track of how many days we have been away.  Today we started the day off with a super quick flight from Berlin to Munich.  It was sad to leave Berlin, but so far I believe I will enjoy Munich much more.

 

The flight this morning was actually quite enjoyable and gave us a quick hour to catch up on our sleep.  They even gave us chocolate hearts when we got off the plane!

 

Once we arrived to Munich we met with our new tour guide.  He took us back to the hotel while pointing out so key attractions in Munich.  The impression I got from Munich right off of the bat is that it is much more European than Berlin.  It also seemed like it was a much more tourist based, which we later found out was true.

 

The walking tour was beautiful.  We walked around the main part of Munich and saw many great churches and other attractions.  Our meeting point for the day ended up being the glockenspiel, which was huge and very hard to miss.  I loved all of the creatures that were on the outside of the building.  Each one was very full of character and seemed to be different than the next one.

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I had so many great pretzels to eat today!  Not liking many of the German foods is becoming hard, but at least I love the pretzels.  There was this adorable Pretzel place in the S and U Bahn station that I really want to try out.  I also had a great beer at dinner.  It was very light, which I love, and also tasted a bit like lemonade.  Now I see why the Germans like beer and pretzels so much!

 

The media visit today was short, but very sweet.  Isabella was very informative about the Munich Tourism Office, she even gave us some handy packets with loads of information inside!  I found it very interesting that the Munich Tourism Office plans Oktoberfest.  Another thing that interested me was that they were not allowed,, by the Munich law, to use Social Media.  That is such a large part of the American business plan that it really blew my mind that they did not have any forms of Social Media.

 

Today was also a great day to relax.  At this point of the trip I think everyone is starting to get very tired.  Today I think I caught up on all of my sleep after dinner, so I should be ready to go for the rest of the trip!

 

Xoxoxo

Katie

Filed Under: Blogs, Katie Pflug ·

Day 6 – CM

May 17, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

5-17-13

 

Wake up call was at 4:30 this morning to head to Munich.  The plane ride was uneventful (thank god), and I was able to sleep through the entire trip.  Once in Munich, we took a brief tour of the city and saw a few monuments, then checked in at our hotel.  We took another mini tour on our walk to lunch, visiting a few churches, including the one where Pope Benedict XVI was bishop.

 

Munich is more like the Germany that a lot of Americans imagine, I think.  Although 85% of it was destroyed in World War II, according to our guide, it still has an old-timey look to it.  As opposed to Berlin, which is very modern.  I look forward to exploring this city more…and to dinner tonight, which will be at the self-proclaimed originator of the white sausage!

Filed Under: Blogs, Connor Mulvaney ·

DAY 5: Axel Springer

May 16, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

DAY 5: Axel Springer

It still is very strange for me to swallow the fact that an ocean separates me from my home. I know Munich is going to make me feel even more withdrawn from society. I feel so American here.

I felt this especially when we met the students at the Academy at Axel Springer. We asked them questions, but I was surprised the number of questions they asked us. They asked us about voting in the U.S., which was very eye-opening and also about simple things like smoking stigmas and the timeline of when people go to higher education.

It was such a unique experience to get media perspectives from people our own age. After speaking with some of our group, though, we all felt a little behind as one of the girls who was 18 had already published 3 or 4 books.

The bar/cafe on the 19th floor of Axel Springer.

The bar/cafe on the 19th floor of Axel Springer.

Three wonderful professionals took much of their time to speak to us about an overview of Axel Springer, the Academy, video and Die Welt.

I tried so hard to hang onto every word they were saying as I was covering the day, so at the end I was mentally exhausted. I have so many good quotes and my outlook on newspapers especially has changed dramatically.

As Richelle said, Germans tend to look at the big picture and think strategically. If I tried to mention all of the great points and ideas that were discussed today, this blog post would be thousands of words long. The key point I gathered was that the founder Axel Springer was a man who thought outside of the box, which allowed him to take risks and work his way to the top. Today his work ethic has carried the business to new expansions long after he has passed. With a wealth of money and credibility, Axel Springer can therefore make more risks and have the data to share with us about extremely new developments in media such as applications for iPads. That’s why it was so interesting. You aren’t going to read this in any academic journal just quite yet.

Their methods are so different from ours, especially writing for online and print and video permission guidelines, which gives me a whole new perspective on media at home. All of our media’s flaws stood out like a sore thumb! It was extremely interesting when they spoke about the different audiences all of their publications and the subsets within them. It truly ties all that I have been learning in lectures at school and at conferences together. Now I might be able to throw something I learned out there at a job interview!

I just want to mention that Leeor was a great host. We ended up getting an extra lecture from such a well-spoken man of high rank in Die Welt. He painted a picture of Jewish life from a perspective we probably would have never had, unless we read his column…which is more than likely in German. This goes hand-in-hand with what I said before about becoming a more cultured journalist.

I feel pretty lucky after such an enlightening day. I keep thinking in my head: innovation, innovation, innovation. Even in their slogan is the word “entertainment.” The science section in the compact version? Yeah, it’s called the “Internet” section just so people will want to read it. Journalism is truly morphing and even they didn’t know where it will be in the future. I am just glad to be a part of yet another adventure.

Filed Under: Blogs, Marina Weis · Tagged: , , , ,

Berlin, you’ve been good to me.

May 16, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

Well, today was our last day in Berlin. Our media visit today was jam packed with interesting and stimulating material. We visited Axel Springer, a large publishing company based in Berlin with a very rich history. We had the chance to visit the journalism academy, the video department and also got to hear from the assistant editor-in-chief of a major brand of the company Die Welt, a well-known German newspaper  with an unbelievably genius marketing strategy.

The way that people become journalists in this country, I learned, is a much different process than in the states. Here, it isn’t technically necessary that you have a college education to get into journalism school, although most do. Typically, aspiring journalists complete their undergrad, work for a few years and then apply to journalism programs. Axel Springer has one of the best and most competitive programs in the country and is partnered with Columbia University in New York. We had the opportunity to meet a few of the students currently studying at the academy, which was inspirational to say the least. These people are extremely bright and I hope I can have the same effect they had on me on another up and coming professional in the future.

The most memorable part of the day for me was hearing from Leeor Englander, assistant to the editor-in-chief of Die Welt. He is a bright young businessman who is visibly passionate about what he does and who he works for. From the marketing standpoint that I generally try to look at things from, Die Welt was somewhat of a powerhouse in my eyes. First of all, the content is created for the Internet/ digital and then adapted and put into a physical paper, somewhat opposite from most other newspapers. There is the regular, classical version of the newspaper as well as a condensed version targeted at a younger audience. Along with those, there is a Sunday paper with the same condensed counterpart and two regional newspapers as well (one for Berlin and one for Hamburg). What was amazing to me was how well this business model was thought out. Leeor was adamant about adapting to the most current media landscape and, more importantly, what people will buy and how to most effectively and efficiently market to those people.

Most of the visits so far have been more journalism focused, being that I am interested in marketing and PR this was a breath of fresh air to me. Leeor had many insights as to the future of newspapers and mentioned that one day print will be obsolete, however, that day is not today. Ever the opportunist, he mentioned that timing is essential and giving up on print too soon and scrapping that part of the operation would be a tremendous failing in terms of business because there is still enough interest in it to make it profitable. It was great to hear about such a well thought out marketing model and I was impressed with his knowledge of the company and business in general.

It’s time to say goodbye to Berlin now. I have learned so much from this city about media, history and even a little about myself. Now it’s off to Munich for some more and I can’t wait to keep exploring.

 

Until next time,

Michelle

Filed Under: Blogs, Michelle Graessle ·

Last day in Berlin!

May 16, 2013 by · Leave a Comment

This was my favorite day yet! I think I may say this everyday, but this truly was my favorite day. We went to Axel Springer today, which is a HUGE publishing house in Germany. It’s a very modern building, even though it was built in the 1950s. Axel Springer is also an acadamy, which takes in students. Many apply, but only 20 are accepted. They are of all age ranges and most have a degree coming in. He told us that they range from 18-33. All students are given the tools they need. They are given a Mac, an iPhone and an iPad. Axel Springer teaches them how to use those tools and then they have the freedom to create. After completing their coursework at Axel Springer, they re required to take a job there, which is nice because that means they are guaranteed a job. Five of the students came in for a question and answer with us before we were able to see their newsroom, where the work. I was surprised to see how modern it was. Mac Computers were everywhere. I also learned that they bought custom made iPads that were huge.

We also got to learn about one of the papers Axel Springer puts out: Die Welt. Die Welt is your average classic newspaper. However, I was surprised about some of the information we were given. For example, Die Welt sells more of their app than they do actual papers. I found this astonishing, because we previously learned that Germany is slow when it comes to internet and only 72% of the people use it. I also seldom see people on tablets and more often see people reading a paper book or using a traditional print paper.

Later that night we went to the Reichstag, which is the German Parliament building. We were able to go in. We went up to the roof and we were able to get some pretty breathtaking pictures. You could go up farther than the roof too. We climbed all the way up to the top of the dome and the view was even better. It was beautiful! This was an amazing experience.

Filed Under: Andrea Karsesnick, Blogs ·
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