Tag: blogQ8

Wow! Germany was phenomenal. It was a summer filled with learning, about traveling, culture, German, and engineering. We took a 6-week engineering course, and I can now say that I will never look at bridges the same (“In trusses we trust”). We also took a German class, but the extent of my German knowledge is ordering food, saying please and thank you, and asking how to get somewhere, basically the essentials. We had a fantastic group, 37 students, and I did not know most of them to begin with. It was a lot of fun meeting them all. We stayed in Berlin, but were able to travel on weekends and then also the last week. We pretty much went everywhere in Germany that you could possibly want to go, like Heidelberg, Köln, Wittenberg, Neuschwanstein Castle, Munich, and more. I was also able to go to Paris (watch out for those pick-pocketers!), Salzburg in Austria, and Prague in Czech Republic. We did some hiking in southern Germany, which was amazing. Seeing more of God’s creation, especially in the mountains, is always fantastic. Germany is absolutely gorgeous. I had a blast and would highly recommend to anyone considering this trip.

If I could describe the Europe trip in one word it would be eye-opening. It made me realize and understand that there are other people in the world besides people in the states. Different cultures and traditions that I learned about while I was in Germany. I was able to see first hand how different life was there. For example most people use public transportation to get places, there are different colored parts of the sidewalks which are bike lanes, and a whole different currency. I thought my experience in a different country was amazing and I would totally go again.

Germany was AMAZING! It was a once in a lifetime experience, and even if I get to go to Germany again, I wouldn’t be able to go with the same people I went with this summer. Germany is very unlike the US and that in itself is something that I really liked because I got to experience a whole new environment and culture. We had two classes for 4 days a week – Engineering and German – and left the weekend for traveling and exploring. I was very anxious about the trip initially, and I didn’t imagine that I would talk to any of the people going on the trip that I did not know. It was a very strange and interesting mix of people that went on this trip and I am glad that everything went the way they did because I have formed some great relationships that I never thought I would.

The cities we visited and Berlin, where we lived, were all great. One thing that I noticed about all the places we visited was how flawlessly they lived in this modern age but still had many reminders of the past around them, from the statues, buildings, plaques, museums and other things. One of my proudest moments in Germany, were the times I was able to use the language or understand what the Germans were saying when they spoke the language to me.

We spent a total of 6 weeks in Europe and the fact that me, along with 3 other girls that were on the trip, got to go to Paris and see all the many structures that I have always dreamed of seeing, made me feel some sense of accomplishment and happiness. All in all, Germany, and the rest of Europe that we visited, was an amazing experience and one that I would never forget!

My trip to Germany was amazing! We spent five weeks in total in Europe. However, most of the time we were in Berlin. We stayed at St. Michael’s Heim and had class Monday-Thursday at the Technische Universität which was about a 30-minute bus ride away from where we were staying. While there we took an Engineering-202 and German Language and Culture Classes for the first four weeks. On the weekends we would spend our time traveling throughout Germany and touring many of the major cities there. Some of the cities we toured included, Bremen, Köln, Heidelberg, and much more. One of my favorite weekends was when a group of friends and I went to Paris. We toured there for two days and got to see the Eiffel Tower and other sights in the city. For the final week, we were free to travel throughout Europe and go wherever we wanted. My group of friends and I went to Fussen, Munich, Salzburg, and Prague. My favorite part of the last week was hiking in Fussen. We hiked a mountain in the Alps. Even though it took all day the view was gorgeous and it was a very fun time. Overall, my trip to Germany will be memorable for many reasons. I do not know the next time I will be back in Europe and I am happy I went. However, it was nice to come home. I missed my other friends and many American things that could not be found in Germany. I would do the trip again and would highly recommend it to others.

This summer program in Germany was absolutely fantastic! I wasn’t sure about going at first, but I’m so glad I did because it was such a great experience.

Continue reading “Tell me about your trip!”

Germany was a lot of fun. We had two classes 4 days a week. Engineering and German language. We had our engineering professors in the hotel with us so it made studying really comfortable. They would stay up till late at night to answer our questions and help us with our homework. I think we all developed a good relationship with everyone. In Germany, we visited castles, beautiful churches and we went to different parts of Germany too. My favorite was Bremen. Being there was like being in a fairytale. The buildings were beautiful and there were musicians in almost every block. We went to concentration camps, holocaust museum I learned so much about the history.
I also learned how insignificant we are when we travel. When I first arrived in Germany, it was completely foreign to me. By the end of the trip, I learned a little German but when I went to Denmark for my last week which was only an hour away from there. I was in a completely different place. The three languages that I knew was just useless.
Overall, I had a lot of fun visiting new places, trying out different tastes, and building new relationships.

Travelling to Germany was a wonderful experience, the first week was kinda slow for me. Being jet lagged made it hard to focus during class and also finding my way around the city and the bus routes took sometime but I eventually came to feel at home in Berlin.  We had Engineering 202 class every morning for four days a week and we had German class every afternoon. the professors were wonderful both in class and outside class and they played a big part in making this trip memorable.

In the last week of our trip we traveled to Amsterdam to explore the city, and we visited places like the Queen’s Palace and we also visited Brussels, we we got to explore to city, visiting the EU parliament Building, The King’s Church, His Office and The NATO Headquarters. This trip was truly on I will never forget.

The time I spent in Germany was incredible! I learned a lot about Engineering and the German culture. When we arrived in Germany it was a little bit overwhelming because of all the public transportation needed to get around and also the volume of our group. But you learn to get past that and just enjoy the people you are with while traveling around Germany. My favorite parts were when we would take trips as a group to different cities in Germany and we would listen to Professor Nielsen tell us about the history of the city we are in.

I will also never forget the experiences I had traveling independently with a group of friends to other countries in Europe. My group of friends and I traveled to Switzerland and Italy, both hugely different in terms of culture and landscape. Switzerland had huge, beautiful mountains with crystal clear lakes. Italy was very hot and had long and big beaches everywhere. I would not trade these experiences for anything.

The Summer Program in Germany was too wonderful to put in words. Looking back at all of our travels, from Heidelberg to Bremen to Köln to Potsdam and many other places, I’m thankful for all the things I got to see and experience. I even got to visit Paris with some of my friends! I had to constantly pinch myself because everything felt so surreal.

I think Berlin is a place I grew accustomed to calling home. After six weeks, of our statics and dynamics class with Professors Nielsen and DeRooy along with our German class, friendships that were built over memorable times in the ‘M19 bus’, struggling to maintain a conversation in purely German, and stuffing myself with the oh so delicious currywurst and döner kebab; I believe it’s safe to say that the word ‘truss’ will forever be ingrained in my memory thanks to our professors and that this program was one of the best experiences of my life.

So I was in Germany for 6 weeks and it was such a great experience. It was not just for vacation but we also took a class called Engineering 202. Every morning around 8:30 we would have class until the early afternoon, stop for a quick lunch break and then have German classes in the afternoon. On the weekends we would travel to different cities in Germany. It was amazing learning about a different culture and also experiencing the history that was in each city.

On the last week of our trip we were allowed to travel where ever we wanted in Europe and I decided to go visit my brother in Paris. It was so lovely spending time with family and I even got to meet up with some of the girls and we went to DisneyLand!

Overall the trip was amazing and I would recommend future engineers at Calvin to go on this trip because you will  not regret it.