Saturday, September 21 2013 I was in Baton Rouge airport heading for Germany. This is not my first time travelling to Europe, neither the first time to Germany. Right, I have been to this country a year a go for the same purpose I was going there this year; attending a short physics school. What an interesting school and place to learn more about physics. But, instead of talking about the school, I am going to tell you a bit about my journey in this country.
The flight was safe and I transited in Amsterdam airport before arrived in Tegel Berlin airport. And guess what? Everything was so smooth and even in the immigration check point there was not much difficulty I experienced. Probably, because this was not my first time to Europe so according to their report I was not such a jerk who wanted to make troubles in Europe... :D
Deutschland, or Germany as International people recognize, is the second country I ever visited in Europe and I admire it because of the unique history and culture the country has. A bit history of Germany. The country has been known since the classical era (the 18th century); many brilliant artists and scientists like Beethoven, Bach, Kepler, and Gauss were from this country. Their legacies are still well known up to these days. The country started "showing-off" itself among other European countries as a civilized and advanced country when it entered the 20th century. The country had caused two great wars in the world (world war I & II) and were defeated in both wars. Despite the black history it left in the 20th century, Germany, has produced many brilliant scientists and engineers that have contributed to very significant development of science and technology for the world. And one thing that I admire from the people of the country is the spirit not to give up easily on their fate. Even after defeated two times in the wars they still have spirit to rise the country again from the ashes. Now, after decades, they are back becoming an advanced and modern country. And they even lead Europe and play a significant role to determine the future of the continent.
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| Reichstag: The Germany Parliament Building |
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| Brandenburg Gate |
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| Victory Column |
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| View Taken from Victory Column |
Post world war II Germany was divided into two countries; the west and the east Germany. The west adapted liberalism while the east communism and they were separated by the Berlin wall. The wall was then destroyed after the reunification in 1990. However, some part of the wall still is kept until now to remind the people of the tyrannical and oppressive power of Communism in the past. I visited the wall and it's filled with many graffiti. The graffiti really express the feeling and emotion the local people had. The graffiti now become common views almost in all cities of Germany.
From my observation, overall, the country is beautiful and antique because the heritage from medieval and post medieval ages. Castles, churches, and palaces decorate many cities in Germany. Actually, they had more than these in the past but the wars have destroyed many of them. Now we can only marvel at some of those left. The country is also clean and the transportation is very good. Who needs personal vehicles if you have public transportation system like in Germany? Moving from one place to the other place is very convenient; the government provides very efficient and on-time transportation: trains, trams, and buses. They are really well developed and civilized. Different from other big cities in other countries, big cities in Germany, like Frankfurt and Berlin, are relatively friendly environmentally.
Another view we can observe easily in Germany is people biking everywhere nearby. Yup, here people like biking / walking to go anywhere in a city and the government facilitate it by providing many bike parking areas, bike routes and sidewalks, all motor vehicles are obliged to respect and yield to bikers and pedestrians. Germany becomes one of the most bike-friendly countries in the world.
However, as my friend said: 'every nation has some "weakness" even a developed nation', and so is Germany. They are well known for being emotionally cold; people with less courtesy to show. They like to express most of the things in a very straight way; if you offer something to them and they don't like it they will say it directly to you even though it may dismay you; it seems quite mean for most Asians but that's the way they are. But I like to look at it in a positive perspective: this attitude of Germans makes all things in the country run efficiently and somehow also shapes the honesty of the people. If you google it you'll find that Germany is one of the most honest nations in Europe.
It will not be enough to describe Germany in a one-page writing. There are many other things about Germany I haven't described here as Germany is very rich almost in many aspects; the cities, technology, environment and economics. Speaking of German cities I should tell that even each city in Germany has its unique local tradition but I'll save that topic and others for next time. Hopefully, I will have another chance (keep my finger crossed) to write more about these topics especially about each city in Germany I have visited and how they differ from one to the other. Until the next story then... (A T)
