On September 23rd, I traveled to southwest Germany to play in a classical music festival. We were performing Bach’s monumental Mass in B Minor for a series in Oppenau, a city located in the Black Forest region (the trees are not black; they’re just dense). When I arrived, I met my wonderful host family and their two young boys. My roommate and I settled down at our house in Oberkirch, and before long we were off to explore. We stopped at the local apple festival, we got to visit a hip German supermarket, and we climbed to the ruins of the Schauenburg castle amidst what felt like miles of vineyards. On some days, we had planned excursions to cities like Freiburg and Heidelberg, and we even got to visit the French city of Strasbourg. On other days, we had free time to travel to other nearby cities, landmarks, and ruins with our hosts. I toured the Heidelberg Castle and I also explored other castle ruins in the neighboring city of Neckarsteinach. I went on a boat tour in both Strasbourg and Heidelberg, and I also got to visit an open air museum in the Black Forest, where 15th century farm houses still stand for the public to admire. In Alpirsbach, we visited an old monastery as well as a renowned brewery. On one of the free days we had, I visited a glass-making museum and a local winery in Durbach. On our final day with our family, we visited the National Park Schwarzwald, where we saw beautiful waterfalls and visited the ruins of a monastery dating from nearly a thousand years ago. While I was over in Germany, I ate plenty of chocolate, sausage, and cake, and I also became addicted to a drink called Apfel schorle- apple juice mixed with sparkling water.
A few things that are different in Germany compared to America: you have to pay for water and for any drink refills. The drinking age is sixteen for wine and beer, and you sometimes have to pay a small fee to use a public restroom. Refrigerators do not dispense tap water- you usually just buy sparkling or still water in bulk for the family. Wasps are EXTREMELY common in Germany, especially in the garden of our host family’s house, and they are comfortable enough around humans that they may choose to set up camp in your hair. College education is provided at little to no cost, and they are very big into solar panels and wind turbines for energy sources. Also, dispersed between the small towns and villages were miles of vineyards and agricultural fields. You could always find corn, apples, and strawberries growing in beautifully-kept plots of land somewhere along the autobahn (which does not have a set speed limit). And finally, their appreciation for classical music is incredible. I had no idea so many local residents would come to our performances in Durbach and Oppenau to sit through a two-hour long piece, with only one three-minute pause before the Credo.
Being able to collaborate with German musicians while learning about their language and their culture was a truly unforgettable experience. This trip taught me that it is extremely important to learn about different lifestyles and traditions throughout the world because it makes you become a more aware and well-rounded individual. My eyes have been opened to yet another part of the world and another unique perspective that I can cherish forever. If you ever get the chance to study abroad, please do so. It will really make you think differently about the United States’ context in history, being such a young country. One of the reasons I didn’t want to leave Germany was because of all the castles, the ruins, and the stories behind the development of civilization in this part of the world, but I can’t wait to see how America continues to evolve and change as time passes. Expose yourself to different cultures, languages, food, scenery, and lifestyles. It will really make you appreciate the world’s diversity and beauty on a different level, and I think that’s one of the best things about study-abroad trips in college. Take advantage of these learning opportunities, because you never know when or where they will present themselves again.
