4. Going to lots of Museums
I think the best thing about traveling anyway is checking out all the new museums! In my mind, museums are a lot like history classes and books - what you learn from one in your own country, will be drastically different from what you learn in one from a different country. As with history classes, the host country will always try to portray itself in the best light, so going to other countries will teach you about that countries own version of the story! It's like being a detective and having to match up people's stories and alibis to figure out the whole story! So, going to museums will be fascinating because of all the artifacts they'll have on display. It will be a breath of fresh air - because as much as I do love history and museums, the same stories and artifacts tend to get a little boring! I hear the museums in Berlin are just fantastic, and have so much history and substance to them. Truth be told, I would to get the chance to work in one of those museums... in fact it's on my list of things to apply for during my year off before grad school!
Judisches Museum, Berlin
This has always been the museum I've wanted to go to! It's the Jewish museum in Berlin, and has a permanent exhibition documenting two millennia of German Jewish History. Unlike some museums who keep the same artifacts on display and rarely change anything, the Judisches museum is active in adding new artifacts and changing the organization of the displays. They also have several exhibitions that are non-permanent. Right now one of their exhibitions is on the Jewish influence over the comic book world, which sounds so fascinating in the most nerdy fashion :)
Deutsches Historisches Museum, Berlin
It's pretty obvious to see why a history buff would want to go to the German history museum in Berlin! They have a permanent exhibition of your general historical stuff, as well as a few non-permanent exhibitions. Now, I realize I'm not exactly making this sound like the most amazing museum ever, but their website isn't too helpful or well done, so it's hard to talk it up... but trust me! It should be awesome!
Holocaust Memmorial, Berlin
Given my affinity for all things Holocaust, it's not a surprise that I want to go here! Though it's not technically a museum, it will still be a learning experience, and definitely not one I will want to pass up!
Easily the greatest thing about going to all of these museums is that, according to my program guide, I can buy a pass for 20 Euros that will get me into every museum! I'm not sure how long the pass is for (possibly a year!), but $35 dollars to get into every museum in the city! How could I possibly pass up this opportunity?
5. Visiting Auschwitz
I realize this is not something a "normal" person would necessarily be excited about, it's something they would potentially want to do, but not exactly something they would be excited about, since it is quite a morbid and depressing excursion. But I've spent the last year devoted to studying the Holocaust and really trying to understand why and how it was carried out. I've read more details about the extermination camps and firing squads than most people my age, and as a result, I've became slightly immune to the horrific stories. That's not to say that I don't feel any emotion when I read or hear a survivors story, but most of the time, the stories aren't surprising to me. It's not that I've heard it all before, it's that I know what they were doing to people in the camps, so hearing it from a survivor just reiterates the fact to me, and makes it more real.
So that's why I'm excited to go to Auschwitz... For me, it will be like putting a face to the name. I'll finally get to see the site that I've read so much about. And I know it will only make me more passionate about studying it. They also have free admission (perfect for a poor college student), and you can even take a seminar or visit a lecture about the extermination camp. For me, this is one of the most exciting things I'll be doing!
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