I’m beginning my second week of classes and really falling in love with Bavaria. I can tell that even after only one week of class here at the CDC, my German skills are improving greatly. Speaking the language for several hours each day has helped me gain new vocabulary and given me an immense deal of practice.
Everyday I’m done with class at 1 o’clock, so I’ve been spending my afternoons exploring Munich and the surrounding areas. One highlight from the past week was visiting the town of Freising, which is about 30 minutes outside of Munich. I was able to tour the beautiful cathedral there, which sits on top of a hill overlooking the town. I’m really beginning to love the design styles present in the churches of Bavaria, which are much brighter and light filled than the gothic styles of most major European churches. I found out while reading a pamphlet in the Freising cathedral that Pope Benedict XVI was ordained a priest there in 1951 and taught at the local seminary for a number of years. The offices of the Munich archdiocese were attached to the cathedral, so I was able to go inside and see the private chapel the pope formerly used when he was Joseph Ratzinger, the archbishop of Munich.
Last saturday, I took a bus to Nuremberg for the day. The city was beautiful and offered a nice change from the faster paced atmosphere in Munich. The city was an important center for the Nazi movement, so I was able to visit many sites relating to national socialism and World War II. I spent a significant amount of time at the Nazi Documentation Center, which focuses on the growth of the Nazi movement, with a particular emphasis on Nazi activities in Nuremberg. The museum is built into Congress Hall, a building intended to serve as a Nazi party legislative meeting place, but left unfinished by Hitler. In a symbolic gesture, a metal beam cuts through the building, displaying the death of National Socialism. I also visited the courtroom where the Nuremberg trials were conducted, which is actually still an active court room today. To bring my visit to these sites full circle, I visited Dachau concentration camp the next day. It’s an eerie place that just has a strange air about it. It’s hard to describe, but it’s almost as if the land itself remembers the atrocities committed there.
Celebrating Independence Day here in Munich was fairly uneventful. Since there are very few Americans at the CDC there were no big events going on. However, it was interesting to see reactions from other students when I told them it was our national holiday. Many students come from countries with no comparable level of nationalism to the United States, so some, while not surprised about the concept of a national holiday, and were surprised about people actually wanting to celebrate it. To have a bit of an American celebration, I went with Nathan O’Halloran, SJ, and Daniel Rashid to one of the local restaurants and we had a beer, toasting the good old U.S.A.