Trip Recap

Now that I finally have a few minutes, I'll write about last week's trip. It was seriously so much fun. On our first field trip to Berlin and Prague, we were all still getting to know each other. While I had a fantastic time there as well, it was even better this time around because we could all relax, joke around, and be silly with each other. It's great to be in a program with people who are all interested in politics and international relations - we can share our serious academic interests during the field trips, but also have a great time in the time off. That's exactly what this field trip was about.

The trip started with our 7 am bus ride to Luxembourg. We were going there to visit the European Court of Justice, which is one of the oldest and most respected EU institutions. The bus ride through Germany and France was relatively uneventful, and we got there with plenty of time to walk around and enjoy the city. Luxembourg is really small and we easily walked around the whole area in under an hour. There were lots of winding European-style streets and shops as usual, but Luxembourg seemed generally nicer than some of the other places we've visited. I guess that's what you get in a country with the highest income per capita in the world (nearly $100,000). You also find really expensive food...ugh. Even still, we enjoyed a nice lunch before leaving for the ECJ. The process of ordering food was interesting. Our waiter knew a little English, some people in our group knew some French, and some of us know some German. We definitely heard all three languages! Ordering tended to go something like this: "Um...le croque madam? Danke - I mean merci!" I definitely lapsed into German a few times, even later on in France! I think I recognized that I shouldn't use English, but I obviously know no French...

Downtown Luxembourg

All dressed up at the ECJ

After lunch, we headed over the ECJ. Our visit honestly wasn't that interesting. We watched a boring informational video and then asked questions. I asked a semi-interesting question about the legal status of GM food on the European market, but legalese is only fun for so long. Even still, we enjoyed walking around the ultra-modern building and taking pictures. There are more pictures in my photo albums (I'll post the links further down). After our visit, we got back on the bus and headed to Brussels. All in all, we visited four countries in one day! No big deal, right?

When we first drove in, I was really impressed with the EU buildings we passed. Brussels is essentially the capital of the EU, and the presence of so many important institutions has really revived the now-international city. There was construction literally everywhere and the whole area seemed to have a high-energy vibe. We visited the Council, the Commission, the Permanent Turkish Representation to the EU, the Representative of the Flemish Government to the EU, and NATO from Tuesday to Thursday.

My favorite meeting was at the Permanent Turkish Representation to the EU. We basically got to sit around a table and ask a high-ranking spokesperson questions about potential Turkish accession to the EU. Many people in my program were/are on the fence about the issue, but a lot of us felt much more convinced that Turkey should eventually join the EU after this meeting. We knew we were dealing with a smooth-talking politician, but we were all very impressed regardless. I might be blacklisted from visiting Turkey for asking about Cyprus, though. The spokesperson had said that Turkey is prepared to go along with the rules of the game, so I said, "You said that Turkey is fully prepared to play by the rules and fulfill the acquis communitaire, but the rules of the game require EU Member States to recognize all other Member States. Will Turkey accept the existence of the Republic of Cyprus, and if not, how will it ever join the EU?" This is definitely one of the most contentious issues for Turkey and the EU, a fact which became all too clear when the room fell silent and then people began giggling nervously. I got a pretty decent answer, though. The spokesperson said that the EU made a mistake in admitting Cyprus to the EU in 2004 before the UN/Turkey/Cyprus had resolved the territorial issues. By doing so, the EU inherently took a side in the conflict. Our speaker did not say that Turkey will recognize Cyprus, but he said that it is committed to working with the UN to establish an appropriate solution. I appreciated the straight talk, and I'm sure the rest of the group did too because everyone was really engaged and asking great questions. It was definitely my favorite meeting, although I really enjoyed going to the Commission and to NATO as well. I won't bore you with details, but it was really interesting to hear about issues such as EU enlargement, energy security, NATO policy in Afghanistan, etc. IES does a great job of finding intelligent and high-ranking officials for us to meet with. I know the entire program really appreciates it.

This is a Belgian waffle with ice cream, strawberries, and chocolate sauce. Dad, I suggest you look away immediately.

After Brussels, we headed over to Paris. We were all super excited for Paris, and even though I had been there once before, I was really looking forward to seeing some new sights with my friends. We stayed in two hotels near Sacre Coeur, and as soon as we got there, we headed out to dinner and then to the Eiffel Tower. It was just as beautiful as it was four years ago. We stayed to see the light show before heading back for an early night. Unfortunately, I started feeling sick on our last day in Brussels/first night in Paris. I still had a great time, but I tried to get as much sleep as possible to get over the sore throat. I have a full-blown cold now, but since it's the first time I've been sick this since last year, I'll deal with it.

We had enough free time in Paris to really explore the city, but not really enough to commit to the museums. Some people went to the Louvre, but most didn't (neither did I). I preferred to walk around, especially since the weather was nice! I visited many of the same sites I had seen before, such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the outside of the Louvre, but I also went down in the Catacombs and to Sacre Coeur this time. I really enjoyed both - the Catacombs were creepy, but really impressive! It's hard to believe there are six million skeletons under the city. Sacre Coeur is also my new favorite French church. I thought the basilica was absolutely gorgeous, and even though there were tons of tourists, it seemed underrated compared to the famous Notre Dame. Some of the other highlights included meeting my friend/roommate from home. She's studying abroad in France and came to Paris for the weekend with one of her friends who just so happens to be friends with a pal of mine in my study abroad program. Then, we called another friend from Brandeis who is studying abroad in Paris. It was great to see those girls and go out to dinner in the Latin Quarter with them. The final highlight was the trip to Versailles on Saturday morning. It was a beautiful palace, so make sure to check out the link to my France photo album!

Outside the Louvre

On Sunday, we headed back to Freiburg. On the way, we stopped at Saint-Avold, which is the largest American military cemetery in Europe. It was really moving to see all of the graves extending in diagonal rows, especially since it was one of those cold and quiet days. I think everyone was very aware of the fact that Americans were in Europe for a completely different reason 70 years ago, but it was good for us to get that sense of perspective. I got a few good pictures at sunset before my camera died. It felt like a good way to wrap up a very fun and successful trip.

Even though I had a great time, I was super excited to come back to Freiburg. I'm surprised at how much I missed it! It was great to walk in the door of my flat, chat to my flatmates for a couple of hours, and just relax. I really lucked out with this whole experience. I love Germany, Freiburg, my program, my friends, my flatmates, the food, the language, and everything else. I'm already dreading the end of the program because I am truly having the time of my life here.

Here are links to two albums:

Luxembourg/Brussels: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160829&id=599810215&l=b05782f11b

Paris: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=160835&id=599810215&l=4cbd9391e2

All for now - I'll post a new update whenever I come up with anything interesting! It's going to be a normal week around here. Can't wait.

Bis spaeter!