Two Weeks Down!

Last week we had our first week of classes! (Well.. as a BIMS student, I only have two classes right now.. [Three if you count German.]) So I don't really have a very full schedule, maybe two classes maximum per day, but regardless, I'm slowly getting back into the school groove! We were supposed to go to the House of History on Monday, but apparently it's closed on Monday's... Oh well, we got to re-schedule for next week (so I'll cover it in my next post!) Last Thursday the whole Biosciences group went to Koln for the day, and it was a totally AMAZING experience! Our guide for the city tour was awesome! He was funny, entertaining, and extremely knowledgeable about Koln's history. I had no idea the Romans were such a big part of the city's history! I was also very surprised (and excited!) to hear that the cathedral in Koln held the remains of the three wise men. As a Catholic, this meant a lot for me to be able to really see parts of my religion's history present here today. I didn't get the chance to go into the cathedral yet, but I plan on attending mass there sometime in the near future.

Speaking of which, our tour of the cathedral was positively AMAZING! Being able to go "behind the scenes" in such a historic building was truly spectacular. The bells were huge, and standing next to the part of the bell that rings it (one of the "dingers" had fallen down) really showed us just how immense the bells are. The view from the top of the tower was breath taking, you could see for miles! (Well not really since there's a lot of clouds here, but you get the point.) We took TONS of pictures from the outside and the inside from the upper walkway. It was really neat to be able to walk around the entire perimeter of the church on that upper walkway. (The part that was inside but still super high up.) The stained glass was phenomenal there, but I couldn't imagine being the person that was responsible for boarding it up during WWII.

We also toured the EL DE Haus, which was the old gustapo headquarters. I cannot even begin to imagine the truly horrorific events those prisoners went through. How anyone survived such terrible treatment says something truly awe-inspiring about their character and will to survive. If it had been me, I have no doubt I would have given up. How anyone could do such a thing to another human being is beyond me. They fit thirty-three people in each cell. THIRTY-THREE. I have no idea how that was even possible, the cells seemed crowded with just our group of about twelve in them... And I can't imagine only eating bread and sawdust  soup twice a day. I'm not even sure how that is enough to survive on.. so the "will to survive" must have been great in order for the victims to survive such torture. The human mind is seriously amazing. Going through museums like the EL DE Haus makes one sincerely grateful to be blessed with such an "easy" life. I don't think that even the toughest of my own struggles can even begin to touch anything that was experienced by the prisoners in that camp... I am truly blessed.

Well that's all for now folks! See ya next week!

Paige