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Class of 2000 International Travel Seminar
Class Diary |
Date: 2/22/2000 |
IALP Class of 2000 |
Berlin, Germany |
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  We
started the day with Juergen Heitmann, former Ag attaché for the German
Embassy in Washington DC, who escorted us to the large farm of
Rhinmilch-Verbund outside of Berlin. The farm lies in the formally
communist territory of Germany, that has undergone the changes to convert
from a commune/coop farming system, into a corporate, for-profit farming
business. The all but average farm is made up of approximately
10,000 acres of cropland, pasture, and non-tillable ground, as well as,
approximately 3300 head of dairy cattle and 1400 head of beef cattle.
We ended the tour with an authentic German meal in a small nearby town
that displayed a culmination of wonderful food, and gracious hosts. |
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 This
afternoon we took a guided bus tour to the formerly divided cities of East
and West Berlin. We learned that Berlin is a 760 year old city of 3
million people that was 80% destroyed during World War II.
The German parliament has a three stage plan to
reinvigorate the city that will enable them to accommodate the 183
different embassies that are moving to Berlin from the former capital of
Bonn. The German planners also have the task of consolidating all the
formerly separated cultural and governmental divisions.
During our tour, we saw several famous and historical
landmarks. We saw Checkpoint Charlie, formerly the only cross point
between the Communist and free societies, the Brandenbug Gate and the most
vivid reminder of the Communist Era, the remnants of the wall separating
the two sides.
The class finished the afternoon with a stop at the Ka
De We department store. This huge complex competes with Herrods for the
title of World's Largest. The walk to the hotel from the store took us
past a church that was partially destroyed by World War II bombs and now
serves as a memorial for its representation of the bombing damage done to
the city during the war.
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