We landed in Munich around nine in the morning and jumped on a bus to Nuremberg immediately. When getting off the plane, our group rushed to customs and checked out our bags. For the first hours in Germany, I sat on a bus for two hours headed north and fell in love with the countryside.
The freshly furrowed and beautifully agricultural setting amazed me. Trees, hills, and farms dominated the distance between Munich and Nuremberg. The serene and sun-kissed landscape made my transition to Germany–for the first time–feel smooth. The single houses, villages, towns that lay sporadically by the highway we rode on gave me a glimpse to the beauty of Germany. Though I could only peer into these communities and estates for mere seconds, the architecture remained consistent, which gave an identity to Germany. Modest white houses with red roofs made this terrain symphonic. I did not do anything else on the commute but stare and try to grasp this new region. I saw all of this through the window glass of the bus.
We had a rest stop halfway through and I sat down outside on a bench staring out to yonder. I couldn’t speak; I had to process this new land. The sun engulfed my skin as I watched Germans at the rest stop. I began to feel excited. What I saw out of the window glass was real: a Germany that would offer me unique experiences.
I got back on the bus and I finally slept. When I awoke, I was surprised by the architectural magnificence of Nuremberg. The buildings kept to a pastel color theme and structural style: two or three stories with a medium width. Although I was still on the bus, I could feel the elegance of this city I have never heard of prior. The glass divided me physically from these new environments but I nonetheless grew to like them and become transfixed.
The afternoon in Nuremberg which followed would solidify that I am learning and having fun but I knew that already based on the window’s entailing depiction of Germany. Based on mere landscape or architecture, a hope for the trip instilled in me. Even from watching people walk on the street from a third person perspective far away separated by glass, I knew Germany was a real place waiting to present critical life lessons and stories I will remind myself of every day–even if subconsciously. Germany seemed like a united front from an exterior view and I can confirm; From the kindness of our tour guide today who taught us about degenerate art damaged during Hitler’s regime or the protest me among other students stumbled upon today, Germany is alive and ready to evoke inner reflection crucial to the Deerfield Experience.
