A Weekend in Greifswald

Frohe Montag, dear humans! Happy Monday!

I hope you are all enjoying a warm and sunny summer day wherever you may be. The students of the Berlin Language and Culture Program for Session 1 are currently cold and wet as Berlin has been in the 50s and 60s with a lot of rain thrown in. No matter the weather though, summertime vibes were high this weekend as we took trip to the city of Greifswald on the Ostsee (Baltic Sea).

On Friday afternoon we left Berlin and drove 3 hours into Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, one Bundestaat (state) north of Berlin. We did a tour of the charming fortress town of Greifswald, followed by ice cream and free time before heading back to our Jugendherberger (youth hostel). At the hostel, we grilled out while students explored the docks, played on the playground and made friends with some Russian and Ukrainian youths who were also staying there. It was so cool to watch them bond through sports and exchange names on SnapChat and form bonds so quickly.

The next day we did a boat tour on the Baltic Sea and went to the beach where some of the students braved the cold water and the seaweed. I think it is safe to say of all the programs we are one of the northern-most and would probably win the award for the northern-most swimmers this summer.

It was a truly amazing two days for the participants and they got to bond more deeply without the rush of having to be anywhere or the stress of the U-Bahn and classes, not to mention the lack of Wi-Fi! There was a sleepy calm as we all rode back to Berlin on the bus together and said our goodbyes and the day was capped off with a last-minute win from Germany over Sweden. It was definitely a weekend we won't soon forget. Since it is hard to sum up in words or photos all that we experienced please enjoy this short, silly video of some of our time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MivgWWpoQrM

Danke und bis bald!

Julianne