A Taste of Diversity: Gettin' Grub in Germany

As November makes it's exit, I wanted to end the month by sharing with you a taste of my travel to Deutschland! So Guten Tag (Good day) everyone from Koln, Germany !! Grab ya plates and grab ya knives... it's time to dig my friends :)

The Meal

My journey to Germany, began with a very unique opportunity made available by the graduate department of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park. It was during the year of 2013, as an undergrad student, that I was granted special permission to take and attend this graduate level, study abroad course. And Let me tell you that I am so glad that I made this decision! I learned SO much valuable information regarding public health and Germany in general. And to top it all off, I was able to co-publish a scholarly article along side my lovely line sister, Michele, which compared and contrasted sex education among the United States of America and Germany. Click this link to read our publication. Well, I don't want to bore you with an academic run down of my 14 or some odd days in Germany... so I'll stop right here and give you some of favorite highlights of the trip!

Favorite Ingredients

1. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. FOOD. I kid you not, I had the best eating experience of my life in Germany ! My tastebuds were literally in a frenzy as the food options there were so diverse. While I was on the trip, I happily indulged in Hispanic, South African, Italian, American, Asian, and of course traditional German entrees to include sauerkraut covered sausages. Also fun fact... beer cost less than water in Germany !

2. The Sewage Plant. Ok i'm sure you all are like what in the world is wrong with this girl! But here me out. I was able to see first hand the process of transforming sewage waste turned back into clean and sustainable water. And to my surprise the scientific process was absolutely intriguing! I know i'm really showing off my geeky side here, but to see how something so defiled can be turned back into a delicacy was academically satisfying.

3. Soccer. So a little insight about me... I LOVE sports!! Although, I'm an avid sports fan, soccer is one of the few sports that I did not play growing up. Despite this, it has quickly become one of my favorite sports due to my time in Germany. Germans (Europeans in general) are crazy about soccer! I learned this so intimately one day as I was taking the Rail to another part of the country. There were so many people on the train wearing black and red, throwing beer cans, and in an uproar of excitement. I had no idea what was going on, but I soon discovered that a German soccer team had just won a match. To this day, I still do not know the name of the team, but what I do know is that, that train ride was truly unforgettable.

4. El De Haus. I would be truly remised, if I went to Germany and did not pay respect to those persons and families affected by one of the most horrifying events of history, the Holocaust. As an African American, I understand all too well the effects of being ostracized and oppressed due to the make up of one's physical features or lack thereof. And so I visited the El De Haus which is one of the places where the Nazi regime took a Jewish man's ,Leapold Dahmen, jewelry business and turned it into a Jewish jail and executing grounds. As you can imagine the conditions for the prisoners there were beyond inhuman, and the experience was moving to say the least.

5. To top off this meal i'm going to talk about a much sweeter ingredient, and that was taking a cable, car ride over the Rhine River. I mean how cool is it to be suspended hundreds of feet in the air, with a top notch view of the city of Koln?! Im telling you now, if you haven't taken a cable car ride of your own, you should definitely add it to your bucket list!

Order to Go?

If you are looking for some peace and quiet within Europe, I would definitely recommend a trip to Deutschland! My favorite aspect about Germany was how peaceful and tranquil it is..well at least in Koln. I also loved the fact that exploring and navigating neighboring cities (and countries) was super easy... all you needed to do was purchase a train ticket and off you go!