May Term 2013
The battle of Salamis as metaphor on Greece
As we left Athens this morning for the Peloponnesian peninsula, I realized that the Battle of Salamis may serve as a metaphor for both the past and the future of Greece. The past is easier to discuss. It’s much of what we’ve seen. Today, for example, we were on our way to visit two wondrous ruins of the … Continue reading
Greece and the EU: is the birthplace of democracy the graveyard of the European Union?
We’re at the limits of the European Union—in more ways than one. We arrived yesterday (though it seems longer ago) in Athens, 1100 miles from Berlin, via Warsaw on Lot Airlines—no doubt an event to be celebrated. We’re in the city with 5 million people, and it’s easy to talk about the birth of democracy. It happened here, and … Continue reading
The EU: A View from Berlin
We started the day at one of the best views in Berlin—at the US Embassy in sight of the Brandenburg Gate. Our ticket there was Karin Churchey, a 1993 graduate of IWU who earned a MA in International Economics and Politics from the Johns Hopkins University; her career shifted from State Farm to State Department … Continue reading
A Cool Day doing Cool Things in Berlin
Today was a religious holiday in Germany; though no one could tell us what it celebrated, no one seemed to object to having the day off (that’s very European—the numerous holidays; one’s initial job gets frequently 4 weeks’ vacation! Plus 10 holidays!). Most museums were open, however, so we spent a big part of the … Continue reading
Frederick the Great meets another Frederick the Great
A carefree day at Sans Scouci, (which means carefree) Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1740-1786) met the other Frederick today (me) and only one of us is still standing. Fortunately, it’s me. The encounter was at Sans Souci park in Potsdam, the summer home of the Hohenzollern family, which transformed Prussia from a minor principality … Continue reading
Ode to Cologne of Eau du cologne
When I saw our original schedule, I saw that we were spending an hour changing trains in Cologne; I went to the German train schedules and saw almost hourly service from Cologne to Berlin, and asked our agent if it would be possible to spend a few hours in Cologne before reembarking on the express to … Continue reading
Where will you meet your Waterloo?
Some of us took advantage of this cool rainy afternoon to view the battlefield that marked the end of an effort to create a “European union”—the battlefield where Napoleon (if you remember the 50s song) met his Waterloo. I did not realize it was close to Brussels, but it’s less than 10 miles outside the city; … Continue reading