A Busy Second Week in Berlin!

After an exciting weekend excursion to Erfurt, students continued with their Global Entrepreneurship class Monday morning. On Monday afternoon, we met artist Johanna Keimeyer and learned about her art and entrepreneurship journey. Johanna explained her methods of promoting herself and her artwork, how she reached out to different galleries and media groups, and her advice for future entrepreneurs. 

Tuesday, students continued working on their entrepreneurship projects in class and had their second German class in the afternoon.

Wednesday, we met with Alex Beck, an entrepreneur and co-founder of the data visualization company Clara. Students got the chance to ask Alex questions about his experience starting a company and his advice for future entrepreneurs. 

Thursday afternoon, we traveled to the German parliament building and were able to go up in the dome of the building for an audio-guided tour. The dome gave great views of Berlin from up above the city!

Friday, we explored the underworlds of Berlin with a guided tour of some Cold War bunkers and underground civil defense shelters left over from World War II. Students got to see the safety measures put in place to protect Berliners from nuclear radiation in the event of an atomic bomb, and the survival gear and amenities they built to house over 3000 people. 

On Saturday we embarked on a day trip to Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg. We went on a guided tour around the city and explored the old gates to the city, the Dutch quarter, modeled after traditional Dutch architecture, and Sanssouci park, where we visited three palaces built by Friedrich Wilhelm IV. 

Sunday was another day trip, this time to Oranienburg, to visit Sachsenhausen concentration camp. We had a guided tour through the now-museum site and learned more about the horrors of the Holocaust and the history of the violence that occurred at Sachsenhausen.