Author: koch.373

Mind the Bike Path

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The last leg of our trip was to Berlin, Germany. I was very excited to go to Germany because I have German ancestry. I was ready to attempt any German word that I knew, although that mainly consisted of “nein” and ”guten tag.” I expected to not be able to communicate with any of the locals and to have to resort to gestures and guessing. I was shocked that most people were able to speak English during a conversation. Ordering food was a lot simpler and asking for directions was less intimidating. I can honestly say I was a little disappointed there was not more of a language barrier. I wanted to be fully immersed in the German culture and seeing English signs, although useful, was kind of a bummer. I enjoyed when Professor Davidson would speak with the locals in fluent German. There is something fascinating about watching two people communicate and not knowing what is going on.

Although there were English signs and people were able to speak English, the German transportation system was the hardest for me to learn by far. You could travel by bus, train, or subway with the same ticket. There were so many different options, I never knew which was the best to pick and what options combined would get me to my destination the fastest (or at all). I was grateful for the times when Professor Davidson and Professor Steigerwald would travel with us. Even though I know I should not have, I basically followed them blindly while in Berlin.

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Something that will forever be engrained in my memory is “mind the bike path.” If you walked in the bike path, you were guaranteed to get it. It was a common phrase for us to use because we loved combining the warning with “mind the gap” from the London Underground. It took a while for me to get use to, but I started to really like the idea of a bike path and wondered why this was not something commonly used in other countries, like the United States.

While “minding the bike path,” I loved looking around at the city as I walked. The history of Berlin was so evident, whether it was the remains of a bombed train station or the graffiti covering every surface. World War II and the Cold War were so prominent within the landscape and architecture of the city. It was so fascinating to see history right in front of my face. Seeing the Berlin Wall and the East Side Gallery were two times that I was staring straight at history and there was no ignoring it.

A section of East Side Gallery, once the Berlin Wall.

A section of East Side Gallery, once the Berlin Wall.

My time in Berlin will be a cultural and historical endeavor that I will never forget.

The Longest Walk

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Poland was the next country on our list. We were headed to Krakow to visit Auschwitz, one of the locations I was most interested in visiting on this study abroad trip. I was very apprehensive about going to Auschwitz, though. How does one correctly react to walking the very steps of a murdered human? That is exactly what we did in Auschwitz on the tour. At Auschwitz II- Birkenau, the tour guide had us walk the very steps that thousands of victims had done before us.

View from the inside of Auschwitz II- Birkenau.

View from the inside of Auschwitz II- Birkenau.

It started at the railroad that led into the camp. It was so hard to imagine that hundreds of thousands of people had been brought through that very gate by rail car. We then stopped in front of an actual rail car that was used during the Holocaust to transport Jews and other victims of the Nazis. Our tour guide explained the selection process of who would live and who would die. It was so hard to watch as he physically pointed at the areas that the selected would stand. We walked the path that those selected to die would walk. I could not help but to stare at the ground as we walked. It seemed impossible for me to grasp that exactly where I was walking, a girl the same age as me had probably done the same thing. It made me feel ill. During the final part of our journey, we walked through the actual gate doors that led to the crematorium. It felt surreal knowing all the death that surrounded me on those cursed grounds.

Inside one of the huts.

Inside one of the huts at Auschwitz II- Birkenau. The men, women, and children who were to be sent to the crematorium stayed here.

The whole day of walking through Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau left my chest feeling heavy. I could not believe all that I had actually witnessed. It was one thing to read about this place in historical fiction and nonfiction books. It was entirely different to actually walk into an old crematorium and see the furnaces, or walk into a brick building full of wooden shelves that people slept on until they died. Everywhere I walked I saw death and destruction, the consequences of pure evil. Walking through the labor/death camp felt like the longest journey I had ever taken, as each step weighed my heart down more and more. It was a day I will never forget and an experience that will stay with me forever.

The day of this trip I was faced with another interesting predicament. It was my 21st birthday. I was again faced with a challenging question: how do I celebrate my 21st birthday on the day that I visited the location where so many were murdered? I felt guilty having any sort of excitement for that day. I approached the situation the best way I knew. I accepted birthday wishes with a smile, but while at the camp I pushed the memory of my birthday out of my mind completely. It felt disrespectful to be happy about anything in such a morbid place.

Once we left Auschwitz II- Birkenau, I took the bus ride back to the hotel as a debriefing time. It was a way for me to transition to a celebratory mood without feeling selfish or conceited. That night I enjoyed my time in Krakow, walking around the town square and hanging out with my friends. I would occasionally think back on the day and remember all that I had seen. Although it would be a very sobering memory, I looked upon my current joy as a way that I could honor those who lost their lives. Remembering and honoring them is right, but it does not need to consume the life I have been given. I am honored to say that I went to Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II- Birkenau on my birthday. It is important to celebrate life as well as mourn death.

Sara Wendel and I celebrating my birthday.

Sara Wendel and I celebrating my birthday.

They Gave It All

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The next stop on our trip after London was a small city called Bayeux in Normandy, France. We were to spend about five days there learning about and exploring the sites associated with the D-Day invasion June 6, 1944. One aspect we covered thoroughly was the loss of life during this operation. We visited three cemeteries: the British cemetery, the German cemetery, and the American cemetery.

The American cemetery had a large impact on me. It was a rude awakening to enter and see thousands of white headstones dedicated to the fallen American soldiers in Normandy. It is one thing to see and study the numbers of the dead Americans. It is an entirely different thing to see that number physically in front of you, represented by Crosses and Stars of David.

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While visiting the cemetery, I had the honor of placing a flag on the grave of a former student of The Ohio State University. It was not an honor I took lightly or for granted. This action held a very special place in my heart. I was representing not only my study abroad group, but also my university and ultimately my country. I felt very humbled as I knelt before the Cross engraved with Thomas R. Barry.

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The American cemetery represented something else to me that day. While on this trip, my grandfather passed away. He was a World War II veteran who served his country in the navy. He served aboard the escort carrier USS Wake Island (CVE-65) as an Aviation Boatsman, 3rd Class Petty Officer. He traveled to Karachi, India and back and hunted German U-boats in the Atlantic, sinking one in the process. He traveled to the Pacific Ocean through the Panama Canal and participated in the Invasion of the Philippines, where he was wounded by shrapnel. He also participated in the Invasion of Okinawa, where his ship was hit by two Kamikaze aircrafts. He was serving on the USS Wake Island when it became the first carrier to land a jet-propelled plane on November 6, 1945.

I grew up hearing all of the different stories connected to these excursions. It is a large part of my own history and is one of the main reasons I chose this study abroad trip. I was unable to attend his funeral and pay him final respects. There was no closure. Being there that day and honoring the fallen soldiers of the same war he fought in gave me a little bit of that closure I was longing for. Thomas R. Barry, among thousands of others, died in a foreign country. Family members did not have that closure and final goodbye when he/she died and was buried. Walking through the cemetery and paying my respects felt like I was doing just that. I honored the great sacrifice they made when they gave it all.

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London, the City of Stairs

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As the plane took off from the Columbus airport (CMH), I honestly could not believe this trip was finally happening. I had never flown before, nor have I left the country. As Sara Wendel and I traveled from CMH to JFK to LHR (Heathrow), I was overcome with nerves and excitement. That first day in London, Sara and I explored the city on our own. We had arrived a day early, so it was up to us entirely what to do that day.

The plane ride to London.

The plane ride to London.

We became masters of the Tube (Underground), witnessed London’s beautiful architecture, and got lost a few times. I was overwhelmed with the history that was so visible around me. Walking through the Tube, I could not help but to think of the people who took shelter down there during the bombings of World War II. Londoners daily live in the history of their country.

The Underground, Marble Arch Station

The Underground, Marble Arch Station

One of my favorite excursions that first day was climbing to the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral. Sara and I took the 550 steps up to the rotunda at the very top. It was the most amazing view I had ever witnessed. Not only could I see buildings that were hundreds of years old, like the Tower of London, but I could also see buildings that were only a few years old, like the Shard. That drastic contrast of architecture and history amazed me. It was beautiful to see the past and present so intertwined.

London, view from St. Paul's

London, view from St. Paul’s

Another unforgettable moment from that first day was traversing Hyde Park. It was a warm and sunny day so the park was full of kids, dogs, and runners. Not only was the park itself stunning, but so too was the life surrounding me. As Sara and I walked, I could hear so many different languages being spoken, it filled me with awe. It is so rare to hear a romance language spoken in the United States. Throughout the park were monuments and memorials dedicated to monarchs and great people of the past. I constantly felt immersed in both modern culture and history.

Sara Wendel and I in Hyde Park

Sara Wendel and I in Hyde Park

            My first day in London was an excellent precursor for the rest of my time there. It was hard to move from one area to the next because I felt like I had not soaked up enough of the history or culture (or both) in that particular part of London. There was always something new to learn and explore. I loved exploring Westminster Abbey with its rich monarchal (ancient and current) history. Leaving London now, I feel there is so much more I could have learned and I pray that in the future I have the chance to return to this amazing city.

Here’s Bethany!

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Greetings!
My name is Bethany Koch. I am going to be a fourth year at The Ohio State University. I am double majoring in Social Work and History. (If anyone reading this knows how to combine the two, let me know!) I am from a small town in northwestern Ohio, so being in Columbus the past three years has been very eye-opening. I have never left the country, so I am extremely excited for my first ever flight and international travel! I have always loved learning about history, especially World War II. My grandpa was in the Navy and fought on the USS Wake Island during the war, so I grew up hearing all of his stories.

I will be giving my site report at Hitler’s Bunker. It will be so surreal knowing that I am standing in the spot that I have studied all semester. I am also spending my 21st birthday in Poland, which will be one for the history books (history pun intended).

I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity and I cannot wait to fly out in a few days!

Here’s Bethany!

by

Greetings!
My name is Bethany Koch. I am going to be a fourth year at The Ohio State University. I am double majoring in Social Work and History. (If anyone reading this knows how to combine the two, let me know!) I am from a small town in northwestern Ohio, so being in Columbus the past three years has been very eye-opening. I have never left the country, so I am extremely excited for my first ever flight and international travel! I have always loved learning about history, especially World War II. My grandpa was in the Navy and fought on the USS Wake Island during the war, so I grew up hearing all of his stories.

I will be giving my site report at Hitler’s Bunker. It will be so surreal knowing that I am standing in the spot that I have studied all semester. I am also spending my 21st birthday in Poland, which will be one for the history books (history pun intended).

I am very thankful for this amazing opportunity and I cannot wait to fly out in a few days!