Some Eurothoughts

Well I am back in the USA-have been for a while actually. The last few weeks in Augsburg were a bit hectic. Despite all the other fun, I was over there to take some classes and of course it all had to catch up with us the last week. We had finals all week. Because of the happy ABA I was taking the classes pass/fail, so I was not worried too much but I did do some studying. Two of my exams were written and two were oral. The written ones were not bad at all-familiar format. The language issue made actually finding the question a bit more of a challenge. The oral exams were odd. One of them was extremely short and poorly managed by the professor. It was just two confusing questions that he went answer-fishing for. The other oral was much better in every way. I felt much better about the knowledge I demonstrated.

The law aspect of the trip was quite neat in the end. Learning some of the EU’s law was absolutely great actually. The EU is clearly important in the world, but it is much different than the US in law and philosophy. Imagine 27 different countries, with different languages and different cultures-all of who have killed millions of each other over the centuries. As you would imagine the law is pretty byzantine and bizarre with many different levels of uniformity. Some aspects are strangely undemocratic while others would make American liberals happy. Our strange cousins are trying hard to keep peace in Europe. After the past millennia it important to encourage them, but I would fear that Europe has lost its backbone. Of course it is easy for Americans to say this-we have plenty of examples of their compromising and backsliding to point to. The EU does not necessarily help with this impression. Because of its diversity compromise is the name of the game. If you want to get Spain and Finland to agree you need a compromise (not that they are mortal enemies). A lot of differences between the EU countries seem to be papered over by rules and regs from Brussels. As the news shows too, there is far from uniformity on how united to make Europe. There has always been significant tension between the UK and the Continent and now Eastern Europe has joined the stew too. Europe will have to decide how real they want their union. Is it for the lawyers only or is it going to be real and truly unified. This will take some tough choices. I would wonder whether the diversity of all the members can really be respected simultaneously with unification. Is there a European Culture? Despite what liberals say, there truly is an American culture that is strong, deep and powerful, and it keeps us together. What about Europe?

There are numerous little comparisons I heard or came up with to compare America and Europe: risk-taking v. risk-averse; individualistic v. social; competitive v. communal, etc. Of course all of them are true. Of course all of them are also half-true. Each country I visited has a different mixture of these things. The UK, not surprisingly, feels more like us than Continental Europe. I truly believe that there is a unique culture of the “English-speaking peoples.” The Brits ruled the world once and they remember how in a lot of ways, which shows in how they act and how truly international their outlook is. I did remember hearing a German complain once that the Brits are grasping at trying to remain important in a new world. That is true too.

As I have written, Germany is still racked by the past in a lot of ways. Recovery from WW2 is still working along. One example I heard a few times was about the simple act of being proud to be German. In the past, even being excited for the German national soccer team (such as displaying the flag) would have been considered radical. Now people put the German flag on their cars and are happy to wave the flag at soccer games. I think this must be healthy. Although it’s true that the Germans still have that power that the rest of Continental Europe has a hard time summoning (look at the biggest companies), I would be suspicious of the idea that a healthy national pride would be easily twisted again. The Germans seem aware of themselves. Like it or not Germany is the engine of Europe and it needs to be strong or Europe will only become marginalized.

I have decided to keep writing this blog now that I am back. I am not sure what format it will take. Travel is easy since I could always talk about the new things around me. But I will try to keep up a good mixture of stuff. I really appreciated all y’all who read and commented on things over the past two months. Conversations like the one following my Nuremberg entry are great and I want to keep that up. So please keep reading and keep commenting!

Peering into the shadows...a visit to Nuremberg

This weekend I did something that I had wanted to do the whole time I was in Bavaria: go to Nuremberg. Whether it was intentional or not the city played host to the book ends of the Nazis in Germany with the great party rallies on the one hand and the Nuremberg Trials on the other.

Although it only happened by coincidence, I visited the location of the Trials first. In the end I think this was best because I saw where the Nazis were revealed as the monsters and criminals they were before I saw the great edifices and visions of the party on the other side of town. Physically the courtroom where the Trials took place is not remarkable. The room was mostly redone in the 60s and in fact the room is still used during the week for normal court activities. But the large marble doors and the small elevator door that ran from the jail cells bellow are still there, just as in the pictures of the Trials.

The tour was actually and short presentation and a film. The Trials were unique and first of their kind because individuals were held accountable for actions done in the name of the state. The charges were: 1. Violation of peace (basically) 2. Waging an aggressive war. 3. War crimes and 4. Crimes against humanity. The Court actually had pretty suspicious jurisdiction. Really the four Allies were trying the Nazi ministers and generals under newly formed international law with an ad hoc military and civilian court. But procedure aside, the cooperation of the Allies in exposing point by point the Holocaust and the various other atrocities was essential, and served to strip the Nazi regime of the dignity of being the sovereign government of Germany and made it into a criminal organization of killers.

One thing I learned was that the US military ended up trying close to 200 Nazis for crimes related to the regime after the famous Nuremburg Trials of the main cronies. All were conducted by military courts and they did not have the international cooperation that the main Trials did (see Cold War).

On the other side of Nuremberg are very different monuments from that time. For various reasons the Nazi party chose Nuremberg as a kind of model city and spiritual center of the movement. Because of this the city was the location of Nazi party rallies beginning in the 20s. Of course later in the 30s once the Nazis had taken power but before the war had started it was the location of the terrifying, massive rallies. The party parade grounds were designed by Albert Speer, along with Hitler, to promote a sense of historical and epic grandeur as well as a kind of elimination of personhood in front of the power of the party. Fortunately most of their architectural visions were never realized, but a few were. All of them that survive are huge, pseudo-classical looking things that were designed to be historical even when brand new in the sense that you are supposed to think of the Coliseum or something when you see them. Of course Nuremberg has grown up and changed around these buildings in the past 70 years but I did not like how the place felt. It was intensely depressing, even now.

Something that is admirable about the Germans is that they are not afraid of telling you about their past. Today I can tell being here that there is still deep shame (and maybe fear) associated with the Nazis, but they have not turned away and forgotten what they did. As evidence of this, right at the party parade grounds there is an excellent museum that documents the rise, deceptions and atrocities of the Nazis. The Germans know that they took the Nazi’s poison out of a misguided sense of being German. I don’t think they will ever let themselves forget this either.

The question that always remains is how it happened. The highest points and the lowest points of Western Civilizations are both attributable to the German people and it’s hard to know why. How did the German people get swept so completely up in to the false heroic and epic myth that the Nazis created? How did they do what they? One of the things that strikes me about Nazism, so far as I have read and now seen, is how stupid it is. I realize that is a strange word to use because Nazism is of course evil and horrendous, but it is also stupid. If you ever read about some of the false “science” or anti-history that made up the Nazi mythos it is just the lowest drivel with no basis in reality. And even the buildings that they built around Nuremberg have this absurdity about them because it seems that the Nazis were fantasizing with stone about a world that never was and never would be.

But the Nazis and their crimes were very real and millions paid the price for their deceptions and for the blind, gullible minds of the Germans who fell for and followed the idiocy. So still the question of why is there. I have concluded, at least for now, that the Nazis represent something about humanity. If you take the worship of aggression, power, raw mob emotion, human superiority and unmitigated pride to their farthest extreme you find the evil that was the Nazis. A human being with no sense of morality, no recognition of humankind, and no knowledge of God only has himself and his desire for power as his idols. This is why the Nazis were so powerful; they tapped in that part that is in all of us that desires to be superior when we have no right to be, and they used it incredibly effectively. That kind of power destroys, kills, moves millions, but, like the Nazis, will fall and die at the hands of those who have a moral center, who recognize human brotherhood and who know of God.

A day in the life...

I realize that I have not written as much since I have gotten to Germany as I did before. Honestly that’s because there are less adventures to talk about. After traveling around London to the Orkneys to Belgium, I’ve pretty much stayed in one place this past month. I’ve tried to be good and talk about the weekends-hope that’s been satisfactory.

But my routine here is not thrilling. It’s much like anywhere else, even with the language issue. Do to some genius scheduling I have class starting at 8am most of the days of the week. That means my morning begins early. I take an old sit on your bare-bum shower that has been described previously and I figure out which of my 6 shirts I am going to wear for the day. For the first few weeks I ate Kellogg’s Corn Flakes for breakfast. I basically used trial and error to find the right kind of milk (incidentally the first turned out to be skim, the second whole, finally I found “just right.”). Now I am eating “Musli” with chocolate for breakfast. It’s much better and my days are just a bit better from the stomach point of view.

One of the weirdest and unexpected things about Germany is that there is a tradition that all university classes start 15 minutes late. For while we Americans would sit there and be like what the heck! Another odd thing is that normally class attendance was not part of German legal education. The amount of folks who attends class fluctuates pretty widely. In order to fit even a basic amount of information in to the program our classes are very long. One of them are 4 hours, others are 2 or 3. The 4 hour class on EU law is my favorite but it’s quite the marathon anyway. The profs here like to use power point, which is unusual for me from UNC. Also so far as I can tell class-participation by the students is very rare for German students. It’s a lecture after all I suppose. Well we Americans try to speak up and some of the German professors actually have adopted a more American style of “Socratic” questioning about cases and fact-patterns. I would squirm if I were the Germans and wasn’t use to it. I would squirm twice as much if I had to speak in a second language. So I am fairly impressed.

Lunch is at the cafeteria, called the “mensa.” It’s basically a college cafeteria: institutionalized food. Now think about this. There are menus but I can’t read them. Then the food is German, so it is, well, foreign. Then on top of that it’s cafeteria food. So I have no chance to know what I am eating most of the time! Mystery gray meat and mystery brown, basically. But it’s normally not too bad and it’s a very cheap hot meal, so I don’t complain much. I can get my fruit and veggies too, so I’m stronger because of the mensa. My immune system too, no doubt.

The other thing that has becomes part of life here is the tram or straβenbahn. Like any place where you have to commute the inside of the tram has become something that says with you day and night. The tram system is convenient and easy to use and the riders are pretty polite. On the trip to the university in the morning there is a middle school and high school on the way. The kids are amazing looking. Mullets, dyed red or blond at the ends, weird hip-hop clothes and, frankly, pretty fruity looking clothes and similar things are common. Despite being all made-up most of the kids smell “ripe” even in the morning. When they get off it’s always a great relief. But the female voice that says “next station” (in German of course) is going to be stuck in my head for a disturbingly long time.

Dinner is pretty basic. I try and cook what I eat back home. It’s next to impossible to find good beef here though. Germans eat an absurd amount of pork. It’s everywhere and in everything. It’s kind of annoying. But at any rate, rice, veggies and meat are still my staples. During dinner I always watch CNN International. It’s in English and it’s normally interesting. Although I now know how often CNN recycles their shows. But I know my current events!

As you have seen in my pictures, I sleep on a fold out sofa-bed. It’s pretty comfortable I suppose. Character-building. It’s also made out of fake leather, so it’s a bit weird feeling. But I sleep well most nights. At least until the sun shines in for a new day…

Two weeks of this left.

A great weekend

So I am now half-way done with the program in Germany, thus I am three weeks from going home too. It’s still long, but short enough to start being excited. But finally this past weekend I had a great time in Germany. The break from the somewhat trying repetition of taking the tram around Augsburg and seeing the same surroundings was very good.

On Friday I ventured off on my own for the first time. I went to Munich. It’s not far, only a 50 minute trip by train. I was naturally a bit wary about taking the “Bahn” for the first time. Wouldn’t want to get on the wrong train and end up in bumble-nowhere Germany (or, worse, France!). I was relieved that the ticket machines had an English option so all was well. The trains, as I noted in the UK, are a marvel of convenience. They go virtually everywhere and are on time! One great thing about Munich is that the main train station (the Hauptbahnhof or Hbf)) is right in the old town area, so walking to the interesting stuff is easy.

The main thing I went to Munich to see was actually a museum, of course. The Deutsches Museum. Unlike the other museums I have hit on this trip, the Deutsches Museum is a technology and applied sciences museum. It was absolutely fantastic. They had great stuff for one thing: awesomely old engines and machines, boats (a full U-boat), planes, ancient IBM computers, etc. On and on. Once section was like walking through the SJC lab store rooms; there were Galileo’s ramps, Wimshurst Machines and all sort of other medieval looking science equipment. Check out my pictures on Flickr of the very first diesel engine (made in Augsburg), a real original James Watt steam engine and the Me 262 (also made in Augsburg).

The museum was remarkable because you actually could learn stuff at it. The computer science section, just to take one example, had quite sophisticated displays describing the science and math behind mechanical and electric logic gates. The other sections of the museum were similarly rigorous in describing lift, buoyancy, bridge building, hydrological engineering, petroleum refining, etc. The hydro-engineering section was particularly cool. (Most displays were in English and German).

Anyway, after the museum I just looked around Munich more on foot. Walked along the river (name?) and peeked at some gardens and buildings. The day was hot and sunny (for once!) and the tourists were out in droves (of course I was not one of them…). Actually I got accosted twice by people speaking German and a few Italians asked whether I spoke English and presented me with a map of Munich. Do I look German? Hmm, so far I have at least had people in Europe assume I was British, which I guess is something.

Saturday was the real gem of a day. There was a planned trip to the Neuschwanstein Castle. Markus, who is my German student contact (a very cool guy who is coming UNC in August for the semester), was leading the trip. Fortunately, as it turned out, there were few of us going so we drove in Markus’ car to the castle. The other folks were three girls from South Africa, Turkey and Italy. Quite the little international group we were.

The castle is up right at the start of the Alps, which was so very exciting to me. I had decided there was only thing I really needed to do while I was in southern Germany was to see the Alps. And this was my first chance. The drive there was absolutely gorgeous. It was another stellar sunny day so we could see the mountains slowly emerge toward us as we got closer. The land leading up the Alps is heavily cultivated, but still exquisite looking, farm land. It reminded me of parts of Alberta between Calgary and Montana, for those who have seen that place. The Alps, even there at the start of the range, were remarkably steep and craggy looking. Extremely beautiful-those reminded me of the Grand Tetons.

The area around the castle was naturally very crowded with tourists from all over. There were lots of Italians, Germans, Americans and busloads of Japanese on hit and run missions to take pictures. We got our tour tickets for the castle but had 2 hours to kill. What to do? Have a beer of course. I also ate red-deer meat in goulash for lunch. Pretty yummy.

The walk up to and around the castle was great. A bit hot (around 30 degrees, whatever that means) but wonderful because of the trees. It was so much nicer up there than in Munich. Am I a city slicker or a nature man? Anyway, the castle tour was weird, very short, only few rooms. But the rooms were nuts crazy. King Ludwig 2 of Bayern must have been totally loony. He loved Wagner so much that he had every flat surface of his castle covered in awfully gaudy paintings of scenes from the operas. The chandeliers were super tacky and of course there were swans everywhere. Apparently he only lived in the place for 5 mounts before expiring and less than 6 months later the castle was opened to the public. As the South African put it, it was all a bit “dodgy.” But it was fascinating, and the views out the windows were fantastic. I’d go for the Biltmore personally.

Eventually we left, and, after another long sit down for beer and ice cream (or in my case, water), we headed back up north on the “Romantic Road.” This is actually named after the Romans, it being their route over the Alps, but the beautiful scenery and the name made for many jokes about the busses of Japanese getting “romantic” in Germany. In fact at one of the stops along the way we ran into some Japanese who wanted to know where we were from. We don’t know why, maybe they heard us speaking in English but all with different accents, whatever. But after we explained that we were all from different countries they wanted their picture taken with us! So there we were, having Japanese people stand around us and do the “peace” sign as other Japanese took our picture. Wow, look at the foreigners in Germany? Truly they will take pictures of anything, but at least we may have our 15 minutes at some dinner party in Japan! Too bad we will not be there to enjoy it too. Or at least to get some sushi and sake.

About Beer

Beer is a strange thing. It’s got a special place in American culture without question. It’s what you crack open for a football game, it nice to have after mowing the yard, and of course there is the match-made-in-heaven of pizza and beer. It’s always served cold too. We like our beer. Sports, tacos and college would not be the same with out it.

But for Germans, Bavarians even more so, beer has a culture of its own. It’s an essential part of the fabric here, I am quite sure. Why is this? First of course there is quality. Before the advent of the “micro-brew” the US had, what, Bud, Miller and Coors to claim as its own. These beverages are horrible-to Germans they surely represent an unthinkable defiling of the world “beer.” It’s just not much to be proud of. Germans on the other hand have had strict quality control standard for their beer for over 500 years. Beer here is gourmet any time, any where. This leads to a certain amount of reverence for the stuff. After all what if France just made box-wine?

Then there is availability. Every town has a brewery, multiple, in fact seems to not be uncommon. The laws of Germany also seem horribly lax to Americans. (Clearly the laws enable the culture but the culture produces the laws-chicken and egg). There is not only a low drinking age, but there are no “open container” laws at all. You can stand around with a beer anywhere. Parks, the street, train stations, on the train, etc. It’s a beverage here, not a “drink.” In fact it is a grocery item, not even a beverage.

This all means that there is an odd combination of casualness and worship of beer in Bavaria. At the one time beer is what you drink when you need to drink. Yep beer, it’s OK for virtually all times of the day and for virtually all occasions. Even so, the Germans set aside vast areas of their city (beer gardens) for the consumptions of the stuff. Just having a beer is kind of ritualized (at least to me) because it comes in these enormous 1 liter sized steins and is usually considered to be an experience by itself-one not to be diluted with food intake.

Of course it’s all very strange to me, being the extremely moderate beer-consumer I am. I always stop drinking after two or three bottles in the US. Here I have had to readjust because the bottles are, well, huge. Like I have written before I finished a liter once, but never again. I am a half liter kind of guy. For Germany I guess that makes me nearly a teetotaler, or a wimp. But that’s OK. I like strictness with alcohol, personally as well as legally. Beer is a culinary experience to me. Let’s leave it at that.

Fourth Thoughts

So here I am, in a foreign country on the 4th of July. It’s not the first time. I was in England close to 10 years ago for the 4th, staying in a small village near Stonehenge. For some reason the schools were still in session and I went to school. To celebrate the Fourth the cafeteria served hamburgers and hotdogs. I thought that was weird on a number of levels.

Well, naturally there isn’t any evidence of the 4th in Augsburg. We Americans have been trying to figure out how to celebrate with no one else around. Bud and a burger? It’s not too easy. I think that’s the plan actually. Hardly exciting I know. But you do what you can do. I did wear my red, white and blue rugby shirt today. Who noticed?

Any way, I was wondering what else to write. Should I tell you again that things are weird in Europe and that America rocks? No, Euro-bashing is too easy anyway.

Should I tell you about some legal stuff? Actually yesterday in one of my classes we spent some time looking at the German constitution. It was written up in 1949 so it is full of provisions and protections trying to prevent a return to the two world wars. Of course a good number of the personal freedom sections are based on or inspired by our Bill of Rights. I know at SJC we all read the Constitution, but now being a law students and having spent a lot of time with the Constitution I really am in awe of it. Of course there are flaws and of course Americans have failed miserably through our history to implement our ideals, but I remain convinced that our founding documents are truly some of the greatest examples of human achievement.

Sounds sappy I know, but it is worth reflecting on what we have and take for granted in America because of the Constitution. Freedoms, protections, representation in government and rights to trial were all quite unknown 250 years ago and remain so in many parts of the world. Imagine if your government controlled what you read, what you wrote, what job you could pursue and it made it impossible for you to seek any sort of justice. It is well worth remembering that less than 20 years ago Germans living in the East were subject to all of these repressions. The wounds here are still amazingly fresh I think. The Germans have such an interesting history. Great achievement (name a great musician or scientist and he is probably German) but also great horror and violence. Maybe it depends on where their ambition is directed. Their law makes it seem like they are a bit gun-shy of themselves. Protection of human dignity at all costs, as their constitution says. Perhaps that’s good, but it does contrast with the freewheeling and “fight for it” mentality I think Americans have.

It is easy to think that all we export is Hollywood, fast food, rock and roll and cruise missiles, but it’s just not true. A world without the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution would be a place without an example of liberty to follow. Just read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was drawn up by the UN after WW2. It’s our ideas, our words even, that the world embraced. Have you thought about what it means, as an example to others, that we defeated the most powerful nation on Earth and then set up a country that protects liberty and has lasted for centuries? How did it happen? We take it so much for granted now, but the audacity and power that is in the idea of an individual telling his government “No, this is my right, you will not trample it.” has reshaped how every person on this planet thinks, dreams and acts. All this because of the indispensable ideas of a handful of guys from the 13 Colonies.

Oh yeah, America Rocks.

The First Organized Weekend

The program that I am in is actually shared by three law schools: GW, Pepperdine and UNC. In August German law students are heading over to each of the three schools for a semester there. These same Germans are keeping track of us and helping us out while we are here for the summer program. So while we are here 4 of the weekends have optional scheduled activities around. So this was the first weekend for that.

Friday we had a city tour of Augsburg. That sounds boring but it was not. The place is pretty fascinating. It is over 2000 years old-it was founded by the Romans and was the capital of a province for a while. One of the main roads through the empire (the Via Claudius) is the main street that I am staying on! Later in the middle ages it became one of the very wealthiest commercial towns in Southern Germany. Mozart’s family was originally from here and the city was a center of religious conflict and later reconciliation. In fact the very first distinctly Protestant service was held here by Martin Luther himself in 1555. That church is actually half Catholic and half Lutheran. So the eastern end of the church is the Lutheran part and the western end of the church is Catholic, with a confessional booth and every thing. The pews have hinges on the back so you can flip them around and sit facing the Catholic end or the Lutheran, depending. How bizarre is that. Later the first diesel engine was produced here by Mr. Diesel and Dr. Messerschmitt lived here and made airplanes. Thus parts of town were bombed to dust during WW2 but a good bit of the old town survived.

Also on Friday we went to a beer garden and I had my first mass of beer. That is a one liter glass. It was not pleasant. The beer gets hot by the end and it’s just too much. Too much booze and the volume is simply unpleasant. So I stopped after one, others did not. As folks drank more they became louder and louder. Someone had the idea of pretending to be New Zealanders, so NZ and our sheep were brought up a lot. “In New Zealand we and our sheep like BBQ.” Kind of thing. As we were leaving one of the American girls apologized to some neighboring table for being loud. The response? “It’s ok, Americans always are.”

On Saturday we went by train to a little town nearby called Ingolstadt. Audi has one of its main headquarters and plants there. Consequently every 3rd car around town is an Audi. There is an awesome museum at the Audi campus which was fantastic to go through. Audi has been around for much longer than I thought. There were lots of great old cars. Audi is big into racing too so there were many Le Mans and rally cars on display. Including the “Pikes Peak.” We also got to snoop around a show room and sit in new Audis. Unfortunately the new R8 was locked but I did sit in 110,000 Euro station wagon.

Later the Germans had a BBQ for us. It was very nice. We are extremely appreciative of their generosity. There was much beer again, even after the very much beer of Friday. I stopped after ½ liter but others did not. Loudness happened. I keep hoping our impression is a good one.

Perhaps that was boring. I never like the “I did A and then B than C” kind of entries. Just be thankful you did not get an earful of EU treaty law. The EU is weird.