Berlin - The Best City in the World

There is something ethralling about the city of Berlin, something that makes it distinct from the run of the mill and hyped cities like Paris, London and Amsterdam. Once you ignore all those opinionated articles on Paris and London and go visiting cities across Europe, it does'nt take you long to realize that what the viscious communities of travel agents and websites report may not be the fact. That's what I discovered while hopping from one city to another in Europe.

For me Berlin is amongst the best cities in the world, probably the best!

Berlin's supremacy derives from its understatement, from the city's ability to lie low, its rich cultural heritage and its wonderful people. The experience and warmth is purely German.

Berlin offers the best of all worlds. It is a city that can be cherished by the young and the old alike as museums, art galleries, parks and cultural centers exist side by side, in perfect harmony. On the other hand Berlin's also has an intellectual side to it, derived from institutions that draw scholars and students from across the world. So much so that the city boats of around 3 dozens of Nobel Laureates.

My verdict: You haven't visited Europe if you hav'nt seen Berlin! 

Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland) – It's Heaven

My next stop was in the beautiful town of Dresden. Having wrapped up meeting my respondents for my research work in the first I decided to spend the next day exploring the Sächsische Schweiz (Saxon Switzerland) National Park. Sächsische Schweiz has long been on my itinerary given that friends and acquaintances in Germany have vouched for its beauty. Being a nature lover there was no way I could skip it.

Next morning I boarded the train to Sächsische. As the S-Bahn train left Pirna the natural beauty was sinking into me offering me a child-like fascination. As the Elbe river and the sandstone mountains emerged I gasped for breadth. It was simply awesome!

Thanks to the wise advice of the beautiful lady in my hostel’s reception, I travelled further down to the edge of the Sächsische Schweiz national park and got down in Konigstein station. It was a wise decision because I got to experience the countryside before heading off for the cliffs.

So I crossed the river in a ferry, walked through a beautiful settlement on the other side, walked for about 3 miles through dense jungles and finally reached the foothills of the sandstone mountain. As the day settled I was gleeful for I had spent a wonderful day in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

 

German Organizations have world-class Internet Teams

There is surely something extraordinary about the state-sponsored institutions in Germany. Be it the DAAD in Bonn, the World Cultural Center in Berlin or the office of the German Commission for UNESCO, all these organizations have emerged over the years to display certain traits of leaderships.

I visited the DAAD, the World Culture Center, the German Commission for UNESCO and Duetsche Welle during my Indo-European Research Program. While most of my interactions in these organizations were limited to professionals from the “New Media” teams, they were enough to get me substantial insights.

First, all these organizations have kept pace with the changing times. All have well-established departments for handling Internet communications. All team members in these teams are young and enterprising professionals and are trained to address specific areas of Internet communications. Selecting young professionals is perhaps deliberate given the comfort of the young with rapidly changing technological forms.

The professionals of New Media departments whom I met during my visit displayed distinct professional skills, different from the skills during the earlier Print or television era. Internet professionals such as Internet Editors and Internet content writers in German organizations operate in a new time-space juncture. Internet editors reflected a passion for the Internet media and the way they monitored it on the move and even at different times of the day.

And even when many in the world may go ahead and rate print media editors on a higher pedestal of professional competence, it was clearly evident that the Internet Editors put in far more amount of rigour and competence to their respective roles. Perhaps the fact that the Internet content is so dynamic in the manner in which it changes form, the decision makers cannot judge the effort each of the Internet team professionals put in. The print media editors on the contrary get visibility because of the printed copies of the newspaper or the magazine even while the work was collectively planned and executed with the help of copy-editors etc. Internet Editors do not have the luxury of so much time or getting a second opinion because they operate on the ‘here and now’ world.

The nature of the modern organization is definitely different. No wonder, the global reputation of these organizations depend on the promptness in which information is delivered and attended to. And the New Media teams definitely are the ones who help build this organizational reputation. German organizations definitely understand their media needs better than anyone else.

The DAAD headquarters in Bonn, Germany

The Center of World Culture in Berlin

The German Commission for UNESCO in Berlin

PS: I visited several other organizations in Germany as part of my research project. Also I met several interesting professionals working in the field of the "New Media." Unfortunately I cannot publish the names and pictures of these professionals here because of certain privacy concerns.

Globizens – The rise of a New Global Community

One of the highlights of my travel to Europe was the opportunity to meet a distinct group of Global Citizens, "Globizens". As I hopped from city to city and town to town I kept meeting globizens who enlightened me in different ways. Most of the members of this community are youngsters who come from across the world and possess a deep curiosity about cultures and countries. Being extensive travelers Globizens rarely nurture extreme opinions and base most of their understanding on their own experience and the opinion of similar others. Every small thing mattered to them -– a small exchange, a small gesture of kindness and a small instance of kindness.
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My interactions with Globizens were countless in number and interesting to the hilt. Most of these interactions took place in buses, trains, public places, museums and in the various hostels where I stayed. And most of these wonderful exchanges took place in Germany, a wonderful nation that seems to be the favourite of most Globizens.

Engrossed in an interesting conversation with Globizens from Spain, Chile and Israel in the Kitchen of Max Hostel in Bonn

With a footballer from Indonesia who is dedicated to the cause of football and stays in Amsterdam. A well-known sports promoter of football

A fellow scholar from Indonesia

With Globizens from Pakistan and US

With an enterprising gentleman from Bangladesh, in Paris

Cologne - A City you Can't Miss

These were exactly the words of a German friend who adviced me not to miss Cologne during my visit to Bonn. The city of Cologne has a certain nostaligia around it and I felt it perfectly lives upto it. Cologne was founded by Roman settlers around 38 BC and ever since has emerged as an interesting center for culture. The Cologne University is amongst the oldest in Europe. During the World War II the entire city was flattened to earth and the only building that remained intact was the Cologne Cathedral. It was quick to spring back to shape.

When I travelled to Bonn for a few days I could manage to visit Cologne only once, for half a day. But I cherished every moment of it that I spent visiting the Cologne Cathedral and a walk by the Rhine river. And this was spiced up by an occassional chat with a citizen who always shared some story about the city.

The railway bridge in Cologne has a very interesting sight. All along the walkway you can see the railings lined up with thousands of keypads. I was informed that these locks are tied by couples who want to stay bonded for life. No one knows when and how this tradition developed but the delightful sight of the lockpads never fails to attract passersby.  

As night descended I headed back to Bonn. And just before I boarded the train back to Bonn I did not forget to pick up a small bottle of the famous 'Cologne' fragrance.

Bonn - A Cute Little City

Situated on the banks of the river Rhine, Bonn, the erstwhile capital of West Germany is a visitor's paradise. The city has the shine and glitter even while possesing a relatively relaxed everyday environ. Bonn is believed to have a history of more than 2000 years. In 1989 it celebrated its 2000 years of existence. Historical evidences, however, show the some settlement in Bonn dating back to as early as 4080 BC.

Bonn has several important historical sites and also has several world class institutions like the United Nations, Duetsche Welle, and the Bonn University, not to mention important German missions like the DAAD.

When I landed in Bonn I was wondering how to trace my hostel. Surprisingly it was only a 10 minutes walk from the main railway station. The centre of the city is small and is almost walking distance from residential areas. No wonder it makes for a great convinience for visitors. The city center has several interesting places to visit such as the Bonn University and Beethovan's House and the landmark Bonner Munster, an old 11th century Church. The river Rhine was also within 10 minutes walk from the city center and offered some great crusise boat rides.


Aerial view of Bonn (courtesy Wikipedia)



Innovative stone carvings outside the old Bonner Munster Church



With some scholars from the University of Bonn.



The bustling Bonn University campus



Beethovan's House in the city center



And quite flows the Rhine



The beautiful old town neighbourhoods in Bonn



Deutsche Welle - Amongst the Finest Media Organizations in the World

My recent visit to Bonn in Germany, fulfilled a long-cherished dream, of visiting Deutsche Welle. Ever since I was in school, I remember hearing a lot of conversations around Deutsche Welle (DW), from my teachers and seniors. Most of these conversations, as far as I remember, would revolve around the program content of DW radio and its knack for authentic and humanistic reporting.

I was in Deutsche Welle to interview professionals of the New Media department. My meeting was scheduled with Ms Julia Hildebrand of the New Media department who gave me a comprehensive understanding of DW. This, Julia followed, by treating me to a sumptous lunch in the Deutsche Welle canteen and a tour around the ship-shaped main DW building. As we strolled around I could see the radio and the TV studios and several groups of professionals inside glass rooms, engrossed in discussions. Must tell you I think I would love to be a part of DW someday, if ever I get an opportunity.

The Main DW Building in Bonn, Germany

With Julia Hildebrand of the New Media Department at DW