ReaLErasmusGermany2017

Over the past few days we have been working on the presentation that we were to give to those which we have been introduced to and worked with during our time here. It was important that we all gathered our notes, and experiences together to discuss what should be part of this. After deciding on the factors, we then went through, together, what we believed to be important to that particular point. After the team effort of producing presentation, we then decided who would be speaking about what parts, and whether some points were a group focus. We were then able to go through and refresh our knowledge on our specific points. All in preparation for today’s presentation! We introduced the presentation by giving some background information about where Durham is located and in relation to ... read more

This morning it was work experience with the apprentices of Tübingen. We went all went off to different offices with one of the German apprentices. Firstly I worked with Anna Lina in the Rathaus to look at how she inputs data into the system for the amount of people who voted in different villages. She said for elections the age is 18 but for council voting people could vote at the age of 16 although she said not many young people vote for the council ones. She also showed me other tasks, like putting applications on for the ‘Bundesverdienstkreuz’ which is translated to ‘Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany’. Only 200,000 individuals in total have been awarded this and it is for the recognition and gratitude of deserving men and women of the ... read more

On Saturday morning we made an early journey across town and to the train station to head to Stuttgart. After buying our tickets we managed to catch our train fairly easily and began heading through the snowy German countryside to Stuttgart. Upon arrival we tried to work out which underground train we needed to take to try and get to the other side of the city where the Mercedes Benz arena (football stadium) and the Mercedes Benz museum were situated. After a few wrong trains and an hour of confusion we had to follow a group of the Stuttgart youth team who were going to training so that we could board the right bus and get to the ground. After having a look at the huge ground we ventured to the club shop where we bought ... read more

Firstly we walked into the city in the snow and went to a cafe to discuss the presentation and who would be taking on the specific areas of research needed. We also planned our next research trip to the University hospital and clinics as we would have gone today had the weather been more suitable for the amount of time we would spend there and to take photographs. Furthermore, we discussed a lot about the differences between Tübingen and Durham and some of the similarities regarding planning and traffic as we have been looking into it this week. We then went to the Culture Museum at Tübingen’s Castle, Hohentübingen, to see their collection from Paleolithic figures that are 40,000 years old to some of the modern day technology we have today. One of the most famous ... read more

Day 4 in Tübingen - We began our morning with a short walk to the centre of the town, where the group would then all get on the bus to the French Quarter of Tubingen. Once we arrived in the French Quarter we met with Mr Nassal, a well respected architect from the area of Tubingen. After meeting Mr Nassal for the first time, he took us on a tour of the French quarter explaining about the architecture of the area and how it has progressed. He mentioned how the area used to be home to a French army barracks (a no go area for German's at the time), but it was then left in 1990 when soldiers from countries such as the USA and France left the country. As well as this he mentioned that ... read more