A new phase of the trip began today, as Hilde, Jonah and I took the train from Munich to Berlin. As I write, Carrie and Theo are probably pretty close to Chicago on their plane. They'll stay there overnight before driving back to Dubuque tomorrow. We will miss them!
This part of our trip is a seminary January course with a focus on sites of religious and social history, along with reflection on current issues of political extremism, migration, and refugees. The pandemic has definitely made things harder, but it looks like a good group that is ready to learn and travel well together safely and enjoyably.
For a short walk between arriving at the hotel and meeting the group, the three of us walked over to the Brandenburg Gate. We'll see more of the city tomorrow, but it always feels special to walk down Unter den Linden Strasse in the former East Berlin and see the stones in the road that mark where the Berlin Wall used to be. It's an incredible testimony to the limits of violence and the power of people working together.
This part of our trip is a seminary January course with a focus on sites of religious and social history, along with reflection on current issues of political extremism, migration, and refugees. The pandemic has definitely made things harder, but it looks like a good group that is ready to learn and travel well together safely and enjoyably.
For a short walk between arriving at the hotel and meeting the group, the three of us walked over to the Brandenburg Gate. We'll see more of the city tomorrow, but it always feels special to walk down Unter den Linden Strasse in the former East Berlin and see the stones in the road that mark where the Berlin Wall used to be. It's an incredible testimony to the limits of violence and the power of people working together.