Ipshita Banerji, New Delhi, India

For me, the ‘field trips’ into the German culture were particularly interesting. During the 15-day trip across Germany, I visited Hannover, Hamburg, Goslar, Göttingen, Frankfurt and Darmstadt. Every city was carefully chosen to introduce the programme participants to an aspect of this highly developed culture. With a cheap weekend ticket, I went to Regensburg with my colleagues from Vietnam. That was a wonderful trip. On the way back, we spent a little time in Munich. Dresden was another stop. It was astonishing for me to see how the city has been rebuilt after having been destroyed in the war. In Berlin, I attended a number of events, including a Night of the Museums, pre-Olympics at the Olympic Stadium, a music festival and even a Berliner Philharmoniker concert. The trip to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp was very moving experience for me. I used my time in Germany intensively. My favourite haunts were along the street “Unter den Linden”. Berlin’s matchless museums not only gave me crash course in history, but also left a deep impression on how much Germans cared about knowledge and culture. Another thing I must mention: beer! I acquired a taste for the real thing, and its many varieties.