Janie, Tui, Lara, Verena Mertz (Program Coordinator), Christine (former OSA), Laura (former OSA), Margaret (from left to right)

The “Carl Schurz Deutsch-Amerikanische Club” (DAC) invited us, as every year, to their Independence Day festival in a fancy location in Bremen with an outside terrace to enjoy the beautiful weather.

It was celebration with a great mix of young and old people. Nice performances, like a hip hop dance group, ensured lot of fun.

Although it was an important day for the Americans, this year, it was an important day for the Germans as well: They were playing France in the quarter final of the World Cup (Fußball!). Of course, everybody watched the game on the side.

Katalina, Joan, and Janie (from left to right)

As in every year, the “Deutsch-Amerikanische Club” (DAC) invited us to their Thanksgiving Dinner in the Atlantic Grand Hotel Bremen.

We celebrated with them and had a lot of fun with nice music, dance, and interesting conversations. There was a large variety of typical american food and, of course, a turkey.

Student, Anna, Interim Director Iris Krimmel, Sean, Joan, Janie, Katalina, Program Coordinator Verena Mertz, and Christine (from left to right)

Janie Feldmann ‘15

On Sunday evening (Nov. 24, 2013), the Dickinson in Bremen program took us all to see a Werder Bremen soccer game at the Weser Stadium. I am definitely not the person to ask if you want to understand how soccer works – the only fact I know for sure is that one team scores in the other team’s goal.  (I know, I know, I’m the worst German-American ever). Despite this, I discovered that there is something universally nostalgic about going to a live game and rooting for the team you love.
As expected, the tram was jam-packed with people going to support Werder, which, to put it nicely, is sort of the underdog in the German soccer league right now. We were in the standing-room-only section, which was actually very cool because for one, it was warmer, and two, the atmosphere was excited. One of the best moments of the game happened after the players came out onto the field: Werder fans began singing the official song of the team. The first line is “Werder Bremen, lebenslang grün-weiß!” which translates to “Werder Bremen, life-long green and white!” We had all learned the song before the game, and I do not think a single fan was not singing – it was such a great moment. Everyone held up their Werder scarves, and the camaraderie was absolutely fantastic.
The excitement soon became frustration, however, as Mainz scored two goals during the first forty-five minutes, and Bremen just did not seem to have any luck. After half-time, Mainz scored yet another goal, and everyone started feeling pretty hopeless. I thought it was pretty impressive that the majority of fans stayed until the bitter end instead of leaving to beat the traffic. Staying was worth it though – in an exciting change of luck, Werder scored not one but two goals within the last fifteen minutes! Everyone was hoping that they would make one more to even out the score, but sadly that was not the case. Despite this, everyone was going out of their minds with happy excitement, singing song after song.  I personally thought it was awesome that for every goal Werder scored, the stadium played “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” by The Proclaimers.

Our view onto the field

Admittedly, I have always had a bit of trouble (perhaps because I am an English major) understanding the importance of sports. I never really get why people go so crazy over them, and I definitely do not understand the mindset of die-hard fans. But, at this game, I felt I began to get a grasp of why soccer is so important within German culture. After a war which left the world speechless, cities in ruins, and people desperate for change, soccer became the means through which Germans could begin to heal. They may still have trouble feeling proud to be German, but they are definitely proud of their cities, and especially their soccer teams. Through all the disunity happening around them, soccer was the one thing where everyone could feel united again. And, if nothing else, there is really no better feeling than being in a stadium rooting alongside other fans, even for an underdog team.

Jens, Insa, Verena with Benjamin Rush

It was by coincidence that this little get-together at Dickinson happened on March 17, 2012, which made it all the more fun!

Beer is a staple of any social gathering or meal in Germany but the way it is made is a mystery to many people. The Dickinson in Bremen program recently took a tour of the Beck’s Brewery right here in Bremen to discover more about this important and delicious drink. We first learned that Beck’s is not only the most popular beer here in Bremen but that it is also Germany’s largest export beer. It can be found in every corner of the globe. The next part of the tour took us through the process of beer production; from harvesting the hops to bottling and packaging the product. Finally, we were able to sample various types of beer produced at the Beck’s brewery. They had us guess whether the beer was Beck’s, Alcohol-free Beck’s, or Haake Beck, a beer produced by Beck’s but only served in Northern Germany. The Dickinson crew guessed correctly with only 4+ months of drinking Beck’s and Haake Beck under our belt. To our surprise, we were not rewarded with a lifetime supply of beer.

The Dickinson-in-Bremen group at the Brewery.

With all other Dickinson students having flown the Bremen-coop, I was left to experience New Year’s Eve in Bremen by myself. Fortunately I had two great Bremen-natives, Verena M. and Christine M. to show me the ropes of the quirky German New Year’s traditions. Even before arriving at Verena’s apartment in the Neustadt in the evening, I heard loud cracking and popping sounds all day in my usually quiet neighborhood; I should have realized that that was only a small sign of the firework enthusiasm I would later experience that evening.

Much like the yearly holiday showings of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “A Christmas Story,” Germans enjoy watching a short film titled, “Dinner for One” or “Der. 90. Geburtstag” on New Year’s Eve. Afterwards we ate the traditional jelly-donuts ‘Berliners’ and also did the traditional ‘lead pouring’ called ‘Bleigießen.’ This process involves melting lead shapes on a spoon over a candle, pouring the liquid into a pot of cold water and then telling fortunes from the shapes formed in the water.

We then decided to brave the streets to watch the fireworks along the Weser River. Words cannot describe how chaotic and wild everything was. Little kids were handed rockets to set off, groups would walk along and toss fire-crackers in the streets and at cars driving by, and the cracks, pops and whistles were so deafening that it almost felt like I was in a war-zone. Unlike the big city-organized firework displays one finds in the United States, Germans buy and set off their own fireworks. Verena informed me that fireworks are only available during the few days before New Year’s and that otherwise you can’t find them in Germany, which helps account for their general pyro-enthusiasm. After lighting our own rather tame sparklers and toasting the New Year with some champagne, we managed to find our way back home through the smoke-filled streets. I hope to bring back some of the German traditions I learned!

‘Der Nikolaus’ has already found his way to the Dickinson Room:

Dickinson connects, even beyond school!

from left: Caitlin, Jens, Insa

Caitlin Hahn ’08 spent her year abroad in Bremen and – after graduating – came back to Germany with a Fulbright scholarship to teach English in Hamburg. She decided to stay in Germany and enrolled in an applied literature degree course at Free University in Berlin. Insa Kohler (TA ’10) and Jens Schröder (TA ’07) studied at Uni Bremen and only heard about Caitlin through others. Now that Insa is enrolled in the same degree course at FU Berlin as Caitlin, they both met for the first time in person. So, Jens finally took the chance to visit them both while attending a conference in Berlin.