Guten Abend! My name is Madison Howard (she/they), and I am the Fellowships Advisor at University of Puget Sound in Washington! I have the pleasure of being the volunteer blogger for our second day in Berlin, and what a day it has been! As I write this, we have just completed our first full day of the NAFA Study Tour! With some folks arriving days ago and some arriving right before yesterday’s dinner, it was nice to all have a (hopefully) good night’s sleep after all the travel and then get started on a full and busy day!

NAFAns at the Reichstag Dome

The first part of our day included a beautiful walk from our hotel to the Bundestag, the German Parliament! Of the 17,000 steps I took today, this walk was well worth the steps! We could not have asked for better weather, and the beautiful blue skies made all of the buildings look like paintings. With the German Parliament in session, we toured the Reichstag Dome, and through the transparent architecture and a well-curated exhibit I learned so much about the history of the German Parliament and the Bundestag building itself. Some of our colleagues were able to supplement the information on the area, and from the view atop the Reichstag Dome we were able to get the lay of the land before our tour continued.NAFAns in seated in a classroom at ESCP Business School, Berlin Campus listening to speaker

We made our way over to the Brandenburg Gate from the Bundestag, and on to our first group trip to the S-Bahn Station, as we journeyed to ESCP Business School, Berlin Campus. Dr. Frank Jacob and Dr. Stephan Schmuck, along with several of their university colleagues, oriented us on the role of their private German university and ESCP’s role in the international community, as well as what may draw students to a private institution in a country with a robust free public university. One of our hosts described us as “A Super Famous International Group,” which is what I will be referring to NAFA as in every conversation from now on.

Eight NAFAns seated around a table at Spätzle club eating lunch

From ESCP, our Super Famous International Group split off for separate adventures. Some folks visited the Charlottenburg Palace to view the gardens, some folks went shopping, and some toured Checkpoint Charlie. My group wandered the area near ESCP in search of a nice patio to have a leisurely lunch, and I am pleased to report that we found a beautiful patio and had a delightfully leisurely lunch before we made it back across Berlin to our Spree River boat tour, though I will be following our colleagues’ recommendation to visit the Spätzle Club (pictured here)! The beautiful sunny day stayed strong, and I can say I enjoyed my rosé on the open deck of the riverboat as we toured Berlin via the Spree River. It was amazing to see buildings from a different perspective of the city, I know I spotted a couple of places I hope to visit in tomorrow’s afternoon free time. NAFAns on a river boat touring the Spree RiverI hope our colleagues taking the boat tour tomorrow have an equally fantastic experience, and if the weather is anything like today I hope they remember to bring sunscreen!

We ended our evening at Restaurant Nolle, joined by four fantastic German colleagues involved in fellowships in Germany. Thank you to Ms. Gesa Heym of Free University of Berlin, Dr. David Glowsky of Hombolt University, Ms. Lena Hoppe alumna of the International Parliamentary Scholarship-IPS, and Ms. Leighty Hanrahan alumna of IPS, CBYX, and RIAS Berlin Commission Exchange for sharing their experiences with us over dinner. I would usually anticipate the enormous schweinshaxe would be the most memorable part of our meal, but the perspectives of our guests will be far more memorable. Though the apple pie is a close second.

Today’s itinerary was phenomenal, and I am looking forward to tomorrow’s activities in Potsdam! This has been my first NAFA experience, and I could not ask for a better group to share this tour with!

From 11:08 PM Berlin time and 2:08 pm Seattle time, I bid you goodnight wherever you are!