After arriving by train to Weimar late Wednesday, today marked our first day beyond the bounds of Berlin and Potsdam. We took an early train to Jena, to visit two more types of research and education institutes. The pace and feel of both Weimar and Jena are very different from the bustle of Berlin, and it exciting to get to see beyond the biggest cities and explore the many educational and research centers in smaller, regional locations in Germany.

First, we visited the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry and Chemical Ecology. We heard a few presentations and learned more about the types of research, funding models, and opportunities for researchers from the folks doing this work at the MPIs. It was especially great to get insight on the various projects currently happening there. We got to tour the building of the Biogeochemistry institute, including visiting a particle accelerator in their basement—one of only a few of its kind in Europe! Then, to really bring all of the abstract ideas of “doing research in a Max Plank Institute” to life, our group split into two and got to visit the (1) botany and (2) bugs research areas of the chemical ecology institute. For many of us, this was a highlight of the day. The group that went into the bug lab donned lab coats and then visited the wind tunnel (the red-lit room in the photos) where they study how moths behave (we also saw caterpillars, locusts, and fly larvae). The only thing that could top this up-close look at conducting research in Jena was the unsanctioned but well-loved resident cat, Tiger.

After lunch in Jena (I had fabulous doner at City Kebap), we visited our first “typical” institute of German higher education of the whole tour—this goes to show you the many types of universities, independent, and partnership research institutes there are in this country. We had half a dozen representatives from Friedrich Schiller University (led by Dr. Claudia Hillinger) take time out of their days to share information about the work, mission, programs, and resources available at FSU (the German one, not the Florida one). They hosted us in their student library, which was fabulous, as were the gardens outside. Two of their number stayed with us even longer to give us a lovely tour of Jena, including a visit to St. Michael Cathedral, the town market square, and some of the newer developments downtown.

Today’s visits helped further contextualize the variety of experiences our advisees might consider in Germany.  They also helped me break out of the abstract idea of “doing research” into a literal lab coat. The variety and breadth of those we have visited so far is really astounding!

We wrapped up the day with a group dinner at Kartoffelhaus Weimar, a restaurant that specialized in (you guessed it if you know any German) potatoes! Based on my food and reviews from my tablemates, it was a delicious foray into some traditional German food, and regional dishes.

Written by Jessie McCrary