Study Trip 2011 Report I was never fond of fairy tails until and unless I saw them running in front of my eyes. I fortnight in Europe was not less than a fairy tale, because of DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) I was able to live a dream of travelling in Europe. It was remarkable and it will remain in my reminiscences for ever. By the time we reached Munich Mr. Nicholas Nordt had come to pick us up on the Airport - and we were driving towards Munich Munich; A start to our journey was Munich where we stayed in Motel One. The weather out there Was very good and mighty sun was shining! And the scene from window of our room was marvelous. Oh I forgot to mention - as soon as i ire on the highway after I got out from the airport I could not say anything but WOW! - there ire so many cars yet all the traffic was so much in order and everybody followed his own lane and besides being so many cars on the road there was no pollution at all and the most amazing thing was that every other car was a Mercedes or BMW which i rarely see on the Pakistani roads. we also went to the Deutches Museum and say some wonderful masterpieces of the history that i always dreamed of and suddenly the history became alive in front of us and i saw that how the old miners used to work in the mines, saw the windmill and the first ever mechanical devices that human beings used for their own use. On the same day we also visited the BMW and had a guided plant tour where i saw that how a masterpiece is formed. On the other day we went to Institur for Ethnologie Ludwig Maximillian University at Munchen and spent the rest of day with our tandems which was a wonderful experience because I had spent a whole day with a person who knows everything about Germany. They ire fascinated to know about Pakistan too and i told them about our adventures that we used to do in Pakistan, later that night i had dinner at a Pakistani restaurant "Deeba where the German students were just licking their hands and enjoying Pakistani food because it was so delicious.
Lost in Heidelberg After spending 3 days in Munchen I departed for Heidelberg where I took mountain railway and visited Palace Heidelberg watching its amazing beauty and the views that the palace provided for its visitors, that same day we were walking the old town and enjoying ourselves. I must admit the public transport of Germany is quite impressive a person can reach to his destination with minutes no matter how far it is. So, on our second day at the city of love Heidelberg our group went to Sudasien-Institut Heidelberg University and everyone in the group was excited to spend another day with a German student though some ire thinking about the Asian dinner once again. The concept of tandems was very helpful in understanding Germany, the education system and family. After spending the whole day with tandems i individually (accompanied by tandems) reached Indian Palace. The next day we were taken to Schwetzingen Palace, which was the summer residence of the Electors Palatine Karl III Philip and Charles Theodore. In the palace i some marvelous piece of art and the favorite part of most of Pakistani students was not the palace but its garden because it was so ill preserved that for several minutes I was lost in the foggy weather that day. I all we were astonished to hear that the palace had a mosque too and our group was just dying to watch the mosque and some of the participants also offered their prayers. After the Schwetzingen Palace we were taken to Speyer where we visited Speyer Cathedral and learned about history of the cathedral. Bonn/Cologne I was always interested in the European art and architecture and my trip to Germany gave me the opportunity thanks to DAAD In Cologne i visited and Museum Ludwig and thanks to the audio guide that I was able to know about the artwork and thanks to God that the i was visiting the museum that day there was
special exhibition about Picasso my favorite artwork, after wandering in the museum I could not find Picasso my bad luck and suddenly Ms Saarbeck like an angel came to me and took me to the Picasso section where we both saw masterpieces of genius. The next day we had a meeting at DAAD head office where I met with DAAD authorities and had lunch at the DAAD Canteen where everyone ate to their full. Later we were taken to ZEF (Center for Development Research) and were briefed by some of the scholars and I was fascinated to find lecturer of our university Abdul Salam Lodhi and he was very happy to find out that a person like me who belongs from a backward area has been able to make it to Germany. Later after the presentations by ZEF scholars some of the participants including me went with Mr. Lodhi and we were later accompanied by the Ms Katja Mielke and we all went to hostel of Mr. Lodhi and while he was preparing dinner for all of us there we had a chance to have a discussion with Ms. Mielke. In the hostel we were joined by some other Pakistani who were either working in Germany or studying there. After a great encounter with BONN/COLONGE region we finally left for the much awaited BERLIN. Berlin: I was very excited and also sad to see Berlin, excited because I have been hearing about it since long; sad because the time was running and soon i ire going to leave Germany. In Berlin I spent wonderful time thinking that these were our last days and we had to leave soon so everyone tried to enjoy Germany to its fullest. Meeting Shahid Kamal, ambassador of Pakistan in Germany, was an honor for all of us and thanks to Mahrukh Chaudry who made it possible for all of us to see him and hear the wonderful success stories that he shared with us after leaving Pakistani embassy all of the participant s were full of energy and everyone was smiling. The next day we had an appointment with Mr Paul Lehrieder, member of German Parliament (Bundestag), he shared some insights
about Pakistan, Mr Lehrieder was full of information and some students ire really not happy about the things that he was saying about Pakistan though some participants ire supporting him. After the meeting with Mr Lehrieder i we were taken to the visit of the Bundestag building, i saw German parliamentarians working in the building through the glass roof which was something shocking for us getting this close to the representatives of the country which is not possible in our home country, Pakistan. Potsdam is a piece of history and The Sanssouci Palace was a place worth watching and watching the grave of Fredrick the Great was an honor too. After the visit of Palace we had a guided tour of Potsdam and thanks to our guide that he we were able to see the Potsdam like this without him I believe it would not had been possible. The Last Dinner: And here comes the last day of the trip, and I must admit the last day too has its own beauty, the boat ride, the sunset the last good byes, all these things are memorable in fact even a minute of that last day is memorable, sitting on the last seat of boat enjoying the German beer and watching the sunset was a like dream but I know that it happened and I enjoyed each and every moment with my friends from Pakistan, German friends, Our Great Guide Mr. Nicholas Nordt, Ms. Ursula Saarbeck, Ms. Yasmin Paracha, Ms. Ruth Monica, THANKS for the lovely trip and thanks for each and everything I remember and for the things that I have forgotten.. And as it s said a journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it
During writing these last lines suddenly the picture of our guide at Potsdam flashed in front of my eyes and with his picture came his words expressing a deep reality about Germany s past: My father used to say to me, Son, you will not get lost here because wherever you go you will always be in the east.