German Summer Festivals

Recently I posted a picture of my brother and myself wearing "lederhosen." The reason Mom made the outfits was so that we could look like Dad. Dad is a member of the Rhinelanders, a musical group that frequented two German summer festivals in the 1970s and 1980s.

The first festival was in Barnesville, Pennsylvania, and was called the Bavarian Summer Festival (check out #5). The second festival was the German Alps Festival, now operating in a much more limited fashion in Hunter, New York. When I was a kid, the festival lasted almost 21 days. The last German Alps Festival I attended was in 1987, right after I returned from my summer in Vienna, Austria. The Sachertorte I brought back was enjoyed. Regretably, I never enjoyed a "legal" beer in Hunter.

A Taste of Germany in Las Vegas

There is some Germany in Las Vegas (actually Bavaria). Right across the street from the Hard Rock Cafe is the Hofbrauhaus Las Vegas. The food is pretty good and quite authentic and the beer is unbelievable. Mary and I had the smallest possible steins of Maibock, .3 liter. Strong beer and walking long distances isn't a good idea, especially when one has to dodge a lot of road construction.

Two Week Warning

I leave for Germany in exactly two weeks. I've reached crunch time. In order to blow off a little steam (and pick up some) and celebrate our anniversary, my wife and I are heading to Las Vegas next week. I thought I'd use the time to test out some of my technology, including the netbook, Flip video camera, and Canon digital camera. Don't be surprised to see some non-German content on the blog next week as I practice uploading photos and video (video probably will be posted to YouTube) and blogging.

I also need to decide how I'm going to get from Berlin's Tegel airport to the hotel on Potsdamer Platz. I have a bus map, but I'm not sure I'll be coherent enough when I land to navigate public transportation. Of course, there are taxis and an airport shuttle.

Dressed Appropriately

I'm all dressed and ready to head to Germany. I'm the one to the left (surprisingly, I wasn't wearing socks). My brother Tom is on the right. We are standing in front of the Rausch family garden. While it looks like Germany, it is actually Berks County, Pennsylvania.

Where in Germany?

The bulk of the the two-week seminar will be spent in Germany's capital, Berlin. As a child of the Cold War, it seems funny to write that. When I was in Vienna, Austria, for the summer of 1987, I was able to observe the Iron Curtain at the Czechoslovakia border. I'm still kicking myself for not going across even though it would have set me back about $50. Who would have thought that in two years, the Iron Curtain would become a memory?

We will be Erfurt for a few days and then finish up the Seminar in Frankfurt. I've been to Frankfurt before. In 2002, my wife and I visited my sister-in-law while she was stationed in Hanau, Germany.

Going to Germany

At the start of the Fall 2008 semester, one of my History colleagues pointed me to an email announcing the 2009 Fulbright German Studies Seminar. She thought I might be interested. Reading the announcement, I noticed that the 2009 seminar would examine the changing political parties in Germany. This information certainly would help inform my teaching of European politics so I decided to apply. I didn't really think I had a chance of being selected.

I met the application deadline and waited. Right before Christmas, I received a letter from Washington. My application made it through the American review committee and it would be forwarded on to the German Fulbright Commission. On January 23, I was officially informed that I was one of the 15 professors selected for the seminar.

I'm made all of my travel arrangements and I've been reading the assigned books, papers, and articles. I leave for Europe on June 5.

Here is the official WTAMU press release announcing my participation in the seminar:

Rausch to Travel to Germany for Fulbright Studies Seminar

I decided to set up this blog to provide a forum for distributing my thoughts and reflections as I prepare for the trip and while I am in Germany. Hopefully I will be able to maintain some sort of update schedule.