#cuabroad

Guest speaker Luke Lalor from Alpha Pool discusses content marketing with Dr Pyle's PR class

Prompt: Find a quote from the McLelland reading that defines or describes what we mean by “science.” Illustrate this with one example of a health, automotive, or sports science you find on the streets of Stuttgart. Explain how it related to the McLelland quote and article overall.

Today’s experience was incredibly humbling. In the morning we had class, and then the students had time to work on their final projects. In the afternoon we met Marianne and traveled together on public transit out to Oranienburg, to visit the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. (Note: No Daniel Tiger photos today)

Having been to a couple of different Holocaust museums and to Dachau (outside of Nürnberg) I wasn’t sure what to expect - the Dachau tour was pretty open-ended, we had time to simply wander the grounds and read about what happened. At Sachsenhausen our tour guide was a graduate student whose studies focus on Jewish history & culture, which was interesting because she was obviously quite passionate about the topic and was able to offer wonderful insights to us about the place and its history. As has been the case every time I’ve visited a museum or memorial on this topic, I learned new things and was again humbled to know that the holocaust was able to have happened, and the extent to which people simply allowed it to happen. As populist movements begin to regain momentum and influence across the globe (AfD in Germany, the nationalist party in France who nearly won against Macron, the “alt-right” in the U.S.), it was troubling to see firsthand how quickly the type of system Hitler & the nazis established was able to take route and flourish. We’ve had (I think) some good conversations with our students about the history and perspectives of some of these groups. Hopefully they return home in June with a new outlook and an increased capacity to think critically about the messages, arguments, and perspectives that political leaders promote and advance. 

Here are some photos from our time there (the got out of order in the upload):

Soviet memorial to soviet citizens who worked/died here

Soviet museum on the grounds

“Work makes you free” - this sign was at most concentration camps, and was initially believed to be true... eventually prisoners realized that “freedom” only came through death. 

Tower A - entrance to the camp. Overlooks the compound and the roll-call parade ground. 

The approach to the camp. 

The Farmer’s Association is an organization that takes their ethical views and values extremely seriously and has based their mission off of what they view as important to the success of their organization.  The farm has expanded throughout the years and the face of the organization, Rudolf Buhler has established himself (and his farm) as a leader that operates his business very truthfully to what he believes. His beliefs are reflected in the values, which are shown through the quality of the product that the farm puts out into the world. The farm operates as a GMO and antibiotic free along with being certified organic, along with having their own private standards regarding their product. During the presentation given by Hardy Mann, he showed us a slide that listed the values of the organization. They are businesses standing together, cultural projects, organic and sustainable practices, and social projects and commitment. These values were represented in the tour experience through Hardy telling us about the relationship that their farm has with others in places such as Zanzibar and India. They expand their networks to other countries and establish relationships with them in order to create the best product that they can. Their value or organic and sustainable product is shown through their sharing of how they are GMO and antibiotic free and that they operate under the organic certified regulations, which is something that they clearly advertise due to how seriously they take it. Through businesses standing together, this is shown through the cohesive way in which the farm is run, where every different team within the farm plays a part in the overall success of the farm, along with their partnerships with other countries. Their commitment and social projects value is shown through their belief in farmer and peasant rights along with the rights of animal welfare. This was also something that was communicated to audiences through advertisements from the farm itself. Overall, this organization is one that enacts their mission “to put potential and resources of the region into value and serve it to the people of the region” through each of their values.

ECOLAND office building

inside the media office (featuring pyle powers posing with daniel the tiger)

Today’s main event was a tour of Bosch in Stuttgart - like our parliament tour, it was an unexpected tour and was unplanned before we arrived. One of our students, @tayloraiken, had an internship with Bosch in Charlotte. Her supervisor there reached out to let her know that we could do a tour of the Bosch location here if we wanted to (yes, please!) - so thank you again Taylor! 

The tour was fascinating - it was a great look into the world of factory automation and into Bosch’s efforts to transition from a technology-centric organization to an IT-centric organization. Their current mission is to cultivate solutions for their customers that encompass the entire spectrum, from hardware to software, in one complete package. Our guide, Daniel, was a good tour guide and gave our students some excellent insights into a world we don’t usually get to see. 

The students had the rest of the day free to work, rest, and explore as they needed & had time. @drscottclemson, @liketheoceannotthetree, Madeline, and I got together in the evening for a really lovely final-night-in-Stuttgart dinner. We went to an authentic Schwäbisch restaurant called Och’s und Willi’s - I’ve really got to start remembering to do the annoying tourist thing and take more photos of my food. I had lamb with a small salad and fries, and it came with a homemade garlic & herb butter - let’s just say it wasn’t the healthiest meal I’d ever had... but it was super yummy-tastic. 

After dinner, Trav selfishly went to have dinner with a friend of his from college, so Sarah, Madeline, and I went and got gelato and watched the sun go down over Stuttgart. 

This weekend was a huge Abenteuer for @drscottclemson... because he left on Friday morning to fly to San Diego for ICA (International Communication Association conference). He was there Saturday all day, then flew back on Sunday/Monday. Needless to say... by the time he got back, he was fried. 

Friday morning we had class (back in the classroom at Aletto, our hotel we stayed in last year! Ah, memories....) - we had a discussion about PR ethics & dialogic communication in PR, then the students had time to work on their final projects. I took the video team ( @blaineeads, @sam-rochford, @marleygoestogermany, and @izzybelledavis ) to Neuersee (new lake) in the Tiergarten so that they could see it as a potential place for shooting spotlight videos. 

Blaine & DT checking out the petting zoo from the park overlook

Video team preparing to shoot Izzy’s spotlight video

The rest of the class stayed back at Aletto to get work done and prep their projects. Friday afternoon was free for travel and work, so we sent the students off to their respective planned & unplanned Abenteuer(s) .

Friday afternoon we reached out to see if the students wanted to go check out KaDeWe (http://www.kadewe.de/) - the biggest, fanciest store I think I’ve ever been in. It’s got 7 floors, and from bottom to top you’ve got luxury goods (perfume, makeup, etc), Men’s clothes, women’s clothes, entertainment, yummy nibbles (everything from food kiosks to tea/beer/wine/tobacco/chocolate kiosks to...... bakeries. So many bakeries). None of the students decided to go, so @liketheoceannotthetree and I went and wandered through the store, then we got yummy baked goods at one of the bakeries. 

Saw this and thought “H would love that!!” - but it’s 2000 euros. So DT took a photo with it.

Bee sting cake! (Bienenstich) - it’s sponge cake, custard, more sponge cake, then topped with an almond/honey praline.... it was one of the most delicious things I’ve had. I’m thinking about going back for another piece. 

At KaDeWe you can get Skippy & Jif! Every American student’s dream. 

Thinking about #GBBO, @smpyle! Sachertorte here and Prinsesstårta below!

Saturday was mostly a work day for me. Took a jaunt around Tiergarten with Sarah in the afternoon for some fresh air, but then came back to get more work done while she continued on for more exploring. 

Getting ahead of myself - went to a church service at Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on Sunday evening. It was beautiful. Also, I was lost much of the time - all in German. But still a neat experience. Oh - the church pictured here is the ruin of the old church and is a memorial now, the new church is beside it... I didn’t capture a photo of it. See the it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiser_Wilhelm_Memorial_Church

Oh, and there was a Lamborghini. NBD. I think I saw six this weekend. It was a pretty weekend for driving your ultra luxurious sports car around, I guess. 

Sunday I went in the morning and rented a bike so that Luke and I could take a cycling tour around Berlin. It was a gorgeous day for it! Fortunately I had remembered to get sunscreen the day before.... because otherwise I’d have been red as a ripe tomato. We met in Potzdamer Platz, then rode through the city to Badeschiff, a manmade beach area on the edge of the Spree (river that goes through the middle of Berlin) with a swimming pool submerged in the river (not river water, normal pool that just happens to be submerged in the river). 

Construction near the MB Arena and East Side Gallery, bonkers how many cranes there are over here.

Panorama of the Spree

Duck-face selfie in front of the massive blue Badeschiff duck. I know, it’s epic.

Oh, and then we went past the Bald Eagle enclosure at the zoo on our way back to Europa Center to get lunch and drop off my rental bike. 

As I mentioned above, in the evening I went to a service at the Gedächtniskirche (memorial church). This is the 500th anniversary of the start of the Reformation - Luther and his 95 theses and all that - so the topic of the service was about Luther and some of his contemporaries and lessons we can learn for today. It really was neat to be in a service there, but I think for our final Sunday I’ll go back to the International church I attended our first weekend in Berlin. 

Day 5, May 11: Happy birthday, dad! How does it feel to be *cough*ty one years old? :)

Today, Daniel, the students, and I got to see one of my most favorite places - Schloss Ludwigsburg! Ludwigsburg Palace was built as a hunting lodge and getaway (read: place to spend time with his mistress) for one of the Dukes of Württemberg in the early 18th century. It has been well-preserved and looks now very much like it would have when it was in regular use in the 1700-1800s.

We took public transportation to Ludwigsburg and had a 2.25 hour tour of the palace. I’ve gotten to tour this palace four times now, and this one (with British expat tour guide Louise) was almost certainly the best time. She was wonderful! I also got to ring the bell that the queen used to summon her Page to bring her hot chocolate. Pretty neat, I know. Daniel particularly liked the gardens - they were his favorite thing. He also loved the "Märchengarten" (fairytale garden) and insisted on posing with the donkey sculpture. He has good taste.

After the tour, we walked into the city center with Laura and Camille, then we sent the students off to have lunch, see the sights, and experience the culture. @liketheoceannotthetree @drscottclemson and I quickly found the city market in the city’s market plaza. It was a typical market day (flowers, fruit, vegetables, cheese, fish), and we found a vendor who happened to be selling…. wait for it…. horse sausage sandwiches. Unfortunately, we got there at the end of the market time and they were out of bread. No horse hoagies for us. Next time!

Instead of a pony panini, we went and found a Döner shop where Trav and I got “Lahmacun” (Turkish pizza), and Sarah had some falafel. It was super yummy! Also, super inexpensive. Which I think is the very best kind of lunch… right @smpyle? Daniel loved the Lahmacun - he couldn’t get enough.

After lunch, we walked down to the mall so that we could have a bit of gelato (because obviously), and so that Sarah could get her phone fixed. She’s had no end of problems getting her phone activated since we arrived. We went to Vodafone, but they were not particularly helpful. Hopefully it’s all cleared up soon.

While we were finding Vodafone, Trav went to find the prison museum in Ludwigsburg. Because he’s super creepy and likes bizarre things. He has a video post about it, you can find it in his feed. By the time we left the mall we had about an hour til we needed to meet up with the group, so rather than join Trav at the (we assumed) depressing museum of depressingness, we went back over to the palace to walk the grounds and see the amazing (and elaborately cultivated) gardens. A few of the students had gone to do the same thing - it was a perfect day for it. After this post I’ll be uploading a video from the gardens - you can see the gardens, the big fountain, and the rear portion of the palace.

At this point it was time to head back, so we hoofed it up to the city center and met up with everyone just in time to walk over and catch the bus.