Gonzaga In Berlin: Musings in a Museum

Berlin is 8 hours ahead of Spokane, so it's taking some time to adjust to the time difference. After waking up nice and early at 5 a.m. I joined a group of other Gonzaga students heading out for breakfast. At a local bakery, I did my best to order bread and a pretzel all in German, but I struggled once they started asking me more complicated questions. The locals in Berlin have been very kind, understanding, and willing to help us practice our German. Many of them even speak English, but it’s a bit rude to assume that they do, so I try to start every conversation with “Sprechen Sie Englisch?” (Do you speak English?)

In our second day of class we learned about information resources, which is what information warfare is all about controlling. Our class explored some various real-world examples of these resources, drawing on current events in America and Germany. We also discussed how these resources interact with leadership and control, and watched CGP Grey’s “Rules for Rulers” video, one which I had seen before in my Philosophy 201 Human Nature class. Right now, we’re just covering the basic fundamentals of information warfare. So far, it’s been great and I’m looking forward to learning more about it while in the Capital of Spies.

After class, a group went to explore Alexanderplatz, a large square in Berlin. We grabbed some ice cream, as well as even more pretzels! The square is dominated by a tall, pointed tower called the Berliner Fernsehturm (Berlin TV Tower). We had lots of fun exploring the area and practicing our German with the locals at the shops we visited. Slowly we wandered towards Museuminsel (Museum Island), an island filled to the brim with museums.

As a part of our class, we have all-access passes to all of the museums on the island. Today, our class had a visit to the Neues-Museum and the Berliner Dom planned. The weather was the hottest so far today, and while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive, I was seriously eyeing the nearest fountain to cool off. One thing I’ve noticed while in Berlin is that the culture around water is different. There’s much less free water, and much less ice in drinks. I fought off the temptation to jump into the fountain, and we headed into the Neues-Museum.

The Neues-Museum has four floors, covering a variety of things from ancient Egypt, Rome, and greater Europe. My favorite section was definitely the ancient Egypt section, but that might just be my inner child coming out. It was my favorite thing ever as a kid! I found the experience of walking amongst artifacts far older than me, older than most civilizations, to be very insightful. As I walked through artifacts from the Egyptian afterlife and tombs, I couldn’t help but wonder about the people who built those artifacts. What did they think would happen to their work after thousands of years? Would they have ever dreamed that it would be looked at and admired by people whose lives are so incomprehensibly different from theirs?

One of the key insights from our class today was that information warfare is a game that has always been played, even if technology has changed, or if we weren’t aware of it before. Wandering through the Neues-Museum, I was able to internalize that fact more deeply. Surrounded by the remains of countless human lives, I’m reminded that for far longer than any of us can remember, people have been living lives just as beautiful and complex as ours. We’re surrounded by unbelievably complex systems every day, whether it be our own lives, information warfare operations, or the complex workings of a foreign language. Sometimes we just need to open up our awareness to these things, and we can see the world in a whole new light.

After the Neues-Museum, we went to the Berliner Dom, which was a short walk away. It’s an impressively large cathedral, dominated by a central dome. We had a chance to explore the interior and make the treacherous journey to the top of the dome, which was roughly three hundred grueling steps upwards. The journey was worth it, and we were treated to beautiful views from the top of the cathedral of the rest of Berlin. I always love visiting cathedrals because their designs and decorations are so awe-inspiring and monolithic.

To end our day, I went shopping with a few friends in the area around Museuminsel. We took the train system back home, which is the best train system I have ever used! If I could bring one thing back with me from Berlin, it would undoubtedly be their public transport. By the time I got back into my room, my feet were sore and my mind was exhausted from all the things I had done. It was a good day in Berlin, and I’m looking forward to what my next two weeks will hold.