The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation holds quarterly orientation and network meetings for newly arriving fellows, soon to be departing German postdocs and recently returning German postdocs. The meeting I attend was held in Münster, home of Germany’s largest university. The photo above is the Schloss, a baroque building which houses the administration and was the venue for several of the AvH events. The meeting itself was exciting in that the those who have been selected all have done or are doing amazing and interesting science. Furthermore, these people come from all over the world. For instance, at dinner on the second evening I sat next to a science historian from Israel, across from a lawyer scholar from Greece and another from Italy, and next to a theoretical quantum physicist from Mexico. It was little bit like nerd camp for grownups and we were all interested in what each other was doing, where they had come from and why they were in Germany. Furthermore, the hospitality was amazing. I can’t wait for the annual meeting in Berlin in June. For that meeting we will get to meet the President of Germany at the equivalent of the “white house”.
Another thing that made the Münster trip fun was that my family joined me after the meeting had concluded. We got to wander this charming city that is full of bicycles (it is Germany’s bike city with over 100,000 bicycles…felt almost like Davis) and whose altestadt has retained the medieval feel even after being nearly completely rebuilt. The Allied Forces bombed Münster as retaliation for Germany’s bombing of London and Coventry, and the city was 90% destroyed. But, rather than rebuilding in slab concrete in the 40’s and 50’s, they chose to rebuild in a style and layout that was similar to its pre-war state. Another magical touch was that a very cold storm came in on Friday night and it snowed lightly. With everyhing covered in a thin blanket of snow, we wandered the city amid snow flurries. We would seek shelter by doing some clothes shopping or eating and drinking in a charming pub. And for Owen, one of the highlights was riding the ICE (intercity express) train – Germany’s high-speed train. We sailed home at 260 km/hr (at times), watching the snow-covered hills of Westphalia zip by, doing homework, blogging, and watching the light fade from the sky at 4:00 in the afternoon. Winter has arrived.
