“Keep true to the dreams of your youth”
Friedrich Schiller
In October I had the opportunity to travel to Weimar for a week with my German class. (As part of my exchange, I attend a German high school. In the future, I’ll have a post all about school.) Weimar had a huge role during the German Enlightenment and is home of the Weimar Classicism (a German literary and cultural movement). The famous writers Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller both lived and studied in Weimar. A well-known bronze monument of Goethe and Schiller stands in front of the Weimar Court Theater. (Fun fact: an exact copy of the Goethe-Schiller Monument stands in Washington Park in Milwaukee, WI!)
In my German class, we are learning about the Weimar Classicism and reading works from both Goethe and Schiller. While on our class trip, aspects of the Weimar Classicalism were thrown into our itinerary. We visited Goethe’s house, Schiller’s house (I liked Schiller’s house better), Buchenwald Concentration Camp, and went on a walking tour through Weimar. Unfortunately, our field trip was still pretty early in my exchange. So when it came to the tours we took, I didn’t fully understand everything. (The things I did understand were interesting and I’m proud to say my German has come a long way since October.) On our walking tour, we also learned a little bit about the Weimar Republic, Weimar’s role in WWII, and saw a movie being filmed about the historical buildings in Weimar.
After our tours, we had a lot of free time. We went shopping (where I only bought postcards), explored the city, and hung out in the youth hostel. (I even cleared everyone out in a game of poker! We weren’t playing for real money, but I was still really proud of myself.) I had a lot of fun on our trip to Weimar. It was really great to bond with my amazing classmates and learn about another beautiful city in Germany!
My German class in front of the Goethe-Schiller Monument 
In the town square of Weimar 
Having fun with my classmates!
Oh, the Places I'll Go! 