Why go to Germany? Because.

I've always loved history. It's my favorite subject. You learn about all of the great things that happened before you ended up on this planet and all of the differences and anomalies within all of the pieces and parts of world. There's so much culture to learn about. The ways of life can be staggeringly different from the way we walk along city streets in downtown Chicago while pulling out our phone and texting someone. That's not the norm in every place of the world.

Learning about all of the differences makes me realize lots of things about the midwestern United States and the major one is that it's not fulfilling to live here. Multitudes of people who visit Illinois specifically have said that it's too busy and uptight and everyone's so busy doing something that they end up getting nothing done.

During my childhood, we used to go on vacations to Cancún, Mexico every December. It's not the same as visiting Europe, but traveling has always been a great and positive experience. Along the lines of Germany, I've always been fascinated with the Europe. There's a story behind the people there, and unlike the U.S., it's more than 250 years long. So much has happened there and it's so interesting to peek into the history of those countries.

That's all just the back story to why I want to go on a trip to Europe. The reason why I actually wanted to go to Germany is that I find it to be one the most interesting countries in the world. They've been a large part of history with their involvement in many of the events that impacted large parts of the world. I've also always known that I have some German heritage, but recently (within the past...2 years or so) my brother went to Germany and ended up looking into our history there. Some generations ago, my ancestors lived on the northern coast. I've also never seen any castles, and I think it would be fascinating to see some of the most iconic structures from history that are still standing.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, Winter

As strange as it seems, another thing that I'm very interested in is technology and the way it's used in Germany. I say this because the world has always applauded Germany for their quality in terms of the products they make (cars come to mind). I'm sure that technology plays a large role in the way that these products are idealized, proposed, created, and distributed. Aside from that, their mobile devices and their use are probably the most interesting. I don't know if the typical worker there answers work emails every second of the day from their mobile device, but looking at their mobile devices and their networks is something I'm also interested in.

T-Mobile in the USA = Deutsche Telekom in Germany

Here in the United States, we have "fast" speeds for communication and using the internet. In Europe (generally speaking), they don't have the "4G" that we have here. At least, not in the same way. Applying that to their lives, it would be interesting to notice how differently they live and how they view life compared to the fast-paced workers of Chicago. In the United States we have "4G" LTE because we demand immediate satisfaction for both work and personal reasons. Is it the same way in Germany? Not to mention the fact that the United States is very high on the list of countries where it is the most expensive to own a smartphone.

Don't get me wrong, I still want to explore every other part of German culture, since they're known for their different foods, beer, music, art, and pretty much everything else I could ever think of. Surprisingly enough, tech isn't the only thing I'm obsessed with.

I really hope to learn a lot about traveling, about culture, and about people. There's so much to learn and see and do while we're there that I can't help already thinking that I'm going to be extremely disappointed to leave.

Christmas Market (http://www.gendarmenmarktberlin.de/)

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