Berlin!!!

Well, it was a long day of riding on planes, but I finally made it. I touchdowned in Berlin at the Tegal airport, a little weary, but ready to go. We disembarked the plane and headed for the bus to catch a ride to the airport, but not before being scolded by airport personnel for walking under the airplane wing. At least, that is what I think he was saying. Guess they just fall right of the planes nowadays?


Now, onward to customs! After a brief travel in a packed bus we made it to the airport where we poured out of the bus and headed to the customs desk. With remarkable speed and efficiency, my passport was stamped and I was officially in Berlin, DE. I hustled through the terminal as my rerouted flight path had made me the last Fellow to arrive. To the cabs!


So while standing in line I struck up a conversation with the lady next to me. Come to find out that she works for the NIFA of the USDA. I think she was a little surprised when I actually knew what she was talking about. So we chatted ag, ag policy, and about her latest rural entrepreneur project. Now being at the part of the line where we get our cabs, we had to go our separate ways.


Now in the cab, I was headed to my hotel with my driver doing his best to find a route around the Berlin marathon. My driver, Sia, and I chatted. He was quite the interesting cabbie. He had come from Iran when he was young as his family was fleeing the revolution. We talked about current world events and he gave me some interesting facts about the city. It was a great ride and the trip has definitely overcome the small flight snafu from yesterday morning. Oh, and he found his way around the marathon.


I arrived at the hotel and was greeted by my fellow Fellows. Today was the first day of a 21 day adventure that Kristi, Meghan, Susan, and I will be taking through Germany. In these 21 days we will take in the diversity of German agriculture, learn about the issues German farmers face and network with our industry peers across the Atlantic to develop professional relationships to enhance German-American cooperation.


After a long day of travel, we all met at the hotel where our host for the day, Dr. Astrid Rewerts and her brother, joined us to start a brief introduction to Berlin. We had a late lunch, which was interesting in its own right, before we took the subway to our next activity. A river boat tour on the Spree River! On the tour, we cruised through Berlin taking in the sights of old historic buildings and new alike. Before the cruise ended, the boat went through a lock, which for this landlocked former farmer, was a new experience.





We next went to grab dinner before we headed back to the hotel for some shut-eye after a very long day of travel. Tomorrow we will be visiting the Deutscher Bauernverband (DVB) which is a German farmers association and meeting their staff before taking a tour of the Reichstag, home of the German parliament. Lots still to come, so stay tuned!


-Nick