Authors: Lawrence, Angela, Domenica
Determined not to let jetlag get the best of us, our trek to EBS University in Wiesbaden commenced early. The lecture of the day was on German Public Law and quickly Andreas Dehio captivated our interests. Andreas provided an insight into life as a German law student. He informed us that to become a lawyer in Germany, an intense exam period including multiple five hour exams were required. This was met with both shock and then gratitude for not having to experience anything higher than the three and a half hour mark. He provided us with a more well rounded history into what has lead to the current organisation of the German Parliament. To our surprise article 2 of the German Constitution protects the “right to party”. Unfortunately, the Beastie Boys classic was then the backing track in our minds for the rest of the day.
And then we made our way to the town centre Wiesbaden where we were given an informative and entertaining tour of the State Parliament of Hesse. We had the honour of sitting in one of the Parliamentary committee rooms while we had a Q & A session with a senior member of staff. She gave us a comprehensive outline of the Federal and State parliamentary systems and they way in which they interact. It was also particularly insightful to hear about of the five main German political parties in Germany. We were told that for the first time in German history the Conservatives and the Greens are about to form a coalition government. We were subsequently given a tour of the Parliamentary chamber before embarking on a full tour of the building, which included the formal rooms of the Duke of Nassau.
To end our first night in Wiesbaden, we spent some time exploring the local Christmas markets with some obligatory mulled wine in novelty Christmas mugs in one hand and a deliciously hot bratwurst, curry wurst or other traditional German snack in the other. We were met by a group of local German students from the EBS University who accompanied us around our exploration of the markets. Quite similar to the markets in Heidelberg, the ones in Wiesbaden were a lovely display of brightly lit fairy lights, cute stalls selling gifts and decorations mixed with the deliciously sweet smell of candied nuts, spicy aroma of mulled wine and the mouth-watering sizzle of traditional German sausages. After a cup of mulled wine and a belly full of delicious food, we were more than happy to hop back on the trains to Mannheim and escape the cold winter weather.
The students outside the Landtag of Hesse (State Parliament of Hesse in Wiesbaden)
Lectures at European Business School (EBS)
Visit to Landtag of Hesse (STate Parliament of Hesse)
Christmas markets in Wiesbaden
