Past Events

On April 17th, it was once again time to welcome the incoming North American exchange students. After providing them with an insight into the German university system, students from Bamberg joined the Americans and Canadians for a casual and fun get-together at one of our favorite places in town, the “Café Immerhin.” As students from the USA, Canada, and Germany hit the stage during the cafés weekly karaoke night, we certainly figured out one thing that we all seem to have in common: a passion for Backstreet Boys songs! Add the conversations and plenty of laughter, and it is fair to say that we spent a truly intercultural evening.

On December 6th, the Bamberg Buddies came together for a German-American-Canadian Nikolaus Event. After braving the cold and snow on the local Weihnachtsmarkt with hot chocolate and Glühwein, the group went to sing their hearts out during a (more or less Christmassy) Karaoke Session at our 'home base' Café Immer Hin.

Merry Christmas everyone and a Happy New Year!

Due to belated April showers, this semester's German-Canadian-American bicycle tour through beautiful Mainfranken spontaneously turned into an afternoon of Bowling (Weinfranken - Mainfrankencenter? Close enough).

You missed out on the strikes, spares, delicious Burgers and extravagant happy dances? Then stay tuned for future Bamberg Buddies events on the department website or the VC bulletin board, because the next bicycle tour, bowling spree or other fun activity is bound to come around.

April is a special time of the year: spring is coming, and so is a new group of American and Canadian exchange students. They were invited for a special information session and then, together with German students, went on a traditional German Easter Egg Hunt, followed by a ‘Chocolate Bunny Raffle’ and a Bamberg-American Pub Quiz at the Café Immer Hin.

Do you know what ‘Marine One’ is, or which American TV series featured the first inter-racial kiss? Can you name the seven hills in Bamberg, or explain the origin of the Apfelweibla? If yes, this could have been your day of glory! If not, you would probably still have had a great time spending the evening with pool billiard, snacking, drinking, discussing and laughing like those students who stayed at the Café for hours after the end of the quiz.

In December, we brought American, Canadian and German students back together to celebrate the German Nikolaus holiday. Early in December, German students invited exchange students to their homes for Plätzchen-baking sessions, and on December 6, everybody brought their cookies to Café Immer Hin, where we enjoyed them with hot chocolate and punch. Later we crowned a winner of the first ‘German-American-Canadian Weihnachtsplätzchen Competition’—our congratulations to the team around MA student Chiara!

Of course such an event is only complete with a Nikolaus and presents. So when the bell rang for the American Studies’ very own Nikolaus Freddie, the boldest among the students recited songs and poems and received traditional packages of tangerines, nuts and ginger bread.

In order to enjoy the last rays of sunshine and the seasonal specialties of Mainfranken to the fullest, the Bamberg Buddies took the train to Zeil am Main in November 2011. After exploring the medieval town, we first hiked up to the so-called 'Zeiler Käppele', a small chapel overlooking the cozy little town, and then continued to see the old ruins of the castle of Schmachtenberg nearby. Because hiking makes you hungry and thirsty, we ended our trip in one of the many 'Heckenwirtschaften' of the area, a little inn belonging to a local winery. Fränkischer geht's nicht!

In October 2011, we organized the first welcome event for Canadian and US American students. After the American Studies team talked about several aspects of the German university system that may be a challenge for students from across the Atlantic and offered very specific advice, Benjamin Wilson, an American who studied and now works at the university of Bamberg, spoke very personally about his experiences here. Ben Wilson especially encouraged the newcomers to approach professors and fellow students in case of any questions, and assured them that the North American friendliness will get them very far, as long as they give Germans some time to open up.

In the evening, German students joined the Canadians and Americans and everybody had a great time chatting and getting to know each other at the Café Immer Hin.