Field Trip #36: Germany Downtown

Today's trip finds me in a similar dilemma to yesterday in that I am trying to recreate the feeling of being in Germany with limited opportunities downtown...but once I go exploring I realize that it is not necessarily the case!

I started my journey by going to the Goethe Institute on 7th street NW and I figured that this German Cultural Institute would be a great place to bring a class. It is not very conducive to bringing a class since there is little going on here. The education director told me that he has welcomed German language classes to the Institute and basically gave a tour in German. Unless you have a German class then this would not be the best. But the great thing about starting here is that you can ask questions and pick up pamphlets to see what else is going on. Just an aside, you will want to look at the Goethe Institute's calendar of events because they may have some cool films or activities that you could bring your students to see.

Just around the corner on 6th street you will now find the newly opened German American Heritage Museum. This little museum aims to show the rich cultural heritage of German immigrants and the contributions they have made to society. They are advertising Einstein and Babe Ruth to name a few. It is only open on Thursdays and Fridays during the week so you would want to make sure that you schedule a visit during those days. You can do your pre-visit research on Saturday or Sunday since they are also open then. Once you have visited here it is time to taste German culture!



A little bit of a walk away on G street you will come to Cafe Mozart which is probably the most unassuming cultural experience in the city. This Viennese cafe looks very unassuming from the street but as you walk in you will notice that there is a full service Vienna Coffee bar, German beers on tap, loads of German deli sandwiches to choose from,
a German/Austrian/Polish mini mart to marvel over and in the back a

full service German/Austrian restaurant with live accordion music once a week! This place blew me away with all the different things it had to offer. So have your students sip some coffee, taste some treats and even listen to live music if you are there at the right time! Definitely go by and pick up a music schedule and talk to the staff to see about scheduling a lunch and possibly private serenade.


Now it is off to another downtown German Gem. The United Church or the Die Vereinigte Kirche is one of the only German language congregations still in existance in downtown DC. It is a walk past the White House from Cafe Mozart but it could be worth it. You see in this sign that there is a German Children's Choir singing on July 16th. This choir is not from this church but a touring from Europe. It would be good to go check out the concert to get a feel for the congregation and to see if there is anyway to incorporate a school visit, like maybe a talk with the German Pastor about the history of the church or even staying in contact to see if there are any other German events happening at the church throughout the year. Who knew that there was so much German culture downtown?

Contact Info:
Goethe Institute
812 Seventh Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-3718
USA
Tel. +1 (202) 289-1200
Fax +1 (202) 289-3535
www.goethe.de/ins/us/was/enindex.htm

German American Heritage Museum
719 6th Street NW Washington, DC 20001
P: 202 467-5000 • F: 202 467-5440 • Toll-free: (866) 868-8422
www.gahfusa.org/gahm/gahm.html

Cafe Mozart
1331 H Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20005-4729
(202) 347-5732

The United Church/Die Vereinigte Kirche
1920 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
Phone: (202) 331-1495
www.theunitedchurch.org