Fellows
rnrn»The Urban and the Romantic«
rnrnCarol and Richard Bernstein about their stay at the Forschungskolleg

The choice of our offices was between the urban and the Romantic. One looked out over the treetops of Bad Homburg’s park to the skyline of Frankfurt. The other looked out over the lawn to the woods beyond, to a gazebo where Hölderlin, then tutor for a family, composed poems. This introduction to the Forschungskolleg set the tone of our stay. It has been a joy to work in the spacious, light and airy building of the Kolleg, in part traditional and in part modern. During breaks we could enjoy the collection of oriental works of art. Our apartment, with a terrace where we could see Bad Homburg’s fireworks, was charming and comfortable. The staff worked harmoniously to make our visit as enjoyable and productive as possible.rnrn

Goethe University began to seem like an extension of the Kolleg because of the many related conferences and lectures, among them sessions on Proportionality, Normativity, and cultural memory and photographic representations of Africa. Since our two-month stay extended over June and July, our working days were complemented by end-of-the-semester celebrations ranging from barbecues (prepared by the expert chef, Andreas) to an excursion to the Rhinegau.rnrn

We especially valued the informality and good spirits of the workshops and conversations at the Kolleg. The mixture of disciplines and the intergenerational group of colleagues made this a special and memorable experience. For all these reasons, we will have fond memories of our stay at the Forschungskolleg.rnrn

Carol and Richard Bernstein