The International Doctorate Program “Um(Welt)Denken” met for two inspiring soft skills seminars at Schneefernerhaus, the highest environmental research station in Germany. This location provided a unique platform for discussions and observations of the impressive mountain landscape. Anne-Sophie Balzer captured the special atmosphere in a poem written during her stay there.
Anne-Sophie Balzer is a journalist, author and translator. She is writing a doctoral thesis entitled “Writing with Glaciers” in the International Doctorate Program “Um(Welt)Denken”. Anne-Sophie Balzer holds a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of Erfurt and an MA in Cultural Theory and History from the Humboldt University of Berlin.
The International Doctorate Program “Um(Welt)Denken” met twice for soft skills seminars in the Schneefernerhaus. We set off early in the morning, arrived on the high mountain in time for lunch and spent the rest of the time in this other-worldly place thinking together. However, with 20 to 25 percent less oxygen, this was not easy for everyone. Headaches, palpitations and uneasiness always affected at least one person in our group. Unfortunately, the soft skills seminars had to be moved to the plain.
I was very inspired by the high mountain and the feeling that I was in a space capsule while in this research station, so I looked for other opportunities to get up there. In the context of the master's seminar “Is Winter still Coming?”, I had the opportunity to talk about glacier poetry with the students on site and then stay a little longer on my own. The poem was written during a two-day stay in January 2025. I sat on the freshly glazed terrace with my heart pounding due to the altitude and watched the hustle and bustle further down the mountain, where the ski slope begins. The mysterious choreography of the snowplows and the brutally rushing wind were particularly memorable.
Text: Anne-Sophie Balzer, International Doctorate Program “Um(Welt)Denken”
