On Thursday morning, the people were split into two groups. The groups took a guided walking tour and visited the LKA; Landeskriminalamt (State Criminal Police Office) and police station. The LKA invited a diverse panel of experts that shared their past and current working experience with us while they answered our questions. Moreover, they organised a hands-on experience to demonstrate their standard police operations. We were able to see their forensic investigation bus and experiment with visualising our own fingerprints. We also had the opportunity to use crime lights for blood identification at a mock crime scene. In the LKA, we were also very pleased to see an alumna of our master that gave us part of the tour. She shared with us her past experiences and made useful recommendations for our future career paths. The day ended with a delicious Italian dinner and drinks. 

On Friday morning, we visited the BND; Bundensnachrichtendiest museum. It was truly an honour for us to receive a very interesting tour by a real secret agent of the BND. They organised a detailed presentation describing their operation and main goals and afterwards let us wander in the interactive museum. On Friday afternoon, the students played a crazy 31 game that led them in all the secret spots of the city. Afterwards, the students and staff got together for a Greek dinner. 

Saturday was the last day of our trip and everyone was free to explore the city, visit museums or play games. Late that night, we hopped on the bus and travelled back to Amsterdam.

We were very pleased to be able to organise this unique excursion in spite of the covid restrictions. We would also like to thank the University of Amsterdam, our master programme of Forensic Science, and the institutes that hosted us for making this trip possible.

On behalf of the Excursion committee 2021, Maria Dede Josca Rouw Caren Leemberg Perle Russel.