Wow... good question...

I might have to ponder this a while, but I'll give a preliminary answer pending more consideration.

Were I to have the ability to simply wave the mentioned magic-wand and afford myself the opportunity to freely pursue a degree (with no considerations to cost, time and effort), I would probably follow a History major with a language minor. Here's why:

I am fascinated with history, in almost any of its various incarnations in the academic world. I could very easily see myself as an archaeologist digging into the layers of history, or studying pages of ancient tomes looking for literary clues to what life was like in ages past. To understand history is to understand the forces that shape and govern human society, and the human individual.

Any study of a foreign language comes with the added plus of the associated knowledge of the society or culture that the language brings. To study a language like German, with any degree of serious effort, you must also learn about its development as a language and the cultural aspects of language that are inevitably tied in with vocabulary and gramatical structure. To study modern German, one cannot learn that the surname "Schneider" (very common around the world, in all its various spellings) comes from the medieval trade conducted by those that initially took the word as a name: tailors. The same is true of the name "Schmidt"... it is German for smith, as in blacksmiths. To study the differences in the spoken German language between a place like Berlin and Salzburg is to learn that the language of Salzburg was heavily influenced by the international trade that centered around the city's salt mining industry (Salzburg literally means "salt fortress"), much of which we can still see in linguistic evidence today.

All that aside, I will think on this for awhile, and if you are hoping for advice on which course of study to follow, I don't know what help I'll be. Any study or effort to increase your understanding and education will benefit you, and I have never felt that having a single piece of paper hanging on your wall really determined what your abilities in any specific or general area of knowledge actually are... but the degree surely is an important tool in getting to the job or career that you really want.

I like these kinds of threads...