BERLIN! JA!

After 9 years of Waldorf, losing all of my language skills in high school, and a tedious two semesters of college level German, I FINALLY MADE IT TO GERMANY!

Ben picked me up at the airport on Thursday night. In his time in Berlin he has conquered the public transit system so that it how we got around all weekend...so easy and convenient! Shockingly enough it was far colder in Berlin than it was when I left Edinburgh so Ben and I savored our time on the bus and then the Straßenbahn. I met Ben's host dad over a bowl of pumpkin soup and tried my best to speak German! Although I must say that Ben has surpassed me in skill level.

Friday morning Ben and I started our day with a ride on the tram to Alexanderplatz, the largest square in Berlin! In Alexanderplatz is the Fernsehturm (televison tower) which is over 200 meters tall! It was very cloudy so I was just barely able to see the top. There was a Christmas market being set up when we visited the platz, but alas it does not open until next weekend. Then we walked to Berlin's Museumsinsel (Museum Island). The Spree river that runs through Berlin surrounds a piece of land with five huge museums on it. Ben and I only walked around to see the outside of the museums, but that was cool enough for me!

Fersehturm, Alexanderplatz

Random Olympic bear along our walk

Das Altes Museum (the Old Museum)

Die Alte Nationalgalerie (the Old National Gallery)

Der Berliner Dom (the Berlin Cathedral)

Next up was the Brandenburg Gate. It is a huge tourist attraction so there were swarms of people, along with video game characters, Star Wars characters, and dressed up soldiers with whom pictures could be taken. It was quite amazing to see such a substantial monument that I have learned about in the past.

Ben infront of das Brandenburger Tor

Through the gate and to the left was the Holocaust Memorial, to the right was the Reichstag (one of the main government buildings). We started with the Holocaust Memorial. This memorial was one of the attractions that I knew I wanted to see when I visited Berlin. As I approached I thought...hmm...that is not what I had pictured. From afar the monument appears as a cluster of built up blocks (each about 3 by 6 feet) that couldn't be much taller than me. However, as you walk through the blocks, the ground begins to fall away. It slopes down in multiple directions, with some hills and valleys, until one can be swallowed by the monument as if in a corn-field maze. It was a powerful effect.

 Then we were off to see the Reichstag. It was too cold to wait in line for a ticket to see the inside and climb into the dome, so we just walked around.

After the Reichstag we went to see where Ben has classes! A very plain, boxy, communist looking building, but interesting none the less! For lunch we went to a soup place...warmed right up!

Next up was the Berlin Wall Memorial. This being another attraction I knew I wanted to see, I learned so much than I had previously known! The wall was not a single wall (as I had thought of it) but "the wall", a no man's land with sand to make it hard to run across, and a shorter wall with barbed wire. Only the west side of the wall had any graffiti on it at all, since if one tried to do so on the east side, they could be shot.

A section of the wall as it would have looked when it was in use

We went back to Ben's super cool apartment to warm up and get ready for the evening. We got a traditional dinner of Spätzle and beer. Sort of like a chewy pasta, I got spinach and ben got plain, both with yummy sauces and veggies and ham! Next up: a little cul-cha. Ben's program had tickets to see Mozart's Magic Flute and I got one of the extra tickets! It was in a beautiful opera house and while I couldn't entirely follow the plot being sung in German, the sets were gorgeous and it was a fun night out! Afterwards I got to meet all of Ben's friends from his program and we all hung out.

Before I devoured my Spätzle

The Opera House

I snuck a photo during the Magic Flute

Saturday was even more sight seeing! In the morning we got Ben's favorite Berlin food: Döner. Chicken, yummy yogurt sauce, and a ton of veggies wrapped up in a pita-bread-thing...SO GOOD, and there are places selling döner just about every ten steps. We ate them as we walked to the East Side Gallery. This is another section of the Berlin wall that is still standing, but it is covered in art. Most of the art has a message about peace. Very amazing to see.

After the East Side Gallery Ben took me to a concentration camp (at my request). We rode the train about 45 minutes outside of Berlin to Sachsenhausen. Sachsenhausen was used as a concentration camp under the Nazis, then as a prison camp under the Soviets. Today it is a museum and a memorial.
I know I asked to see it, but boy was it a sad sight.

Entrance to the museum

Entrance to the camp itself. "Labor Frees"

The gravel boxes mark where barracks used to stand

The "hospitals" where prisoners were killed

After such a morbid visit, we were wanting something happier. What better than a German Christmas market??? Our train ride back put us in Potsdamer Platz where a Christmas market was already going on. A man made sledding hill, Glühwein (essentially spiced wine served hot with rum), candy, scarves, pommes frites, the list goes on. After walking around and eating some warm, honey roasted cashews we were feeling very jolly indeed.

My first time in Germany was jam packed and I never wanted it to end. I attempted to speak my best German which was sometimes answered by a kind soul who would humor me, other times I was just answered in English. This was my first time traveling by myself in Europe and I had a blast!

Next up: crepes, Eiffel tower, and turkey sandwiches!