That's right- I finally got a chance to visit Germany's extremely cultural and cool capitol, thanks to Nana and Gigi!
I spent 4 days on a trip organized by Experiment, my program's German partner, with 30 other exchange students from around the world. A few were from the CBYX American group, and the rest were from Italy, China, Columbia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ireland, and Australia (hope I did't leave any countries out)! Aside from the sightseeing, the coolest part of the trip was the people. It was amazing to be able to share stories and get to know people from all over the world through our shared language-German!
My trip started on Tuesday night, when I took an 8 hour bus from Cologne to Germany with Marco and Laura, 2 Italian exchange students that I met in the summer through my local coordinator. We got to Berlin at 6AM when we met up with another exchange student and got a head start on exploring the city. We started the day off with a visit to the Berlin Mauer, or remnants from the wall that separated the city after the second world war. It was a cool scene, rusted metal rising from the ground where the concrete was held and an old church dedicated to those that died trying to escape East Berlin. In the museum there were clips from survivors who had had contact with the police, interviews with children from the time, and a display of the original spikes that were laid under the wall to stop people from scaling the wall (nicknamed "Stalin's Garden"). It was astounding. Luckily the mood wasn't ruined after our first stop, however, thanks to the beautiful weather! After suffering seasonal depression since last November, it was such a wonderful feeling to see the sun and, believe it or not, take my jacket off! We stopped at a market on the way to the nearest park where we laid out, ate a midday snack, and listened to Marco play the guitar. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my face was a little sunburned later that evening! We walked through more of the city before finding the bus stations of the wonderful Mira, my roommate from language camp in the summer, and Bernardo, a Brazilian exchange student, and heading back to the hostel to meet the rest of the group. The first night was just a blur of reunions and introductions. I was very happy to have Sarah, who has been with the CBYX group through language camp and midyear, as a teamer!
I spent 4 days on a trip organized by Experiment, my program's German partner, with 30 other exchange students from around the world. A few were from the CBYX American group, and the rest were from Italy, China, Columbia, Brazil, Venezuela, Ireland, and Australia (hope I did't leave any countries out)! Aside from the sightseeing, the coolest part of the trip was the people. It was amazing to be able to share stories and get to know people from all over the world through our shared language-German!
My trip started on Tuesday night, when I took an 8 hour bus from Cologne to Germany with Marco and Laura, 2 Italian exchange students that I met in the summer through my local coordinator. We got to Berlin at 6AM when we met up with another exchange student and got a head start on exploring the city. We started the day off with a visit to the Berlin Mauer, or remnants from the wall that separated the city after the second world war. It was a cool scene, rusted metal rising from the ground where the concrete was held and an old church dedicated to those that died trying to escape East Berlin. In the museum there were clips from survivors who had had contact with the police, interviews with children from the time, and a display of the original spikes that were laid under the wall to stop people from scaling the wall (nicknamed "Stalin's Garden"). It was astounding. Luckily the mood wasn't ruined after our first stop, however, thanks to the beautiful weather! After suffering seasonal depression since last November, it was such a wonderful feeling to see the sun and, believe it or not, take my jacket off! We stopped at a market on the way to the nearest park where we laid out, ate a midday snack, and listened to Marco play the guitar. Imagine my surprise when I discovered my face was a little sunburned later that evening! We walked through more of the city before finding the bus stations of the wonderful Mira, my roommate from language camp in the summer, and Bernardo, a Brazilian exchange student, and heading back to the hostel to meet the rest of the group. The first night was just a blur of reunions and introductions. I was very happy to have Sarah, who has been with the CBYX group through language camp and midyear, as a teamer!
Thursday was our first official day in the city with the program. We started with breakfast at the hotel before heading to Potsdamer Platz and starting a guided tour of the city (with a German guide, of course). We saw all of the big sites- Sony Center, Walk of Stars, Memorial Park, Jewish Memorial, Museum Island, Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag (Bundestag), Alexander Platz, and Hackescher Hof. My camera took quite the beating on the 2 hour tour, but i didn't want to forget anything! After that, we enjoyed free time out on the town until 9 that evening. I spent the day with Mira and Maygen- a super team! We shopped, walked through the markets, had an amazing snack break in front of the Dom, explored the Altes Museum (Greek and Roman art and relics from BC times), and finished the night with a NY Style burger from Blockhouse and ice cream. All in all a great day!
***** EDIT: COMING LIVE OVER A MONTH LATER *****
Friday: Free time to visit museums and explore on our own again before meeting with the group again to see the Reichstag. Mira, Maygen and I headed to East Berlin in order to see the Berlin wall at the East Side Gallery. It was beautiful and the Dunkin Donuts made it even better! The tour of the Reichstag was interesting and I was in love with the dome at the top/view of the sunset. Dinner followed at the famous Ampelman restaurant with pizza and lots of laughs and exchange student stories.
Saturday: Some members headed back home on Saturday morning but I stayed until the night with Mira and Marco, Laura, and Sharon from my first bus ride. Mira and I explored Potsdam, a small suburban about 45 minutes outside of Berlin with castles and gardens galore. We rented bikes in the rain and saw as much of the markets as we could before eating the best waffle of my life and heading back to the city. We then met up with someone from our exchange program who showed us Kadewe- the biggest and most expensive mall I've ever seen, and then taking Mira back to the bus station. We finished the night at a middle-eastern restaurant for dinner and then back to the bus. A delicious end to the perfect trip!
*** Sorry about the late update, not sure why this one got forgotten along the way, more to come! ***
Friday: Free time to visit museums and explore on our own again before meeting with the group again to see the Reichstag. Mira, Maygen and I headed to East Berlin in order to see the Berlin wall at the East Side Gallery. It was beautiful and the Dunkin Donuts made it even better! The tour of the Reichstag was interesting and I was in love with the dome at the top/view of the sunset. Dinner followed at the famous Ampelman restaurant with pizza and lots of laughs and exchange student stories.
Saturday: Some members headed back home on Saturday morning but I stayed until the night with Mira and Marco, Laura, and Sharon from my first bus ride. Mira and I explored Potsdam, a small suburban about 45 minutes outside of Berlin with castles and gardens galore. We rented bikes in the rain and saw as much of the markets as we could before eating the best waffle of my life and heading back to the city. We then met up with someone from our exchange program who showed us Kadewe- the biggest and most expensive mall I've ever seen, and then taking Mira back to the bus station. We finished the night at a middle-eastern restaurant for dinner and then back to the bus. A delicious end to the perfect trip!
*** Sorry about the late update, not sure why this one got forgotten along the way, more to come! ***