A Divided City

Our second and last class trip was to Berlin, the capital of Germany, was cold and dreary but that did not stop us from taking it all in.  We really saw and experienced almost everything that Berlin could offer.  The first day was quite a long train ride and we had some pasta when we arrived at out hostel and called in an early night.  The entire next day was spent at Sachsenhausen a Nazi concentration camp that was converted to a Russian prison camp after the war.  Saschsenhausen was expansive and there was so much to see and explore that it took hours to get through it all and even then I had to hurry through some of the exhibits.  This camp was a work and political opponent camp so it was unlike Auschwitz which was an extermination camp.  This camp held a lot of political opponents and then Jews, especially Jews that were very talented in craftsman work and could make intricate details on goods that the Nazis were producing.  After the war and the shut down of all concentration camps the USSR took over the camp and expanded it.  They held anti-communist supporters as well as former Nazis and pretty much anyone who showed any sort of resistance to the government.  The camp was definitely a super happy experience, but it was interesting to compare it to my Dachau experience as well as things that all of us have read in books and heard from survivors.

The next day we had an open top bus tour of Berlin with a river cruise.  We had the opportunity to see so much of Berlin and really get a lay of the land.  Elections were happening that day, which was also neat to see all of the press a the capital buildings.  The river cruise let us get an even closer look at some of the buildings and the neat restaurants and bars along the river.  We had a group lunch at an amazinglingly good German place, which was next to a cinema that was having a movie premiere going on.  The restaurant had so many different types of like mango, cherry, and passionfruit.  I had schnitzel of course because when the program pays for food its the only time I can afford it.  We had such a blast eating and we were laughing so hard we were crying.  After a late lunch 5 of us went to the Anne Frank Center to see her diary and learn about her life and what was going on in Germany and the Netherlands during the time she was in hiding.  What a strong girl to have gone through what she did.  I do not think that she would have ever believe that she would become an international figure for hope and perseverance.  Just me chillin on the boat with the Berlin Dom...

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Monday was Museum Day and boy did Sarah and I cover major attractions and ground in Berlin.  We all started out a Checkpoint Charlie, a museum about the Berlin Wall and the occupation of East Germany.

After splitting off Sarah and I hit up the Neus Museum which had a huge collection of Egyptian and Roman artifacts which included the most well preserved bust of Nephratitit, quite possibly the most gorgeous woman ever.  After a quick stop to see the outside of the Berlin Dom Sarah convinced me to go see the DDR Museum and good thing she did, it was so much fun.  We put on clothes made in East Germany and I even put on an East German military helmet which was so heavy.....

We learned what it was really like to live in Communist East Germany and what people had to go through on a daily basis.  After learning anything and everything about the DDR we made our way to the Bradendurg Gate for some pics next to the US Embassy and a visit to the Holocaust Memorial.  The memorial is made up of all kinds of different height blocks and makes for an awesome photo shoot.  Sarah captured this great moment...

 

Slowly we made our way back to our hostel and stopped at a bombed out church on the.  The church was never fully replaced to stand as a memorial, but when we stopped by we actually found a service going on so we stayed for a bit.  Once we got back to the hostel we did a quick change and headed out to a casual concert put on by the Berlin Symphonie at the Berlin Philharmonie Hall, which has some of the best acoustics in Europe.  They played Brahms No 2 and had an after party afterwards in the lobby.  Sarah and I enjoyed a glass while listening to a super chill alternative singer.  It was the perfect way to end our Berlin trip.

 

While Berlin might have been cold and overcast there was no doubt that the city just pulses with activity and spills over with history and culture.  It was interesting to imagine what this divided city must have felt like and looked like while the wall was still in place.

 

Auf Wiedersehen,

Chels