We woke this morning to a breakfast of meat, Brie, and the best bread on the face of this earth. On the fifth floor of our hotel, I could feel the sunshine beaming through the wide spanning windows, relieved that it was going to be a wonderful day to walk all over the city. Today we spent hours walking through many different Nazi historic sites, snapping pictures of buildings that look so "normal." However, knowing that a concrete block of a building was once the Ministry of Propaganda during the Nazi regime gives all of these sites layers and layers of meaning. It makes me wonder how truly aware average Berliners are of all of the history that surrounds them. It was a great day walking all around the city... But it's only the beginning! (Hannah M)
Beautiful Berlin
This being my first time ever across the Atlantic I am just stunned by the city. Berlin is both magnificent and unique. It rivals even Boston with its historical dominance, being so much more recent. Memorials are abundant, yet not always effective. For example, when we visited the Murdered Jews of Europe memorial, it was powerful and isolated, but not effective apparently, because there were kids and adults believe it or not climbing on and within the pillars. This emotional defilement did detract. From the experience. Don't these people get that it is not a place to play hide and seek? Other than these curiosities, I've been having an amazing time in Europe for the first time. (Daniel W)
Adventure in Berlin
Yesterday we explored the streets of Berlin and it was so much. We saw so many amazing sites and museum. This city is so beautiful! We got to see Hitler's bunker and many important Nazi sites. The memorial for the murdered Jews of Europe was amazing but sadly people were being disrespectful.
I still can't believe I am in Germany, it is so surreal. Germans really enjoy Italian food I learned. I bought a piece of the Berlin Wall and avoided many a pick pocket. This trip is so much fun! (Daisy M)
Best tour guide in Berlin
Yesterday morning, as tired as we all were from jet lag and lack of sleep, we experienced, in my opinion, one of the best tours in Berlin, full of historical cultural information, by one of the greatest tour guides. Not only was she hilarious, but she brought the Nazi history to life and talked about the cultural effects Nazi Germany has had on today's German people and the emergence of neo-Nazi groups in Germany today.
Best tour guide in Berlin
Yesterday morning, as tired as we all were from jet lag and lack of sleep, we experienced, in my opinion, one of the best tours in Berlin, full of historical cultural information, by one of the greatest tour guides. Not only was she hilarious, but she brought the Nazi history to life and talked about the cultural effects Nazi Germany has had on today's German people and the emergence of neo-Nazi groups in Germany today.
The most amazing building we went to was the the ministry of propaganda building. Seeing it first hand after hearing and talking about the different types of propaganda used during nazi Germany was surreal. The tour guide could not stress enough how important this building was and how it was an essential part in propagating the holocaust. This was the beginning to a great and eventful day, which I will never forget. Thank you Arja - one of the best tour guides ever! (Minas Z)
So far, Europe has exceeded my expectations. We've had a weeks worth of sight-seeing in only two days, which is awesome yet tiring at the same time, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. Not gonna lie, I'm pretty disappointed to find that they drive on the same side of the street as us and that all European boys are prettier than me, but overall, I'm having a pretty good time so far.
While we were touring Berlin, we saw that Hitler's bunker where he died is now the parking lot of an apartment building. Even though it made me angry, I felt more indifferent about it, because Berlin covers up so much of their history through half-assed memorials or none at all, but at the same time, as much as we want to Face this History, the city and the country is trying not to dwell on their history. Ms. Freeman was right about it being difficult to like the city of Berlin, because as much as we want those who were killed to be remembered, it would be really difficult to move past it all. I'm excited to see the rest of what this trip has to offer...(Kate C)
Pergamon Altar
Guten tag from Berlin! We're having a great trip so far it's a lot of walking but it's totally worth it. Yesterday we went to the Pergamon Museum and we saw the Ishtar Gate and the Pergamon Altar. They were both incredible. The Ishtar Gate was a gigantic blue castle-like entrance with beautiful designs of unicorns. It was magical. One of the seven wonders of the world and we just walked through it (eep). Next, we gazed upon the ancient beauty that was the outside of the Pergamon Altar. Steep stairs, getting reprimanded by the security, it was all worth it. There were individual engravings of each God or Goddess and scenes depicting their adventures. It was so incredible you kinda had to just sit in silence for a bit to take it all in. On the inside we saw sculptures of people performing tasks and a floor mosaic with a parakeet. It was classic Greek.
Guten tag from Berlin! We're having a great trip so far it's a lot of walking but it's totally worth it. Yesterday we went to the Pergamon Museum and we saw the Ishtar Gate and the Pergamon Altar. They were both incredible. The Ishtar Gate was a gigantic blue castle-like entrance with beautiful designs of unicorns. It was magical. One of the seven wonders of the world and we just walked through it (eep). Next, we gazed upon the ancient beauty that was the outside of the Pergamon Altar. Steep stairs, getting reprimanded by the security, it was all worth it. There were individual engravings of each God or Goddess and scenes depicting their adventures. It was so incredible you kinda had to just sit in silence for a bit to take it all in. On the inside we saw sculptures of people performing tasks and a floor mosaic with a parakeet. It was classic Greek.
The enormity of the pillars and the sculptures of the gods made it feel like a very spiritual place. It was very powerful. We were just in awe. Everything was so detailed... The ancient Greeks had very nicely sculpted bottoms! Hahah! But no in all seriousness we witnessed two of the wonders of the world in one day. It was so much to take in but it would have been easy to sit there all day. So glad we went! Can't wait for more adventures, until next time! (Jessica K & Ariadne A)
We are having a great time and we are relatively healthy and happy. Berlin has been a lot of fun; the food is great and the nightlife is on point 🎉. Our first night here, a few of us ate at a delicious taqueria (not German at all). There are substantial opportunities for good food in a close proximity to the Hotel Transit, our quaint but modern host for our time in Berlin. Also, most of the people here have at least some knowledge of English, so communication has been pretty easy, but we are learning a lot at the same time (danke shoen, bitte, ausgang, etc.). In fact, some of us have already formed a German gang, notorious on the streets of Berlin. The AusgänG generally breaks rules; they can be found jaywalking, stepping in the bike lane, and leaving ominous notes under the doors of innocent guests at the Hotel Transit.
Our breakfast each morning is in a common room by the hotel lobby. We are given multiple options of breads. There is also fruit salad, chocolate cake, cereals, deli meats, and warm drinks available. The rooms of our hotel consist of 4-6 students, with not a lot, but just enough room. There have been reports of flooding in multiple bathrooms, but we won't go there...🌊 The 4th floor rooms which we are staying in wrap around two courtyards, so we can see each other out the windows. It's great for paper airplanes, dance-offs, and late-night communication.
Yesterday we went to the official European memorial to the murdered Jews of the Holocaust. The memorial is in the middle of Berlin, behind the US embassy and near the site of the Berlin Wall. A large plot of land without any buildings on it, the memorial stands out in the middle of the city. The layout of the memorial and the museum underneath it imitates a graveyard. At ground level, there are 2,711 concrete, coffin-like rectangular prisms making up the "Field of Stellae." None of them have any writing on them - no names, no dates, nothing - and no two blocks are the same. They all have the same width and length, but they vary in height, and the ground in the center of the "graveyard" rises above and falls below street level in different places. Visitors can walk through the grid of this "graveyard" and get lost in it's depths. The memorial itself is chilling if you can look past the little French punks who occupy themselves in the 19000 square meter plot of land by playing tag, shooting each other with imaginary guns, smoking cigarettes, and jumping across the tops of the Stellae.
On one end of the graveyard is a staircase that leads under the ground, into the "graves" represented by the concrete blocks. Below the surface is the information centre for the memorial. This museum is a series of 4 or 5 rooms; the 3 in the middle are the most emotional. Each room conveys a similar message in a different way, but all of them keep the graveyard theme in mind. If you enter the museum and look up at the ceiling, you see the same rectangle shapes of the graves which lie directly above you. It is dark and quiet, and you feel like you are in the same graves as the victims. In the first room, the rectangle shaped graves are almost projected from the ceiling onto screens in the floor, each of which shows a direct quote from the records of a Holocaust victim and a brief explanation of his or her life and the circumstances of his or her death. These people are mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons of all different ages. Out of all the quotes in the room, there was only one survivor represented. His block was the furthest from the entrance to the room. In the next room, the grave aspect continues, this time representing the stories of whole families. The graves in this room are rectangular prisms that hang from the ceiling as extensions of the Stellae above them. Each hanging grave shares details about the lives and stories of various families who died in the Holocaust. In the third room, there is even less light. A victim's name is projected onto the wall while a brief summary of his or her life is read through a speaker. Each summary takes about 30 seconds; the idea of this room, explained by a blurb on the wall, is that if one were to consecutively read the names and summaries of every single victim of the Holocaust, the entire process would take over 6 years. Going to this museum was a unique and moving experience. I appreciated it more than any other memorial that we have seen on our trips. (Liam O, Tyrone N)
Our breakfast each morning is in a common room by the hotel lobby. We are given multiple options of breads. There is also fruit salad, chocolate cake, cereals, deli meats, and warm drinks available. The rooms of our hotel consist of 4-6 students, with not a lot, but just enough room. There have been reports of flooding in multiple bathrooms, but we won't go there...🌊 The 4th floor rooms which we are staying in wrap around two courtyards, so we can see each other out the windows. It's great for paper airplanes, dance-offs, and late-night communication.
Yesterday we went to the official European memorial to the murdered Jews of the Holocaust. The memorial is in the middle of Berlin, behind the US embassy and near the site of the Berlin Wall. A large plot of land without any buildings on it, the memorial stands out in the middle of the city. The layout of the memorial and the museum underneath it imitates a graveyard. At ground level, there are 2,711 concrete, coffin-like rectangular prisms making up the "Field of Stellae." None of them have any writing on them - no names, no dates, nothing - and no two blocks are the same. They all have the same width and length, but they vary in height, and the ground in the center of the "graveyard" rises above and falls below street level in different places. Visitors can walk through the grid of this "graveyard" and get lost in it's depths. The memorial itself is chilling if you can look past the little French punks who occupy themselves in the 19000 square meter plot of land by playing tag, shooting each other with imaginary guns, smoking cigarettes, and jumping across the tops of the Stellae.
On one end of the graveyard is a staircase that leads under the ground, into the "graves" represented by the concrete blocks. Below the surface is the information centre for the memorial. This museum is a series of 4 or 5 rooms; the 3 in the middle are the most emotional. Each room conveys a similar message in a different way, but all of them keep the graveyard theme in mind. If you enter the museum and look up at the ceiling, you see the same rectangle shapes of the graves which lie directly above you. It is dark and quiet, and you feel like you are in the same graves as the victims. In the first room, the rectangle shaped graves are almost projected from the ceiling onto screens in the floor, each of which shows a direct quote from the records of a Holocaust victim and a brief explanation of his or her life and the circumstances of his or her death. These people are mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons of all different ages. Out of all the quotes in the room, there was only one survivor represented. His block was the furthest from the entrance to the room. In the next room, the grave aspect continues, this time representing the stories of whole families. The graves in this room are rectangular prisms that hang from the ceiling as extensions of the Stellae above them. Each hanging grave shares details about the lives and stories of various families who died in the Holocaust. In the third room, there is even less light. A victim's name is projected onto the wall while a brief summary of his or her life is read through a speaker. Each summary takes about 30 seconds; the idea of this room, explained by a blurb on the wall, is that if one were to consecutively read the names and summaries of every single victim of the Holocaust, the entire process would take over 6 years. Going to this museum was a unique and moving experience. I appreciated it more than any other memorial that we have seen on our trips. (Liam O, Tyrone N)
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